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OSAKA 009CD
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"Hulk is the project of Dublin-based artist Thomas Haugh. Written over 18 months and combining an ensemble of string, woodwind and brass players with Haugh's own brand of sound treatment, Rise of a Mystery Tide is an album conceived to reflect dreams, or more specifically, emotions as they manifest in our dreams. The music evokes notions of transcendence and soul searching... spacious strings drift and pull together to create moments reminiscent of Sigur Rós, giving way to more hollow sounding, ambient passages. Various field recordings of the sea are peppered throughout -- 'the sea' being thematic, connected to dreams as something eternal, ever changing and mysterious. Rise of a Mystery Tide sets an overall scene for some kind of ancient star sailing... this is a late night/early morning slow-burner -- one to be experienced in that blurry state somewhere between the lines of conscious and the subconscious. Thomas Haugh has previously released on various UK labels, including Static Caravan, Expanding and Melodic Records, has appeared on Wire Tapper CD 18, and recently remixed Efterklang track 'Cutting Ice to Snow.' Rise of the Mystery Tide is the follow up to 2005's critically acclaimed Silver Thread of Ghosts album, also released on Osaka. The album is dedicated to Haugh's baby boy Roman, and the CD digipack features some beautifully detailed artwork from French artist Gregoire Dalle."
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OSAKA 008CD
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"Deary me, another artist debut that has literally floored all of us in the office -- a shimmering, homespun amalgam of delicate twilight music that fans of Colleen, Deaf Center, Max Richter, Marsen Jules, Brian Eno, Greg Haines, Stars of The Lid and so on will absolutely adore. Hannu (real name Hannu) is from that Scandinavian snowy vodka-logged tundra which we have all fallen in love with, and luckily the music here evokes similarly icy imagery. Like Hannu's countrymen The Gentlemen Losers, this music perfectly evokes a crackling log fire, burning away as you peruse old photo albums and eat hot soup, or even a summery night of quiet contemplation. Taking cues from Colleen's or Es's horizontal loop-laden adventures, Hannu takes us on picturesque journeys through his musical landscapes, each song an audio poem to unseen vistas, to drifting seas and crimson skies, to secret gardens and to bottomless wardrobes. His music is beautiful in that exciting, mystifying sense -- music which genuinely gives you a sense of awe and romance at the big wide world. If you don't believe me, just lend your ears to 'Haapavesi,' the album's second track and one of its most perfectly crafted moments -- tiny glockenspiels echo over hisses and crackles before being joined by low-slung guitar melodies and deep, booming bass with everything sounding like it has been filtered through some decomposed music box or other. Elsewhere we are treated to the harrowing acoustic doom of 'Lyhti,' with bells and high-pitched string sounds that would give Svarte Greiner a run for his money, and the unusual harpsichord-led jazz shuffle of 'Winter Song,' but this is an album that tells a tale and one which is best enjoyed in one sitting, from beginning to end. Worms In My Piano is a fascinating debut from an artist who is sure to go from strength to strength, and although it might be getting close to summer, this is a disc you're going to be able to enjoy all year long, just remember to bring the vodka. Absolutely beautiful stuff and just about indispensable for fans of Type, Miasmah or Buro." --Boomkat
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OSAKA 007CD
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"Ireland's Osaka recordings return with the debut album from French singer and producer Eglantine Gouzy. Some of you might remember the lovely lady from last year's compilation of female electronica 4 Women No Cry on the Monika imprint, and this full length is a continuation of her unique styles. Singing in French and English with a tone reminiscent of Björk but never too close to be considered a copyist, the most noticeable element of Miss Gouzy's music is the distinct electronic-acoustic production. It's somewhere in-between Niobe or Leila's skewed electronic meanderings and Colleen's distant minimal romanticisms, yet the addition of Gouzy's childlike poems and warm vocal melodies set her apart from any artists I care to mention. Each track seems to have its own distinct style and place, which works surprisingly well -- it would have been easy for an album such as this to feel jumpy or indistinct, but Gouzy carries it off quite effortlessly, with the skewed minimal tribal electronics of 'Boa' perfectly offsetting the windswept '50s rock 'n roll influenced 'Cowboy' and the blipping analogue electronics of 'A Gnome.'"
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