Ultimae label founder Vincent Villuis aka AES Dana returns to one of his favourite emotional fields with (a) period. and explores these times of forlornness and oblivion in a Cinematic Ambient 10 chapter story.

As a creative observer, the French artist instantiates our endeavour to establish stillness, he steers the tale with a wide palette of sensitive chords, melting distant rumbles into bittersweet melodies and diaphanous pads thus leading the listener to a state of introspection and intimate isolationism.

AES Dana‘s 9th album (a) period. stands as an elegy for unimaginable loss, and, as the composer says, “any resemblance with your personal experience is no coincidence”.

All tracks written & produced by Vincent Villuis
Mastering by Vincent Villuis | Ultimae Studios
Artwork design : Arnaud Galoppe & Vincent Villuis
Photo credits : Ivan Tsaregorodtsev

inre105 – (C) & (P) 2021 Ultimae

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Ultimae proudly presents Gneiss, a first solo EP on the label for Danish composer Tore Kofod Hyldahl aka Erot after his participation on Martin Nonstatic‘s Granite Remixes and releases on labels such as Iboga Records, LSD-Liquid Sound Design and Fallen Metropolis.

The emotive and abstract musical tale invites the listener to escape perception, understanding and apprehend the vast of music, of nature, time and space. Grounded yet floating freely, the chiselled rhythms and evanescent pads create the cradle of contrasts in which one can let himself be lulled and carried away on a deep and delicate journey.

Erot welcomes aboard space ambient and downtempo initiates Henrik Laugesen and Vincent Villuis, respectively known as Lauge and AES Dana to fuel the experience with extra cinematic atmospheres and beats.

Compared to the vinyl version, the CD includes extra track Halocline (Morild part 2).

Written & Produced by Tore Kofod Hyldahl
Except Isotherm by Tore Kofod Hyldahl & Henrik Laugesen
and The Bygone Schematics by Tore Kofod Hyldahl & Vincent Villuis
Mastering by Vincent Villuis at Ultimae Studios
Artwork by Arnaud Galoppe & Vincent Villuis
Photo credit: Wolfgang Hasselmann

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Mixed & performed & mastered by Vincent Villuis
Original tracks written and produced by Vincent Villuis
Except Inks with Mahiane
Diffraction Protocol with Miktek
Listen to the Flowers Grow with Mahiane & Cédric Desseaux
Currents with Iris
Photo Credits : Oriento

inre0106 – (C) & (P) 2022 Ultimae

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Washed out blissful pads and slow idm rhythms are to be expected as the foundation of this release. From the warm ambient vibe of Dawsonia to the dubbed out landscapes of Omniprescence and the glitchy rhythms of Atmosphere of Neglect, Mihalis cruises through multiple electronic territories while keeping a coherent sound along the way.

Sometimes reassuring, sometimes dark, but always captivating, these pieces feel like a never ending ascent to the lights above.
During the troubled times we’re experimenting, Hereafter resonates with a touching singularity. While the title might evoke dismal images, what we hear is an invitation to look farther than anything else, farther than our present times, to journey to clearer skies and quieter waters.

Written, arranged, mixed and produced by Mihalis Aikaterinis
Except Parenthesis (Ozora live edit) by Mihalis Aikaterinis and Vincent Villuis
Mastering by Vincent Villuis at Ultimae Studios
Artwork by Arnaud Galoppe and Vincent Villuis

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Thus, the journey begins on Mars, continues to the Platonic year of planet Earth, then flies away to Venus and takes to a terrestrial day, only to spin along the annual frequency of our home planet (432 Hz) for 28 minutes. Eventually, the album closes on the gravitational length of our sun.

Rainer has discovered the rich depths of throat singing a long time ago and found a fulfilling and moving force in this form of singing. Controlled breathing, to which he mostly found in meditation, is the source of the sound. The Healing Source. He finds the combination of archaic means of sound production and electronic soundscapes very fascinating. To him, harmonizing these worlds while resonating with the planets of our solar system is a mirror of the all-oneness.

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Starting with a firework of bleeps and bops, already the very first minutes of his new record reveal Aoki‘s preference for vibrating beats and likewise his playful approach to music, generating a sound that is aiming at the dance floor. Like the first ones, almost all tracks of the record are characterized by a constant modulation of chords and lines that sometimes appears somehow hyperactive, but nevertheless results in a natural flow that perfectly reflects Aoki‘s laid-back attitude combined with his will to produce danceable and funky music.

The fluent arrangement is only interrupted by the third track which forms a caesura by being more reduced and slower. In contrast to this, the following tracks present a faster tempo and an increased intensity; and whereas the first tracks reflect downbeat and r’n’b influences due to their broken beats and chunky sound, the later songs are characterized by a more sleek and technoid style, incorporating dribbling basses, clappy sounding snares and modulated voice snippets.

Although all of the musical components are constantly broken down, modulated, and rearranged, the overall sound of the record is dense and compact, featuring a groove made up of numerous elements that are complexly intertwined. The eight tracks of the record fit seamlessly together and create a composition that nearly functions like a DJ set. The album was mastered by Yoshinori Sunahara.

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Each song on the album was then composed around the content received, and named after the people who did the speaking. Ranging from the overtly political to the tenderly inspirational and many points in between, Wax Poetic For This Our Great Resolve provides verbal expressions of hope as diverse and rich as the experiences of the people who so generously delivered them.

Musically the album sees Monteith taking his well-honed sound design abilities and widescreen arrangements to new heights, and exploring a deep interest in traditional analog recording methods to mesmerizing effect. Every sound on the record, whether generated from his tried-and-tested array of software-based tools, or from the enormous collection of guitars, organs, pianos, and percussion instruments found in the Berlin-based studio he now calls home, was recorded via microphone.

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Conceived of just before Nils broke his thumb and composed the similarly intimate solo piano album Screws, Empty is a soothing vessel of eight simple and serene pieces originally recorded as the music to a short art film he shot with his friend and film director Benoit Toulemonde. Drifting through emotions from the stark and sobering opener First Defeat, to the gently euphoric No Step On Wing and the contemplative but hopeful closer Black Notes, with its poignant minute of silence, Empty is a comforting score for these turbulent times.

“When I came back from the hospital with a broken thumb and listened to the recordings, I felt they were unfinished. I decided to put them aside and started to work on my small album, Screws.
Many many other notes of the piano have been struck since these days, and before we all forget about this, I thought it would be a good moment to share these lullabies with you. I hope they help you stay all strong and calm in these days of solitude – despite the hardship, we can discover introspection and reflection unexpectedly. Who knows what it is good for.
Much love !”
– Nils

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Resonant guitar notes, odd sounds, electronic hallucinations, and unexpected warm synth layers all gather together in Brigitte Barbu‘s first enigmatic album. Recorded and mixed during a reclusive one-week residency in a very special studio, under the benevolent cubic radiation of “Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant,” using a computer, synthesizers, and various string instruments, giving birth to this resolutely unique album. The guitars were sharply disciplined, propelling strings into strange and hypnotic limbos, somewhere between a weightless journey through time and a fresh science lab experiment.

A perky cosmic album running away from rules and gravity.

“I wanted to compose an ethereal abstract Hip-Hop LP” says Brigitte, “with guitar as a brainwashed instrument, mirroring machines and computers, even if surely far from being unplugged”. So much for that… With a real introspective dimension, the record stands out for its pure whimsical mood. The artist had strict rules for composing: “Each track is based on the association between a title chosen for its consonances, an open tuning, a random tempo and frequencies chosen for their supposed effects, real or imagined, on the mind, body & soul.” For example: Taro Patch -> Whale -> 93,75 BPM or Dobro -> Bear-> 118,125 BPM, Air Resistance -> Open Em -> Panther-> 480 BPM etc.

Brigitte surgically framed an electro-acoustic compendium, finding its atmospheric mothership… Brigitte Barbu, referring to a special interlude from a vintage release Escalope de Dingue (Fool’s Cutlet), explains that Muzak pour Ascenseurs en Panne is in fact a custom tribute to family, friends, triggered cosmonauts, René Clément and the card game where the winner is the bearded monarch nonchalantly stabbing himself in the head. It’s a lot!

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Anecdote was recorded live June 12th 1987 at Spiral Garden (Wacoal Art Center) in Aoyama (Tokyo) as part of the Eat Newsic Concert No.3. Motohiko Hamase on electric fretless bass, synthesizers and computer programming, is accompanied by frequent collaborators Toshio Kaji on acoustic piano and synthesizers, and Yasunori Yamaguchi (of #Notes of Forestry fame) on acoustic percussions. The three-man band improvises around Hamase’s unique repertoire of ambient and electronic music, reinterpreting pieces from his albums Reminiscence, Intaglio, and #Notes of Forestry.

It’s environmental and minimalist experiments with a jazz soul, three brilliant musicians flowing to blissful heights, and a beautiful testament to the 80s Japanese ambient scene that gave birth to seminal releases by Midori Takada, Satoshi Ashikawa, Yutaka Hirose and many more. Essential.

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