#whalesong studio

[dearratroi]

I preordered him nearly a year ago… he’s finally coming

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 312: Joe Morris

I’ve had considerable difficulty putting down my thoughts concerning Joe Morris’ Exotic Language, though not because of the music…a sonic paradise so panoramic and immersive that my mind is completely overwhelmed with hyperbolic descriptors and imagined fantasy landscapes. No, the difficulty comes from determining how to properly contextualize the work of an artist whose music has meant so much to me over the last few years and who has been a constant guidepost as I’ve explored this vague soundworld we all call “balearic”. So perhaps it’s best to go back to the beginning, which involved me trawling through the Is It Balearic? Discogs page picking out titles whose label art resonated with me…visuals that captured some indefinable spirit of beachside meditation and solar fantasy dancing. This of course led me to Joe’s Golden Tides 12”, the label art of which was given over to impossibly beautiful sunset scenes, ones that were washed out into a sparkling tapestry of golden radiance. It was exactly what I was looking for and from then on, I’ve been in a near constant love affair with the producer’s work, which has led my spirit through so many wonderful musical environments, whether it’s the mystically inclined Bahia EP on Balearic Social, the Cloud Nine 12″ on Wonder Stories, or the increasingly esoteric remix work of Clandestino, Joe’s party crew and studio project run in conjunction with Iain Mac and Nick J. Smith, who have perfected a particularly tripped out style of jacking dancefloor ritualism.

But as great as those works are, the undoubted high point for me came with the release of Jacaranda Skies on Pleasure Unit, an EP that opened Joe’s sound up considerably and foreshadowed many of the adventurous environments he would travel to on his epic full length. Across the 12”, the listener was treated to a tropical house slammer, a futuristic acid jazz ritual, and one of my favorite tracks of recent memory, “The Lost Garden,” which melted the heart with timeless string descents while mallet instruments danced amidst sparkling synths, reverberating guitars, and island percussion exotica. After the release of Jacaranda Skies, I just knew Joe had to drop an album, one that would allow his increasingly adventurous and cinematic sonics to spread all the way out, unrestricted by space or time considerations. Thus I was completely blown away in 2019 as my fantasies came true in the form of Exotic Language, the producer’s magnum opus and a near perfect summary of the many colorful sonic universes he has visited across his career. It’s a true album experience, with well considered track sequencing taking the listener on a oceanic dream journey encompassing Italo deep house, Chicago club workouts, spiritual Afro-trance, ethereal pop-ambient, acid-laced downtempo, aqueous guitar mesmerism, amorphous dub, and so much more. And though mostly realized as a solo effort, including the fantastic artwork, Joe is joined by some crucial guests in the form of Private Agenda and his son Milo.

Joe Morris - Exotic Language (Shades of Sound, 2019) We open on “Firefly Beach,” with guitar swells creating aqueous ripples amidst cricket chirps and crashing waves...the vibe not unlike Onyricon’s “Sweet Dream.” Plucked harps flow through interstellar fluids and synthetic arps smear into seafoam as momentum builds, with hand drums and cymbal taps leading to a low-key climax of downbeat ocean grooving. Tambourines shake through layers of brass synthesis and basslines blur in and out of focus…all while crystalline tones descend amidst solar flare vibrato orchestrations. Next is  “Perfume,” a collaboration with Private Agenda that, if released in the 90s, would have appeared on every single balearic comp, so closely does hit that essential seaside pop vibe, with touches of ethereal R&B married to oceanic chill-out in away strongly evoking the work of Afterlife, especially “Dub in Ya Mind (Beach Club Mix)” and the legendary “Speck of Gold.” Rhodes keys sparkle, big bottomed jazz breaks keep the body vibing, and dreampop guitars swim through ether as funk basslines slide through sexual smoke. Elsewhere, pianos constructed from ocean glass play melodies of dream melancholia alongside blazing string themes and laserbeam sequencing. And carrying the whole thing is a chilling vocal performance from Sean Phillips, his multi-layered and soulful hooks pushing the heart towards pure sunset euphoria. Our first taste of club fire comes via “A Dance With Jupiter,” which touches on Chicago house as well as the intense rave workouts of Clandestino. The track starts with loon calls, spectral rattles, mermaid hazes, and bongos popping over tubular basslines before we flash into a jacked out four-four house groove. Anxious cymbal work cuts up the air, electrified claps crack on the beat, and waves of angel synthesis wrap around the spirit while elsewhere, we breakdown into smacked kicks, brass heatwaves, and hand drum tribalisms. And as acid lines filter in from the void, the track snaps back into a tech house fever dream, with increasingly wild 303 patterns spraying neon liquids over anthemic chord riffs while 90s rave whistles are danced around by polychrome pan-pipe tracers.

