AV's Spotlight Release

discerned in the fugue of streams
by r beny

Coming October 23, 2024 on quiet details records (UK)

r beny

Overjoyed to say that coming next, with a jaw-dropping interpretation of the quiet details idea, is the dearly-loved Californian artist, Austin Cairns, otherwise known  as r beny.

Known for his incredible run of releases on Dauw and other labels such as Seil  Records, Longform Editions, Past Inside the Present and numerous self-releases - he captured the hearts of listeners like few others with his innate melodic  sensibility, unique talent for sonic world-building, and vast technical skill.

Austin’s huge and loyal fan-base have been looking forward to this moment and they’ve been rewarded with something truly special - ‘discerned in the fugue of  streams’ is the product of all his emotion and introspection, an artist  demonstrating complete affinity with his instruments and the ability to musically realise his innermost feelings with perfect clarity.

r beny’s music has always been typified by elegant and stirring melody, coupled with exceptionally sculpted textures - here we see him expanding on what has gone before, beautifully portraying the profound nature of his creativity.

Amaranthine clouds of pastoral bliss, inspired by the natural world and its nuances, completely immerse the listener. Each track emanating deep and soothing tranquility, expressed through expert manipulation of synthesisers, mandolin, samplers and field recordings.

Austin displays his finely honed ability to touch our spirits with his musical sincerity - his willingness to lay his soul bare comes through so powerfully on this album - that’s the very reason there’s something about his music that so many people can relate to: honest; full of integrity; and distilled to its purest essence.

As he says himself:

In times of distress and discomfort, I often find myself seeking out the white noise chorus of water in motion. With soft fascination, one can start to take notice of the individual resonances and frequencies that make up the whole. In a state of sense making, solace can be found amongst the distinct tones of the water cascading over moss and stone - calm can be found amongst the roar of a busy mind.

This album is a contemplation on slowing down and paying mind to the quiet details within the threads of noise and patterns - finding meaning and hope in bodies of water in motion, the wind blowing through the forest, the white noise of a warming world, the endless barrage of algorithms and advertising, and the cacophony of internal voices and feedback memories of my anxious brain.

So pleased to share it with you, a gorgeous album of breathtaking beauty.

Huge thanks to Austin for everything, a wonderful addition to the series.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Austin which was then captured with analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.

As usual, the album is presented on the physical edition, a custom 6-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too.

The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, representing the music in its purest form.

1. braid into chorus 07:42
2. fragile nowhere  05:21
3. meander mapping  04:43
4. fir-sweet and mossed  10:42
5. echoing pastoral  05:12
6. mantled spring  06:38

Credits:  

Music by r beny
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with r beny
Design by quiet details

© quiet details 2024 all rights reserved
As a label we support the Cancer Centre - Milton Keynes University Hospital and all their wonderful NHS staff.

AV's Spotlight Release

Solastalgia by Erik Wøllo
Coming October 18, 2024 on Projekt Records

Erik Wøllo’s Solastalgia is a monumental two-hour double CD of expansive, entrancing electronic music. Utilizing the striking, elegant vocabulary Wøllo has honed over 53 previous releases, his is a melodic vision of ambient electronics with lush arrangements brimming with promise. The 21 tracks display dazzling rhythmic pulses, shimmering textures and memorable ethereal lines. 

This beauty is in service of a deeper story. "Solastalgia" — a term coined by Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht — combines the Latin word for “comfort” and the Greek root for “pain, suffering, grief.” It describes the homesickness you experience when still at home as your environment undergoes significant change or degradation due to ecological damage and the loss of a connection to the natural world. 

Erik reflects on this, “Being an artist in our time, it is impossible not to be affected by the big issues we face on our planet. Naturally, these matters will somehow influence the music I make. Every road we travel, every house we see, has resulted in a loss of our original ecosystems. For every computer, for every car or every new shirt, producing these has most probably erased areas of untouched wilderness. This is the paradox the term ‘Solastalgia' addresses: the sadness and distress caused by awareness of the way we humans alter and destroy the earth to expand our lifestyle. In order to exist in the technologic world, we ravage our natural surroundings. 

“These thoughts go back a long way in my mind, all the way back to childhood when my father chopped down a big area of trees on our farm to make a field for the cows. I played often in this forest. I felt very sad when it was gone — forever altered. Ravaging our surroundings is not sustainable, we need to change. But how? Another big paradox. I love my computer and my gear with which I produce my music; I like to have a car to go anywhere I want. And my house and a garden? Again a big paradox. 

“For this album I imagined I was scoring a documentary film about threatened ecosystems. We venture into areas where damage has occurred. We see landscapes forever changed. We see how it originally was and how it has become today. There is a huge amount of nostalgia and sadness reflected in the music. I do not have solutions for this, and I do not want to be political about it. I am describing it. Uncovering something that perhaps few think about in their daily life.” 

Guiding the listener through rhythmic sequencer-based sections interspersed with misty ambient zones and soaring electric guitar textures, Solastalgia forms a many-faceted opus. This is music with an evocative and symbolic approach building upon several of Wøllo’s previous albums, in particular Gateway (2010) and his only previous studio 2CD release, Different Spaces (2017). Pulsing measured momentum moves through the morphing patterns and structures with intricate and passionate storytelling arrangements throughout. Disc 2 ends the poetic vision with “Natural Habitat,” featuring bird sounds recorded at Wøllo’s cottage where he makes most of his music. 

Solastalgia is a poignant and powerful album, a rich embroidery of emotional beauty and dynamic energy. This double album’s shining synthesizers, atmospheric pads, subtle textures, consonant chords, and tender melodic phrasing highlights the existential issue of our time.