PJS - FLORA


The PJS duo (Patrick Dique and Jordan Cristoff) have released quite some albums since their first release in 2015. Almost every single one was released on a different label - this is their first release on Dronarivm.
The album is introduced with a quote from Hildegardis Bingensis (also known as Hildegard von Bingen). I am not sure about her relation to this music (Hildegard is known for many things - music, poetry, and philosophy among them), but since this album is called Flora I assume that it refers to her botanical writings.


All of these (four) tracks are recorded live 'without computer sounds or screens'. It would have been nice to hear some more about the process involved here, but we'll have to do with the music itself. Which is warm, immersive, and sometimes sounds a bit nostalgic like classic ambient from the 90s.
Not exactly 'terrible with the terror of avenging lightning', like in the Bingensis quote, but definitely 'gentle with the goodness of the bright sun'.


Flora by PJS








MU TATE - WANTING LESS


Latvian (but now London-based) producer Mu Tate (real name unknown) has released most of his singles/EPs without a label, all digital until now. His two albums (2021 and 2023) were also released on vinyl, as is his latest album, released on the Bratislavan label Warm Winters.


I cannot tell much about Mu Tate's background (and I must admit I did not know any of his previous work), but this album is a very pleasing introduction. It is atmospheric, definitely with an ambient atmosphere, but it has a different sound. This is immediately clear in the first track Your Host, with jazzy drums in the background - the kind you don't hear often in music like this.
The album is full of clever and inventive combinations of 'crackling field recordings, soporific atmospheres, swooping sub-bass and cascading synths', at times with a (not too prominent) beat, all of it mixed in a nice dubby production. Some of the tracks (like the Bandcamp preview track) are quite abstract, while others are more jazzy and melodic. According to the label introduction, this is Mu Tate 'at his least hallucinatory, yet the music still tingles the deepest recesses of the mind & explores deeply nocturnal atmospheres'. With what I guess is a mushroom on the cover, it's safe to say this music is still quite hallucinatory. Now I'm also curious about his earlier productions!
Wanting Less will be released on vinyl as well as digital on September 27.


wanting less by mu tate

--- originally published on Ambientblog ---

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