At the start of “Echo Station,” cymbals flow through timelag generators, guitars flutter, and hand drums pop through mutating fx chains until we drop into a subsonic bass groove, with dubwise drum beats pulsing through a stoner paradise. Weirdo reggae riffs wiggle in each ear, with organs and trumpets mutating into insect psychedelia and metallic chords wavering through delay-soaked mirages. Spacey six-strings shimmer, pianos skip across new age sunbeams, and flutes execute LSD dances as the rhythms refuse to coalesce, creating that classical drug touch…a sort of fevered fantasy space where everything constantly shifts through humid layers of rainbow fog…the vibe not unlike the recent work of Androo. There’s a moment where the rhythms fade to gas amidst rimshot cloudforms while anthemic ocean wavefronts fade in, with touches of ambient prog glory shining through the deep blue hazes. Fantasy sequences climb playfully towards the clouds and synthesizers filter into neon magic as the dub riddims finally return, now with piano starlight sparkling amidst drunken brass fanfares. Next comes “Celestial Plantation,” wherein pads settle like a ghostly ocean fog, one aglow in prismatic hues of mother-of-pearl. Birds chirp, waves crash, and hand drums cascade through delays before blurring into a flutter of blutterfly wings…all while bass pulses give the abstracted groove a touch of tribal body magic. Melodic brass themes peel away to reveal sparkling gemstone electronics and electro cymbals hiss across the spectrum as the vibe grows ever more blissed out, with the spirit soaring on waves of coral colored euphoria. The heart overflows with balearic majesty and all bad vibrations are washed away by starlight electronics and glowing melodic crystals as Joe sets the body afloat via gaseous chill-out rhythmics. And best of all, there are these glorious moments where the spirit seems to rise above the clouds, with synths swelling and white noise hazes parting to reveal spiritual whistle tones and elven pan-pipes…a sort of new age paean to the spirits of the sea pulling the mind towards a beachside oasis, with palm trees blowing in a tropical wind while birds of paradise flit amongst the fronds.

In “Dream Clouds,” galactic vapors rattle amidst an angel choirs comprised of male cyborg breaths and glimmering fairy voices. A four-to-the-floor pulse is accented by acid bass jacking, hi-hats spread into ticking psychedelia, and clipped snares give the beat a faint disco pulse as we soar through Joe’s own paradisal imagining of Italo dream house....a euphoria-kissed fantasy world of lush dancefloor exotica…spread out, gaseous, and with billowing waves of ether stoking hallucinogenic visions. Filtering phasers infuse the aqueous pad motions, paranoid rimshots transform into kosmische energy tracers, and feedback marbles glisten in cold solar light as the snares and claps fire in that distinctly Clandestino way…the mind never allowed to settle while pushing ever closer towards hyperventilated delirium. Elsewhere, kicks pull away for a machine jazz jam, all rigid robot bopping before slamming back into fantasy dance magic, with blistering chords ringing out, white light pads bending into dolphin sirensong, and crystalline chords conversing with reverb-soaked cricket chirps. “Acid Safari” hits similar notes of freaky forest acid as “Mangrove Dawn” from Jacaranda Skies, though replacing that track’s ritualistic percussion flow with fat-bottomed rave breaks and a dubwise bass skank. The baggy and zoned out 90s-style beat science is accented by industrial tom-tom splatter, echo-soaked hand percussion, cave crack snares, and mechanized cymbal hiss, with the mix increasingly suffused by monkey howls and orchestral heatwaves. Sunbeam guitar percolations and syncopated synth riffs morph through delay layers until the vibe grows murky, resulting in a mystical environment of dispersed rhythms and machines that growl like jaguars. Cosmic acid lines diffuse in and hand drums carry the soul towards the heart of the jungle, with sunlight filtering through the dark tropical growth in the form of six-string echo dances. Blasting back into sunshine rave breaks and dub-kissed psychedelics, mutating acid lines roar at the edges of the mind and as we move towards the end, saloon-leaning Rhodes chords portend a cinematic western sunset while string synths melt towards an impossible horizon.

