Review: Space jungle master ASC returns with 'Hiding In Plain Sight', except this one is certainly not part of his usual repertoire. Rather than being drum n' bass, the producer focuses entirely on atmosphere and unusual rhythmic ambientscapes, leaning into electro when beats do pick up. Largely, though, this is a project that encourages sublime awe at the cosmos through huge synthwork, rather than drawing attention to its beats - a common trope for ASC. Favourites of ours include 'Orbiting Neptune' and 'Galaxies', both of which prove ASC has much more up his sleeve than most of his EP bits might reveal.
Review: Reportedly inspired by its' creator's thoughts about the impact of humans on the earth (and specifically the sentient life we share the planet with), Alexander Gluck's second album as Aware is an undeniably bittersweet affair. He's already proved adept at crafting atmospheric ambient pieces underscored by exceptional sound design, and Requiem For a Dying Animal takes this up a notch - not only by wresting every last drop of emotional weight from his chords, melodies and musical motifs, but also thanks to a subtle air of neo-classical grandiosity. The four cuts on show - with the near 18-minute closing cut offering a genuinely breath-taking conclusion - combine to create one evocative, slowly-shifting piece smothered in experimental sounds and tweaked field recordings.
Review: Grand River's always-illuminating One Instrument label reawakens with a new album from Martin Sander and Michel Isorinne's Bandhagens Musikforening project. Having previously appeared on Northern Electronics and Semantica, now these two advanced synthesists place all their attention on a select few studio pieces to see how far they can take them. First up is the Roland System 100, which affords them plenty of tonal possibilities for the pulsing, kinetic 'Nedgravd I Naturen'. With the Yamaha DX-7 they create a towering ambient piece of FM synthesis, while the Roland SH-101 gets applied to a dense and detailed slice of obtuse leftfield techno. The Oberheim Matrix 6R becomes a vehicle for cinematic melancholy, and the Waldorf Microwave teases out an immersive swirl of ambience as you might well expect from the One Instrument series.
Review: Take it from us - you want to get to know Denovali Germany on an intimate level. The label has been putting out tearjerking contemporary classical and far-reaching electronic compositions since 2005, lays claim to its own festival of forward thinking music and generally doesn't put a foot wrong. Home to the likes of Electro Guzzi and Les Fragments De La Nuit, it's an imprint and then some, to put it mildly.
Dalhous' The Composite Moods Collection is another one for the ages - the kind of album that you're bound to come back to for years because each play through seems to reveal new layers and elements that may not have presented themselves immediately. While for the most part this is all ambient, there are elements here that take us into much more muscular and ferocious ends, from 'Everything Is Bleeding' to the cinematic tension of 'Open As A Glade Unfolding'.
Review: The ninth release from Worst Records finds Jonnah asking, "what makes a being? What tends to be, always, and yet remains never achieved?" across the five adventurous tracks of his limited Mental & Physical EP. It is rhythmically loose, with tough broken beats, dark dubstep and new age infused ambient designs all magian this a glimpse into the future of our world. The mood ranges from uneasy to contemplative, the energies from blissed out to dark and oppressive. It is a well realised sound world that draws you in deep and has you questioning everything.
Review: What is the difference between here and there?
What are the differences between countries and races?
between men and women?
children and adults?
you and me?
We are supposed to be the same person, but we are all different.
We look different, we were born and raised in different environments.
Our personalities are also different.
These differences create interest and new discoveries,
but they also create discrimination and prejudice,
which leads to division.
In recent years, this situation seems to have become more pronounced.
"You and I are different.
But sometimes I might be the same as you."
In this uncertain world,
this is what I wanted to express in this music.
--K Nogami
Krispy Kat Whack - "Live At The Lube Room" (26:32)
Review: "The Next World Sound Series is a collection of work by contemporary sound artists working in long form instrumental composition and translated to the tangible medium of vinyl. These modern day offerings capture the analog quality and experience of last century electronic recordings, presented to you with today's technological advances in home playback, for your environmental listening pleasure." Or so say heads at the iconic and truly enigmatic label Dark Entries of this latest addition to their catalogue. A collection of work that spans the strangely frantic sci-fi tones of 'Oberenginen 0930' to the almost monastic drone of 'Soma', dubbed and muffled drums and vocals on 'Lixsm', club-ready broken beats of 'Destruct', and the evocative futurist refrains and samples of 'John Gore'. As expansive as it is exploratory and adventurous, you'll need to set aside some serious listening time for your first play here.
