Moonlets / Ben Q Best
by Moonlets & Ben Q Best
HEL007 / July 12 2013 / tape & digital
A split release of Utah Valley ambient experiments by Moonlets and Ben Q Best.
Orem-based Andrew Aguilera's Moonlets side is a heavily directed and focused exploration driven mainly by sleep deprivation and isolation. The melodic connection to his main project Mooninite can definitely be heard, but the sounds are deeper and more restrained. "The result of these experiments are very unique and woozy pieces of music that at times have a sort of paranoid atmosphere that helped articulate the feeling of my early 2013 year." - Moonlets
Ben Q Best's side takes things in a more lo-fi, and at times course, direction built from loops driven by guitar, synthesizer, and tapes. This material, collected from nearly 2 hours of recordings, can be seen as the bridge between Ben's experimental work with Karl Jørgensen and his own singer/songwriter project.
Cover photo by Holly Russon. Michigan artist SOAP is featured on Moonlets songs "Outlook" & "Tripitch II". Mastered at Hel.
Press:
"This split by Utah Valley based Moonlets (Andrew Aguilera/Mooninite) and Ben Q. Best represent a pretty good cross section of what Hel Audio is all about. Moonlet's side is all ARP synth-surfing and glitchy, post-IDM beats that bubble just below the surface... The Ben Q. Best side is a bit more confrontational. His is a hodge-podge of guitar, synth and tape distortion loops that follow a pattern similar to the Hel Audio golden line, before disintegrating or abruptly turning into something else. That something else is a bit hard to define." -Tome To The Weather Machine
"Tapes also make a lot of sense for a split release like this; Moonlets and Ben Q Best get a side each (around 30 minutes), and their analogue synth pieces complement each other perfectly... Two strong mini-albums in one convenient package – I think it’s time to dust off the Walkman." -A Closer Listen
"Best and Moonlet (Andrew Aguilera) are aesthetically well-suited to one another. Dominantly electronic instrumentation and warm tones create a dream-like atmosphere for the listener to drift along and take comfort within." -SLUG
"All in all, a nice laid-back listen with just enough energy in just the right spots. The difference between the two sides of this release, and why it might be better served in its cassette format than a digital release, really hits home when you go from the soft close of Moonlet’s “Telos” into the more sonically tangled spaces of Ben Q Best." -Hypnagogue
Tracklisting:
- 01 Moonlets - Storm
- 02 Moonlets - Current Ripple
- 03 Moonlets - Outlook
- 04 Moonlets - Depart
- 05 Moonlets - Dwel
- 06 Moonlets - DA14
- 07 Moonlets - Knowing
- 08 Moonlets - Tripitch II
- 09 Moonlets - Natural Satellite
- 10 Moonlets - Telos
- 11 Ben Q Best - Seancing with Ben
- 12 Ben Q Best - To Anglicize This
- 13 Ben Q Best - Roofaller
- 14 Ben Q Best - I want to be like you
- 15 Ben Q Best - Smiling Omnivert
- 16 Ben Q Best - For Based God
- 17 Ben Q Best - For The Magician (after T.C.)
- 18 Ben Q Best - Green for The Inert
- 19 Ben Q Best - Provo Abstract Company
- 20 Ben Q Best - I think I love her
- 21 Ben Q Best - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGVQJKgqgY8