#artist: the klf

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

What Time Is Love? (LP Mix) • Make It Rain • 3 A.M. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) • Church Of The KLF • Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent) • Build A Fire • The White Room • No More Tears • Justified And Ancient

Youtube

[krislgfox]

Commissions: Closed

Requests: Open(sprunki fankids requests)

Ask: Open

Note: My content varies from 13+ to 16+

Rules:

-No NSFW!

-No proshiping in my inbox (If u're a proshipper u still can interact with my blog, just don't send me any proship content, I feel uncomfortable with it)

-No creeps

-Don't spam in my askbox

-No racism and/or homophobia

-Don't include me in some kind of dramas pls

Spam blog: @kl-silly-fox

Rp/Ask blog: @ask-dumbcrittersshop-au

Tags:

klf/krislgfox yapping - just me talking

klf/krislgfox talking - answering asks from my inbox

klf/krislgfox reblog - me reblog smth with the response

klf draws - my art posts

klf write - some writing practice or smth

gift for fox - gift arts from moots(not only moots tho) • v •

wiplf - me posting wips

foxstuff - sketch/shit posts

speedfox - me posting speed paints

fox concepts - me posting a concept designs

(Might add/change some from time to time)

Fandoms I'm in:

-Sprunki Incredibox

-Mincraft(Monster School)

-Backrooms

-Roblox Pressure

-Roblox Dandy's World

-Smiling Critters

-Poppy Play Time

-KinitoPet

-And much much more :]

(My hyperfixation changes every day so I don't have a current one)

The thingy:

(I made the dyslexia and anxiety awareness ones, u free to use it, no need to credit me :])

I guess that's all, thx for reading! :D

[gandalfzzz]

raver (part 4: klf) - 12152023

[cyber-corp]

Lately I’ve been leaning towards discovering new music through radio and music video stations, as they do a lot more in helping me find new music than streaming services ever did.

I think the problem is that streaming’s algorithmic nature leads to locking yourself into a comfort bubble with the same old playlists with the same old recommendations. “Made For You” playlists further lock you into that box as long as the songs get more streams.

Meanwhile, I watched Rage recently (the Australian equivalent of MTV) and it got me hooked on Reel Big Fish and Little Simz, two amazing artists I had no interest in before because I was never made aware of their music. I rediscovered The KLF through listening to Radio X on the RadioGarden app. Two mediums of listening to music known for constant repeats of popular songs have done more for me (in terms of finding music) than Spotify has ever done.

At the end of the day, all three still want your money, but Spotify wants your money by locking you in your comfort zone and all your “favourite playlists”.

[fromtenthousandfeet]

Smells Like Steady Vocals and Perfect Pitch

Part 1.

I wrote this on April 5th, 2024 in a fit of rage/inspiration. I wasn't going to post it but I've decided to anyway because I'd like to give a little perspective about why Jimin, out of all the members of BTS, is popular in the US, and why I think he has amazing potential as a solo artist if he's given the right team and tools.

*******

Today is the 30th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, so it feels like a sign from the heavens that it's time to write a post I've been composing in my head for months.

So often when I'm on Twitter/X looking for information about Jimin, I see one nasty comment after another downplaying his singing, his artistry, and his talent in general. The phrase repeated the absolute most by the fandom of a particular member is that the reason HYBE invests in one above all the others is because he has the most stable singing voice. And perfect pitch. And the perfect tone for pop music.

Frankly, I get so sick of reading those comments, but I also have to laugh, because it shows such a fundamental misunderstanding of what appeals to music fans in the US/Western countries.

If you open Spotify right now and search for Nirvana, you will see 31.1 million monthly listeners! As a reminder, their last album was released 30 years ago and they only put out 3 major label albums over a 3 year period. Meanwhile, BTS has 28.6 monthly listeners and has a discography a mile long and a career spanning more than 10 years.

Do you honestly think that Nirvana has enjoyed so much popularity over the years because Kurt Cobain had perfect pitch and could sing live? Yeah, no.

