DRIFTING FALLING RECORDINGS

Chaotisch und Charmant had some very nice things to say about Oppressed by the Line’s latest output Soft Focus

touching tunes blending shoegaze, electronica, melancholic crystal guitars and amazing textures. among his influences are the magnetic fields, the cure, ride and vitesse…
’soft focus’ is his second album and is full of delicate (yet powerfull) sounds.
in songs like the opening track ‘condensation’, ‘don’t bestow the lesser things’ and ’solitude’ we also hear the (moving) vocals and feel that jon’s creativity can also be applied to his vocal skills and the ability to create another layer to his music. ‘i can’t remember the sound’ and ’shattering glass houses’ are the most shoegazy tracks filled with layers of electronica merging with walls of (beautifully played) guitars.
at moments – specially in the beautiful ‘the stars are sleeping’ it feels like you’re inside a cave full of stalactites and stalagmites… actually most of the time, and the feeling is very comforting. melancholic, sad for moments but most of all comforting.

Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies was named a top 10 album of 2008 by Crumbs in the Butter. Read on to see what these enlightened folk had to say.

“Soundtracks For Lost Road Movies” is a remarkably apt title… A cinematic trip where the landscape is awe inspiring and ecstatically ethereal. Kontakte’s music swells and simmers; (it’s) Music to wonder at, to close your eyes to and slip into a hallucinogenic naturalistic world. The album shows a depth of musicianship, production and song structure. As the musical journey comes to and end, you are left sitting back in awe. As you start to feel yourself come down, you find you must take the trip again and again.” – Crumbs In The Butter (Top 10 Albums 2008)

Some very high praise for contact from the folks at iTunes. Hey…they really are geniuses.

“The opening track from epic instrumentalists Kontakte’s debut album is hypnotic, ethereal and beautiful music that a 30 second sample simply cannot do justice to ! Backed with a steady motorik pulse Kontakte expertly build the atmosphere of each track, often reaching a crescendo of massive, orchestral proportions – but with guitars ! This is ace, very cool, epic space-rock… sounds like continents colliding.” – iTunes UK

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Jonathan over at Leonard’s Lair had some nice things to say about Volume One in the Vacant Passages series.

‘Vacant Passages’ is a new four-part series created by Texan Jon Thompson for his Drifting Falling label. When all the parts are complete, the CD covers will form a picture of, what appears to be, a large vacant passage. Yet is the music a void, bereft of importance or feeling? Quite the opposite in fact. Across a quartet of tracks, the artists involved sit comfortably alongside each other; each crafting their own individual sounds.

Thompson’s own Oppressed By The Line outlet begins proceedings with ‘Oceanic’ and offers suitably grand gestures on this almost hymnal track. I particularly appreciate the way Thompson layers his own voice at various pitches to add soothing textures to his always melodic music. Continuing the dreampop theme but taking it to a narcotic level is The Air Alone whose ‘I Wish I Could Dream Of Spacemen’ emits a languid glow. Mole Harness is a relatively old hand now in layering acoustic and electronic instuments. Once again, he impresses with the twinkling atmospheres of ‘Meet By The River’. Then the EP ends with a slice of Scottish folk courtesy of My Kappa Roots, who effortlessly evoke warmth and nostalgia.

Despite the different styles contained within Volume One of the series, there is a common theme of unrushed, melancholic sounds at its core. The quality contained within certainly augurs well for the next three episodes.