Casimirs Blake – Ejecta Nebula

The Kahvi Collective has, for quite a number of years now, and each of their releases has a unique sound and style that can only be described as ‘Kahvi Music’. Casimirs Blake created Kahvi’s latest release, Ejecta Nebula, and it doesn’t disappoint. With the typical relaxed, Kahvi attitude inherent in each track, Blake presents a galactic soundscape that is part ambient and part breakbeat, upbeat space music infused with subtle percussion and flowing atmospheres that will melt away reality for a while and bring you back to it refreshed and recharged.

Casimirs Blake – Ejecta Nebula

Abandoned Churches – Opacity

I love abandoned places photography. I think it’s really interesting to come across a building that has been deserted for a long period of time, and see the random objects strewn about here and there that give you clues as to what type of place it was and what sort of things happened there. The Honolulu photographers would be able to capture such places beautifully and intriguingly. It’s interesting as well to imagine what might have happened in the last hours, right up to the final minute, of the buildings usefulness – what went on in the half hour before the door was locked for the final time?

Tom Kirsch is, among other things, a photographer with a knack for discovering desolation. The galleries he offers on his website far surpass my meager attempts. He has photographed the inside of forgotten churches, empty hospitals, vacant schools, and forsaken mental facilities. His tolerance for creepiness must be sky high; most of the locations he’s shot I wouldn’t dare to tread alone. But thankfully he’s been there with his camera, allowing us to see safely from our computer chairs the wonderful dilapidation of so many architectural cast-aways.

Abandoned Churches – Opacity

 

Robert Pieculewicz – Fly Free

Robert Pieculwicz is a guitar virtuoso, like Joe Satriani or Steve Vai. He has several albums for download on Jamendo, but the one that stood out to me is Fly Free – it takes me back to the days of Surfing With The Alien or Flying In A Blue Dream. This is the finest instrumental guitar rock to come from Poland that I’ve heard of – as my friend Walter from somewhere in Poland that is impossible for me to spell would say – Jej skaÅ‚y.

Robert Pieculewicz – Fly Free

Deto & Gleam – Kisses & Tears EP

Only two tracks, but a total of almost thirty four minutes of music. The first track, Kisses, clocks in at 9:25 and the second super-long track will occupy over 23 minutes of your own personal history. The music is basic techno, and sets a nice mood to back your daily tasks around the house or as a soundtrack to your party. Great for listening to in any situation.

Deto & Gleam – Kisses & Tears EP.

Honda – The Power of Dreams – Dream The Impossible – Documentary Series

Honda has an interesting series of short documentaries, the first of which deals with Hondas bi-pedal robot, Asimo. Asimo is a prototype of what Honda intends to be a line of service robots that can assist humans with basic tasks around the house. The video isn’t *too* much more than a marketing video, but it’s interesting all the same. Especially if you’re unfamiliar with Asimo.

Honda – The Power of Dreams – Documentary Series.

In Chains – Dead Heart Bloom

I guess you would call this folk, but it has a dreamy, ethereal quality about it that transcends genres. It’s just good, relaxing music that will make you fell a bit better about the world. The third track, Halfway Gone, really reminds me of a song by the Beatles, but I can’t put my finger on which song. They’ve somehow invented what can only be called ‘ambient funk’. At any rate, all five tracks on the EP rock. This is definitely one of the best finds so far this year (even though we’re only one month in).

In Chains – Dead Heart Bloom.

Wixel – Clouds

Wixel dreamed up a project in which he would record an album a month; he followed through, bringing to life twelve albums of music (not all of which I’ve checked out at this point). His album from February 2009 stands out to me, with five tracks at just under thirty minutes. Each track is reminiscent of a certain aspect of atmospheric water vapor grouping; for instance, the first track, Cloud Formation, is a rambling and haunting ten-minute build that puts the evaporative process in  sonic form. The second track, Rising Clouds, is a slow paced, smooth yet grating discord of sound that makes you feel as though your floating upwards into the sky. Track three is a disonant mish mash of ambient acoustic guitars backed with meandering sounds that tie it all together. Track four, In Clouds, is a fuzzy bit of static that drones on giving the impression that you’ve arrived in the middle of the cloud layer, about to break through into the sunlight at any moment. And when that moment comes, 3:26 later, you’re in a Fog Rainbow, a melancholic soundscape of cloud-like sounds with an atmospheric vibe.

Wixel – Clouds | 2009.

Total Solar Eclipse 2009, Enewetak

Total Solar Eclipse 2009, Enewetak

Miroslav Druckmüller and his companions acheive some fantastic photographic results when it comes to photographing the suns corona during a solar eclipse. Using a technique called photo stacking, a series of images in which you would not see many details can be compiled into one image, bringing out the very faint objects that you wouldn’t normally see. Check out the rest of his site as well, there are many outstanding astronomy photos and tidbits of information to be found there.

Total Solar Eclipse 2009, Enewetak.