Asleep on the Compost Heap

http://onavery.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-if-you-could-see-both-forest-and.html

Some nice sounds from Ireland:

I thought a Tenaka was a type of shape-shifting raccoon ghost with huge testicles from Japan. I was wrong. It turns out that's a Tanuki. A Tenaka is a Limerick man (who may or may not have huge testicles) who lives in Galway and makes understated pastoral electronica in his spare time. Think the clockwork rhythms of Plaid, the folky sensibilities of Fridge, and some hushed singing. If Greg from Masterchef heard it he might say "emotive bedroom electronica DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS".

Galway Independent

http://www.galwayindependent.com/entertainment/entertainment/picks-of-week-%11-4th-february-2009/

Pick of the Week

Tenaka - 'Eponymously Titled' 
Ronan Carroll's take on lo-fi electronic pop is far from perfect, in fact it's sometimes out of tune, but that's not the point… sorry that is the point. It's perfectly imperfect, it's human. And 'Someday' is quite possibly one of the most beautifully broken pieces of music I've heard in eons. Music you want to tell your friends about

TenaciousT Review

http://tenacioustimothy.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/tenaka/

Tenaka

Oh there is a storm brewing in the west and what a sublime storm it is!

Tenaka is Ronan Carroll, a Galway based Limerick muscian who happens to be a Biomedical Engineer- not sure what part of the body he engineers for but he knows a thing or two about ears and what is good going into them.

He has created a 4 track ep called EPonymously Titled that you can download for free from his MySpace and they really are some great ambient tunes.   Not only do they grab your attention but his writing to go along with them really puts you into the right frame of mind…

Tenaka awoke to hear the storm hissing and battering at the window.
He stretched and glanced at the fire - it had faded to glowing coals.
He had slept in the lady’s arms, taking comfort in the bugs, haven and
crawl, as she slept in the chair, her breathing deep. Tenaka rose to his
feet, slowly making his way from the room. The corridor was icy, the
wooden boards creaking under his boots. He moved to the tribes fire,
adding fresh wood and gently blowing the flames to life. He felt revitalized
as it flared from the first child through to the pause of the fourth.

Tenaka removed the red dagger from its sheth and stirred the broth with
the blade, scanning the room for ingredients. As he poured the broth into
a bowl, he cut the stitches from his cheek, emotions firing behind paper
eyes. Quietly he stowed his gear in the canvas pack, fastened his cloak
and pushed gently through the doorway.

The storm was inviting.

Just to make it even better there is some great artwork and the humorously entitled play all ‘Sure why not, it only takes 928 seconds and twas free.wpl’.

Of the tunes themselves- these aren’t the lull you off to sleep ambient tunes but the type that peak your interest and where your foot starts tapping on its own accord.  Ain’t Nobody and Someday have some soft vocals to go along with the synths and building rythms, Open Up has more complex rythms with a more driving pace and Alaskan is more sampled with kids and kids toys and some gorgeous synth strings.  Of them all I wish Alaskan was longer but you can always stick it on repeat!

He is not currently touring but hopefully soon- for the moment get the tunesand let their blissfullness wash over you.

'EPonymously Titled' drop-d review

http://www.drop-d.ie/article.php?article_id=865

Des Lynam, Richard Harris, Terry Wogan

Limerick (It's in the west of Ireland for all you Dublin types) has given us some of the greatest people ever created and musically speaking she has been no slouch either with wunder-rockersgiveamanakick and the Out On A Limb posse all hailing from that direction.

Enter Ronan Carroll, who, according to himself, may currently reside in this writer's hometown of Galway, and who peddles his aural wares under the moniker of Tenaka, a mysterious tag with Manga overtones.

EPonymously Titled is his debut EP and the love and care positively oozes from the speakers, delivering top drawer, chill-out electronica with Mr. Carroll demonstrating an enviable ear for melody and IDM noodling.

Opening track, Ain't Nobody, begins with a plucked guitar chord and gradually builds with the vocals, bongos and keyboards all easing you into proceedings. Someday's farting bass grabs you next with swirling synthesizers and an out-of-tune vocal that results in a song equal parts eerie, warm and hypnotic. Open Up is all rumbling Nirvana bass with a pulsating beat driving the song and the requisite amount of glitch to give most electronica fans that nice feeling in their pants...or, possibly, their tummies.

While living in Galway for my formative years effectively ruined my appreciation of the bongos - given their New Age association and Quay Street ubiquity - Tenaka is doing his damnedest to heal my bruised ears with his use of said percussive instrument. Alaskan, the final track and my personal favourite, has a tasty 80s opening with bongos teasing the mix. Various sounds and textures gestate and evolve, giving way to Tenaka, or the song's character, submerging himself in water and re-emerging to the sound of playing children. It's a beautiful piece and one that hauntingly concludes the EP.

The liner notes of this four-song collection tell a story about each track and if you read them whilst listening to the music it is hard not to feel the very personal nature of this recording. Tenaka is already popping up on many 'ones to watch' lists and hardly needs my endorsement, but this is an impressive and touching record with a heartbeat aswell as an electronic beat. Go out and buy it - no excuses.