Hidden Shoal News

The World of Dust ‘Ocean’ (feat. Karl Blau)

Ocean featuring Karl BlauHidden Shoal is proud to announce ‘Ocean’ (featuring Karl Blau), the second single from Gaman, the forthcoming album from The World of Dust, the musical project of Stefan Breuer. The single is available to stream on Spotify with an accompanying music video on YouTube. The album will see release on September 16 2022 through Lousy Moon Records & Tiny Room Records. The music of The World of Dust is available for licensing via Hidden Shoal (film, tv, web etc).

‘Ocean’ features Karl Blau and Thijs Kuijken (I am Oak) both playing saxophone. Blau and I am Oak have been big influences on Breuer’s work. Blau also shot the footage for the accompanying music video.

Gaman is the 7th album by Dutch experimental folk artist The World of Dust. The title is Japanese for ‘enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity’ – Stefan Breuer covers weighty topics through a personal lens within an acoustic, slowcore setting. The album’s eleven songs address the struggles of a young father and artist in the midst of a climate, economic ánd health crisis. Breuer explores these ideas through a mixture of wit and melancholy. Guitars, wind instruments, harmonium and percussion provide an intimate musical ecosystem in which Breuer’s baritone thrives.

“Its power lies in the intimacy… without drowning in desolate melancholy” – hifi.nl

Kramies ‘Owl and The Crow’, New Single and Music Video

Owl and The CrowHidden Shoal is proud to present ‘Owl and The Crow’, the beautiful new single from dream pop troubadour Kramies. The track is lifted from his self-titled album due out in September and is accompanied by a wonderful music video from Hidden Shoal’s very own Cam Merton.  The music video is available to stream over on Hidden Shoal’s Youtube and the track can be downloaded via Bandcamp. ‘Owl and The Crow’ follows on from a trio os single, ‘Hotel In LA’, “Days Of” (featuring Jason Lytle and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys) and “Ohio I’ll Be Fine.”

Initially just an acoustic outtake, ‘Owl and The Crow’ was finally recorded in one take on a late Californian night in Jerry Becker’s Oakland Studio. As time went on “Owl and the Crow” only grew, with layers and images captured by Kramies’ on his travels. With glimmering acoustic guitar licks flirting with eerie instrumentals and compelling vocals, the new track follows “Hotel in LA” as a second taster of Kramies’ self-titled LP, arriving on 9 September 2022.

Be sure to check out Kramies interview with the lovely folks at Two Story Melody. The chat covers Kramies inspiration for his previous single, his collaboration with The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and Guided By Voices’ Todd Tobias and his future plans.

Kramies’ music is available for licensing through Hidden Shoal. Head here for more details.

 

New Liminal Drifter Single & Music Video

Liminal Drifter 'Box Seat'Hidden Shoal is excited to present the new Liminal Drifter single, ‘Box Seat’, and it’s beautiful accompanying music video by Perth based film maker dQ (aka Dennis Collins). The track is lifted from Cortisol 22, the fifth album by the Perth-based ambient electronica artist, which will see release on 19th September 2022. Download ‘Box Seat’ via Bandcamp, stream via Spotify and the rest. The music of Liminal Drifter is available for licensing via Hidden Shoal (film, tv, web games etc). Check here for more details on licensing this music.

Though shot through with undeniable beauty and hope, the music on Cortisol 22 is shadowed by a number of serious health issues faced by Simon Order (aka Liminal Drifter) over the last couple of years. The album title refers to the hormone produced by the body during stress – something that Order faced repeatedly after experiencing a heart attack in late 2020. While recovering in hospital, Order began working on the music that would form Cortisol 22. The resulting album is an hour-long exploration of music as balm and recuperative destination.  Opener ‘Child’s Play’ is a deceptively emotive slice of chilltronica, drawing on some of the dub vibes of 2020’s Connected, while wrapping the whole thing in a blanket of ethereal nostalgia. Latest single ‘Box Seat’ is a sun-drenched sonic playground, with an insistent acoustic guitar line, intricate percussive details and beatific electric piano. ‘Cut Out’ is clean and shimmering, punctuated by golden horns and keys, with a positive momentum counterbalanced by the bittersweet taste of leaving something behind. And ominous Boards of Canada vibes are woven into standout ‘Once a Day’.

“a beautifully choreographed snapshot of the artist’s knack for the surreal, fluid mechanics of mid-90s electronic music shaped with current-era finesse”Igloo Mag on The Dreams

Kramies Interviewed at Two Story Melody

Kramies - Photo by Jerome SevretteFollowing the release of his beautiful new single, ‘Hotel in LA’ the lovely folks at Two Story Melody have interviewed our dreampop troubadour, Kramies. The chat covers Kramies inspiration for the single, his collaboration with The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and Guided By Voices’ Todd Tobias and his future plans. Fans will not have to wait long to hear more Kramies forthcoming self-title LP with his next single, ‘Owl and the Crow’, out next week on the 12th of August.

Kramies’ music is available for licensing through Hidden Shoal. Head here for more details.

‘Hotel in LA’ – New Kramies Single & Music Video

Hotel In LAWe’re excited to share the new single and accompanying music video for ‘Hotel In LA’, the new single from dream pop magician Kramies. The track is lifted from his self-titled album due out in September. The single is currently featured in the excellent Under the Radar music mag which you can check out here. The music video is available to stream over on Hidden Shoal’s Youtube and the track can be downloaded via Bandcamp. ‘Hotel In LA’ follows pair of new singles from Kraimes, “Days Of” (featuring Jason Lytle and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys) and “Ohio I’ll Be Fine.”

Kramies’ music is available for licensing through Hidden Shoal. Head here for more details.

