S/D: Oren Ambarchi (and projects)

his new album is great

This AOTY contender for me, totally beautiful and up there with The Necks' best material.

Yeah, I might like this one even more than Ghosted, which is saying a lot

Was just listening to Ghosted yesterday - such a good record, total speculation but feels like it is at least partly a reflection on the Necks of the mid-to-late 1990s - when they were a little more moored to four square rhythms - guessing Oren would’ve seen em a bunch around that time - Harbourside Brasserie Necks vibe, if anyone happens to be a Sydney local!

I had never heard of this guy, Ghosted and Shebang are both very engaging. Lots going on despite apparent simplicity/minimalism.

Yes both albums and especially Shebang are reminiscent of Hanging Gardens or Drive-By era.

I think I prefer Ghosted by a smidgen, but only because I've spent more time with it than Shebang. Both are rhythmically lovely in a way I wasn't expecting, mostly because I'm more familiar with Oren's more abstract/ambient works. My expectations are likely coloured by the fact that Jim O'Rourke was my initial gateway into Oren's work.

Looking forward to checking out Time Is a Mountain thanks to the suggestion upthread.

Somehow, Shebang wasn't doing it for me when they were dripping out the tracks one at a time, but as a whole piece, I love it.

Well, Ghosted is rad partly just because Berthling & Werliin are such an incredible rhythm section. It's Fire! without Gustafsson which is fine!
And Berthling plays some lovely bass on Shebang too, among the other guests.

I like the acoustic bass on Ghosted.

jeez this is too good

supergroup does partly cloudy skies

the last track burrows into this blue mood where all the twelve strings and abraham's piano feel like they should be framing something, but nothing "central" is there .. just this endlessly shifting, ghostly presence of sound in the middle. i'm always listening for jim o'rourke's contributions in these kinds of situations and that sort of harsh is it ring modulated synth that appears toward the end there is brutal in a way. there's real heart to this, a lot of human presence, but it's also at a remove, its power feels directed toward emphasizing ephemerality.

Shebang is ridiculously good — wow!

really enjoying this

i'm listening to this a lot, it's kind of addicting.

had the stoned thought today that the whole piece feels like it's the soundtrack to a single human life. the brightness at first and then the kinetic deepening, the appearance of the drum strokes which seem to mark days, the longer blend of elements on top that are like strokes of personality, the reoccurence of those strokes, the little eddies throughout, the downshift into the vigor and seriousness of the 3rd and 4th parts, how there isn't really a climax but just this beautiful deepening/opening and then the brief release at the end.

when abraham's piano appears at the beginning of iii, it sounds so urgent - i don't know if i've ever felt such a sense of urgency at the sound of piano before haha.

and one minor quibble with the reynolds review, the last piece is in the same key as the first one, just minor not major afaict

overall a very nice and otm review as usual

which review?

sorry, sherburne, duh, *farts*

this one: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/oren-ambarchi-shebang/

i love how this is both calm and very intricate, with lots of moods represented but at a distance.

is a lot of ecm stuff really like this? divine quiet epic music?

i should go back to those early necks records.

i think oren ambarchi's guitar work is definitely the glue that holds everything together, it's really central to how iv evolves especially.

The last Necks record, ‘Three’, was somewhat in this vein. Otherwise the closest fits are ‘Hanging Gardens’, ‘Drive-By’ and ‘Chemist’ I think.

In terms of ECM, I’d try Nik Bartsch’s Ronin and Mobile projects.

thanks

One of the Mobile albums is even called “Ritual Groove Music” which is a great description of this general style.

oh wow 'ritual groove music' is sounding fantastic

Check the rym list for zen-funk, map. Enjoy the rabbit hole!

I wish "Hubris" was a genre so I could listen to stuff like it all day (now I just listen to "Hubris" all day)

i would like him to come to USA soon

Ghosted II out today. I thought the first one was good but not great; very into this one though.

I loved the first one, this is sounding great too.

OMG i love this so much already