Ellis Munk Ensemble : San Diego Sessions

There’s a mysticism about southern California; from the sun-soaked surfer souls that haunt its coastline, to the teenage loners writing the DNA of what would become modern skateboarding in abandoned backyard swimming pools, to the music scene that blossomed amongst all of it. Southern California was the mecca for true freedom in artistry and rebellion, […]

Pandemic 2020 : Favorite Albums So Far In The Year Of The Great Sigh

It feels trivial to sit here and write about my favorite albums of 2020, but I guess I’m trivial. There are far more important things to be talking about, I’m perfectly aware of that. I look out my window and see the same fires burning as you. I see people ignoring science and believing lies […]

Billow Observatory’s “Wash Away The Dust”

I’ve really been struggling with everything I’ve seen and read the last few days. The country has gone from shaky ground to deep, dark chasms opening up everywhere in every major city across the US. Not between citizens, as we’ve shown some major heart and love for one another as a whole. But the powers […]

The Sound of Zen : Jonas Munk Talks ‘Minimum Resistance’ and His Quiet Act of Rebellion

Jonas Munk is what I’d call a renaissance man. Munk moves among many musical circles; either through his label El Paraiso Records(which he co-runs with Causa Sui band mate Jakob Skott), his ambient/new age label Azure Vista Records, as well as through the countless projects he’s been involved in as collaborator, producer, or sonic wizard […]

Jonas Munk : Minimum Resistance

Jonas Munk likes working in subtle sonic textures. When not in Causa Sui as guitarist extraordinaire, Munk works more like a painter than musician in the studio. His solo work, along with his records with Billow Observatory, Ulrich Schnauss, and Nicklas Sorensen, are marked by a decidedly more nuanced approach. Going with the painter scenario, […]

Kanaan : Odense Sessions

Norwegian three piece Kanaan showed up at the end of 2018 with the intense and forward-thinking Windborne. Combining elements of post-rock, Krautrock, and even art rock, these three young musicians made a fine addition to the El Paraiso Records roster. Their music swayed from melancholy doom to breezy and ethereal soundscapes, giving their sound a […]

Jonas Munk’s “Sabi”, “Resonance”

There are few artists that can handle themselves as effortlessly in front of and behind the board as Jonas Munk. Over twenty years of writing and recording, first in the electronic project Manual in the late 90s/early 2000s, then as guitarist for Causa Sui, and beyond that a collaborator with a who’s who list of […]

Kanaan and Jonas Munk Unite For ‘Odense Sessions’; Listen To “Of Raging Billows Breaking On The Ground”

A new year is upon us, that means a new year of releases. One of my favorite parts of January is when one of my all-time great record labels begins to drop release dates, and El Paraiso Records is doing just that. One of 2018s biggest surprises was Norwegian band Kanaan’s debut album Windborne. An […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Favorite Albums of the Decade

We’ve arrived at the end of the decade. The 2010’s were filled with all kinds of good, bad, and the in-between. For me it was a transformative decade. I feel I’ve grown into the middle-aged man I feel I’ve been since the age of 10. Now, I look the part and feel the aches associated […]

Pattern Music : A Conversation With Jonas Munk and Nicklas Sørensen

For the past several years musicians Jonas Munk and Nicklas Sørensen have had a productive collaboration going. Munk, who is co-runner of record label El Paraiso Records(as well as playing guitar in Causa Sui and releasing electronic music under the Manual moniker and under his own name), produced Sørensen’s first two solo LPs(titled Solo 1 […]