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THE FLOATING WORLD - The Wood beyond the World

Format: CD Label & Cat.Number: Cyclic Law 2nd Eclipse Release Year: 2013 Note: project around AMANDA VOTTA inspired by Buddhist philosophy and a novel from WILLIAM MORRIS, emanating much more brighter & 'positive' psychedelic vibrations & atmospheres (as usual known for Cyclic Law acts), using lots of flute sounds and other instrumental sources like guitar, bells, piano... everything floats and is ephemeral forever.. Price (incl. 19% VAT): €13.00 More Info "The Japanese term ‘ukiyo,’ translated as ‘the floating world,’ was used to describe the pleasure seeking urban culture of Edo Japan. When alternately rendered as ‘sorrowful world’ the term took on Buddhist connotations, indicating the transitory nature of human experience, the ephemerality of existence. These two seemingly opposed yet sympathetic concepts have always heavily informed the music of The Floating World and each album has been created with these as central themes. Named for a novel by William Morris, The Wood Beyond the World is The Floating World’s latest album and an attempt to capture the journey from the mundane to the illusory made by the novel’s protagonist – a journey that reflects the hunt for the temporal and intangible the band’s name intimates. With the addition of Neddal Ayad (guitar; Desolation Singers/Great Attractor) and Grey Malkin (drones, bells, piano; The Hare and the Moon), as full members who have brought additional nuance to the music, this ambition is more fully realized. Amanda’s delicate, melancholy flute parts now weave in and out of Neddal’s hazy guitar and Grey’s eerie and dissonant accompaniments – the whole underpinned by various rough field recordings used to compliment and counterpoint the music. Roy Felps (Korperschwache) also guests on the album, adding drifting acoustic guitar to a song. Amanda has also collaborated with Lacus Somniorum, New Risen Throne, Far Black Furlong, Dodson and Fog, The Joy of Nature and The Hare and the Moon. She and Neddal have another band together, Secrets to the Sea, as well. Released as part of our Eclipse Series. Edition of 500 copies in 4 panel digi sleeve. 8 Tracks. Running Time 54:00" [label info] www.cycliclaw.com "The Floating World‘s The Wood Beyond the World is the brightest of Cyclic Law’s three October releases, apparent from the very first seconds. The chimes of Vortex and the waves of Taphephobia are joined by the flute of Amanda Votta. This convergence of sounds is not the only factor that ties these releases together. As with all of Votta’s work, The Wood Beyond the World is steeped in Buddhist concepts. The band’s name was inspired by the Japanese ukiyo, which can refer to either a pleasure-seeking culture or the ephemeral nature of existence. Votta’s project exists in tension, as do the preceding projects; and while all may possess different timbres, all approach the same subject: the overload of the modern era. The press release even echoes that of Tapephobia: “a journey from the mundane”. Yet Votta and her new bandmates exude no animosity, only holy contemplation. If nothing is permanent, should one turn a blind eye to suffering? Or might one seek the lessons of a higher plane? The protagonist of William Morris’ 1894 adventure novel of the same name leaves home to avoid trouble, only to find it elsewhere. We carry our potentials within us – good and evil, dead and alive – as if each of us were Schrödinger’s cat. The album sounds like the choice before it is made, the promise before it is spoken, the mandala before it is disturbed. The fuller cast of guitar, piano and field recordings enriches the wood like children among the trees." [A Closer Listen]