I remember where I was the first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit." I couldn't decide if I loved it or hated it, but the song held a strange grip on me. It was sooo different than all the other popular music at the time, even in the alternative scene. It wasn't quite punk, wasn't quite heavy metal. The song was angry and raw, but also oddly charming. But mostly, it was refreshingly different from all the highly produced music that was on radio stations' rotations at the time. Don't believe me? Here's a link to the Billboard Top 100 on the week "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was initially released:

Check out the list and tell me how many of these songs you know. Probably a few, but not many have withstood the test of time (shout out to 3 a.m. Eternal by The KLF, though. That was a fun song).

This was the #1 song that week:

Didn't like it then. Don't like it now.

Now compare that to Smells Like Teen Spirit:

Look at the Billboard list again. Lots R&B (love), dance tracks, a smattering of college radio/alternative tunes, and a whole lot of what we would call easy listening/adult contemporary music. A snooze fest. Nirvana came along at the right time when the American music audience was in desperate need of something more authentic and not so over produced.

Sorry for this long-winded pop music history lesson. Believe it or not, I have a point to make. Americans like a huge range of music styles (as can be seen on the current Billboard charts). We get bored easily. We don't demand a steady voice or perfect pitch. What we want is something new. Something innovative. Something authentic. The biggest western pop stars who have enjoyed long careers in North America know that they must push boundaries and release new, unexpected material in order to stay relevant.

Be it BTS' English trilogy, songs that blatantly emulate American pop singers, or the conveyor belt of 2 minute TikTok-ready tunes sung by Korean girls, so far it doesn't seem like we should expect anything terribly innovative or cutting edge now that Big Hit has morphed into HYBE with its many labels/subsidiaries. Fickle American audiences will move on quickly, in my humble opinion.

One last thing. The US is a huge country with very diverse cultures based upon geographical location. Gender, age, ethnicity, urban vs. rural, and region of the US all influence what people are listening to. What's popular in Atlanta isn't necessarily popular in Salt Lake City, for example. Americans are not a homogenous group and neither is our taste in music.

[wordsinhaled]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨

hi! :) thank you for asking!

"hi ren" by ren... one of The Songs of All Time actually (incidentally - also the charles rowland vibes artist of all time - see also: "heretic")

"persephone in the garden" by aidoneus

"BITTERSUITE" by billie eilish

all of "i love you so f****ing much by glass animals "what, me worry?" by portugal. the man - i cannot explain why this is vibes for the edwardian AU, because it's like, anachronistic as hell. but somehow still completely vibes. i think it's like... no, actually i'll try. - knockin' at your door, the world outside is waiting for ya - the idea of... being ensconced in sort of a private world, the world of the home, a world in which intimacy and authenticity can exist in its own special and specific way, yet being encroached upon by the world, and constantly making the choice to curate that private sphere. the references to the KLF, how the K foundation burned its earnings instead of distributing them to struggling artists, their quote "We realised that struggling artists are meant to struggle, that's the whole point" and how they initially planned to make an art piece out of the money (Nailed to the Wall). charles is an artist in this AU, at some point he's gonna be running up against the pretentious artist types. they said stop right now, take a minute, take your time, said i'm living all alone inside your dream what, me worry? the entire sentiment of just. edwin and charles living in the moment. with each other. the way love can make you feel like one moment is its own forever. one night is a whole lifetime and a lifetime is just a series of nights, and days, and nights again. the idea on some level of the recklessness and bravery that comes of love placed under strictures, and the way it continues to be vibrant despite them??? anyway!!!!! i made way too big of a deal out of this song but maybe @icarian-iscariot will get me on this. or maybe i am just totally out of left field but it is. an edwardian payneland banger. 2 me. thanks portugal. the man <3

[francisjameschild]

was rather surprised a moment ago when I looked down and found the synthy bandcamp daily track I was listening to had a very familiar title and artist- from their page:

"KLF and The Orb trickster Jimmy Cauty links up with Jem Finer on hurdy-gurdy and Scottish folk singer Alasdair Roberts for an anthemic, apocalyptic collision of the old and new. Clocking in about a minute longer than Roberts’s 2005 rendition of the traditional Scottish tune, “Twa Brothers” chugs along at a trudging pace, interlacing the tragic lyrics with police sirens, psychedelic guitar solos, and punctuating hi-hat rolls."

not sure what I think of it yet but happy surprise fratricide, y'all

[undergroundbillions]

Hey if you see this mug on amazon, DO NOT BUY IT! As you can see it uses a ton of stolen art created by fans. Most of these drawings I recognize, and some of these artists we know.

Unfortunately Amazon does not make it easy to take down stolen art, especially if you are not yourself selling on their site. If you'd like to support the artists, many of these designs are available on RedBubble:

Raggedy Ann head in the center of the first image (klf-shop)

Ann & Andy with the pink circle (Rachid-spipo)

Raggedy Andy committing arson (CitricPrince)

Raggedy Ann and Babette to gay paris! (spaloon)

Raggedy Ann with a bow on the far right side (Krystaline Guitarthemum)

Raggedy Ann waving (desperatlyAndy)

Ann & Andy in the bottom middle of the second picture (rhester123)

No girls' toy (noodlecrabarts)

These are just what I could find going through RedBubble, if you know one of the other artists here (whether they sell their work or not) please let us know and we'll update the post.

[ruinedholograms]

Gaia: Selected Ambient & Downtempo Works (1996​-​2003)

Dream Dolphin was originally an Ambient and Electronic project by the Japanese artist referred to simply as Noriko, who moved from studying classic Italian songs as a child, to increasingly being inspired by artists such as PIL, Yellow Magic Orchestra, KLF and movies such as ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ and ‘Le Grand Bleu’. The music she released under the name Dream Dolphin, from the age of sixteen, is unique and versatile in style, encompassing Ambient, IDM, Techno, Trance and even Drum & Bass, whilst fusing natural sounds with her own spoken word lyrics.

[iamdotwav88]

Musical artists who I specifically credit for getting me through the worst hell of my life:

DJ Shadow

Peanut Butter Wolf

Daft Punk

DJ Food

Kenny Dope

Emancipator

Cypress Hill

Dj Muggs

Wu Tang Clan

Beck

Kraak and Smaak- this name always gets me with jokes

PUTS

Pink Floyd

Led Zeppelin

Santana

Isley Brothers

Ali Farka Touré

BADBADNOTGOOD

The Alchemist

Main Source

Santigold

Lauryn Hill

KRS-One

ATCQ

J Dilla

Gang Starr

Tv Girl

Toro y Moi

Nina Simone

Herbie Hancock

Kool & Gang

Pete Rock

Letherette

Flying Lotus

Khruangbin

Manu Dibango

Aguaturbia

Sade

TV Radio

Nas

Chaos in the CBD

Kerri Chandler

Tame Impala

Squarepusher

Thievery Corporation

The Art of Noise

Massive Attack

Black Uhuru

Bob and the Wailers

Beastie Boys

Bobby Womack

MF Doom

Giorgio Moroder

Kraftwerk

The KLF

[joemuggs]

Postmodern Moralists

Apropos of writing my first book review in ages (for next month's WIRE), I got nostalgic for the time when I did quite a few for the sadly missed The Word, the magazine. Here's one from 2012.

100

Bill Drummond

Penkiln Burn

I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts: Drive-by Essays on American Dread, American Dreams

Mark Dery

University of Minnesota Press

Subversive thinkers rampage through 21st century life, perturb deeply.

