M83

It's a rich, moody, multi-layered work that finds Tiersen showing off his instrumental prowess and playing a wide array of instruments from strings to synthesizers on his haunting classical/rock compositions. Vocal-oriented tracks like "Fuck Me" show Tiersen's poppier side, achieving an infectious, anthemic sound somewhere between M83 and Broken Social Scene, while "Ashes" seems more in line with the extensive soundtrack work he's done in the past as it builds gradually from tension-building strings and horror-film piano plunking to fuzzed-out guitar squalls and choral vocal chants. The dominant feeling on Dust Lane, though, is that of an artist who reveres Ravel and the Swans in equal measure, as exemplified by "Dark Stuff" and "Palestine"…

Coming out of hibernation with "Bloom" set on the promise of Spring, cinematic post-rock visionary Lights & Motion truly transcends emotion. Consistently beautiful, gut-wrenching and full of melancholic hopefulness, Christoffer Franzen's unfailing creativity delivers yet again. He just gets it. "I feel really connected to the title track. I did something unusual for me in that I conceptualized a song before I had even written a note. I wanted to create a song that would sound like a flower in bloom, in that it is ever changing and evolving" says Franzen. Produced, recorded and mixed by Franzen at UpSweden Studio in Gothenburg. Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters in Los Angeles (M83, Paramore, Serge Gainsbourg). Album artwork by Shane Labelle. Photography by Fredrik Sellergren. Absolutely stunning.

Jean-Michel Jarre - Electronica 1: The Time Machine (2015)
EAC Rip | FLAC (tracks) | cuesheets+log | 67:35 mins | covers+booklet | 143 + 494 Mb
Style: Electronic, Ambient, New Age | Label: Sony Music

The French synthesizer icon has been teasing out details on the new album since April, revealing various high profile collaborators involved with the record. Electronica 1: The Time Machine is in fact a fully collaborative effort: all of its 16 tracks have Jarre working with another producer.

The 3rd album of Tokyo Shoegazer, which is the first time in about 9 years since the dissolution. Mastering is done by Dave Cooley, who has worked on many popular overseas artists such as M83, DIIV, Tame Impara, Wolf Alice, etc. at an American studio.

In the late 1970s, Jean-Michel Jarre’s albums Oxygène and Équinoxe sold in their zillions, demonstrating that electronic music could be embraced by mainstream tastes. Almost 40 years later, the list of Jarre’s collaborators on Electronica 1: The Time Machine reads like a who’s who of electronic music, including Massive Attack, Moby, Air, Vince Clarke, Laurie Anderson and John Carpenter. True, by assembling such a stellar lineup, Jarre is reminding us of his status as a pioneer. But this does not feel like a cynical exercise - perhaps because Jarre was shrewd enough to work in person with his collaborators rather than remotely by sharing digital files. Jarre’s soaring washes of chords are present on tracks such as Conquistador (with French techno artist Gesaffelstein) and Zero Gravity (one of the last recordings of the late Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream)…