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entergamingxp · 5 years ago

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No Longer Home is a heartfelt goodbye to an important stage in life • Eurogamer.net

We’re taking Rezzed online over the next few days, presenting sessions and bringing you highlights of what’s new and interesting in the world of independent games. You can find more details on exactly what’s going on over here, and we’ll be bringing you more write-ups over the coming days.

Bo and Ao’s bedroom is a mess. The bed is unmade, clothes litter the floor next to it. When I walk Ao over to the laundry hamper, they think about doing something about its worrisome state before deciding against it. You can find similar signs of apathy all over No Longer Home. Rotting fruit in a bowl. Unwashed dishes. Books spilled all over a desk. It’s no surprise to find out that the house I’m exploring belongs to former students – it was clear from the moment Bo said “I feel like I’m always the one emptying the bin”, echoed, not much later, by Ao’s “I always forget to recycle the empty toilet paper rolls.” The familiarity of it all makes me shiver.

I warm to No Longer Home immediately, not just for how it evokes nostalgia by showing the parts of student life I’m definitely not nostalgic for. I’m fascinated by how comfortable it is in taking inspiration from Kentucky Route Zero – from its low poly art style to the way the camera zooms in and retracts to the calming, yet eerie soundtrack that sometimes even brings the Americana-esque twang of guitars to a shared flat in London.

Bo and Ao’s shared spaces come alive with various knick-knacks.

In conversations, I can pick if I’m the one asking the question or giving the answer, and No Longer Home switches between different points of view several times. Bo and Ao, who find themselves with the task of packing up and moving out after finishing university, are the focal points. Bo, with their meandering gait and bad posture, seems to be slipping into depression over the prospect, too tired to do much of anything. Ao, who is moving back to their native Japan, seems a little more robust, but stares wistfully at the beloved chaos all the same.

That’s really all I do – I lead the characters around their house, listen to conversations and hear what each of them has to say about the various objects I find. It’s intimate enough that I want to keep learning more about everyone. Sometimes I move the house around to better see everything – not the camera, the house – and with each turn, the walls make a sound like shifting bricks. Never since The Sims have I felt like I was holding an entire world in my palm like that.

Developer Humble Grove describes the game as semi-autobiographical, episodic magical realist point and click adventure, and at first it seems the only supernatural element to be found are the fungi that keep growing onto wet towels and the mould that keeps reappearing under fresh paint. But Bo and Ao find weird structures around the flat, images and floating spheres that trigger timeskips. There’s also the not too small matter of Lu, a giant creature reminiscent of a tree who just likes to… chill, I guess.

This is one of the things that just keep happening around the house.

The magic, the at times unsettling atmosphere, fits astoundingly neatly into a game mostly about people hanging out. It’s strongly reminiscent of Mutazione, my favourite from 2019, but No Longer Home also lists Gone Home, Firewatch, Virginia and of course KRZ among its influences. After hearing about the game first in 2018 during its Kickstarter, I’m very glad for this competent life sign and can confirm things are off to a flying start.

If you’d like to have a further look at No Longer Home, you can download the short prequel Friary Road on the game’s Kickstarter page and official homepage or the first episode, titled “29”, on Steam.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/no-longer-home-is-a-heartfelt-goodbye-to-an-important-stage-in-life-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=no-longer-home-is-a-heartfelt-goodbye-to-an-important-stage-in-life-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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stormyrecords-blog · 7 years ago

