Category: News

Made Of Amber

A transcendental electronic music experience that has a coherence with idm, electro, and contains some elements of early jungle music. But all tracks have a common divisor, they are all ‘made of amber’.

These tracks have been meticulously arranged and produced in order to make the best music I can, without musical constraints or boundaries defined by genres. The recording process took nine months in total, weeks were spent on tweaking and adjusting a song until it sounded finished to me. Each song had to have a perpetual momentum, a certain energy from start to finish. This dedication to sound and arrangement has led to a style of producing that suited me really well, being somewhat of a perfectionist and attentive to details, I was able to put all of my creative energy into this album.

https://minuteofarc.bandcamp.com/album/made-of-amber

Interview

Recently I was asked to do an interview for Almo’s Music Blog. Almo, or Ethan, is a longtime listener and supporter of my music. His puzzle game “Cognizer” for iOS and Android features a remastered version of my 2008 Ohrwert EP “Cygnus Loop”. Through his excellent questions I was able to share some insight in the steps I take as a musician, my influences, and how I have approached certain projects. You can read the full interview here:  Almo’s Music Blog.

Updated Discography

Lately I have been updating the website with new content, I want to use it as a centralized hub to publish news and information about all of my projects, instead of just using it as a placeholder for Ohrwert. After streamlining the links and adding a proper contact form, I have added my full discography. I used to keep a note on my Facebook profile on every album, appearance, or remix, to keep an overview of how much music I actually release. The new discography includes links to every release, and is neatly sorted per year.

| n f | n | t e

“| n f | n | t e” allows you to dive into the evocative world of soundscapes and meditative drones. Slow down your pace of life with these five pieces, clocked at around 30 minutes each, carefully sculptured to alter the perception of time and space.

Inspired by a 53-minute electric piano piece I recorded for Psoma Psi Phi, I decided to record another piece with just the reverberated signal of my trusty Rhodes. This approach drastically changed the dynamic of how I play and kept me longing for the wonderful harmonics that were accumulating in the reflections of the reverb. Then I applied the same technique whilst playing on my Waldorf Blofeld. This created a similar result, but with wavetable synthesis and aftertouch added to the equation it allowed for even more expression. Now imagine all of this being stochastically automated and sequenced with a quantized transposition modulation. Fancy words for me engineering the music in such a manner that I only have to synthesize the sound, and press record and stop. Finally, I took it a step further and processed pre-recorded sequences by manipulating its duration on a granular level so that it has similar dynamic features as the live takes, but not a single note was actually played live.

http://arjenschat.nl/album/n-f-n-t-e

Reduct Revival

Ten years after the Reduct series was launched as an audio blog (ohrwert.blogspot.com), the series is continuing on Bandcamp. Since “Tenth”, the closing album of Reduct 1 to 9, many releases have seen the light of day through different labels and formats all over the world. Now it is time to go back to the original format, in 24bit/48kHz quality.

 

“Eleventh Reduct” is the remnant of a series of tracks I have produced in 2015. Though never released as a whole, the other tracks have found a home on different labels. “Ordior” was released on Grounded In Humanity’s “DNA Sequence Vol. 2” compilation CD, and “Blavus” and Fidelis” have recently been released on vinyl on Grad_u’s label Greyscale, including remixes of “Blavus” from XDB and Aleksandr himself (scale-limited.bandcamp.com/album/fidelis-blavus).

Soundwise, things have changed over the years. Albums like “Intueri” are a showcase of a new direction. A direction that resulted from club-based live performances, which can hold its ground in the deep end, but is obviously dance-oriented. “Eleventh Reduct” is no exception to that sound, a signature Ohrwert dub flavor with more substance and solid drum grooves.

http://music.ohrwert.com/album/eleventh-reduct

Fidelis / Blavus

“Ohrwert – Fidelis / Blavus” is out now on Greyscale. Two original cuts and two outstanding remixes by XDB and grad_u, pressed on 180 gram white vinyl.

Lithuania’s Greyscale returns this December with Ohrwert’s ‘Fidelis / Blavus’, backed with remixes from XDB and grad_u.

Greyscale was launched in 2012 by Lithuanian producer and DJ grad_u, and photographer Rima Prusakova, set up as a platform for material from grad_u and close friends whilst Prusakova’s black and white analogue photography provides the visual identity of the label.

The original mix of ‘Blavus’ opens the EP, perfectly setting the tone with murky, ethereal atmospherics, billowing dub echoes, modulating percussion and thunderous drums before DubTechno stalwart XDB strips things back a little with soft touches of the originals airy drones
tucked away in the depths whilst choppy stabs and dynamically unfolding analogue rhythms wander throughout.

The second original from Ohrwert opens the flip-side, upping the energy levels slightly with hooky stab-sequences, filtered delays and hypnotic melodies running alongside a sturdy percussive foundation. Lastly to round out the release grad_u reworks ‘Blavus’ into a more
groove-driven workout, employing shuffled hats, looped dub chords and bumpy sub-bass hits throughout.

Mastered at the legendary Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin.

https://scale-limited.bandcamp.com/album/fidelis-blavus

Arjen Schat | Spectrum

“Arjen Schat | Spectrum” is out now and available on vinyl + digital + stream!

After months of preparation, we are really proud to present the launch of our record label Trésor D’argent by Arjen Schat en Rik de Voogd.

Our aim is to release the creative output of Arjen on vinyl, adding collectors value with each release by keeping the copies low and adding specialties in the form of printed art. Arjen’s sonic identity can be described as sequential ambient music, characterized by its emphasis on complex polyrhythmic sequencing and extensive use of analog synthesizers.

We are kicking off with the album “Spectrum” which is the first full length LP by Arjen Schat on vinyl. “Spectrum” is a contemporary continuation of the Berlin-school of electronic music. Though the essence of the style revolves around analogue synthesizers propagating melodic sequences, the sequences on this album are constantly evolving using an array of complex sequencing methods.

“Spectrum” is pressed on black 140g vinyl, full-colour sleeve, black poly-lined inner sleeve, full-colour insert, and limited to 300 copies worldwide. Every direct order through Trésor D’argent comes with a free download card which makes it easy to download your digital copy of the album.

Order the vinyl here: Trésor D’argent | Arjenschat.nl

The Ambex Project

The Ambex Project is based on ambient experiments using field recordings, various analog synthesizers and sequencers, and a combination of analog and digital signal processing. It alternates between a fine weave of rhythmic elements and ambient soundscapes.

Processed and recorded at Infraklang, March 2013 – November 2016.

Music, photography and design by Ohrwert.

https://music.ohrwert.com/album/the-ambex-project

DRON

“DRON” is a continuous dark ambient mix using parts of the unreleased “DRON + RYTM” project.

Original parts processed and recorded at Infraklang, Augustus 2015. Mixed at SiO2, October 2016.

Music, photography and design by Ohrwert.

https://music.ohrwert.com/album/dron

Local Traffic LT001

Melbourne based Local Traffic will release its first vinyl, and will be a three track EP by Ohrwert. The release is scheduled for September 12, and will be distributed by Juno.

Previews: