Back catalogue: Ambient/Drone

Review: Jochem Peteri's material under the NewWorldAquarium moniker has, in all honesty, kept the house and techno scene grounded over the years. So much so that the Dutchman's simple yet singular touch is still seen by many as the pinnacle of the last ten years of dance music resurgence, and it is difficult to think of anything he has put out that isn't memorable. He's here with his 154 alias this week, up on Boomkat's Ediitons imprint, with two ethereal slices of house bliss, tinted by a warm and peaceful ambient glow. "Wherever You Go" and "I Will Follow" are two sides of the same coin, the journey told in two separate chapters, where vast electornic soundscapes drive the tracks forwards; the beats, a placid collection of distant kicks, linger in mid-air magnificently. This is Ross 154.

Review: Heaven Smile is a Nduja-affiliated label that is back with a second offering that takes a trip into futuristic techno as well as offering up some superb abstract outings. 'Hold-1' is an ambient soundscape that draws you into a filtered synth that pulses as changes shape. 'Track 2' is dubby, techno-leaning house with diffuse chord vamps and 'Aliasing' is a distorted, scruffy collage of broken beats and knackered claps with a fuzzy pulse running through the middle. 'Hold-3' offers another ambient moment to catch your breath then 'Windmill' suspends you in amongst the stars.

Review: Since making his debut as 33.10.3402 11 years ago, Nenad Markovic has built up quite a catalogue of experimental, left-of-centre musical treats, most notably via frequent outings on L.I.E.S and ESP Institute. Here he makes his bow on another label, Third World, in the process providing DJ Evan's imprint with its debut release. First up, he provides a fresh '2022 mix' of the previously compilation-only '1000 Julys', a minimalistic epic where wayward electronics, intoxicating industrial sounds, hazy chords and marimba style melodies rise above a deep, weighty bassline and sparse, shuffling drum machine beats. 'Deep Beneath The Ocean Waves Of Labyrinths and Coral Waves' is similarly informed but warmer and deeper, with melodic motifs that lap like waves, pads that wash over your soul, and beats that bubble and spit attractively.

Review: We're living in a unique time in history. Most of our planet has already been traversed and catalogued by people who have come before us. Earth, at least from a geographical perspective, has few discoveries left for us. The true unknown lies in the worlds beyond our own. It's likely that in the next few decades, humans will finally have the means to take our first tentative steps on the surface of our neighbouring planet, Mars. We will be the first known species that has both the knowledge and the desire to transcend our existence beyond our home planet and expand further into space. There may even be people alive today whose children will be born on a planet that isn't called Earth. For them, the concept of "home" has a very different meaning to our own. They will be Tomorrow's Explorers, redefining what it means to be human, whilst retaining the very thing that makes us so - our unquenchable thirst to explore the unknown.

"Tomorrow's Explorers is the follow-up to my 2015 EP 'Sine Dust'. Usually when I finish a record, I draw a line under it and move onto the next concept, with the explicit desire to do something different. After 'Sine Dust', I felt that there was more of a story to tell. Space is a pretty big place! Whereas 'Sine Dust' was a 100% synthesiser-based record, 'Tomorrow's Explorers' expands the sound gamut considerably, introducing heavy string-based sections, that work alongside the synths and pads to create expansive, enveloping walls of sound. This culminates in the 13 minute title track, which I feel is one of my most audibly rich, melodically complex tracks to date. Drawing influence from every other record I've made, whilst taking the sound to new and unfamiliar places, 'Tomorrow's Explorers' is sure to please fans both old and new. The endless themes of space have been explored countless times by artists in the past. It's a limitless source of inspiration for many of us and always a joy to discover. As usual, I hope you enjoy where it takes you." -36

Review: Two Past Inside the Present artists that have previously released works on the PITP label come together for this anonymous split ep. 19 minutes of lush, slow-moving ambient trails. With this record we want listeners to go in blind, without ego or expectation, with the sole focus on what truly matters: the music. The artists and titles will remain anonymous until the vinyl sells out and then we will reveal all.