In 1975 the 22-year-old Bill Drummond, then a set-builder in a Liverpool theatre, spent an evening working with Ralph Steadman on set designs and listening eagerly to his Hunter S Thompson anecdotes. One in particular stuck with him – a story of Thompson and Steadman undercover of night painting “FUCK THE POPE” in gigantic letters on a ship, which then sailed down the Hudson river behind the Pope and mayor of New York live on primetime TV. Spectacularly crass, and – it transpires – almost certainly untrue, but the scale of the supposed prank clearly had a powerful and lasting influence on the man who would machine gun the Brit awards and take Tammy Wynette to the top of the charts in an ice cream van.

In 100, Drummond answers 100 questions about his life and work from 25 interlocutors in language so sternly understated it would – if he weren't so reluctant to self-identify as a “Scottish artist” – be tempting to describe it as Presbyterian. He looks back over Quixotic missions and arrogant mischief – from looking deep into the heart of Haiti to trying to hunting Abba – always with a cool eye, puncturing his own pretensions and admitting his inconsistencies. Clearly, though, the love of provocation and blunt urge to tip up tables is still there as powerfully as it was in that impressionable youth or in the KLF years. 

His subject matter is often prosaic, with an underlying rejection of the modern: recurring motifs include woodworking tools, white emulsion, Creedence Clearwater Revival, untrained people singing together. But he uses and clearly understands technology, and his meditations on downloading and copyright, and on how Goebbels would have used the internet, provide as much to get your teeth into as those by any zippy young tech guru. Drummond mistrusts almost everything – language, culture, the art establishment, recorded music, his own ideas – but his desire to tug at each thought or assumption, to test its strength, leads him into the most glorious trouble, and to ask questions that very sorely need asking.

Mark Dery is another outsider thinker, but one with a furiously different approach to Drummond's deadpan, sidelong observations. A punk by inclination, an academic by trade, he runs headlong into every topic, picking fights, firing off linguistic zingers in all directions, creating a vivid vision of 21st century life. In his world, the blogosphere is “this dictatorship of the commentariat... this grotesque hypertrophy of the chattering class”, his own stepfather is “Conan the Vulgarian” and his favourite Queen song (“The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke” since you ask) features “laser-sharp harmonies by robo-seraphim, heavy-breathing, glam-metal harpsichord that sounds like Scarlatti shtupping Liberace... and to top things off, a gong.” 

Looking at the image of the undead in pop culture, he races from contextualising Marx's vampiric capitalists within the Victorian Gothic to holding a magnifying glass to US survivalists' addiction to the zombie apocalypse trope. He outs HAL9000 in 2001 as gay in a discussion of Alan Turing and artificial intelligence, and punctures Lady Gaga's pretensions to transgression (albeit, in a rare misfire, missing the point of repetition in dance music along the way). 

Behind the firework display of wit and way-outness, though, there is an analytical mind as calmly, insistently enquiring as Drummond's: Dery's topic is always the American psyche, with all its militarism, machismo and pornographic greed, and he illuminates it with equal measures of love and despair. Running through his hallucinatory menagerie of jock politicians, self-help gurus, Star Trek slash fiction, rappers' dentistry, Santa Claus conspiracies, stoner noir, zombies, guns and “buck-hungry retailers of the unspeakable” is a thread of cool-headed analysis and disciplined questioning.

Like Drummond, Dery invokes Hunter S Thompson, but in his case it's not as a prankster, it's as a stylist of language and gimlet-eyed political satirist in a tradition that runs from Swift through Twain and implicitly on to Dery himself. He's not arrogant to place himself in this line, mind - but however outlandish, his observations are unerringly aimed, almost always ring true, and even when they don't they're not easily dismissed. Both he and Drummond, despite their refusal to preach, are moralists in the best sense. They don't look at the modern world in search of the flip headache-cure answers of the Malcom Gladwell school of guru-ism lite, but accept its madness and even revel in it. As the good doctor himself once said, “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro” - and in this deeply weird, wired world we need more professionals like these two.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

3 A.M. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) • Justified And Ancient (All Bound For Mu Mu Land) • Make It Rain (Extended Version) • Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent) • America: What Time Is Love?

