Aires/Modemidade Liquida/Collectivo Casa Amarela/2019 Full Length Review

  Portugal's solo  project  Aires  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into  more  of  a  mixture  of  ambient,  drone,  experimental,  noise  and  field  recordings    and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2019  album  "Modernidade  Liquida"  which  was  released  by  Collectivo  Casa  Amarela.

  Ambient  style  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  drones  also  being  utilized  at  times.Most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  field  recordings  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  an  instrumental  direction.

  All  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other  while  synths  are  also  a  very  huge  part  of  the  recording,  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  sounding  along  with  some  elements  of  electronic  music  and  the  tracks  also  bring  in  a  very  melancholic  sounding  atmosphere  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  harsh  noises  can  be  heard.

  On  this  recording  Aires  takes  ambient,  drone,  experimental,  noise  and  field  recordings  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  while  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Aires  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  ambient,  drone,  experimental,  noise  and  field  recordings,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Azul  Metalizado"  and  "Ansia".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psA4QL1UFo8

Aires/Naturalismo/Collectivo Casa Amarela/2017 FULL Length Review

  Portugal's  Aires  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into  more  of  a  mixture  of  harsh  noise  and  melancholy  yet  moody  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album "Naturalismo"  which  was  released  by  Collectivo  Casa Amarela.

  Field  recordings  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  nature  sounds  and  after  awhile  atmospheric  ambient  soundscapes  are  added  onto  the  recording  along  with  all  3  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  most  of  the  tracks  being  instrumental.

  Elements  of  harsh  noise  and  drone  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  amount  of  dark  ambient  style  synths  while  all  3  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other  and  spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  on  the  closing  track.

  Aires  creates  another  recording  that  remains  true  to  their  mixture  of  field  recordings,  dark  ambient  and  harsh  noise  from  previous  releases  while  also  keeping  most  of  the  music  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  m  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Aires  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient  and  harsh  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Precisamos  De  Espelhos  2".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIJmShMMSe4&t=&utm_source=Colectivo+Casa+Amarela&utm_campaign=9748607d24-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_10_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5c31029d00-9748607d24-27455861

 


  

Aires/Fantasma/Bad Panda Records/2015 EP Review

  Portugal's  Aires  have  returned  with  another  recording  with  the  music  this  time  being  an  instrumental  mixture  of  experimental,  drone  and  dark  ambient  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015 ep  "Fantsma"  which  was  released  by  Bad  Panda  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  drone  starts  off  the  ep  along  with  some elements  of  ambient  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  the  songs  never  use  any  songwriting  or  vocals  while  spoken  word  parts  can  be  heard  at  times  and  the  music  starts  getting  more  experimental  and  avant  garde  after  awhile.

  Elements  of  ambient  and  electronic  can  be  heard  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  psychedelic  style  sounds  while  the  synths  bring  in  a  very  dark  and  atmospheric  feeling  when  they  are  utilized  and  all  3  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  and  diverse  from  each  other.

  Aires  creates  another  dark  ambient  recording t hat  is  very  atmospheric  and  melodic  while  also  keeping  around  the  done  and  experimental  elements  of  the  previous  recordings  and  getting  the  music  mostly  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and r aw.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great sounding  recording  from  Aires  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  dark  ambient  and  drone,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Fantasma  II".  8  out  of  10.

https://badpandarecords.bandcamp.com/album/aires-fantasma

 

Aires & Rui P. Andrade/Panico-Ambiente/Colectivo Casa Amarela/2015 Cassette Review

  Aires  &  Rui  P.  Andrade  are  2  artist's  that  have  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  continue  their  mixture  of  noise,  experimental,  drone,  ambient,  electronic  field  recordings  and  shoegaze  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  cassette  "Panico_Ambiente"  which  was  released  by  Colectivo  Casa  Amerela.

  Harsh  noises  and  power  electronics  start  off  the  cassette  and  after  awhile  the  music  gets  more  experimental  and  adds  in  soundscapes  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  and  both  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  after  awhile  field  recordings  are  mixed  in  with  the  harsh  noises.

