Temps have been reluctantly rising here in the Northern Midwest, so we therapeutically thaw with a selection of seasonal sapphires from the current culture cave.

ABBY LEE TEE – “Hornstrandir” | CS / DL (Vertical Music)

This new work from Abby Lee Tee features artifacts collected while hiking across Iceland, in the titular “Hornstrandir” region of the country. We are greeted by a range of natural sounds, some more understandable than others. At points it feels as if we’re walking directly through a flock of birds as they cackle and groan, laughing wildly at humanity. Those Meadow Pipits and Common Redshanks really do sort of have it all figured out, right? No car insurance, no student loan debt, you’ve got a bunch of other bird buddies around to keep you company and help make important decisions, it’s probably not too bad really. 

We feel the pattering of soft rainfall, and the rustle of distant leaves, no single sound lingering too long. This is my kind of music. People sometimes use the term “nature ambient” to describe an artist that uses themes of the natural world to inspire their work, but this is true nature ambient, like actually sitting outside in Iceland from the comfort of your own couch. The balance creates a living, minimalist landscape, with consistent dynamic shifts between sources. Abby Lee Tee builds a breathing world from the material rather than simply presenting the sound as pure document. It’s an inspired and skilled manipulation of the world around us, playing the instruments of Mother Nature herself, composer of the greatest symphonies. The sound and sights that mortal humanity might create can never approach the grandeur of the mountains or skies themselves, but what a noble palette from which to paint. It’s inspiring to be presented with these natural elements so gracefully arranged into such a beautiful, transparent narrative. Each color is the voice of a living creature or shifting liquid, the sharp cut of fresh morning air, the gulls howling return.

While the hyper-focused purity of “Hornstrandir” seems created exclusively from natural sources, it is not entirely without human interaction, which is to say that some of the sounds seem to involve movement or certain acts being documented, perhaps logs being struck, or small objects being moved and manipulated, the soft rustling of steps through rough soil. It is a land without machines, the technology is seemingly born through the earth. This is a much-needed escape to distant lands, a welcome journey through focused attention. Thanks to the Italian label Vertical Music for making this wonderful work available, the cassettes are gorgeous, take a trip. Also, excuse yourself to explore the greater, expansive world of Abby Lee Tee’s music, there are many more beautiful lands to discover.

GUENTER SCHLIENZ – “Music That Glows in the Dark” | CS / DL (Eiderdown Records)

Guenter Schlienz has a steadfast career with a long history of live performances across Europe and has accumulated a considerable body of work spread across the international music community. The artist is based in Stuttgart, Germany, and works with various effective flotation techniques. Waves of controlled tone arc, suspended motion goes full gelatinous, arms turned to noodles. “Music That Glows in the Dark” is the latest exploration, arp actuated, compressed to resplendent hum. 

The text accompanying the new album includes a lovely short poem by 18th century German mystic, philosopher, and author Novalis, which is translated below, serving as an illuminating window into the mindset behind the hypnotizing music. 

“Which living, sensual person doesn’t love all the miraculous phenomena of the widespread space around him, the joyful light?” – Novalis, “Hymns to the Night”

Joyful light indeed. A lovely thought, each developing a greater love and appreciation for that which surrounds us all, for space itself.

With “Music That Glows in the Dark”, Schlienz uses tapes and field recordings with his own homemade modular synthesizers and electric organ to achieve complete weightlessness, strange personal lullabies for lonely aliens. The word “Glühwürmchen” from one of the track titles might offer a clue, which can be translated as “firefly”. Seattle’s great label Eiderdown Records has well established itself with a solid rotating cast of psychedelic all-stars. The ever growing catalog features a baffling host of world class auteurs, with each release unique, and always presented with the label’s own sharp aesthetic. They announced a pre-order recently for new Elkhorn vinyl, which is obviously making the world a better place, but Eiderdown really did us a solid by making 100 copies of this new one from Guenter Schlienz. They’ll probably disappear quickly, so don’t sleep. The artist’s personal Bandcamp has hours of penetrative iridescence on offer too, suit up sisters.

JOYS UNION GROUP – “Boredom Euphoria” | LP / CS / DL (Trouble in Mind)

The debut from this TX quartet is like an overdue vacation, a utopian vision spread across the plains of the newly birthed Spring. Neil Lord stays busy with his Future Museums project; we were collectively entranced by the recent outdoor sound-bath performed by the group, as hosted by the excellent now-age label Aural Canyon back in early March. The new Joys Union Group is an endeavor formed with some of the same players, Neil Lord joins forces with collaborators Michael C Sharp, Kristine Reaume, and Dailey Toliver, with each artist bringing a flood of interaction, and manifesting a tender teleportation through scenery born of our own imagination.

While there is a glistening sheen to the Joys Union Group sound, their music separates naturally with the distinction of each respective organic element. It’s the unique balance of each instrument that forms such a distinct cohesion. Flute and sax weave through keys of all kinds, drawing cascading shapes in the sky, while Sharp’s drums gracefully root the spiraling strings, each sound gently entangled for perfect dissolve. Through the eight tracks of “Boredom Euphoria”, we find aspects of cosmic jazz blended with folk, post-rock, and experimental techniques, balanced with a touch of Fripp-ian six-string, and a healthy breath of A+ oxygen drift.

