Next up are two new albums by Maps and Diagrams on the Nomadic Kids Republic label, release dates vary in the UK but both albums are already released in Japan and the US. Check the reviews for both The Town Beneath the Sea and Lights Will Call On You over at Fluid Radio.
Lights Will Call On You which is out now can be found at these good record shops;
As Maps and Diagrams Get Lost is released on Time Released Sound (see below for details) another Maps and Diagrams album is lurking, waiting for release; The Voices of Time features on Fluid Radio with a review…
The reputation garnered by a slew of excellent releases on labels such as Static Caravan, Fluid Audio, Smallfish, Moamoo and Symbolic Interaction has made each Maps and Diagrams release an event within itself, inspiring a mixture of anticipation and excitement. Once again, this latest album from UK based Tim Martin exceeds expectations and delivers an excursion through the artist’s vast imagination, this time made available by Handstitched.
The Voices of Time opens with Your Weakness and Martin signals his intentions by weaving together various sound sources with meticulous care, guitar usually holding centre stage. The organic lo-fi beauty of Your Weakness and indeed, on each of the tracks which follow, bring to mind recent output from musicians such as Taylor Deupree, Marcus Fischer and Offthesky, all artists who work in an unusual and unique way with audio, but nonetheless create music which has some cohesion when taken as a whole. One feels that there should be almost another term coined to describe this genre within a genre which comprises found sounds and broken melodies to make music which is less about the destination reached and more focused on the journey taken.
On an album of innumerable highlights, title track The Voices of Time is as fine a moment as any to note as possible apex, with gentle piano notes rolling atop a shifting foundation of guitar, synth and drones, peppered with static throughout – though in truth any such track could be chosen at random with similar results, such as the gentle floating ambience of Letraset Addiction or the abstract experimentalism of Three Blows To The Mind. The Voices Of Time is an album without fault and is a joy to experience.
This is not an album to be thrown on while jogging or doing the dishes, or at least to do so would be missing the point. Rather, The Voices of Time should be enjoyed as a whole in one sitting, enabling one to lose track of time and become immersed in the sonic memories which the artist so generously shares with us here.
The Voices of Time comes packaged in case-bound CD covers, stencilled with a Japanese Plum Blossom stencil and individually hand-stamped. Release date: May 27.
Ever since Fluid Radio was initially set up the plan was to have an online store that would serve to support small labels and artists alike as well as to help fund the ongoing costs of running the station. After 2 years of thinking about it we finally set up Stashed Goods and hope over time it will become a hub for selling alternative music that never raises it’s head above the mainstream parapet. We are not just interested in selling the latest music available. The focus of the store is about stocking music that we love first and foremost regardless of genre, age, format or popularity. As time goes on the Stash will grow and we hope that you find something of interest for your listening pleasure!
“….Working under their Hessien guise, acoustic sound artists Charles Sage and Tim Diagram produce beautifully crafted works that merge the acoustic and electronic together to form a seamless whole. Home… is noticeably sparser than Hessien’s previous works, allowing the album to grow as a whole over a longer period of time.”
For the full, in-depth review of “Home is where the Ghost is” head over to Fluid Radio
Pre-orders are welcomed –they will be limited to one copy per person and will be limited to a first come, first serve basis, for more info contact: handstitchedinfo@gmail.com
Hessien appear on Fluid Radio Friday 19 March with an exclusive hour-long mix, tune in at 7pm BST. Fluid Radio and now available to listen to via mixcloud
Tobis Lilja – Days Pass Faster
Spinform – Yppersta Utposten
On! Air! Library! – 195
Hessien – Monsoon
Tarantel – When We Almost Killed Ourselves
Library Tapes – VIII
People Press Play – Studio
Tobias Lilja – My Teacher Died
Goddamn Electric Bill – Clouds and A Bee
Maps and Diagrams – T’horbed Earth
Mogwai – Wake Up and Go Berserk
Hessien – Gazed and Pale Reflections
Dictaphone – K2
Opitope – A Quiet Morning Arriving to the Valley
Tunng – Tale from the Black
Zelienople – Little Little Eye-Full
Hessien – Neroli Orange Blossom
Dirac – Bantu
