Just to let you know some changes are going on with the Fluid Radio web sites….

After careful consideration we decided it was time to move away from the server and web application we have being using for the main Fluid Radio site over the last year.
We have now completed the transfer to a new server and the site is currently being updated as we speak. The new look site (still under construction) will incorporate aspects from the old site along with the best parts from this blog.

This will mean that no more posts will be made on this blog and all new entries can be found on the new Fluid Radio web site www.fluid-radio.co.uk
The new site will still be posting mix dowloads along with content on new releases, interviews, etc, and will also be posting recent and past artists mixes available at high bit rate streaming for those who may have missed scheduled mixes on the radio station due to time difference, etc.

The new site will also be setting up a social interaction theme within the site allowing you to set up profiles, make comments, and basically have a lot more input into your likes/dislikes ect, ect.

The new site is still looking a bit bare but stick with it….Lot’s more content to come over the coming days.

This blog site will remain open for those that may noy have downloaded some of the artists mixes that we have provided over the lasy year or so.

Speak soon and if you have any suggestions/comments feel free to leave at the end of this post.

Dan

x

Although The Boats have graced these pages with numerous releases and side-projects over the last few years, this amazing new album for the fledgling Home Normal label feels like their most fully-realised and essential release to date. Its also, in many ways, something of a departure for Craig Tattersall and Andrew Hargreaves, enlisting the vocal talents of Chris Stewart on three of the tracks here and managing to imbue proceedings with an almost alien mixture of submerged warehouse electronics and layered vocal pop that sounds like little else that comes to mind.

Opening track “I Don’t Know What I’m Gonna Do…” sets the scene with a slowed down, narcotic club session in miniature, enveloping an edgy square bassline with filtered bursts of static, sleepy handclaps and blue chords before disintegrating to a finish with little warning. “Maps of Nowhere” is up next and even more surprising, extending washes of sound and a padded kickdrum with a hazy club aesthetic that can best be compared to Move D at his most inspired. But it’s “Raindrops” that’s by far the most remarkable track here, starting off with Stewart’s decimated vocal gradually emerging into some kind of clarity before being swept into a heaving mass of beautiful chimes, white noise and tampered beats, creating a heavenly shoegaze re-fix that we’ve been unable to stop listening to since the cd first landed with us earlier in the week. It’s a remarkable track, and indeed a beautifully realised progression from a band that have never failed to catch our attention – now operating with a melodic depth and sonic diversity that for our money surpasses anything they’ve recorded to date. A beautiful album that comes massively recommended – Boomkat Review

www.myspace.com/bepputheboats
www.boomkat.com

Electro-acoustic downtempo instrumentals. This is an album of inspiring digital delight – the collaborating artists have worked under harmonious vision to produce music of Hope. Here smooth drones and light washes interact with environmental recordings; melodies ebb and flow in understated restraint, moved by glitchy structures entwining ‘found’ percussive sounds and delicate beats. The melodic content often has a classical beauty about it – overtly through the use of wistful strings and elegant pianos – also through a recurring tone reminiscent of the grace and pensive nature of the nocturne. Introspective voices hang in the mix in places, musing in the misty headspace of the music. Static flecks and sleeting noise enliven the textural content. Acoustic and electric guitar meanderings thicken the synthetic elements and bring additional colour to a number of tracks.

MOOD

The title well describes the mood here – ‘Hope’. The artists involved were asked to create compositions that reflected their interpretation of the term – the results, uplifting and optimistic. The attractive fragility of the music, imbued with frequent warm currents capturing something of the positivity and aspirational nature of our imperfect species. There is also a thread of pensive melancholy running through much of the music – a reminder that this album has a serious back story and deals with disturbing issues that should rightly not go unnoticed.

