A few weeks back I was completely surprised by a little package I received in the mail.  Upon opening the gift, I cracked a smile- followed by a few cuss words (this dude is kicking my ass).  It was another Pulse Emitter new age disc: Meditative Music 3.  If releasing current new age music was a competition, then Daryl is the champion.  Take the packaging for instance: the pastel-tinted nature photos, the CD case itself, the one-line description on each disc… it all lends itself so perfectly to being something you’d find at a yoga studio’s gift shop.  On top of that, these discs are totally self-released and the music is comprised of minimal synth tones that truly have healing qualities.  These CDs are totally legit.

Meditative Music 3 couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.  I’m totally excited about this series, but since I had reviewed the other installments (see this post) a few months back, I felt like I needed a new approach to writing about this one.  The stars must have been aligned because I injured my back and decided to make an appointment with a massage therapist.  This provided me with the perfect opportunity to give this music the kind of listening it deserves.  The masseuse was super cool and allowed me to play the disc in her boom box after reading the one-line description on the back of the case: placid waves for reflective times.

A slow fade from silence gives way to the rising tones that transform your consciousness into a dense underwater cloud of plankton.  Families of micro-organisms lie static and hovering just beneath the surface.  They harness the power of the sun, soaking up the solar energy, contributing to the natural cycle of life.  Dense analog vibrations are contrasted by crisp, digital metallics.  These bell-like FM synthesis tones encapsulate the piece in crystals.  “Does this feel tender?”  Those were the words that brought me back from my oceanic dreamworld, and they really couldn’t have been better put.

Clocking in at exactly 60 minutes, this is the perfect music for massage.  It was so perfect in fact, that the masseuse inquired about how she might purchase a copy of it.  You can buy them from him directly here: synthnoise.com or from Tomentosa.  If you are a fan of synth music, of new age or of anything P.E.-related… all three of these CDs are highly recommended.

In Portland on Thursday, April 30th, I highly recommend checking out Pulse Emitter perform at Dunes.  Brother Raven will be one of the opening acts, alongside Weird Fiction (live video), Sean Ongley & Regosphere.

Short and sweet, Buffle leads the listener into an odd, multicolored world where things happen in reverse.  This is strange music that moves like a lone opossum in search of her lunch… and maybe that lunch will consist of green-glow earthworms?  Here, the trio recreates the consciousness of a malformed creature operating on a pile of ancient mechanical devices.  Guitars, tape manipulations, miscellaneous percussion and toy-sized electronics bounce along in a quirky happy-time fantasy-world.  These semi-randomized improvisations sputter and pluck about, occasionally landing in a miniature forward moving jam – but only momentarily.  Packaged in a clear front/blue back case with a single sided cover and a crazy-cool sticker -  this is a great tape to add to your Belgian weird/positive music collection.

Italian tape label Relax Produzioni is responsible for releasing this tape by the Brussels-based band in 2008.  Find out more info about Buffle here: http://www.myspace.com/buffle AND http://buffle.tk/

And to get a taste of what this music sounds like – take a look at this youtube video (I think this track is on the tape): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrzC1gFjW5E