After Part I, with Merankorii‘s Top 10, now here’s +ko+ko+‘s list of “2011 in Music”. Once again, click in the release image to see more info.

TOP 10 unsorted
Once again I’ve selected the records that have got into my hands in 2011.
Follows my TOP 10 in no particular order:

1) Voltaire – Riding a Black Unicorn Down the Side of an Erupting Volcano While Drinking From a Chalice Filled with the Laughter of Small Children.

2) telafonica – Sleeping with The Fishermen

3) Paul Roland – Grimm

4) Momus And John Henriksson – The Thunderclown

5) Merankorii – Rather Than Bored

6) The 20th

7) +ko+ko+ – A Path To Nowhere

8) +ko+ko+ – Garden

9) In Slaughter Natives – Insanity & Treatment

10) DVAR – Elah

And the rest:

VNV Nation – Automatic
Disappoint

They Might Be Giants – Join Us
Ok

Thanatoschizo – Origami
Great

Tenhi – Saivo
Great

Sol Invictus – The Cruellest Month
Ok

Placebo Effect – Gargoyles and Galleries
Old Memories

Merankorii – Alain
Great

Ena Pá 2000 – O Álbum Bronco
Disapoint

Eisenfunk – Pentafunk
Fun(k)

Black Francis – The Golem
Meh

Black Francis – Abbabubba
Meh

Balanescu Quartet – This Is The Balanescu Quartet
Ok

Ambiance – Santuário
Great

Icaro I
Great

This first post is the list of top 10 2011 releases for Merankorii (presented without any particular order, click on each cover image to see more about the release in question):

V/A – Necktar 2017

Ambience – Santuário

Ambience is back again, this time with a double album. Santuário isn’t Ambience’s best, in my oppinion (that title is still owned by the hard yet awesome “As Dez Esperas”, but this is surely Ambience’s most mature work. The only negative aspect I have to point out regarding this release is the lack of good mastering and sometimes even mixing. A shame, really…

ThanatoSchizO – Origami

Possibly the best ThanatoSchizO album ever, surely the most complete and mature… even if it is also the most different and the only non-metal album they have. Origami goes through the history of this band, and present us ambient and almost electronic reworked versions of its tracks. I was fortunate to be present in one of the only two Origami presentation concerts, and after seeing the album being played live I think I got to like it even better. Unfortunately soon after the news that ThanatoSchizO disbanded arrived.

Merankorii – Rather Than Bored

The first of the two albums Merankorii released in 2011, Rather Than Bored is also the first time Merankorii got its music in the vinyl format. This was the first non-canon Merankorii album, where the concept turns into itself, and Merankorii here shows four questions, two at each side of the record, the answer of all always being “rather than bored”. This is also the first Merankorii release to include a recording of Merankorii playing live (the first track being Merankorii’s concert “Live In Australia”).

V/A – Thanateros – Visions Of Love & Death

This is a Dark Ambient compilation, which might end up surprising you since some of the artists in this compilation aren’t known for their dark ambient work… A double CD release, with tracks from Sieben, Tony Wakeford, Coph Nia, Naevus and much more.

V/A – Icaro I

This is the first “Daidelus Records” release, a 3CD compilation that was released in several formats. This is also where Kokori’s most recent track (Inbrase) is present, and that only should be reason enough for you to buy this release. Includes also tracks from Pájaro De Mal Agüero, Verney 1826, Art Of Empathy, The Joy Of Nature, Hyaena Fierling Reich and more.

Merankorii – Alain

The last Merankorii album, Alain. As explained in Merankorii’s last concert, Alain is a reverse play of the concept explored by Pink Floyd’s sound engineers, when they started playing with “hyper-reality”. Picking another musical milestone, this one almost forgotten (the organist Jehan Alain), this album goes one step further from Merankorii’s Barbershop and even Rather Than Bored’s Morpheus, and practices the “The Medium Is The Message” motto in music, using the format as the medium, and the music/message a way to show off that medium.

Tenhi – Saivo

This was something I spent years waiting for: the latest Tenhi release. No surprise here if I say that this is awesome – after all it’s a Tenhi release. But I’ll have also to say a couple more things: for starts, the fact that there are three different editions for the album, but none on vinyl; the fact that this is surely the best thought out and produced of Tenhi’s albums, quite reminding me what Empyrium made with Weiland. And, like Empyrium’s Weiland, while I’m sure this is their best produced album so far, I’m not really sure this is my Tenhi’s favourite album… but it surely still deserves its place on this list.