Review: Having recently devoted more of his time to the breezy, melodious bliss of the D.K project, Dang Khoa-Chau once again dons the 45 ACP alias for a more downbeat E.P on L.I.E.S. It's arguably far more accessible than his previous work for the label under the now familiar moniker, but still pleasingly left-of-centre. There's much to admire throughout, from the poignant melodies, drifting keys and spaced-out drums of "Hang In There", and Marimba-laden deep space techno of "Smoked Out", to the clarinet-laden ambient textures of bittersweet closer "Graveyard Shift". While opener "Slick Response" - a bubbling, ear-pleasing chunk of metronomic techno - feels a little more positive, it's still largely melancholic in tone.

Review: Adding yet another record to the pile that has so far been provided by the label A_A, the experimental dub artists behind said outfit (Satoshi Tomiie and Nao Gunji) have really outdone themselves out here. On pink splatter vinyl comes 'Dissonant', one of many EPs to have emerged from the same heads-down studio session that saw to its predecessor, 'Radiant'. Tracks 1-4 lock in a slew of impressive ear-scourings and dub-delayed experimentations, with the first and last tracks particularly blowing us away with their broken beats, which allow for more attention to be paid to every undulation, crackle and knock.

Review: Artificial Owl Recordings welcomes aboard New Yorkers Satoshi Tomiie and Naotake Gunji for the label's fifth release; a recording of their collaborative A_A project and live show, which first came to light at the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. A_A, an ongoing audio project, explores the visceral tension between floor-centric ambient electronica and improvised sound/audio performance. Here, found and object-activated sounds fire a collective dub trigger, producing a distinctly somatic regrounding across five original works.

Review: A aka Mika Vainio's 'Fermionit' is a significant release from the late Finnish producer, who passed away in 2017. Originally featured in a Belgium Detuned 6x12 boxset just before his death, the track received critical acclaim from collectors and fans. Now, it returns to Mika's own Sahko label for a well-deserved 12" release. 'Fermionit' embodies the essence of Finnish techno with its minimalistic, cold and stark sound. The track's passive-aggressive edge showcases Vainio's signature style, blending raw, unfiltered textures with a profound sense of depth. This release not only honors Vainio's legacy but also offers a chance for new listeners to experience the pure DNA of Finnish techno. An essential listen for fans of minimalist and avant-garde electronic music.

Review: While the name may be new, A New Line (Related) is supposedly the work of an already established musician, although Kimochi was never a label that cared about hype. The music stands just fine on its own, digging into the kind of dusty and dusky house and techno formations that the label has forged its hand-sprayed identity on. There's plenty of ambient techno twirls to be enjoyed on the likes of "Dancing On Soft Borders", while the beats melt away entirely on "After A Short Illness" and grandiose EP closer "RIYL Failures". Once again Kimochi comes up with the kind of meaningful variations on the 4/4 framework that keep our record bags full and our souls enriched.

Review: Americans composers Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O'Halloran form the modern ambient project A Winged Victory For The Sullen. Separately, Wiltzie is known to have worked with The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, while O'Halloran, under his own name, has released a long line of albums, some of which are concentrated on his solo piano work. Here though, the two deliver a three-track EP that in many ways can be likened to a freeform version of the calmer moments of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, while other parts are reminiscent to the minimalistic piano keys of the American Beauty soundtrack; the 13-minute Greenhouse interpretation of "Atomos VII" is a trip worth taking too.

Review: Border Community's Luke Abbott returns to his own Buffalo Temple alongside newcomer Jake Wyllie, coming through with a self-titled three-tracker. "Xanatko", "Isaka" and "Exteberri" truly explore the deepest realms of electronic music, and together make for a mind-blowing experience on the headphones. You'll enter a realm made of woozy soundscapes, field recordings and subtle waves of improvised free jazz. It's dream music for the dreamers, one of the highest calibre. A tip for the all the ambient diggers!

Review: Portal ends the year with a delightfully well-crafted and deliciously deep techno long player from Acaera. It opens up in dubbed-out and stripped-back fashion with supple rolling rhythms way down below the most deft of pads. 'Anaesthesia' brings some fizzing static electricity to the mix but the mood remains foggy and bleak in beautiful ways then 'Learned Behaviour' brings a little more thump to the low end but the atmosphere remains sparse. 'Forella' is a dub techno cruiser that floats on airy breaks and 'Reorientation' shuts down with three-plus minutes of eerie ambiance.

