Tuesday, May 29, 2012

EIC's 10Q's w/ Sean McCann

"..the sound that influences the atmosphere.."


Sean McCann
Sinking Hallucination

Sean McCann Bio:
Sean McCann (b. 1988) is a composer / experimental artist based in Los Angeles, California. Have a listen HERE.


Hello, how are you?
I am well.

What are you currently listening to?
John Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, The Lost Jockey etc. Other than that I have been listening to lots of older R.E.M.

Whom were your biggest influences when it came to creating your Ambient soundscapes?
I have distant memories of playing in my backyard in the afternoon, hearing Brian Eno records emanating from my living room, so that constant exposure must have bred some interest in environmental music. However more than any specific artist, I would think my parents were the largest influence on the development of my music. They encouraged and facilitated my creativity and still support my artistic endeavors to this day.

LOVE the new album, what exactly do you mean by "Sincere World"?
Hmmm, album titles are not my favorite subject to discuss. Regardless, I recorded that album while I was living alone in San Francisco, and I wanted to encapsulate my feeling of optimistic isolation. At the risk of sounding snobbish, I wanted to have the music try and evoke the purity and emotion of humanity...or at least my narrow understanding of it.

Is there one track on said album that is more personal than the rest and why?
I would say that the first track, "I've Seen Your Face Before", speaks to me more than any of the others. That was recorded in 2009, and always struck me as one of my most beautiful pieces. It is quite simple, not heavily multi-tracked, maybe there are two tracks total? It is all viola being played through a Fender Twin Reverb, yet somehow it ended up sounding like like group of people singing. The elated string phrases deliver an emotion that I hope speaks to the listener on a personal level.

Got any upcoming/new collabs we should know about?
I have a new collaborative album out with Matthew Sullivan (Earn) entitled "Vanity Fair." It is much more abstract than either of our solo projects, and displays a more academic approach to tape manipulation and ambience. Both organic and calculated. I am very happy with how it turned out.

I hear you're starting/started a label, care to shed some light on that?
Yes, I've started a new label, Recital. I plan on documenting the work of respected and enduring artists who's take on music impresses me. I'm not too focused on the style of music, more on where it is coming from and how it moves me. What I really want to release is an orchestral album, someone else's or my own.

What movie would work best on mute with your music as it's soundtrack?
Hmmm, well I'd like to say "The Double Life Of Veronique" or "Deep Space Nine" or "Candyman", those are all points of inspiration.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
A tape with "Goldfall" by Andrew Chalk on the A side, and "Stranded" by Roxy Music on the B side

Are you living your dream? 
I am very grateful for what I have in my life.

Thanx Sean!

Sean McCann is currently dabbling in running a label (with some amazingly talented dudes I might add) as well as multiple projects at once, whether it be for his solo project or others, he is always busy developing new sounds...

REVIEW: Sean McCann - Sincere World

7.75 out of 10

"Suburbia at dusk" dawns the cover of Sean McCann's "Sincere World". I like to picture Mr. McCann scaling the mountain from which this picture came from while playing on some sort of mobile/outdoor analog-synth set-up (those exist right?).. I'm not sure if it's the atmosphere that influences the sound, or the sound that influences the atmosphere..

From what I can tell it sounds like every other track on this release has a different recording process. Some of it is "white noise"/field samples of some sort stretched and corroded over humming synths, some of it is experimental guitar fx with distant angelic harmonies swimming through it all. 'Sincere World' is very "washed over" sounding, reminiscent of a few Eno pieces, "natural", and most importantly I like it.

Like I keep saying Ambient music is so personal and relevant/irrelevant to every other listener. I can understand how this one may not "hit" you at first, but I promise, once properly absorbed, you will like what you're hearing. At least check it out once, I recommend it anyways.

Standout Tracks:I've Seen Your Face Before (reminds me of Kevin Shields if he was remixed by Leyland Kirby..yep, it's good), Over The Stars There Is Rest, Devotion (nice end cap)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

EverythingIsChemical Presents: Nightmare Air + Drakes Hotel Live

I know, it's been a while since I've done one of these, I'll try to get better at that..;]
(The bands + EIC would like to thank you ahead of time for attending:)
& (as always) ~njoy.

