this title is no longer available from Strange Fortune
The new Tor Lundvall sampler CD is offered free with all orders placed at strangefortune.com until supplies run out. Update: Less than 100 sampler CD's are left.
A surprise underground success of the last year has been the evocative "ghost ambient" music of Tor Lundvall, his Empty City album (2006) attracting his widest and most enthusiastic attention to date.
Tor has lately been written up by magazines from Terrascope to Terrorizer, and his music has been heard nationally on NPR radio stations on the "Echoes" and "Hearts of Space" radio programs.
While for many listeners Empty City came as a first glimpse of Tor Lundvall's distinctive world, his unmistakable ambient soundscape craft happens to stretch back a few years.
Following the buzz of Empty City, Tor Lundvall and Strange Fortune have decided to make available a special sampler CD that offers a taste of some of Tor's most delicious tracks from his earlier years.
The new sampler CD is called Tor Lundvall's The Seasons Unfold Sampler, and it takes the listener on a journey through four seasons of deep and hazy, reverb-loaded "ghost ambient" sonics.
Tor Lundvall's The Seasons Unfold Sampler is a professionally printed & mastered CD in dazzling full color artwork, and is offered free with orders placed at strangefortune.com, starting the the first day of Autumn 2007, and lasting until supplies run out.
The next major release in the works for Tor is a deluxe box set to be entitled The Seasons Unfold (release date TBA). It will present his first four ambient solo albums together in one package for the first time.
Adding special collectible value to this advance sampler release, the versions of the tracks found on the sampler are exclusive to the sampler only.
Strange Fortune listener reviews are a free space to share your impressions of the music.
Adam Bomb says on 5 Oct 2007
As always, another ESSENTIAL release from Tor. If this is just a taste of the upcoming box set, count me in !!! Gorgeous art and gorgeous music. Wish I could afford a Tor painting, but I'll just pop on the headphones, stare at the Cd covers and float away. Beautiful & haunting. Big wet sloppy drooling kisses to Tor and Strange Fortune. Mr. Adam Bomb
djproject says on 11 Oct 2007
i was already convinced of tor lundvall's talents and vision upon hearing _empty city_. this sampler really seals the deal ... and it's only a sample of things to come. haven't never heard tor do "proper" vocals (singing words as oppose to singing atmospherics), i didn't know what to expect. but i really like his voice: calm yet potent, breathes without being wispy, present without being overbearing. as for his compositions, it's very ambient yes. it's very atmospheric yes. but it's also short. tor lundvall could very well be the master of the "pop-ambient" form due to its "managable length" [as a composer myself, i always believe pieces should be as long as they have to be].
i really hope that tor lundvall's audience expands even more because it deserves one. in fact, he represents (amongst others in the pantheon) a type of artist that all who aspire to be one should emulate: exploring new ground but showing others the way ... the artist as frontiersman
tadreaming says on 18 Oct 2007
Hey,
Really like the new sampler. Never heard of them before, but will probably delve into Tor Lundvall music after hearing this.
Thanks Strange Fortune.
Martyn
migozared says on 20 Oct 2007
A thick slab of placid ether. Four tracks of one thing breaking. Running chronologically from their respective related albums, the first three songs are all new from what has already been. "Whir" (mix #2), originally from the album "Ice," opens the sound space with an introductory instrumental. "29," in re-recorded form from "The Mist," is like the stretching of arms in a swim. Vocals enter, but as another instrument that blends together. "The Backyard" follows, as the original take from the final pre-Strange Fortune album, "Under the Shadow of Trees." Picking up a little but still entrancing, this song is the mindful taking a look around, peeking over the cloud of self-reflection. Standing out a little from where everything falls in, vocals are more distinct here. At the tail is "November's Fields," (previously unreleased) a departure in a different direction and perhaps the most foreboding. It's most generative of its own atmosphere, as opposed to deepening the contemplativeness of the listener. While the progression of everything previous acts as a tour of sounds to float to, "November's Fields" is music for sinking. Caught off-guard by the newness of this piece, I wonder how the previous tracks differed from the originals. I was too busy listening. Is this collection a sign of things to come or a memorial of what has passed? A good starting place or something for aficionados? Uniquely it is all.
Cthulberg says on 20 Oct 2007
I liked this sampler very much. It's certainly a great thing to have for all fans of Tor Lundvall anyway. Must admit to being very curious about the 'Turning' CD.
rackman says on 23 Oct 2007
curiously mesmerizing and hypnotic. although i prefer his tracks that contain a little more rhythm with his haunting vocals, this brief collection serves as a key-hole peek into his musical world.
Alexandre Boudreau says on 23 Oct 2007
A REAL GIFT ! I CANT WAIT ANYMORE FOR THE BOX SET. I HAVE MANY ALBUMS OF TOR AND I FIND IT SO GOOD THAT I WILL ACQUIRE THE BOX-SET FOR SURE ! Mes amitiés pour Tor Lundvall !
pinkplasticpoodle says on 29 Oct 2007
this CD sampler is like a 4-piece box of Godiva chocolate... it's so marvelous, but finished so very quickly! thankfully you can just replay it, unlike the chocolate. i'm really looking forward to the box set, for the artwork as well as the music.
V_Verweij says on 2 Nov 2007
If you like massive amounts of reverb and subdued melancholy in your ambient music, this is definitely something for you. There's a clear sense of warmth in the songs on this sampler, and though the lyrical matter is depressive, it does feel uplifting, and it would be a perfect cd for some midwinter stargazing. The only thing that bothered me was that the lyrics are a little too melodramatic at times. It could have used more metaphor, which would fit better with the cloaked mystical feel of the music.
Cathedral 13 says on 14 Nov 2007
'The Backyard' plays over and over in the background. It's hypnotic, soothing and oozes with atmosphere. I can't believe I'd never heard anything by Tor Lundvall before, but I'm glad that I have now.
jakob says on 16 Nov 2007
It's so nice to hear these alternate versions; they make me much more curious about the box set. Massive thanks to Tor Lundvall for creating uniquely beautiful and absolutely deep mood music...
jswanger says on 16 Nov 2007
Beautiful, subdued music with a pervading sense of melancholy, yet without evoking depression. Looking forward to hearing the full cycle of the seasons and their moods in the box set.
elizadeath says on 2 Jan 2008
entranced by the sample alone.
lohiau says on 27 Jan 2008
As with his other music I love this release. The music takes me into a world where time seems to drift, everything seems to float, edges are soft, visuals are watery or blurred, and presence is sensed indirectly. The atmosphere is dreamy and slightly sad or eerie. I picture riding in slow motion through snow covered plains while looking at abandoned wooden shacks. Great stuff!
Chris Danielson says on 31 Jan 2008
To call the music of Tor Lundvall 'evocative' would not only be trite, but it would be a blatant understatement. This music does not merely evoke or represent the dream that inspired it; it PUTS YOU into a new state of being and consciousness.
Lovedbts says on 22 Aug 2008
I've had the sampler for almost a year now. There's not much to add to the other reviews. The sampler is definitely recommended if you've never heard any of Tor's music (or if you're a big fan like me) although I feel it's best to experience a whole album of his to get the complete picture. I'm anxiously awaiting the box set. I have been for awhile so hopefully it'll come out relatively soon!
Cthulberg says on 25 Dec 2008
In light of the latest developments with SF, will the box ever get released? It seems a pertinent question.
agree or disagree? post your own review or comment
dying to have it?
try searching for Tor Lundvall at gemm