 

 

New Single from The World of Dust – ‘Trasenster’

TrasensterHidden Shoal is excited to announce ‘Trasenster’ the first single from Gaman, the forthcoming album from The World of Dust, the musical project of Stefan Breuer. The single is available to stream on Spotify with an accompanying music video on YouTube. The album will see release on in September 2022 through Lousy Moon Records & Tiny Room Records. The music of The World of Dust is available for licensing via Hidden Shoal (film, tv, web etc).

Gaman is the 7th album by Dutch experimental folk artist The World of Dust. The title is Japanese for ‘enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity’ – Stefan Breuer covers weighty topics through a personal lens within an acoustic, slowcore setting. The album’s eleven songs address the struggles of a young father and artist in the midst of a climate, economic ánd health crisis. Breuer explores these ideas through a mixture of wit and melancholy. Guitars, wind instruments, harmonium and percussion provide an intimate musical ecosystem in which Breuer’s baritone thrives.

“Its power lies in the intimacy… without drowning in desolate melancholy” – hifi.nl

 

Memorybell “Membranes” Out Now

MembranesWe’re excited to announce the official release of Membranes, the 5th LP by American neoclassical ambient artist Memorybell. The album is available in digital and CD formats via Bandcamp and in digital format via Spotify, Apple Music and the other usual suspects.

Membranes is the 5th LP by American ambient artist Memorybell. After three previous releases of modular synth-based daydreams – Solace (2020), No Anchor (2021) and Glass Garden (2021) – multi-instrumentalist Grant Hazard Outerbridge returns to his roots with seven meditative piano pieces, his first album of solo piano since Obsolete (2016).

The songs were recorded at home, and their physical spaces are blended with unreal ones, to mimic the experience of being in two places at once, one real and one imagined. The album explores the liminal regions associated with pain. Between December 2020 and November 2021, Outerbridge was in excruciating pain caused by the side effects of various medications. He underwent multiple surgeries and spent much of the year incapacitated in bed. Membranes is the result. The title is a reference to staring through pain while imagining one is somewhere else.

“Essential to anyone searching for an aural retreat from an over-compressed world of packaged sound… Highly recommended for fans of solo piano and intersected genres, where Brian Eno meets Satie.” Headphone Commute on Obsolete

 

New Memorybell Single from “Membranes”, Album Pre-Orders

MembranesWe’re excited to present the new single, and album pre-orders for Membranes, the 5th LP by American neoclassical ambient artist Memorybell. The album sees release on the 10th of June through Hidden Shoal. The title track is available to stream via SoundCloud and album CD pre-orders are available via Bandcamp.

Membranes is the 5th LP by American ambient artist Memorybell. After three previous releases of modular synth-based daydreams – Solace (2020), No Anchor (2021) and Glass Garden (2021) – multi-instrumentalist Grant Hazard Outerbridge returns to his roots with seven meditative piano pieces, his first album of solo piano since Obsolete (2016).

The songs were recorded at home, and their physical spaces are blended with unreal ones, to mimic the experience of being in two places at once, one real and one imagined. The album explores the liminal regions associated with pain. Between December 2020 and November 2021, Outerbridge was in excruciating pain caused by the side effects of various medications. He underwent multiple surgeries and spent much of the year incapacitated in bed. Membranes is the result. The title is a reference to staring through pain while imagining one is somewhere else.

“Essential to anyone searching for an aural retreat from an over-compressed world of packaged sound… Highly recommended for fans of solo piano and intersected genres, where Brian Eno meets Satie.” Headphone Commute on Obsolete

 

New Rewilding Album “Abandoned Kiva” Out Now!

Abandoned KivaHidden Shoal is proud to present the wonderful new album from US experimental pop project Rewilding. Abandoned Kiva is available now in digital and CD formats. The latest single and accompanying music video is also available now to stream and watch. The music of Rewilding is available for licensing for film, tv, web, games and beyond via Hidden Shoal. Check here for more info.

Following on from 2020’s mesmerising instrumental album Rain Patch, Rewilding’s new album, Abandoned Kiva, traverses exciting new ground for the band. In-keeping with the album’s underlying theme of seeking fresh connections in a world characterised by disconnection, the album introduces vocals by new collaborator Monica Alexandra, while continuing to explore the blurred lines between lo-fi indie-pop, post-rock and film soundtracks.

With Alexandra’s vocals in the mix alongside Jake McFee’s own, Abandoned Kiva shares musical DNA with Broadcast’s Tender Buttons, where haunting voices weave amid dense, dark musical hallways, flickering with the promise of revelation while perpetually dodging out of reach. Single ‘Astro-Geo Alignment’ typifies the album’s charms, as rickety rhythms are held together by hazy guitars, synths and voices, warping the listener’s perception of the music’s temporal and spatial dimensions.

“Further Hidden Shoal loveliness… a set made up of intricately teased melodic miniatures with an affectionate nod to both Fridge and Pram… its dreamily reflective tones are teasingly sculptured in a disarmingly fragile whittling”The Sunday Experience on Rewilding single ‘High Desert’

New Erik Nilsson EP – “Dirge”

Dirge Cover ArtDirge, the fourth instalment of Erik Nilsson‘s Notes and Sketches series, draws together and expands on material generated though Nilsson’s engagement with the Disquiet Junto Project. The EP is available now via Bandcamp and can be streamed on Spotify et al. The music of Erik Nilsson is available for licensing (film, tv, web etc) via Hidden Shoal.

The title track is a short moody instrumental featuring the electric guitar as both lead and percussion instrument. Phrase Switch Etude is built up of a series of interlocking phrases, played with various techniques on an acoustic guitar, followed by a time-stretched and, through various other means, mangled ambient remix of the title track. The collection closes with a remix of ‘Rumore de Roma’, off of Nilsson’s debut album Recollage.