Monday, May 21, 2012

REVIEW: Soul Glimpse - Recollections Become Phantoms

8 out of 10

"Ambient" & "Shoegaze" two words you hear a lot around these parts, as you know/have been told; I love atmospheric music. It doesn't matter how it's created and/or motivated, but when you mix it with another genre I love ..you're guaranteed a spot in my ear heart. Artists like Auburn Lull, Grouper, Robin Guthrie, Ulrich Schnauss, Lovesliescrushing, etc. (you know I could go on and on with this list) always seem to calm me down and put me in the proper "nirvana-esque" mindset (the state I prefer to remain in). Something about lush guitar effects melding, swirling and floating around icy synths and barely audible vocals seems to work for me (and I really don't see this changing). For that, I have to tell somebody something; (Thank You) Austyn, Thanks for reaching out and blessing my ears with your talent. Thank you for the kind of sound you represent and choose to keep alive and well. I owe you one. ~(at least one of your)#1 fans.

If you read the paragraph above, which seriously why wouldn't you? I mean who goes on to the second paragraph without even finishing the first that's just::ahem::: You should almost know what to expect from Soul Glimpse's (technically) 3 "disc" album "Recollections Become Phantoms". That's right, although packaged as one solid album which is does flow quite nicely together, it was originally intended to be consumed in 3-parts (see; the title "(1.)Recollections (2.)Become (3.)Phantoms"). Yes, the overall mood is a little depressing and bleak/drenching with misunderstood emotional baggage etc., but more than just another reason to stare at your shoes "Recollections.." is a refreshing burst of accomplishment in getting over said speed bumps. It's about dealing with your emotions instead of running. The music is mostly created by guitar pedals (lots of them probably--I think), keyboard/synths (gorgeously layered I might add), a drum machine (maybe live, kind of hard to tell) and (sorry have  to do it) "soulful" vocals that accompany the music perfectly. All of that is really "mushed together" to make this sort of thick "white noise" that is both surreal and very transcendental. A true "headphoner" if you will. Really, just look at the bands above, Ambient music is different for every other listener, but this is one for all of us. I don't know, "lush" is your thing right? Why else would you keep coming back to EIC;]? Oh! PS There's A LOT more where this came from..

Recommended for anyone who's ever needed to unwind.

Standout Tracks: All. UUhhgh so hard to pick! A Reverie You Became The Phantom (as "epic" as lush can be), A Waltz To Remember (I appreciate the bass line in this one for some reason), To Reveal The Secrets In Our Bones (the last .20 seconds..), Enduring (I could do a lot more of that with this song), Desolation Melody (so beautifully noisy)

EIC's 10Q's w/ Soul Glimpse

"..something about lush guitar effects melding, swirling and floating around icy synths and barely audible vocals seems to work for me.."


Soul Glimpse
Pensive Design Gaze

Soul Glimpse Bio:
Soul Glimpse is not a glimpse into oneself but a glimpse into the overall human soul. Soul Glimpse is an attempt to try and understand what lies within us all. Soul Glimpse creates textures that manifest overwhelming feelings that hurtful past experiences can create within us all. Soul Glimpse is an ambient project of Austyn Sullivan / Portraits of American Firing Squads.


Hello, how are you?
I am existing in Baltimore at the moment. I can’t complain really. Loving the warm weather.

What are you currently listening to?
So many things... Belong 'Common Era', Thou 'To The Chaos Wizard Youth', Unwound 'New Plastic Ideas', Broken Water 'Peripheral Star', Blonde Redhead 'Fake Can Be Just As Good', Tim Hecker 'An Imaginary Country', Deftones 'Deftones', Diet Cokeheads, Max Richter 'Infra', Peter Broderick 'Music For Confluence'..

What do you mean by Soul Glimpse?
Well it’s meaning evolved very strangely. I became really obsessed with this show called Xavier: Renegade Angel that used to come on Adult Swim. There is this episode called Damnesia Vu. In the episode Xavier is sentenced to seven glimpse into his soul. There are seven doors he must explore and there is this scene where he is writing Soul Glimpses on the wall of a jail cell. I really liked the idea of being sentenced to take glimpses of your soul. The concept seemed to fit the ambiance of the music I was making. At the time that I discovered I really like the name, I had been writing, reading and thinking a lot about the concepts and ideas of human souls. I used to release music under my name and I wasn’t happy with that. I view my music as emotions that I am feeling. Music for me is a coping mechanism and so I never liked releasing music under my name because it came across to me as something self centered. Because I don’t want the listener to think it’s about me. It’s just as much about them as it is for me. I don’t like looking at a song and seeing that it was me who created it because it is some unknown force that pushes me to complete anything. But once a song is finished I feel a weight that I was feeling has vanished. Each song is an attempt to portray something I am feeling. I always find myself writing in second person as far as lyrics. So I conclude that Soul Glimpse is the process of taking a glimpse into your soul and seeing and feeling the true colors of your hurt, of your happiness and of your dreams.

