Manual - Lost Days Open Skies & Streaming Tides [2 CD]

The long awaited Manual double CD Lost Days, Open Skies and Streaming Tides - a collection of rarities, remixes, covers, unreleased pieces and brand new tracks - including a new collaboration with Cocteau Twins main man Robin Guthrie. Spanning the period from 2002, around Ascend, up to now, this is a collection that covers the entire spectrum of Jonas Munks stylings; from the minimalist drone soundscapes, to the over-the-top 1980s influenced shoegazing electronica à la his masterpiece Azure Vista, from the sweet pop-influenced gems to abstract blissed-out timeless ambient. Munk's trademarks are all over the 19 pieces on this double disc set: The highly adventurous sense of composition that is still so unheard of in electronic music - always taking the listener on a colorful journey instead of relying on repetitions like pretty much every other electronic artist - the mix of well-programmed beats and electronics against surreal, shimmering, heavily treated guitars, and the sunbathed 1980s romantic melancholia that has become Jonas Munk's signature sound. It is hard to think of a more perfect introduction to Munk's music, and for fans of his work this is simply a must! All in all, Lost Days, Open Skies and Streaming Tides includes almost an hour worth of previously unreleased music. Disc 1 represents the grandiose, super-layered, mesmerizing sounds that is familiar to fans of Azure Vista, Isares and Ascend, where firm, occasionally complex, beats melts together with moist and dreamy guitars, heavenly female vocals and head spinning old-school synths. Disc 2 represents the more minimal, guitar-drone side of Manual. These pieces, based on treated guitar work, blends classic ambient with minimalist classical music and processing experiments to create very unique sounds that are surreal yet warm and organic, and maintains Jonas' insist on the compositional element.