Sanderson Dear - "A Place For Totems" (extended version) (6:10)
Review: Sanderson Dear's Stasis Recordings released the original Time Capsule compilation in 2020 - a 20-track exploration of ten different ambient techno artists exploring two ideas each in compact form for a box set of 7"s. Now the label has revisited some of the project's standout moments and offered a chance to enjoy extended versions gathered on a single 12". From Maps Of Hyperspace shaping out atmospheric halls of synth work on 'Beta' to Glo Phase offering some gorgeous, sparkling grooves on 'Fire Flies', there's plenty of ground covered on this release. Of course the mighty John Beltran is a big drawer too, and his typically stellar 'The Descendent' doesn't disappoint in its full extended version.
Review: Despite the title sounding like an archive collection, 1994 is actually the debut album from OKRAA. It has an emphasis on live performance and makes for a gorgeously immersive and even evolving listen from the aways excellent A Strangely Isolated Place label. All four pieces are over with minutes but they are worthy of their playing time for the way so much unfolds in such engaging fashion. Synths are cold and innocent on 'Ola De Luz' while 'Heartless' is more textural, dark, heavy in its mood. The title track is another heavy and introspective one while 'Plasma' has a more optimistic feel that lifts the spirts.
Review: It's fair to say Placelessness is the work of an Australian experimental supergroup. Oren Ambarchi has been a towering figure of hyper-minimalism since the mid-80s, most notably creating tense and elongated stretches of recordings and performance using guitar tone. Robbie Avenaim is an accomplished experimental drummer, and Chris Abrahams heads up The Necks. That's a very condensed biography for three incredibly accomplished musicians who finally make good on years of live collaborations and criss-crossed pathways to deliver a stunning album which brings their respective qualities into sharp relief, somehow fuller than their solo efforts without losing the vital subtlety and patience which has guided them to greatness.
Review: Beyond A Moonless Night, a collaboration between Simon Huxtable's Inhmost project and Pierre Nesi's Owl alias, epitomizes chillout bliss. Highlights include 'Autumnal Dew,' a picturesque, nature-infused soundscape perfect for stargazing. Its beauty is awe-inspiring and evocative. 'Zodiacal Clouds' is another standout, shimmering with soft, floaty ambient tones that are simply delightful. On Side-2, 'Infinite Pathways' gives us feelings of being hopeful in a serene enviorment, offering a sense of tranquility and calm. Both artists bring their expertise in ambient music, creating a rich palette of soothing tones and textures. This collaboration is an exciting collaboration we hope to see more from. This is a must for ambient and drone followers.
Unfolding (Volume 2: Into The Pleasure Garden) (12:08)
Entrancement (7:32)
Ravishment (12:33)
I Don't Know I'm Not A Dream (11:08)
Review: Despite what you might assume, O Yuki Conjugate are actually an English duo. Hailing from the country's renowned hinterland somewhere between ambient and industrial, the pair - better known as Roger Horberry and Andrew Hulme - first started the project in 1982, a time in the nation's history that was particularly fertile for sonic experiments of the synthesised kind.
A Tension of Opposites is proof they have lost little of their imagination and creative spark, even decades later. Born in the first year of the pandemic, 2020, both artists worked in isolation and therefore both had different ideas about how a sonic response to the most batshit crazy situation in living memory should sound. The result, then, is a lush, intoxicating, and thoughtful journey through tonalities, resonance, and deep refrains that offers two sides of the same terrifying, traumatic, and life-changing story.
