Tabs Out

Tristan Magnetique – s/t
8.27.18 by Ryan Masteller

That Günter Schlienz has outdone himself this time…

ShhhhhhhhHHHHHHH!

What? Oh, we’re not talking about that? Is it a secret or something? I mean, it says right on the Otomatik Muziek page that “Tristan Magnetique is the latest solo work of german [sic] sound artist Günter Schlienz.” So – I guess I’m not really concerned about dropping that bombshell on you guys. You can quit making that slashing motion with your hand across your neck at any time, Mike Haley.

Whatever. It’s neither here nor there, really, if I refer to “the Artist” as “Tristan” or “Günter,” because … just look at this thing! “Tristan Magnetique” the release is really a sight to behold. A triple-cassette album, each side housing a long-form ambient piece, packaged in one of those old audiobook library shells. But yeah, as a listener you gotta take Otomatik Muziek’s advice and be proactive, ignoring the New Age reactions something like this could engender in the passive fan, instead allowing yourself to dig deep into the microcosm of Tristan Magnetique’s soundworld. The tonal and timbral shifts are exquisite as they gradually progress, filling the ear and the heart with peaceful vibes.

And you need those peaceful vibes as you make your way through this world, don’t you? It doesn’t matter whether you’re facing life with your own name or you adopt a pseudonym as a personal shield to deflect enemy attack. I kid, but boy, there are a lot of people in this world, and if you let them get to you, you’re in for some maddening social torture, which is the worst kind of torture, even worse than waterboarding or whatever they do on “Game of Thrones” (I don’t own TVs or books). And even though you’re going to have to play these Tristan Magnetique compositions through headphones, you can at least do it with a smile on your face as you walk down the street or take the subway or sit in traffic on the beltway on the way to work. Because you have inner peace. And that reflects outward.

So pony up the euros (they don’t take deutschemarks anymore, I checked – I had a suitcase full of them) to Otomatik Muziek and grip the latest Schlie… uh, Magnetique before the edition of 40 sells out!

The Corrupting Sea – Reflections
8.23.18 by Ryan Masteller

It might be the “Chariots of Fire” vibes I’m getting from track 1, “Triumph” (what’s in a name?), but I’m feeling “Reflections” by the Corrupting Sea right off the bat. “Chariots of Fire” was one of those films your parents likely made you watch when you were growing up. Was it just me? Who knows – it taught me about perseverance and hard work and fighting against adversity and stuff, and it was about the Olympics. Big emotions, big stakes. I was such a jock.

Being an athlete has its perks, but it also has its drawbacks. By nature, the athlete internalizes struggle and uses it as fuel for performance. As the Corrupting Sea, Jason T. Lamoreaux has also internalized struggle, but instead of manifesting it on the playing field, he’s channeled it through his own creativity, an outlet that’s seen its realization in multiple cassette tapes, most recently in “Reflections.” It doesn’t all sound like “Chariots of Fire,” and in fact it deviates down many nostalgic paths (lengthy album centerpieces “Flooded Gnosis,” “Calm,” and “Uninterrupted Solipsis” are particularly meditative). But in the end, the mind is where life is, where the heavy lifting happens, where the real personal workout begins.

Speaking of heavy lifting – look, this is gnawing at me. I can bench press more than Mike Haley. I can curl more than Dave Doyen. I can squat more than Joe B. It’s true fact, and the quicker we can understand all this, the more honest with each other we can all be: I am stronger, more muscular than at least two-thirds of Tabs Out Podcast put together, maybe even all three.

Get pumped mentally otherwise with the Corrupting Sea’s “Reflections,” edition of fifty, out NOW on Somewherecold Records.