Allister Thompson
Definitely my favourite Xmas album already. Jan adds a spaciness and that nostalgic Euro-synth sound to restore dignity to tunes that the endless commercialized, schmaltzy versions have stripped away. It almost makes me like these songs again!
Mere two hours ago I was sure Velvet Freedom, released on November 17 to celebrate the Velvet Revolution, would be the last Binaural Space release of 2021.
But then I opened twitter and glimpsed a tweet of a fellow musician confessing they can't stand Christmas music. Part of me understands where they're coming from. Having been forced to overhear this year's local artists' takes on supposedly Christmas music in the radio while commuting has been a torture. Cheesy tunes crowned by pathetic lyrics trying too hard to rhyme and forgetting about the message.
While making arbitrary songs and adding jingle bell sounds & lyrics about little Jesus (our Santa Claus), Christmas tree, presents or frankincense (so many Billy Mack "Except we've changed the word love to Christmas" and "the incredible crassness of the moment when we try to squeeze an extra syllable into the fourth line" moments!) is – and, by all means, should be – a thin ice territory, traditional, ideally folk, Christmas carols are honest, beautiful and magical, I've always loved them and I always will (I hope!).
So I've decided to balance the festive season disequilibrium and release my Christmas live stream as an album. Which Christmas live stream? The one I'm going to do some 36 (and a half) hours from now: Silent Night with Binaural Space.
I'm planning to improvise variations on my fav carols, some well-known internationally, some Czech, and I'm sure there will be mistakes – but in my book that's part of the authenticity so it's allright. Plus the resulting album will be, like the stream itself and all our Christmas releases in the past and in the future, free – and Bandcamp exclusive. (Update after trying to pre-release this: pre-releases on Bandcamp can't be free so I set a symbolic price for the pre-release period but don't worry, it WILL be free after it gets released so if you want to get it for free, just please wait for 2 days. You can do it! ;-))
Because not even a single note of the album exists as of now, I'm pre-releasing just a dummy track, a completely silent one, hour-long (because that's how long I suppose to play tomorrow). But don't worry, while a Silent Night album consisting of one silent track could be both a joke and a contemporary art piece, I'm no Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono nor Maurizio Cattelan and I will replace the silence by the tomorrow's live performance in the next few days. Hopefully already on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 19, the day following the Silent Night with Binaural Space performance.
Until then, let's obey Depeche Mode and enjoy the silence.
Binaural Space, December 17, 2021
UPDATE:
The last night's live stream went well (at least connection-wise – you tell me whether it was any good musically), so I'm delivering on my promise and releasing it as an album, ho-ho-rah!
Enjoy all the replays and have a wonderful Fourth Sunday of Advent and the whole holidays!
Ambient traditionalists say to Binaural Space what the Emperor said to Mozart: “Too many notes.” In both cases, the rest of the world tends to disagree.
Great album that doesn't take itself too seriously but stands the test of multiple listens anyway (just yesterday I enjoyed a 2-hour drive accompanied only with the 4 pre-released tracks tremendously) Binaural Space
Fun, multi-genre album full with motley ideas in the best sense of the word, with that typical melodic and harmonic magic only ACY can provide. Currently my fav ACY album – and that's something! Binaural Space
Powerful and yet intimate, deep and yet full of light, haunting but optimistic. This EP has a special atmosphere thanks to the brilliantly selected timbres and sounds... and the vocal. Great name, too Binaural Space
The latest from Ryan Farish uses sweeping electronics and expansive melodies to create vast, rolling vistas of sound. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 21, 2020