Sacred Spaces (POWWOW Nine) by Gentleforce

Serene and panoramic beatscapes.

Released in April 2010 / FM56

Want a free download of this album when you buy the CD - go here.

Electronica / Ambient / Experimental

Gentleforce is Sydney producer Eli Murray.

Eli’s sonic journey began as a child where he resisted the confines of piano/guitar lessons, picked up a skateboard and became immersed in the Walkman culture. Mixed tapes crossed over many genres but held one thing in common, analogue warmth. This transcribed into a decade long DJ career - spinning records at nights ranging from drum’n’bass and dubstep to folk, psych, drone and ambient.

Between 2006-08 Eli was part of the Southern Steppa crew and ran a night called Submerged at the Abercrombie Hotel in Sydney on a monthly basis.
The night focused on bass music, pushing the sounds of dubstep and experimental electronica to a small but committed audience. The music was played on a big system in a small room, creating an immersive and physical listening environment.

Never wanting to hear club music at home, Eli was always seeking out new forms of music to get lost in. He started experimenting with sounds himself, learning how to use music software, and playing with various instruments.

Sacred Spaces is Eli’s debut album and the ninth of ten instalments in Feral Media’s POWWOW new music series. It was written over two years, but has been a process stretching back nearly ten years. Sacred Spaces was written in various homes that Eli lived in between 2008-09, as well as in natural settings. Eli has attempted to create a release that transcends entertainment, an album people could connect with in unique ways. He is interested in the way that music has been used as a powerful force, through various cultures and nationalities, as a medium for celebration, war, healing rituals and spiritual enlightenment. Eli wants to seek out and explore these ideas through his music and feels that this release is just the start of that journey. His wife Lauren has also been involved in the making of the album, contributing her musical talents, playing melodica and guitar on two of the tracks.

Sacred Spaces is about creating spaces and atmospheres that the listener can be immersed in and taken somewhere else.

1. Learning To Forgive 7:56
2. Oh The Mystery, Oh The Wonder 6:22
3. Lift Up Your Weary Head 4:17
4. Ode To Moritz 13:07
5. New Dawn 9:20
6. The Desert Song 8:16
7. Our Last Day Together 4:30
8. Majestic (We Will Never End) 3:06

The pulse of the musical body (A few words from Eli Murray)
“I’m drawn to music that has a physical presence. I like music that has weight to it and warmth. I’m drawn to music that, when played at decent volume, you can feel in your body just as much as hearing it. Soundsystem music (dub/jungle/dubstep) has had a big influence but just as much artists such as Earth, Boris, GAS, Eleh, Murcof, Stephen O’Malley, Moritz Von Oswald... all artists that concentrate on making physical music, music that is designed to vibrate the body in various ways. I feel that this is very important in my own music. I want to create music that consumes listeners when they hear it live or at home (on a decent stereo).”

Check out Eli’s blog at www.gentleforce.angrypixel.org
Angry Pixel is a creative collective Eli runs with Scott Brown (Kodama).

Gentleforce myspace site