| 1. Join our community! | 2008-05-04 |
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Please join our new community site at http://atmoworks.ning.com
The community is great for joining other music lovers, both musicians and listeners, to discuss all kinds of topics. AtmoWorks and non-AtmoWorks artists alike will be posting music and photos - we'd love to have you join in. It will also become our new mailing list - so please sign up even if you don't want to join us on the forums, blogs, photos, or videos! Thanks! John K-N / Relaxed Machinery |
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| 2. Vir Unis Reissues Two Albums from 2001 | 2008-04-17 |
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Vir Unis has rereleased his 2001 albums "Pulse n Atmo" and "Live at Gathering 23" originally released on the Groove and Space For Music labels. The new versions are high quality mp3 downloads and feature new artwork.
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| 3. Artists Bios Added and Upcoming Releases | 2008-04-12 |
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We've added bios for new AtmoWorks co-owners Matt and John as well as bios for Dean Richards (Disturbed Earth) and Peter James. Click on the "artists" link on the far left to read them.
Disturbed Earth will be continuing the three album journey started with Sho with the 2nd and 3rd installments coming in the next few weeks. Vir Unis is continuing work on "Stand Still Like the Hummingbird" which should be coming out sometime this spring. We're also very excited about the MjDawn album and upcoming e.p. from Jonathan Hughes. Early mixes are sounding fantastic. Look for these sometime this spring or summer. Have a great weekend! jkn |
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| 4. New Releases from Disturbed Earth and F??y | 2008-04-02 |
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Disturbed Earth - Sho
AtmoWorks is proud to announce another great album by Disturbed Earth. In this nine track journey, Sho, Disturbed Earth explores an ethereal mist of sounds hovering just above a molten bed of lava and rock. Created by an organic palette that consists of a prepared and modified version of his mother's childhood instrument the "Guitar-Mandolin-banjo", an array of shells, bells, pipes, acoustic guitars, and other earthy sounds, warm atmospherics and tons of ear candy will treat the listener to some deep listening in high resolution. Like his previous works on Dreamswept, Life Admist Dreams, and Watercolour, Dean uses analog tape looping and recording techniques to great effect. Sho is the first of three in a series which we will be releasing throughout the spring of 2008. The albums will feature original design and artwork by acclaimed artist Peter Webb, a lifelong friend of Dean Richards and a fellow Australian. On Sho, the artwork and the music merge as one in a vivid and lucid blend of sound and vision. Track Listing:
F??y - Undercurrent The highly reclusive northern European artist known as F??y, has resurfaced with a new single. "Undercurrent" speaks emotive volumes in a very understated tone. His style is hard to categorize. With mixtures of classic ambient, glitchy beats, and odd time signatures, it goes without saying, that his is a very unique approach to minimalist ambient music. With additional piano & atmospheric elements mixed in by James Johnson, "Undercurrent" is an impressionistic journey that only F??y could have crafted. total running time - 8:48 |
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| 5. Vir Unis and James Johnson Live April 16 | 2008-03-23 |
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VIR UNIS AND JAMES JOHNSON LIVE EVENT
April 16th (Wed) 10pm The Butterfly Social Club 722 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, IL www.butterflysocialclub.com The Butterfly Social Club is an eco-friendly bar powered by solar energy. They serve chemical free wines and organic beers, spirits, and juices. The interior is one of the largest indoor structures in the world curved to the specifications of Windmiller Sound for full rich audio. All of the speakers are designed to look like tree trunks using recycled wood and there are living vines on trees and a gurgling fountain. Additional info: Psymbolic presents: Re:vivify http://www.Psymbolic.com/events A Weekly Social featuring a constantly evolving curation of live audio and visual artists. The Butterfly Social offers an array of conscious tonics and cocktails all set in an eco-friendly environment. Come take part in the experience. Wednesday Weekly :: 9p-2a :: 21+ Butterfly Social Club :: 722 W. Grand Ave. Chicago, IL 60610 Grand blue line stop RSVP :: Event Info :: Music :: Art http://www.Psymbolic.com .......................................................... Coming Soon on AtmoWorks: Vir Unis is putting the final touches on his "Stand Still Like the Hummingbird" e.p. Disturbed Earth has a new full length called "Sho" on the way with artwork from Peter Webb. And the ever-elusive F??y is back with a new single, "Undercurrent". All three are coming soon! |
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| 6. AtmoWorks Update Late Winter 2008 | 2008-03-06 |
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Greetings to all,
I find myself writing this in a mix of emotions, as I realize how complex our feelings can be when change is amongst us. AtmoWorks has now been in existence just a little over six years. AtmoWorks was created in late fall of 2001 by Vir Unis and James Johnson and with a huge amount of help from Brian McWilliams. Over the years we have expanded and have included several other artists to our small but growing collective. It's been an honor and privilege to facilitate the release of such great work by some very talented artists. AtmoWorks is dedicated to this very cause. We are designed to expedite the process in which an independent artist or group of artists can release music at will and without any third party agenda. This is an honorable cause and this is our one and only goal. This is an exciting process to be a part of. James and I built this from the ground up out of a combined will that resulted in a very transparent and rewarding friendship. It's this energy that carried us over the past six years. This is the part of the emotion in which I am proud and excited to continue. The other part is with sadness as James Johnson has decided to leave AtmoWorks and continue on a different rewarding path in his personal quest for artistic achievement. However, it is with this sadness that I also have a joy in seeing such a talented man and gifted artist follow his own muse. A chapter of my life has been closed and a new chapter for myself and AtmoWorks begins..I have always, from day one, planned for AtmoWorks to be in existence as long as I live. It is such a part of my life, that as I watch it grow and sustain my works and others, that my will to empower it even more grows by the day. In retaining the energy of friendship and transparent new business model that James and I have established, I have tapped two individuals who also share many of the same qualities. These are two individuals that I have known since I was a teenager and have shared countless days, years, and months working together on a variety of artistic projects and adventures that friends share. They are like family to me. Please welcome to AtmoWorks John Koch-Northrup and Matt McDonough. Biographies and extended information on both will be forthcoming on AtmoWorks.com, as there is too much to say about these outstanding individuals in this letter. I will say that they bring an extraordinary amount of talent and creative energy to AtmoWorks and I'm honored that they have chosen to work with me in this every evolving labor of love. In the spirit of this evolution, we are in a state of upgrading AtmoWorks.com to include several new features as well as refine some aspects of our site that have worked well for the past six years. One of them being is the return of AtmoWorks live radio, AtmoStreams, which includes artists from around the world streaming live music from their studios. In the past, we've had such notable musicians as Vidna Obmana, Saul Stokes, DreamState, and the Elf Machine performing live on AtmoStreams. Also planning on a series of talks and conversations with various artists, both in music and other mediums to be streamed either live or taped. This is truly exciting.. New music is coming! Different types of music is coming as well. AtmoWorks, in essence is a label that has been designed to work with ambient and electronic music. While retaining that essence, we are also in the process of expanding the definition of ambient, as it should, and including all sorts of new and eclectic music that may or may not fit the traditional definition of "ambient'. We'll let you decide on that one. It is you, after all, that we seek to connect with the artists. The artist/listener relationship is a timeless and sacred connection that is our honor to preserve. Yours truly, Vir Unis February 2008 |
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| 7. New Music from Disturbed Earth | 2008-01-27 |
Dean Richards, aka Disturbed Earth, is at it again; giving birth to twin releases here at AtmoWorks. Using a minimalist palette of tuned wind, chimes, guitar, pedal harmonium, and bowls, Richards works with a very organic set up, achieving results not only thoroughly organic, but also deeply resonant. There’s an alchemical process that goes on here as metallic sounds are looped into the magnetic circle of tape and are transformed on every pass into various sculptures. This kind of artistic labor is especially appreciated here at AtmoWorks.