Review: Between Northern Electronics, Semantica, and Dimensional Exploration, techno deviant Acronym has built himself quite a reputation for conjuring the coldest, most mechanical sort of techno. In case you didn't get it, we think he's a master at the genre, and he's right up there on our list of favourite contemporaries alongside the likes of Abdulla Rashim. This new EP comes courtesy of the fledgling Auxiliary label, and it starts off by setting a cinematic scene through the hollow sounds of "Final Descent", a placid glow of harmonies which transform into an apocalyptic chain of metallic percussion on "Endless Horizon". "Walk Below The Waters" continues this mood on the flipside, thanks to a jittering artillery of drums and hi-hats that have been glued together by the raucous, minimalistic melodies suspended in the mid-end of the tune, only to be washed-out in the comparatively more diluted and tranquil whirlpool called 'Wandering Aimlessly".

Review: Actress is one of those names that invokes equal parts notoriety and hero worship. Like so much of the music he is associated with, the producer and DJ, studio experimenter and synth explorer doesn't have a reputation for being the easiest artist to predict. A creator who seems determined to push boundaries, even if that sometimes means abrasive and uninviting to the uninitiated, or anyone who would have preferred to hear something less abstract, if not altogether safer. Grey Interiors is a case in point. Dropping on the always-incredible Norwegian outlet Smalltown Supersound only emphasises the fact this is going to be an exercise in boldly going... Pressed onto a single-sided white 12" reinforces the notion that this occupies a place very much unto itself. The drones, distant sound of stardust falling, and whirs of tech that make up this spacey drone experience confirming we've boarded the shuttle and are now exiting Earth's atmosphere.

Review: Actress released a mix for Resident Advisor in June and to everyone's surprise, it was filled entirely with new, unreleased music. When asked if this was a new album, Darren S. Cunningham, aka Actress, responded simply, "It's a collage - Braque." Call it what you likeia mix, a mixtape, a collage, or even an albumiit's unmistakably another bold statement from Actress. Cunningham's approach defies labels and formats, creating music that exists in its own space, evolving without concern for conventional definitions or boundaries. It's just pure, unfiltered Actress, doing what he does best.

Review: Laima Adelaide's new 12" on Shahr Farang is as deft as sound design gets. The hugely limited 12" is all about quiet artistry and mastering the small things. The A-side 'Empty Mind' is a delightfully sparse and empty yet potent piece with supple, suggestive rhythms and sustained chords that are grainy and lo-fi. It's amazing just how absorbing such little sound can be. 'Pattern' then takes up the whole of the flip with a more pulsing and dynamic rhythm but the whole tune still seems to float through space with distant starry twinkles, deep space energies and a hopeful sense of melodic beauty.

Review: Agonis' debut album Neutropia receives a well-earned remix treatment here. Originally released in 2021, the album showcased Agonis' evolution beyond deep, hypnotic techno by incorporating half-paced drum & bass, rolling amen breaks, trip-hop and futuristic techno. Neutropia Remixed broadens this palette further with four distinctive reworks. Carrier slows 'Thermo' into a half-time rhythmic masterpiece, Christina Vantzou crafts a mesmerising drone trip, upsammy injects shimmering dynamics into 'Algoflash' and Felix K transforms 'Pyrchid' into an intricate drum workout.

Review: Basel-based experimental labels Amenthia Recordings and A Walking Contradiction join forces for their first collaborative release here in the form of the Flash Crash/Hack Crash EP. Both labels are known for pushing boundaries within their close-knit creative circles and this one features Agonis' heavy stepper and Konduku's whirlpool of low frequencies on the Amenthia side, while Lemont continues the low-end, tripped-out vibe. Varuna represents A Walking Contradiction and delivers swampy, slow-motion sounds in their signature style. This release embodies both labels' commitment to daring, unconventional electronic sounds.

