Martin Herterich - estonia (2009, Under The Spire)

After "recordings 070401-070521" (2007) and "Silent Fields" (2009), "Estonia" is the third release of Martin Herterich I discover.

The whole EP seems referenced to the works of the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, with the last track dedicated to him.

Padang Food Tigers - born music (2010, Under The Spire)

Padang for piano and organ, Food for field recordings and their subtle and authentic processing of atmospheres, Tigers, for the guitars, banjo and other strings.

We are accustomed to the capacity of versatility of Rameses III, Padang Food Tigers, two thirds of this UK formation (Stephen Lewis and Spencer Grady) cannot really take us by surprise.

Shaula - haze (2009, Under The Spire)

A dreary landscape and glum face pictures of the artist, Shaula build around herself an aura of mystery and misery, with dryness, asceticism and minimalism. 

She is Japanese and doesn't belong to a particular artistic clan or local community and if we look at her favorite friendlist on myspace, she is a listener of typical post-rock (from Mogwai to Sigur Ros, from Jesu to Nadja, from Mono to Balmorhea) which could explain the coldness of her music, with an inclination towards ambient /electronic stuff with Basinski or Fennesz, which could be felt in the very personal investment of her music, the intimate and strong subjective dimension. 

Rameses III - for josé maria (2010, Under The Spire)

"For José Maria" is a requiem composed by the UK trio Rameses III to the memory of Jose Maria Bellido, a Catalan athlete and musician who died of the consequences of diabetes.

Coming from Rameses III, such a composition is a kind of natural development, as they are always keen to confront themselves with a realist perspective and a refreshing open mind about the various potentialities of their music, never fixing themselves in a single category.

Padang Food Tigers - go down, moses (2010, Under The Spire)

UK duo consisting of S. A. Grady and S. J. Lewis (two thirds of Rameses III), based in the London area, Padang Food Tigers offers here a debut release as a short ep of three instrumental tracks for a total length just below the ten minutes mark.

It reminds me of the softest parts of Scott Tuma's discography along early albums by Collections of Colonies of Bees, Rameses III on their most bucolic side or the intimate instrumental folk parts of Bridget St. John ("Ask me no questions" era).

Chihei Hatakeyama - august cdr (2009, Under The Spire)

My discovery of Chihei Hatakeyama's works has been delayed by his first album on Kranky, “Minima Moralia”, which failed to convince me, but the discovery of his magnificent project Opitope decided me to give him another chance, and everything I've heard gave me a strong impression.

“August” seems a good place to start, three tracks and just below forty minutes, a CDR release on this small but astonishing label based in Wales, Under The Spire. Only 200 copies exist and of course, it is out of print.