There’s some mystical magic happening within “Spirit Walker,” with Joe taking deep inspiration from Larry Heard as he crafts an ambient house epic. But that’s not all, for amidst the mermaid choir fantasias, harmonious whalesong hazes, and clouds of cyborg psychedelia, snare drums rattle into a free jazz fever dream, shakers keep a hypnotic pulse, and hand drums alight on adventures of Afro-beat intensity…the track coming together as some inspired amalgam of ecstatic future dance energy and ancient tribal magic. Animalistic acid lines growl down low and dream house piano chords blur through sunset colorations until eventually being replaced by pure trance vocal synthesis…these chopping waves of angel bliss pushing the mind towards transcendence. There’s a moment where the basslines pull away, leaving behind a gaseous world of spiritual jazz, wherein pianos decay while cinematic pads are surrounded by whooshing layers of aquatic ambiance. Then, as we slam back into Afro-house firedance, balafons and kalimbas weave in and out of the Goan voice layers…a mix of idiophonic rainfall and slow motion trance ecstasy that could float my spirit forever. Closer “Milo’s Theme” begins with morphing synth chords…like pianos obscured by alien foam. Hovering sea-spirits radiate aquamarine while dream sequences dance ear-to-ear and after a gaseous burst, we flow into an immersive groove of downtempo drumming and bongo tropicalia. Chopping vibrato hazes diffuse in and out of empty space, guitars sing spiritual songs of seaside blues, and gemstone melodies flow upwards as feedback tracers mimic sad seagull cries. Then, the rhythms disappear and the song gives over to a new age soundbath, one that celebrates the newness of life with joyous baby babbles (sourced from Joe’s son Milo) and bubbling strands of melted ocean glass. And after a climactic reprise of sunset groove majesty, with layered guitars, tremolo psychedelics, and squelching piano chords hovering over post-rock rhythmics and balearic beat expanses, we return again to a world of ambient sea-spray, abstracted echo weirdness, and gurgling infant breaths.

(images from my personal copy)

[meaninginmakeup]

Primers- Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer by Nyx and Primer Potion in Original Formula by Urban Decay.

Eyeshadow- Ombré above the crease from the Aurora Lights Palette by BH Cosmetics and Whalesong by Menagerie Cosmetics applied one the crease by brush, then by finger on the lids.

Mascara- On the Rise by Nyx Cosmetics on top of Voluminous Primer by L’Oréal.

Powder- HD Finishing Powder by Nyx Cosmetics.

Highlighter- Moonlighter in Jellyfish by Black Moon Cosmetics.

Concealer- Conceal and Define in C3 by Makeup Revolution and No Filter in Fair02 by Colourpop.

Setting Spray- Photo Focus by Wet N Wild.

Lipstick- Throwback Lipstick in Bionic by Too Faced on top of the Lip Primer by Nyx Cosmetics. I also applied some Pressed Shadow in Slay-Farer (color no longer sold) by Colourpop to make it match the eyeshadow a bit more.