Review: Given the soft-focus drowsiness and field recordings-smothered nature of their previous releases on Analog Attic and Night Tide, Alex Albrecht and Sean La'Brooy's collaborative project seems a neat fit on R&S's downtempo-focused Apollo sub-label. Typically, they've used to opportunity provided to dive even further into crystal clear ambient waters. While the EP contains a couple of gentle Balearic house shufflers (see the sun-kissed laziness of "Last Night" and effortlessly groovy "Sealers Cove"), it's the more straight-up ambient efforts that really sparkle. Check, in particular, the Johnny Nash style guitar bliss of "Daybreak" and "Darby Saddle", and the becalmed, liquid piano solos of EP standout "Tidal River", which reminded us a little of Aqua Bassino's downtempo classic "Na Na's Waltz".

Review: The 4th instalment from Australia's Analogue Attic Recordings comes from label bosses Sean La'Brooy and Alex Albrecht. Utilising field recordings from a popular Melbourne location, Edgewater Towers effortlessly transitions between ambient and dance orientated pieces.

Review: ANALOGUE ATTIC is a record label based in Melbourne, Australia. Showcasing the gentle side of electronic music down under.

The first release from AAR, 'Good Morning Passengers', introduces local duo Albrecht La'Brooy.

The Belgrave train line travels 42kms South East from Melbourne's busy Flinders Street to the peaceful gum forests of the Dandenong Ranges. 'Good Morning Passengers' explores life on the Belgrave Line; urban gentrification, multiculturalism and the journey from the suburbs to the rainforest.

Review: Examine Alex Albrecht's small (but undoubtedly impressive) discography, and you'll find an atmospheric, opaque and undeniably dreamy mix of ambient, deep house and downtempo grooves. His calling card, then, is not his adherence to a specific style, but a love of immersive aural textures, sonic warmth and sunrise-ready melodic motifs. This trademark sound is to the fore on A Clearing, his first Mule Musiq outing. Check first the detailed, subtly dubbed-out deep house dreamscape of 'Stranger', before admiring the ultra-deep, half-asleep excellence of 'A Clearing' and the Latin-tinged, ambient house bliss of 'Cabin in the Meadow'. He opts for a Sprinkles-goes-Latin house flex on 'Gibbon's Call', fuses jazz-house and ambient on 'The Walk' and doffs a cap to Susumu Yokota on 'Kennet River'. In a word: wonderful!

Review: The Analogue Attic microverse is defined by a unified commitment to the deepest ideas of where house music can head, and no one embodies that spirit better than Alex Albrecht. On this latest 12" he's heading into the velvet folds of low tempo chugger 'The Blacksmith' and downtempo dream state 'Coles Ridge' with elegiac piano sparkling atop fathoms-deep pads and the softest of percussion. This is house music as a vessel for pure relaxation and sentimental meditation, and across six tracks Albrecht offers up balm after balm to soundtrack oceanic realms of calm - a much needed tonic for the frenetic pace of modern life.

Review: Transmigration continue to offer an unparalleled service in unearthing the true gems from the explosion of early trance and ambient techno in the early 90s. In a sound that has a lot of misses, it takes sharp curation to present the hits, and they've done just that with this reissue of Jake Stephenson's 1994 release as Alien Mutation, Starship Heart Of Gold. There are wiggy synth lines which absolutely align this release with the trance of the day, but there's so much more going on sonically than kitsch, faux-spiritual melodies. This is swirling, swampy trip-out music of the highest calibre, faithfully repressed for a receptive crowd in the here and now.

Review: The original 'Subterraneans', composed by David Bowie from their 1977 album 'Low', was an emotionally striking piece that illustrated the struggles of withdrawal. German legend Alva Noto teams up with Depeche Mode's Martin Gore and ambient wizard William Basinski to transform the piece into an ephemeral, ghostly number that is almost even more chilling - with ambient synths and vocal echoing that conjure being lost in a deep cave, something almost supernatural at every turn. A truly haunting, yet aurally astounding, cover.

