BOOK OF KELLS "Depiction of Saturn & Other Planets Floating In Space" C60 (Midnight Circles)

This Book of Kells release of 24 cosmic vignettes plays somewhere between a Stars of the Lid record at 45rpm and a Constance Demby at 18, which is to say, not so much derivative but rather in great company of some minimalist/drone masterpieces.

As the title suggests, the themes explored herein are clinically cold but elegant, far removed from life but teeming with objective radiance, all conjured up by a series of floating synth clouds, binaural solar winds, and sparse, asteroidal accents. This could easily fit into the Hearts of Space catalog if it gets noticed enough (as should most of the releases put out by the up & coming Midnight Circles label out of Mannheim, Germany), and I sure as hell hope it does. It is no easy task being so harmonious & melodic without sacrificing wise mood over fleeting, clever riff.

All (inter)stellar releases via Midnight Circles bandcamp page are pay-as-you-wish, so get on board & spread the good word!

https://midnightcircles.bandcamp.com/album/depiction-of-saturn-and-other-planets-floating-in-space
and/or
https://soundcloud.com/midnight-circles

-- Jacob An Kittenplan

JON LIEFHOLD "Argusterfelder A-C" C42 (Midnight Circles)

Midnight Circles, out of Mannheim, Germany, are a relatively new label (read: Xerox & hand-dubbing), yet are all ready to make noteworthy waves; subtle, nuance-worshipping vibrations, that is. Minutiae is the name of the game, here, folx, and Jon Liefhold’s three part minimal-flirting-with-new-age opus “Argusterfelder” is one hell of a meditation. In four layers or less, JL cobbles together some low-mid range organ drone, warbly, high-Hz texture, looped field recordings and an equalizing element of movement between sound-poses (read: change-ups) that keeps repeated, repeated, repeated listens fresh and earnest. Jon Liefhold and Midnight Circles are now officially on my radar (read: obsessed over for at least two years) and I’m purty durn excited to dig deeper into their solid back catalogue!

https://midnightcircles.bandcamp.com/album/argusterfelder-a-c
and/or
https://soundcloud.com/midnight-circles

-- Jacob An Kittenplan