Guide

ambientblog.net

When listening to a lot of ambient music releases, there will come a time when a lot of music starts to sound the same. Or same-ish. After all, like any other genre, it has its own cycle of innovation (when creative artists develop new sounds) and consolidation (when other artists start to adopt these sounds).
So it is always nice to hear a sound that is different from what is in fashion at the moment – a sound that feels personal, and unrelated to current fashion trends.

When listening to Small Things On Sundays Guide, I felt that I heard such an original, different, and surprising, sound.
I did not realize that everything on this release (apart from the opener Prozac) was previously released between 2008 and 2017. In fact, this album sounds like it could have been created and released today. This demonstrates that Henrik Bagner and Claus Polsen created their own unique soundworld using turntables, (broken) guitar, radio, tapes, casio keyboard, viola, and whatever else they could use.

This release is like a ‘young person’s guide to Small Things On Sundays‘ – and it is a perfect introduction to their work.

https://www.ambientblog.net/blog/2024-01/oswald-smallthings/

VITAL WEEKLY

Ah, great, I thought, a new release by Small Things On Sundays, the duo of Claus Poulsen and Henrik Bagner from Denmark. It has been a while since they last had something new out (I believe in 2017 (see Vital Weekly 1068) for reasons I don't know (and I gave up thinking about what those reasons might be), so great, bring it on. 'Guide' we have to take literally; this release is a guide through their catalogue, starting with their first release from 2008, cherry-picking releases from the past. For one track, there is no reference to an earlier release, so we may consider this a new one; or previously unreleased. Damn, that's a bummer. Of course, I haven't heard all their releases; I may have reviewed seven of their releases (see also 717, 772, 777, 913, and 1059; the latter contains two releases), whereas Discogs lists nineteen, including this one. Small Things On Sundays, use turntables, guitars and laptops. Their music is dark, atmospheric and almost always takes the form of a drone. Elegantly processed field recordings, guitars humming on endless sustain, and the turntable doing an occasional bump. I heard it all, I loved almost all of their releases, even more so after seeing them play live, so for me, 'Guide' is a fine reminder of great music, but I am not the intended audience, but the question is: what is the audience?

http://www.vitalweekly.net/1395.html

BAD ALCHEMY

Guide (ACU 1055) ist als Compilation mit 13 Tracks, die Claus Poulsen zwischen 2008 und 2017 auf Striate Cortex, Audio Gourmet, Frozen Light, Moving Furniture etc. verstreut hat, eine Einführung in seine Ästhetik als SMALL THINGS ON SUNDAY. Sie zeigen den Dänen, mittlerweile als Eardrops auch Partner von Emerge, an Turntables, Laptops und Gitarren von seiner bedröhnt angedunkelten Seite - neben seiner ambienten oder noisigen, dem Lo-Fi-Actionpainting mit Sindre Bjerga als Star Turbine oder dem freejazzigen Einsatz von Bass und Clausophon mit der Blind Man's Band. Mit horizontalem Vektor ('Icebreaker', 'Powerstation', 'Harbour', der isländische Vulkan 'Surtsey'). Vertikal zwischen 'Below the Surface' und 'Moonship'. Psychedelisch zwischen Drogen ('Prozac', 'Isthmus of Oblivion') und Träumen ('We Sailed Into the Great Unknown', 'Withered Dreams Recaptured'). Auf Empfang geschaltet ('Sara Said', 'The Dinosaur's Calling'). Umrauscht und benebelt durch Musik als ein Phantom aus Erinnerungen und Sehnsucht. Musik, die sich, schaumgeboren, aus dem Ocean of Sound erhebt, die sich, staubgeboren, windverweht, wie auf Philip Jecks Plattentellern dreht und wie aus dem Haunted Ballroom von The Caretaker tönt. Wobei CP auf eine Gemeinschaft der Träumer setzt: 'I Know You Know'.

www.badalchemy.de