Snowcore

Snow is falling in Iowa. Does snow have a sound? Is it silent percipitation? No. Well, yes. But no.
Anywho, you have to put your ear right to the ground, bury your head in the white, and let the snow seep into your inner ear. Let the flakes tickle your cochlea's hair cells, let the snow chunnel to your brain and hear the musik. Or just lie on your beddie, play with your feet, and soundtrack your own winterbed.
No beats here today, only sounds of the ether. But prime sample material, at least in my mind.



Hans Otte-Part 1
Hear those opening chords? They make you feel nice? Well, like the big bang of the Met Opera House Chandelier, those chords are going to burst into minimal piano bliss and the dialectics of montage will screen your lifestory onto your brainvision. Hans Otte is a German composer who gravitates toward the minimal (every person I've ever played this for, after bursting into tears, has asked "Is this Philip Glass?). This is the first piece off his "Book of Songs" and was used by Godard for his film Origin of the 21st Century (correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't been able to track it down, but that's what I'm told).


Charlemagne Palestine-Piano Drone
The big teddy bear of minimalism, Palestine recorded Piano Drone in 1972 (this is from the Alga Marghen "Continuous Sound Forms" release in 2000) and hearing it after reading the title, one can't help but be baffled by the oversimplification of "drone" in the gutter music vernacular. This piece bleeds spontaneity like watching high-density sea foam frolic on the tides. For some reason, it made me think of the Boredom's project of recording their drums on the beach, allowing the waves to submerge the microphones. Anyway, it's absolutely gorgeous.


Terry Riley-Keyboard Study #1
Terry Riley-Keyboard Study #2
Some people like their dose of the ethereal to come in like the air, breezing in past their lobes and immersing them in a leaf pile of sonic bliss. Well, I like the ice. I like those big-ass snow embankments and I like to bury myself in them in the late afternoon listening to this 45 minute minimal thrashing. Terry Riley is, like, really good.


Colleen-What is a Componium? Part 1
Colleen-What is a Componium? Part 2
Alright Colleen, perhaps the reigning champ of modern snowcore musik, whatcha got? Oh yeah, the best shit ever. Her "Colleen Et Les Boîtes À Musique" album that was recorded for French Radio is a little spotty, but is given some much-needed heft by this two-part monster. Not as good as her past two albums, but these tracks rule.