Back catalogue: Ambient/Drone

Review: Ten year anniversary? Has it really already been ten years since Recondite's sophomore album 'Hinterland' came out?! Recondite almost single-handedly was responsible in many peoples eyes for the resurgence in techno during the early 2010s. After beating down the doors of Ghostly International for many years, the fans finally get their wish in the shape a new, shiny reissue. Coming on smokey black vinyl this time, nobody has a reason to not have this record in their collection. Included are legendary tracks like 'Stems', 'Clouded' and 'Leafs'. Many think that not only is this the best Recondite album but one of the best techno albums of the year 2013.

Review: Claire Rousay continues her compelling evolution with this stunning new album on Thrill Jockey. sentiment once again finds threads of instrumentation and field recordings interweaving with snatches of poetry, dialogue and of course rousay's heart-rending vocal turns. The lens on this particular record is focused on loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt and sex, captured in moments of heartfelt songwriting and passages of experimental, ambient exploration. It's simultaneously challenging and immediately endearing, adding ever more depth to rousay's intriguing profile as she dabbles in pop without ever compromising her experimental instincts.

Review: Claire Rousay's Sentiment album is a captivating exploration of poignant emotional landscapes, encompassing themes of loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt, and sensuality. Through a blend of experimental and ambient music, Rousay deftly incorporates textural found sounds, sumptuous drones, and candid field recordings to create music that celebrates life's banalities with granular detail. Rousay's vocals and guitar take centre stage, conveying a powerful desire for connection amidst a backdrop of resignation. The album that balances vulnerability with innovation, delivering anthemic yet deeply personal songs that resonate with listeners on an emotional level. Sentiment is a blissfully melancholic and undeniably sensual listening experience.

Review: Los Angeles-based Canadian-American experimentalist Claire Rousay has made a name for herself due to her unique approach to post-rock-inflected ambience built off of primitive DIY field recordings captured on a Zoom H5 Handy Recorder, resulting in a curious form of emo musique concrete or "emo-ambient". Following on from a myriad of collaborations, projects, and singles, Sentiment marks her first full-length to put her usually hidden voice front and centre; utilising auto-tune to craft emotive hyper-folk musings delivered with androgynous hues. Described as a "meditation of the poignant emotional terrains of loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt, and sex"; Rousay uses fractured narratives and one-way conversations to deliver painfully relatable, often uncomfortable musings, smothered beneath layers of droning reverb, monotonous acoustic plucking, and everyday sounds almost too familiar to pinpoint. The end result is the musical equivalent to our inner monologue at its lowest ebb, nattering incessantly while the world moves on around us, while sonically, it's the culmination of all Rousay's experimentation thus far, yet simultaneously more fearless and fragile.