Manual (band)

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Manual is the performing name of electronic musician, Jonas Munk, from Odense, Denmark. Manual's music is considered to be in the styles of ambient dream pop and indietronica. His sound tends to contain a mix of software synthesizers, guitars (sometimes sampled or heavily processed), and various digital signal processing effects. Mixing elements of pop, glitch, and indie music, Manual is compared to artists ranging from IDM artists, such as Boards of Canada, as well as shoegazer groups like Blonde Redhead.

Odense City in Southern Denmark, Denmark

Odense is the third-largest city in Denmark. It has a population of 178,210 as of January 2016, and is the main city of the island of Funen. By road, Odense is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Svendborg, 144 kilometres (89 mi) to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres (104 mi) to the southwest of Copenhagen. The city is the seat of Odense Municipality and was the seat of Odense County until 1970, and Funen County from 1970 until 1 January 2007, when Funen County became part of the Region of Southern Denmark. Odense has close associations with Hans Christian Andersen who is remembered above all for his fairy tales. He was born in the city in 1805 and spent his childhood years there.

Denmark constitutional monarchy in Europe

Denmark, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, is a Nordic country and the southernmost of the Scandinavian nations. Denmark lies southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and is bordered to the south by Germany. The Kingdom of Denmark also comprises two autonomous constituent countries in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Denmark proper consists of a peninsula, Jutland, and an archipelago of 443 named islands, with the largest being Zealand, Funen and the North Jutlandic Island. The islands are characterised by flat, arable land and sandy coasts, low elevation and a temperate climate. Denmark has a total area of 42,924 km2 (16,573 sq mi), land area of 42,394 km2 (16,368 sq mi), and the total area including Greenland and the Faroe Islands is 2,210,579 km2 (853,509 sq mi), and a population of 5.8 million.

Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. A form of slow instrumental music, it uses repetitive, but gentle, soothing sound patterns that can be described as sonic wallpaper to complement or alter one’s space and to generate a sense of calmness. The genre is said to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual", or "unobtrusive" quality.

Contents

Munk's output as Manual is strongly associated with the aesthetic of Morr Music, the label that released his first two albums. He also is featured on the Morr Music compilation Blue Skied an' Clear, which was a Slowdive tribute.

Morr Music is an independent record label based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1999 by Thomas Morr. Most artists on the label fall into the categories of intelligent dance music, electronica and dreampop, but all reflect Thomas Morr's personal taste. This results in a cohesive aesthetic observable in both the aural and visual elements of this label's releases.

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

Slowdive band

Slowdive are an English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Simon Scott on drums, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Christian Savill on guitar. Several other drummers also briefly played with the band, including Adrian Sell, Neil Carter and Ian McCutcheon. Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.

In 2004 he joined the American label Darla. Simultaneously, Munk started a psych stoner band called Causa Sui, and they released their self-titled debut album in December 2005.

Darla Records record label

Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi band from Memphis.

Causa Sui (band)

Causa Sui is a Danish instrumental psych-rock / stoner rock band composed of Jakob Skøtt, Jonas Munk, Rasmus Rasmussen and Jess Kahr. Beginning with their eponymous debut album, the band has released twelve albums since 2005. Causa Sui's heavy sound is supplemented by abstract, instrumental and ambient styles akin to electric Miles Davis or Can, particularly on their 'Sessions' series of albums, which feature guest musicians. Other cited influences include Popul Vuh, The Allman Brothers Band, and Tame Impala. Despite seldomly performing live, the band has released two live albums.

Influences

In an interview with Pitchforkmedia, Munk mentions some of his sources of musical inspiration. They include: Talk Talk, Simple Minds, Japan, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, Cocteau Twins, U2, Philip Glass, Coil, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. [1]

Talk Talk English pop and post-rock group

Talk Talk was an English pop and post-rock band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis, Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk" (1982), "It's My Life", and "Such a Shame" before moving towards more experimental music in the mid-1980s, pioneering what became known as post-rock. Talk Talk achieved widespread critical success in Europe and the UK with the singles "Life's What You Make It" (1985), and "Living in Another World" (1986), and in 1988 they released their fourth album Spirit of Eden, which was critically acclaimed yet commercially less successful.

Simple Minds Scottish rock band formed in 1977

Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. The most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s, they achieved five UK Albums chart number one albums and have sold an estimated 70 million albums. Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour.

Japan (band) English new wave band

Japan were an English new wave band formed in 1974 in Catford, South London by David Sylvian, Steve Jansen (drums), Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Mick Karn. Initially a glam rock-inspired band, Japan developed their sound and androgynous look to incorporate electronic music and foreign influences, eventually becoming an influence on the UK's early-1980s New Romantic scene.

Discography

Albums

Ulrich Schnauss German musician

Ulrich Schnauss is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England.

Singles

<i>Isares</i> (album) single by Manual

Isares is a single EP by Manual. It was released in July 2003 by Static Caravan.

Compilations

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<i>Blue Skied an Clear</i> album by Morr Music

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References

  1. Manual Pitchfork.com