This is rare and warm analog ambient music made by someone we feel gives an extraordinarily interesting perspective to creating music that has been nearly taken over by digital machines. The work with tape recording and looping is the actual mechanical process which digital samplers work hard to accurately emulate. This type of analog work, embodied very nicely in the 1970’s by Robert Fripp & Brian Eno, has a long tradition of creating new musical forms out of stale corporate music, and creating entire new genres of expression. The first album of the two is Dreamswept, which consists of four individual tracks that were recorded live in one take. The second album is Watercolour, which is one long-form track that cross-fades these songs with an underlying bed of sections of the songs looped through the same 2 tape recorders. |
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| 8. origins & found sound | 2007-12-22 |
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12-22-07: origins & found sound
contact mics room acoustics gradations of fidelity amplification looping organic sense of timing silence passed over technology homemade solar environment field recordings samples sampling sampler analog modular purist experimental returning evanston tactile fm innocence fall walking systems language moving change ending beginning reel to reel reel to reel lo-fi hi-fi 8bit 16bit 24bit polished rough sterile earth bound life changing shifting movement gritty another way untethered outside space requirements prairie use what you have consumption deservedness open ended open source pause brings clarity battery powered environmental impact minimal performance and composition sound design sound processing mobile transportable seclusion immersion multitasking unknown seeing research false eerie warmth stillness retreat sudden sense of everything coming together at the right time long past innocent and idea oriented experimentalism has always been connected to expansive and emotive melody for years now i see it and it's path forward -Memory Mist |
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| 9. New Music from peter james | 2007-12-16 |
I was first introduced to peter james' music not too long ago. However, since the first listen I'm completely hooked. I find his music very delicate and laced with emotion and grace. peter james creates luxurious soundscapes in holding on letting go. Exploring the true depth of his instruments, the music deeply resonates with the insides. This is emotional work with a purity that is rare to find in electronic music. The additional artwork by stephen spera is a great bonus.
Vir Unis - Decemeber 2007 The sleeve design, and extra artwork, that comes with this album are taken from a book about another personal journey - that of the artist and designer stephen spera. Even though the music and the images were created at different times, they inspire each to be something else..so the portfolio of images offered as extras here can be found nowhere else, and as such, they are exclusive originals, donated to this project by stephen spera, turning this at once into an artistic collaboration between artist and musician.... for more information and images - www.stephenspera.com |
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| 10. James Johnson - Memory Mist update | 2007-12-15 |
Just released by Sony "The Big Picture" for their Cinescore platform. Some of you may notice some similarity in some of the sound examples at the Sony site, with the recent "Dulcet" download I just released. At the time, I was simultaneously working on "Memory Mist" and "The Big Picture". The two projects fed off each other, with "Memory Mist" providing inspiration and sound design concepts for the ambient motifs in "The Big Picture".
I'm back working the mixes of "Memory Mist" now. The project has really developed into an extended sublime and meditative mixture of environments. The pacing of the work has a very "zen" like quality to it. This is probably due to the fact that I've been composing and mixing it in between fast paced and deadline pressured commercial projects. "Memory Mist" has become a sonic retreat. |
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| 11. Vir Unis new album Return of the Locust Queen now available | 2007-11-25 |
Return of the Locust Queen is the latest offering by Vir Unis. Recorded and conceived in autumn, this album is one continuous piece with some very definite zone changes and even a little silence in between. Primary instrumentation is processed rhodes electric piano, textural guitar, and various digital synthesizers.