ARTWORK

The delivery of the CD is strictly in keeping with the visionary theme of Hope, all the artwork and packaging having been crafted with exceptional care. The disc manufacturing is eco-conscious: ISO 14000 & 14001 compliant CD manufacturing with 100% re-use of scrap polycarbonate salvaged from CD & DVD replication. Printing too is responsible: sourcing of papernic Compound (VOC) emissions from inks or coatings, and use of quick dry glues with ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) being eliminated. Collection and recycling of paperboard, inks, coatings and other waste from printing processes. 60,000 tons of pa stock from FSC Compliant (Forestry Stewardship Council) mills and printers. Wood fibre procured within the Sustainable Forest Initiative guidelines: every acre harvested is reforested – 400 Million tree seedlings planted each year. Paper products are typically recyclable, compost-able, and under the right conditions biodegradable. No wood from old-growth or endangered forests. Vegetable based inks. 100% alcohol-free printing. The premise used to create the CD/Packaging is also 100% carbon neutral and powered with green electricity, and business travel emissions are also offset.
The cover imagery itself is handcrafted – a green boat afloat on the curling waves of an indigo sea, each breaker tipped in sparkling gold. The bright sky holds a sun of glitter and runs from the front cover across to the rear where a cooler glitter moon disc sits centrally. Here is a tracklist and a web address for each artist. Inside the boat and waves are seen in close up – turbulent, dark and unnerving – yet brightened by the twinkle of golden edges and semi-submerged stars. Slipped discreetly into the sleeve is an eight page booklet that contains a series of slightly sepia toned chiaroscuro photographs of children. Accompanying information draws attention to the plight of some of this world’s unfortunate young ones. Information is also here regarding the charitable nature of the project along with relevant thanks and credits.

OVERALL

Hope is the debut album from the new Fluid Audio label – an impressive introduction with an admirable mission and honestly awe-inspiring content. The thirteen tracks here present established artists such as Ishq, Digitonal, James Murray, Hol Baumann and Bersarin Quartet alongside rising stars Field Rotation, Iambic, Snakestyle, Playb, Halogen and Ben Beiny. But this is not just a collection of music from genre sharing musicians; Hope is a tightly themed concept album of exquisitely complementary compositions. Promotional material gives some insight into the artists’ motivations: Iambic explained “My two tracks were intended to give the listener a blank canvass to paint their emotions of Hope on”. Playb commented “Children who are born in disadvantaged situations stir up so much admiration within me. I see sadness in their eyes but at the same time a passion to live.” Snakestyle put it this way, “With the music I make, I try to create something that gently catches your attention, hypnotises you, helps you think, and takes you to a place where you feel reassured”. The resultant music has an evocative depth and maturity about it that you don’t often hear. Mastering by Vincent Villuis at Ultimae provides the stamp of guaranteed sound quality. In addition fifty percent of all sales from this release will be donated to Toybox Charity committed to providing hope for the most disadvantaged children, young people and their families, principally in Latin America.

WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM

If you enjoy classical beauty and ambient downtempo you will be hard pressed to find a stronger collaborative album than Hope this year. This is an album for anyone that loves intelligent, transportational, dreamy electronica. This is an album for anyone into deeply chilled soundscapes looking to support a good cause. If you still aren’t convinced that you need to buy this album now – have a listen to the samples at the Fluid Audio website.

www.electronicmusicmall.com
www.fluidaudio.co.uk

Hope Springs… by Adrian Carter.

New label Fluid Audio enters the world with its first release..and all in aid of a good cause too.

‘Hope’ is the opening release of new electronic, electroacoustic and ambient label Fluid Audio. A rather pleasing affair it is too with a collection of thirteen tracks from a variety of known commodities (especially if you have followed some of my Ultimae reviews). The album is conceptual in nature with each artist asked to create a piece that to them embodies the concept of positivity and alleviation of strife.

As a collection the material on offer here drift back and forth from what you would classify as more traditional ambient into electroacoustic territory with its found sound association. Melodies drift and disperse and give way to tones and washes, often there is a deepening sense of drama to the pieces and while in many cases they burn slowly there is a relentless nature to them (have a listen to Field Rotation’s Regenezit for example).

In places the pace and intensity are notched up a gear starting with James Murray and his contribution ‘Fingersand’. Agitated snippets of voice float in the background while the foreground is given over to a melancholy rhythmic melody and something of a gentle loping stride of a beat. Elsewhere the collection takes on a greater organic feel with piano led tracks from the likes of Bersarin Quartett, PlayB and a particularly beautiful piece from Ben Beiny.

Other highlights include offerings from Digitonal and Hol Baumann both bringing dry skittish pieces to the collection. There’s almost a sense of agitation to their pieces, as if they were reporting back from a place of unrest or disturbance (which I suppose isn’t a million miles unrelated to the theme of hope).

In conclusion this is a really good start for Fluid Audio, a well rounded mature collection of tracks that work alongside a central theme and while many in this genre proclaim to deliver some form of message in this instance you do get a feel for what they are doing. Overrall highly enjoyable and well recommended. The digipak is out now and it will be followed with a digital release on the 29th June.

If that wasn’t enough it should also be noted that 50% of the profits are donated to Toybox. A charity that provides shelter, aid and support for homeless children in Latin America The release is also carbon neutral so what you have is a worthy release supporting a worthy cause.
www.020magazine.com
www.fluidaudio.co.uk

The Etchical Vision Behind ‘Hope’

The CD is ISO14001 certified, all paper & card used is FSC certified, all produced by a Carbon Zero CD
manufacturing company, via the award-winning CO2 Balance. The scientific data to calculate the
embedded carbon emissions of the CD/Packaging, and offset an equivalent amount of CO2 by investing
in 100% additional carbon-offsetting schemes with immediate & many secondary benefits to
communities that simply would not happen unless we paid for them. The premises used to create the
CD/Packaging is also 100% carbon neutral and powered with green electricity, and business travel
emissions are also offset.

Eco-conscious disc manufacturing:

ISO 14000 & 14001 compliant CD manufacturing
100% Re-use of scrap polycarbonate salvaged from CD & DVD replication

Eco-conscious printing:

Sourcing of paper stock from FSC Compliant (Forestry Stewardship Council) mills and printers.
Wood fibre procured within the Sustainable Forest Initiative guidelines: every acre harvested is reforested – 400 Million tree seedlings planted each year.
Paper products are typically recyclable, compost-able, and under the right conditions biodegradable.
No wood from old-growth or endangered forests.
Vegetable based inks.
100% alcohol-free printing.
No Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from inks or coatings, and use of quick dry glues with Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) being eliminated.
Collection and recycling of paperboard, inks, coatings and other waste from printing processes.
60,000 tons of paper and board shipped from one supplier alone to recycler in one year.

Treat This CD With Care!

More info and purchase options here

Parallelwelten is the first Remix EP of Field Rotation. Including remixes by Adamned.Age and Das OMIKron two outstanding artists from Germany are involved.

Download here

Credits:
Released 16 June 2009
Music and artwork by Field Rotation
Remixes by Adamned.Age and Das OMIKron

www.fieldrotation.de
www.adamned-age.com

As far as internet radio stations go they don’t come any better than Dewtone!
With a playlist to die for, a web site that is beautifully designed and a philosophy that focuses on promoting new artists and labels, you HAVE to check out what these guys are up to…

In 2003, Dewtone launched as a free music label focusing on forward thinking, easy listening electronic music with the support of artists like Carl Martin (Transient), Dustin Craig (Headphone Science), Tom Dinchak (Phortran), Jasper Boer (Jap Jap), Liam Skogland and James Zdrowski (Iqtu).

With the integration of Dewtone Radio in 2005, the project grew to host a family of like-minded netlabels releasing some of the most innovative free music on the web. 1 Bit Wonder, Aerotone, Archipel, Autoplate Camomille, Fragment, Kahvi, Mandorla, Miga, Monotonik, Ogredung, One, Serein, Stadtgruen, Thinner and Unfoundsound are just a few of the names who have played a significant role in developing the early stages of our stream.

A great deal has changed in the industry since this project started. With the netlabel scene tattering off, we’ve been working on developing a platform to cater to an even larger network of talented artists and labels. Our goal is to effectively promote those responsible for our content and help encourage the purchase of music when available.