Review: If you're familiar with imprints like Nous'laer Audio, AD93, Tikita, or Semantica, but haven't yet explored the galaxy of sound coming from Ahrpe Records, now's your chance. Amandra is one of two heads behind said stable, and here the French producer shows everyone what time it is with a space walk through acid warbles and tribalistic rhythms. Neither of which give a particularly accurate description of what's here, but both are defining features of the tracks and EP as a whole. Whether it's the jazz-imbued shuffle of 'Prorokini', the phat wobbling steps of 'Brera Som Som' itself, or the wall of distorted percussion on 'Fanfaron', all four originals are standouts and hard to compare, while the cherry-picked remixes show just how much can be done with what's here, if the right ears are involved.

Review: Operative for the latter half of the 1990s, Japanese outfit Ambient7 were a unique proposition: a trio made up of two synthesiser buffs and a saxophonist whose immersive, life-affirming aural explorations frequently blurred boundaries between ambient, softly spun Balearic house, ambient techno, IDM and field recordings-laden soundscapes. This excellent retrospective from re:discovery offers an excellent introduction to their sound, with the five selected tracks being drawn from their three albums. Our picks of a very strong bunch include the melodious, spacey, soft-touch shuffle of 'Escape', the chords-and-saxophone bliss of 'Epilogue', the bubbly and hypnotic ambient techno pulse of 'Deep Sea' and the sunrise-ready wonder that is gorgeous closing cut 'Orange Sunshine'.

Review: Throughout 2016, Ancestral Voice's output has been militant to say the least. The enigmatic producer likes to do things his own way; his liquified strain of d&b has more in common with ambient music than jungle, but there is still something veritably tribalistic about it. This new EP for Samurai Horo's Horo sublabel is the perfect transformation of the artist's style, blurring the lines between club music and the utterly surreal, starting with the slow and tenebrous landscape that is "Yantra", followed by the more dubbed-out abstraction called "Eiyani". "Priests Of MU" is a sparse excursion through moody planes of sound guided by rhythmic half-breaks, while "Jadian Sun" heads ever closer to the sort of dub techno that was developed by the Chain Reaction label in the 90s. Very warmly recommended.

Review: It's studio album number four for Ancestral Voices, AKA Liam Blackburn. First we had the sonic diary of his time in South America, a life changing experience by all accounts of the LP 'Night of Visions'. Then we were given a dark exploration of oppressive frequencies on 'Divination', and finally meditative experiments with a custom tuning system for 'Navagraha'. For the fourth part of this high concept quartet, the artist turns his attention to metaphysics, ideas around the consciousness and our self-made realities. In terms of sound, it's utterly beautiful. From the warm building hums, percussive details and background waves of 'Inner Planes', to dense layers of refrain on the title track itself, there's no escaping its power.

Review: Liam Blackburn's Ancestral Voices project continues to gain traction, thanks to key releases for the likes of Samurai Horo, but his new imprint, The Fifth Kingdom, is where we believe that the singular-minded artist will truly shine. Mycelia, this opening EP, is a bottomless pit of ethereal sonics, starting off with the rain-coated sounds of "Meruah", followed by the sinister chimes of "Syloh", and the grainy drone noise of "Eumycota". On the B-side, "Eluvial Horizon" features a wide-eyed, cinematic setting that recalls the jurassic shores of Cornwall, while the wonderful "Mycelia" is infused with an aqueous glaze of distant hums, and "Glasir" ends on a new age tip that reminds us of Holland's CHI.

Review: Combine Sculpture's Membrane Pop album With Eric Holm's Andoya LP and you're close to knowing what Ancient Astronaut's debut opus on Nicolas Jaar's Other People label sounds like. It's weird and wonderful on "A1" and "A2", while there's calmer, oceanic moments on "B2". Things become more industrialised and dubby on "B3", all of which are held together by two 'when you hear the chime turn the page'-type interludes that top and tail the B-side.

Review: Ambient experimentalist Ando Laj has previously released his impressively inventive work via digital download and obscure cassettes, meaning that all bar a handful of well-informed listeners got to hear it. Happily, Pamoram's Wandering Eye label has decided to introduce him to a wider audience via Collected, his vinyl debut. The set is largely made up of early work, some of which appeared on download or cassette a few years back. Sitting somewhere between spacey ambient, jazzy downtempo breaks, experimental electronica and sound collage, the six tracks here are superb. We're particularly enjoying the spaced-out, post-rock influenced electronic creepiness of "Grafiti", but to be honest it's all top notch.

