Christ.'s mammoth session for Mark Whitby's show that was broadcasted on John Peel's tribute Dandelion Radio can now be heard on Dandelion Radio Mixcloud. A little less than a decade since his semi-legendary live appearance on the John Peel show at Maida Vale in late 2003.
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As some of you might be aware that Christ.'s 'Zeroth Law' track made number 23 in the John Peel Festive 50 of 2012 on Dandelion Radio beating the likes of Neil Young, Public Image Limited, Dead Kennedys, Grimes, Tame Impala, Veronica Falls, Thee Oh Sees, Japandroids and many more.. You can now listen to the whole thing on Mixcloud via link above and you can check out the full list here as well: http://www.dandelionradio.com/2012festive50.htm
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"the source code of the page confirms us the missing series of numbers within one of those hexagons dear to the Scottish duo since the time of their Hexagon Collective, of which they notably shared the line-up with Christ." - Indie Rock Mag.
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ASTRA - Bull Torpis live @ Roadburn Afterburner (21-04-2013) The incredibly talented and awesome ASTRA with guitar god Brian Ellis.
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Makoto Kawabata’s Acid Mothers Temple gets a mention on Fact online music magazine as Julian Cope talks about Japanese music from 1960's / 1970's and chooses his 20 Best Japrock Records
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ECOVILLAGE - With Fragile Wings We Reach The Sun album gets rated 3/5 in local Swedish newspaper saying it's full of atmosphere and comparing it to the likes of Chapterhouse and Slowdive:
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Interview about the Cathexis project in Stigmart Magazine:
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If you like Cocteau Twins and dreampop in general then this new track from Swedes Ecovillage might be right up your street - Sounds XP website.
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Nice review of Ecovillage's new album 'With Wings We Reach For The Sun' on December Hotel: 'full of dreamy instrumentation, great sounds and textures are to be found through out. What a glorious release. This new find has got to be the best album I have heard in a very long time..'
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Photo of 'Cathexis' movie playing on the big screen Plaza in New York.
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Ecovillage featured on Black Book Mag website:
'Everything seems to be on some utopian plane with these guys'..
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Ecovillage - "Before We Knew The Cross" on International Independent Inspiration blog: "shoegaze and chillwave elements mixed with a little bit of Animal Collective their track “Before We Knew The Cross” really has a lot going on. The chorus really has some beautiful elements to it, making me come back to it over and over again"..
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'Beach Sloth' blog gives nice review of Ecovillage - With Fragile Wings We Reach the Sun album and rates it a nice 8.1 out of 10..
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Ecovillage on 'glass base.tumblr' blog:
A Swedish shoegaze band endorsed by Ulrich Schnauss, Ecovillage are set to drop a new album on 6th May, and judging by this taster track it’ll push their euphoric, choppy pop sound to new highs. Orange Sunshine takes the cleaned-up vocals of their last LP and combines them with glittering keyboards, deep, luscious bass and washed-out electric guitar - plus some obligatory wave effects to remind you how clean the beaches are over there. It sounds sickly sweet but Emil Homström and Peter Wikström are old hands at this now, anchoring their ideas to a chest-pumping tune and chucking in treats like the delicious pronunciation of “Oranje” and a wide-eyed unshakeable happiness.
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Brian Ellis solo artist and lead guitarist of ASTRA gets mentioned in Classic Rock magazine as this generation's Steve Howe - but beyond as ASTRA makes number 2 in their list.
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Pika played drums and conducted "1000 people's drums" on 2013.3.3 sun large Thanksgiving Day @ The Expo Memorial Park, Japan.
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The new ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE COSMIC INFERNO featuring Pika Mineko album is titled 'DOOBIE WONDERLAND'. It's one of their finest albums as it sounds really amazing!!! Parallax Sounds Records are very excited to be releasing it in August 2013.
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Christ. - Ashes Of The Nineties. Beautiful music by Christ. and a beautiful video by Melodía Castillo (WomanElectroSounds). You can download the track for FREE from a free compilation by Indie Rock Mag presents 'Clashes'..
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Stefan Larsson's 'Cathexis' movie featured on Anti-Utopias website
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack album makes number 19 in Des Cendres a' la Cave blog top 40 of 2012
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack album makes number 22 in Indie Rock Mag's Top 25 LP's of 2012
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack makes number 28 in 'Have Faith in Sound' best albums of 2012.
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BIG NEWS!!! Christ. made number 23 in the famous traditional John Peel Festive Top 50 of 2012 beating the likes of Neil Young, Public Image Limited, Dead Kennedys, Grimes, Tame Impala, Veronica Falls, Thee Oh Sees, Japandroids and many more..
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Christ. live review in The Skinny magazine.
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Egg Box podcast #5 by Christ. features a few tracks recorded in rehearsal with Dave McGeorge on drums, a previously unreleased Christ. track, some other nice music and a wee interview.
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Article about 'Cathexis' film by 33rd square.
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Mark Whitby (Radio Presenter of John Peel's tribute Dandelion Radio) puts Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack at number 37 in his Top 40 Best Albums of 2012.
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Feature in Relevant BCN about 'Cathexis' the movie and soundtrack.
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Beautiful review of Christ., “Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack” on Foxy Digitalis by Steve Dewhurst.
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Christ. – Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack album gets nice review in The Skinny magazine.
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Christ. live review in The Skinny magazine.
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As a precursor to the up-coming 'On The Clouds/Under The Ashes' compilation, Indie Rock Mag are publishing a series of interviews with participating artists. Here's the Christ. interview: (English translation at bottom of page) http://www.indierockmag.com/article20867.html
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Part 1 and 2 of Christ. gig @ Pivo Pivo, Glasgow. Sound is a bit farty in places. it was recorded on nokia n8 if anyone's interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz6v8Hm2oTk&feature=colike / http://youtu.be/FbD9W3MNNqE
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The full 22 minute version of Stefan Larsson's film 'CATHEXIS' is now available to watch for free: http://vimeo.com/qnqaujik/aujik-cathexis
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Christ. - Cathexis makes number 3 in Indie Rock Mag Top Albums of October 2012 beating Flying Lotus.
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Feature in Relevant BCN about 'Cathexis' the movie & soundtrack.
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Egg Box podcast #5 - Christ. features some tracks recorded in rehearsal with Dave McGeorge on drums, a previously unreleased Christ. track, some other nice music.
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Article about 'Cathexis' film by 33rd square.
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Former 'Parallax Sounds' artists '2muchachos' have self released a lovely new album via their bandcamp titled 'forest is not what it seems' available now on various download formats and limited edition handmade digipack cd. Highly Recommend! :))
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Christ. does an imaginary mixtape and interview for Warmer Climes.
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Christ. - ’Cathexis - Motion Picture Soundtrack’ gets an interesting review in CLASH magazine "Sounds like the Brian Eno produced b-side of David Bowie's "Low" album which is no bad thing" - CLASH.
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack gets reviewed in Q magazine.
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Christ. - ’Cathexis - Motion Picture Soundtrack’ gets an awesome review on the excellent Indie Rock Mag.
It is such a pleasure to meet the inimitable leg of Scottish beatmaker three years Distance Lends Enchantment To The View that we have been unable to resist the urge to make you discover this fourth installment on the eve of the official release from Parallax Sounds . Embark with us so without further delay to the ecosystem where technology AUJIK utopian bio-mechanical and mystical pastoral make good beats his household air cushion, vintage synths and other hypnagogic drones.