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new arrivals

well, we rearranged some parts of the shop - new areas to highlight stereo eqpt and an expanded selection of 78 rpm records. nice new area for all those accessories - sleeves, boxes, jacket protection. several hundred r&b lps went out this week, and we have some amazing used jazz arrivals both behind the counter and in the bins. stop by - we love to see your smiling faces! in on thursday SANDERS, PHAROAHTauhidLP $23.99"Pharoah Sanders is Spiritual Jazz, is Devotional Music, is the greatest living link between John Coltrane, Kamasi Washington, and the next generation of this great lineage. His Tenor Sound, his Singing Voice, his compositions, and his recordings have already stood the test of time, in his time, endured, ever-aged so finely, and have now (in my opinion) surpassed critique. Pharoah Sanders is a giant, an innovator, colorful, prayerful, and worthy of all our attention, celebration, and enthusiastic, even ecstatic accolades! Pharoah, (born Farrell Sanders of Little Rock, Arkansas on October 13, 1940,) was not only in John Coltrane's Band from 1965 - 1967, and featured as a Tenor Saxophonist on his Impulse! albums Ascension, Live At The Village Vanguard Again!, Kulu Sé Mama, Meditations, and Om, but had his own distinct concept and direction that you can hear on those recordings. Where John Coltrane is the Father of this Music, Pharoah is John's Brother, his bright, younger contemporary who was ready to express prolifically. His was a sound of entrancement, deep emotion, lyrical chanting, layered mosaic rhythmic grooves, poly-melodic heart cries, ensemble percussion, Love, surrender, upliftment, communication with his ancestors, contemporaries and those yet to arrive, and hope for awakening and peace within Humanity. Of Pharoahs 11 albums on Impulse! as a leader, the ones in front of you are Tauhid (#1 from 1967), Jewels Of Thought (#3 from 1969) and Summun Bukmun Umyun - Deaf Dumb Blind (#4 from 1970). It was John Coltrane's influence on Music and the Recording Industry that opened the door for Pharoah Sanders, and through that door Pharoah would fly, soar and inspire! During this time he was also featured on Alice Coltrane's Impulse! releases Ptah, The El Daoud playing Tenor Saxophone, Alto Flute and Bells and on her most beloved recording Journey In Satchidananda playing Soprano Saxophone and Percussion. The significance of Pharoah Sanders today is for you to discover. He is among my greatest inspirations of all time and always will be! He is a man of few words, and when you see him play now, it's more about being in his presence than expecting him to play lots of flashy runs. From his first note you know it's him and that you're in for profound integrity and deeply soulful energy. He always dresses in bold, bright hues, sometimes patterns, sometimes wearing shades, always a fez or hat of some sort. He stood out in GQ Style's 2016 feature 'These 10 Living Legends of Jazz Prove Nobody Can Out-Dress the OGs' -- the relevance is there. So strong! The last time I saw Pharoah in Los Angeles at Catalina's I was happy to connect with my friend Knxwledge. He was there with Rapper Earl Sweatshirt and Producer Alchemist. I sat with a table of 18-year-old prodigies including pianist Jamael Dean . . . Recommendation: Put all of these records on repeat for days and days, let them transmute your life, then tell your friends, family and everyone you come into contact with about Pharoah Sanders!' SANDERS, PHAROAHJewels Of ThoughtLP $23.99"Pharoah Sanders is Spiritual Jazz, is Devotional Music, is the greatest living link between John Coltrane, Kamasi Washington, and the next generation of this great lineage. His Tenor Sound, his Singing Voice, his compositions, and his recordings have already stood the test of time, in his time, endured, ever-aged so finely, and have now (in my opinion) surpassed critique. Pharoah Sanders is a giant, an innovator, colorful, prayerful, and worthy of all our attention, celebration, and enthusiastic, even ecstatic accolades! Pharoah, (born Farrell Sanders of Little Rock, Arkansas on October 13, 1940,) was not only in John Coltrane's Band from 1965 - 1967, and featured as a Tenor Saxophonist on his Impulse! albums Ascension, Live At The Village Vanguard Again!, Kulu Sé Mama, Meditations, and Om, but had his own distinct concept and direction that you can hear on those recordings. Where John Coltrane is the Father of this Music, Pharoah is John's Brother, his bright, younger contemporary who was ready to express prolifically. His was a sound of entrancement, deep emotion, lyrical chanting, layered mosaic rhythmic grooves, poly-melodic heart cries, ensemble percussion, Love, surrender, upliftment, communication with his ancestors, contemporaries and those yet to arrive, and hope for awakening and peace within Humanity. Of Pharoahs 11 albums on Impulse! as a leader, the ones in front of you are Tauhid (#1 from 1967), Jewels