Review: The UK's newly inaugurated Future Primitive label holds a candle to its name by unearthing two Leo Anibaldi productions from deep within the Roman's voluminous back catalogue. The two-track 12" debut sees Anibaldi provide the label with a contemporary 'Stretched Edit' of 1994 production "Fusion 1", a cut lifted from the Aeon EP originally released on the now defunct Italian label, ACV. Future Primitive has also given ambient number "Evocation Part II" a full remaster and B-side privileges, honouring an esoteric production from Anibaldi's Void LP that was originally released on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label in 1996.

Review: With the anonymous Anom Vitruv's recent Demos EP for Going Good still on heavy rotation here at Juno HQ, the producer makes a swift return on the German ZCKR label. Deftly showcasing the producer's talents for immersive soundscapes and weighty techno of the dub-leaning variety, the "AI" track of this Untitled EP sees distorted vocals and claustrophobic atmospherics give way to weighty swung beats and sweeping synthetic vistas, something almost like Bee Mask collaborating with Andy Stott. On the flip, "BI" somehow combines the tones of '90s ambient with scorched industrial noise narrated by a sinister vocal. "BII" is an even more extreme trip through texture, where deathly drums and found sound stalk a desolate wasteland of analogue sound. Highly recommended to fans of Blackest Ever Black's output - this is some next level stuff from Anom Vitruv.

Review: Silent Season tap up Antenes for a rare 12", building on the sizable impact her last and only release on L.I.E.S. had back in 2015. Here we get three trips into dark, evocative techno territory as you would expect to find on Silent Season, leading in with the doom-laden march of "Dream Uncreates The Land". "Take Me To The Birds (For A)" ditches the drums and heads straight into the most delicate and stirring of ambient pieces, while "Metra Train Chicago 1000x" makes use of field recordings and processed static to make for an even more immersive listening experience. This is a daring release that eschews the need for functionality to take the listener somewhere else entirely.

Review: Roh!s Records is a Sardinian record label based in Berlin, founded by Andrea Porcu in late 2007. Between 2007 and 2016 the label moved to different countries such as Belgium. They offer a much needed re-issue of Tetsuya Nakamura aka Arc Of Doves' 2014 album "Never Let Me Go" which features emotive piano lines gently floating triumphantly above sharp breakbeats and providing a wonderful contrast. On the flip "Wish You Were Here" is more sombre and mellow, showcasing more of Nakamura's expressive piano skills.

Review: Second time around for Icelandic neo-classical composer Olafur Arnalds' 2018 album "Re:Member". This version, pressed for Record Store Day 2019, boasts a fine bonus 7" containing strings-only re-recordings of three original album tracks ("Saman", "Momentary" and "Nyepi"). These are superb and genuinely compliment the original 12-track set, which was produced using specially created software capable of triggering new musical sequences on "two pianos chained to his primary instrument". This cutting-edge approach, combined with live percussion and the multi-instrumentalist's own considered electronics, resulted in an album that remains thoughtful, mesmerizing and entertaining in equal measure.

Review: Current scene favourite Nils Frahm teamed up with Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Olafur Arnalds on three breath taking excursions through lush ambient textures on "Stare" as a surprise release back in 2012 for label founder Robert Rath. "A1" features Frahm's entrancing irresistible melody over some gorgeous all-consuming strings and glacial soundscapes courtesy of Arnalds. "A2" with its heavenly, transcendental beauty has just got to be heard while "B1" explores darker territory with its excavating soundscapes accompanying the most hauntingly delicate cello notes. Exquisite!

