Ceniq & No Xivic – Marraskesi {mai002}

Artist: Ceniq & No Xivic
Title:
Marraskesi
Label:
Maito Records
Catalog #:
mai002
Release Date:
2011/03/20


..and the Finnish arctic expedition continues

We’re currently witnessing the last breaths of winter season 2011; and it has been a rewarding ride. Adjective snowy would be an understatement notably, in Helsinki. The monstrous white death striked fear and despair in weak hearts of southern finns, while northerners enjoyed temperatures declining under -40 ℃.

Today’s release makes no difference to the theme. Originally presented as a video installation at Ars Arctic 2003 – Rovaniemi, Marraskesi (stratum corneum) has some bone chilling qualities in it.


Tracklist:
01 – Marraskesi


License:
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)


Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Mixes/Remixes) {ep/lp release #18}

Artist: Ceniq
Title:
D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Mixes/Remixes)
Label:
 Milk
Catalog #:
ep/lp release #18
Release Date:
2001/03/28


Review by O.Paasovaara:

I have heard many mixes in my life but some of the tracks on this EP made me wonder what the word “mix” actually means. Obviously the concept is likewise a bit blurry to Roger That Jr. whose mixes have absolutely nothing to do with the original “D. Exiguus Was Wrong”. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing, quite the opposite. Then again, Lime and Vhiiula went the other way and made somewhat more typical mixes which balances the EP nicely.

The EP starts off with Lime’s nice and mellow track. After listening to those relaxing pads and steady beat I wondered what the hell is going on when RTJ’s “Radio Mix 1” began to play. The broken speech synth and stoned harddrive sounds just made me go nanners. The third track is also from RTJ’s obviously deviated mind and continues with the “original? what original?” line. This one isn’t plain experimental noise like the second track but more like noisy ambient with something that could perhaps be described as melody. Moving on to the fourth track was quite a shock for me as it went back to the more typical way of remixing. Vhiiula’s mix is a bit like Lime’s but only a tad. Lime’s mix is mellow and steady all the way but Vhiiula went for the original’s style mixing up a calm melody with medium fast beats. The fifth and last piece on this mixes & remixes EP is by the man himself, Ceniq. Again the lets-forget-D.-Exiguus approach is there. This “C Side” is something I didn’t expect from Ceniq because it’s quiteaggressive and without a proper melody. Strangely this one turned out to be my favourite of the five tunes.

Long story short “D. Exiguus Was Wrong (Mixes & Remixes)” is a collection of tracks that have almost nothing to do with each other except for the fact that they are music (at least some of them). In my opinion that is the reason why the EP works so well. “Brilliant” is one of the words that come to my mind at the moment.

Review by Jan Robbe:

1. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Bulentoi Mix)
Lime/Bulentoi did the first remix of ceniq’s excellent tune. The result is a fine ambient piece with a lot of strings, and a typical relaxed everchanging beat (samples reminded me of BrothomStates). No innovation, though a nice tune.
84%

2. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 1)
3. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 2)
These are different, we’re going way experimental here. Packed with infinite sound effects, Roger That Jr. managed to create 2 original pieces that have atmosphere written all over it. The second edit is more melodic and perhaps more mysterious than the first, which I think has better effects… Definately worth your downloading time if you’re into experiments…
85%
87%

4. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Vhiiula Mix)
Vhiiula brings us a happy piano-tune with complicated breaks and a lot of samples. Subtle tempochanges and dsp effects make up for the repetitive melody. I love the breaks… 🙂
89%

5. Ceniq – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (C Side)
C Side brings us back to the experimental side of this EP. The beats and bassline (?) are very chaotic, but in a good way. Quality haunting noisy sound effects. Short but long enough (2:37), and a nice ending.
92%


Tracklist:
01 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Bulentoi Mix)
02 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 1)
03 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Roger That Jr. Radio Edit 2)
04 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (Vhiiula Mix)
05 – D.Exiguus Was Wrong (C Side)

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Files:
ceniq-d.exiguus_was_wrong_(mixes_&_remixes)_info [TXT]


ceniq – Gaylab CD {ep/lp release #10}

Artist: ceniq
Title:
Gaylab CD
Label:
 Milk
Catalog #:
ep/lp release #10
Release Date:
1999/12/05


01 ceniq – gaylab
the opening track begins with powerful, shifting pad, perfectly blended with reverbed, effected ‘snare’. later on, echoed bleep comes with tight beat. the only bad side is that the track is a bit too repetitive, for my taste, at least. but, to put it short: what an amazing electro-ambient track. this even would go as a warp -release.
(93%)

02 ceniq/amon – gaylab (tilt goddess)
again, harsh “fractal-generator -noise”, [that’s my term for it.] as one track in vetac cd. the track seems a bit chaotic, and i didn’t find any underlying structure or logic from it. and again this reminds me some of autechre’s more extreme tracks [and yes, this track would fit on some autechre -album, imho.]
(87%)

03 ceniq/lackluster – gaylab (lackluster reconstruct)
this is an different perspective to the first track by lackluster. i liked this edit more than the original one. this edit is a bit heavier, with more aggressive beat. personally i like lackluster’s style very much, and it shows also on this track. good job.
(95%)

04 ceniq/salice – gaylab backmix
this track starts with a semi-complex beat, which nearly goes through the whole track, excluding the few pauses. the are a few ambient strings/ chords, and especially the one which is dropped in through the whole track, in times, sounds nice. a great track, imho, but not the best one, though.
(87%)

05 ceniq – coan5
the start is perfect: a smooth blend of strings, bouncing on. beautiful, minimal ambient sound, without any irrelevant parts disturbing the harmony. when voq-ep came out, i thought that coan3 was the best ambient i’ve ever heard. but then comes coan5, which is, in my opinion, better than coan3.
(97%)

overall, gaylab cd is finished, perhaps a bit more professional than vetac, but if you ask me, i put them both on a same line. again, ceniq is proving his amazing talents composing wonderful ambient or electronic tracks. this cd would really go as a warp-release. but it’s better when it’s free. and the last word from the cover artwork: it’s superb! it really shows that gaylab cd is a finished product.

total: [95%]

– tuomas .r


A few words from ceniq:

Amon’s tilt goddes mix: I asked amon, a good friend of mine, to do a mix of Gaylab for me as I like his personal touch in his music. Amon hadn’t had the time to do any mix for me and I was going to release Gaylab soon as I heard his latest tune “Tilt Goddes” which originally was a part of Droids Killed My Audio series (part 4 in fact) and I insisted him to give it for this Gaylab CD. I’m happy he did give it.

Lackluster’s reconstruct: I gave mr lackluster Esa Ruoho an unfinished version of Gaylab to remix (it was only about one and a half minute long) and he did a marvellous job mixing the original patterns and riffs with new drums and ideas. I actually got some ideas from his mix for my final “original” Gaylab – that’s why you might hear some similarities in his mix and my edit.

Salice’s backmix: I liked salice’s flud mix (which appeared on Vetac CD1) very much so I had to get him to remix Gaylab too. Salice did a very nice ambient remix with some fast beats leading the first half of the song. Nice stereo flanges and hipass filter sweeps give a nice sound to the drums and the end part’s ambient pads and reverbed speech samples make just a beautiful combination. And thank you Antti for totally awesome Gaylab cover art. I just love your work.


Tracklist:
01 – Gaylab
02 – Gaylab (Tilt Goddess) by amon
03 – Gaylab (lackluster reconstruct) by lackluster
04 – Gaylab backmix by salice
05 – coan5

Artwork:
Front Cover
Back Cover


ceniq – voq {rel#31}

Artist: ceniq
Title:
voq
Label:
 Milk
Catalog #:
rel#31
Release Date:
1998/12/19


Playful, relaxed and melancholic
The first Milk EP release, by the founder member – S. Louhela, is an exciting mix of emotions ranging from happiness to sadness.
Starting with slowly drifting sad strings and suddenly exploding to joy filled beats of D. Exiguus was wrong (edit & b-side), it could be easily described as bipolar experience. The finishing track has more neutral and relaxed, a lifting feel to it.

Curious stuff and one of the first releases which raised the bar for the releases followed.


Tracklist:
01 – flud [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
02 – D E was wrong (edit) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
03 – D E was wrong (b-side) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
04 – coan3 [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Files:
FILE_ID [DIZ] [PNG]
MILK0031 [NFO] [PNG]

*FLAC & MP3 zips also include the original versions.


Published
Categorized as Ceniq Tagged

ceniq – d. exiguus was wrong

Artist: ceniq
Title:
d. exiguus was wrong
Label:
 Milk
Release Date:
1998/06/1?


at abduction 98, disqualified by jury -ei ne tajunnu (they didn’t understand) ksilta.edu.ouka.fi/~exact for more milk and more and more.


Tracklist:
01 – d. exiguus was wrong [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]

Additional Files:
FILE_ID [DIZ] [PNG]
DEXIGUUS [NFO] [PNG]

*FLAC & MP3 zips also include the original versions.


Published
Categorized as Ceniq Tagged