Dewtone was founded by Dustin Morris (Vancouver, CA) and is currently maintained with the technical guidance of Iain Hamilton (Glasgow, UK)

www.dewtone.com

As far as record labels go they don’t come any better than Somnia…
Consistantly releasing high quality composisitons coupled with breath taking artwork, they are a label that manage to push boundaries and come up with original projects time after time.
The brand new release ‘Undercurrant’ by Kilowatts is no exception to the rule, and proves yet again that Somnia are leading the way in experimental soundscapes…

“With this album, I wanted to focus on the essence of melody and expose it in a raw form through the electronic medium. The source of the main melodies came from repetitive hooks I found myself sporadically singing or humming during day to day business. Think of the joyful tunes whistled during a walk. These melodic mantras seem to pop up out of nowhere and go on repeating forever.
When I’d notice this, I’d hang onto the melody until I could get to the studio and bang it out, no matter how obvious or straightforward it was. Once the main melodies and inflections were out, I could carefully construct an audio bedding for them and see where it led. From a larger perspective, I felt that the search for these melodies was similar to unearthing subconscious archetypes that drive reality. The process was like discovering an ever-flowing undercurrent of reality that can be translated directly into melody.
In this case, it felt that the source of them all must absolutely be love.” – Kilowatts

Limited to 777 copies worldwide, soy inks on recycled paper, sewn and sealed in wax with incredible cover art by Ray Massini

www.somniasound.com
www.myspace.com/kilowatts

We are pleased to announce that ‘Hope’ is now available in Digipak format from the Fluid Audio web site.

www.fluidaudio.co.uk

Digital release will follow on 29th June available in all formats from the Fluid Audio digital store.

We thank you for your patience and support and hope that you will enjoy the album.
A big thanks goes out to all the artists involved in the project, and to those that helped make the release possible x

Hope:

Fluid Audio kick starts it’s catalogue with ‘Hope’, a compilation sprawling across 13 tracks from established artists, Digitonal, Hol Baumann, Ishq, Bersarin Quartet and James Murray, as well as up and coming producers, Field Rotation, Iambic, Snakestyle, Playb, Halogen and Ben Beiny.

As suggested by its title, ‘Hope’, embodies a concept of positivity and the alleviation of strife “through the creative translation of emotion into sounds sent to soothe [and] images formed to inspire”. Artists were asked to create compositions that reflected their interpretation of the term Hope, producing varied yet cohesive results with a profound resonance. 50% of the profits are donated to Toybox, a charity providing aid, shelter and support for homeless children in Latin America, the majority of which are estimated a life expectancy of around four years on the street.

Coupling all of this with the CD’s bespoke artwork and carbon neutral manufacture provides a consumable and tangible product that serves to aid a constructive cause through the medium of music.

The Vision Behind The Project:

Although we are living in a world of injustice – where the rich get richer, while those in need get left behind – there is often an inherent hope in those who suffer the most. Where people have the least they value more, the simple things that others take for granted. While some are disconnected from the true meaning of life, there are others who appreciate the beauty and awe of the world and what is has to offer. In these souls is a spark of light that no corrupt power can extinguish. Despite the negativity that we are all faced with in life, the human spirit can always overcome. Whether this is in the innocent laughter of a child, the compassion shown from one suffering human being to another, or through the creative translation of emotion into sound, the joy of life is communicated all around us – we need only be willing to open our hearts to it.

Track List:

1.Forever – Ishq
2.Hopeful – Snakestyle
3.Regenzeit – Field Rotation
4.Fingersand – James Murray
5.Turn The Seasons – Iambic
6.Was uns Bleibt – Bersarin Quartett
7.Acoustics Of The Piano – Playb
8.Sunriser – Halogen
9.Start Again – Ben Beiny
10.Flags – Iambic
11.We Three – Digitonal
12.Time To Change – Hol Baumann
13.A Part Of You – Ben Beiny (Digipak bonus track)

The Etchical Vision Behind The Album:

The CD is ISO14001 certified, all paper & card used is FSC certified, all produced by a Carbon Zero CD manufacturing company, via the award-winning CO2 Balance. The scientific data to calculate the embedded carbon emissions of the CD/Packaging, and offset an equivalent amount of CO2 by investing in 100% additional carbon-offsetting schemes with immediate & many secondary benefits to communities that simply would not happen unless we paid for them. The premises used to create the CD/Packaging is also 100% carbon neutral and powered with green electricity, and business travel emissions are also offset.

