Back catalogue: Ambient/Drone

Review: "The inquisitive, investigative and analytical listening of the earliest works of artists such as Robert John Brown and Sean Booth, Mike Paradinas or Jochem George Paap influenced me a lot during the execution of this EP.," writes Eduardo De La Calle about his incredible four-track offering, Frei Aber Einsam. Straddling ambient, acid, electro, smoky breaks and epic electronica sounds, these are tunes you can really get lost in and that's unlikely to change regardless of how many times you hit play. Innovative approaches to arranging synth stuff add an air of genuine rareness to the sounds, with 'Lobha' opening on a timeless hardcore-style break before dissipating first into a gorgeous heads down bassline rhythm before serenity and fade to joy. 'Himsa' is a glitchier affair, packed with micro-percussion and these retro refrains, while 'Magadha' is an epic, deceptively low end driven slice of sonic heaven.

Review: Prolific composer and ambient explorer Sarah Davachi presents a new, longform commissioned work on her own Late Music label. 'Long Gradus' was the result of an invitation to Quator Bozzini's Composer's Kitchen residency in the Netherlands, which was supposed to take place in 2020 but was unsurprisingly postponed, giving rise to an extended composition time. While Davachi has explained the composition could be performed on a number of different orchestral arrangements, she considers the string quartet version, captured on this double-disc pressing, as the definitive one. Slow and sustained, and quietly captivating, it's another marvel from one of the greatest composers of the modern age.