Tropic of Coldness - Demography of Data (2014)

I've meant to get to this album for a while now, something I am painfully aware of saying too often. Tropic of Coldness is a Brussels-based duo that makes ambient music in which field recordings and drone techniques feature significantly. The songs are rather far into a passive experimental realm than most of what I've been writing up. It is very ambient is what I mean, with overt instrumentation being limited to some gentle and occasional strumming of a guitar. Otherwise it is looping, swirling sounds that've been altered and effected by the musicians. It is incredibly ethereal and disembodied, and I found it all profoundly relaxing.

Tropic of Coldness's Demography of Data is their third LP and it issued by the Hamburg label Organic Industries, who look like they've got a slew of other offering to consider listening to as well on bandcamp.

To be had here:
Tropic of Coldness - Demography of Data

As Mountains - Monolight (2012)

My father is from Belgium. You know, that tiny little country in Europe that is known for waffles and chocolate. His parents came to the U.S. after the Second World War and eventually settled in the Bay Area in California. My father was around for the entire punk and psychedelic music scene Northern Cali was known for in the 60s and 70s, but I am pretty sure he didn’t take part in any of it. What a shame.

 So I was pleased to receive a submission from As Mountains, a post-rock band from Hasselt, Belgium. They have a very hygienic, trained sound that clearly owes a great deal to the experienced members of the genre that reached success in the 2000s. As I blasted these tracks through the stereo, my ears were engulfed by walls of guitar sound, all while the drums got louder and more aggressive as the band built to their climax. Well executed, but typical post-rock stuff. What separates this act from the rest in the field is the playful, nearly joyful, guitar plucking that accompanies many of the tracks. Listening to Matching Clouds in Lucerne actually brought a Sarah Records vibe, which was a pleasant surprise.

Get it here:
As Mountains - Monolight (2012)