spells by kj

MUSIC FOR THE FROSTY NIGHT WHEN I MISS YOUR WARM LIGHT (BEST OF LIST) "Old bits of sounds, familiar in the texture, flavor, and knowledge of who one was, float up, turn into a form, and then dissolve again into an aether. It’s like a daydream in a haze where even fantasy seems real, and you don’t want to spook the specter of the past, afraid that she’ll wake up." - HEADPHONE COMMUTE

100 BEST AMBIENT ALBUMS OF 2017 - POST AMBIENT LUX

"8/10 STARS - "The sounds are hypnotic and contain architecturally sculpted drones which build in intensity from the ground up, decorated ornately with choirs and magically soft, gauzy textures." - NORMAN RECORDS

"It takes an instinctive musicality and sophisticated sense of restraint to create pieces that can drift by so unobtrusively yet still leave stubborn earworms in their wake and reward attentive listeners with finely etched labyrinths of sonic detail to get lost in." - (Scott A. Gray) EXCLAIM!

"A connotation of hypnotic fades, not limited to mere contemplation but animated by a deeply human sense of environmental alienation." - MUSIC WON'T SAVE YOU

"Despite treading a well-worn path, kj manages to pull something arrestingly beautiful out of it, by virtue of careful sample selection and a good ear for sonic degradation. Even if you’re not normally a drone fan, you may find this music grabs you." - (Peter Hollo) UTILITY FOG FBI RADIO

"Its title is well-chosen, since every one of the nine tracks seems to cast a ‘spell’ on the environment. Each track has its own atmosphere: the title track (nine minutes) full of heavily dubbed loops, other tracks with mysterious floating voices (Cotton, Dawyn), or semi-classical arrangements vaguely reminiscing Debussy." - AMBIENTBLOG

"There's a distinctly ethereal quality to KJ's material that greatly enhances its appeal; the music floats serenely through softly reverberant spaces, its processed instrument sounds often smudged and its melodies hushed yet potent in spite of their muted presentation." - TEXTURA (http://smarturl.it/spells.tex)

"The ability to lull someone into the unconscious, far from being boring, is a precious skill. The major problem I found with reviewing Spells, however, was staying conscious and resisting the allure of this master enchanter." - MOSS AND COGS (http://smarturl.it/spells.mac)

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On his sophomore record ‘spells’, kj throws diaphanous sounds into the wind, where they’re blown towards the violet isolation of the Southwest. We glide through expanses of country too big to name, where the sun might not set and stray thoughts press up against the horizon like cattle. These songs trace the topography of dry riverbeds and the highway’s speechless curve. They condense out of a bright morning and expand into empty air. Shapes emerge from shadow until they don’t. Voices hunt for mouths that gave them away. Lassos spin too wide. Fences collapse and dust doesn’t settle. Landscapes escape their maps. This is a record about America appearing almost as quickly as it dissolves. You’re not lost. There’s just nowhere to go.

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