Ffordd, Seren

Artist: Seren Ffordd + Oophoi
P:  2022
"The Dreaming Waters was recorded at the same time that Oöphoi and I recorded 'The Martian Chronicles' (2011), passing sounds and music back and forth between us. It is a companion piece to that album, different yet connected, exploring the myth of the Canals of Mars and the landscapes within which Ray Bradbury's book was set. It was Oöphoi’s love of the book that first made him suggest the focus of our creativity and when rereading it after many years I immediately remembered the characters and sense of strange uncertainty that the books storytelling created. The album is a single track that flows and shimmers, unveiling more depth with each listen". (Seren Ffordd, 2022)

Artist: Seren Ffordd + Oophoi
P:  2011
The Martian Chronicles, inspired by Ray Bradbury's story collection of the same name, sounds very much like the soundtrack to a mysterious and strange science fiction film that exists only in the imaginations of Seren Ffordd and Oöphoi. These seven tracks, while slow, moody and at times weirdly alien, also evoke a drama and emotional depth absent from much recent ambient music. It's a complex and beautiful mixture of electronic instruments, field recordings and percussion.
These artists will both likely be familiar to Hypnos listeners. Seren Ffordd has released several albums on our Hypnos Secret Sound imprint, and also contributed to the Hypnos compilation Sounds of a Universe Overheard. The name Seren Ffordd (real name Andy Benford) is Welsh for Star Road, Way of Stars or Milky Way.
Oöphoi himself released Athlit in 2002, Distance to Zero (with Paul Vnuk) in 2006, and his Nebulae group project album Path of White Clouds in 2011, all on Hypnos. Gianluigi Gasparetti, the man behind Oöphoi, first became known for creating the excellent Italian music periodical Deep Listenings. His Oöphoi persona burst onto the ambient music scene in the late 1990s and quickly became one of the most talented and prolific sound artists around. He founded the now-defunct labels Umbra and Penumbra, which released the earliest recordings of Seren Ffordd. After working together in this capacity for several years The Martian Chronicles is their first collaboration, but not their last; the pair has already completed another full album worth of material.
We at Hypnos are proud to bring you this collaborative work from two of the most interesting and talented ambient musicians out there, and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do.

Artist: Seren Ffordd
P: 2005 / 2011
LTD 300
Reissue of out of print 2005 recording by Seren Ffordd, an ambient artist residing in Wales. This is the second in our series of reissues by this artist, following Stellar Nurseries, and we previously released his album Veils, Shadows on Hypnos Secret Sounds a few years earlier. Arhythmia is hypnotic and at times restful, yet often has an "edge" or a discordant quality. It's more "active" than most other Seren Ffordd music Cycles, patterns and rhythms, the world is full of them. Not the steady beats prevalent in most music, but subtle interlocking rhythms that dance and move through each other. The flow between the monthly phases of the moon and the daily tides. Stellar precession and the turning of galaxies. The pulsations of our blodd, neurons and breathing. In five parts, Arhythmia is an exploration of such shifting patterns that can be heard and felt but not danced to. Rhythms and movements of sound that draw the mind and spirit into other places of dreaming. Arhythmia is a mixture of light and dark textures that contain both flowing and hypnotic elements. All the sound sources on the CD are acoustic in origin. They include field recordings of Thunder, rain and other things. The rest of the music is created on singing bowls, voice, gourds and chimes. All the effects and sound manipulations are performed on a Korg D16 digital portastudio. Recorded in June and July 2005. "Interestingly with a title like Arhythmia, the artwork on the front of this one looks much like the inside of a heart valve, albeit softened in both texture and color. As for the music, hopefully it won’t give you any cardiac trouble. Darker and more experimental than his other discs, here Benford takes us into what he calls “an exploration of rhythms that can be heard and felt but not danced to.” Rumbling and churning sounds are joined by a steady rain in the background. Benford notes that the music is divided into five parts, although it plays as a single track. The movements are distinct and easily identifiable. The rain and rumbles fade away and are gone within 15 seconds of the start of part II, which takes a long slow descent to parts unknown. It plays like an infinite downward spiral, a rather creepy but cool effect. Unusual brushing sounds pan back and forth forming a unique percussive element. Its clear by this point that the disc is more sound collage than music in the conventional sense. Metallic bells ring out to start part III, and we breathe a sigh of relief as the ominous rumbling drones from part II gradually disappear. Though still quite stark and minimal, this part is bright and cheery by comparison. Part IV swirls similarly to part II, though in more of a holding pattern than a deep dive. I’d call it grey noise rather than white. This one plays like a blank canvas for your mind to imagine various subtleties that may or may not be there. The last part follows a similar pattern, creating another unique sound world to explore for the last 15 minutes before coming back to reality. Arhythmia is daring adventurous fun."
--Review by Phil Derby, Electroambient Space

Artist: Seren Ffordd
P: 2006 / 2011
LTD 300
Floating is the third release in our reissue series of the out of print recordings by Seren Ffordd, an ambient artist residing in Wales. Originally released in 2006 on the Italian label Umbra (operated by the great Italian genius of ambient soundscapes, Oophoi) and now out of print, Floating has been reworked slightly by Seren Ffordd for enhanced sound quality.
Previously released are Arythmia and Stellar Nurseries in this reissue series, and previously released Seren Ffordd's album Veils, Shadows on Hypnos Secret Sounds a few years earlier.

