Goodbye Cruel World

Dark Matters

The first musical creation of Dark Matters came into life with the release of the first single "The Quest Of A Dream".
It was only the beginning of a journey, a journey into strong down-tempo cuts, deep beat-ballads and mind-blowing vocals. Though the identity of the Dark Matters moniker remains unveiled, there’s one thing about the project that is no secret. They’re responsible for 11 hauntingly beautiful vocal productions, each and every single one shining a different and unique light on music.

You can find them on their debut album "Fallen Feathers", an album built around the powerful beat of EDM, stepping away from the maddening crowds but focusing on musical synergy.
Powerful songwriting, poetic lyrics, a myriad of genres melting and all tracks mesmerizing jewels that deserve time to be listened to.
Anything from piano ballads to chill-out and soulful down-tempo. From dawn’s first ray of sun to the deep, dark pitch-black layers of night, "Fallen Feathers" will take you on a trip to wherever you choose to go.
Working together with gifted vocalists such as Ana Criado, Neev Kennedy, Cathy Burthon, Benjamin Winter, Tre Sheppard, Carol van Dyk, Jessie Morgan and Denise Rivera, resulted in eleven sensitive, seductive and original tracks of outstanding quality. "Fallen Feathers" is an album that truly gets under your skin.

Au4

For brothers Ben, Aaron Wylie and colleague Jason Nickel, music has always been a constant. As the Vancouver-based electronic ensemble Au4, the group completed a their debut album in 2006.

 "On: Audio", the group’s full-length release, is an uplifting, ethereal trip through the rhythms of nature and the nature of dreams, mixing blissed-out ambience with melodic, story-told songs.

Ben Wylie (vocals, guitars, keys), Aaron Wylie (keys, vocals), and Jason Nickel (bass, vocals, keys) grew up on music, each starting Royal Conservatory training at a young age.
In high school, the boys formed the requisite rock bands, while continuing their musical study and touring in jazz, choir and theatrical productions. Jason attended Capilano College’s Jazz Studies program, while Ben and Aaron began experimenting with the electronic hardware and software, which would later morph into Au4.

Inspired in part by the electronica explosion, and landmark albums by Underworld, Massive Attack, Björk, and Nine Inch Nails, Ben and Aaron started writing with new tools, layering and shaping sounds late into the night. In 2003, Jason Nickel heard their rough cuts and brought them to producer/engineer Richard Dolmat. The group Au4 was officially formed.

"On: Audio" was produced by Au4 and Richard Dolmat at Digital Sound Magic studios in Vancouver and is released on their own label, Torn Open Records. The nine tracks draw from trip-hop, ambient and dreampop styles, featuring the breathy, haunting vocals of Ben Wylie, who also scripted the melodically woven lyrical stories. A melancholic tone weaves throughout "On: Audio", but the mood is of contemplative optimism: The acoustic-guitar laced love song “Hit and Miss” undulates like a watery embrace. The bass-driven “A Mile From Here” is an up-tempo track ready for clubs. Even the epic “An Ocean’s Measure of Sorrow” rocks, a fresh take on the piano ballad. “Everything’s Always Moving” sums up the album’s hypnotic qualities and themes of hope.

The result of a lifetime of love and study of music, five years of songwriting and two years of studio refinement, "On: Audio" represents the beginning of Au4’s journey.
Their WCMA nomination for ‘Best New Album’ in 2006 was the next welcome addition to their story.
The group is currently working on a second album, and remixes from "On: Audio". They are also working on an innovative website, a collaboration between Ben Wylie’s visual FX background, Aaron Wylie’s DigiCoyote Software company and Juno Award-winning designer Vincent Marcone.

The multi-media and live aspects of Au4 complement and reinforce the band’s musical message.
“We just want to connect with people,” says Aaron. “That’s what, for us, music is about.”

http://www.au4.ca

Subsignal

New album "Touchstones" by Subsignal has finally hit the stores throughout Europe.

Subsignal, originally intended as a side project, was founded in 2007 by the former Sieges Even-members Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars). The first result of this collaboration was the song ‚A Wallflower On The Day Of Saint Juliana‘, which made its way to the 2007 Sieges Even album ‘Paramount’ under the title ‚Eyes Wide Open‘.