Of Thought (#3 from 1969) and Summun Bukmun Umyun - Deaf Dumb Blind (#4 from 1970). It was John Coltrane's influence on Music and the Recording Industry that opened the door for Pharoah Sanders, and through that door Pharoah would fly, soar and inspire! During this time he was also featured on Alice Coltrane's Impulse! releases Ptah, The El Daoud playing Tenor Saxophone, Alto Flute and Bells and on her most beloved recording Journey In Satchidananda playing Soprano Saxophone and Percussion. The significance of Pharoah Sanders today is for you to discover. He is among my greatest inspirations of all time and always will be! He is a man of few words, and when you see him play now, it's more about being in his presence than expecting him to play lots of flashy runs. From his first note you know it's him and that you're in for profound integrity and deeply soulful energy. He always dresses in bold, bright hues, sometimes patterns, sometimes wearing shades, always a fez or hat of some sort. He stood out in GQ Style's 2016 feature 'These 10 Living Legends of Jazz Prove Nobody Can Out-Dress the OGs' -- the relevance is there. So strong! The last time I saw Pharoah in Los Angeles at Catalina's I was happy to connect with my friend Knxwledge. He was there with Rapper Earl Sweatshirt and Producer Alchemist. I sat with a table of 18-year-old prodigies including pianist Jamael Dean . . . Recommendation: Put all of these records on repeat for days and days, let them transmute your life, then tell your friends, family and everyone you come into contact with about Pharoah Sanders!' Conjoint: Earprints 2LP $29.99Demdike Stare present the first ever reissue of Conjoint's Earprints, originally released in 2000. After a slew of acclaimed releases by Equiknoxx, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Shinichi Atobe, and Mica Levi in 2017, Demdike Stare start 2018 in typically unexpected style with a remastered reissue of David Moufang (Move D), Karl Berger, Jamie Hodge, Gunter Kraus, and Jonas Grossmann's gorgeous sophomore Conjoint album, Earprints (2000). Conjoint was the little-known but hugely regarded ensemble founded by David Moufang two decades ago, featuring techno pioneer Jamie Hodge, Deep Space Network's Jonas Grossmann, acclaimed jazz guitarist Gunter Ruit Kraus and, most intriguingly Karl Berger, the jazz pianist and vibraphone player for Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and George Clinton, to name a few. The ensemble are accompanied on Earprints by Andrew Pekler, Anna-Lena Fiedler, Burkhard Höfler, and Kai Kroker, among many others, and flesh out a full frequency spectrum of instrumental and electronic timbres, precisely yet louchely coalescing a timeless and cool blue sound that is entirely respectful to its roots, yet dares to imagine them in an altered context. In that respect it's an influential, memorable precursor to Jan Jelinek's acclaimed Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records that was released the following year. Democratic in its construction and flush with pregnant, contemplative space between and around the notes, the lasting impression made by Earprints is indelibly classic, quietly awaiting immersion by a new wave of listeners who will no doubt marvel at its many charms. If you're into late night listening and have followed the work of Move D, Miles Davis, Tortoise, Detroit Escalator Company, Elodie, Terre Thaemlitz, or Jan Jelinek's frayed, late night jazz minimalism, this one's for you. Remastered by Matt Colton. Vannier, JC: L'Enfant Assassin (10th) LP $29.992017 repress. To mark its 2015 ten-year anniversary, the Finders Keepers label presents an improved, remastered repress, with updated liner notes in a gatefold sleeve, of its first release, a reissue of Jean-Claude Vannier's 1972 album L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches. At the time of the 2005 reissue the resurgence of '60s Gallic pop, once known as yé-yé music, had escalated beyond an interstellar height. Without a shadow of doubt, the flagship LP with the best odds on becoming a discerning household object was Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971) by one Serge Gainsbourg, an inimitable 45-minute concept LP handcrafted by a bass-driven psychedelic rock group and a heaven-sent 1001-piece orchestral and choral symphony. The album left hip hop producers and progressive rock aficionados crying out for more and more for years to come. This LP was in a league of its very own... or was it? The seldom-sung musical arranger for Melody Nelson, Jean-Claude Vannier, is the lesser-spotted tell-tale seal of sample-friendly quality when it comes to crate-digging "en Français." Suitably, rumors among French record dealers claiming "the band who played Melody Nelson recorded a follow-up LP" became a legend of psychedelic folklore. Another unconfirmed rumor about JCV taking the remaining outtakes of the beloved Melody Nelson to create a promo-only experimental rock LP left