Uttiloch

The First Release Has Been Released

2008-05-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

The day has finally arrived, at least for me. My first release, I don't know if I should call it an album or demo, it actually is both, has been released! It is a completely free digital release, but I'm also planning to release a few on CD. Over 40 minutes of experimental ambient music, with an intense atmosphere.

You can download the release here! It also includes the entire booklet.

As They Fly Away

2008-05-05T04:53:00.000-07:00

The first release is nearing completion, however I'm not sure about the amount of tracks. But I am able to say that it won't take much longer. The cover art is also confirmed, together with art for the tracklisting and an additional page, for a note or something. I really think that it looks amazing, I'm really happy about it, so thanks to the artist! I'm also working on the story of the release, it is coming out nicely. I will most likely just post it online, and I will not include it in the artwork. I think I will include the story, in the format of a small book, if I release this demo in CD format. I'll keep you up to date. But be sure to check back soon, so you can download the entire demo for free, including all the artwork images, and the story.

And be sure to check my Last.fm and MySpace where you can download each song that has been made so far!

Odd, Old, Okay?

2008-05-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

Artist: Porcupine Tree
Album: On the Sunday of Life...
Genre: Rock
Year: 1991
Origin: United Kingdom
Rating: 71
Download: zShare
Password: uttiloch.blogspot.com

On the Sunday of Life… is the debut album of Porcupine Tree. It basically compiles tracks that Steven Wilson produced and recorded for the two cassette releases, Tarquin’s Seaweed Farm and The Nostalgia Factory. In the early years Porcupine Tree was just Steven Wilson, and the music was very different from their later work. This first real album contains a lot of peculiar material, but also some songs that are still popular athough the style of the music has changed almost completely. Most of the lyrics were written by Alan Duffy, an old friend of Steven Wilson. Which surprises me, because I’ve always loved the lyrics of Steven Wilson on the later work, I thought he always wrote the lyrics on every album. The album is divided into four parts and contains eighteen songs, over an hour of music.

The first part of the album is called First Love. After a while I already know that this music is hard to describe, you’re able to hear a lot of different genres. The first track is a bone-chilling and calm song that you could describe as ambient. In other songs you’ll hear influences from rock like Pink Floyd and even some jazz like John Zorn, which makes the music unique in some ways, but plain weird in other ways. The vocals sound unreal and are very high. They fit Jupiter Island, because that song is a ‘happy song’, but it isn’t really great to listen to. The vocals do ruin The Nostalgia Factory a bit for me, the instrumental parts are good, but when the vocals kick in... The music has a great atmosphere so far, but the weird vocals and Jupiter Island are a bit of a turn off. I think Jupiter Island shouldn’t be on this record, for it has a totally different sound and atmosphere. It’s an entertaining song though.

The second part is called Second Sight. It starts with something like a story, told with a very creepy voice and some soft background sounds that could come straight out of an old horror movie. Radioactive Toy and Nine Cats are both great songs, that are somewhat similar to later Porcupine Tree. You can definitely hear that these songs are influenced by rock, but they still have the same atmosphere as the other songs. On these songs you’ll hear good vocals, no more Steven Wilson on helium. These vocals are okay, they fit the lyrics and music perfectly.

Third Eye is the name of the third part. It starts promising, with another ambient intro, and the relaxing Footprints. The other songs are all a bit odd, but not really bad, except Linton Samuel Dawson. This track also has some horrible high vocals that I really dislike. They aren’t the same as the vocals on the first part, but they aren’t enjoyable either. It’s similar to Jupiter Island, and this one should also have been removed if you’ll ask me. The other songs do still have the same atmosphere though, and sound good.

The final part is Fourth Bridge. This part is my favorite part together with Second Sight, they also share a lot in common. Transmission might be a bit weird, but all the other songs are great. The songs on the last and second part are more rock, and therefore the songs sound more like the later Porcupine Tree songs, which is a good thing, I guess.

I think this is a good debut, but it’s very different from their later releases. Atmosphere is really important to me, and this album has a great atmosphere. There are no tracks that really jump out, but that isn’t required. It has a lot of good songs, and that’s important. It’s great music for a rainy night. This album sounds a lot better when it’s dark, and you are all alone with the music. But you might want to skip some songs, for they could ruin it (you know which songs I mean). This album isn’t for everyone, but it is for me.

One of the Living for One of the Dead

2008-05-01T06:08:00.000-07:00

Name: The Dark
Director: John Fawcett
Genre: Horror
Year: 2005
Origin: Germany
Rating: 85

A lame title for a lame movie? Not at all. The Dark is a horror film created in 2005. It’s based on the novel Sheep by Simon Maginn. The movie is directed by John Fawcett, he is also known for Ginger Snaps, but I haven’t seen that movie. I did read something about it, it seems to be something totally different than The Dark. The movie stars actors that did a great job, Sean Benn, Maria Bello, Richard Elfyn, Maurice Roëves, Abigail Stone, and Sophie Stuckey.