[avolounge]

😍 Whalesong studio - Nine Tail Fox [1/4 scale] [Standard / Deluxe] 😍 by Avolounge starting at S$620.00 SGD Show now 👉👉 https://t.co/bK2LmfwBTd #Avol.sg #resin #animes #statue #gk https://t.co/wJXeICYk9R

— Avolounge Singapore (@avolounge) Sep 9, 2021

[thesunlounge]

Reviews 306: Cass. & Gianni Brezzo

I am a touch behind when it comes to covering Growing Bin Record’s 2019 output and throughout December I’ll be playing catch-up by publishing my long gestating reviews of Bartosz Kruczyński’s Baltic Beat II and Eleventeen Eston’s Delta Horizon (as well as taking a look at what’s been going on over at Glowing Pin). But in the meantime, I’d like to put down some reflections on one of the newest Growing Bin releases: Masala Kiss by Cass. & Gianni Brezzo. I bought the record without much thought, trusting that Basso, Brezzo, and Cass. would take me to exactly where I needed to be, but even still, I am completely taken aback by the LP’s immersive ambient universes. It’s an album I lose myself completely to while listening and one that I daydream about when not, as almost every moment is stunningly gorgeous and overflowing with emotional creativity. Cass. & Brezzo touch on so many of the sounds I love most, including these spectacular detours into sky-seeking post-rock, and throughout the eleven tracks, we see aquatic arpeggiations swimming through cymbal taps and rainfall; electronic textures imported from the fourth world flowing over hushed breaths and subdued tribal rhythms; e-pianos falling like a soft tropical storm and pads sighing like the wind; kosmische sequences percolating amidst industrial sound blasts; drumkits pounding against fuzz guitars, swooning pads, and gaseous idiophonics; chill out breaks vibing beneath synthesized dolphin songs and liquid bass guitar narcotics; and balearic paradises awash in hues of some impossible sunset. 

Cass. & Gianni Brezzo - Masala Kiss (Growing Bin Records, 2019) “Jaybo” opens with manic percussion beating through cosmic caverns…a minimalist world drum groove wherein echoing rimshots splatter into sea-spray. Trance inducing vibrato waves hover in the air as acoustic guitars descend onto the mix, working between subdued delay tapestries and bursts of emotional violence, with steel strings buzzing and smearing into fractal webs while kosmische leads melt through they sky. During a moment where the guitars fade, angels sing through deep sea hazes while bubble clouds flutter ear-to-ear and later, the drums wash out as bleary-eyed wavefronts smolder in the background, with single note leads howling and acoustic guitars generating crystalline gas clusters. Then in “Umberella,” e-pianos quiver, morph, and occasionally glitch out, with lush tremolo clouds trailing every chord. Interstellar sequences are bathed in reverberation as they flutter in the distance and voices speak expressive incantations amidst studio clatter. And later, pianos execute a jazzwise climb towards the stars, with the sounds of pounding keystrokes rendered louder than the notes themselves. Electric guitars weave galactic desert mesmerism in “Imence Sense” as synths pool like liquid light…the glowing currents suffused by laser approximations of birdsong, string machines from celestial oceans, and synthetic organs that glow like the sun. Dopamine guitar arps float, bass notes disperse like clouds of smoke, and hammer on leads scrape and squiggle as anthemic majesty is subverted into an ambient dream drift, one that pairs nicely with Gigi Masin’s & Jonny Nash’s recent Postcards from Nowhere. And sometimes, amidst the fragile space music mutations, streaks of polychrome synthesis break free…like dazzling currents of color seen just below the surface of some infinite ocean.

