But it’s not what you’d expect. These tunes aren’t the holly jolly Christmas songs that are one of my favorite things about the holidays, but rather are more in line with Robert Halvarsson’s recent winter demoscene recommendations. This free download release from Apeginine Recordings is still an interesting offering, featuring some chilling winter atmospheres across 24 minutes of music.
The artists featured include Apeginine Reocrdings owner and founder Vincent “Muhr” Fugère, Emanuele Errante from Italy, and a friend of my own Mephtik Netlabel, ambient extraordinaire Shiftless. While this release may not brighten up your holiday, the music is amazingly well produced, so be sure to check out our impressions below.
Oh, and Merry Christmas!
Hit the jump for our thoughts on Pillow drifts from Apeginine Recordings.
The first piece comes via Muhr, titled “De la neige dans la tête (Christmas song).” I will say that it’s not the most catchy of Christmas jingles (can’t the French do anything right?), but the repetitive piano melody that is accented by bells definitely drives home a feeling of warmth despite the subdued mix.
Coax comes next with “Quiet Minds Reprise,” which features bright pad swells that create the sensation of the sun’s early morning rays piercing the previous night’s winter chill. The contemplative and melancholy “One Winter, Two Years Gone” by Woodworkings follows suit with sparse piano, violin, and filtered percussion off in the distance.
My favorite track in the bunch comes via Emanuele Errante, titled “Reloading Xmas.” It takes an abstract ambient approach and applies it to “I’m Dreaming of a White Chirstmas.” I guess this is the most Christmas-like tune, so that’s why I like it best. Still, it’s very distant and chilly, which is definitely an interesting way to go about arranging Christmas music. About midway through, an acoustic guitar breaks into the foreground of the mix, voicing a somewhat distraught melody that is really cool. The piece digresses into pulsating atmospheres before the guitar returns once more to close out the epic composition.
“Polaris Broken Dub” by Pocka is definitely the strangest track on the album, coming in the form of icy raggae. The filtered percussion and organ-like synth on the upbeats provide a strong raggea foundation, while a droning dissonant pad and the overall mix give the piece a distinctly winter (maybe winter on drugs?) feel. Finally, Shiftless rounds out the release with “Icicles,” featuring the evolving atmospheres that he’s know best for.
So yeah, you should definitely check it out. It’s available for free, so there’s no excuse not to. You’re definitely in store for something different!
With all these recent holiday-related releases, do you have some favorites that we’ve missed? Does this abstract approach to the holidays work for you?
Tags: Ambient, Apeginine Recordings, Downloads, Electronic, Experimental, FREE, Holidays, Music Reviews, Winter