+ko+ko+ – A Path To Nowhere

After 2009′s “What Are You Gonna Do?”, +ko+ko+ is back with its second full-length album “A Path To Nowhere”. Two years of compositions being made and remade, some tracks coming from earlier versions made for The 20th, this is a comeback from the simpler dark ambient drone-y compositions +ko+ko+ gave us in the meantime in singles from the Witte Dood project. No, this is indeed a “next step” from “What Are You Gonna Do?”, a more mature and well-thought album, that gives us a consistent yet diverse album, and while you have the dreamy-like tracks like “This-Train-Is-Leaving“, cold industrial ones like “Killing People”, or even funky (+ko+ko+-style, of course) danceable ones like “Together“, the truth is these tracks are nothing but different landscapes seen from the same path… a path to nowhere.

DVAR – Promo 2012

Now this one was a surprise – and a very nice one indeed. DVAR didn’t release a proper album in 2011, but they did release the dark ambient digital EP “Elah”, so I didn’t expect to get more from DVAR this year. But right in the end of the year, we not only get this great EP, but a promise of an upcoming album in 2012. See, this EP is actually a promotional digital release, with 6 tracks that will appear in 2012 in a double album. That double album will have 16 tracks in each disc (so 32 in total), and the six tracks here presented show six different facets of DVAR, telling us that next year’s list will have a place for DVAR’s upcoming album in the “Top 10″ list…

With Merankorii’s support in the mixing and especially in the mastering, +ko+ko+ presents ten tracks, all of which were virtually constructed during the year 2009, some of them reconstructions, re-mixings or remastered versions previously created for the 20th project (each track entirely created during the 24 hours of each month’s 20th).

This album is a milestone on the second stage of +ko+ko+’s musical evolution, following 2009′s album “What Are You Gonna Do?”. It is also the definitive ending of the constructive/deconstructive period, which abused on vampirized melodies and samples, the very last one of these being represented on this CD by its last track (“A Path To Nowhere”).

Being a collection of tracks somewhat different between themselves, with a significant inspiration in ideas and sounds sometimes of a cinematic nature, it aims strongly at the disillusion towards both the human being, the greatest of all parasites, and the future, at the same time creating a certain oniric imagery.

Tracks:

1. Portrait
2. Key Of Dreams
3. This-Train-Is-Leaving
4. Killing People
5. My Dancing Ghosts
6. Moonscape
7. The Locust
8. Together
9. Ruby
10. A Path To Nowhere

It may be purchased here, or otherwise at the next live show by Noori Records, tomorrow:

* Date: the 20th of December
* Time: 21:00
* Event: Live performance by Merankorii
* Venue: WIP - Rua Garret, 60, Lisboa (Portugal)
(more info)

+ko+ko+ is an ambient musical project, tending to electronic darker areas and aiming at some industrial sounds, sometimes using repetitive rhythmic constructions. It is a project based in Alcochete, where it sought inspiration for many of the musical constructions that embodied its first two albums. It may be found in some limited edition obscure compilations, sometimes only available for download. It tries to be a regular contributor for the Australian project “The 20th”.

Along with Merankorii, it is one half of the band “kokori”, a project that creates sounds filled with a rushing desire for postcyberpunk ambiances and themes, sometimes reaching for industrial and electronic directed melodies.

Discography

• Compilations:
• two and a half years participating on “The 20th” compilations;
• others
• Singles:
• three participations on the Witte Dood project (now defunct)
• “Parasite” (333s)
• “Ovo” (666s)
• “Garden” (999s)
• Albums:
• CD (2009) edited by Noori Records, an extra-limited edition, immediately sold out:
  . “What are you gonna do?”
• CD (2011) edited by Noori Records, a limited edition:
  . “A Path To Nowhere”

Links

• http://pluskopluskoplus.grogue.org
• google and search: Last.Fm, youtube, reverbnation, myspace…

[Updated: here are three videos for three of the tracks from this album]

This is also a mark for Noori Records, since this is the first Noori Records release on vinyl.

Artist: Merankorii
Format: LP (Vinyl + CD)
Catalog #: NR021
Edition: Limited to 11 copies
Price: 25€

The first eight orders will also receive extra items hand painted by Merankorii with paintings allusive to the album’s theme, each of them unique.

Here’s a small teaser made for this release:

Order your copy!

