Writing about music in lieu of human interaction
Alma Maru is a two-piece experimental outfit comprising Ryan Unks and Nathan Berlinguette, both of whom are veterans of Pittsburgh metal bands Creation Is Crucifixion and The Human Quena Orchestra. The sounds featured on Alma Maru's self-titled debut, conjured via guitar and synth, vacillate between haunting, atmospheric drones and abrasive sheets of noise, sometimes within … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Alma Maru – am18
Hyacinth, the brainchild of Pittsburgh multimedia artist Andrw FX, uses manipulated recordings of household objects (with a dash of accordion, of course) to create minimalist sheets of whirring sound. "Among Blossoms," the opener to Hyacinth's latest release, A Budding Reconciliation Of Values (Coolidge Records), begins with a single, placid tone, which lingers, glinting in the … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Hyacinth – Among Blossoms
Prole Volt is an experimental musician that uses tape loops, vinyl, keyboards, and field recordings to create chilly, abrasive sound sculptures that manage to retain a human element. "Crack In The Keystone" is a track from Anxiety Tapes & Bridges, Prole Volt's latest release. The song buries a faint melody beneath layers of crackling and … Continue reading Daily Yinz – Prole Volt – Crack In The Keystone
Karl Schwarzchild was a German physicist and astronomer; it's only logical that an artist bearing the same name would make otherworldly ambient music. Schwarzchild's new release, Saturnian Dawn, takes the cosmic sense of awe that drove Brian Eno's Apollo and filters it through the unfolding melodic pulses of Pop-era Gas and the abstract jazzscapes of … Continue reading Daily Yinz-Schwarzchild-Curvature
On his new album Aging (Wild Kindness), Pittsburgh producer Six O'Matic trades the jaunty psych rock of his 2018 debut for glacial, unfurling waves of ambient melody and sound. There are some musical styles that can be difficult to write about. Ambient is one of those styles; after all, how is someone supposed to come … Continue reading Daily Yinz-Six O’Matic-Shine
Parnassus, named either for a sacred Greek mountain or for an investment firm, is a mysterious, Pittsburgh-based ambient/drone artist. Parnassus recently released two albums whose outward aesthetics could not be more different. Adorning the cover of Fragmentations is a drab photo of a radiator sitting alone in a carpeted corner, while Mad features what looks … Continue reading Daily Yinz-Parnassus-Bloomsbury Gathering
James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham-The River And The Rain In It (2019, self-released) The other week, I wrote about “Building A Beehive,” a beautiful piece from seasoned Virginia multi-instrumentalists James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham. I managed to get in contact with Wolf himself last week, and he was kind enough to … Continue reading James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham-The River And The Rain In It
"Lol my six year old made the same thing in art class last week!" - Clueless Suburban Dad (1956's Untitled (Red) by Rothko) "Pale Flower" is actually yesterday's listen, but I didn't have time to write about it last night because I got caught up in some incredibly competitive rounds of Spit, a card game … Continue reading Daily Listen–Jefre Cantu-Ledesma–Pale Flower
Today's find comes from the upcoming album The River and the Rain In It by Syria, VA-based experimental duo James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham, both veterans of the local music scene. "Building a Beehive" is difficult to characterize, as it draws from ambient, drone, and even classical sounds. Guitars flow like the glassy … Continue reading Daily Discovery-James Lawrence Wolf and Raven Bauer Durham-Building A Beehive
This track, from guitarist/tech guy Christian Fennesz's 2004 album Venice (Touch) combines elements of drone, ambient, and shoegaze. Grainy, textured guitar lines wash through the foreground while metallic blips and clicks glimmer in the background. I played this overly-loudly this morning on my walk to work to drown out the cars, construction equipment, hungover college … Continue reading Daily Listen–Fennesz-Château Rouge
Bored In Pittsburgh 