A slip case to house all the editions of the VIRUS series, presented in an eco-friendly, cream shaded Muken paper.
Notes: We always expect high-grade aesthetics from Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto to match their exacting, elevated musical collaborations. The VIRUS series is their most recent run of works, encompassing five albums - Vrioon, Insen, Revep, Utp_, and Summvs (reMASTER), but up until now the albums have existed as separate nodes of crisp electronic expression. Organised record hoarders rejoice, because now Noton are releasing a slip case to house all the editions, presented in an eco-friendly, cream shaded Muken paper. Note, there’s no music in here - it’s purely a vessel for the music contained within.
Review: Exit North is a four-piece made up of Ulf Jansson, Charles Storm, Steve Jansen and Thomas Feiner, exploring classically-charged post-rock and taut songwriting wrapped around brooding soundscapes. After their debut back in 2018 the band are finally back for a follow-up. Recorded in Gothenburg and featuring an expansive cast of contributors, Anyway Still is a rich, engrossing listening experience full of poise and patience to match the grandiose musicality. In their considered approach, the pauses and rests are as vital as the notes played, all led by Feiner's cracked, compelling singing.
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: 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.
Hildur Gudnadottir: For Petra (Recording Session - orchestral) (8:44)
Hildur Gudnadottir: Tar: 2) Allegro (4:12)
Johnny Burke & Jimmy Van Hausen: Here's That Rainy Day (2:42)
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No 5 In C Sharp Minor: 1) Trauermarsch, 2) Sturmisch Bewegt & 4) Adagietto (Rehearsals) (7:44)
Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto In E Minor Op 85: 4) Allegro (Recording Session) (12:37)
Elisa Vargas Fernandez: Cura Mente (2:19)
Review: It's not often you get to talk about a classical supergroup. It's debatable whether the term supergroup really exists in the classical realm, although Tar, or, to use the full title, Tar (Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture) is probably as close as you'll get to proving that it does. Evidence is coming, so don't worry.
The work of Academy Award, two-time Grammy Award, and Primetime Emmy Award-winning Icelandic composer, cellist and general shapeshifter Hildur Ingveldardottir Gudnadottir (who has recorded with Throbbing Gristle and Pan Sonic, and toured alongside Sunn O))) and Animal Collective), she's only gone and blown the bloody doors off/drafted the Dresden Philharmonic, London Contemporary Orchestra, and London Symphony Orchestra for this incredible outing, which not only offers sublime tracks but glimpses of the record process itself.
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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