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For fans of Air, Helios and Kraftwerk. Blending sound design, novel instruments, transformed vocals and vinyl drum loops into an electro-organic sound experience.
Genre:
Electronic: Down Tempo
Release Date:
2004
Mantra Machine
© Copyright-Tanya Thielke
(825346552026)
Record Label: Tantroniq
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Blending manipulated natural and analog sound sources as well as digitally created sound artifacts, Tantroniq's vision artfully combines the sublime with the mundane, the mechanical with the organic, the beautiful with the haunting. The result is music that is experienced directly by the inner mind as well as the pleasure seeking beat lover in us all.
Our relationship to a technology driven existence (Mantra Machine), isolation from each other (Forgotten), and the pitfalls of consumerism (Toys) are explored themes. In an unusual twist on the sentient machine scenario, a satellite experiencing a concious awakening chooses not to take over the earth, but to depart in search for its true home (Exodus Machina). But Mantra Machine is not a bleak or depressing album. In fact, it is direct honest communication with some humor for good measure (Just Dance, The Purchase).
Tantroniq is a one person sound ensemble made possible by a digital world. Everything you hear in Mantra Machine was created, performed and recorded by Tanya Thielke, whose musical path led from a background in composition to the exploration of sound itself. Of Mantra Machine, she says: "All the incredible music I've had the great fortune of experiencing has enriched my world, my reality. In Mantra Machine, I have created a genuine expression of ideas and sounds that are interesting and important to me. I hope that the people my music speaks to will make it part of their world".
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A masterful mix of technology and emotion.
author: Len Miller
When I first put on Mantra Machine, I was immediately intrigued, then deeply moved. This disk is at once thought-provoking and emotionally evocative, and has a beautiful cohesion throughout. You get the feeling you've opened a time capsule Tantroniq put together to be enjoyed today, and rediscovered at later times.
The style of production Trantroniq employed requires patience and forethought to do well. And yet, once you hear it all together, the pieces feel like streams of consciousness. This is the beauty of this disc and the feeling it gives.
In addition to rich, musical layers, Tantroniq has taken many, many soundbites at almost atomic levels and meticulously massaged them to sing with the rest of the tracks. To patiently mold something, yet have the result feel feel like a spontaneous, heartfelt thought is true mastery of musical vision as well as technology.
There were moments where it could have been easy to "tech-out", and simply lay down cool ear candy. Instead, Tantroniq made sure that emotion would trump pure sonics, and make sure that all textures served to reinforce the central musical and lyrical themes.
I would recommend this disk to anyone looking to hear and feel one of the best marriages of technology and emotion I've heard in a long, long time.
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Unique and highly recommended
author: Douglas Moors
I hardly know where to begin: the music on this CD is hard to pigeonhole, and that's a good thing.
Although it's in the Industrial section, there are also other modes of music involved, but it is all very creatively done and it seems like a lot of thought went into it.
These arrangements are highly evocative: there is a high level of musicianship and vision involved.
The cut Toys is a commentary on our need for material things. The clever use of jack-in-the-box samples, and toy sounds add to the overall effect, which seems to be a conversation with our "inner greed monster".
The Persistence of Memory is one of my favorite cuts. The music seems like a soundscape depicting something vastly personal and powerful. The use of the Theremin adds to the atmosphere, and every time I listen to it, it evokes different mental imagery and emotions.
There is a denseness of technique and texture to the music on Mantra Machine, and a kind of edgyness that's done with subtlety and smarts: such as in the cut "Just Dance" with it's alternating use of violin, synthesizer, and samples (and Orwellian lyrics), it is at once amusing, haunting, and jaunty.
Tantroniq is somebody to keep an eye on. Highly original and very recommended.
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