Arms and Sleepers comments on the tracks of Ukrainian artists
Today, July 31, American band Arms and Sleepers, who have repeatedly performed in Ukraine, present a new full-length album "Memory Loops". That is why we're writing more about it, and also have asked the member of the duo Mirza Ramic to listen to 10 Ukrainian artists and share his impressions.
This is an American ambient/trip-hop duo, which includes Max Lewis (Boston) and Mirza Ramick (Portland). The band was founded in 2006. During the live performances, the music is accompanied by visual works by Dado Ramadani, an artist from Boston. The first album "Black Paris 86" was released in 2007, and the last "Memory Loops" was released on July 31, 2020.
As part of a tour of North America and Europe in the spring of 2011, the musicians visited Kyiv, Lviv, and Chernivtsi. This was their first visit to Ukraine. Subsequently, the band returned several more times, and their last performances took place in the summer of 2019.
Part 1. About "Memory Loops"
Today the American electronic music duo Max Lewis and Mirza Ramic — aka Arms and Sleepers — released their new full-length album "Memory Loops" via {int}erpret null label. The release is the third installment of a six-part music series in 2020, with the full-length "Safe Area Earth" and the EP "Eastern Promises" already released so far this year [in addition to the surprise and impromptu album "Leviathan (In Times Of)" which was written during quarantine and released in March]. The overarching theme of the music series is "selfdestruction", with "Memory Loops" representing the human psyche element of the conceptual project.
Performance of Arms and Sleepers in Kyiv (Mezzanine, 2016)
The album expresses the band returning to their ambient and postclassical roots which were previously highlighted on the 2007 "Cinematique" and
the 2011 "Nostalgia For The Absolute" releases. A 65 minutes long, "Memory Loops" is a collection of 14 compositions — slow-paced, moody, and intended for self-reflective and meditative moments. In many ways a therapeutic release, the new album sees the duo exploring their cinematic leanings more purposefully than in their recent creative output.
"We’ve always been drawn to post-classical and ambient genres and never stopped writing music that resembles our earlier beat-less releases. It took a while to actually complete a new album in this style of music, but it feels like a natural continuation of what we’ve always been and liked doing." — Ramic says.
Artists such as William Basinski, Library Tapes and Deaf Center come to mind when attempting to place "Memory Loops" in a comparable music universe — but the album firmly stands on its own with its jazz and French cinema influences, among others. "Memory Loops" is a carefully crafted ambient album, written and produced by a duo with a 14-year history of actively writing and releasing music. For the supporters of Arms and Sleepers that have seen the band continually dip in and out of a variety of music genres and styles — a creative tendency that has come to define the duo’s modus operandi—the new album should come as no surprise. For Arms and Sleepers, anything and everything goes when it comes to creative freedom.
The release is now available at all streaming services.
Part 2. Arms and Sleepers listen to Ukrainian artists
When we heard about the release of the band's new album, which is so popular with Ukrainian music lovers, we decided to write about it, but at the same time, in order to follow the concept of the release, we asked band member Mirza Ramik to listen to tracks by some Ukrainian artists. The musician gladly agreed, but noted that he would be as candid as possible, and therefore, perhaps, a little critical. And that's what happened.
Endless Melancholy — Arrivals and Departures (ambient)
I've always loved ambient music and I really enjoyed this piece. Relaxing, smooth, not trying to be something it is not.
Grisly Faye — Fables (electronic, downtempo)
I've known Margot from Grisly Faye for a long time (since 2011 actually), when Arms and Sleepers first came to Ukraine. I've enjoyed her work over the years — Margot's music production has improved significantly and she's found her own style which is cool. I hear a little bit of Thom Yorke solo in this song which is of course great.
Tyupa — Привид (chillout / downtempo)
This is a cool tune — I like when artists stick to their own native language for vocals and song titles. The pacing of this track is really nice, and the emotion behind the music is convincing.
2sleepy — A Driver For The Night (downtempo, indietronic)
I don't understand this song. It sounds messy and confusing. Didn't enjoy this one, I'm sorry.
Heinali — Diurnal Song (ambient, avantgarde, experimental jazz)
Interesting — not sure I could listen to this song on repeat, but I respect the idea behind the music. There are a lot of artists I like because I respect their compositional ideas but it's not music I can always listen to. This song definitely sounds original and unique, which is cool. Maybe I wish it was just a bit more melodic, but what the hell do I know. It's avant-garde, so anything goes — and that's totally fine.
Katarina Gryvul — lucid dreams (ambient, experiemental)
I'm familiar with Katarina's work, she came to an Arms and Sleepers show in Poland and my label -- {int}erpret null -- collaborated with her on a short music piece (which I really loved). Again this composition is super experimental and avant-garde, not something I could listen to over and over, but I respect the ideas behind it.
r.roo — ghost dance (idm)
This song also makes no sense to me — sorry. And it's way too long. I guess it's probably for partying/dancing, which I understand, but I just don't like this kind of music at all.
REGINA COLLAGE — Promenade (electropop)
Another Ukrainian artist I'm familiar with — got this whole album in March when I played a show in Lviv. Really enjoyed the album and shared it with some friends who liked it too. I like the lofi weird vibe, short to-the-point songs, and the quirkiness behind it. Very cool.
stonefromthesky — Future Territory (electronic)
This was interesting — I liked a lot of the sounds used, and the slightly dark vibe of the song. Maybe I didn't love all the drum sounds, but I think it worked for the song. Reminded me a bit of Chris Clark and Trentmoller.
Starless — Kviten' (inudstrial, noise)
What the fuck is this. Cool, I like it.
Arms and Sleepers in the social networks:
https://wearearmsandsleepers.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/armsandsleepers/
https://soundcloud.com/arms-and-sleepers
https://www.facebook.com/armsandsleepers
Photo by Vitaliy Mariash
