Tag: Ciaran Morahan

Review – VLMV – Sing With Abandon

“Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words.” – Robert G. Ingersoll

Music is infinite, there are notes to come that have not been heard by any human ear yet, music is the one constant that everyone can cling on to and, with all that has happened in the world recently, music is more prominent in our lives than ever before.

VLMV have returned with their third album ‘Sing With Abandon’. The follow up to the acclaimed ‘Stranded, Not Lost’, this new album is the result of years of collaboration, experimentation and crafting the music and sounds that make up VLMV.

Joined live by long time collaborator and fellow Code In The Clouder Ciaran Morahan, VLMV deploy loop stations, multiple delay pedals, piano and strings to create a slow-moving, high-flying soundscape of luscious gravitas. 

An ambitious yet concise album, ‘Sing With Abandon’ was born as songwriter and producer Pete Lambrou explored navigating life in the pandemic, multiple lockdowns and a country deciding to break up with its loved ones. Lyrically focused on feelings of isolation and separation, from our shared collective human experience to the deeply personal and everything in between, ‘Sing With Abandon’ touches on the isolation found within the communal experience of a country locked down and in crisis. 

Dreamlike in its beauty and whimsical and wistful in its delivery, this new record is utterly captivating throughout. There are moments of stunning, ethereal brilliance like the plaintive wonder of opening track There Are Mountains Underneath Us, a strikingly elegant piece of music that left me welling up with emotion and the gloriously refined The Navigator with its plaintive piano and sultry, hushed vocals from Anja Madhvani.

Honestly, there is wonder and amazement in every note and every word throughout the criminally short thirty-six minutes running time, the instrumental tracks, If I Could See Your Life Reverse with its edgier, slightly psychedelic feel and Steady Thyself (the first single released from the album) exquisitely sublime in its execution, the piano and strings so achingly beautiful, are moments of pure wonder and calm.

There’s no way to pick any highlights from this album as it flows best if you listen to it in one complete sitting. For Empire bleeds a melancholy emotion throughout, the haunting vocals a particular highlight, the imaginatively titled We Were Landed, We Were Landing Gently We Landed is another graceful instrumental, title track Sing With Abandon has a darker aura to it and Solus Ipse the feel of a babbling brook as its gentle notes and subtle vocal meander their way across your mind.

DearFearHere is impish and almost celestial in the way the ghostly, almost intangible vocals brush your mind while the rarefied, supernal musical notes dance along in unison. The album closes with the luxurious refinement of Our Corners (Reprise), a track that leads you by the hand to a place of calm solitude and reflection.

There are times when you hear a piece of music that leaves you open mouthed in appreciation and, when I first heard ‘Sing With Abandon’ I was utterly stunned. Albums like this are more than mere music, they pervade your very soul, take over your life and almost bring you to tears at their beauty. VLMV have created something so good that it almost becomes a state of mind and I thank Pete Lambrou from the bottom of my heart for doing so.

Released 19th August, 2022

Pre-order from bandcamp here:

Sing With Abandon | VLMV (bandcamp.com)

COLLISIONS: Ciaran Morahan (Codes In The Clouds, VLMV), Tom Hodge (Max Cooper, Floex) + Ollie Howell announce new album + single

‘Collisions’, is the coming together of neo-classical composer and film composer Tom Hodge (Max Cooper, Floex), post-rock composer Ciaran Morahan (Codes In The Clouds, VLMV) and composer and drummer, Ollie Howell. Their musical backgrounds can be heard colliding throughout their self-titled debut offering (released 9th September via Naïve/Believe), creating a new symbiotic relationship with one another. Fusing together their respective styles, they have created an exciting blend that feels expansive and immersive, almost cinematic, whilst still capturing the energy and thrill of a live performance.

To mark the official album announcement, Collisions are pleased to share the epic ‘II’, the first single to be taken from the album. “This was the first piece composed for the record. With a chord pattern taken from the original writing session with an acoustic band, Tom arranged the track and took it into an unconscious electronic direction. The track has the constant idea of movement with bouncy piano melodies and arpeggiated synthesisers incorporated throughout. The track is climaxed by saturated acoustic drums and reverb soaked clarinet complimenting the track’s overall ethereal feel,” says Morahan. 

Hodge and Morahan first met in 2009 when Hodge produced a remix for Morahan’s band Codes In The Clouds through London label Erased Tapes. 10 years after their initial introduction, sharing stages and collaborating on other music, they decided to create a record together. Howell’s arrival pushed the project further into a genre-fluid space but a sonically-focused one, resulting in a unique collision of emotive piano, clarinet, ambient analog synths and jazz-infused acoustic drums. The resulting collisions produce a sound that manages to both show individual strengths whilst creating a truly cohesive and immersive sonic landscape. The coming together of their musical identities has formed a strange musical alchemy whilst finding space to be truly authentic to itself. Where there is collision, there is inevitably motion.