The album has been released by the great Trouble In Mind label, who are home to an abundance of excellent artists like Chuck Johnson, David Nance, Matchess, and Sunwatchers, so the group is in perfect company. “Boredom Euphoria” has been on pre-order for a while, but the album recently found physical form and is now available on limited edition cassette, with the lovely lemon yellow vinyl version coming later this summer. The sounds are entrancing and deeply rewarding; hopefully, we’ll be blessed with more positive vibrations from the group ASAP. Thanks to all involved for sending some much-needed warmth from down south.

MEADOW ARGUS – “Peristera” | CS / DL (Tynan Tapes)

Blissed out wooze moves from Tynan Krakoff, of Columbus, Ohio, who might also be known from the 00’s cassette underground with his old tape label DNT Records. DNT used to push some pretty weird vibes back in the day, acting as a champion of underground artists working diligently on the fringes. The Meadow Argus project started in the Pacific Northwest back in 2006, but Tynan has returned to the moniker in recent years, and the album “Peristera”  is the artist’s latest, a hymn of crumbling bell hypnosis and soothing ear curdle.

Consisting of two 20+ minute tracks, each side carries its own distinct vibe but is connected through the artist’s approach and constructive process. “Archytas” eases in gently, the overlapping shift and clang eventually distorting, as time erodes and we recognize our own reality as a mere fabrication. Crumbling clink and spacious rustle, the work is profound in simplicity, built from the crumpled phasing of each gritty loop, and the perception of incongruity, if any, is created entirely by our own subconscious attempting to isolate each respective sound. We all involuntarily attempt to find order in chaos, but the overflowing pool here is full of warm and bubbling machinery on the fritz, with important looking pieces slowly falling off until the frothing mass spills over the edge.

Tynan has referred to the Meadow Argus project as “conversations with my past self”, which is a lovely frame. The material is slowly gathered over long periods of time, and when all is finally brought together to create a finished work, the artist himself often does not remember the creation of the original sounds. In this sense, the creative process is improvisational in spirit, collaborating with memories of your past self, through the medium of time captured via magnetic tape.

The title track “Peristera” sprawls across the B side and is rooted in a circular crank, with amorphous lurch, and just enough dying battery wonk to keep things feeling dangerous. This is a set of beautifully melted tunes, probably too freaky for some, but bearing rewards that most would never understand anyway. The music of Meadow Argus is like a cracked player-piano adorned with flaming gong, a small glowing pile of broken robots gently rolling downhill, until we all wake up, not exactly well rested but definitely hungry. Nice red shell tapes are still available from the artist, go spelunking. 

THE JONNY HALIFAX INVOCATION –  “Acid Blüüs Räägs Vol. 1” | LP / CS / DL (God Unknown Records)

It’s a dry, hollow world out there, and we can thank Jonny Halifax for filling our respective cups. “Acid Bluus Raags Vol 1.” stood out while it was still on preorder, with the bright orange flaming sun artwork and only a couple of smoking teaser tracks to get us collectively drooling, so it’s a great relief to finally soak in the fully drawn bath of warm twang that is The Jonny Halifax Invocation’s new LP. The tunes are like a well-seared steak, a protein blast for the spirit. The artist has been working for years, even appearing way back on a release from noisenik luminaries The New Blockaders! If one goes digging, we find another tastily smoked excursion under the Halifax Invocation moniker from March ‘21, with the “Heavy Meditations” EP, plus there’s the band Johnny Halifax & the Howling Truth, which carries a not entirely dissimilar smoky dustbowl sensibility, but The Jonny Halifax Invocation stands apart as an act of ceremony with the deconstructed blues at hand. There’s a stroke of bitter reality cast through the music, an airy echo of open, arid space, touching skin to steel.

Jonny Halifax hails from London, and the music skirts the lines between sunburnt apocalypse drone, Country-western raga, hallucinatory free jazz, and smoldering Americana ambient that feels like a hug from an old leathery friend. The boundaries of folk, country, doom, and drone have blended for years, but it’s the rare inspired album like this that so successfully blurs between forms, generating a strange and exciting new spectrum of warm electric color. Sweet scent wafts, leaving a trail of freshly ground dust. These toasty tunes might resonate with fans of Sir Bobby Lee or could be seen in proximity to the spiritual strum of artists like Ben Chasny or Matt Lajoie, but “Acid Blüüs Räägs Vol. 1” feels more like Raghunath Seth playing through Marshall stacks. Deep harmonica raga and blown out blues, broken down to the elemental essences and pushed far beyond, a devotional act of destruction.

The songs bleed well beyond the edges, a freshly hewn object now smoking. The track title “Scorched Earth Blüüs” captures the mood perfectly, all that’s left in the end is the dirt we’re standing on. We dig our own holes to bury our most precious secrets. The label God Unknown brings this work to life with gorgeous tapes and vinyl, don’t look that precious gift in the mouth. Summer’s here early, a hot, sweet song.

Sub-Sub Strata is a new regular music column for Free Form Freakout.

Written monthly by Matthew Himes.

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