“…Soundtracks to heaven…” ?? “…Pieter Nooten’s all instrumental new double album ‘Haven’ is the third in the series of solo-releases entirely composed and mixed on the Mac Book Pro. Forced to disregard the frills of most hi-end ambient/neo-classical productions Nooten nevertheless produced one the most authentic and exemplary sounding CDs of this year. ‘Haven’ has the true mark of the contiguous quality and style we have learned to appreciate from Nooten’s previous releases, all the way back to his ‘Clan Of Xymox’ song writing days.
On ‘Haven’ Nooten sounds more introverted and world weary than we are accustomed to, sketching a deeply introspective musical world of heart-wrenching beauty, incorporating elaborate sound design and experimentation without over-producing the music or compromising his initial goals. As a rule Pieter Nooten sounds like Pieter Nooten: there are minimal influences by predecessors, external styles or genres. Nooten’s music has nothing of the contemporary obsession with traditionalist epigonism; his gaze is firmly fixed on the future, utilizing minimalist composing techniques as a tool to innovate, not imitate. Nooten is inspired by both his direct as well as indirect environment: the world famous Dutch panorama’s of deep blue shaded cloud formations, the cold and wet Northern European climate where most human emotions are suppressed and melancholy, but also a desperate need for beauty and aesthetics blooms. Nooten never contests his personal mark: a pensive sadness that delicately lies hidden within every single melody, sound and harmony: a profound melancholy that is intense and at some moments quite overwhelming. (A. Engelman, Amsterdam, 2012)
I remember following what Sam and Projekt were releasing way back in the early 1990s... It's truly inspiring seeing Sam still at it with the same intense creative drive after all these years. All the other artists' versions of Black Tape songs really make this an extra special release. Venus In Furs
Terry Venemous is releasing new music every 3 weeks this year. His latest EP is sumptuous art pop with a wry sense of detachment.
Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 27, 2024
...transmuting through gorgeously heartwarming mirages into blissful all-embracing sonic euphoria. It happens again and again with each spin, I am drifting through the emotionally magnified sonic Eden into the resonant silence with goosebumps on my arms...
Recorded in the remembrance of lost loved ones, "The Passing" dives into the most intense, yet nectarously sumptuous, harmoniously gratifying and luminously eulogistic zones of heart-rending contemplations ever sculpted by Steve Roach!!! Richard Gürtler