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A playful album consisting of 3 suites that cover the distance from aleatoric to improvised to composed music...
>> 𝐈 : (1) The ninth letter of the Latin alphabet as well as the Roman numeral for the number 1. (2) The first-person singular nominative case personal pronoun in Modern English, which is used to refer to one's self and is capitalized –although other pronouns, such as he or she, are not. (3) One of its homophones is "eye"... >> 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : (1) Wikipedia: "a stable community of people formed on the basis of a common language, territory, history, ethnicity or culture", (2) Benedict Anderson: an "imagined community", (3) Kurt Vonnegut: a "granfalloon", a "false karass", i.e. a group of people who affect a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is meaningless... .......................................................................................................................................................................... Limited edition of 250 12" black vinyl LPs +/or Digital Album incl. bonus track (24-bit, FLAC recommended). .......................................................................................................................................................................... moody alien ― processed vibraphone, marimbas & glockenspiel, improvisations, compositions, mixing, mastering, artwork design. Featuring: > Jeremy Young ― sine & triangle waves, brushes, “radio transmissions” on Steve was Reight & Steve was Left > Markus Reineke ― bass recorder, amplified objects on Subjectivity Rules v.2 * The Subjectivity Rules suite features Vasilis Bacharidis' voice and was recorded with his help. ** The cover artwork was based on 500-year-old naval maps from Pîrî Reis’ book Kitâbı bahriye. *** The album title was initially inspired by Kurt Vonnegut's concept of "a nation of two" (in Mother Night, 1962): “[...] a pair of lovers in a world gone mad could survive by being loyal only to a nation composed of themselves –a nation of two.” “Only one thing counted –the nation of two. And when that nation ceased to be, I became what I am today and what I always will be, a stateless person.” .......................................................................................................... Released on May 21, 2021. ℗ & © Thirsty Leaves Music |
REVIEWS.
"Dazzling vibraphone compositions that set gentle tones against empty air to create constellations of sound."
The Bandcamp New and Notable section
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"[...] it sounds like Moody is concentrating on capturing fragments of lines on vibes or marimba and then carefully manipulating them. Aside from those Phil Glass/Steve Reich-like repeating lines, there are a few select drones sailing along as well. The drones come from a variety of sources: bass recorder, sine waves and voice, although it is hard to tell exactly what is being used. Since Moody Alien claims to be a non or untrained musician, that hasn’t kept him back from exploring textures and timbres which are never chops (technique) related. MA will take a simple marimba or vibes line, repeat it and add select sonic effluvia to add some depth to the proceedings. His selective, sly use of manipulating short fragments keeps things fascinating nonetheless. This album was carefully pressed on warm, quiet, high-quality vinyl so that we can concentrate on the sounds themselves. Modest yet most compelling."
Bruce Lee Gallanter for Downtown Music Gallery
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"The music is peaceful, pensive, with repetitive patterns of vibraphone and marimba that sometimes bring to mind the way the African mbira or thumb piano is played, though in a slower pace. “Steve was Reight” and “Steve was Left” in their repetitive flow are clearly alluding to one of the world’s most famous minimal music composers. Small sweeping electronic tones, wind instruments, muffled voices and whatnot add to the sonorous richness of the pieces. Lovely!"
Mariëtte Groot for Underbelly.nu
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"[...] The compositional fulcrum of the pieces is in fact given by a percussive sound process based on stimulating rhythmic structures in order to encourage the listener to reflect and to distance him from anthropocentric visions of the world.
Nine sound environments emerge that cover the distance between improvised, random and minimalist music, dreamy carpets given by the atonal notes of marimba intertwined with subtle vocal samples as in the case of the opening track Subjectivity Rules v.3, with a relaxing effect. From the interaction of idiophones with synthesizers, moody alien produces a micro tonal texture entitled Steve was Reight. A fragile composition based on a perceptive practice that emphasizes the beauty of the individual notes. moody alien makes Of Things Unknown a polychromatic production, an abstract conversation between glockenspiel and drones built on a play of tones and timbres. A soft sonorous fresco that slowly changes building a fragmented melody. Of Music is a brief moment dedicated to the muffled and hypnotic sounds of the vibraphone: the piece develops on two levels, a rhythmic pattern that acts as a carpet and the effected notes that give color and emphasis to the production. Nations of I closes slowly with Subjectivity Rules v.1 resuming the sound of the first track's marimba.
Nations of I is an album with zen rigor, ambitious and excellent workmanship. A record that perhaps will capture little consensus from listeners due to its demanding listening, but it will do so with great effectiveness and transport capacity."
Mario Ariano for Radioaktiv (in italian)
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"Moody Alien, Thirsty Leaves operator, MAGAM founder and multidisciplinary artist and composer, is releasing a new album titled Nations of I - just in time for his twentieth anniversary as a musician and again with a main focus on minimal compositions for marimba and related instruments. As is often the case with the musician based in Thessaloniki, the superficially almost timid and inconspicuous work is full of musical (Steve Reich) and extra-musical (Piri Reis, Kurt Vonnegut) allusions."
African Paper (in german)
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"[...] And if all this immerses you in a mood, with the sounds firmly based on some theoretical or literary writings giving them instantaneous "meanings", it is the music that reaches your ears in the end, and which acquires meaning thanks to Moody Alien's ingenuity, as well as to the way in which classic "advanced" references infiltrate the acoustic patterns. In fact, some of these references, such as those to Steve Reich for example, are not hidden in tracks such as "Steve was Reight", "Steve was Left (pt. 1-3)", since the minimalist spirit, along with ethnological elements and electronic diversions form the bulk of the musics recorded here. The percentages may vary from piece to piece - the vibes are transferred from the avant / experimental field to the ethnological and from there to the electronic, and vice versa - but in any case, these three key directions coexist and determine the listening. So, there are tracks for two or more sound sources, which weigh sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, but without ever losing the element of the unexpected and surprising, the one that the improvisation directs and controls, giving way to truly fascinating tracks, such as “Of things unknown” and the short “Of music” on the second side. Very interesting LP, without question, although for special tastes."
Phontas Troussas for Diskoryxeion/Vinylmine (in greek)
-----------------------------------------
"moody alien is a bit of a strange creature in that he is not a musician in the traditional sense. He's not a person who follows traditional song structures or chord progressions or even music keys. Essentially he's a sound experimentor and creates compositions based on what he thinks sounds good. Given this, the sounds on this release are a little bit experimental and a little bit ambient and a whole lot of awesome. Free your mind from the shackles of what you believe a song should be and enjoy this great release."
The Alternative Kind
-----------------------------------------
"Dazzling vibraphone compositions that set gentle tones against empty air to create constellations of sound."
The Bandcamp New and Notable section
-------------------------------------------------
"[...] it sounds like Moody is concentrating on capturing fragments of lines on vibes or marimba and then carefully manipulating them. Aside from those Phil Glass/Steve Reich-like repeating lines, there are a few select drones sailing along as well. The drones come from a variety of sources: bass recorder, sine waves and voice, although it is hard to tell exactly what is being used. Since Moody Alien claims to be a non or untrained musician, that hasn’t kept him back from exploring textures and timbres which are never chops (technique) related. MA will take a simple marimba or vibes line, repeat it and add select sonic effluvia to add some depth to the proceedings. His selective, sly use of manipulating short fragments keeps things fascinating nonetheless. This album was carefully pressed on warm, quiet, high-quality vinyl so that we can concentrate on the sounds themselves. Modest yet most compelling."
Bruce Lee Gallanter for Downtown Music Gallery
-------------------------------------------------
"The music is peaceful, pensive, with repetitive patterns of vibraphone and marimba that sometimes bring to mind the way the African mbira or thumb piano is played, though in a slower pace. “Steve was Reight” and “Steve was Left” in their repetitive flow are clearly alluding to one of the world’s most famous minimal music composers. Small sweeping electronic tones, wind instruments, muffled voices and whatnot add to the sonorous richness of the pieces. Lovely!"
Mariëtte Groot for Underbelly.nu
--------------------------------------------------
"[...] The compositional fulcrum of the pieces is in fact given by a percussive sound process based on stimulating rhythmic structures in order to encourage the listener to reflect and to distance him from anthropocentric visions of the world.
Nine sound environments emerge that cover the distance between improvised, random and minimalist music, dreamy carpets given by the atonal notes of marimba intertwined with subtle vocal samples as in the case of the opening track Subjectivity Rules v.3, with a relaxing effect. From the interaction of idiophones with synthesizers, moody alien produces a micro tonal texture entitled Steve was Reight. A fragile composition based on a perceptive practice that emphasizes the beauty of the individual notes. moody alien makes Of Things Unknown a polychromatic production, an abstract conversation between glockenspiel and drones built on a play of tones and timbres. A soft sonorous fresco that slowly changes building a fragmented melody. Of Music is a brief moment dedicated to the muffled and hypnotic sounds of the vibraphone: the piece develops on two levels, a rhythmic pattern that acts as a carpet and the effected notes that give color and emphasis to the production. Nations of I closes slowly with Subjectivity Rules v.1 resuming the sound of the first track's marimba.
Nations of I is an album with zen rigor, ambitious and excellent workmanship. A record that perhaps will capture little consensus from listeners due to its demanding listening, but it will do so with great effectiveness and transport capacity."
Mario Ariano for Radioaktiv (in italian)
-----------------------------------------
"Moody Alien, Thirsty Leaves operator, MAGAM founder and multidisciplinary artist and composer, is releasing a new album titled Nations of I - just in time for his twentieth anniversary as a musician and again with a main focus on minimal compositions for marimba and related instruments. As is often the case with the musician based in Thessaloniki, the superficially almost timid and inconspicuous work is full of musical (Steve Reich) and extra-musical (Piri Reis, Kurt Vonnegut) allusions."
African Paper (in german)
-----------------------------------------
"[...] And if all this immerses you in a mood, with the sounds firmly based on some theoretical or literary writings giving them instantaneous "meanings", it is the music that reaches your ears in the end, and which acquires meaning thanks to Moody Alien's ingenuity, as well as to the way in which classic "advanced" references infiltrate the acoustic patterns. In fact, some of these references, such as those to Steve Reich for example, are not hidden in tracks such as "Steve was Reight", "Steve was Left (pt. 1-3)", since the minimalist spirit, along with ethnological elements and electronic diversions form the bulk of the musics recorded here. The percentages may vary from piece to piece - the vibes are transferred from the avant / experimental field to the ethnological and from there to the electronic, and vice versa - but in any case, these three key directions coexist and determine the listening. So, there are tracks for two or more sound sources, which weigh sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, but without ever losing the element of the unexpected and surprising, the one that the improvisation directs and controls, giving way to truly fascinating tracks, such as “Of things unknown” and the short “Of music” on the second side. Very interesting LP, without question, although for special tastes."
Phontas Troussas for Diskoryxeion/Vinylmine (in greek)
-----------------------------------------
"moody alien is a bit of a strange creature in that he is not a musician in the traditional sense. He's not a person who follows traditional song structures or chord progressions or even music keys. Essentially he's a sound experimentor and creates compositions based on what he thinks sounds good. Given this, the sounds on this release are a little bit experimental and a little bit ambient and a whole lot of awesome. Free your mind from the shackles of what you believe a song should be and enjoy this great release."
The Alternative Kind
-----------------------------------------