We will not here on the media injustice which is the subject for 10 years the former Boards Of Canada inexplicably passed between the drops of success, or the genesis of this soundtrack inseparable from that of the average animated film the same name signed by the Swede Stefan Larsson , all of which have been a real soap in our pages this summer. So put the album itself, particularly awaited by admirers who we are, and that shines from the outset by its ability to evoke his own mental images while giving those who want to discover the inspired.

And voices in Japanese characters in the background of the very ambient and contemplative Eternity In Our Eyes Lips And then the interlude I Have No Mouth reviving these sheets "curled" that characterize highly dreamlike universe of the musician, do- she opened the real effect of field recordings, guides fluffy ears reverted to virgin when dealing with such apprehension that this fascinating territory both familiar and strange. However, the intricacy of trails makes immediate immersion and although no beat itself does not sound impressive until the Zeroth Law , melancholy Crystalline Indrid Cold and exhalations of sleeping giant make the most comfortable cocoons where uterine lover between seasons.

Zeroth Law , let's talk elsewhere because manages to transcend the signing of Christ. beats with pneumatic invested almost jazz flexibility and bewitching flights analog distortions. It will be the same at the end of the course with the perfect syncopations Kardashev Type One and retro-futuristic dreams halfway mossy trunks teeming with life and starry skies:

... but in the meantime the magic of a saturated Twynned almost beats the heart blips stellar cascades of well-appointed Singular lying on a bed of beats crackling-like walk in the snow in wooded or pulsations in echo a Ehaye enchanting as a chorus of chimeras seabed (which quickly respond well funny trumpeting the Martian zen We Two Are One ) had been quick to disarm us for good before as evidence of singularity and mixed : a single personality trait that contributes at least as much as his talent to make soundscapist Christ. , for already 10 years, the most captivating electro musician active.
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Interesting interview with Christ. on The Outer Church website.
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CHRIST. - CATHEXIS MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK album available for free streaming on SoundCloud.
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Norman Records review of Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack album:

Phil is chuntering away in the corner saying Boards of Canada over and over again. Okay then I’ll put him out of his misery. Christ. do, indeed sound a lot like Boards of Canada. This collaboration with Swedish filmmaker Stefan Larsson begins with two tracks of eerie, ‘70s radiophonic-inspired beatless electronica, sounding like some soundtrack to some tv documentary about space or something

Four tunes in the beats arrive and they are beautifully fleet of foot, sitting in perfectly with droning, shifting synths. ‘Need Between the Station’ matches soft synths and strange disembodied voices culminating in thumping beats driving the thing along. It has to be said again, Boards of Canada (lead Christ. person and Benbecula head Chris H was once in them for flip’s sake) but it’s beautifully realised, eerie spacey electronica, highly addictive if sedative but a gorgeous journey nonetheless. Rating: 4 stars out of 5.
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CHRIST. - CATHEXIS MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK album product review on BOOMKAT.
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack gets featured on Bleep.com where you can stream the album and buy CD, Flac, WAV and mp3. Cathexis was also featured in this weeks Bleep newsletter as well. Here's a review from Bleep:

Christ. collaborates with a cognitive neuroscientist and a CGI artist to imagine the rantings and visual manifestations of a fictional group called the AUJIK. Philosophical, schizophrenic diatribes are spoken in Japanese over rich Boards of Canada-esque backing tracks in the film, though the soundtrack is lacking the majority of this script. Beautiful, haunting and emotive.
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack, now on Discogs. Feel free to add it to your collections and wantlists etc..
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Christ. - Cathexis Motion Picture Soundtrack currently number 7 in Darla Records Top 50 best sellers
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Christ. - Kardashev Type One track / video makes number 9 on Electronic Beats website.
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Christ. - Kardashev Type One track / video featured on Foxy Digitalis website.
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CHRIST. - CATHEXIS MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK album get's a nice review today in the world's most popular free newspaper "METRO" featured in the music extra soundtracks section.
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Christ. track " Zeroth Law" gets played on Mark Whitby's show on John Peel's tribute Dandelion Radio. You can listen to the show streamed everyday throughout this month at different times each day and the track is featured about 2 hours and 12 minutes in to the 3 hour show: http://www.dandelionradio.com/artist/Christ
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PRE-ORDER NOW: the “Cathexis” Motion Picture Soundtrack by Christ. at Parallax Sounds Records / Cargo Records / Rough Trade / HMV Records / Norman Records and many more places..
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Christ. does an awesome new remix of the Skytree track "Antediluvian Dub". Click below to listen and download for FREE!!!!! ;D
http://theuntz.com/Skytree-Antediluvian-Dub-Christ.-Remix
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The full length Cathexis film is 25 minutess. Here is a 10 minutes version and includes 3 chapters:
QUALIA: form, spatial, physics and metamorphosis.
AMYGDALA: the limbic system, neurosis, psychosis, anxiety.
LABRIDAE: gender, animus/anima-complex,hermaphroditism.
CHECK IT OUT: http://vimeo.com/qnqaujik/cathexis
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Christ. playing tracks from new Cathexis album (released on Parallax Sounds Records on 15th October 2012) live with support from Pumajaw and Engine 7 on Sunday, 25 November 2012 at 19:00 in UTC at Pivo Glasgow. It will be a very special night! http://www.facebook.com/events/463687503671677/
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Headsup. This guy (Christ.) is selling all his albums (exept his new album) and eps for 50p each , for now, with a free hidden track for every full release you download. Can't say i've ever heard of him, but you can't argue at those prices now, can you?
http://christmusic.bandcamp.com/
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Check out the 2 competition winners of the remix / cover musical works of Christ. by Sweguno and Scyye and download the tracks for FREE!! Absolutely amazing! Well Done you guys! ;D http://christmusic.bandcamp.com/album/covers-competition-winners
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CHRIST. REMIX / COVER COMPETITION - WIN SIGNED VINYLS AND MORE:

Indie Rock Mag website are hosting a special competition where people can create a cover version or remix of any Christ. track. Apparently anything goes, so if you want the chance of winning some signed vinyls and to appear on a compilation, then get your creative juices flowing. Click on this link: IRM to take part in competition and to check out the Christ feature / interview where he talks about the new short animation movie and soundtrack album "Cathexis".
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Christ. feature in Indie Rock Magazine. 
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Watch the trailer to short movie Cathexis (20 min) Cathexis is a collaboration with Scottish electronic musician Christ and a Swedish cognitive neuro-scientist at Stockholm’s university. The concept of the film is how Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) transcends with human emotions. In the video several examples of this is manifested by an esoteric group called AUJIK. The video took one year to accomplish and was funded by the Swedish art grants committee and Helge Ax:son Johnsons foundation. A Cathexis soundtrack will be available on Parallax sounds records in summer 2012.
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A nice review of the new Sleep In Oysters - Don't Drum For Other Girls on Textura. This is what they said about the Christ. remix:
Christ.'s ‘I am a cliché' mix' recasts it as a stripped-down take, whose grungy guitars and primitive drums call to mind the halcyon days of punk and New Wave.
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Quirky indie pop, folky, electronica band Sleeps In Oysters are releasing their new single 'Don't Drum For Other Girls', available to preorder from Seed Records now, featuring the 'I Am A Cliche mix' by yes you guessed it, new Parallax Sounds artist Christ. amongst others. Warp Records said this about them, "Vivid electro-acoustic pop, beautifully recorded...the most joyous of post-Aphex/Bjork musical nuances that gently fizz and crackle." Do feel free to shuffle over and pick one up for yourself.
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Christ. gets amazing feature and kind words from Indie Rock Mag. Check it out:

Christ. multiplied the loaves from Parallax Sounds. DIY label to the concerns of diverse musical Syntaks , 93MillionMilesFromTheSun or 2Muchachos , Parallax Sounds just sent a small shock to the world of electronica and IDM in welcoming into its ranks the divine Christ. , pioneer of collective Hexagon Sun Boards of Canada and Benbecula fire survivor, legendary Scottish label off by the end of 2009 despite just after the release of his latest album, the dream and pneumatic (or even a bit too old school) Distance Lends Enchantment To The View .

Collaborator Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin up Twoism in 1995 before the duo arrives at Warp to become the legend we know (and which we hope for even a new album soon after six years of absence), Christopher Horne for his part, always preferred to fly under the radar masterpiece summit, disturbing Metamorphic Reproduction Miracle and still more his successor majestic Blue Shift Emissions , including EPs Bike (ultimate) or Seeing And Doing , not having absolutely nothing to envy Music Has The Right To Children and other Geogaddi of his former cronies. One wonders also why BoC claims a quarter of a million followers on facebook while Christ. him, account ... less than 250?! Go figure, we already wrote essentially the same thing three years ago and since injustice has been growing. World of shit.

Anyway ... there is still good news in this news since a major and essential part of the catalog of the Scot is now available for free viewing via Bandcamp , up session de rigueur for philistines that saturate our vast virtual universe. But above all, and you guessed certainly at this stage of the article, a new album will be released this summer, titled Cathexis - Motion Picture Soundtrack and logically expected to serve as a soundtrack with animation film Japanese of the same name.

Pending more information and why not an extract, it will be sufficient (but that's a lot) of a remix for poppeux English lo-fi and DIY to Sleeps In Oysters on their max Do not Drum For Other Girls to appear April 30 at Seed Records (the original video here , pre-order here ) and especially the Peel Session in 2003, emerged from our generous drawers beatmaker few months ago (including a magic Pylonesque , extract the EP of the same name which should agree all nostalgic for the heyday of Plaid ):
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We at Parallax Sounds Records are extremely pleased to announce a new special artist signing to the label. We are ofcourse talking about the great man that is known as Christ. who formerly worked with Boards of Canada and has respectively released a whole bunch of excellent solo releases on Benbecula Records. Christ. is also known for his Historic performance on the late, great John Peel show, where the legend himself asked for an encore. Reportedly this is one of two occasions that this has ever happened. Christ. will be releasing a new album titled "Cathexis - Motion Picture Soundtrack", (soundtrack to a japanese short animation film) in the summer of 2012. Date to be confirmed. Feel free to fire over now on his facebook page to show your support and give him a 'like' to discover what other bounty he has on offer. You won't be disappointed. ;D
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Nice warm words from Felinno blog about all of 2muchachos releases.
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We at Parallax Sounds Records ♥ the new Foreign Cinema music video for 'Airport', first single off their forthcoming debut album 'Monochromatic'. Check out the video which is brilliantly shot and edited by Ryan Coseboom.
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Vesnywki!! EP by 2muchachos available to download for FREE!!!
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A new 2muchachos song "are not what they seem" from their forthcoming LP is featured on Beko 100 compilation. You can download 100 tracks for FREE!!! This is truly awesome music and we highly recommend it. It's worth rating this 9/10.
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Brian Ellis/Astra get 3 page feature in Classic Rock presents Prog magazine.
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Brian Ellis with ASTRA, Dead Meadow, The Loons and JOY at the Casbah, Friday March 16th with visuals by Operation: Mindblow. tickets on sale now here: http://casbah.frontgatetickets.com/choose.php?a=1&lid=65282&eid=74025
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93MillionMilesFromTheSun play live at The Amersham Arms, New Cross, London on this wednesday 8th February 2012 with 'The Telescopes & One Unique Signal' playing live too.
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Syntaks – Nachtblende album gets a nice review on the "God Is In The Tv Zine" website, comparing some of the music on the album to "Low" era David Bowie and Brian Eno.
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Small review of Syntaks album Nachtblende on the electronic section of The Silent Ballet: Denmark's dynamic duo Syntaks also features vocals on Nachtblende (Parallax Sounds, 9/26), but of a more languid vibe; this project is tailor-made for the trip-hop minded, but also contains elements of shoegaze, post-rock and even opera.
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Jonas Munk, the genius behind Manual, Causa Sui and recent collaborator with Ulrich Schnauss has compiled an awesome music compilation of electronic, shoegazey artists that are from his hometown of Odense, Denmark. This compilation is available on the A Strangely Isolated Place website as a FREE download and includes artists like Syntaks, Manual, Rumskib, Keith Canisius, Limp and many more. Jonas Munk also talks about the compilation and what inspired him to create it.
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album gets a nice review on "Drowned In Sound" website:

Copenhagen-based composer cum arranger Jakob Skott isn't exactly a newcomer to making and releasing music. Having recorded under the guise of Syntaks for a decade now as well as his involvement in Limp with former Causa Sui bandmate Jonas Munk, Skott has spent the ensuing years perfecting his art to the point where he's now considered one of the leading lights of the underground ambient techno scene alongside the likes of Ulrich Schnauss and Apparat.

Having recruited occasional vocalist Anna Cecilia as a full-time member of Syntaks prior to 2009's Ylajali, his fourth long player and undoubted breakthrough record, Skott's decision to spend the next 18 months creating his widescreen masterpiece looks to have paid off. For the most part at least.

Nachtblende then, Syntaks' first release for West Country DIY label Parallax Sounds, collects together a mammoth 15, tracks all characterised by Skott's trademark swooping synths and Cecilia's haunting, choral vocal stylings. Clocking in at well over an hour from start to finish, it takes a full 40 minutes or so for the first and only legible vocal on Nachtblende to appear. "I see you walking by..." coos Cecilia ornately on the symphonic 'Into Two'. At times reminiscent of Portishead at their most awkward, or a more melody-driven Boards Of Canada, it sits as a hazy cornerstone for Nachtblende's unassailable charm.

