Michael Space
Parallel dimension EP002

Desert Haze by Giraffe

MIOS by Synergetic Voice Orchestra

Black Truffle is pleased to present Sylva Sylvarum, an epic new work from Ora Clementi, the collaborative project of crys cole and James Rushford. Primarily conceived and recorded over several months together in Melbourne, Sylva Sylvarum is a stunning step forward from the mumbled, creaking sound world of the duo’s debut, Cover You Will Softer Me (Penultimate Press, 2014). From the opening ‘Peach of Immortality’, which takes an unpredictable journey from layers of chiming bells, vocal harmonies and lush synth pads to a desolate landscape of half-animal, half-digital wooshes and cries, it is immediately clear that cole and Rushford are working here with an entirely unique sound palette. Throughout the record’s four sides, we hear a large array of carefully detailed synthesizer sounds (many of them recorded at the remarkable Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio), sparse drum machine hits, wind instruments and field recordings of animals, often with a twistedly late 80s/early 90s flavour that at various points calls up New Age references, Robert Ashley’s later operas or the thinned-out textures of early digital GRM.

From Nursery to Misery crawl back to Dark Entries with Tree Spirits, the follow up to 2017’s Pixies In The Woods. The project was founded in 1987, when producer and keyboardist Lee Stevens invited identical twins Gina and Tina Fear over to record in his home studio in Basildon, Essex. Four years of prodigious studio experimentation followed, resulting in two full length cassettes (1989’s The Oak Tree and 1990’s Equilibrium), and a split EP with Nostalgie Eternelle in 1990. Stalwarts of the Mail Art scene, they also appeared on over 22 cassette compilations, home-dubbed in true DIY fashion, before splitting in 1991.

After excursions into leftfield disco and folk-jazz meditations, Vhassal is Prins Emanuel’s third longplayer. Whereas his first lp oozed youthful carelessness and euphoria and the second one takes on a more visceral note, this album breathes hope and sentimentality. It will come as no surprise that the part time fruit picker from Malmö became a father in the meantime.Still, Vhassal feels like a natural follow-up to predecessor Diagonal Musik. Essentially, it’s minimalism with plenty of surprises and the album showcases a delicate mix of instrumental proficiency and a keen sense of space. The medieval dance tempos are garnished with drum computers, and despite the synthetic sounds of the machines, all the songs have a very intuitive and organic feel, striking in some way as a culmination of PE’s previous albums.'Vaffan Sparks Du...' opens with a repetitive knock on the door, after which a drum machine driven lullaby creeps through the cracks. It’s fragile, wispy, enchanting and a definite moodsetter: this is sentimental adult music, in true Jj funhouse fashion. And so is 'Vhassal', a delicate, dubby trip that swirls through the room like a laser through smoke. The baroque, cloistral atmosphere is so thick that you can actually taste the smoke. 'Lazarus O’ E' closes off the A-side with icy foghorns. Is this a medieval lament or a hymn to sprouting snowdrops in a wintery landscape? We’re not sure, but if the Titanic houseband had synthesizers, this is probably what they would’ve sounded like.Side B kicks off in a more cheerful way with 'Vhist', a searing sliver of goosebump melancholia with beautifully bent robotic whistling. 'Girra' sounds like an instrumental lifted off some Estonian children’s choir 7” on Melodiya. It’s a deceivingly simple ditty with a far-off romantic sound that seems to reach euphoria, but then rapidly declines. 'Saker Som Sagts Och Gjorts' irrevocably shakes off the negative feelings by filtering the sound of a summery moonlit night in the French Provence through your speakers. It’s an apt prequel to the closing track, for which you should dim the lights, peak through the blinds and lay back in your ultimate easy chair. 'Principen' is the perfect soundtrack to sip a final scotch, whistle along and shed a tear to yesterday. A better future lies ahead, somewhere.

This album was compiled in 2020 during dark, dystopian times. As we searched for answers inside ourselves, Dan Piu's artificial mind bubble manifested into a thick mass of confusion.Today in humanity's journey, a science fiction foresight has become reality. The dawn of this new era has been essential for the frame of mind of this album:"Inside Universe"The record artwork is connected to the C.C.P aka. Childhood, Calm & Punk Project - which presents a fresh multidimensional art project. The artwork shows a unique collaboration between comic abstractionists Russel Maurice (Uk/Japan) & Kenichiro Mizuno ((Japan). The show ”ALTERED STATE” will be held in OIL by 美術手帖, Parco, Tokyo - 12.03.2021 - 28.03.2021.“In this body of works, multiple themes converge into a surreal melting pot of Comic Abstraction: physicality, form and changing-form, science fiction and nature, humans, creatures and insects and all that lies in-between, and … of course an Altered State or two.”