Post by mankymusic on Nov 14, 2008 10:30:41 GMT
The Mank album Isbjorn was reviewed in Sound On Sound magazine this month, it looks like this -
www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov08/articles/playback_1108.htm
"Sometimes you know precisely what a CD is going to sound like before you hear a note. Since it's described by its creator as ambient electronica, adorned with polar bears and inspired by a trip to the Arctic Circle, there's no way Isbjorn was ever going to be a psychobilly record. Nevertheless, its capacity for sounding exactly like you'd expect it to sound is still pretty remarkable.
The immeasurable vastness of the icy wastes is, exactly as you'd expect, brought to life through the medium of high notes on the piano. Wind noise, crystalline pads and sinister rumblings also feature heavily, exactly as you'd expect. And, exactly as you'd expect, it goes on forever. Surprises are infrequent, the main one being that the 29-minute closing track is actually the best thing here. Leaving behind the more cliched musical elements on offer elsewhere, it focuses on a single, truly epic sinister rumbling, developing at an appropriately glacial pace. Sam Inglis"
isn't it strange how different people like different things, when the silent ballet reviewed Isbjorn a few months back they hated the last track.
www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/Reviews/tabid/54/ctl/Details/mid/438/ItemID/1700/Default.aspx
".....a negative point is the final track, and this is the worst one for sure. This truly harms my opinion on Isbjorn overall. After enjoying the previous ten-plus short and sweet songs, the album's closer, "Iad Uroboros," is a 29 minute-long disappointment. Filled with nothing more than ambient noise,it fails to leave any impression on me, showing no sign of the talent Mank's had previously displayed in the tracks beforehand."
what can you do?
I guess its a good job I'm making this music for me and not for media approval.
I like it, I'm never 100% happy with anything but I think that's just me, if I gave in to those feelings I'd never get anything finished so I release things when I think I can add no more.
anyhow, I'm back from the north pole now, that was an experience, in october 2008 there was a lot more ice than september 2007, and it was a lot colder, -25 deg C to be exact. I managed to mix down a 21 min ep of new mank stuff which I'm currently in negotiations with rich from nothingatall about releasing, hopefully it should see the light of day soon. I also wrote quite a bit of new music which I probably won't let off my hard drive for another 12 months or so, patience, when I'm happy with it.
Hey, I've been in Sound On Sound, the inner geek in me is very proud, no matter what they said :-)
www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov08/articles/playback_1108.htm
"Sometimes you know precisely what a CD is going to sound like before you hear a note. Since it's described by its creator as ambient electronica, adorned with polar bears and inspired by a trip to the Arctic Circle, there's no way Isbjorn was ever going to be a psychobilly record. Nevertheless, its capacity for sounding exactly like you'd expect it to sound is still pretty remarkable.
The immeasurable vastness of the icy wastes is, exactly as you'd expect, brought to life through the medium of high notes on the piano. Wind noise, crystalline pads and sinister rumblings also feature heavily, exactly as you'd expect. And, exactly as you'd expect, it goes on forever. Surprises are infrequent, the main one being that the 29-minute closing track is actually the best thing here. Leaving behind the more cliched musical elements on offer elsewhere, it focuses on a single, truly epic sinister rumbling, developing at an appropriately glacial pace. Sam Inglis"
isn't it strange how different people like different things, when the silent ballet reviewed Isbjorn a few months back they hated the last track.
www.thesilentballet.com/dnn/Reviews/tabid/54/ctl/Details/mid/438/ItemID/1700/Default.aspx
".....a negative point is the final track, and this is the worst one for sure. This truly harms my opinion on Isbjorn overall. After enjoying the previous ten-plus short and sweet songs, the album's closer, "Iad Uroboros," is a 29 minute-long disappointment. Filled with nothing more than ambient noise,it fails to leave any impression on me, showing no sign of the talent Mank's had previously displayed in the tracks beforehand."
what can you do?
I guess its a good job I'm making this music for me and not for media approval.
I like it, I'm never 100% happy with anything but I think that's just me, if I gave in to those feelings I'd never get anything finished so I release things when I think I can add no more.
anyhow, I'm back from the north pole now, that was an experience, in october 2008 there was a lot more ice than september 2007, and it was a lot colder, -25 deg C to be exact. I managed to mix down a 21 min ep of new mank stuff which I'm currently in negotiations with rich from nothingatall about releasing, hopefully it should see the light of day soon. I also wrote quite a bit of new music which I probably won't let off my hard drive for another 12 months or so, patience, when I'm happy with it.
Hey, I've been in Sound On Sound, the inner geek in me is very proud, no matter what they said :-)