Julien Neto - Le Fumeur De Ciel



Not a lot is disclosed about who Julien Neto is or why he makes the music he creates but in some ways I admire a little mystery behind an artist. It removes all the glamor from it and hides the face behind the music and leaves it to speak for itself. With the kind of music he creates It makes a lot of sense and adds a little more to the beauty of it. From what I know he is a parisian artist and this is his debut full length which was released on one of my favorite labels, Type Records. The music is a backdrop for silence, like fog settling in during a long quiet night. It creates an atmosphere for your thoughts and in a subtle poetic sort of a way it leads you to peace. The style of the music has been described as ‘electro-acoustic’ which is a good indication of what to expect here. It was hard to pick a sample song to share because the album holds so strongly as a whole but the song you can hear in the player above is called VI and is the only song with such a straight forward rhythm but being one of my favorites it seemed like a good place to start if it’s your first time hearing his music.

iTunes Link • Artist Page

Tags: Julien Neto

Gregor Samso - Rest



I heard the first album from Gregor Samsa called simply 55:12 a couple years ago and while I enjoyed it did not really stick with me and I lost touch with it. Recently I discovered they had released a newer album called Rest and decided to give it a try. Unlike their previous effort which I may revisit after hearing Rest I immediately fell for it. Maybe its just the mood I am in, Im not sure. The music is haunting and slow, a little post-rock, a little ambient and all of it is really beautiful. The preview song above is the last song on the album and is called Du Meine Leise. Note that it is one of the most gentle songs on the album, the band is six members strong and the songs explore a lot of ideas while remaining within that calm restful theme they created with this release. Highly recommended.

iTunes Link • Artist Site

Tags: Gregor Samsa

Amy Annelle - A School Of Secret Dangers



I discovered this years ago when I first subscribed to emusic, which at the time was amazing because you paid 15 bucks a month to download all the music you wanted rather than the now monthly charge for a set amount of songs. Anyway, among the first music discovered there I came across the label Hush Records which I grew to really love. I have discovered all to many great new artists through that label. This record is one that has stuck with me through the years as it is a wonderful album that deserves more credit than it gets and is one of those albums I can always put on and enjoy.

I have sat here staring at the screen trying to find the words to describe the music and its harder to peg than I thought it would be at first. This feels like music for time at home alone or maybe sitting on a porch swing at dusk surrounded by the sound of the approaching summer night, or better yet, a rainy day... They are beautiful lo-fi recordings of folk inspired melodies and singing and comes across in a delicate way that leaves room for your imagination to let loose. The album is littered with samples that fit into the mix in an interesting way and give it a texture and subtext without distracting from the music which I like a lot. While there are many favorites on the album my very favorite has always been the song ‘Will Try’ which you can hear in the player above and if you enjoy the song I suggest digging a little deeper and picking the album up.

iTunes Link • Artist Page

Tags: Amy Annelle

Mint Julep - Songs About Snow

I discovered this project through Helios (aka Koen Holtkamp, Helios, and Goldmund). I have been meaning to post an album from Helios here and should do that soon because Koen’s many musical projects all have a place here among the other artists on You Disappear. Mint Julep is a project that he started with his girlfriend and they have a classic calm shoegazing kind of a sound that I am having trouble finding words for at the moment. Those of you familiar with he shoegaze aesthetic know what I mean. Its thick with drifting ambience but with an edge and with smooth echoing vocals laid into the mix. There are a good amount of artists out there putting out this kind of music and this one hits the sweet spot in al the right places, if that makes sense. Sometimes I wonder if my rambling approach to reviewing an albums sound makes any sense to readers. Thats where the music comes in to speak for itself. I will leave you with the recommendation to check out their great music and pick up this album from their site if you like it. It’s a great price for a CD released only by the artist and with handmade artwork to top it off! Here is a song from the album called ‘Stay’.



Artist Page (where you can buy the album) • MySpace Page (where you can hear more)

Tags: Mint Julep, Koen Holtkamp