The next artist to contribute to our ‘best of 2017’ rundown is Andrew Lang who debuted with us with his piano compositions entitled ‘Burnt Shades’. We had a catch up with Andrew who also chose his five favourite records from this year, covering Ambient and Indie territory.
Gang Of Youths
Go Farther In Lightness
[Mosy Recordings]
“Sophomore record from an Australian indie rock band. I genuinely believe this is one of the best Australian albums ever released (easily the best in the last few years) – it’s a celebration of life and the darkness within it; in being hurt and becoming stronger from the experience. This one’s been on pretty much constant rotation since I discovered them a few months back.”
Phoebe Bridgers
Stranger In The Alps
[Shhpuma]
“Dark and melancholy indie folk in the vein of Carissa’s Wierd, amid moments of Twin Peaks-y ambience, Totally haunting stuff – strongly recommend listening to this one on a solitary late night walk.”
Slowdive
Slowdive
[Dead Oceans]
“None of Slowdive’s previous releases have ever grabbed me particularly, but this one is truly stunning. I don’t really know how to describe this record beyond just telling everyone to go listen to it – from the opening seconds of the opening track, you’ll understand.”
How To Disappear Completely
Mer de Revs I + II
[Self Released]
“(Technically two albums but…) Several hours of blissful ambient music that feels like entering a second womb. It’s music intended for sleep but I can’t bear to do it that injustice – I can only listen to this with my full attention, which in itself is pretty rare for ambient music. These records have genuinely been a huge inspiration on my own creative approach in recent months.”
The World Is A Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid To Die
Always Foreign
[Epitaph Records]
“I didn’t love this album at first compared to this band’s previous releases, but repeated listens uncover a really beautiful record documenting the band’s history over the past couple of years, cast against the US election and its effect on the members’ personal lives. It’s a bold new direction for the band, both stylistically and thematically, but one that’s worth many spins.”
What have you been up to Andrew?
“It’s been an eventful year personally so I haven’t released a huge amount, but things are settling down and slowly beginning to take shape. I’m starting to explore more in the way of effects processing and ambient experimentation, which has really shaken up my own process and the way that I’m approaching things. Something releasable is starting to form…“
You can find out more/buy Andrew Lang’s music here:
http://music.andrewlang.net/
http://facebook.com/andrewlangmusician
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