"Temporal Arc" by Interstitial

Originally released in 2001, "Temporal Arc" by Interstitial is a great album that blends drones and percussive elements in a fluid and natural way, resulting in an engaging collection of music that still sounds fresh and vital now almost ten years later. John Koch Northrup of Interstitial has brought together sounds and tones in a skillful mix that pays equal attention to all of the elements in the soundfield, giving the listener something new to discover with each listen.

Opening track "Frozen" establishes a style for the release, pairing deep drones with pulsing rhythms to create a feeling of motion within the track. As it continues, the drones slowly become more sophisticated and dense, and the rhythms become more complex, moving the song from one distinct space to another in such a subtle and immersive way that you don't notice you've moved until you arrive at your new location. The same sort of gradual movement can also be found in "Bones of the Dead", where oblique motion helps the track drift along, and in "Refraction" where IDM sensibilities take the listener in completely new and interesting directions within the established soundscape of the release.

In addition to the aforementioned tracks, there are some particularly wonderful moments of melodic beauty and purity on the disc that bear further mention. "Movement in Glass" features a quiet piano played overtop a lightly crackling background tone. It's a subtle piece of music, one that brings to mind a thousand delicate images that pass through my head during its length, and I've always enjoyed music that evokes that kind of imagery. It's the bonus track "Marco Polo" that stands out the most for me though. Originally appearing on a compilation in 2002 and added for this rerelease, "Marco Polo" is a seemless blending of field recordings and drones that creates a dark and haunted but no less beautiful environment. As the track progresses it becomes more complex, adding tonal layers that give it a greater depth of emotion and space. Stylistically it fits in wonderfully with the rest of the disc, in some ways becoming a centre-piece around which all the other tracks revolve. A really great addition to a really great collection of music.

Needless to say, I really enjoy this release. With "Temporal Arc", John Koch Northrup has proven himself to be an artist who pays careful attention to the spaces within his work, and who's music exists within it's own niche separate from styles and trends. I strongly recommend it, and I very much look forward to hearing more work from John in the future!

"Temporal Arc" by Interstitial is available now from AtmoWorks.

rik - ping things

Illumination 2 featuring music by Michael Diamond and Sylken with visuals by Ken Jenkins

Surely the idea of pairing sound and vision is not a new idea. Having grown up in the MTV era I take the idea of the music video for granted as a logical extension to the creative process and I have a lot of respect for artists that have been able to effectively incorporate a visual aesthetic into their work. But my experience is that in the ambient genre it's a little more tricky to do that effectively. As a musical style it's not one that lends itself to being easily translatable to a visual form. That's not to say it can't be done, it's just to suggest that there are some pretty significant challenges in capturing such an abstract style.

So you can understand that I would be interested in seeing what happened when Michael Diamond and Sylken released a DVD with Ken Jenkins. Sylken have long been one of my favorite projects in the ambient scene, and have always been equally attentive to a visual format. While I'm not familiar with Michael Diamond's work, I was assured by those in the know that he's an excellent artist who blends in well with the Sylken sound. Needless to say I was curious to see what they would all come up with. It should come as no surprise that I was quite impressed.

The first half of the DVD features work by Michael Diamond overtop a video display of cascading lights. It's a beautiful visual that works well with the music, a well produced blending of sight and sound that's very effective. Diamond's work is well suited for the visuals at hand with slowly drifting pads evoking thoughts of inner and outer space that are echoed by the slowly shifting nebulae of Jenkins' imagery. Tracks blend and mix with one another to create a continuous mix of sound, with the visuals progressing in a similar organic fashion to create a very nice long form experience that's quite impressive.

The second part of the DVD incorporates Sylken's music, and is equally well suited to Jenkins' visual style. Sylken's work has always had a particularly dreamy/spacey quality to it that has always appealed to me and it seems that the visuals have been well chosen to match that ideal, having more of an amorphous and cloudy feel to them than the first half, often using cool blues and light greens which lead to a feeling of relaxed isolation, a sense of floating through the stars. Mixed as a continuous 58 minute piece, the pairing of Sylken and Jenkins is an inspired one that I hope will be explored again in the future.

As expected, Illumination 2 is a great pairing of light and sound that succeeds admirably in creating a visual representation of the work of both Diamond and Sylken. My only regret with this release is that there is no listing of tracks or song titles to note the works being played. Surely I love to be lost in the music just as much as everyone else, but new fans of each artist might be interested to learn where they can find more music from either act. Otherwise I see this as an excellent release well worth picking up.

rik - ping things

Illumination 2 is on sale now at ping things for only $10 while supplies last!

$8 and $10 sale at ping things!

We're having a sale at ping things to celebrate the nicer weather! CDs by Andrew Duke, Embracing the Glass, James Johnson and more are all on sale for $10! That doesn't excite you enough? Well then how about discs by Darshan Ambient, mara's torment, Synthetic Block and more for only $8?

Check out the ping things page at http://www.pingthings.com to find out more, but be sure to hurry, sale prices are only in effect while quantities last!

the ping things net label is taking a break for the summer...

I just wanted to drop a note to say that the ping things net label is going on hiatus over the summer months so I can work on my own musical projects and catch up on the huge pile of CD reviews that I have to do. Don't worry though, ping things will be back on a monthly schedule again in August with some great new music by some really exciting artists!

In the meantime I also wanted to let you know that I've been moving the ping things catalog over to the archive.org site as it will provide a more stable platform for releases as well as add a number of features like streaming content and single mp3 downloads. And by moving the releases over, I also have reason to re-introduce some of the earlier ping things releases that our newer readers may have missed the first time around! So in case you missed them the first time, here are the new site locations for the ping things catalog:

PTNR001 Spatial Correlation "Les Landes"

PTNR002 Phil Ogisen "The Perfect City"

PTNR003 Andrew Duke "Aqua"

PTNR004 Nunc Stans "Land"

PTNR005 Ortiz "Where Did We Come From Defcon?"

PTNR006 mara's torment "tactile"

PTNR007 Building Castles Out of Matchsticks "October Sky"

PTNR008 Remora "Ensoulment"

PTNR009 Panoramaroid "Music for Travellers #2"

PTNR010 mara's torment "fluctuations"

PTNR011 Spatial Correlation "Love and the Fear of Poverty"

PTNR012 Reinholt56 "Mechanism of the Soul"

PTNR013 subduction current "iNTHiSHOUSE"

You can also check out the main ping things page at the archive .org site by visiting here. Feel free to drop by and let me know what you think of the label so far, I'm always interested in feedback!

Download "iNTHiSHOUSE" by subduction current for free!

Download "iNTHiSHOUSE" by subduction current for free from ping things!

ping things is thrilled to present an exclusive new offering from Catherine Tammaro performing under her guise as subduction current. Well known in the Toronto ambient improv scene for her live performances which blend music and electronic light media, Catherine's latest "iNTHiSHOUSE" is a sensual and beautiful journey through fluid spaces and liquid sounds that perfectly capture the musical and artistic ideals that inform her work. Drawing influence from deep beneath the sea and deep within the self, "iNTHiSHOUSE" is a carefully crafted series of songs that immerses the listener in a new environment, a new reality.

"iNTHiSHOUSE" is available for free download as an 67Mb Zip file containing the full release in high quality 256kbps mp3 format along with artwork suitable for printing. The music on this release is copyright Catherine Tammaro 2009 and may not be used or reproduced without the artist's express permission.

"iNTHiSHOUSE" is the latest release from the ping things net label. New releases will be added to the site on the 1st of each month. I hope that you'll enjoy this new music as much as I do, and I encourage you to let me know what you think of it by e-mailing me at rik@pingthings.com

Review for "Ensoulment" by Remora

The following review of "Ensoulment" by Remora appeared in the Dutch weblog IkEcht Gothic Reviews. Thanks very much to Leon/Songsoverruins for the translation.

If you haven't already heard "Ensoulment" by all means feel free to find out more from an earlier blog entry here, or download it for free from ping things here.

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A remora is a fish belonging to the family of the suckerfish. You'll probably know them because of their modified dorsal fin with which they attach themselves to a host, like a shark for example. Putting aside this lesson in biology for a moment (you have to do something with your education, no?), Remora is also the alter ego of the American Brian John Mitchell under which he mostly releases music on his label Silber Records. This label recently notified us that a number of albums had been released as MP3s and could be downloaded from their or other websites for free. "Ensoulment" has been released on the label "ping things". Their blog gives some more background information for this album.

Around 1995 Remora started making drone / ambient music using the guitar as a sound source. On later albums he started exploring other styles but this one sees him returning to the guitar. Or as ping things put it "six tuned wires mounted on wood". "Ensoulment" is one nearly 72-minute sonic landscape that waxes and wanes. For those of you who are reminded of drone-doomers like Sunn O))), Nadja or OM; not quite, more drones, less music. The accompanying press release mentions influences such as Justin K. Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu), Mike VanPortfleet (Lycia) or the Polish composer György Ligeti.

In my opinion Remora manages to avoid monotony by slowly building towards less distorted periods amidst the walls of noise. I must admit that I'm not entirely convinced; there is only so much one man can do with a guitar. It does make for a pleasant piece of late-night listening. Is that a recommendation? That's a difficult question, as my taste in music has moved towards ever more abstract and inaccessible territories over the years. Ask yourself whether one 72-minute track appeals to you. Patient people that like abstract music or metalheads into funeral doom, or the droning of the above mentioned artists might appreciate this as something to relax to.

- songsoverruins

Download "Mechanism of the Soul" by Reinholt56 for free!

Download "Mechanism of the Soul" by Reinholt56 for free

ping things is very pleased to announce the latest addition to our net release catalog. "Mechanism of the Soul" by Reinholt56 is an impressive collection of instrumental ambient works that capture the wonder and mystery of the cosmos.

"Mechanism of the Soul" is available for free download as an 112Mb Zip file containing the full 10 track release in high quality 256kbps mp3 format along with artwork and notes suitable for printing. The music on this release is copyright Reinholt56 2009 and may not be used or reproduced without the artist's express permission. For more information about Reinholt56, please visit http://www.macjams.com/artist/Reinholt56

"Mechanism of the Soul" is the latest release from the ping things net label. New releases will be added to the site on the 1st of each month. I hope that you'll enjoy this new music as much as I do, and I encourage you to let me know what you think of it by e-mailing me at rik@pingthings.com

Review this release at Earlabs

Dowload "Love and the Fear of Poverty" by Spatial Correlation for free!

Download "Love and the Fear of Poverty" by Spatial Correlation for free

Spatial Correlation returns to ping things with a new release entitled "Love and the Fear of Poverty" which is now available for free download. Ranging from lo-fi bedsit experiments to lush orchestral ambience, "Love and the Fear of Poverty" captures Ryan Hagerman at his best, creating the melodic chilled ambience that has made him so well loved by his fans.

"Love and the Fear of Poverty" is available for free download as an 81Mb Zip file containing the full release in high quality 256kbps mp3 format along with artwork suitable for printing. The music on this release is copyright Ryan Hagerman, 2009 and may not be used or reproduced without the artist's express permission.

"Love and the Fear of Poverty" is the latest release from the ping things net label. New releases will be added to the site on the 1st of each month. I hope that you'll enjoy this new music as much as I do, and I encourage you to let me know what you think of it by e-mailing me at rik@pingthings.com.

Review this release on Earlabs

Download "Fluctuations" by mara's torment!

Download "fluctuations" by mara's torment for free!

The February release from the ping things net label comes from mara's torment and is now available for free download. "fluctuations" is a four track collection of music, exploring and expanding upon work from previous live performances resulting in new textures, new sounds, and new environments.

"fluctuations" is available for free download as an 65Mb Zip file containing the full release in high quality 256kbps mp3 format along with artwork suitable for printing. The music on this release is copyright rik maclean 2009 and may not be used or reproduced without the artist's express permission.

"fluctuations" is the latest release from the ping things net label. New releases will be added to the site on the 1st of each month. I hope that you'll enjoy this new music as much as I do, and I encourage you to let me know what you think of it by e-mailing me at rik@pingthings.com

Review this release on Earlabs

Join the ping things community at ning.com!

If you're here because you enjoy music in the ambient/electronic/darkwave/chill genres as much as we do, then you should join the ping things community at ning.com! Listen to new music from other artists, post your own music and videos and promote your own art, take part in forum discussions with other people that enjoy music as much as you do, and more! Check it all out at http://pingthings.ning.com/