Jap Jap - A Resonant Discovery EP

01. Winds Of Change
02. Reunited Spirits (Interlude)
03. Morning Light Dream
04. Coloured Cubes
05. Surrounded By Magic
06. The Long Walk Home
07. Coloured Cubes (Morgenfish Remix)

Monotonik is delighted to present a free, full six-track EP from Holland’s Jasper Boer, aka Jap Jap, in the form of ‘A Resonant Discovery’, including a remix by Dutch artist Morganfish.

The EP consists of varied types of beautifully smooth idm pieces coupled with evolving melodic motifs, which go through different moods: from chillout ambient to more uptempo material.

This showcases Jap Jap’s signature style of solidly produced minimal yet melodic style of dance, which draws inspiration from dreampop, synthpop, postrock and electronica chill out genre artists Ulrich Schnauss and Manual.

Wixel - Clouds

1. Cloud Formation

2. Rising Clouds

3. Cloud Fields

4. In Clouds

5. Fog Rainbow

This is the second edition - February - of my awesome and/or stupid 2009 project. For those unaware of the project: It’s a challenge in which I force myself to record and release a record within each month of the year 2009. 

Unlike the January edition called “Winter” there were no constraints for this record, but I quickly felt like I wanted to continue with an idea for music I already touched in “The Aesthetics of Clouds” which you can find on “Winter”. Dense yet soft sounds, slowly moving and progressing, a bit like ... clouds. Most of the songs rely heavily on a sort of tape delay plugin I have, which I fed any sound I felt was appropriate for coloring the cloud. Some compositions are more electronic, others more acoustic, but always cloudy. As you guessed by know, the record is titled “Clouds”. Comparing it to other artists is not so easy, but I would guess a mellow Tim Hecker drone might come close, or maybe you can sense a little bit of similarity to a Stars of the Lid or Mountains composition. I tried to make it drone out, lots of fuzzy/blurry sounds with an undercurrent of melancholic melodies. You should probably listen if this sounds a bit vague..www.2009.bandcamp.com

Wixel - Winter

01. Acoustic Hum
02. The Bergeron Process
03. Winter Waltz #1
04. Dawn Chorus
05. Aesthetics Of Clouds
06. January 4th
07. Stumbling Music #2
08. Melsbroek
09. Winter Waltz #2
10. Vaarwel
11. Stumbling Music #1
12. Aerosan
13. Stumbling Music #3
14. Winter Sun
15. Reading Music

Welcome to the first edition - January - of my awesome and/or stupid 2009 project. It’s a project in which I force myself to record and release a record within each month of the year 2009. There are certain rules and guidelines which I must obey. You can find those at the wixel website. Due to the limited time of recording, and the constant output, this thing will feel very much feel like a personal journal. I have no clue whether it’s going to be interesting or not. It will just exist, I guess. Some months will be more interesting/better sounding than others. I’ll always explain in these liner notes what’s going on each month. 

For the first record my setup included nothing but an acoustic guitar, a microphone and the ableton live software used as a traditional multitrack recorder. No fancy effects, nor fancy plugins. Just the basic controls of recording, cutting, pasting and adjusting the volume. I thought a constraint in options would result in getting more out of less, and at some points I did come across some marvelous sounds. ‘Melsbroek’ for example is nothing but a few hundred recordings of various singles notes, with the volume turned down at each beginning, then slowly turned up while all notes are placed in a way so the guitar starts to sound like an organ. I quite like the effect. 

