Swedish Groove Ambient Musician Johan Agebjörn Releases Innovative Beat Subtraction Project on Spotted Peccary Music

Warmer and calmer than the original tracks, these new and select Subtracted Soundscapes are being met with enthusiasm by the chill and ambient radio community.

PORTLAND, OREGON, USA, July 20, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Fresh and only slightly familiar, Subtracted Soundscapes presents eight reworked pieces from across Johan Agebjörn’s career, resulting in something warmer and calmer than the originals—but no less moving and profound. Unlike the original versions, these “subtracted” updates are entirely beatless; the sonic threads of the originals unraveled and rewoven. https://orcd.co/subtracted-soundscapes

At midnight, Agebjorn “tookover” Spotted Peccary Music label’s SPMLive 24/7 visual music feed on YouTube and Twitch. Fans can chat with the artist and catch a special rotation of music from his catalog throughout the day until the glow fades. Links to both YouTube and Twitch can be found at https://ambientelectronic.tv/

“Recently, I was listening to my 2008 album Mossebo in the car,” explains the Swedish artist, “and I thought, hey, I want to hear these tracks without beats! I’ve had a period of listening a lot to beatless ambient lately, typically right after putting my youngest daughter to sleep, calming down after work and family life. I’ve always had a place for both calmness and motion in my music, but maybe I have a bigger need for calmness now than 10-20 years ago. I’m a father of three children and I’m working as a psychologist, so I always have sounds around me and I’ve found myself listening to more silent and slow music than before, especially during the evening after a long day. On this album, this is also reflected in my arrangements.”

“I am surprised by how much more I prefer these new versions to the originals. I guess they attune better to my current state of mind. I hope this music can evoke similar feelings in the listener,” he adds.

The result is an album that moves fluidly between naturalistic electronics and a unique dazzlingly otherworldly sound. The feeling is startlingly intimate, becoming both a sonic sanctuary for the listener and another world to explore. The feeling is bittersweet and positive, the sound is dreamy and electronic with lots of sustained tones and glowing atmospheres, and just soaring with no limits into other places.

Agebjörn describes his remixing process as “leaving only the key elements of the music, and also working with different combinations of lowpass-filtering, slowing down, adding reverb, and mixing the music differently.” Opener “Four Hours to Karhumäki” exemplifies this. From a gentle piano intro, the piece swells to a sonic vastness both rich and austere. Reverberant textures drift through piano chords like wind through asperous rock formations. Subtracted Soundscapes moves fluidly between the naturalistic and otherworldly. Karhumäki (in Russian known as Медвежьегорск) is an industrial city in Russian Carelia.

After the earthbound stillness of “Karhumäki,” “Swimming Through the Blue Lagoon,” recalls Vangelis’s soundtrack work. On “Lagoon,” otherworldly voices shimmer across contrapuntal Berlin School tones. “As I Passed the Vyartsilya Border Crossing” uses synthetic voice as a marching ostinato. When the melody comes in, it is both alien and familiar: the major key refrain of adventure wrapped anew in sterling pearlescence.

His releases on Spotted Peccary Music include Mossebo (originally on Lotuspike, released in 2008 and remastered with SPM in 2019), The Mountain Lake (2011), followed by a couple of collaborations with Mikael Ögren, We Never Came to the White Sea (2017) and Artefact (2021) with the related EP Space Travel.

Spotted Peccary Music will live stream Subtracted Soundscapes throughout the day of release on its 24/7/365 streaming channel SPMLive: https://linktr.ee/ambientelectronic.tv

For artist interviews, review copies, or promotional requests, please contact Beth Ann Hilton.

Tracklist:

1 Four Hours To Karhumäki (Subtracted Version) 5:28

2 Swimming Through the Blue Lagoon (Subtracted Version) 5:08

3 Ambient Computer Dance (Subtracted Version) 5:31

4 As I Passed the Vyartsilya Border Crossing (Subtracted Version) 7:43

5 Sleep In My Arms (Subtracted Version) 5:41

6 Dulciter Somni (Subtracted Version) 5:00

7 Siberian Train Part II (Subtracted Version) 7:52

8 Zero Gravitation (Subtracted Version) 9:59

Links:

Spotted Peccary Album Page: https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/subtracted-soundscapes/

All platforms: https://orcd.co/subtracted-soundscapes

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2iGCVAGfKCTq0sG6nR5JGJ?si=0f9c46699f954eb9

Bandcamp: https://ambientelectronic.bandcamp.com/

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/spottedpeccary?fbclid=IwAR3pf42FwFotW96qJNzDKbJXjCDFTsi2jRlHhjjiOCdSTH-qlfs4JUbiRRg

About Johan Agebjörn:

Johan Agebjörn lives in Lund, Sweden, where he is a psychologist, sometimes makes music, and enjoys being a father. He makes music in a wide range of styles, including electro, house, also solo piano, and has two main projects. His ambient music can best be described as “ambient electro” or “arctic ambient”; not too far away from the sounds of Krister Linder or early Biosphere. That is, ambient with electro beats, giving the music a rich atmosphere as well as a distinct forward motion. His ambient music has also appeared on several compilations, and draws influences from Aphex Twin, Pete Namlook and The KLF. His other project is a neo-Italo disco studio project consisting of pseudonymous female singer Sally Shapiro and featuring Johan as composer and producer. Their two albums, Disco Romance and My Guilty Pleasures, as well as a few EPs and remix collections, have been very well received. Influences include prominent ’80s Italo disco artists such as Valerie Dore, Katy Gray, Savage, Fun Fun and Sandra. Johan also runs the Husmus online / CD-R micro-label on which he has released some solo piano works and singles. https://www.youtube.com/@husmusmedia

About Spotted Peccary Music:

Portland-based Spotted Peccary Music is North America’s finest independent record label with a focus on deep, vast and introspective soundscapes. For over three decades, the artists of Spotted Peccary have been on a mission to develop, produce, publish and release ultra-high-quality, deep-listening experiences that engage the listener and exceed expectations. Every release is carefully prepared in a variety of high-quality formats from MP3 to high-res studio masters. Explore more than 165 titles and 45 artists released over 37 years of excellence at www.SpottedPeccary.com and www.AmbientElectronic.com.

Beth Hilton
Spotted Peccary Music
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Soar into this new version of “Four Hours To Karhumäki”