The Gun Pointed At The Head Of The Universe (2:25)
Trace Amounts (1:50)
Under Cover Of Night (3:38)
What Once Was Lost (1:40)
Lament For Pvt Jenkins (1:08)
Devils Monsters (1:28)
Covenant Dance (1:46)
Alien Corridors (1:34)
Rock Anthem For Saving The World (1:18)
The Maw (1:04)
Drumrun (1:00)
On A Pale Horse (1:34)
Perchance To Dream (0:55)
Library Suite (6:37)
The Long Run (2:17)
Suite Autumn (4:19)
Shadows (3:47)
Dust & Echoes (2:59)
Halo (1:11)
Review: In the right circles,, Martin O'Donnell and Michael Savatori are living legends. Working with the iconic US video game company Bungie Inc, the pair put their names on the map - or maybe maps? - by creating soundtracks to a number of high profile titles, either as a duo or individually. O'Donnell is arguably the better known, or at least has the bigger online persona, but both composers deserve plenty of credit. Halo: Combat Evolved was the first title in what is now a huge and genre-defining first person shooter franchise, and the score reflects the emergence of video game music as an integral part of the on-screen action. O'Donnell and Savatori's efforts to ensure instrumentation dramatically changed with events in the game, which is by nature relatively non-linear, was a revelation. While their efforts to separate these into individual suites foresaw the rise of playable stories as films in their own right.
Review: Fourth volume of Library Music miniatures by Daniel O'Sullivan (Ulver, aethenor, This is Not This Heat, etc.) for VHF, this time commissioned by the legendary German Music Library, Sonoton. Another sampling of O'Sullivan's versatility and brilliance as a composer, performer and sound designer, the focus on The Pastoral Machine is more "electronic" compared to the three previous albums O'Sullivan recorded for KPM (also issued on LP by VHF), with simpler arrangements and a focus on gentle and emotive synthesised soundworlds. Even without as many full ensemble arrangements, there's still a wealth of diversity - 'Empathogen' opens the record with latticed arpeggiating sequences recalling Japanese "environmental music" or Persian Surgery-era Terry Riley, 'Fruit Of Stream Entry' burbles with gentle ripples evoking the album's title, while 'The Silversmith Of Space' mines a simple chord sequence evoking Eno's 70s classic short instrumentals. Recalling futurist new-age pop in the vein of Enya or Virginia Astley, the record comes housed in a jacket and heavy euro-style inner featuring collages by O'Sullivan, soon to be the subject of an art book published by Timeless Editions in mid-2024.
Review: Ocean Moon, the alias of Cornwall-based producer and Lo Recordings founder Jon Tye, presents his latest offering, an ambient electronic work imbued with a gentle positivity. Tye, also known for his work with the UK ambient duo MLO, explores themes of artificial intelligence and consciousness evolution throughout the album. Side one delves into AI through a philosophical lens, drawing inspiration from Buddhist perspectives and texts like 'The Physics Of Immortality' and 'Novacene'. Tracks such as 'Ways To The Deep Meadow' and 'Souls Fall Away' offer a refreshing counterpoint to the often-negative portrayals of AI, radiating a sense of optimism and possibility. Side two features two extended compositions created for visual projects. 'Made In Dreams', utilising AI technology, creates an ethereal, warm atmosphere and 'An Ending Full Of Light', composed for Vix Hill Ryder's Wild Edges film, evokes a sense of serenity and resolution. Subtle melodies and delicate touches help craft music that truly nourishes the soul here.
Review: Bordeaux-based producer Franck Zaragoza aka. Ocoeur has always drawn on the natural world as a basis for his sprawling ambient compositions, and his latest album Breath is no exception. Over just six immersive pieces that intend to evoke the gratitude for simply being alive, Zaragoza this time evokes an impressionistic mountainscape, though still combines this romantic image with digital sonic pepperings and minimalist glitch textures throughout.
Review: Franck Zaragoza continues to shape out a vivid catalogue of ambient and soundtrack-oriented work with this latest release on his label n5MD, which celebrates ten years of activity this year. The Bordeaux-based artist has been on a spiritual journey of sorts, which has manifested in the introspective nature of his most recent albums, and the theme continues on Nouveau Depart. His rich and accomplished sound embraces beats and rhythms as expressive tools within his broader compositions, but this is harmonically-minded music first and foremost, crafted with care and rendered in startling detail.