YouTube

[gerogerigaogaigar]

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain

For the early days of Funkadelic's career the funk definitely took a backseat to the psychedelic. And while there are funky elements throughout Maggot Brain the real star is guitarist Eddie Hazel. I think Eddie Hazel is one of the best guitarists ever, his work in Funkadelic and his solo career is a blend of psychedelic, blues, hard rock, funk, and jazz and no one blends them all the way Hazel does. On the middle of the album Hazel plays fuzzy heavy riffs especially on You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks and Super Stupid. And on the ten minute opening and closing tracks he shows off his improv skill by playing delicate strings of jazzy riffs that create a beautiful stream of consciousness style solo. Obviously every single ayer on this album is a master at what they do but if its early Funkadelic, especially Maggot Brain and Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On, then Eddie Hazel is your god.

U2 - The Joshua Tree

This is an enjoyable album. The 135th best album ever? Oh my god no. U2 are factory default music. They are plain, unsalted potato chips. Bono is incredible at reaching into the void and pulling out the platonic ideal of banality. Like these guys can write decent music, but there is no soul. Inside those jangly chords and melodramatic vocals is just a bunch of guys who want to be famous and will do anything to get there except be sincere.

Fugees - The Score

In terms of rhyming, flow, storytelling capabilities, expansive vocabulary, beat crafting, and whatever else you want out of a hip hop record The Score is possibly the greatest record of all time. Wyclef Jean in charge of production and bringing a casual style of rap with heavy use of Haitian creole, Miss Lauryn Hill with a tough stacatto style while also bringing beautiful singing, and furtive Pras so easily forgotten. The mix of reggae and jazz into the hip hip beats made for some very unique flow and makes the group stand out on the basis of their instrumentals alone. But the rap skills of the rest of the group are completely insane and all three are ao perfectly in sync with each other. The lyrics are effortlessly cool and intelligent as fuck at the same time. There are absolutely no throw away tracks on here. Every single song could and should have been a smash hit single. And to be fair Ready Or Not and Fu-Gee-La did become huge hits and the transcendent cover of Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly is one of the most evergreen songs in hip hop history. The Score has stood the test of time and become one of the most belived albums for a reason.

Joni Mitchell - Hejira

At this point in her career Joni Mitchell was an unparalleled genius at artistic expression. A little folksy and very jazzy, especially with the help of fretless bassist Jaco Pastorius, Mitchell is in the zone here. Every song developing its own complex series of characters and symbols. This is Joni Mitchell's most complete and cohesive work, although i personally have a slight preference for the less focused Hissing Of Summer Lawns.

Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits

What am i even supposed to say at this point? Sure I like Hank Williams but if you cant actually point to an album that is significant to call one of the 500 greatest then just choose aomething else. Hey there have only been three or four metal albums total and one electronic album so far. Why not choose some of that? Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Judas Priest, Converge, Rainbow, Entombed, Gojira, Sepultura, Devin Townsend, Voivod, Opeth, Between The Buried And Me? Theres a list of metal bands with top 500 tier albums. Andy Stott, Carl Craigg, 808 State, The KLF, Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins, Robert Hood, The Orb, Justice, Moodyman, The Field, Leftfield, Mr. Oizo. There I gave you some electronic artists too. This list sucks. Oh yeah and Hank Williams is like the father of country music and is really good and important or whatever.

[burlveneer-music]

James Holden - Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities

“I wanted this to be my most open record, uncynical, naive, unguarded, the record teenage me wanted to make,” says electronic explorer James Holden of his generically unconstrained new album of rave music for a parallel universe 'Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities'. “I used to balance my clock-radio on a wardrobe to catch the faint pirate FM signals from the nearest city, dreaming of what raves would be like when I could finally escape and become a New Age traveller. So it’s like a dream of rave, a fantasy about a transformative music culture that would make the world better. I guess it’s also a dialogue with that teenage me.” Standing in contrast to the expanded band and live take recordings of its predecessor 'The Animal Spirits' (“Dramatic, colourful and Holden’s fullest-sounding work yet” 9/10 Loud And Quiet), Holden’s fourth solo artist album is more of a continuous sound collage, artfully juxtaposing audio worlds in his own inimitable manner, with a respectful hat tip to the pastoral classics of his early nineties youth (notable mentions to The KLF’s timeless 'Chill Out', and the sprawling radio soundscapes of Future Sound of London). But where his first wave forebears pilfered freely from the history of recorded music to date, Holden’s sample sources are custom generated, drawn from recordings of his own performances on the modular synth, keyboard, organ and piano plus the lesser explored drones of his childhood violin, cut-up bass guitar, overblown recorder, all manner of percussive trinkets and the serendipity of the odd field recording, as well as guest contributions from various members of the wider Animal Spirits live family: long-time touring companion drummer Tom Page, tabla-championing percussionist Camilo Tirado, multi-instrumentalist for hire Marcus Hamblett (here, on double bass and guitar) and saxophonist Christopher Duffin (on loan from Xam Duo and Virginia Wing). 'Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities' will be released via Holden’s own proudly DIY Border Community label on 31st March 2023, on double vinyl, CD, digital download and streaming. For the album’s distinctive hand drawn artwork and accompanying twelve page comic booklet insert, Holden called upon Amsterdam-based illustrator and musician Jorge Velez to help flesh out the visual component of the immersive fantasy world that is conjured up in 'Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space of All Possibilities'. The result is a twelve panel storyboard (one per track) documenting the rave rituals of an alternative reality populated by magical creatures, which owes much to the pair’s shared love of the soothing retro-futurist colour palettes of the late and truly great French cartoonist Moebius (included in pdf form exclusively with Bandcamp downloads). Cover artwork and all illustrations by Jorge Velez. Instagram: @jvelezdrawings

[avaliveradio]

Njordlyd's Upcoming Album with New Ambient Release 'Repressed'

“Repressed” is the main track used for promoting the artists Njordlyd upcoming ambient album, “Getting Closer”. It starts with a set of sampled train sounds, resembling the start of a journey.

Listen on Spotify

2023 upcoming album :

“Getting Closer” is my first full album as Njordlyd. It is an industrial and dark ambient-styled concept album featuring 10 tracks with an extensive selection of samples, stretched sounds and field recordings.

Track 1 is an introduction to the album, and contains elements and samples from Circles (the first single from phase 1), as well as it is an introduction to “reshaping”. Track 2-6 are all alternative versions of each of the 5 singles from Phase One (April 2021 to March 2022), in chronological order, starting with “Dark Ride” (which is the alternative version of Circles). Track 7 is a bridge between track 1-6 and the remainder of the album, taking the concept of “reshaping” further, with track 10 closing off the album. I have deliberately chosen not to make the album a continuous piece of music, where all tracks are interwoven. Instead I have used short fades (in and out), to give it some sort of transition between the tracks and many distinctive sections.

When creating “Getting Closer” I was inspired by KLFs “Chill Out” album and Burials latest release “Antidawn”. Both albums also contains an extensive selection of samples. I have always been fascinated by the endless possibilities that sampled, stretched and pitched sounds provides (especially in combination with field recordings). The field recordings plays an important role on this album. It gives all the tracks a sort of lively feeling and provides many distinctive soundscapes. Moving vehicles such as trains, trams, metros and cars (amongst others). Water dripping, rain falling, braking waves and birds pitched beyond recognition. I am fully aware that there is not a lot new to this, that it has been used many times before. I just find it amazing how these type of samples and sounds can be used to blend into “something”  like this, how a sample of e.g. a train approaching or leaving, can sound like a filtered synth sound.

The album title “Getting Closer” is simply a reference to getting closer to how I want to create music (way of working) and what kind of music (style). I hope this “collection” of tracks and soundscapes will bring you as much pleasure as it was for me to make it. I cannot remember having enjoyed making music as much as with this album and the forthcoming EP “Correlations” (March 2023).