Review: Admired by many since its release, Arovane & Hior Chronik's ethereal ambient album In-between, received wide applause from many and has been held-up as one of the best of 2015. 2016 sees a dream lineup of remixers turn in a spectrum of deeper takes on the original shimmering ambient sound, ranging from immersive drones, to dubtechno and electronica.
Arovane opens up the 12" with a return to his early City Centre Offices sound. After Tomorrow is reworked into a melodic and warm synth-heavy track, that finds an even more ethereal touch than the original.
bvdub's relentless album output has seen him become one of the most respected artists of the genre, yet his remixes are still few and far between. Here, Brock steps up to the plate with a confident, big sound that takes the core of Past Creates The Future, into a completely new yet familiar bvdub territory. Expanding layers embellish on the raw rumbles and strings of the original, with new chords, beats and vocals progressing into an epic nine minutes. It would've been longer if Brock had his way...
The man behind the mixing desk for ASIP, Rafael Anton Irisarri, provides two remixes for the EP. His first, under Herr Irisarri with an unexpected, decaying, granular dub-take on Wunderland. Rafael's dedication to analog production heard throughout, as tiny details and organic changes manipulate and drive the dub-heavy sound.
Arovane and Iran's, Porya Hatami collaborated on Resonance in 2015, so it's of no surprise to see Porya take on Arovane's sound here. Porya provides additional field recordings to lift the already immersive Past Creates The Future, landing on the beautiful cello piece by Aaron Martin to create a final twist in the tale, elaborating on the beautiful instrument found in the original.
Following Markus Guentner's successful ASIP release, the Pop Ambient pioneer dives into his unique, looping ambient sound in style on Scale, embracing more menace and mystery than the original. Markus' new album Theia, has undoubtedly won the hearts of many new ambient fans, who won't be disappointed with this, the latest addition to his expanding contributions to ASIP. The murdered-out all-black artwork represents the juxtaposition between the glistening sounds of the original, and the alternative takes found on the remix EP, featuring heavyweight vinyl and a spot-gloss sleeve, designed by ASIP regular Nick Brzostowski. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri @ Black Knoll Studio.

Review: Earlier this year, acclaimed Artefakt returned to action after two years away, with the Dutch duo joining forces with 012 owner Claudio PRC on an EP of devilishly deep techno workouts. Brain Dripper, which marks the pair's return to Delsin (a label they've long been associated with), is a little trickier to pigeonhole, featuring as it does nods towards the second wave of Aphex Twin's ambient work (see immersive and unsettling opener 'The West'), 'Artificial Intelligence'-style '90s IDM (the post-electro beats, grandiose ambient chords and bubbly acid lines of 'Rail') and buzzing, beat-free ambient trance ('1992'). It's an undeniably impressive EP all told, with the addictively melodious, percussively infectious 'Brain Dripper' and rolling, breakbeat-driven dancefloor beauty of 'Transient Being' standing out.

Review: We have long been fans of the specific sort of techno that Spanish label Semantica deals in. It is always artful and superbly well-designed and this new Artefaklt record totally fits in with that vibe. It finds Dutch pair Robin Koek and Nick Lapien layering up hypnotic drones and linear deep techno drums to perfectly escapist and heady effect on 'Diorama', while intricate sound designs add the sort of details to 'Natura' that make this miscue as suited to home listening on headphones as losing it in a club. 'Natant' is another undulating mix of electronica, ambient and techno that casts your mind free. 'Floodplain' is a heavenly closer.

Review: Artificial DRM debuted earlier this year with a cassette release on Semantica, which announced the arrival of a new player in the European deep techno game. Rubbing shoulders with artists like Artefakt, Aphelion and Korridor, this smart and swift follow-up on Alpengluhen delivers on the promise of that first tape with five pristine plungers to take you 20,000 leagues under. The vast, swooping clouds of ambience on 'Alp02' tell you all you need to know about how deep Artificial DRM is prepared to get, but there's plenty of formal structure in the drums to keep you steadfast in the mix. From lightly pattering meditations to crisp and surefooted workouts, this record delivers as a listening experience as well as a dancing one.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged, but otherwise in excellent condition***


Artificial DRM debuted earlier this year with a cassette release on Semantica, which announced the arrival of a new player in the European deep techno game. Rubbing shoulders with artists like Artefakt, Aphelion and Korridor, this smart and swift follow-up on Alpengluhen delivers on the promise of that first tape with five pristine plungers to take you 20,000 leagues under. The vast, swooping clouds of ambience on 'Alp02' tell you all you need to know about how deep Artificial DRM is prepared to get, but there's plenty of formal structure in the drums to keep you steadfast in the mix. From lightly pattering meditations to crisp and surefooted workouts, this record delivers as a listening experience as well as a dancing one.

