Xeltrei - Litotes

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Sello: Symbolic Interaction
Estilo: Minimal, Electronica, Experimental
Para fans de: Library Tapes, Nancy Elizabeth, Early Songs, Yasushi Yoshida

Tracklist
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　01. letargi
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　02. frugal
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　03. litotes
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　04. korossion
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　05. trampolin
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　06. karuseller
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　07. porslin
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　08. sicksack
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　09. landfotografi
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　10. granser

Litotes are, as Webster’s states, “understatement[s] in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary.” In plain English, litotes are phrases, such as “not bad” or “not that wonderful,” where the opposite meanings of the adjectives (bad, wonderful) are put forward (not bad = good; not that wonderful = awful). Xeltrei’s “Litotes” is an incredible exercise in restraint which lives up to the aforementioned concept as an amazing piece of musical understatement that still bursts with memory and meaning. Not bad, indeed.

Xeltrei hails from Sweden and consists of Erica on piano and David (of Library Tapes) on piano, field recordings, and computer. Their short album is made up of ten tracks of delicate, muffled piano melodies mixed with an array of crumbling sounds. Xeltrei explains their collaboration as “lo-fi piano music made with love.” Indeed, each song is quite simple, but extremely heartfelt. The music sounds almost like a forgotten, homemade cassette where each melancholy note on the piano is allowed to resonate before it fades. Additionally, some of the shorter tracks play like small, salvaged fragments of song that fade or cut out quickly, adding to the lost and found quality of the music.

Piano is only half of the story, of course. The various found sounds and effects, add to the atmosphere. These manipulations enhance the feeling that this is a lo-fi recording affected by incidental noise. The real success of “Litotes” is that it draws the listener into this simulated space with its sonic quirks. It is extremely easy to become lost in thought listening to this album, placing yourself inside the sound and remembering your own versions of the personal moments reflected in the music.

Truly, it is rare that an album can say everything it needs to say so subtly. “Litotes” is the perfect compliment to memories of days past with its dual senses of history and melancholy. It’s a credit to the music that something so minimal and understated could brim with so much feeling and thought. Xeltrei has succeeded in creating an essential piece of mood music that is both achingly beautiful and timeless. 10/10

Televise - Strings And Wires

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Sello: Drifting Falling
Estilo: Electronica, Experimental, Shoegaze, Dream pop
Para fans de: Slowdive, Mahogany, Port Royal, Ulrich Schnauss

Tracklist
Mezzo
Koto
Resonated
Perfect Sound
Fist
This Is Whatever (Mole Harness Remix)

Strings and Wires falls into that category of recordings that appear out of left field and instantly disarm for being so fully realized, prompting one to wonder how one could have been unaware of the composer and his material before. Simon Scott certainly brings a storied CV to the project. The Cambridge-born producer occupied the drum chair in The Charlottes and Slowdive (on the albums Just for a Day and Souvlaki), did session stints with Chapterhouse, Saint Etienne, and Jewel, and toured with bands like Ride, House of Love and Swervedriver. An encounter with original Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett prompted Scott to form Televise in 2003 and the debut, three years later, of Songs to sing in A&E (plans are underway to release mixes of the album's tracks by Isan, Port Royal , Mole Harness, Sebastien Roux, Ulrich Schnauss, and others).

Strings and Wires isn't shoegazing; instead, Scott shapes his material into warm, cloud-like masses at the center of which occasionally recognizable guitar sounds can be heard. Though there is unanimity, each of the album's six songs explores different stylistic terrain. “Koto” loops granular tones into machine-like rhythms before blossoming into rippling patterns. In the melancholic “Resonated,” the cry of electric and acoustic guitar melodies pierce the billowing haze while guitar lines gracefully unfurl like flower petals during the eleven-minute meditation “Fist.” A haunting melody forms the nucleus of “Perfect Sound” and, though a thick blanket of hiss muffles the sound, the guitar's ponderous theme and bell percussion are still able to declare themselves. It's entirely fitting that Mole Harness should be present as a contributor, given the superb caliber of James Brewster's own recordings (All Your Memories Return At Once, A Present From the Future). Brewster's Mole Harness remix of “This is Whatever” morphs stuttering loops into a drone of speaking voices and wavering tones that grows progressively denser over the course of its seven minutes. The album's most beautiful piece may be the opener “Mezzo” where two tonal surges see-saw, punctuated by starbursts of crackle; Scott manipulates his warm sonic fields so deftly here, one could miss the submerged cry that wails so softly within the oscillating mass. Kudos to Scott for bringing a unique voice to the electronic sound-sculpting genre. (textura.org)