Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Markus Guentner takes a deep dive into experimental soundscapes on this wonderful seven-track album for Affin. They find him venturing into new sonic territories while preserving his signature ambient textures on top of sleek rhythms and intertwined with haunting melodies and an eerie ethereal edge. These pieces show his knack for layering intricate electronic sound designs into slowly transformative worlds of widescreen and cinematic musical storytelling. It all adds up to a great place to get lost - sometimes in deep and dark introspection, sometimes with a more optimistic vibe.

Review: Markus Guentner's story continues where his last album, 'Theia' left off with another set of epic atmospheres and brave new worlds. This time Markus enlists the skills of harpist; Tom Moth, cellist; Julia Kent and fellow ambient storyteller; bvdub to complete the journey.

From fiery remnants, a universal rhythm emerged.
An ebb and flow of force and fate,
creating worlds within worlds,
forever connected by an infinite empire.

Markus Guentner's 2015 album, 'Theia' took us back to the mythological impact that birthed the Earth's moon. The creation of the galaxy as we know it today was being born and more specifically, the eventual rise of the human species followed. This is where Empire takes its cue, continuing the story and portraying the connection and many interactions between the Earth, the Universe and the mystifying forces amongst them.

Be it physical, scientific or mythological, Empire draws on the ebb and flow relationship the Earth has with the deeper, unknown space around us. Markus dives into sometimes sinister, but always majestic territories with his unique manipulation of looping drones, textures and gradual atmospheres. The album and its planned progression, combine back-and-forth chapters between Markus' own productions and collaborations, representing the different perspectives between the unknown worlds.

Beginning 'Offworld', in a dark and distant, swirling ambient chasm, Empire then moves into manipulating shards of light, with Canadian cellist Julia Kent adding a stirring yet poignant element to the growing void.

Icelandic for "hiding", 'Fura' finds us back in the emptiness, but this time with a sense of hope as fluorescent molecules - future stars - gather and birth new worlds. A return to terra firma, and slow-motion grass moves all around you - a future mirage depicting a new vision of beauty that's yet to be formed, brought to you alongside fellow master of emotive ambient, bvdub.

The dream is cut short and you then find yourself in the void of 'Nun' - the God of Egyptian Mythology - as echoes of man and cities once alive, are drowned out by an ever-present mysterious force and a subtle, alien static. All is not dark however, as harpist Tom Moth (Florence and the Machine) brings a shimmering, angelic shine, as you witness the growing energy and birth of the sun - the leader, life, and power amongst the Empire.

Its birth; the 'New World Order', closing with a slow churning, atmospheric piece that is both complex and elemental, gracious and sinister, dark, yet in many ways hopeful for all that remains.This is the Empire as we know it today.

Empire will be available on marbled transparent orange and black vinyl (including digital download) and digital formats on June 11th 2018.

Review: There was chaos and violence, a collision of dark matter and heat. In the maelstrom, a legacy was created and a new moon born. She left something here forever. But amongst infinite black depths, Theia rages on.
Depicting the legendary impact of the planet Theia, Pop Ambient pioneer Markus Guentner returns to vinyl, with a highly anticipated full-length LP on A Strangely Isolated Place.
The evolution of a historic astrological moment is brought to life through a dramatic, evolving soundscape that only Markus could capture. Drones build upon swathes of light, cut by an ever-present sense of fear. The distant shine of stars puncture a pitchblack canvas, as a force gathers momentum and intensifies. Theia's tortuous movement slowly builds in front of you, and the inevitable moment of impact creeps closer and louder. The destruction is desolate, dramatic and beautiful all at once.
Markus has become synonymous with this unique style of ambient music over the years, stretching between intensely layered, looping rhythms, and subtle rolling dubtechno. His early releases on Kompakt set the tone for the respected Pop Ambient sound, through genre defining tracks such as Express Yourself. Markus went on to release albums with Sending Orbs, Ware, Affin and most recently Moodgadget, as well as a Places Series EP for A Strangely Isolated Place (Talking Clouds) and remixes for the label's debut LP, Uncharted Places.
This is Markus' first dedicated vinyl release since 2006, and with it comes the care and attention to detail deserved of such a return. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, RAI also lends his hand to one track, manipulating an
entire soundscape with nothing but his signature guitar.
Pressed on transparent vinyl allowing the artwork to shine amongst the void, ASIP creative talent Nick Brzostowski has turned the artist's vision into a piece of art, with his meticulous custom design.

Review: Markus Guentner returns with his signature expansive ambient world-building, and the third concept album on A Strangely Isolated Place, titled Extropy. Extropy marks the final chapter in an accidental triptych of Astronomy-related exploratory albums on A Strangely Isolated Place. From the creation of the Earth and the Moon in his debut album on ASIP, Theia; to the relationship the Earth holds with the greater Galaxy in the follow-up album, Empire (2018). To now, Extropy, and the indefinite growth of the life we hold so dearly.

Review: Markus Guentner returns to his longstanding label, A Strangely Isolated Place, following the triptych of Theia, Empire, and Extropy, presenting eight inspiring collaborations on Kontrapunkt. The longstanding cinematic ambient artist adds to a string of collaborative records with a high-octane octet of dialogic fragments, all of which err towards ethereal. Karen Vogt, Arovane, Hollie Kenniff and Abul Mogard all star on the record, suggesting neoclassical music shouldn't be kept so anaclitically divided between artists; that the form of remixing and featuring should be borrowed from pop and dance music. Best among this supreme stock of sound-vapour has to be the naturalistic ablations heard on 'Ancestral Images' or the august drumrolls and big hits of 'Utopian Fragments'.

Review: German pair Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth rightly got plenty of acclaim for their 2023 ambient album Overlay and now it gets revisited with a top selection of remixes that breathe new life into the original compositions. Prominent ambient and experimental artists such as Hollie Kenniff, Rafael Anton Irisarri and Pole all show their class while newer names like Abul Mogard smears synths into a misty wonder on 'Scope', Galan/Vogt layer in angelic vocal tones to 'Valenz' and Leandro Fresco brings a lightness of touch that fills with optimism on opener 'Apastron. Guentner and Spieth themselves provide two alternate versions of their originals that bring new emotional and sonic depth.