Care to tell us a little bit about this project, when/how it started etc.?
I’ve always had my own music project but I guess having a moniker changes everything. It suddenly has a new face or feeling behind it. Most of the songs on 'Recollections Become Phantoms' were all recorded in my incredibly small room in Bushwick / Brooklyn, NY in 2011. I had moved from New Orleans to Brooklyn on a whim in October of 2010. I was close to having a mental breakdown in New Orleans and I needed to get away. A friend of mine told me he had a room that I could move into so I broke my lease in New Orleans and moved to NY. I knew nothing about the East Coast really. I’m from Louisiana so I had never ventured that far north. I had only been to NY once for a high school award. I ended up having a real rough time in NY. I was only there for 6 months. In those 6 months, I went through a lot of emotional transitions and struggles. 'Recollections Become Phantoms' was a project for me to put certain things behind me. Things that were lingering in me that I needed to let go. So basically my RECOLLECTIONS were haunting me, becoming PHANTOMS that I couldn’t escape. So this album is about putting that in which hurts behind you and moving on as a human being. I sectioned the CD in three separate parts kind of like movements. Like finding that which hurts, dealing with it and letting it go. I left NY late April of 2011 to play drums for this band called Dead Mellotron in Baltimore (but I am not playing with them anymore). Baltimore is where I ended up finishing the album and where I came up with the name Soul Glimpse. That is the Soul Glimpse story so far.

Ever get lost in your own euphoric ambiance?
I would say yes. Before I write a song, I can hear some sound or tune floating around in my head. So basically all of the songs are taken from sounds and feelings of my everyday life. I try to portray them accurately through music. I constantly feel overwhelmed so I always feel comfortable with adding an intense amount of textures in my music. I like to think of it being the sound of my thoughts working and piecing things together. 

Will you be touring anytime soon?
I am currently working a lot to buy a car and get enough money to release some CD's and hopefully some vinyl. So after I get my car, I’ll be traveling a lot and trying to play as many shows as I can get.

What movie would work best on mute while listening to your music and why?
I would say Yantra by James Whitney even though it's not a movie. James Whitney’s structure in his visual art is kind of similar to the structure of most Soul Glimpse songs. It’s very repetitious and he continually adds textures to reoccurring scenes and themes. I guess mainly because there is always so much going on with the visuals kind of like there is a lot going on in most Soul Glimpse songs.

Got any other projects we should know about?
I will randomly release stuff under the name Portraits Of American Firing Squads. It’s an instrumental politically fueled project of mine. The whole project is just a way for me to express my indifference towards war, the way man oppresses the truth of matters. How man selfishly manipulates society with fear and illusions to somehow make us believe our written structure is the all holy, all sacramental and only way to be and perceive. That we shall ignore the maternal eye of nature and only see through the dead chaotic eye of man. It's my silent form of anarchy. Aside from that I am playing drums for a Black Metal band called Barbelith. It's been really fun. I have also been working on full band material for a couple of years now. I have some stuff up on my Austyn Sullivan bandcamp that were full band recordings that I did. I have tons of guitar works written. Still haven't found the right people to work on the full band material with but the day will come, hopefully. I've been writing scores for people's films lately. I would love to pursue that as a career. I have two things up on the Austyn Sullivan bandcamp for two scores I've done. I love how music can effect the way you perceive and image. For now, I’m going to keep trying to promote Soul Glimpse. I’m writing a new Soul Glimpse CD at the moment but I won’t release it for a while. I’m gonna try to get the word out first, play shows, get some recognition and then work on putting out a future album.

You can only keep/listen to ONE album for the rest of your life ..which album would it be?
That is such a tough question. My music taste varies so much. I would say Philip Glass 'Glassworks'.

Are you living your dream?
Dreams are “A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep.” Am I dreaming or am I awake? Maybe I’m living some kind of dream...

Thanx Austyn!

Soul Glimpse is constantly working on new material, more on that soon;]

Sunday, May 20, 2012

EverythingIsChemical Virtual 7" No. 20 - Purple Pawz


"Thou wast not born for death immortal bird." ~John Keats

Next release comes out June 17th.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Good (FREE) music laying around the interwebs.. Pt. 1

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~njoy.

Good (FREE) music laying around the interwebs.. Pt. 2

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~njoy.

Good (FREE) music laying around the interwebs.. Pt. 3

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~njoy.