Review: Odopt's Snaker 011, the first release in five years by Snaker and the tenth in their catalogue, marks a compelling full-length debut for the duo. Known for their hypnotic and freaky sound on labels like [Emotional] Especial, Hivern Discs, and Born Free, Odopt delivers a "contemporary library sound" for Snaker Records that defies conventional dancefloor or home listening categorizations. Instead, it offers a unique cinematic soundscape for a fresh auditory experience. Highlights include 'Antimilitarist,' with its experimental broken beat that's subdued yet intriguing. 'Barfold' presents a movie-like quality with a unique groove and production. 'Spakra' features a dark, slow groove with metallic sounds, echo, and a slight EBM influence. 'Mangrove' stands out with its otherworldly, alien sounds. 'Orch Noise' rounds out the album with its atmospheric and distinct character. For those seeking something different and unique, Odopt is here for you.
Review: Off The Sky is an alias for Jason Corder, a prolific ambient electronica artist who broke through in the glory days of the clicks and cuts era. Somewhere near the same zone as Fennesz or the music found on City Centre Offices, Corder's delicate constructions found a magical synergy between fragile melodies and pin-rick sound design, perhaps best demonstrated on his 2005 album Gently Down The Stream. Previously confined to a limited CD distribution, now re:discovery have picked up on the release and given it a full double-vinyl pressing, with the resulting warmth of the sound really lending itself to the cosy beauty of Corder's compositions.
Review: Swiss imprint WRWTFWW continues to do deep dives into the forgotten corners of electronic music history, returning with shining sonic pearls of genuine historic significance. Here they deliver a first ever vinyl pressing of early Japanese electronic music producer (and bona fide experimental hero) Yashio Ojima's 1983 album Club, a set that was originally only released on an exceptionally limited cassette. Given its vintage, the album has held up incredibly well, in part because its unique, unearthly blend of minimalist electro, music concrete-inspired loop experiments, off-kilter ambient soundscapes and picturesque, post new-age soundscapes remains as far-sighted and unusual in 2024 as it did 41 years ago.
Review: OKRAA's La Gran Corriente represents a significant creative turning point for Colombian-born Juan Carlos Torres Alonso. Released via A Strangely Isolated Place, the album follows a transformative experience Juan had in Bogota in May 2023. It was there that he encountered what he describes as "an infinite current behind or inside of everything," a revelation that completely changed his approach to music. Scrapping earlier demos, Juan embraced a more fluid and organic style, abandoning fixed grids and BPMs, and tapping into the spontaneous energy that characterised his other production alias, Laudrup. The result is a hypnotic journey through time and space, as the album's non-linear structures give way to unexpected yet cohesive sonic moments. 'La Gran Corriente' features "happy accidents" throughout, subtle production quirks that contribute to its distinct sound. Central to the project is a poem written by Juan, weaving reflections on time and reality into the fabric of the music. Lines like "the land of oblivion is not real" and "time is an illusion" form the backbone of the album's philosophical undercurrent. The album's release is paired with artwork by Peter Skwiot Smith, with the 2xLP available on limited edition coloured vinyl, fully mastered by Taylor Deupree.
Review: A Strangely Isolated Place has secured this second most captivating album from One Million Eyes. They impressed many with their magical debut album Drama back in 2021 and once again reach new heights in the world of ambient here with Iris. Their brand of ambient is relatively fulsome, with lots to focus on from the smeared and pastoral chords to the muted synth modulations, the vinyl crackle, distant vocal cries and the heavenly backlit glow. It is an absorbing and positive place to be with a sense of optimism colouring the airwaves thought.
Review: Having firmly established himself as one of the foremost experimental producers of the past decade with albums like Replica, Returnal, and Rifts, Daniel Lopatin here makes the logical move to electronic music bastion Warp Records. On first listen R Plus Seven is quite unlike any of his other records, largely eschewing the arpeggiated drones of his early work and sample-based collages of his last album for something much more vivid. Coming across like a combination of the emotive minimalism of Terry Riley and Steve Reich, and the hyperreality of James Ferraro's Far Side Virtual, R Plus Seven nevertheless stakes its own claim in the world of post-everything electronic music, combining delicate, introspective moods with shocking moments of recognisable sonic signification. Quite possibly Lopatin's best album to date.
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