So to speak personally, 2010 was indeed a nice year. Noori Records released a beautiful limited edition of Betray-Ed’s “Woods Of Eternity”, and it was amazing to see how quick it became sold out! That’s an achievement for me, and I’m very grateful about the work of the label. But musically, apart from my personal work, 2010 hasn’t been exactly what I expected it to be… Looking forward to get some better surprises in 2011, that already starts quite well! However, here is a list of 10 albums that, in my humble opinion, deserve your attention… Especially if you’re a metal fan!

10. NEGURA BUNGET – Virstele Pamintului

Despite the line-up changes, this album is a nice follow-up to the already-classic “Om” of 2006. The opening song “Pamint”, that goes from ambient to mysterious dark folk and then atmospheric black metal with aerial guitar melodies has been a great source of amazement and inspiration for me. Well done!

09. CRYSTAL VIPER – Legends

Yes, you might no hear this influence pretty much in my music, but I’m a big fan of 80′s Heavy Metal! That’s why this polish band and its charismatic female singer really caught my attention. Nothing really new here, but a real sincerity, and some good inspiration, and that is always more than pleasant.

08. ACCEPT – Blood Of The Nations

They came back, they conquered! What more could I say?

07. PROPHECY PRODUCTIONS – V/A – “Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings”

The return of Empyrium is the biggest event of the year. I couldn’t forget this release, with its amazing artwork and its unknown tracks from many very respectable artists. And “The Days Before The Fall”… So enchanted, as it always was. Empyrium remains my very favourite band, and an endless source of sweet, nostalgic reveries.

06. A FOREST OF STARS – Opportunistic Thieves Of Spring

Atmospheric/psychedelic black metal from England. Really worth listening!

05. ANATHEMA – We’re Here Because We’re Here

A great live show in Paris, and overall, a great year for this band, that comes back with this amazing album. Each track is good on its own, and sounds great listened within the continuity of the record. Enter a world of peaceful light and deep harmony… It feels so touching and relaxing at the same time! Progressive rock, ambient rock, atmospheric metal? Don’t ask, just give them a chance!

04. BLIND GUARDIAN – At The Edge Of Time

Once again, a great unexpected return with a real majestic, bombastic music! Modern yet old-fashionned Heavy Metal.

03. SOLEFALD – Norron Livskunst

Experimental, weird, mixing a lot of influences, extreme yet very melodic, catchy yet complex… Unexpected, to say the least!

02. OPHELIA – Do Sympathy With Your Fantasy

I sincerely encourage readers and fans of Noori Records to try this Korean band. Amazing music, full of brigthness and melancholy, between prog rock, ambient, post rock and atmospheric doom metal. Ethereal, dreamy, and breathtaking sometimes.

01. MAR DE GRISES – Streams Inwards

Last but not least, my personal favourite of 2010: the third release of chilean doom metal masters. Very worth listening as well!

Betray-Ed wishes you a great musical year 2011! See you next year for more fun and excitement!

In no particular order:

20th March 2010 (2xCD, Cabinet Pin)

Twelve times an year there are very limited editions being released, all of them priceless. Yet, only one of that collection makes to the “Top 10″ list… I am, of course, talking about the “20th challenge“, a great yet crazy initiative by the great and crazy Australian label “Cabinet Pin”. The 20th can be quickly summed up this way: “Every one can participate, and the rules are easy to follow. On the 20th of a month, not one second before or after, you will do one music. No ideas from beforehand; no writing, performing, recording, mixing, mastering of the track before or after that day. When the end ends, you send the track to Cabinet Pin. The label will gather all entries and release a limited edition CD with them”. Simple and fun. The general idea people get when they hear about this (believe me, I thought it myself, and after having talking about it to lot’s of other people, it’s allways the same…) is that the resulting tracks must be… er… bad. Well, they’re not. To prove it, the March edition of the 20th was different. Two CD’s: the first one with “tracks made on the 20th”, the second one with “usual” tracks from the same bands, so you can compare. Also, and this is why this release ends up in this list, most of the tracks are freely available for download, so you can just visit this page and check out the amazing stuff musicians worldwide are composing and recording each 20th!