The film takes place in Wales. Adèle is going to visit her husband with her teenage daughter, Sarah. She wants to fix her realtionship with her daughter, for they have some problems. This adds some personal drama to this mysterious horror movie, and it works great. The movie gets darker by the second. It starts pretty normal, but the atmosphere slowly switches to utter darkness... It’s a real ‘puzzle-movie’, and it’s full of riddles. The story is awesome, and has a lot of different elements. The movie also has a lot of beautiful shots that add a creepy vibe. This movie has almost everything I could wish for in a horror movie! It’s not some Saw horror movie, it’s an intelligent horror movie that requires some brains. The film is full of mysteries, folklore, the occult, and some scaring stuff, it’s balanced perfectly.

This is a movie that really got me into the genre, and therefore it will always be something special for me. This movie combines elements of a horror, thriller and even a drama film. The atmosphere is brilliant and the acting is surprisingly good as well. The script could be hard to get for some, but you can watch it two times if you need to, it’s probably worth it. This movie is a must for every fan of good horror and thriller movies. Go watch it on a dark and rainy night, and let the dark take over...

Beauty Behind the Obvious

2008-04-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

Name: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

Director: Kim Ki-duk
Genre: Drama
Year: 2003
Origin: Korea
Rating: 83

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring is a 2003 Korean movie about a Buddhist monastery which floats on a lake in a pristine forest. The story is about the life of a Buddhist monk as he passes through the seasons of his life, from childhood to old age. The movie was directed by Kim Ki-duk, who likes to put a lot of violence in his movies. It stars Su Oh-yeong, Kim Young-min, Seo Jae-kyung, and Kim Jong-ho. The director himself appears as the man in the last stage of life. The quiet, contemplative film marked a significant change from his previous works, which were often criticized for excessive violence and misogyny.

Kim Ki-duk said of the film: ‘I intended to portray the joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure of our lives through four seasons and through the life of a monk who lives in a temple on Jusan Pond surrounded only by nature.’ He did this perfectly. The film has some great nature shots, and is filled with the feeling of nature. The movie is quiet, it doesn’t have much dialogues or loud music. Everything is calm. I actually enjoyed the silence and peace in the movie. The story might seem a bit weak in the beginning, but I realized the brilliance later on. You really learn a lot of things about Buddhists and live in general while you’re watching this movie. This movie is filled with details. Not only the script, also the shots, just about everything. This movie might require some thinking before you get some things, but I liked that. This film was a real eye-opener to me, and it still was entertaining. I don’t know if it was the goal of the director, but this movie really impressed me.

I like the whole Asian vibe, it adds some atmosphere that is probably needed because it’s about a Buddhist monastery. The acting is good, you’re able to know how they feel while they aren’t speaking much. I really enjoyed this movie, although it’s very different from my other favorite movies. Some people might think this movie is boring, but just look at the details. The details hold the pure beauty of this movie. The movie is really deep. I can really recommend this, and I’ll probably watch it again soon. To get that special feeling once again, to let everything and everyone go...

Cinema Soundscape

2008-04-29T04:44:00.000-07:00

Artist: Professor Fate
Album: The Inferno
Genre: Darkwave
Year: 2007
Origin: United Kingdom
Rating: 73
Download: zShare
Password: uttiloch.blogspot.com

Professor Fate is a project led by Mick Kenney of Anaal Nathrakh. It is a form of epic classical that fuses intertwined drumbeats with orchestral rock and ambient soundscapes, you could describe it as darkwave. The music screams ‘soundtrack’ in its every audible moment, with grand, sweeping soundscapes that inspire cinematic imagery even in the dark. The Inferno presents you with a powerfully potent journey through the caverns of the underworld, Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s book, The Divine Comedy.

The album kicks of with an epic sounding tune with orchestral vocals. It really sounds like a soundtrack, but the music is hard to describe. It has very dark atmosphere and it images of old theatre and rituals fly through my head. The cover fits the music perfectly. how does the music sounds? Look at the cover, it tells me enough. The cinematic style gets all over me. I never heard anything like this before, but it’s awesome! It sounds like dark classical music, but the drums add some rock elements. The vocals make the cinematic feeling even bigger and haunt the music. The drums are a bit of a turnoff on some songs, but they sound great on other songs.

The song Limbo features Krystopher Rigg (Ulver, Arcturus, Borknagar) on vocals, and he does a great job, as usual. This track is one of the strongest of the entire album, and is pretty different from others, but not too much. It still fits in the whole album. The Violent features Dirty Von Donovan (Exploder, Mistress) on vocals. His vocals add some more power to the song, it sounds pretty good. The drums are the same all the time on this song and they get on my nerves from time to time. They don’t ruin the song, but it could be a bit more exciting. That is for all the songs actually, the drums are powerful, heavy, and add the epic feeling, but they are a bit boring on some songs. You might wonder why I mention these two guest artists. Well, that’s because I think this project is great for guest musicians. I think Mick Kenney should work with a lot of musicians if he’s going to record new material with the same sound.

This is a great debut. Experimental music without any limits. The feeling that should be created, is created as you listen to this album. Get this album if you like classical music, darkwave, ambient or bands like Arcturus. I don’t think this is an album for a week straight, but it will do once a month. That doesn’t mean this is a bad record, not at all! It’s just the type of music. It’s personal too, I think you should figure it out yourself.