Plutonic Rainbows

Haeckels, based in Margate capture the essence of the sea with their parfum.

Unkempt beauty, a natural haven to birds, insects and animals of all shapes and sizes but accessible for man to wonder at its beauty and roam the paths of Pegwell Bay. Along the side of each of these beautiful walks is fennel; growing from bulb to high hollow stemmed bush whilst on the salt marsh that lays between you and sea can be seen orchids, salt marsh thrift and marsh grasses.

Remnants of an industrial past lay all around, clues to its history but all this is thrown into a shadow as the natural beauty of this place truly takes over; the senses are met at all sides with sights, smells and textures which makes walking through and experiencing it a special journey.

Available here.

A sizeable number of iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users are experiencing an issue with some Apple services at the moment. More specifically, there are some reports about an unknown message that has appeared on iOS 13 and iPadOS. The iTunes Store error simply pops up on the screen unexpectedly and for several times.

Given all the hype, you could be forgiven for thinking that The Joker is some deep analysis into the mind of someone tipping into insanity. However, I came away feeling as if I hadn't really learnt anything new. Great performances but I just couldn't get with it. Maybe a second viewing will change things.

Unexpected, gorgeous new LP from HTRK, a follow-up to their recent Ghostly album ‘Venus in Leo’, it's the soundtrack to Jeremy Peixoto's Scientology documentary ‘Over The Rainbow’, mastered by Rashad Becker. A rare and unexpected all-instrumental showreel, their suite of original music is testament to a haunting soul that’s long lurked under the hood of their singular, hugely evocative sound.

The soundtrack strips away HTRK's signature vocals and drum machines in a commission to fit the mood of Peixoto's feature - a film that seeks to better understand Scientology through a range of perspectives, from psychologists to former members. Jonnine Standish and Nigel Yang use their considerable knack for conjuring haunting, heavy-lidded feels and ohrwurm hooks to map the mood, deploying a trademark, incisive sense of detachment that colours the film’s intersection of real beliefs and ideas of Scientology as a sect.

In the absence of Jonnine Standish’s vocals and Nigel Yang’s 808 boom, HTRK’s musick is pared to its essence of synths and electronics and painted in hazy, illusive strokes from a palette of smudged pastels mutual to both South California and the band’s native Australia. The result is a 13 part mosaic tiling hazy blue cues with aqueous ambient pads and baroque themes, playing out like the atmospheric strokes to LA noir in a way that silhouettes the film’s probing narrative and rhetoric and also reflects its fascination with American culture and the supernatural in a similar way to Eno’s ambient classics or Lynch flicks and their scores.

Ultimately ‘Over The Rainbow’ is an instant play-it-again entry to HTRK’s catalogue, one that supplies a sort of crystal ball window onto their practice and most subtly illuminates the duo’s masterful control of tonal sensitivity and floating, chamber-like composition. A big recommendation to all lovers of classic ambient music, from Pinkcourtesyphone to Gigi Masin, AFX and Eno.

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