Channeling back through the album's unmistakeable beauty, it becomes apparent that Nachtblende could have been written as a film score more than anything else. Opener 'Iris Germanica' recalls Groove Armada's 'At The River' for atmospheric, stoned aquatic beats, while the backwards masked trip hop punctuating 'Shiftandshade Ahead' has a similar hallucinatory effect as Loveless' subtler moments.

Possibly the main criticism that can be aimed at Nachtblende - and indeed the majority of records associated with this genre - is that the majority of the 15 individual pieces follow a similar pattern to what's gone before, ultimately making the record a challenging listen from beginning to end whereby maybe a ruthless exercise in editing could have resulted in a more succinct and compartmentalised album.

On the whole though, Nachtblende is a worthwhile addition to 2011's seemingly errant fascination with ambient techno, and even if it does outstay its welcome towards the end, offers plenty for the returning listener to encompass and discover on each subsequent visit. 7 / 10 - Dom Gourlay (DIS)
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Syntaks - Oak Moon track is being played on John Peel's Dandelion Radio every day this month. Mark Whitby dj says it's one his favourites of 2011. So that's 2 tracks played now on his show, the first track being "Submariner". You can hear it about 1 hour and 25 minutes into the show: http://www.dandelionradio.com/ Schedule times here: http://www.dandelionradio.com/schedule.htm
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Perfect Midnight World says: Syntaks are a Danish duo that makes shimmering electro-shoegaze for the post-rock set. Their new album, Nachtblende sounds like a darker blend of M83 and I Break Horses. That is to say, it’s really pretty damn good. The track "Oak Moon" is one of my favorites. It’s a melancholic lullaby with hazy vocals and twinkling synths. It’s worth your time for sure.
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This is what 17dots had to say about Syntaks - Nachtblende: Speakers Going Enya. Or: Neon Barwick. Startlingly pretty New Age vocal coos and cries haunting a rotted analog-tape atmosphere that will feel very familiar to chillwave enthusiasts.
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album gets a review on Danish music magazine "Gaffa":

Syntaks, which is part of the recognized environmental projects around the Causa Sui and Manual, is out with a new plate, which in many ways is an extension of Ylajali from 2009. Noise surfaces consisting of electronically manipulated guitars, pianos and synths drenched in oceans of reverb, lazily fremadhumpende beats and Anna Cecilia spherical, often wordless vocals creates a sound that is deeply romantic, almost lyrical, and sometimes it gets a little too much of it good in terms of what Michael Strunge described as dragging "heaven down to earth."

Ironically, now that Jakob is Skøtt drummer aforementioned Causa Sui, it seems to be rhythmic under-prioritized in favor of the spherical. Often they seem simple beats like a pale version of indieknægts groove.

Therefore, it is also nice when you manage to combine beats and music of the spheres, as the trio lise existing Lucertola or at best number plate Days Of Future Past, where hand-played drums supports the beautiful sky noise.

GAFFA: 4 stars out of 6.
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Syntaks gets a small feature on The 405 music website:
"Danish two-piece create a fantastic brand of ambient electronica. who effortlessly reference all the great electro-shoegaze whilst creating a unique sound".
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album gets an glowing and meaningful review on Candid Magazine:

Okay, so I’ll be honest, I’ve not heard much of Syntaks’ material, one thing I do know is, Nachtblende is the latest offering from the Copenhagen duo and on the first listen I was transfixed.

To me, the album was a seamless dream in the sense that I listened to it with complete ease and without distraction. I felt as though it was a soundtrack to my thoughts, that it would be a great aid to the making of profound discoveries. Anna Celilia’s ghostly sighs often brought goosebumps to my skin and the entire composition created an atmosphere that I believe, no other form of media can. It was so easy to get lost in the consonance and become hypnotised by the cacophony of sounds. Nachtblende symbolises luxurious escapism as tracks such as Lucertola and Oak Moon take you away from the irrelevancies that surround you.

You can tell by listening that this is not an album made by amateurs. It has an air of superiority, but is not in the slightest sense ostentatious. Without any doubts, it is on a whole different spectrum to the music which fills the mainstream charts. It seems advanced, cinematic in some ways, due to the emotion which oozes through the speakers.

It is said that Syntaks draw inspiriation from the likes of Brian Eno and Steve Reich. I can definitely understand why. Nachtblende demonstrates the spectacular beauty of ambience and in a way, it signifies the power of music as a creative medium. Ruby Glass made me consider Syntaks as the rebellious younger sister of Brian Eno’s solo work and to stretch the family tree further, the cousin of Texan group, Explosions in the Sky.

This comment on the emotions and thoughts derived from Nachtblende doesn’t really do Jakob Skott and Anna Celilia any justice. Their work, as part of Syntaks, represents raw talent and a deeper understanding of what music can mean to a person. It’s safe to say that Parallax Sounds have a winner on their hands. Personally, I’m privilidged to have been able to experience what Syntaks have to offer. It isn’t just music – it’s a transgression of emotional expression through sound.
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Syntaks - Nachtblende" album gets a nice review on Bleep:

Gushing waves of cinematic sound from Danish duo, Jakob Skott and Anna Cecilia. The pair follow on from their last album on Ghostly International and past releases on Morr Music, with their latest album offering; a compelling concoction of big expansive swaths of colour and light and touches of influence from stalwarts of the nineties shoegaze scene such as My Bloody Valentine and The Cocteau Twins. Seefeel fans take note!
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album gets a beautiful review on Boomkat:

Denmark's most romantic shoegazers, Jakob Skøtt (also of Limp, Causa Sui) and Anna Cecilia, reunite for a lush follow-up to 'Ylajali' released on Ghostly International in 2009. Over two years on, 'Nachtblende' (an aberration of the phrase for day-for-night filters used in the movies) finds their sound shining like a distant Scandinavian beacon on the shores of the Chill wave and dreamy synth pop resurgence which has sprouted since they were last heard. But we should be careful to point out that these guys, well Jakob, at least, have been at it for much longer than the current wave riders, and it's very clear to tell from ther multi-layered and truly expansive sound design. The usual list of influences from Carpenter to Boards Of Canada and Seefeel are ticked off in style, but all with that uniquely Scando-melodic which is so inescapably their finest feature, and certainly enhanced by Anna's dizzyingly beautiful coos and doe-eyed sighs, summoning distinct parallels with the likes of Grouper and almost fringing on the likes of How To Dress Well or the Tri Angle sound at times. Ultimately, for fans of BoC, Ulrich Schnauss or M83, this is one you really can't do without. Recommended! *Housed in gatefold matt-card slipcase*
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album gets reviewed on "Undertoner" music website:

Jakob Skøtt belongs to the small group of young musicians from Odense, which almost created a scene around their own music. First as a member of Limp, since a member of Causa Sui and alongside his solo project Syntax , which since 2009 and the album Ylajali have been a duo with singer Anna Cecilia. Musically, the kinship with another one of Odense's finest, Jonas Munk and his Manual project, nor so distant, while Rasmus Elm Rasmussen releases that aerosol is not as basking and lazy.

There are clear references to drømmepop and English shoegazer on Nachtblende. And these are dreamy landscapes built from wall to wall synths, driven by beats, sometimes trailing, sometimes more heavy and insistent, which is why Anna Cecilia's vocal work that seldom reaches more than to be another flat in the soundstage. It should not be perceived negatively, but more as an observation that only a few times, which is articulated words on the album - and when they arise, for example. in the duet "When Tomorrow Turns a Million" or "Oak Moon", they are extremely fluffy and almost incomprehensible. Just as the genre requires.

It's almost plush and painted with broad brush all the way through Nachtblende. Sharpest are the numbers where synth surfaces and vocals makes room for something melodic theme, providing a familiarity of an album that otherwise threatens to flow together into one mass. "Shiftandshade Ahead" does it by letting the numbers be a classic song structure, with verses and choruses, which both have a strong melody while a song like "Someone Else's Dream" opens with a melancholic piano theme accompanied by creepy mermaid song go again through whole number.

A few sites used a guitar, and its brighter tones are a nice change of pace to the extensive use of synths, as well can be quite heavy. In "Into Two" gets the guitar interplay of multiple layers of Anna Cecilia's voice that weaves in and out between each other, while the guitar reeling like a drunken man in the intro of "Days of Future Past" before the number is more rocking.

With a running time of 68 minutes, the listener is put on something of a test in time. And although the benefits and drawbacks of long album should not influence this review too much, pops up thinking anyway, while listening to Nachtblende. The idea behind the length may well be that it takes time to be enveloping the dreamy landscapes and the melancholy warmth that characterizes the album. But there are some tracks on the album, which drops a little dull, and some others who stylistic break with the overall mood. As a result, Syntax is not entirely advantages over an hour of playing time.

It is especially centrist with tracks like "Oak Moon" and "Lucertola" which has neither a vocal melody or interesting beats to keep your attention. The structure Syntax else has caught on in the beginning of the album, lost a little here. And "Days of Future Past" and especially "Journey to the Third Part of the Night" stands both tempo and with the aggressive guitars and drums so much out from the rest of the album that seems misplaced. Noted should be the beautiful surfaces with Anna Cecilia's voice, creating a wall of airy vocals on the latter.

Neither these rather negative aspects or the obvious inspiration from drømmepoppens classic sound of shadows, however, that Syntax 'blend of synths, mermaid vocals and heavy beats several places, especially on the album's first half frames so fine spot that both the length and the slightly less successful passenger occupies only a bit of the overall impression.
★★★★☆☆
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Syntaks - Shiftandshade Ahead track taken from "Nachtblende" album gets played and reviewed on "Labelled Independent" music podcast show. Described as: "Cool and chilled", "There's so much going on in Syntaks track and it's easy to listen to" - Emma (Labelled Independent) Download Podcast here: http://labelledindependent.podbean.com/
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album is now available to buy on CD and digital download via here at Parallax Sounds and all good music stores (worldwide) including 7Digital, Amazon, Apple itunes, Bleep, Boomkat, Cargo Records, Darla Records, Emusic, Gogoyoko, HMV Records, Juno, Norman Records, Play.com and many more..
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album gets an exclusive on Gogoyoko. You can now listen/stream all the songs for free and you can also buy the digital download now (a week earlier than the release date)
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The track "Submariner" taken from one of 2011's best albums "Nachtblende" by "Syntaks" will be played everyday throughout the whole month of september on Mark Whitby's show on John Peel's - Dandelion Radio, streaming from 3pm (UK time) today and usual at various times throughout the month at www.dandelionradio.com. You can find broadcast times over the month at www.dandelionradio.com/schedule.htm
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Syntaks album "Nachtblende" is currently number 16 on Darla Records Top 50 best sellers chart.
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Syntaks - Nachtblende album will be on sale soon via Darla Records in the USA.
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A little preview on The Silent Ballet website of Syntaks upcoming release, a review to come later nearer the release date.. "Denmark's dynamic duo Syntaks also features vocals on Nachtblende (Parallax Sounds, 9/26), but of a more languid vibe; this project is tailor-made for the trip-hop minded, but also contains elements of shoegaze, post-rock and even opera".
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Syntaks music video "Someone Elses Dream" gets a nice feature on "Sound Colour Vibration" website.
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Syntaks upcoming release, a music video "Someone Elses Dream appears on NME.com and NMETV.
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Beautiful review of The Cherry Wood EP by Goodbye Ivan on the famous blog Bon pour les oreilles [in french] : http://www.bonpourlesoreilles.net/musique/2011/08/goodbye-ivan-the-cherry-wood-ep.html
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The mesmerising video for the latest Syntaks single, "Someone Elses Dream" gets featured on "Lost At E Minor" website.
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Brian Ellis is playing atleast 7 concerts around the california area. Check out the concert/gig listings for more information on how to see him live with his own group.
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Goodbye Ivan - The Cherry Wood EP is the soundtrack you would make for yourself if you were about to take a horseback ride across the earth. The journey takes you deep into the Black Forest on The Crows, through North African deserts on Mosses and even to the alien landscapes of Deforestation with its eerie, cyber-industrial undertones.
Goodbye Ivan's earthly music-scapes remove you from wherever you are and take you to places isolated and completely natural, worldly and otherworldly, but always grounded in the boots of folk. Reminiscent of the soft acoustic taste of Benediktska, The Cherry Wood EP is a continuation of Goodbye Ivan's obvious need to produce minimalistic mini-masterpieces on EP, as a break from the more complex, urban compositions on his albums. You can download this now for FREE on WAV or mp3 format via Parallax Sounds Records as part of the Prana Series.
TRACKLISTING:
1) The Crows
2) Dancing Leaves
3) A Soft Wind
4) Mosses
5) Seeding
6) Deforestation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Syntaks album "Nachtblende" gets it's first glowing review on "Icon UK website". They describe Syntaks as purveyors of a harmonic and ghostly sound comparable to that of Aphex Twin or Sigur Ros. It's definitely a promising great start! "Nachtblende" album is due out worldwide via Parallax Sounds on the 26th September 2011.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Syntaks have done an awesome new video for the track "Someone Elses Dream" taken from their upcoming "Nachtblende" album which is released on cd and digital download through Parallax Sounds Records and is available to buy worldwide from the 26th September 2011. Get ready to have your mind blown away and your heart melted. This song and video is pure beauty at it's best and breathtakingly amazing!
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Brian Ellis Group and their live performance at The Casbah in San Diego July 2, 2011 gets featured on Sound Colour Vibration website.
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Watch a special 40 minute lenth gig with Brian Ellis playing live with group including David Hurley of ASTRA at The Casbah, San Diego, USA on July 2nd 2011.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Syntaks appear on the "Surfing On Steam" blog. The track "Shiftandshade Ahead" gets a nice little review.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SYNTAKS joins the Paralax Sounds artist roster!
 
