Murcof: Cosmos

"Murcof’s long-awaited third album marks a dramatic departure from previous works. Truly monumental in scale, Cosmos is composed almost entirely of recordings of classical instruments, a process which Corona describes as “expanding the possibilities of acoustic instruments through electronics.” It’s a move away from the micro-programmed sound he helped to pioneer, and his seamless integration of these apparently opposed forms is almost unprecedented."

http://www.murcof.com/

Samples: http://www.dotshop.se/ds/release.php?code=BAY59CD

Been waiting FOREVER for this one! I've resisted the temptation to download too. Should be much more organic/ambient huh? Think I'll check the samples...

From his website: Planetarium tour for Cosmos...

How cool would that be!

yes this should be interesting!

isnt this his fourth album?

it's no good :(

Nice interview with Murcof on the new Milk Factory site if you're interested:

http://www.themilkfactory.co.uk/st/2007/08...time-continuum/

Looking forward to this album as well as hearing some of his soundtrack work.

i shouldnt even ask this in this room, but is murcof any good? i saw a best of poll of 2002 and it was mentioned near the top, just wondering if its worth checking out - its more of a techno style no?

its music for people who trim their beards

is that a good thing?

  mrgypsum said:

i shouldnt even ask this in this room, but is murcof any good? i saw a best of poll of 2002 and it was mentioned near the top, just wondering if its worth checking out - its more of a techno style no?

Murcof is amazing. Start with Martes. It is like minimal orchestral combined with minimal techno. Just get it.

  Rook said:

isnt this his fourth album?

Utopia was an album with 10 remixes done by colleagues and friends such as Jan Jelinek, Fax, Colleen etc.

murcof is really great

he has a good feeling of building up a great tension by leaving out as much as possible

ok he uses some kind of minimal techno beat at times but thats not what it is about - its about weird dark classical

did it leak allready?

yeah cosmos is all over the interwebz.

i put it in my 'wish list' at amazon, i am going to get it when i get a chance - does it sound anything remotely like arpanet, because ive heard comparisons before.

  mrgypsum said:

i put it in my 'wish list' at amazon, i am going to get it when i get a chance - does it sound anything remotely like arpanet, because ive heard comparisons before.

You can listen to Cielo and Cosmos I on his MySpace ( www.myspace.com/murcof) and there are more samples on his official website www.murcof.com . It's a lot more cinematic this time as he has left the beat beat in a 3-4 of the 6 tracks on Cosmos. I'm a big fan of his minimalistic techno but I can't wait to hear Cosmos since it'll be a lot more ambient-ish like a couple of the tracks from Remembranza

  Squee said:

  mrgypsum said:

i put it in my 'wish list' at amazon, i am going to get it when i get a chance - does it sound anything remotely like arpanet, because ive heard comparisons before.

 

You can listen to Cielo and Cosmos I on his MySpace ( www.myspace.com/murcof) and there are more samples on his official website www.murcof.com . It's a lot more cinematic this time as he has left the beat beat in a 3-4 of the 6 tracks on Cosmos. I'm a big fan of his minimalistic techno but I can't wait to hear Cosmos since it'll be a lot more ambient-ish like a couple of the tracks from Remembranza

i listened to some tracks from his website - it was ok, i am not going to pass anything concrete on it though - but i am thinking it might be a grower for me. i find though that ambient stuff is good, but i never get around to listening to it too much. it never really fits in, i will put it in for a little, but then i will switch it out early for something else - something a little more tranditional. i will start with martes though seems like a great release.

probably my least favorite album by him ... 'cosmos II' is really good though

  playbynumbers said:

probably my least favorite album by him ... 'cosmos II' is really good though

Did you already get your copy of the album?

For some reason Boomkat has put it back, so now I'll have to wait 19 stinking days to get mine!

no, just slsk-ed it for now

Listening to Rios from Remembranza at the moment. Wooo, that track gives me the chills.

Listening to it right now...

I'm not really sure what I think of that church organ and choir intro. It's a bit cheesy. But if I know Murcof, and I'm pretty sure I do, I know it'll take a change to the better.

Recently bought this - for me, in a nutshell, it's hit and miss.

The first two tracks (cuerpo celeste and cielo) are the most similar to the earlier stuff - same pace, moody atmosphere, string samples - but there's now a richer, bassier, more electronic feel with 'cielo' feeling astonishingly like the blue Pole cd, or like Komet on raster noton. They also introduce vocal moaning - a HECK of a lot like Burial - yes - Burial - if he doesn't get his hands on cielo and do a monster remix then that's a massive massive shame - because it's absolutely utterly begging for it.

Track 3, cosmos 1, is where some rot creeps in - he appears to sound more like other people for the first time - people like Deaf Centre, machinefabriek, or Svarte Grainer - it's just a long droney build-up and fall-off. . . with even some jarre type arpeggiated synths. eek.

Track 4, cometa, is more of the same but even worse - plonking for the straight let's build it all up into a wall of noise and then end - but with overblown church organs - really the most unremarkable, dull, and dissappointing track I've ever heard from Murcof. Delete.

Track 5, cosmos 2, is more of a return to form - keeping on with the development, more new sounds and atmosphere all injected with that foreboding imagination, more electronic crackles, and, bless, some retro tomita style whistling keyboard sounds - showing my age a bit there - but heck it really suits the track.

Track 6, oort, is a kind of mash-up of everything else on the cd - coming across as very Greg Haines 'Slumber Tides', or even Harold Budd's 'By the dawn's early light' - but with random crashes and the guitar like drones falling into the usual 'build-up' trap.

So - I'd say go to iTunes and get tracks 1,2, and 5 - but leave the rest for the lazy derivative rubbish that it is.

Marc x

I returned to Cosmos and gave Oort further listens. It's gorgeous. I love that strings (don't know, what exactly that is). No surprise I praise Urano the most.

I think that loud distractions are too much, but also every time you think "what's now".

And that mood! I think that track would have gone well with some Mexican settings in Breaking Bad TV series.