Foxy Digitalis
Openings run through the synthetic gloss of Yann Novak’s beguiling, shape-shifting “Super Coherent Light.” Carried deeper by a heartbeat-like rhythm and layered tonal maps, our reality is altered; our perception breaks free of its crutch. Novak takes us to church service from a neon future where our individual experiences become a way to share our […]
Yann Novak was involved in a lot of wonderful music that has become mainstays at FDHQ, from his solo work to the incredible year of releases on his Dragon’s Eye Recordings label. So, of course, I couldn’t wait to hear what some of his favorites were this year. Hop over to his Bandcamp and the Dragon’s Eye website for […]
Kudos to The Tapeworm for pairing LA power couple Yann Novak and Robert Takahashi Crouch on this new split tape, Giving Water to the Dead. Novak and Crouch create some of the most engaging, emotionally-dense music around. They started with the same source material for this split but went on their own sonic treks. Each side […]
Robert Takahashi Crouch’s 2021 album, Jubilee, is special. He upped the ante earlier this year with a collection of reworks from a host stellar artists of album opener (and standout), “A Ritual.” The world of Jubilee continues to grow and evolve and for listeners, the expansive scope is a gift. Crouch adds an additional orbit with this Ritual Variations […]
Yann Novak’s forthcoming EP, Reflections of a Gathering Storm, stands on the edge of chaos. Closing track, “The Thrill of Approaching Destruction,” takes sinister steps into the building void. Elegiac tones scythe through the atmosphere leaving a trail of minor chord progressions and vaporous swells in their wake. Pensive melodies are stretched to the breaking point, […]
The opening track on Robert Takahashi Crouch’s last album, Jubilee, is the 19-minute “A Ritual,” culled from a longer, two-hour improvisational piece. For Ritual Variations, out on May 6 via Room40, he commissioned seven friends and artists to use the original two-hour recording as source material for further investigations and contemplations on the intimate nature of the music. The […]
This weekend, March 11 – 13, in Los Angeles, Touch.40 will take place at 2220 Arts featuring a series of live performances, sound installations, video screenings, film panels, and informal talks. Performers include Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Bethan Kellough, Jim Haynes, Geneva Skeen, Gabie Strong + Peter Kolovos, Yann Novak, and many more. Tickets are […]
Yann Novak’s sound worlds are dense, threaded with an emotional dexterity that adds such depth and nuance that I find it near-impossible not to completely lose myself in his work. His most recent album, Lifeblood of Light and Rapture, floored me the more I’d listen. Further to that, there’s a real care to his work that […]
In the middle of the night, that’s when it hits hardest. The embrace of emptiness; the cold internal monologues that can’t be easily switched off; divergent paths, all leading to the same fate. When these thoughts pervade and overwhelm, the journey back toward the light is long, difficult. Yann Novak’s Lifeblood of Light and Rapture captures this […]