‎Jakob Skøtt and Anna Cecilia who both live in Copenhagen, Denmark have been forging a unique path in music as Syntaks since 2006's "Awakes" on Benbecula Records.

In 2009 the duo released "Ylajali" on Ghostly International Records and by then Anna became more focused on doing her beautiful vocals and wordless soprano sighs.

Jakob started out with Jonas Munk as part of the band Limp (with one release in 2002 on Morr Music), as well as a fixed part in Manual's liveset and Golden Sun album on Darla Records.

Jakob is also the drummer in danish psych-kraut outfit Causa Sui, and 2011 has already seen collaborations in that direction with members of Tortoise and Sunburned Hand of the Man. Syntaks even did a piece for The Royal Danish ballet in 2010.

Syntaks take their influences from ambient electronic artists like Boards Of Canada, Brian Eno, Seefeel, film score artists like Ennio Morricone, John Carpenter, and the dreamy shoegaze sounds of the Cocteau Twins, M83, Slowdive, Ulrich Schnauss, and other early 90's shoegaze bands.

Syntaks now release their broadest ranging album to date on Parallax Sounds Records, "Nachtblende" album is due out in September 2011.
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Brian Ellis - Quipu album featured in METAL HAMMER magazine in Norway. amongst the likes of Alice Cooper and Judas Priest. Quipu album mentioned as Victor Farinelli's selection of the month. It says in English something like,
"Awesome proto-psych that will blow your mind. Certainly in heavy rotation."
‎----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2muchachos feature on the "Foxy Digitalis" website. 2muchachos release another free ep titled "teplaja". Dying For Bad Music website gave it 10/10!!!!
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Goodbye Ivan - The Cherry Wood EP is almost finished and will soon be released on the Prana Series section of Parallax Sounds. Stay Tuned !
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Brian Ellis "Quipu" album gets a nice groovy review inside the great cosmic, psychedelic music and culture magazine - SHINDIG! Check out the review which happens to be featured in the "Into the stratosphere - It's time to lose your mind baby!" page section, right next to a Gary Lucus (guitarist of Captain Beefheart) album review:

Modern likes on prog are often waist deep in pretention and homage, but there's something very likeable about "Quipu". Yes, Ellis clearly knows his jazz, prog and fusion stories (and isn't afraid to show off his breadth of knowledge and skill) but there's a certain starry-eyed exploratory spirit that marks it out. It's there with the free jazz dischord of "Psaw" and the densely patterned "Birth". Ellis work occasionally recalls the late 90's Glaswegian band "Gainger", abeit less overtly Krautrock influenced, and spacier.
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Brian Ellis "Quipu" album gets a nice review on "Music Web Express 3000" (MWE3) in their "Record Label/Music Spotlight" section for the month of June.

Some reviewer over in the U.K. had a near religious experience after playing the seven cut Quipu from Callifornia based guitarist Brian Ellis. I was skeptical but, honestly after playing this CD for a few weeks, I too am amazed. The English spawned some of the original and greatest space rockers ever—from Ummagumma era Pink Floyd to Steve Hillage with Gong—and guitarist Ellis clearly sounds inspired by them all! Recording Quipu as a totally instrumental artist, Ellis lets his fingers and guitars do the talking and then some. Interesting that some jazz buffs are also making comparisons between Ellis and Mahavishnu era John McLaughlin and even influences like Miles Davis, perhaps with a touch of Van Der Graaf Generator. Supporting his own efforts on a range of instruments—including guitars, drums, synths, sitars, sax and more—Ellis crosses over from jazz fusion to a more Euro-centric vibe so effortlessly that you’ll have to check the cover art to see who you’re listening to, often within the span of one song. Even in this age of cutbacks and downloads, Ellis has done a nice job on the CD packaging. It’s not overly elaborate but the CD is cased in an appealing looking cardboard slipcase adorned with a very intriguing front and back cover painting.
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BRIAN ELLIS-QUIPU album review on Freqzine website. For fans of: Sun Ra Arkestra & Acid Mothers Temple.

Brian Ellis is the guitar player with the band Astra, whose album The Weirding was one of the best of a batch of progressive rock revival albums released last year. It swept majestically over musical fields covered by Yes, early Genesis and King Crimson. On what appears to be his sixth solo release, Quipu, Ellis touches upon and expands on all these elements to make an interesting album.
About halfway through the track changes into a heavy metal take on a Magma workout, guitars power ahead and wrestle with rhythm in a hard edge Christian Vander-style percussive bleed that sets the tone for the album
"Birth" starts off in a jazzy ambient style mode that strays onto territory covered by Rain Tree Crow's set of improvisational pieces that made up their sole album. Horns squelch away over Bruford-esque drum patterns while keyboards pad out layers of sound beneath. About halfway through the track changes into a heavy metal take on a Magma workout, guitars power ahead and wrestle with rhythm in a hard edge Christian Vander-style percussive bleed that sets the tone for the album. "Canyon Star" has melodic symphonic guitar that touches upon certain tonal passages of Steve Howe's work on "The Remembering" from Tales From Topographic Oceans. Here Ellis seems to play the "Relayer" chorus over the top of an interesting keyboard passage before the song breaks down into a jaunty Van der Graaf Generator sax and guitar battle for its final half. After a fairly ambient opening "Count To Ten" becomes a far more standard blues/jazz piece that takes onboard Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis atonal keyboard pulses while the guitar soars and sax heads off with a vigorous screeching solo before bringing the track back down to earth for its ending. "Funeral March" begins with a considered riff that tracks the guitar and organ to a slow build up before the sax takes over the melody and the guitar is left to fill the space. The track plays over this riff until it seems to fall away exhausted, and this was the first time I started to question what Ellis was trying to say with these instrumental pieces as I felt here that this sounded somewhat laboured compared to the preceding tracks.
"Gossamer" begins with sloppy laid-back jazz drum rhythm that slides into a Mahavishnu Orchestra section before swirling synths and straight-ahead guitar clatter into a section that sounds somewhat like early Hawkwind holding back. This odd amalgam works in the track's favour, especially during the closing segment that drifts like a cosmic wind to its fade out. "Psaw" has psychedelic guitar playing over late sixties free jazz elements that wouldn't seem out of place on a Sun Ra Arkestra album of this era. The music sounds largely improvised and is probably closer in tone to some of Acid Mothers Temple's work rather than, say, Miles Davis. Deep bass synth introduces "Walomendem" and a lead synth ramble's a half forgotten melody before the track packs its Magma punch. Klaus Blasquiz-style vocalising resonates over Jannick Top bass booms while piano plays atonal scattering around over its downward riff. This track could have easily been an extra track on Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh – it is Ellis doing a homage to Magma, plain and simple as that. This is not deriding the piece in anyway as it certainly packs a punch and gives a genuine ferocity some of the other tracks lack.
as it certainly packs a punch and gives a genuine ferocity
What Ellis has created here is a hybrid prog meets free jazz album that sits at times uncomfortably on the fence. It works best when it steams full a head in its Magma-style vein as its passion and power then comes to the fore. It just feels, at times, though like it staggers drunkenly into areas it seems unsure of and then backs away. Its triumphant last track shows where maybe some of the rest of the album could have touched more which would have made the whole thing a tour-de-force. Ellis has made a brave record and doing so he may well have alienated some of his listeners before they can swallow the album as whole and appreciate the varied vistas he has painted with his broad brush. It's certainly well worth a listen even if you only venture as far as "Walomendem's" firey brilliance.
-Gary Parsons- http://www.freqzine.net/reviews/brian-ellis-quipu/
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BRIAN ELLIS (ASTRA guitarist) "QUIPU" album gets an amazing review on "ToMeToTheWeatherMachine" website:

