Ultre’s The Nest and the Skull

Last week, I stumbled upon the musician/digital artist, Ultre. His latest release, The Nest and the Skull, is a beautiful blend of acoustic instruments and electronics. The abstract tracks feature an array of instruments including guitars, pianos, violins and cellos. The music is accompanied by electronic beats, sampled sounds, breaths, hiccups and manipulated beat boxing rhythms. The sound is thick and atmospheric, similar to Burial’s 2007 album, Untrue. A lot of records sound dead and cold when too many electronic elements are used, but The Nest and the Skull utilizes nice, warm production techniques. Similar artists include Autechre, Dntel, Cex, Mouse on Mars, Prefuse 73, Access to Arasaka and early Telefon Tel Aviv.

This release is going to join my collection of “work albums.” Among the others are Funki Porcini’s Fast Asleep, and FFWD’s self titled album. They’re perfect to listen to when I need to sit down and design/code for hours.

To view artwork and videos by Ultre, visit Ultre on MySpace. The Nest and the Skull is available from Amazon and other online music retailers for a special price of $5.99.

MP3: Ultre – Struggle and Nothing

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