sample-hungry producers and DJs in turmoil... The answers to these mysteries lay between the gatefold sleeve of an undiscovered conceptual album bizarrely titled L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches by a custom-built avant-rock entourage called Insolitudes. So here we have it. For record-collectors looking for that special something, this LP contains the extra-special everything. Peruse the following genres: psychedelic, classical, soundtrack, jazz, hip hop, samples, avant-garde, funk. Then place a copy of L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches in each section. History notes that when M. Gainsbourg first heard the initial bones of this LP he took his poetic pencil to paper and composed bizarre liner notes, thus consummating the most extraordinary concept album of all time. The story "The Child Assassin of the Flies" was to be included as the only information to grace the LP's highly collectible concertina-gatefold sleeve. The story in full is reproduced in its native tongue on this very special re-release package. DJs and producers such as Jim O'Rourke, Stereolab's Tim Gane, and David Holmes have spent sleepless nights in perusal of original copies of this perfect release and now regard it as "One of the Best." VA: Waves Of The Future 2LP on Mannequin Records $27.99The modern synth wave scene would be significantly poorer without the keen ear and tireless efforts of Mannequin Records, run by Alessandro Adriani. Geographically situated within the nerve centers of Rome and Berlin, yet with a musical spirit that easily transcends these boundary lines, Mannequin Records' back catalog has been an important component in electronics-based independent music in the 21st century. Recent accolades and accomplishments -- being named Resident Advisor's "Label Of The Month" in May of 2017, starting the Death Of The Machines 12" series, and being given the "green light" for bi-monthly parties at the Säule room in Berghain -- have been earned through Mannequin Records' unflagging commitment to sonic diversity and Adriani's own realization that the anxious and sharp-edged sounds associated with, say, the Cold War of the 1980s can convey a completely different message today. Mannequin Records continues to go on exploratory missions to find the best and most relevant aspects of genres like acid, industrial, EBM, post-punk, cold wave, and still more. Mannequin Records' 100th release, Waves Of The Future, is a double-LP compilation which is not a conventional retrospective collection. None of the artists appearing on this collection have put out their own releases on Mannequin Records yet, despite acting as Mannequin's unofficial ambassadors (via DJ sets and other means). The set includes other scene leaders and label owners including Beau Wanzer, Willie Burns, Silent Servant, and Ron Morelli. Waves Of The Future projects a sense of aesthetic resilience and continuity; showcasing just how well the current artists allied with Mannequin Records employ and re-interpret the sonic lexicon of the label's reissues of "classic'" acts. Each track here pivots around a couple of key sound elements that seem to set the stage for the next track to come: see the sputtering/chopped ghost voices on Morelli's "Charges Won't Stick", which easily informs the slicing drone and authoritarian beat of Shawn O' Sullivan's "Ill Fit", which then lays down the emotional foundation for the sequencer-powered "With You" from An-I and Adriani or the glassy landscape of Illum Sphere's "Exhaustion". Elsewhere, the wired mischief of Not Waving intersects easily with the spherical electro-funk and coded commands of Beau Wanzer. When all the disparate parts of Waves Of The Future are soldered together, it perfectly illustrates Mannequin Records' non-linear philosophy and Adriani's suggestion that listeners engage with the music rather than try to analyze or dissect it. Skullflower: Werecat Powers LP $24.99Matthew Bower and Samantha Davies of Skullflower on Werecat Powers Of The Crossroads At Midnight: "The continuation of the audio trilogy concerning the Darkness of Aegypt: the shadow stuff from whence dark dreams come. The Triad: dark, light and the animating serpent power are delineated by the Egyptian Gods Set, Horus and the Apep serpent. The second parting of the ways, lord of the crossroads, the double horizon, the xroads of day and night, the mauve zone, the death posture. We brought back: a twilight mechanism, and hymns to the charnel ground, ashes, jackals and the bulto hyaena, pacing the departure lounges of abandoned airports." Oliveros, Pauline: ElectronicMusic Studio CD $16.99Restocked. "1 Of IV" and "Big Mother Is Watching You" were both made in the summer of 1966 at the University of Toronto Electronic Music Studio. "1 Of IV" was previously released in 1967, on Odyssey, alongside works by 2 other young composers - "Come out" by Steve Reich and "Night music" by Richard Maxfield. "Big Mother..." is a previously