Artist: Seren Ffordd
P: 2015
The first act of any musician is to break the silence, rending the quiet by pouring sound into the waiting space as gently as an unfolding rose or as savagely as a lightning strike.  Seren Ffordd, who has been recording since 2004, was intrigued by this sense of breaking, of the Fracture where the edge of the sound wave cuts the silence. This album came out of a wish to hear sound Severed and Shattered. What would a sound sound like if it’s frequencies were Peeled apart, it’s edges Blurred, Curdled, Hacked - merging into and out of each other? In ‘Fractured’, many of the original sounds are unrecognisable. On the album every sound is acoustic in origin, creating unusual textures, dissonances, shades – allowing the evolving themes of each track to develop in a fascinating, storytelling way.

Artist: Seren Ffordd
P: 2004 / 2011
LTD 300
Stellar Nurseries is the first in a series of Seren Ffordd reissues planned to continue over the coming year or so. These recordings, by an artist whose work is always mysterious and sometimes ominous, were previously released on the Umbra and Penumbra labels operated (by Hypnos artist Oophoi) out of Italy, though the artist himself resides in Wales. He first connected with Hypnos on the compilation CD Sounds of a Universe Overheard, to which he contributed a track, and Hypnos Secret Sounds released his album Veils, Shadows.
This recording exhibits a pleasing serenity, a great example of the artist's characteristic combination of dark and light elements into a balanced, deep contrast.
Original sleeve notes, December 2004:
Floating in the depths of space are vast clouds of molecular gases. They drift until disturbed by the dance of gravity. Then, folding in on themselves they spiral in towards the centre, to the forming Starseed. As the disc gets denser and hotter the gases spiral faster and faster, an awesome storm of movement. Faster, denser, hotter until the star ignites, flaming into being. A wave of light and heat flares out into space, pushing the lighter elements before it. The heavier materials left are once more pulled by the bonding of movement and gravity. Held by the dream of the star the planets begin to form in their orbits. Once born the planets spiral round and round creating new notes chords and harmonies.
Stellar Nurseries is a continuous track 1:01:02 in duration, with the following figurative "sections"

Artist: Seren Ffordd
P: 2007
Subtle, but deep and mysterious. Seren Ffordd is a relatively new ambient minimalist based in Wales, best known for his releases on the Italian labels Umbra & Penumbra, and Veils, Shadows is his debut release on Hypnos Secret Sounds. He will also have a track on the upcoming Hypnos compilation Sounds of a Universe Overheard.
Describing Veils, Shadows, Seren Ffordd himself says:
"I had the idea of the title first, and wanted to explore something that had many shades and layers -- with some slow movements and some drones, but also some dynamics and unexpected changes. I wanted some pleasant harmonics but also edginess, sounds shifting in a way that could be dream-like but not soporific, like shadows coming out of the mists into more solid form before drifting off again... Overall Veils, Shadows is about other realms and perceptions."
Seren Ffordd is one of those few artists perfectly in tune with what we're trying to do here at Hypnos, which is explore atmospheres that are dark without being "industrial" or intentionally abrasive, rather more hypnotic and dreamy, with a dose of the surreal. We're pleased and excited to introduce his work to those listeners who are familiar with Hypnos, and interested in sound worlds like this, but who have not yet heard this particular sound. We're sure Seren Ffordd will end up being acclaimed and much-discussed in coming years.

Artist: Seren Ffordd
P: 2010
The music was created as a respectful nod to the early ‘Berlin School’  of electronic music with it’s use of (very new at the time) sequencers and artists such as Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream – whose music started his own journey. He wanted to see if he could do something very different to his usual beatless, drifting sound. Seren Ffordd usually is associated with wonderful and breathtaking ambient music. This album is not so ambient it is pure Berlin School electronic.

Artist: Various Artists
P: 2011
"Ambient Pathways"
For the first time the "point 5" Ambient album is a 2CD set. The first album contains Ambient tracks, in a continuous mix. Over 70 minutes of drift-away bliss. Then there is a second Album consisting of two (very long) Phrozenlight tracks.

Artist: Various Artists
P: 2012
"Ambient Mythology"
Once again the "point 5" Ambient album is a 2 CD set.
Both discs contain Ambient tracks in a continuous mix.
 

Artist: Various Artists
P: 2010
A collection of the best tracks from the Awakwnings compilations.
Here Vol. 3 with the tracks from 2005-2008.