When creating “Getting Closer”

“Reshaping” (Track one) “to give a new form or orientation to” ….. something, to shape something again and / or differently. The 5 singles from Phase One were all completed based on tracks from somewhere between 2014-18. All tracks that I gave new form and directions and shaped into something very different. For this album I have given the 5 singles a new form again, reshaped them into something new, something different. The whole album is based on reshaping, which has become a sort of guidance for me in my creative process and way of working. Something I think about when start working on track(s) / concept(s), and something I intend to continue with for the coming years ahead.

“Dark Ride” (track two on the album and track one on the single) is an alternative and slightly darker version of "Circles” from April 2021. It is much shorter, more minimal and has a sort of "dusty" and organic feel to it. It is “reshaped” based on sampled and stretched pieces from the original track and further combined with additional samples, effects, etc. One of the additional samples is a field recording of breaking waves (breakers). The original track has a quite long and complex story to it, one of them being a combination of a few sounds, which gives a sort of “circling” effect. I did not include this in the original story, as it would make it too complex. However, these sounds also gives me the sensation of water. It makes me think about breaking waves, harbours and the sound (noise) of wire on masts. A quite distinct memory from my childhood and my parents, which is also why I decided to incorporate this field recording into the soundscape. This alternative version and little extra story makes everything around “Circles” complete (for me personally). For more information about the story for “Circles”, please click this link http://njordlyd.com/circles.html. This link will take you to the full story on the Njordlyd website.

“Repressed” (track three) is an alternative version of “Subconsciously” from July 2021 and the main track used for promoting the album. It starts with a set of sampled train sounds, resembling the start of a journey. A trip down memory lane, searching for the “why”. Why do I have this strong emotional feeling for the original track. A journey searching for “something”, is there something repressed, am I holding back something? Is there something holding me back from revealing, what it is? Is it emotions at all, or does the music, that specific part of the music, just touch something in me a certain way? As mentioned in the story for the original track, it’s weird, or at least, to me it feels weird, however that is just how I feel about it. Extremely emotional. However, I have come to the conclusion, that it’s okay not to know or understand why. This alternative version is slightly shorter and softer, more minimal and has a more gritty and mechanical side to it. As always, I let you, the listeners, “take the journey same journey” and perceive it they way you hear and / or see it. For more information about the story for the original track “Subconsciously”, please click this link http://njordlyd.com/subconsciously.html. This link will take you to the full story on the Njordlyd website.

“Defined Sensibility” (track four) is an alternative version of “Perception” from October 2021. Sensibility is the ability to receive sensation and in this case a “defined sensibility” in the shape of music. It continues to surprise and amaze me what music can do to trigger emotions, feelings, ….. sensations. In the promotion for “Clouds” I am referring to Nietzsche quote / statement: “a life without music would be a mistake”. To me a very true and appropriate statement. Music is like a key that opens the door to emotions, but also to receive sensation, a possibility to tell stories and define sensations in a very unique way. For more information about the story for “Perception”, please click here http://njordlyd.com/perception.html. This link will take you to the full story on the Njordlyd website.

“Endlessly” (track five) is an alternative version of “Voices” from December 2021. In short, this track is merely a confirmation of all the “voices” and triggers in my head, which goes on endlessly. There is hardly a day without ideas and inspirations being triggered. For more information about the story for “Voices”, please click here http://njordlyd.com/voices.html. This link will take you to the full story on the Njordlyd website.

“Fog, Mist and Haze” (track six) is an alternative version of “Clouds” from March 2022. For more information about the story for “Clouds”, please click here http://njordlyd.com/clouds.html. This link will take you to the full story on the Njordlyd website.

“Interlaced” (track seven on the album and track two on the single). This track contains sampled and stretched sounds from some of the 5 singles, combined with a live recording from an improvised session in 2019. The track is less “dusty” than some of the others and has a sort of sweeping repetition to it. The track is also to be seen as a bridge between the 5 alternative versions and the remainder of the album.