Review: UK techno mainstay Kirk Degiorgio has made a lot of great music over the years, much of it under the machine soul/tech-jazz-inspired As One alias. His latest EP is another typically impeccable slab of Motor City inspired tech-soul brilliance. Lead cut 'The Unveiling' is deep, gently uplifting, gloriously spacey and effortlessly far-sighted, bringing bags of emotion as well as authentically crunchy machine drums, immersive pads and awe-inspiring melodies. He opts for an enveloping, otherworldly ambient techno/IDM sound on 'Descend Module', with discordant notes and hallucinatory acid lines riding high in the mix. The EP also boasts two reworks of previously released cuts. Ian O'Brien goes ultra-deep and gently breakbeat-driven on a superb revision of 'The Ladder', before Luke Slater drops a hypnotic, ultra-deep revision of 'Absorption Spectra' as The 7th Plain.

Review: De:tuned is the perfect home for Kirk Degiorgio's As One project, where his steeped history in deep, emotive techno and affinity for jazz melds into some of the most stunning machine soul out there. If you're familiar with the sound you'll be instantly sold on these tracks - they don't just ape a bygone sound like so many are doing with that early 90s UK techno vibe. These pieces take that approach and elevate it - the production soars and the expression comes through in startling high-definition, and that goes for the stellar remixes from Ian O'Brien and Luke Slater in The 7th Plain mode as well.

Review: Only a week or two after dropping the second of two ambient albums in 2022, masterful sound sculptor ASC is back with another release. This one finds him embracing drum & bass on limited coloured vinyl for Past Inside The Present. The majestic Eye Of The Storm is a suspensory trip through the heavens with delicate drum & bass rhythms and lush swathes of synths. 'Reflection' is just as awash with smeared synth beauty over the floating drum breaks, then 'Low Tide' is a lo-fi workout from the depths, a vibe that continues on the more busy and dark 'Life Cycle.' Another exceptional bit of work form the one and only ASC.

Review: James "ASC" Clements has built up a vast discography since making his debut 19 years ago, mixing atmospheric ambient and electronica albums with more floor-focused EPs that see him explore his own particular take on everything from IDM and experimental drum and bass to deep techno and more dub-wise futurist rhythms. This superb double-pack sits somewhere between the two schools, offering up epic, slowly unfurling soundscapes that fix his explorative, head-in-the-clouds chords and melodies to intriguing, club-ready rhythms. He opens with the IDM-influenced deep techno bliss of "Arrival", before exploring similar sonic pastures on the breakbeat-powered iciness of "Redshift". "Blueshift" is a brilliant 17-minute trip into broken techno/ambient techno fusion, while closing cut "Departure" sees Clements casually join the dots between dub space ambient and hazy dub techno.

Review: Past Inside the Present's 'Pulse' series is an investigation into ambient tech and beat-driven ambient sounds. Who better for the job on this second edition than master craftsmen ASC and Joachim Spieth? ASC opens up with 'Tidal Disruption Event', an understated, underwater rhythm with jittery percussive patterns and bright shards of melodic light piercing through the mix as more coarse soundwaves break over the top. Spieth's 'Subtle' is just as artful and delicate a mix of persuasive rhythm and melodic beauty. A classy Nitechord remix closes out this fascinating EP.

Review: Limited to a pressing of just 250 (with a promise of no represses) this clear vinyl release is special in every sense. Powered by some of the most exciting names on the fringes of bass and electronica; each of the four cuts strut with raw melodic futurism. "The Noncolour Entity" rumbles with a dubby techno groove a la Funk D'Void. "Irradiate" comes with an almost Bonobo-like dreaminess while "Lovesick" shakes and shudders with a sub-soaked groove and bright, bold swinging breakbeats. "Glimpse" closes the show on a timeless analogue note. Coming on strong like an old Guy Called Gerald record, it's all synths and classic electro breakbeats. Outstanding.