The record is titled “Winter” because I feel it could be a nice compagnon for the “Herfst” ep I did with Wixel a few years back. The pictures included were all taken during the month of January. It rarely snows this much in Belgium. I like winter...www.2009.bandcamp.com

Hatakeyama Chihei - Dedication

1. white mountain 

2 .bird above the ocean 

3. chair and acoustic guitar 

4. light of the sun 

5. illusion of memory I 

6. illusion of memory II 

7. illusion of memory III 

8. quiet morning 

9. dedication

Continuing his tradition for his second album, Chihei Hatakeyama does not use any synthesizers in making his music. All tracks were created by real musical instruments. In addition to using a guitar, accordion, calimba, violin, Shamisen, and vibraphone, he also used abstract noises such as the sound of air filling a bicycle tire. This album flows at the pace of a glacier and is mean to relax and weave your soul through the fabrics of nature and beauty. Dedication is the perfect album for deep thought, meditation or atmospheric music for a new age location.

Cantaloup - On A Hill Not Far Away

01. Wake Up Call

02. Fireworks
03. When My Girl Walks Through This Garden
04. Last Song
05. Day By Day
06. My Discurse With Mr. Lloyd
07. Wake Up Call (Hoodwink remix)
08. Crooked Rain (feat. Hoodwink) 

Thomas Peter’s brainchild Cantaloup offers a vibrant and enduring stimulus with the distinctive release, On A Hill Not Far Away; it is a record engorged with antiquity, and sounding like voices in the background of a beautiful European mountain. For anyone under the impression that Germany only breeds strange techno/metal artists, you are in for a rude awakening with this one.“Fireworks” is a well oriented distribution of kindness and despair. While “Last Song” serves up a delicious plate of instrumentals with a hint of ambiance. But the brightest star on the hill would have to be the almost frightening melody in “Day By Day”. With echoing vocals, and transparent piano keys, this definitely is a worthwhile six and a half minutes.It’s not that easy to completely comprehend what exactly Peters is getting at with Cantaloup. But, it is obvious that he is riding a musical boxcar all his own. The artistic ingenuity of this album is almost un-comparable to anything created in the experimental...

Patients - Patients

1. Tall Tale Number 5
2. The Coldest Hands
3. Not In Nottingham
4. Body Song
5. Mind Ur Manners
6. Doorways
7. Mathematics
8. The Voice Of Our Age
9. Leaves
10. Sad Business
11. If You Come Back To Haunt Me

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Advance Base Battery Life

1. Old Panda Days (w/ Nick Krgovich)
2. Lesley Gore On The T.A.M.I. Show (version)
3. White Corolla
4. White On White
5. Holly Hobby
6. Lonesome New Mexican Nights
7. The Only Way To Cry
8. It's A Crime
9. Missoula
10. Hot Boyz (w/ Dear Nora)
11. Born In The U.S.A. (w/ Concern)
12. Streets Of Philadelphia (w/ Concern)
13. Graceland
14. Sunday St
15. Voice Of The Hospital

Advance Base Battery Life is a compilation of singles and rarities from Owen Ashworth's Casiotone for the Painfully Alone moniker. It collects rare songs from his decade+ long career, and features guests Concern and Dear Nora...www.prefixmag.com

Monroe's Pills - Pets Riot EP

1. Pets 

2. Walking With Lenin 

3. Antennas Of The Soviet Ships 

4. Reconstruction Of Pripyat 

5. Cats In The Cold Water

The Moscow outfit Monroe’s Pills (Tabletki dlia Monro) are no fans of promotional hassle.  The band’s three members leave almost no verbal trace upon the internet, which may be no great loss, since their new recording is extremely impressive and in no evident need of textual support.  The recent, five-track EP, “Pets Riot” may yet prove itself to be one of the best instrumental releases of the year...www.moscow.ucla.edu

Fever Ray - Fever Ray

1. If I Had A Heart
2. When I Grow Up
3. Dry & Dusty
4. Seven
5. Triangle Walks
6. Concrete Walls
7. Now’s The Only Time I Know
8. I’m Not Done
9. Keep The Streets Empty For Me
10. Coconut

The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules

1.Keep a Secret
2.Intentions
3.Courage
4.Timebomb
5.Rollercoaster Ride
6.High on the Heels
7.1517
8.Gravity
9.Promise Less or Do More
10.Dead End
11.Island