Eco-conscious disc manufacturing:

ISO 14000 & 14001 compliant CD manufacturing
100% Re-use of scrap polycarbonate salvaged from CD & DVD replication

Eco-conscious printing:

Sourcing of paper stock from FSC Compliant (Forestry Stewardship Council) mills and printers.
Wood fibre procured within the Sustainable Forest Initiative guidelines: every acre harvested is reforested – 400 Million tree seedlings planted each year.
Paper products are typically recyclable, compost-able, and under the right conditions biodegradable.
No wood from old-growth or endangered forests.
Vegetable based inks.
100% alcohol-free printing.
No Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions from inks or coatings, and use of quick dry glues with
Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) being eliminated.
Collection and recycling of paperboard, inks, coatings and other waste from printing processes.
60,000 tons of paper and board shipped from one supplier alone to recycler in one year.

Treat This CD With Care!

What The Artists Say:

Iambic:

My two tracks, Flags and Turn the Seasons, were intended to give the listener a blank canvass to paint their emotions of Hope on. It occurred to me before writing the tunes that each individual lives in hope for some thing or other, hope is what prevents many peoples lives from becoming mundane, or keeps them hanging on when times are tough. So my two tunes – both being quite different – represent each aspect of Hope.

Playb:

When I was asked to contribute to this compilation it quickly came to my mind to remix ‘Acoustics Of The Piano’ because of the special circumstances with which it was created. I was experiencing hard times, the kind when you feel that there is no way out though you cling to some kind of hope regardless of how difficult things get. Children who are born in disadvantaged situations stir up so much admiration within me. I see sadness in their eyes but at the same time a passion to live. I am proud to be associated with this project, and proves that music is a tool to make people aware of social injustice.

Field Rotation:

Regenzeit (German for rainy season) describes the meaning of rain from different points of view. In the temperate zone of the earth rain is part of the daily weather, nothing special. For millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions rain gives hope – the hope for a better life after the aridity, an efficient harvest and the end of starvation, the hope for enough rain to refill the fountains and riverbeds to survive the following dry season. Regenzeit is about all the people who pray and hope for rain.

Ishq:

Hope for me rests in a belief and remembrance that we are all eternal beings and live forever. When we die we do not – we awake into a new world and all we take with us is the love and essence of ourselves whether positive or negative. The false prophecy we call death is simply that – one of the root causes of mankind’s drive toward destructive selfish materialism and consumption. To ‘take’, ‘have’, ‘be’, ‘want’ NOW…..at the expense of others with no consideration for the whole or the future or the planet is the result of a hopeless belief in death which motivates many to build castles made of sand and seek unnecessary levels of wealth and power so in turn they may feel ‘protected’ from death. Fear fundamentally of death make humans greedy. Greed – the opposite from sharing is a result of a hopeless belief in death deep within us and breed into us and taught to us. We are told and taught a lie from birth….Fear creates greed which results in many living lives of hopelessness as others live like kings.
My hope is people will remember more ‘before’ this life and remember the eternal self which lives forever
as this will help free us from the slavery of materialism and the selfishness which misleads us. We can build a world of equality where we all share and we all profit and all rise as one.
Its very simple – Share and we create HOPE and love. HOPE and faith in eternity leads to us to want for nothing more than to help others and so we may all evolve.
I hope we eventually realise this on earth and share and remember who we really are when the body is left behind.