Drifting in and out of melodic zones are deep spatial microworlds and vast walls of sheer ambient drift. This album resides in parallel worlds to his earlier works of The Drift Inside, Aeonian Glow, and Lumen. Return of the Locust Queen is a return to work that Vir Unis has spent many years crafting in various shades and textures. |
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| 12. Vir Unis new album Henry Hud now available | 2007-11-18 |
Henry Hud is a collection of 9 new pieces by Vir Unis. Composed and recorded in one take and mastered unedited, these tracks capture a unique and special moment in time. Henry Hud is the son of Vir Unis and was the inspiration for this album as was “Not Even The Rain”, which was his last solo album of new material, two years ago. Much like this album, Henry Hud is an exploration in melody and delicate texture. It was also recorded on analog tape and was processed in an older method of tape looping and other analog trickery, so expect tape hiss and delayed artifacts in the recording. It’s like the grain in film and does add a unique texture of it’s own to the global mix. Being a father and experiencing the tenderness of taking care of a son is the emotional resonance of Henry Hud and underscores the soft beds and washes of textured analog sound. This album was especially made with love and is dedicated to my son Henry….
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| 13. James Johnson - dulcet - now available | 2007-11-15 |
While in the midst of the mixing sessions for "Memory Mist" this 10min pastoral work revealed itself. The string elements are unique to this release, giving the piece a much more orchestrated and musical feel than the upcoming "Memory Mist". Memory Mist has a related feel to more recent CUBE works such as "Sospensione d'Estate" and others.
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| 14. New Music from AmbientPortal | 2007-11-11 |
Mykl Nufeld, aka AmbientPortal, has finished his second AtmoWorks album to date.
InterraFlow, the new album, is an audiophile's journey through low washes of subtle electronic textures that define and give clarity to even lower drones that ebb and flow, providing a natural direction and tonal narrative for the listener. This is one long track with deep and low drone work, yet there's so much high end sonic detail, keeping the mind tethered to the emanating sounds. This is magnetic work; ambient space music at its finest and realized once again as an electronic current, something which lives and breathes, seemingly organic yet fully electronic.... Mastered by Vir Unis |
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| 15. New Music by peter james & Disturbed Earth | 2007-10-28 |
Three new albums are being introduced tonight by AtmoWorks. We have the honor and privilege to feature some very interesting works by these two artists, peter james & Dean Richards.
Their music is quite unique, as they create some very intricate, complex, yet warm and organic soundworlds using nothing but guitar and bass guitar. The fact that they can make such beautiful ambient music with vibrating strings, without the use of computers, sythesizers, sampling, and even digital recording, is simply inspiring. This is ambient music the way it was created in its infancy, yet sounds beyond contemporary and is a quite refreshing collection of work in a sea of overly digitized and mechanical electronic music. Let this curiosity, you obviously have (if you've read this far), flow. and download this now.... |
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| 16. Du Soleil by Off The Sky now available.... | 2007-08-28 |
This is the first AtmoWorks release for acclaimed experimental electronic artist, Jason Corder, recording as Off The Sky. Du Soleil is a collection of four pieces that alternate between shimmering and glitchy, atmospheric and haunting.
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| 17. Alio Die & James Johnson - Cube 7 - Sospensione d'Estate | 2007-07-21 |
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I'm happy to announce a very special release in the CUBE series of environments. Sospensione d'Estate' (Summer Suspension) is a collaboration between myself and Alio Die. A unique meditative work that blends perfectly with the warm & hazy days of summer. Definitely a one of a kind release for the CUBE series, as this one is a manufactured CD put out on Stefano's Hic Sunt Leones recording label.
James |
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| 18. The Elf Machine vs FOY | 2007-07-08 |
10,000 Headless Buddhas was a freak chance encounter between the mysterious and reclusive artist known as FOY and the surrealistic Elf Machine. Recorded one hazy afternoon some time ago, this album was released briefly a couple years back, then abruptly shelved for unknown reasons. There are no track titles for the six pieces on this album, other than labeled as buddha zone 1-6.
Exploring the ever evolving contrast between stark minimalist electro bleeps and circus like soundscapes all carried by click clock grooves and ticking beats, FOY and The Elf Machine provide the listener with quite an unique listening experience in this unearthed and obscure recording. |
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