  All  of  the  music  on  the  recording  is  instrumental  and  as  the  cassette  progresses  elements  of  ambient  and  shoegaze  are  added  onto  the  recording  but  done  in  more  of  a  darker  and  less  mainstream  approach  to  those  genres  and  at  times  the  music  calms  down  a  bit  while  there  still  is  a  great  amount  of  harsh  and  loud  noises  and  on  the  second  track  the  more  ambient  side  really  starts  to  show.

  Aires  &  Rui  P.  Andrade  continue  the  experimental  harsh  noise  sounds  of  previous  releases  and  also  continue  to  experimental  with  ambient  and  field  recordings  to  create  some  very  dark  music  and  the  production  also  sounds  very  dark  and  raw.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Aires  &  Rui  P.  Andrade  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  harsh  noise,  you  should  check  out  this  cassette.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Panico".  8  out  of  10.


https://casaamarela.bandcamp.com/album/p-nico-ambiente

      

Aires/Rui P. Andrade/Earthly Beasts/Enough Records/2014 Split Album Review

  This  is  a  review  of  a  3  way  split  between  Portugal's  Aires,  Rui  P.  Andrade  and  Earthly  Beasts  which  was  released  by  Enough  Records  in  2014  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Aires  a 1  man  band  that  plays  a  mixture  of  drone,  ambient  and  field  recordings.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  very  dark  sounding  field  recordings  and  drones  and  after  awhile  atmospheric  sounding  ambient  effects  start  finding  their  way  into  the  music  with  the  song  being  over  10  minutes  in  length  and  all  instrumental  and  after  awhile  synths  start  having  more  of  a  powerful  presence  on  the  track.and  it  also  sounds  like  there  are  some  voices  in  the  background  at  times  that  are  mixed  down  low  in  the  mix.

  Next  up  is  Rui  P.  Andrade  a  solos  artist  that  plays  filed  recordings  based  around  guitars.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  distorted  sounding  drones  which  also  have  an  avant  garde  feeling  to  them  and  the  song  is  also  another  instrumental  track  that  is  over  10  minutes  long  and  as  the  song  progresses  more  elements  of  ambient  and  noise  are  brought  into  the  track  and  as  the  song  progresses  the  guitars  start  adding  in  more  of  a  heavy  drone  metal  sound.

  Closing  the  split  is  Earthly  Beasts  a  solo  project  that  plays  a  mixture  of  ambient,  drone  and  field  recordings.    

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  off  with  a  very  dark  sounding  ambient  drone  mixed  in  with  some  distorted  parts  that  come  in  and  out  and  the  song  starts  getting  more  louder  and  adds  in  elements  of  noise  which  are  done  on  natural  objects  and  the  track  also  has  an  industrial  feeling  at  times  as  well  as  being  all  instrumental  and  9  minutes  in  length.

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  ambient,  drone  and  field  recordings.  8  out  of  10.  

https://aires.bandcamp.com/

Aires Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
1- Aires is a solo project that I started some months ago. The whole idea was to create an album out of some sounds that I recorded and discarded over the years. So I started digging my hard drives for sounds, worked them up a little bit, transformed those ideas into tracks and  "Aires" was born.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is present on the recording?
2- I would describe the sound on this record as a mix between the digital and the organic, or, if we're in the mood for fancier words, this sounds like abstract echoes of digital entities mixed up with concrete, organic sounds, like the samples of people talking, which I used a lot on this one. Here,the digital is always dominating the organic, but even something as common as sample of an old man talking (like the one on the opening track) can be a diffuse, spectral experience. I like that duality.There is also a lot of repetitions and static-like noise, and tons of effects that give it this weird symphonic vibe.  As far as genres go, I like to think of it as some sort of noisy mechanical drone, not without its emotions. The new stuff I'm working one if far more melodic and emotional ; if you're into creating new tags and genres ( as I do) ,you may witness the birth of something that I like to call the emo-drone.

3.What are some of the images you bring out with your music?
3- The sounds conjure images of bleak,quiet desperation, let's just leave it at that. But what I feel doesn't matter,I hope that the sounds are strong enough on its own to create something on the mind of the listeners.