Sol Invictus – The Bad Luck Bird (7”, Auerbach Tonträger)

I have to admit than, while I am a fan of Sol Invictus (and generally, of Tony Wakeford’s works – I still think “La Croix” is one of the most excelent albums ever!), I am far from being a completionist of his work. But somehow, I got really curious about this “The Bad Luck Bird” single, which seems to work well as a great preview of what the next full-lenght will be. When you start listening to the single, you will have no doubt that this is Sol Invictus – you’ll get the same feeling as ever, and that’s not bad. But you’ll also evidently something else… Sol Invictus is changing, evolving. When you listen to the B-side, you’ll get a quite different track, but also the proof that Sol Invictus is changing – and, in my oppinion, to better. My first public reaction after listening to the single (both sides, three times in a row), was something like “it’s a fact: I allways prefer B-sides”. While “The Bad Luck Bird” is a powerful (maybe a little overcrowded) track, with strong percussion and (surprisingly?) flute and cello as lead instruments, Stella Maris is a track that couldn’t stop me of thinking about The Wicker Man’s soundtrack – which is an awesome reference. You might want to wait a little for “The Cruellest Month” (the upcoming full-length), but I think that if you can’t just wait and end up grabbing this 7”… You won’t regret it. (BTW, I just read from Prophecy that the single is sold out there. The link from above gives you a retailer that still ships it.)

Antimatter – Alternative Matter (3xCD + DVD + Book, Prophecy Productions)

The great band “Antimatter” celebrated their 10 years aniversary in 2010, and they did it with a bang!: a compilation of “rare and alternative works” with the name “Alternative Matter”. Available both in a 2CD deluxe digipack or a “three CDs, one DVD and a high-quality photo book“, this is a great introduction to Antimatter for those that still don’t know it, and an awesome treat for all Antimatter fans. The aditional CD, DVD and book of the special edition is well worth the price difference, the third CD specially if you’re a fan and completionist as myself (it’s specially nice to have Over Your Shoulder’s Reel To Reel Demo), and the DVD is an awesome overview and insight – it is a documentary about the band, not live footage. The pictures book is beautiful, even if it’s one of those things I won’t pick from the shelves and browse too many times… Being a fan of Prophecy Productions and its “retrospective releases”, I’m quite happy that this isn’t a retrospective as they did for Empyrium or Tenhi: while those are great, buying a “whole discography” box when you have it already is a somewhat difficult decision, while in Alternative Matter there’s really not much to think about – just buy it before it sells out!

V/A – Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings (2xLP or 2xCD, Auerbach Tonträger)

I’ve got to confess: this was probably the biggest surprise in the year. While this is a two records compilation featuring 19 different bands, it was the prospect of one track that made me know I had to pre-order it: this is the compilation that also marks the return of the awesome band Empyrium to activity. But first things first: “Whom The Moon A Nightsong Sings” is an Auerbach compilation featuring Auerbach/Prophecy neofolk bands, but a conceptual one – something it is rare to find. Here we have more than one hundred minutes of celebration of Nature, and the relation between human feelings and Nature’s elements. Here you’ll find the romanticism of Vàli (with two surprising tracks), Nest, Les Discrets, Ulver, Tenhi (unfortunately not a new track, and while Kausienranta fits perfectly into the compilation, as a Tenhi’s fan I couldn’t but hope to find here a glimpse of their upcoming album…), Neun Welten (with the exclusive track “Pan”), among others. This is a beautiful album available both as a 2LP, 500 copies limited edition which includes a poster or the 2CD counterpart. Oh, and did I mention that this means that a new Empyrium album must be being prepared? Isn’t it exciting?

DVAR – El Mariil (CD, Shadowplay Release)

DVAR is one not only one of the greatest bands of our times, it is one of the greatest bands of all times. It is rumored that DVAR is composed by two people, but what we can know for sure is that they claim that the music isn’t theirs, but from some otherworldly beings/things called “Dvar”, that appear to them in dreams. From the first time I’ve heard DVAR – in 2000 with the track “Taii Liira” in an horrible 32K RIP that was circulating over the web, I’ve been hooked. From then until now, it’s one of the bands I listen most, and I allways fight to get the (hard to find) physical releases. To understand how innovative this guys are, just notice that they’ve ended up creating an whole musical style (“lightwave”, as opposed to “darkwave”) and managed to capture the interest of the widest range of people and musical styles (not only from classical fans to black metal dungeons, one of their songs even ended up being featured in one Russian bank commercial). With “El Mariil”, DVAR celebrate their 10th anniversary as a band, showing us not only what’s to come, but wrapping up all they were in the different records. Yes, it’s DVAR lighter than ever, but it’s a whole lot more than just that. This is probably the album to give people to know DVAR for the first time. And – boy – if you never heard of them you really, really, really should. You can grab a “promo EP” of this release here (zip file).