The album explores both these spaces in different ways, moving between ‘Collisions’ tracks and ‘Motion’ tracks; the Motions having a freer and more exploratory feel in comparison, finding their way through more spacious musical ideas and searching for newness in this fluid space. The immersive nature of the music is also coupled with a unique visual identity, created by Cath Elliot, through both the live performance and within digital mediums. Each individual part of the music creates a series of seemingly-living particles, colliding and reacting in real time; constantly moving, evolving and pulsating as the music shifts. These generative shapes then morph effortlessly into particle-based metaverse versions of the band members themselves, emerging and performing live as if appearing from the ever-moving ether. This pioneering generative treatment allows the music itself to actually create the striking visual identity of the project in real time, creating a truly limitless series of particle collisions. It is clear from his past records with luminaries such as Max Cooper and Floex that Hodge is no stranger to coruscating sonic exploration, but he has mainly spent the last couple of years on high-profile film and TV projects.

Tracklisting:

1. ‘II’

2. ‘First Motion’

3. ‘I’

4. ‘Second Motion’

5. ‘III’

6. ‘Third Motion’

7. ‘IV’

8. ‘Fourth Motion’

Review – VLMV – Stranded Not Lost – by James R. Turner

Genres, funny things aren’t they? It seems that as human beings we are happiest when we can look at, listen to or read something and think yes, that definitely belongs in that category. Label it nicely and then go have a beer.

There seems to be something within us that isn’t satisfied until we’ve exhausted all the permutations and decided that x, y or indeed z fits into that little category, and woe betide it if it tries to escape the little box.

That is the only reason why I can think of a certain type of listener or internet commentator exists, you all know the one’s I mean, The ones who aren’t satisfied until they’ve proven beyond reasonable doubt that so and so is ‘prog’ and won’t listen to anything that doesn’t fit into their little boxes.

Well, gentlemen (and it is always gentlemen), let me tell you, life is so much more fulfilling when you step out of your little comfort bubble and not just listen to the music that falls between the boxes, but start living your life outside the boxes.

This is where haunting duo VLMV (pronounced ALMA) from London come in, their second album ‘Stranded Not Lost’ is released on Friday 16th February, formed by Peter Lambrou and joined by Ciaran Morahan, VLMV specialise in the sort of post rock ambient soundscapes and haunting ethereal melodies that fit outside the traditional musical box, occupying the same universe as artists like Explosions in the Sky or Bristol improv group Jilk.

This is music Jim, but not as we know it, whilst the psychedelic warriors of the late 60’s & 70’s pushed the barriers by going in search of space and beyond, this is the opposite, this is emotive, expansive and introspective music.

The sort of thing that No-Man used to do quite well, and which VLMV do with great skill, is the art of the slow build, the sonic build and soundscapes where the space between the noise is as important as the noise, with songs like the hauntingly beautiful All These Ghosts (which is the lead single from the album) it’s atmospheric stark soundscapes, mixed with the steel guitar picking and some emotive lyrics bring this ballad to life, and it’s this juxtaposition of music as big as the universe, and lyrics as close as your deepest thoughts that are part of what makes this album so effective.

With a sonic palette that brings real warmth to what initially seems to be icy and stark (the aural equivalent of a long country walk on a frozen landscape) the warmth, the depth and the humanity that is teased out through these songs grows and delights.

The opening instrumental mood setting He Has Already Divided Us, with it’s enigmatic title leads us brilliantly into the album, where songs like the title track, with it’s alt country guitar, big orchestration, and vocals reminiscent of an OK Computer Era Radiohead crossed with Josh Rouse, is one of the most affecting tracks on the album. It’s beautiful lyrics, haunting melodies and beautiful string work complement the guitar and synths perfectly. The barely restrained vocal performance and musical accompaniment suggest repressed emotion fighting to get out, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful and evocative pieces of music I have heard so far this year.

Evocative is the word that keeps coming up again when listening to this album, it has the widescreen feel of a soundtrack for a British Indie movie that hasn’t been made yet, I can see the main characters falling apart in the pouring rain on an anonymous street in a big city to the heartstring pulling and piano and string laden And There Was Peace in Our Time, breaking down as the music builds up, the blend of strings and synths is pure class, the melody filling the speakers as it soars beautifully. This is strong stuff, and really gets into you, especially if you listen on your headphones on the commute to work.

