August Stars profile picture

August Stars

...The Quieter Sound of South Yorkshire

About Me

Beginning life as an idea on a summers evening in rural Staffordshire, August Stars became the moniker given to the recording project of Sébastien Wright in 2002. August Stars produces minimalist drones and soundscapes inspired by the passing of the seasons, landscapes, the ghost stories of Le Fanu and Chamber Music by James Joyce amongst others.
Whereas some electronic music can often be rather cold and lacking in emotion, August Stars’ sound is full of nostalgia, sadness and longing. It is highly evocative music. Listening to August Stars is akin to becoming lost in thought. Rather than being merely a background, this is music in which to immerse.
Releases to Date -
(2004) Stars and Trees*
(2005) Cambridge*
(2006) MMM019 Music for Twilight
(2007) MMM030 Midwinter
(2008) MMM028 Drawn Away - DELAYED
There will also be a 4 Track CD-r release on Quiet Records in early 2008
Drawn Away will be the final August Stars release.
*Self-released downloads, the best of each are collected on 'Music for Twilight' and 'Drawn Away'.
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Make Mine Music is an independent co-operative record label run by the artists themselves.The label strives to prove that music can be released into the public domain in a way that is fair and egalitarian and which benefits the artists fully. The way in which Make Mine Music operates ensures that the artists control what is released, how their music is presented and that they receive 100% of any profits from sales. The label is based on a commitment to mutual support and trust. Each of the artists involved provides assistance and moral support to the other artists, whether this be through contacts, advice or a friendly voice on the end of a phone. The label works on the belief that there is strength in unity and seeks to represent a real and credible alternative to the business-led practices of many other labels

Thanks to Scott Sinfield of Portal for all the MMM information...

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/9/2005
Band Members: Sebastien Wright
Influences: Eno; Harold Budd; Philip Glass; Kraftwerk (up to 1975); Ryuichi Sakamoto; William Basinski; Julien Neto; Erik Satie....
also...

the poems of James Joyce & Ted Hughes;
Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories;
Changeable English Weather;
Railway Stations;
London Fields;
Listening to Rain Falling Against Window Panes During the Stillness of the Witching Hour;
Silhouettes of Trees against a Clear Midnight Sky in August;
Sheffield;
Taking Photographs of Skies;
Those Strange Sunsets of Early Autumn Bathe Everything in Gold;
Pink Sunsets in Winter;
Cambridge;
The Stars at 5am in Winter;
Looking at Strangers & Imagining their Lives;
The Paintings of Edward Hopper;
Changing of the Seasons;
Being Single, Alone & Longing, Being with Someone, in Love & Contented;
Streets that Sparkle in Winter;
Photographs of Cities;
Bolehill;
The Sun Rising over Sheffield in Summer;
Nightfall in West Wales;
The Sweet Melancholy of Occasional Loneliness;
The Unbearable Sadness of Extended Isolation;
Parisian Lights Reflected in the Seine;
The Landscape of South Yorkshire & North East Derbyshire;
Streets in the Sky (Park Hill, Hyde Park and Kelvin);
The Stillness of the Streets at 4am
Stars and Trees...
Sounds Like: Falling in and out of sleep.. or watching the clouds drift by from inside a window..
Record Label: Make Mine Music
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

"Music For Twilight" - Somewhere Cold Review

August Stars: Music for Twilight (Make Mine Music, 2006) August Stars is the project of Sebastien Wright. Begun in 2002, Music for Twilight is a compilation of songs recorded between 2002 and 2005. De...
Posted by August Stars on Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:35:00 PST

August Stars -News- March 2008

After a lot of thought I've decided that there will be one final August Stars release on Make Mine Music. Like Music For Twilight and Drawn Away it will be a compilation. As I mentioned in a previous ...
Posted by August Stars on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 05:05:00 PST

Sheffield Ghosts

Sheffield Ghosts- a nineteen track compilation of short experiments/ideas/undeveloped tracks recorded between October 2006 and May 2007 is available for free download from Last FM. The trac...
Posted by August Stars on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:26:00 PST

Midwinter Demos

Hey all, I've made all of the 'Midwinter' demos available for free download from Last FM. I tried to pick the tracks based on quality, but I think a couple may make your speakers bleed :), to download...
Posted by August Stars on Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:10:00 PST

Mathematical Bridge, Summer Song (1) and August Stars

I've added two tracks to those already up, Mathematical Bridge, an early August Stars track which was part of my Cambridge project and Summer Song (1). Summer Song (1) is the final track I made as Aug...
Posted by August Stars on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 08:38:00 PST

Play My Tape No.31 Music For A Winters Afternoon - Podcast

Hey all ! I was given the fantastic opportunity to make a 'mix-tape' for Play My Tape, To listen CLICK HERE  Hope you enjoy ! Sx PS Here's the tracklisting - (Click artists for links)1....
Posted by August Stars on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 06:58:00 PST

Favourites Of The Year...

Sébastien Wright (August Stars)(Sorry, sorry... oldies from me again)...The North Sea and Rameses III - Night Of AnkouBen Frost - Theory of MachinesTim Hecker - Haunt Me, Haunt Me, Do It AgainDarren H...
Posted by August Stars on Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:12:00 PST

Midwinter Music

With midwinter fast approaching I felt it would be fitting to upload some wintery sounds to the page... From 'Midwinter'- Winter Wind Through Bare Trees- glaçon From 'Music For Twilight'- He...
Posted by August Stars on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:50:00 PST

AUGUST STARS NEWS - 12th October 2007

There are two August Stars releases planned for 2008.-DRAWN AWAY -UNTITLED RELEASE ON QUIET RECORDS These will be the final August Stars releases. To answer a frequently asked question, the reason for...
Posted by August Stars on Fri, 12 Oct 2007 07:32:00 PST

Syd Barrett

Bonne nuit...
Posted by August Stars on Tue, 11 Jul 2006 08:00:00 PST