4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Aires'?
4- There is no real meaning nor inspiration behind the name Aires, I just like the name. I was attracted by the idea that "Aires" gives no clues as to what the music might sound like. If a band is called Ruptured Artery you imagine a death metal band, if the band is called NecroWinter or something kvlt like that you would imagine an early 90's norwegian black metal band,and so on. Aires gives no clues about the sound, it's just a name, with nothing attached to it, as far as I'm concerned. 

5.Currently there is only 1 member involved with the project, do you feel this adds to the creativity of the music?
5- Yeah, I'm alone in this one. I'm not sure about creativity, but I do know that being alone enables me to do things my way, and that is what I need for this particular project. It's more about control, about being in charge. 

6.the new album came out on Enough Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?
6- I always had Enough Records in mind when I first started the project. I knew that they were not accepting submissions from new artists, but I decided to try my luck and sent them the album anyway. Fortunately, Filipe liked the record and ended up releasing it, which was great, as the label is very influential and respected. Enough Records has been active since 2001, with almost 350 releases on many different genres, so they really know what they're doing.

7.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of ambient, drone and shoegaze?
7- The feedback so far has been very good. The record has 8 or 9 reviews online and it's been surprising how positive and encouraging they were. Let's hope it continues that way!

8.Are you also involved with any other musical projects?
8- Yeah, I'm involved in a couple more projects . I play synths in some of them and I sing (scream) in another. You may notice that I ain't sharing the names of those bands – that's because Aires is a separate thing, at least for now. l probably be releasing stuff from 3 different projects this year, apart from Aires... 

9.Where do you see this project heading into musically during the future?
9- Like I said, I've been working on some new tracks, and while they don't sound radically different from what I've been doing, they sure have more melody going on, more emotion. On the next few weeks I'll release a split with two very talented musicians, but you'll know about in due time. As I said before, emo-drone, man.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have influenced your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10- Tough question. I'm not sure if what I listen ends up influencing me, at least not a lot. I've been listening pretty much the same stuff for the last couple of years : lots of Fell Voices, Ash Borer, Weakling... Fell in love all over again with Dissection recently, and discovered a new black metal band, called Sun Worship, which stuck in my head for the last 5 or 6 months. On the experimental side of things I tend to keep to the familiar : Ben Frost, Oneohtrix Point Never, Tim Hecker...

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11- Besides music I'm interested in arts in general, cinema in particular. I'm also finishing my master's so my interests revolve around that : music, cinema, books and journalism.

12.before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12 - First of all, thanks for taking the time to listen to the record and doing this interview. For those reading, check out http://aires.bandcamp.com/ for 30 minutes of bleak stuff, you might like it. Even if you don't, its free,so...Anyway, take care!

Aires/Self Titled/Enough Recordings/2014 Full Length Review

  Aires  are  a  1  man  band  from  Portugal  that  plays  a  mixture  of   ambient, drone  and  shoegaze  and  this  is  a  review of  his  self  titled  2014  album  which  was  released  by  Enough  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  dark  ambient  drones  and  field  recordings  and  after  a  few  minutes  they  get  more  diverse  in  sound  and  you  can  hear  humans  and  talking  in  the  background  as  well  as  a  good  mixture  of  keyboards  and  lap  top  sounds.

  On  the  following  track  elements  of  experimental  and  noise  are  added  into  the  music  while  the  main  focus  is  on  dark  ambient  drones  and  the music  also  has  a  more  distorted  feeling  in  certain  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  a  small  use  of  static  sounds  and  on  the  last  track  there  are  some  parts  that  almost  have  a  post  black  metal  feeling  to them.

  Aires  create  a  very  interesting  sound  with  the  laptop  and  keyboards  and  the  music  is  very  dark  sounding  ambient  drone  with  elements  of  drone  along  with  a  dark  sounding  production  and  the  music  being  all  instrumental.

  In  my  opinion  Aires  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  ambient,  drone  and  shoegaze  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Organico  I  -  Vozes  Sem  Corpo"  and  "Contraplacado".  8  OUT  OF  10.  

https://aires.bandcamp.com/