“Correlations Part One and Two” (track eight and nine). Correlation is a broader concept that goes beyond the album, but is interlinked. That is also why I will be releasing an EP in March next year. In 2018 I was stuck, having created lots of music for years, but not completed anything to release. In September that year, I needed a change and started working with iPads and apps, to see where that would take me in terms of creating and completing music. I started with setting up a small minimal setup, practiced and learned how to use it well. It was a totally different way of working and experimenting, and it ended up being more like a live setup. Over the course of a year I recorded over 100 sessions. I did not complete anything for release and went back to the more classic DAW approach, where I somehow naturally started reshaping tracks from before 2018, which led to the release of the 5 singles in 2021-22 (Phase One). As mentioned earlier, the original idea for the album was an alternative version of the 5 singles, plus a start and end track. However, that didn’t feel right. I started to figure out what to do and accidentally came across some of the recordings from 19. Accordingly I started sampling pieces from these sessions, “process” them and combined them with other samples and sounds from the 5 singles and the alternative versions. Suddenly there were 5-6 additional tracks ready for the album. After a long listening session, 2 tracks felt fit for purpose (album), taking the whole concept of “reshaping” further, correlating with the last many years of creating music. Stay tuned for more about “correlations” and how it has become a sort of guidance for me to be and stay creative.

“Eventual” (track ten). An album eventually has to end (I believe). The track is short and concise, taking the listener on a last reshaped journey through samples and musical parts from Phase One and the recorded live sessions, all streched, manipulated and processed in the same spirit as for all the other 9 tracks on the album.

The Artist : Njordlyd

Danish musician and producer Njordlyd is a creator of thoughtful and mellow musical landscapes, organic compositions and soundscapes, combined with experimental micro sounds. The best way to describe the very detailed, layered and personal musical universe of Njordlyd is ambient and downtempo electronic music.

"When creating music, I let the sounds, ideas, mood, and current inspiration control me until a certain point, where it all turns, and I naturally take over the controls.”

I started listening to music when I was around 11 and have been directly involved with music since 1991, where I was involved in several underground music projects, collaborations and releases. The period from 1998 and until the end of 2014 was a phase of self-discovery, where I was absorbed in the process of music creation, learning and focused on defining my sound.

Towards the end of 2014, I began making music as Njordlyd (my current project) with the release of Silent Echoes (EP) in 2015 and the 2-track single Ghost Running in 2017. In 2021 I started working on a 3 year plan, with 3 phases. Each phase runs from April to April. As part of Phase 1 (April 2021 to April 2021) five 1-track singles has been released: "Circles", "Subconsciously", "Perception", "Voices" and "Clouds".

This year (2022) will see the first releases from Phase 2, starting in September with a 2-song single / ep (Interlaced) and the album (Getting Closer) in mid November. My musical inspiration comes from artists such as Future Sound of London, Biosphere, Burial, Marconi Union, Brian Eno, Harold Budd, Massive Attack, Portishead and Marconi Union (amongst others).

Njord was the Norse god of the sea, sailing, fishing and fertility, and a name that I really like. “lyd” means sound, so Njord is a kind of pseudonym, combined with what I do (music), which is related to sound, hence Njordlyd (Njord’s sound).

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/njordlyd

https://www.instagram.com/njordlyd/

https://njordlyd.com/index.html

https://njordlyd.tumblr.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY0Gph0wNtr9gU4Umua0SYg

https://twitter.com/cmfaarvang

https://njordlyd.bandcamp.com/

https://soundcloud.com/cfaarvang

[thedimpause]

🎵 My Top weekly artists as logged by last.fm:

Ozawa, Saito Kinen Orchestra, Ainsley, Quasthoff, Tokyo Opera Singers (29 plays) The KLF (25) Rachel Podger & Brecon Baroque (21) The Beatles (16) Julian Cope (13)