It’s not often that music conjures up such vivid imagery for me, not even powerful instrumental stuff, but this hits the spot every time, its power is in its simplicity, and that runs through the album. These are all well crafted, well thought out and beautifully executed songs, with space to grow and room to breath.

Guest vocalist Tom Hodge joins in on the brilliant Little House, which again reflects on the personal with some more of that fantastic guitar and synth work. The beauty on this is giving space to the vocals, focusing on the everyday, the real concerns of individuals. Where the space within the music is as important as the music. There are no overblown histrionics here nothing so crass is required. This is music in its purest form, no notes wasted, no unnecessary pieces. Every song has what it needs and nothing more, and this economy of sound, and distillation down to the purest emotion is what makes this album so affecting, especially on tracks like the ambient Lunokhod.

Having gone from never hearing of VLMV before, I will now be visiting their bandcamp site to order my copies of their earlier work and I strongly recommend that on Friday when this album hits the streets, you hit their bandcamp site, have yourself a listen and get into some seriously great music.

Released 16th February 2018

Order ‘Stranded Not Lost’ from bandcamp in all formats

 

 

 

 

 

VLMV ANNOUNCE UK/EU HEADLINE TOUR – NEW ALBUM ‘STRANDED NOT LOST’ DUE FEBRUARY 2018 ON FIERCE PANDA

South London duo VLMV will release their debut album ‘Stranded, Not Lost’ on February 16th, the follow up to their 2016 mini-album which garnered the self-proclaimed “ambient-ish, post-something” outfit praise from the likes of Lauren Laverne, The Independent, Killing Moon, London in Stereo and more.

These previous releases have earned the band tours with post-rock stalwarts Nordic Giants and New Zealand trio Jakob as well as performances at festivals across Europe where their live show, a blend of the delicate, emotional vocals of Keaton Henson, the compositional beauty of Olafur Arnalds and a touch of the crashing and climactic soundscapes of Sigur Ros & Explosions In The Sky have wowed and hushed audiences all over the continent.

The band, up until recently, known as ALMA (until several cases of mistaken identity with the BBC Sound of 2018 nominee necessitated a branding rethink) have announced their new album ‘Stranded, Not Lost’ is to be released on Fierce Panda on the 16th February 2018. A collection of 10 new compositions from the band that perfectly recaptures the fragile, fragrant essence of their esteemed debut ‘ALMA’ album which hoovered up comparisons to fellow explorers Sigur Ros, Patrick Watson and Explosions in The Sky.

‘Stranded, Not Lost’ is a gorgeous and moving record replete with the kind of brooding, ambient soundscapes, soaring vocals and crashing intensity that have earned the band a small legion of dedicated fans and a fearsome live reputation.

The band, which was formed in 2015 by songwriter Pete Lambrou have been described as sounding like “the background music to an ambient explosion in space”, which is perhaps unsurprising when one considers that as mainstay of Codes in The Clouds and Monsters Build Mean Robots Lambrou’s gently cosmic post-rock provenance is impeccable.

Joined by fellow Code In The Cloudser Ciaran Morahan, VLMV deploy a loop station, multiple delay pedals, a piano and strings to create a slow-moving, high-flying soundscape of luscious gravitas.

When asked about the new album, VLMV’s Pete Lambrou said: “Stranded, Not Lost is the first album I’ve written as a whole album, and not just songs that are pieced together to form a sort of best of after a certain period. I built a retreat studio in the basement of my house and buried myself there for a while. I wanted to keep this spatial feel that our previous album had, but create something more intimate. Thematically it’s a very inward album, which I haven’t really done for a long time. I think you can really hear the isolation in there. It’s personal, lonely and regretful.”

The band have also announced a set of UK & EU Tour dates in support of the album:

  • 19/02 – LWL Museum – Munster
  • 20/01 – Le caf & Diskaire – Lille
  • 21/02 – Galerie vom Zufall und vom Glück – Hanover
  • 22/02 – Plama -Gdansk
  • 23/02 – It’s a Bar – Berlin
  • 24/02 – Mózg Club – Warsaw
  • 25/02 – Noch Besser Leben – Leipzig
  • 26/02 – NoD – Prague
  • 27/02 – Andel Music Bar – Plzeñ
  • 28/02 – Le Farmer – Lyon
  • 01/03 – Pole Sud – Saint-Vincent-de-Tryosse
  • 02/03 – BeGood – Barcelona
  • 03/03 – Convent Garden – San Sebastien
  • 04/03 – Mami Txula – Bayonne
  • 16/03 – Archspace – London (Album Launch Show)
  • 22/03 – Glad Cafe – Glasgow
  • 23/03 – The Fox & Newt – Leeds
  • 24/03 – Dubrek Studios – Derby
  • 25/03 – Prince Albert – Brighton