Snakestyle:

With the music I make, I try to create something that gently catches your attention, hypnotises you, helps you think, and takes you to a place where you feel reassured. It’s great that there are people out there who genuinely believe in music and its ability to give people hope and make a difference. It inspires me to keep going, to keep doing what I do, and I hope that people find a sense of hope while listening to this project. Best wishes. Snakestyle

Some Facts:

An estimated 40 million children live on the streets of Latin America’s densely populated cities (unicef).

Observers from our partner in Guatemala say that street children there have a life expectancy of around four years on the street.

Unicef reported in 2004 that in Guatemala in the first 10 months of 2002, gangs or security forces killed 408 children and youths, but most street children were killed by drive by shootings.

THINK ABOUT IT!

More about Toybox Charity here

wwww.fluidaudio.co.uk

The talented Tom Hill aka Origamibiro recently did an exclusive mix for Fluid Radio…..
From electroacoustic patterns into modern classical compositions, Tom has managed to blend a gentle journey of uplifting beauty in every sense of the word….

Track List:

01: Origamibiro: Vitreous Detachment
02: Kim Hiorthøy: Forskjellige Gode Ting
03: Talkdemonic: Bering
04: Jackson & His Computer Band: Minidoux
05: Nico Muhly: The Only Tune / III
06: Hauschka: Fernpunkt
07: Arve Henriksen: Blue Sky
08: Dollboy: Juicyfruit
09: Steve Reich: New York Counterpoint
10: Helios: Halving The Compass
11: Jon Brion (Origamibiro Extended Mix) : Peer Pressure
12: Ólafur Arnalds: 0952
13: Origamibiro: Nootaikok’s Demise

Download here

More about Origamibiro below…

Origamibiro is the pseudonym of musician and producer, Thomas Hill. Originally from Beckenham in Kent, Tom moved to Nottingham in 2000 where he still lives, writing music and producing soundtracks for film and animations.

Formerly one half of the electronica duo, Wauvenfold with Noel Murphy (aka Visual Display Unit / Bury & Disinter) Tom released material on Wichita Records and produced other works under his old solo alias – Penfold Plum (it is the name Penfold that gave birth to the title ‘Origami-Biro’).

His debut with Expanding Records, ‘Cracked Mirrors and Stopped Clocks’, saw Tom shift away from his beat driven method of synthetic sound-design to sculpt an album of interlacing classical guitar-part harmonies and textural samples – including the creaks of chairs and all the knocks, scrapes, bumps and other by-products that come with playing a wooden instrument.

The result is an intimate and delicate, broken, organic sound that is both hauntingly vivid and atmospheric, whilst managing to retain some of those glitchy electronic characteristics that earned Wauvenfold its reputation among the likes of Björk, Super Furry Animals and John Peel himself. – 2007 Expanding Records Press Release. photograph taken by petecranston@mac.com

Reviews of Cracked Mirrors and Stopped Clocks:

This is a truly beautiful blend of the glitchy electronic soundscapes of the likes of fennesz with some stunning spanish and classical acoustic guitar over the top, at times the album has that kind of desert feeling of ry cooders paris texas soundtrack, a really really beautiful meeting of electronic trickery and live acoustic sounds.’
www.roadrecs.com

‘Gone are the more angular beat contortions of Wauvenfold, Hill instead favouring a sound centred on his nylon-strung acoustic guitar and some finely spun, computer-aided audio treatments… A thoroughly beautiful listen which you’d do well to investigate without delay.’
www.boomkat.com

‘Straddling the middle ground somewhere between electronic and acoustic, ‘Cracked Mirrors and Stopped Clocks’ has a high level of intimacy and an organic quality that is contrasted and often mixed with digitally created tones and broken electronic sounds. At times the contrast is distinct but at others they compliment each other beautifully, the warmth and fragility of the guitar melodies amplified by just the right amount of discrete glitchy electronic effects.’
www.igloomag.com

‘Origamibiro’s debut album is an absolutely beautiful journey through subtle, delicate and, above all, gloriously introspective music.’
www.smallfish.co.uk

Listen to samples from the album by clicking on the lady below:

More about Origamibiro here:
www.origamibiro.com