Quipu has been on the back-burner for a while. Recorded over a two-year period in '07 and '08, San Diego-based Brian Ellis was careful and considered in collecting these tracks together on a CD. Following the dissolution of his previous label, Benbecula Records, and employing a completely different approach to composition and recording (moving away from sample-based foundations and switching to a multi-tracking setup), the record has been just sitting for the past couple of years, stewing in its saucy psychedelic gravy. Simmering, bubbling slowly, awaiting the boil. Leave it to Parallax Sounds (the label that brought you TOME-absolute-favo's 2muchachos) to pick up the ball and slam-fucking-dunk this one straight into my CD player. This thing is a psych-rock-jazz-hybrid-monster-opus-masterpiece. Totally spaced-out, gnarly, aggressive, brooding, building, exploding... Ellis makes music that's fun for us bloggers: totally easy to slap as many descriptors as possible onto, but evading the English language just enough to keep our readers guessing. Impossible to nail down entirely, here's what I can muster from this thing, and I can only hope you'll guess good enough to realize you want a copy for yourself.

Ellis is indeed talented and certainly has a knack for all things psych. He plays almost every instrument on the album, which is what is probably the most impressive thing about the recording, considering the album is full of horns, synths, percussion instruments, and some fantastic guitar and bass playing. But he's not a genius at all the instruments. His best work (as previously alluded to) is on the guitar, which is something he completely slays throughout the album - wringing its neck, violently yanking its hairs, twisting its knobs and making it beg for mercy, the instrument sobbing, wailing, and screaming, constantly shrouded in fuzzy, warbly effects. He's also a talented synth artist, squeezing pitches, bending them, and mesmerizing with some hypnotic looping patterns. Add to that, Ellis is a pretty decent drummer, pounding out odd-time signatures, slashing away at crunchy hi-hats and outlining forms for the instruments to connect with unisons between drawn-out moments of modal meditations for noodling improvisations to swirl around above. These elements all come together very nicely on the album's first half, exhibiting Ellis as a veritable swiss-army knife of fusion jazz. The chops on these various instruments holds these tunes back ever-so-slightly, though, as some tunes like "Funeral March" tend to march along rather slowly and a bit un-eventfully. If you were expecting something like Miles Davis, Return to Forever, or Mahavishnu, you wouldn't be far off, but don't expect something as seasoned as 10, 20, 30 years of experience with acid, heroin, and good-old-fashioned weed, not to mention years of professional schooling or thousands of hours of practice behind Chick Corea, Billy Cobham, Joe Zawinul, Eddie Gomez, or any of those ridiculos. Though these musicians appear as Godly apparitions throughout the album, Brian Ellis is certainly not these people. However, only three albums into his solo career (Ellis is also the guitarist of Astra), he is a young musician, and has done an admirable job. Hence, the future for this guy is about as bright as they come.

Now then, the album's second half is where things really start to get interesting. Ellis brought on a fellow named David Hurley to lay down drums for these tunes, and the difference is stunning. With light pitter-pattering cymbals around polyrhythmic experimentations a-la Tony Williams, and heavy-as-Hell, absolutely dizzying Bill Ward-style explosion fills, Hurley takes Ellis' vision to a completely different level. Look no further than the album's last, the unbelievably intense track "Walomendem" for your real fix. This track has it all—soli-sectioned refrains, driving rhythms, confusing harmonics, and more of those sickening guitar licks filling out the song's 14+ minute run-time. No doubt, one of the best pieces of music I've heard so far this year.

