Various - SMM: Context

***CD LTD to 1500 & LP to 800 WORLDWIDE***

SMM: Context is the first release in Ghostly International’s new yearly compilation series of evocative, open-ended music. The artists on Context span the globe, straddling the intersection between classical minimalism, electronic and drone composition, film soundtracks, and fragile imaginary landscapes. In other words, SMM: Context relies on its listener to fill in the blanks, providing real-world context for its darkly emotional sounds.

Falling as it does under the umbrella of the enigmatic Ghostly-coined non-genre of “SMM”, Context traffics in slow- moving, texture-focused compositions, simple in instrumentation but infinitely complex in execution. Svarte Greiner’s “Halves” creates a David Lynch-ian dreamscape out of slowly undulating drones and distant creaks and scratches. Wire magazine favorite Leyland Kirby contributes “Polaroid”, a wide-open vista of barely plucked nylon strings and deep synthesizer swells. Guitar-and-turntables duo The Fun Years patiently fold loops and spy-guitar noodles into “Cornelia Amygdaloid”, a patient, minimalist take on psychedelia. Rafael Anton Irisarri (aka The Sight Below, the compilation’s lone Ghostly artist) tips his hat to “furniture music” pioneer Erik Satie in “Moments Descend on My Windowpane”, a soulful piano-and-noise meditation. Context closes with Peter Broderick’s “Pause”, a time-stopping slice of acoustic-guitar
melancholia.

The songs on SMM: Context do their work in a multitude of ways, seeming to change depending on when and how they’re listened to, providing a backdrop for life’s small movies, or—if you’re not into the whole “ambient as life soundtrack” thing—acting as their own context, existing simply as elegant, heartbreakingly beautiful music.

"fans will likely look to this compilation with much anticipation and it is to their credit that the label and artists involved have provided a depth of material for the experimental music enthusiast." - Fluid Radio

"Each track is pretty special." - Futuresequence

TRACKLISTING:

CD

01. Goldmund – Motion
02. Leyland Kirby – Polaroid
03. Svarte Greiner – Halves
04. Christina Vantzou – 11 Generations Of My Fathers
05. Jacaszek – Elegia
06. The Fun Years – Cornelia Amygdaloid
07. Manual – Three Parts
08. Aidan Baker – Substantiated
09. Rafael Anton Irisarri – Moments Descend On My Windowpane
10. Kyle Bobby Dunn – Runge’s Last Stand
11. Peter Broderick – Pause

Vinyl

A1. Goldmund – Motion
A2. Leyland Kirby – Polaroid
A3. Svarte Greiner – Halves
B1. Christina Vantzou – 11 Generations Of My Fathers
B2. Jacaszek – Elegia
B3. The Fun Years – Cornelia Amygdaloid
C1. Manual – Three Parts
C2. Aidan Baker – Substantiated
D1. Rafael Anton Irisarri – Moments Descend On My Windowpane
D3. Kyle Bobby Dunn – Runge’s Last Stand
D3. Peter Broderick – Pause

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