Arps flowing from the fourth world oscillate through dreamspace echoes in “Instabubu” while e-pianos evoke melting gemstones. Cymbals phase and chime strands sparkle like oceanic crystal while bulbous bass pads swell the heart. And later, cinematic melodic ascents smear into feedback synthesis and wailing strings generating tropical mirages as the mix continues to sparkle with seaside jazz spirituality. “Autoscooter Lover” follows with tribalist percussion effecting into a panorama of bubble mutations while piano chords lilt back and forth. Fragile synthesis wavers through the sky…these aqueous streaks of mermaid beauty progressively ring modulating into liquid abstraction…and vocal breaths push hot air across the mix as further pad layers scat on reversing jazz currents. Gaseous orchestrations diffuse in before dispersing and after a hushed pause, the mix explodes back to life, now with cymbal taps decaying across the spectrum and swooning melodies of paradise balearica transforming into alien psychedelia. And at some point, the mix reduces to sparse percussion and scraping guitar chords while indie basslines dance high on the fretboard…an enticing moment of daydream nostalgia. “Out of Mind” closes the A-side with layered Berlin school sequencing bouncing through a neon cosmos, with bending fluids and seabird mutations wiggling through the vacuum. Spiritual choirs sing out from the center of the universe, with voices smearing into static as polysynths waver through crystalline clouds. Psychosonic energy blasts whoosh across the spectrum and laser lights mutate into insect screams as black hole radiation bathes the spirit…all while the prog electronic sequences filter, flange, and phase into indistinction, moving from cosmic hypnosis to splattered sequential psychosis.

The extended intro of “Koli” portends some moment of cathartic power, with synth hazes swelling, e-bowed guitars refracting spectral light, and noa bells ringing in a gentle breeze. And eventually, a massive post-rock drum beat drops, with cymbals, snare, and backwards sucking kicks decaying into a void of heartache and kissed by a touch of slapback. The guitars wail into emotional bluescapes of whalesong psychedelia and golden waves of orchestral warmth evolve into a synthesized blur…all while arpeggiations flutter far in the distance. Then in “Helge,” sea vents spew out strange bubble formations and synthesizers ascend through anthem rave riffs while IDM cymbals crawl across the mix like some crazed insect. Slap bass robotics and pastoral guitars solo into jazz ethereality and the rhythms eventually filter into whispering shadows, with everything fading to nothingness as a demonic voice speaks unknowable incantations. Then comes “Der Däne,” wherein lounge jazz guitar chords bend like liquid over ultra-chill trip hop rhythmics, with electro-kicks vibing out and infectious clap patterns cracking on the soulful bounce. The background is woven through by psychedelic noise hazes and dolphin-generated sonar tracers as glacial streaks of orchestral majesty hover just out of reach. The drums pull away for a momentary breath and when they rush back in, they are joined by bass guitar threads recalling Douglas McCombs, with spindly slides and emotive hammer-ons moving through soft jazzfunk sensuality. And as the rhythms progressively filter and crunch, my mind drifts further towards Tortoise, as well as towards Mogwai…just pure post-rock perfection…though growing ever more balearic, with new age ocean atmospherics flowing into the stereo field and stoking visages of some gorgeous sunset panorama.

The first part of “Interlude” is alive with shouting street vendors, feet running on cobblestones, and secrets spoken in earnest as seagulls fly through the sky. Then, drone clouds wash the mix clean, bringing with them bursts of industrial static and swirls of spectral distortion run through by detuning orchestrations. A bell-tower rings in the distance, feedback lasers transmute into blinding fire, and towards the end, piano arps flutter on a seaside breeze, with everything smearing out beneath layers of insectoid noise. Whereas “Der Däne” celebrated the post-rock soundscapes of the mid-90s, closer “Paterson” revels in that style’s early 2000s rebirth, with mathy guitars singing together…their multitudinous layers bathed in cavernous verbs, dreamspace delays, and recalling for me Explosions in the Sky, especially their work on Friday Night Lights. Then it all breaks down, with cold guitars radiating through interstellar expanses and electronic beats dancing through hyperspace corridors while energy waves crash against the mix. Eventually, the swooning guitar majesties return and break free from the murk…singing towards a rural sunrise as the heart soars higher and higher. Rhythms of jazz electronica underly the layers of melodic majesty, with shuffling cymbals guiding the body through immersive e-bow environments. And entire orchestras of the sky are evoked by a few guitars and a bank of fx as synthesized fusion leads solo in support, bringing LSD visions of an exploding sunrise. Nearing the end, the mix devolves yet again, with decaying orchestrations surrounding strange synthetic arps. But rather than end here, a lone guitar ascends once more through the detritus and traces out further melodies of paradise magic before eventually fading away, leaving us afloat within avant-garde sonic environments recalling “Interlude.”