Ultimately though, it's just great to hear an artist picking up the jazz-fusion pieces left floundering in the 80s and breathing new life into an older notion of what psychedelia and precision can achieve together on a grander scale. Ellis has constructed something smart with Quipu, taking accessibility cues of 70s worldly psych (the Pink Floyds, the Cans, the King Crimsons), and smashing them head-first into fusion jazz's mathmatic approach to rhythm and harmony to produce something that looks ever-backwards while also peering intently ahead, as holy futuristic and forward-thinking as some of the most experimental of electronic music today, much in the same way bands like Tjutjuna have recently illustrated. At least on-the-level with these guys, Ellis points with a very fat and long finger to this return-to-psych style as a veritable movement, one I'm more than happy and willing to dive in and float along with.
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BRIAN ELLIS (ASTRA guitarist) "QUIPU" album gets an amazing review in "CLASSIC ROCK PRESENTS PROG" magazine!!! Jerry Ewing (Editor/Boss of Classic Rock) did a great job in reviewing Brian's masterpiece:
The name might not be immediately familiarbut Brian is the lead guitarist in Prog-approved San diegan psyche proggers "Astra". And much like the mothership from whence he has drifted temporarily to create this fascinating soundscape, his is an astonishing collision of sounds and styles that will enthral the listener. Given that Ellis' first 2 solo ventures (on tiny scottish label "Benbecula") opted for a more electronic vibe (no pun intended). "Quipu" finds him steadfastly in more prog friendly territory,although boldly showing no fear, much like "Astra" themselves, to dip into the worlds of jazz and tripped out freakiness when the mood takes him. As such one will find forboding saxes reminisent o King Crimson colliding with Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis jazz, the free form lunacy of Gong butting heads with the progressive intensity of Magma. Ofcourse what makes such an appealing smorgasbord of progressively-inclined sounds even more impressive is that Ellis handles every instrument himself. So although you get the impression on the likes of "Birth" and the epic "Walomendem" that you're listening to one amazingly acomplshed band, this really is the work of just one man.
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Brian Ellis (ASTRA guitarist and Benbecula Records refugee) "Quipu" gets nice review in THE WIRE MAGAZINE: "Canyon Star" is heavily processed guitar which is splashed liberally across a loose groove, the effect is reminiscent of early 70's Zappa, the enjoyably vulgar end of french prog and usung US outfit "Crime in Choir". The more meditative tracks such as "Count To Ten" and "Funeral March"avoid the laborious sprawl of the opening track and benefit from some delicious synth work, while closing epics "Psaw" and Magma tribute "Walomendem" are cosmic prog at it's filthiest, explosive spurts of solar fire arcing into infinity.
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Brian Ellis album "Quipu" reviewed in ROCK-A-ROLLA magazine.
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Brian Ellis - Quipu album reviewed on Boomkat:
Space-projecting prog-rock from San Diego-based multi-instrumentalist, Brian Ellis of Astra. Brian released a couple of albums through the now-defunct Benbecula imprint a few years back, but now indulges in a more organic, free-form setup, straying away from the programmed/sequenced elements to a more untethered zone of jams, man. The complex timing and fused elements of 'Birth' recall a fiery Mahavishnu Orchestra, while the synth-driven 'Canyon Star' could be from the annals of Steve Moore, 'Psaw' nods to 'Bitches Brew' era Miles Davis and the final 14 minute epic 'Walomendem' is an homage to the legendary French prog band, Magma.‎
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Brian Ellis (Astra guitarist) solo album "Quipu" gets advertised in Clash magazine, Rock-A-Rolla magazine, Rocksound magazine and The Stool Pigeon magazine.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Awesome review of Brian Ellis - Quipu on the ProgSphere website. Very informative review describing the musical styles of this classic album. Here's a little of what was said in the review:
Brian Ellis is a talented multi-instrumentalist whose talent actually exceeds the sixty minutes of musicianship given through the recording. The obviousness of this is reflected in the fact that it was both well organized and spontaneous at the same time. I may freely say that this album has a strong character, thus there is a omnipresent feeling of a personal seal in the listener’s subconsciousness. Not just employing variety of instruments, ranging from classic guitars, bass and drums to sitar, saxophone, trumpet and kalimba, speaks about the album’s improvisational level. The main characteristic of this recording is when you think it enters fusion jazz mode, there is a sudden break which leads into classic progressive rock.
Taking the elements of heavy fusion, with Quipu Brian Ellis pays the tribute to the electric era of Miles Davis’ work, reflecting in that way the mixture between Bitches Brew, Agharta, Pangaea or In a Silent Way. If Davis was the original initiator of fusion jazz, then John McLaughlin and his Mahavishnu Orchestra certainly defined the further flow of the mentioned style. And that’s exactly where Ellis heads in with Quipu, expressing his admirations to the sungenre’s leads, but also adding, as stated before, his character and personal seal. The ever growing list of influences spreads more when Ellis sucessfully invokes Tony Williams Lifetime’s Emergency era, Herbie Hancock’s M’wandishi and Headhunters and Soft Machine’s Three to Seven albums. The album running time runs a long course from the starting funkiness, over free improvisational jazz to real fusion jazz and progressive rock drifts. Die hard fans of Magma will certainly dig Brian’s homage to the band from Kobaia reached through the closing epic piece called Walomendem.
I am telling you, you will think there’s a full big band orchestra standing behind Quipu, but soon you will be amazed by the fact that this is an achievement of one, well-inspired guy from San Diego. Knowing Brian Ellis’ appetite for experimentation in variety of genres, Quipu comes as a logical consequence of the circumstances. And this buddy has what to offer. While you wait for the new Astra record, which is at the moment in its recording phase, give a chance to Quipu. You won’t regret.
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Brian Ellis album "Quipu" is now available to buy on cd or digital download in all good music stores worldwide. Here are just some of the places where you can purchase the album from:
7 DIGITAL, AMAZON, APPLE iTUNES, ASDA, ARGOS, ARTISTXITE, BLEEP, BOOMKAT, CARGO RECORDS, CD UNIVERSE, CLEAR SPOT, DEEZER, EMUSIC, HMV RECORDS, HMV DIGITAL, iMUSIC, JPC, LIMEWIRE, METELI.NET, NAPSTER, NORMAN RECORDS, PARALLAX SOUNDS, PAYPAL, PLAY.COM, RECORDSTORE.COM, ROUGH TRADE RECORDS, SISTER RAY RECORDS, SPOTIFY, THE HEADPHONES ZONE, THE HUT.COM, Virgin Mega (France), WHSmith, WOOLWORTHS, ZAVVI.COM + more..
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Brian Ellis (ASTRA Guitarist) "Quipu" gets a mind blowingly great review in UNCUT Magazine and beats the likes of Explosions In The Sky, Foo Fighters and many more... The "Quipu" album which is available worldwide on the April 11th 2011 via Parallax Sounds Records got 4 stars out of 5 stars. This is what was said in the review: Prog Jazz epic by San Diego one man band. If this was 1973, Brian Ellis would be challenging Mike Oldfield for the Best Multi-Instrumentalist Award in Melody Maker's end of year reader's poll. Instead, the lead guitarist of prog rockers "Astra" is ploughing a lonely furrow of excessive virtuosity, making Mahavishnu Orchestra/Bitches Brew jazz-rock in which he plays everything, from drums and bass to sitar and trumpet. The result is like Can, King Crimson and Eumir Deodato having a jam-off in a dank cellar in Cologne in 1971. "Quipu" has waited 3 years for a release and ends with a 14 minute tribute to Magma. The man's a hero. -Garry Mulholland (UNCUT mag)
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Nice review of Brian Ellis - Quipu album in The Organ's website: This is what was said in review: BRIAN ELLIS – Quipu (Parallax Sounds) – San Diego based multi instrumentalist, perhaps best known as lead guitarist in progressive rock outfit Astra. This is a collection of very 70’s flavoured, acid drenched, forward moving, psychedelic instrumentals. Sounds like a large band jamming together rather than a one man studio project, when it really gets in the zone we’re getting near Van Der Graaf Generator style instrumental passages, very much on their psychedelic acid side, though, and all very very retro. Long passages of relentlessly forward driving acid rock and Mahavishnu Orchestra moves - trumpets, saxophones, funky bass lines, dissonance, hints of free jazz, always within the formula and the frame though, nothing too far out there when you really want him to take just the hint of a risk or two… Xylophones, synths, meaty keyboards, Brian Ellis does it all rather well – 70’s sounding jazz flavoured progressive fusion and space rock flavoured psychedelic instrumentals…
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Brian Ellis (ASTRA Guitarist) "Quipu" reviewed on The Silent Ballet website. This is just a little of what was said: Quipu's other key inspiration is that other marginalised genre, Prog Rock, which comes to the fore on "Canyon Star", a track so proggy it even gets away with an extended keyboard solo. Again, Ellis steps things up with an orchestra of electric guitars and a horn section - the result reminiscent of different eras of the Soft Machine, albeit with a much smoother organ sound. So far, so impressive. If this was a group, one would feel compelled to tip the hat at their versatility, never mind this one-man band".
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A big thank you going out to everyone at Sound, Colour And Vibration for their awesome review of Brian Ellis's Quipu album. There's also a really nice informative interview of Brian Ellis. Brian speaks about the Quipu album, he also mentions about his other musical works with Astra, Free Festival and Byard Lancaster. Please check out this great feature by clicking the link below. Happy reading and music discovering! http://sacvs.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/interview-brian-ellis-quipu/
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Brian Ellis track "Gossamer" which is taken from his album "Quipu", appears on the new ProgSphere's Progstravaganza Compilation of Awesomeness-Part 4 and is available to download for FREE by clicking the link above. There is a total of 21 great prog fusion tracks alltogether for your listening enjoyment!
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