Goldmund - Sometimes (Western Vinyl, 2015)

This record is so good it inspired me to write my first post since June. It is sure to appear on some year end lists.

Keith Kenniff is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, and electronic music producer. He makes ambient/electronic music under the moniker Helios, post-classical piano music under Goldmund, and is a composer for film, television, dance and performance art).

His "Goldmund" project has always been stellar, but he outdoes himself here. Ethereal and sparse piano compositions just do not get anymore lovely and moving than this. Theses pieces are utterly beautiful.

Stream on Soundcloud here: Goldmund - Sometimes

Kreng - Grimoire (Miasmah, 2011)

I've been back on a classical kick lately, scouring thrift stores for original Deutsch Grammofon vinyl and watching those lovely yellow spines amass on my record shelf. This always makes me feel like I'm better off, like I'm not as dumb as I think I am. Classical music may not make you smarter, but it certainly makes you think in a more civilized manner.

As is typically the case, I begin to seek out the darkest and most somber pieces I can find. In the process, I stumbled across this modern artist. Pepijn Caudron is a dark soul who composes lovely yet disturbed and minimal neo-classical chamber music that sounds like the march toward the gallows, or better still, the auto-da-fe.

With twisted elegance, he melds these cultured sounds with a cursed underbelly reminiscent of the Marquis de Sade. With titles like 'Girl in a Fishtank' and 'La Poule Noire', one can surmise a very unfortunate fate for the characters in Kreng's narrative.

Within these classical parameters, who incorporates mimimal noise bordering on industrial akin to the methods of Phillip Jeck or even Deaf Center. This is creppy crawly music of the highest magnitude. Highly recommended.

Get it Here