After Arno Menses and Markus Steffen had left Sieges Even in summer 2008, they were looking for adequate musicians to turn Subsignal into to a real, functional band. The first guy to join the new outfit was bass player Ralf Schwager, known for his work with German progband Dreamscape.
The line-up was completed with Drummer Roel van Helden, known for his collaboration with Dutch band Sun Caged, and Dreamscape’s David Bertok on keyboards.

Subsignal define themselves as a progressive rock band, which is open to different styles and genres (e.g. AOR, Metal, etc.). They describe their music as melancholic, innovative, emotional and highly melodic. Arno and Markus aim to tie in with Subsignal to where Sieges Even stopped, with the difference of being more open musically and showing a stronger presence on stage.

In April 2009 the band signed a record contract with German label ZYX Records and have recorded their first album "Beautiful and Monstrous" with producer Kristian Kohlmannnslehner who was also responsible for Sieges Even’s ‚Paramount‘-album.

 http://www.subsignalband.com 

Steven Wilson

"Grace For Drowning" is Steven Wilson's second album and develops further the uncompromising creativity evident on his highly regarded debut, "Insurgentes".

Wilson describes the release as, "My biggest project to date."
“Insurgentes was an important step for me into something new. This record takes that as a starting point, but it’s more experimental and more eclectic. For me, the golden period for music was the late sixties and early seventies, when the album became the primary means of artistic expression, when musicians liberated themselves from the 3 minute pop song format, and started to draw on jazz and classical music especially, combining it with the spirit of psychedelia to create “journeys in sound” I guess you could call them.
So, without being retro, my album is a kind of homage to that spirit. There’s everything from Ennio Morricone-esque film themes to choral music to piano ballads to a 23 minute progressive jazz–inspired piece. I’ve actually used a few jazz musicians this time, which is something I picked up from my work remixing the King Crimson records.”

The "deluxe 4 disc hardback book edition" features 3 CD's, a Blu-Ray version of the album and a 120-page book packaged in a hard back book. In addition to the album on 2CDs, a third CD features out-takes and demo material.

The blu-ray disc contains the album in 5.1 surround sound and high resolution stereo mixes of the album and additional demos. The video content, created by long-term collaborator Lasse Hoile, includes music videos featuring Wilson, photo galleries, hand written notes and lyrics.  

CD1
1. Grace for Drowning
2. Sectarian
3. Deform to Form a Star
4. No Part of Me
5. Postcard
6. Raider Prelude
7. Remainder the Black Dog

CD2
1. Belle De Jour
2. Index
3. Track One
4. Raider II
5. Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye

CD3
1. Home In Negative
2. Fluid Tap
3. The Map
4. Raider Acceleration
5. Black Dog Throwbacks
6. Raider II – demo version

Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is a British musician, best known as the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree.
He is involved in many other bands and musical projects both as musician and producer (including No-Man and Blackfield) and also maintains a solo career.
Wilson is a self-taught producer, audio engineer, guitar and keyboard player, playing other instruments as and where required (including bass guitar, concert harp, hammer dulcimer and flute).

http://www.swhq.co.uk

Dead Can Dance

The Australian ethereal neoclassical duo Dead Can Dance announced their reunion back in May 2011.
They are now offering a free four track EP enititled "Live Happenings - Part 1".

Dead Can Dance formed in Melbourne in August '81 by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry.

The band relocated to London in May '82 and disbanded in '98.

Australian music historian Ian McFarlane described Dead Can Dance as having an ambient style of world music that "constructed soundscapes of mesmerising grandeur and solemn beauty...with African polyrhythms, Gaelic folk, Gregorian chants, Middle Eastern mantras, and art-rock."

Discography:

1984 Dead Can Dance
1984 Garden of the Arcane Delights (EP)
1986 Spleen and Ideal
1987 Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
1988 The Serpent’s Egg
1990 Aion
1991 A Passage in Time (Best of)
1993 Into the Labyrinth
1994 Toward the Within (Live)
1996 Spiritchaser
2001 1981 – 1998 (Best of)
2003 Wake (Best of)
2005 Memento: The Very Best of Dead Can Dance (Best of)
2005 Selections from North America 2005 (Live)
2011 Live Happenings - Part 1

Their website also announces officially announces a new album and world tour slated for 2012.

http://www.deadcandance.com