unreleased piece. The 3rd (and final) piece on this compilation was made at the San Francisco Tape Music Center in 1965 and was first released in 1977 on the compilation New Music For Electronic And Recorded Media, released on 1750 Arch Records. The 3 pieces on this CD are all live experiments, which at the simplest level use either an array of oscillators and filters, a mixer and one spool of tape feeding a series of (variously set up) stereo tape machines. Long delay lines, pile ups of noise and rich sonorities are the stuff of this music. The third piece also uses samples taken from Pucini's Madame Butterfly. All 3 pieces on this CD are not included on the 12 CD boxset of early electronic music by Oliveros, released by Important Records. Connors, Loren : Pretty As Ever LP $24.99The fourth LP in Recital's Loren Connors editions/reissue series. Pretty As Ever is a beautiful collection of Loren's guitar ballads, dedicated to his wife Suzanne. It includes the "Pretty As Ever" and "Trinity" suites, from the out-of-print album Sails (2005), alongside the complete Little Match Girl (2000). This album falls in line with the other LPs Recital has published, Airs (2015), Lullaby (2016), Evangeline (2017)... as hopeful and careful as a heartbeat. This LP includes "Woman of Sorrows", a 6″x9″ 12-page art-booklet of illustrations by Loren, unpublished until now. It also includes with Loren's rendering of "The Little Match Girl", a tragic tale written by Hans Christian Anderson. Remastered for vinyl by Sean McCann. Edition of 500. McPhee/Keepnews/Berg: From Outer Space LP $19.99At age 78, Joe McPhee shows no sign of slowing down. Plan B is the master improviser's new trio, with James Keepnews on guitar and laptop and David Berger on drums. A soundtrack to a science fiction movie existing only in their heads, From Outer Space finds McPhee and company envisioning the first encounter between alien life and a delegation of earthlings (while giving a nod to jazz's original man from another planet, Sun Ra, with a side-long suite dedicated to him). It's quite unlike anything else in McPhee's vast discography. Cover art by Judith Lindbloom. Includes download coupon. CV & JAB: Zin Taylor LP $26.99Thoughts Of A Dot As It Travels A Surface is the title of an album derived from a series of wall drawings begun in 2014 by multi-disciplinary Paris-based artist Zin Taylor. Drawn in simple black-and-white, the large-scale pieces depict linear landscapes populated with rough-hewn objects: potted cacti, sculptural boulders, steaming stone baths. Upon completion of a particularly ambitious 90-meter panoramic wall drawing, experimental composers Christina Vantzou and John Also Bennett were invited to interpret the work as a musical graphic score. The result was a forty-minute live performance in two parts, which was multi-track recorded and then mixed down into a ten-track album. Each piece and title corresponds to a specific section or object in the wall drawing. Vantzou, though based in Brussels, is best known for a string of enigmatic solo recordings for the American ambient imprint Kranky, while Bennett has explored electronic sound design in a variety of capacities, including in Brooklyn trio Forma. Working under their initials CV & JAB, they attempted to translate Taylor's elusive gestural lexicon into sound. The results are appropriately minimal, malleable, and mysterious. Opener "Cactus With Vent" sets the tone: insectoid murmurings and fractured crystalline tones seesaw in and out of focus, eventually disappearing within a wash of churning water. Each composition flows unbroken into the next, much like Taylor's continuous line, emphasizing fluidity, curvature, and connectivity. "Hot Tub" introduces a mesmerizing synthetic flute-like raga, pirouetting above muted jungle noises and a babbling brook. Subsequent songs skew softer and stranger, alternately meditative ("Large Suess Plant") and miasmic ("Tombstones"), remote vistas mapped with hieroglyphic frequencies. The recordings, like Taylor's nuanced mini-murals, exude a subtle but restless energy, rarely lingering too long in a fixed formation. The whooshing astral synthesizer of "Alfred Hitchcock Haze" dissolves invisibly into the smeared, somber séance of "Rock House With Door", which in turn evaporates amongst the menagerie of chattering printers, running water, and shepherd tone whispers of "String Of Objects With Planter". More so than in past projects, here Vantzou and Bennett mask their presence, allowing textures and tonalities to tangle or unspool with minimal intrusion. The effect is naturalistic, impersonal, and intriguing. Recorded live at Westfälischer Kunstverein in Münster, Germany on May 6th, 2017. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering. Includes a 180CM leporello reproducing the original 9000CM wall drawing. Clear purple vinyl; reverse board-printed inner and double-width spine jacket; Edition of 700.

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