Until The Ceiling Collapses Under The Weight Of Our Guilt (5:21)
Open Doorways (2:57)
Haunted (3:49)
Marching With Pride Toward Your Deat (3:56)
Snowstorm (3:08)
The Demon From Beyond The Stars (6:24)
Review: Antoni Maiovvi has written what is descried as a semi-faux soundtrack for his latest album, done in the style of classic British composers who have worked in cinema over the years. It's a collection of unused themes for a movie that never made use of them. It's a mix of eerie string sounds and gurgling synths, dark vocals and unsettling broodiness on the opener and from there danceable horror themes come thick and fast. Dead of Winter comes on limited edition blue and grey vinyl so it looks as good as it sounds.
Review: Although experimental in nature - most of his music is made from crackling, ultra-atmospheric tape loops - Gareth Quinn Redmond's music is breathlessly beautiful and universally beguiling. He's already proved that on his previous LPs - not least 2019's Satoshi Ashikawa-inspired 'Laistigh Den Ghleo' - but once again confirms it on 'Ar Ais Aris'. He describes the eight-track set as "daydreaming environmental music full of accidental miracles and soothing backdrops", and that's an apt description. Ghostly melodies and enveloping chords, sometimes manipulated for extra wooziness, emerge from dense forests of tape hiss and static, creating becalmed ambient soundscapes that tend towards the poignant and picturesque. There aren't many copies around, so we'd recommend pre-ordering to secure a copy.
Review: If you've ever been luck enough to attend the Freerotation music festival than plenty about this remix package will make sense. Not least the interpretation by event co-founder and modular synth hero Steevio, here delivering a remix on vinyl for the first time. Bringing in elements of jazz, ambient, field recordings, dub, house music and - albeit barely audible - subtle shades of tech, it's a sophisticated package that fully buys into the theory of electronic sounds being a form of high art. Running the gamut from the stepping, poised but decidedly free spirited 'Lucid' and Deadbeat's tense, drone-y take on'Sam Gimignano', to the lush keys and white noise of Andrea Cicheki's redo of 'Siegfried 2.0' and Dr Nojoke's beautifully blissed out smoky house, it's as dense as it is accomplished.
Review: Roy Of The Ravers takes a break from his mischievious outings on Acid Waxa et al to lay down some of his braindance tackle on Emotional Response. White Line Sunrise II.I (Le Roy Soleil) can rightly be considered a follow-up to White Line Sunrise II and indeed it represents a similar kind of spectrum of electronica. Roy's sound is edging further into the kind of 'artist' territory where slower, softer tracks, odd vocal diversions and some pop sensibilities merge with the acid, electro, breakbeat and other well-established tropes of his sound. It's the kind of record which could easily broach this quirky fringe operator of UK electronics to a broader fan base, and there's no doubt he's got the melodic, emotional heft on tracks like 'Versace 101624' to get everyone on board.
Review: Japanese harpist Ayako Shinozaki's 1974 release 'Music Now For Harp' is a rarity, a sprawling journey through strings, percussion and electrochord that culminates in a 25-minute ambient piece 'Heterodyne (Or Surfing)'. It's magical and gripping, and is finally being released outside of Japan for the first time - a remastering and reissue in collaboration between Nippon Columbia and French label Wewantsounds. The sounds are otherworldly and entrancing, 'Stanza II' is evocative of a horror-themed Kabuki display, the strings deftly floating around a poignant aura of droning tension. Featuring the original artwork from Kohei Sugiura, this new package comes adorned with an obi belt and a booklet with liner notes from Alan Cummings.
She Thought Her Life Was Overwhelming Already, But Today It All Changes (19:19)
As She Connects To Lives She Could Have Led, The Real Challenge Is Making Sense Of This Life Here & Now (19:02)
She Fights With Incredible Martial Arts, But How Do You Fight The Meaninglessness Of Infinity? (18:47)
From A Hopeless Place, She Must Learn A New Way To Fight, With Love (21:04)
Review: Son Lux grew from Ryan Lott's solo project into a fully-fledged band with Ian Chang and Rafiq Bhatia, and their star has steadily ascended from indie hip-hop territory to creating this Oscar-nominated soundtrack for one of the most talked-about films of the past year. It's a sure sign Son Lux are in the premier league now, and following the release of the soundtrack comes the official score, presented across four extended suites taking up whole sides of vinyl. This limited gatefold black and white pressing of the album gives the striking sonics the release they deserve.
Mi Mi Mi - "Masanori Nozawa" (1917 JP edit) (4:01)
Review: Leading Japanese ambient label Astrollage herald a new year with a two-part compilation which comes in contrasting installments. Medium Ambient Collection 2022 (White Version) seems to have landed two years behind schedule, but what does it matter in the time-shifting surrounds of delicate beatless sonics. There's a reliable focus on cascading sequences and slow-release drones across the exquisite pieces on this double-vinyl release, which features outstanding work from artists including H. Takahashi, Shohei Takata and Kazuma Okabayashi. If you prize refined ambience above all else, this release will more than meet your expectations.
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