RECORD OF THE WEEK 

Sunlight Ascending – Leaving My Waiting Room 

Clawson, Michigan based band, Sunlight Ascending, release their 4th album in as many years and it is called Leaving My Waiting Room. The album hit right at the end of 2012 and probably missed a lot of ‘best of’ lists, and while I am not a big list person I am sure this album would have featured on a few peoples top 10’s. This is a top class album, kicking off with the intro track ‘Reductio Ad Absurdum’ a short piece prior to hitting it up with ‘The Dhanbad Rails’ and they hit it up big on this track, great drum intro to this track leading into bass then guitar riffs, nice melody throughout with subtle shifts in tempo which occur frequently. We then move on to Vladdie which has a more acoustic feel to it, an altogether more quiet track all round. Track 4, “Gleaming Apollo’ has a more experimental feel about it, no real melody to speak off, I think it is processed guitar sounds with a great beat in the background. Its a very dark track, and the music is not in the forefront, it is as if it has been supressed somehow, a really nice sound though. So there is a wide variation of sounds just within these opening 4 tracks, and there are still another 8 to go. My favourite track has to be ‘They’re Lonlier On The Outside’, and that is immediately followed by a signature track called ‘Kalkaska’ which has the Sunlight Ascending sound all over it.

So a really strong release for the end of 2012 and is Fade To Yellow 2nd album of the week in 2013. Go check it out, its a beauty.

Sunlight Ascending is:

James Schultz – Guitar
Jeremy Schultz – Drums
Andrew Mcilwain – Guitar
Sean Reed – Guitar
Nick Urbanik – Bass

RECORD OF THE WEEK 

Arthur Zdrinc – It’s AD 2016

Arthur Zdrinc, member of the Chicago band Sioum, releases his solo debut album titled ‘It’s AD 2016’. This album is a real fine way to kick off the 2013 Record Of The Week on Fade To Yellow. Its a nice mixture of field recordings and stark musical passages. The music comes via mostly guitars and piano and various other electronic sound generating equipment. A lot of thought has gone into this release and he has collaborated with various artists on each of the tracks, most of these artists are from the Endless Fields Studio music collective. There are certainly plenty of dramatic sounds with the tracks and nice field recordings in the mix, its got a real nice ambient feel to it ,coupled with really nice melodies intertwined in the 8 tracks and coming in at just over 48minutes in length. It really is an album that you should invest some time in, and it is a very rewarding aural experience.

From Bandcamp

“It’s A.D. 2016.” Is a collection of songs that have been on my mind since last year. I worked alongside 5 amazing musicians. I merely brought them my vision, and the various sounds of nature that I collected on my long adventures throughout the northern wastes of Illinois.
Each song captures a moment in time.
Time…
That transient concept.
That elusive and deceiving idea.
Since the existence of mankind… we have micro managed our transient lives with the use of “calendars,” cylindrical tablets of stone, cave paintings. Whether we carve into stone the significant occurrences during our generation, or Vlog each and every meal we’ve had in the last week. Man is obsessed with retention. And specifically in this age of retentia we live in, the human has astronomical potential for merely perfect retention; Of memories, of thoughts, of ideas, Et Cetera.

It’s his story for us all. . .
One historian miscalculates the segments of time he analyzed. . .
And it doesn’t even matter anymore. . .
Or, did it ever matter to begin with?

July – December 2012 Reflections Of A Year Gone By Part 2

This show was co-hosted with Brian Purington – Guitarist with My Education

Here is the Fade To Yellow blog 2012 review. Thank you for all your support in 2012 and here is to an equally successful 2013.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 6,500 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 11 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

January – June 2012 Reflections Of A Year Gone By Part 1

Record Of The Week 

Various – … and darkness came

I couldn’t have written a better piece than what was on the Headphone Commute Bandcamp page…….

This colossal compilation has been curated by Headphone Commute to benefit all of those affected by Hurricane Sandy, the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, which has devastated portions of the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States in late October 2012. 100% of all the proceeds generated from the sale of this album will be donated towards two charitable organizations: Doctors Without Borders and The Humane Society. The artists on the release have been hand-picked to showcase the world’s top talent in ambient, modern classical, and experimental music. The unprecedented selection features many unreleased pieces composed exclusively for the cause.

RECORD OF THE WEEK

The Sleep Design – Kings

The Sleep Design based out of Birmingham, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee have just released ‘Kings’, the follow up to the excellent 2010 debut release ‘All That Is Not Music Is Silence’. They certainly have lost none of their talent  for writing stunning post-rock songs or their appeal for writing the most incredible melodic songs, check out ‘When We Meet’ to hear what I mean. ‘Kings’ is an excellent release, 5 tracks at just under 25 minutes in length. There is a natural break in the EP with the track ‘Air’ composed mostly of soundscapes but it is just a quiet break before the last two tracks ‘Settling’ and ‘When We Meet’. The first two tracks ‘The Stage’ and ‘Kings’ aren’t quite as melodic, but they are equally as good in their own way. It really is an EP of two halves, both equal in instrumental post-rock musical enjoyment. It really is a great release  and being so late in the year it is very welcome.

I would highly recommend adding this EP to your collection.

Band Members

John – Mark Dorough – Drums
John Ball – Bass Guitar
Michael Wilson – Electric Guitar
Nathan Spicer – Electric Guitar

Biography

Formed out of a passion for the beauty of God through sound, The Sleep Design attempts to shed light on the power of a Creator captured in rhythm. A love for jamming and a desire to stray from what pop culture has done to music inspires a band striving to mold melodies worthy of dreamers.