(images from my personal copy)

[avolounge]

😍 Whalesong studio - Nine Tail Fox [1/4 scale] [Standard / Deluxe] 😍 by Avolounge starting at S$620.00 SGD Show now 👉👉 https://t.co/RovZb78gld #Avol.sg #resin #animes #statue #gk https://t.co/ZC5sjVBogP

— Avolounge Singapore (@avolounge) Aug 31, 2021

[avolounge]

😍 Whalesong Studio - [1/6 scale] Jaina Proudmoore Warcraft [Cast Off] 😍 by Avolounge starting at S$370.00 SGD Show now 👉👉 https://t.co/Qi8vZ9IAoK #Avol.sg #resin #animes #statue #gk https://t.co/68G93EUXBE

— Avolounge Singapore (@avolounge) Aug 2, 2021

[meaninginmakeup]

Primers- Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer by Nyx and Primer Potion in Original Formula by Urban Decay. Browbone/above the crease (step 1)- Dazzleshadow in I Like 2 Watch (yellow with green reflect) by Mac Cosmetics. 

Eyes- next I applied the purple as a winged eyeliner, which was Stormborn from the Game of Thrones Palette by Urban Decay (no longer sold) and Super Shock Shadow in Dare (no longer sold) by Colourpop (purple with blue glitter). Then I applied Whalesong by Menagerie Cosmetics which was a (blue/green), Moondust in Zodiac (army green) by Urban Decay, Tropicana (a matte yellow, no longer sold) by Nomad Cosmetics and more Dazzleshadow in I Like 2 Watch by Mac (I applied the matte so it had more depth). Inner eye (orange)- Cairo from the Masquerade Palette by Juvias Place.

Lower eyeliner (red)- Calabar from the Masquerade Palette by Juvias Place. 

Mascara- Voluminous Primer by L’Oréal with Mega Length by Wet N Wild on top. 

Powder- Studio Finish in #205 by BH Cosmetics. 

Concealer- Conceal and Define in C3 by Makeup Revolution. 

Highlighter- Array by Vanessa’s Vanity (yes it’s a rainbow highlighter so I didn’t have to apply the colors separate, this was one step!). 

Lipstick- Trick by Sugarpill from their Halloween Duo (no longer sold), and Suede Lip Liner in Alien by Nyx Cosmetics.

  This was inspired by an lgbt+ friend who wanted a Pride Wrath inspired look. We went with the dark lipstick to offset the rainbow but it still had multi colored glitter in it.

[meaninginmakeup]

Primer- Studio Perfect Photo Loving Primer by Nyx Cosmetics and Primer Potion in Original Formula by Urban Decay.

Eyeshadow- SubZero from the Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter Palette by Fenty Beauty above the crease, and Pressed Shadow in Whalesong by Menagerie Cosmetics.

Under Eyeliner- Provocative from the Exotic Peacock Palette by Pinky Rose Cosmetics.

Mascara- On the Rise by Nyx Cosmetics on top of Voluminous Primer by L’Oréal.

Powder- HD Finishing Powder by Nyx Cosmetics.

Highlighter- Laser from the Blacklight Highlighter Palette by BH Cosmetics.

Concealer- Conceal and Define in C3 by Makeup Revolution and Studio Finish in NW15 by Mac.

Lip Color- Throwback Lipstick in Bionic by Too Faced.

This eyeshadow is my new favorite for blue Friday’s bc it’s a blue multichrome with a green/gold reflect. I’ll likely go for more from Menagerie Cosmetics once they restock their multichromes bc I really love the formula and am happy with the result when I applied by finger to pack on the pigment. I didn’t need setting Spray to really make it pop, it does that all on its own.