Others

• Kokori – init() (EP, A Beard Of Snails Records)
• V/A – Now That’s What I Call Retro-Futurism Vol. 1 (2xFloppy, Diskette Etikette Rekords)
• +ko+ko+ – Ovo (Single, Witte Dood Records)
• +ko+ko+ – Parasite (Single, Witte Dood Records)
• V/A – Maere Compilation

We expect to present you one of this lists from each Noori Records’ artist, in the following weeks. First, the top 10 from +ko+ko+:

What follows is a top 10 list, in no particular order, of 2010 releases that
I’ve heard or purchased.

DVAR – “El mariil”

They are the band that most surprised me for a long while – maybe ever.
They’re awesome. Just that.

Although their latest record is softer and lighter than the previous, it
is still great, great.

kokori – “init()”

This is the debut EP from kokori, probably the greatest band in the
universe and surroundings. The fact that I’m a member is purely
coincidence. Superb edition from “A Beard of Snails” records.

+ko+ko+ – “parasite”

+ko+ko+ – “OVO”

 

These are +ko+ko+’s released on the witte dood label, the 333 seconds
and 666 seconds releases. Dark as it could be.

The 20th project from January 2010 to December 2010

Cabinetpin’s “The 20th project” is a monthly edition of tracks totally
made on a single day. It includes bands like kokori, Merankorii, +ko+ko+, Telafonica and other adventurous bands. Always a surprise!

Unter Null – “Moving On”

I’ve bought the ultra-super-special edition with t-shirt, 3CDs and
studio piece. Great edition! Softer than previous works but still as
good as them.

Funker Vogt – “Blutzoll”

I was feeling a bit disappointed with the previous FV CD, but with this
one I’m happy again. FV rules. If only they’ve put English subtitles on
their DVDs…

Brendan Perry – “Ark”

The return of BP. Bought some weeks after the concert in Lisbon.

V/A – “Maere Compilation”

AWESOME edition! AWESOME compilation! Get one if you can.

V/A – “now this is what I call retrofuturism part 1″

Diskette compilation with each track only taking some 100 and so Kbytes!. kokori’s track is very cool , and the rest is great.

Some extras after the 10:

Voltaire – “Spooky Songs For Creepy Kids”

Voltaire for “kids”

Black Tape For A Blue Girl – “10 Neurotics”

Very nice.

Homens da Luta – “A Cantiga é uma Arma”

MP3 player edition with phones. A surprise.

Momus – “Hypnoprism”

I’ve followed the development of the tracks on Nicholas Currie facebook page. Some of the previous versions were better and some not. I’ve enjoyed the album and took the opportunity to buy a lot old Momus CDs on amazon.co.uk

Concerts:

Brendan Perry @ Santiago Alquimista

Great. Liked it a lot. Hope that Brendan Perry continues doing more concerts and CDs with regularity.

Ordo Rosarium Equilibrio and Ashram @ Entremuralhas

Even with the sound people trying to destroy the sound for everybody, ORE and Ashram acts were awesome – the best of the show. I’ve missed Projekt Pitchfork concert since I don’t buy anything from them after they released an album several years ago with DRM (copy protection) which didn’t play in my car’s CD player – I have their previous complete discography, I think. I’ve also missed the Covenant, walked away after two tracks – not in the mood and it wasn’t sounding anything special. I don’t talk about the other bands on the festival, since their sound was badly damaged by the sound people.

Experimentalists Merankorii and RedSK got together with one idea in mind: to create a great post-cyberpunk album. The result: Red Silk – now on CD in a extremely limited edition of 20 copies, beautifully designed, as you can see on the picture. Grab your copy while you can, because they might disappear fast…

Who: Merankorii and RedSK
What: “Red Silk” album
How: 20 copies limited edition vinyl-style CD, including an actual red silk stripe. Lettering made with actual red silk bent to the shape of each letter.
Where: It is here right now, but for 9€ (shipping included) it will be on your home.

Here’s one of these movies, click here if you want a list with the five videos.

Now with sixteen editions, the biggest Portuguese independent fair returns to its most regular place, for two days of cultural fair trade, networking and music. Highlighs in this edition for the concerts going on during the event, activities for kids with Mini-Laica (opportunity for kids to trade things they don’t want anymore) and story telling; the traditional second-hand stall (books and records); the “Science Is My Mother” wall in the expositions space in Bedeteca and a typography workshop by Oficina do Cego.

Noori Records is going to be there and we want to invite you to also come and say hi. More information (in Portuguese) can be found at Feira Laica’s website. See you there!