A few years ago I picked up Bestiardio, a unique recording from Angélica Castelló that to this day remains thoroughly unclassifiable.  Sonic Blue may be easier to classify, but is no less fascinating; it’s a (mostly) underwater soundscape enhanced by the sub-contra bass, colloquially known as the supergreatbass recorder.  Originally commissioned for a festival network, Sonic Blue is now poised to reach a larger audience, thanks to this vinyl release.

The field recordings come from Castelló and a small group of friends, who were led around Norway’s Lofoten Islands by a seasoned guide.  When it comes to making hydroponic recordings, it helps to have someone aware of the local sonic sources, in the same way as it helps to have a guide in the Amazon.  Some spots are simply richer than others, and Heike Vester is particularly interested in whales.  While this is not a whale-woodwind recording like David Rothenberg’s…

Women and Sweet Choices
This week’s guest host is Nesa Azadikhah a sound artist, music producer and Dj living In Tehran. Azadikhah has shown work both in Dubai and Iran and brings her sounds to Resonance104.4FM.

Broadcasts today March 10th at 21hrs-21.:30, repeats Thurs 4pm on 104.4FM in London – Listen online via the RadioPlayer

Tackling William Blake, Madeline L’Engle, Mayan culture, solar winds, WWII, 9/11 and more on a single set is a daunting challenge, but somehow Elizabeth Anderson manages to pull it off.  It helps that the majority of the album is instrumental, as lyrics would threaten to undo the entire endeavor.  Instead, the listener may be led either by the liner notes or by impression, the latter choice a reflection of Anderson’s own mode of composition.  Her swaths of color operate as tone paintings, conveying mood and eschewing the didactic.

The earliest of these compositions was written twenty years ago, the latest only last year, but the album flows well as a whole.  There’s no clear line of demarcation; even the track order follows a non-linear path.  When one delves into abstraction, one manages to avoid the pitfalls of time-stamped composition.  To paraphrase, three of 1994’s top songs were by Ace of Base…