In All This, There Is A Melody That You Can Sing & To Which You May Dance (10:36)
Oh Fragrant Witness (5:23)
Review: Accomplished Swedish-Finnish artist Marja Ahti arrives on Black Truffle with an extended journey into her electro-acoustic practice. As you might expect from a release on Oren Ambarchi's label, there's an emphasis on sustained tonal immersion, but Ahti is equally prepared to make decisive cuts and shifts in direction when the moment calls for it. At times surrounded by environmental static, elsewhere drawing us close to consider a specifically sculpted tone, Tender Membranes is a captivating invitation to pause and truly listen, and makes the task surprisingly approachable through the compelling nature of the sounds contained within.
Review: As Biosphere, Norwegian producer Geir Jenssen pretty much defined a whole genre of ambient music across several seminal albums. In 2011, his N Plants outing was another critically acclaimed one that took inspiration from the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Every track on the album is named after a Japanese nuclear plant and features a warm, diffuse glow that never leaves you. Rhythms are suggested by the rippling of synths or tumbling of chords as distant hues, soft glow keys and fuzzy vinyl crackle all bring each track to life in a way that makes it as good in the foreground as the background.
Review: Starting life as a side-project of Cave psych-voyager Cooper Crain, Bitchin Bajas have quickly made their presence felt as experts in both inner and outer space-the drone-based and meditative strains of the three releases they've embarked on to date see them following in a lineage of electronic repetition that takes in such visionary figures as Terry Riley, Harmonia and Eno. The tracks on this fourth release function as a pathway to altered states, yet also work beautifully on an ambient level, connecting the dots between the now and the '70s, yet also the earth and the stars.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Trojan Horus (part 1) (5:03)
Trojan Horus (part 2) (2:30)
Lam Vril (4:27)
Truth Benders DIE (3:22)
Bolt 23 Blue Screen Ov Death (1:45)
Alt/Return/Dash/Kill (2:14)
Bolt 777 Ordinary Boy (4:04)
Drexian City RIDE (1:23)
Remote Viewing (feat Steven Severin) (3:12)
Gummi Void (2:31)
Machine Machina (2:15)
The Stele Of Revealing (1:27)
Songs For Other People (2:57)
Break Down On Lake Shore Drive (2:00)
Bolt 33 Glitch & Chin (2:20)
Sudden Intake (4:49)
4 3s 555 (part 1) (2:49)
4 3s 555 (part 2) (4:27)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Album number six from Sheffield's electronic heroes The Black Dog was closer to their debut, Bytes, than anything that came in between. "We never set out to make it like Bytes," group member Martin Dust has since explained. "My idea was to create something you could come home to after you'd just ben to a club or gig, that would start at the right pace and then just wind down into a great album and just chill out." Suffice to say, they achieved that and then some. Silenced is an example of downtempo that still feels like it has one foot in the rave, sounds informed by 4AM highs and 10AM quiet, here made precious through the use of blissful and complex tones that envelop and encase your mind. A record everyone should own.
Review:
After his surprise drop with music writer and producer Blackdown on the Keysound label last month, the enigmatic Burial is now back with a fresh new EP all of his own. It comes on his longtime home of Hyperdub and features two more of his deft designed, ghostly deep dubstep post-nightbus joints. 'Chemz' is a strict raver filled with rushed up sounds, plenty of dance floor love and big hooks that is many different tracks, moods and vibes all rolled into one. As always, these Burial sounds look back to go forwards and do so in thrilling fashion.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Track 1 (13:57)
Track 2 (18:42)
Track 3 (14:26)
Track 4 (11:50)
Track 5 (16:00)
Track 6 (17:20)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
Wolfgang Voigt's seminal project Gas returns with a definitive reissue of its eponymous debut album, originally released in 1996 on Mille Plateaux and now presented anew by Kompakt on a lavish 3x12 vinyl set. This release marks a long-awaited return to the pure essence of Gas, as initially envisioned by Voigt. Before this full-length debut, hints of Gas's distinctive sound surfaced through early EPs and compilation tracks, showcasing Voigt's knack for ambient electronic landscapes. Gas unfolds across six expansive, untitled tracks that drift seamlessly, each a mesmerising journey of ethereal loops and rhythmic undercurrents. Voices from distant classical motifs echo faintly, adding to the album's enigmatic allure. While later albums like Zauberberg and Konigsforst would refine and deepen the Gas aesthetic, this debut stands out for its airy, evocative mood and its more fluid, exploratory nature. It captures Gas at a moment of artistic genesis, where Voigt's sonic vision begins to crystallise amidst dreamlike textures and subtle rhythmic structures. Gas, in its reissued form, not only revisits a pivotal moment in electronic music history but also serves as a testament to Voigt's enduring influence and avant-garde spirit, setting the stage for its legendary successors.
Review: "So so beautiful" is apparently the phrase contemporary classical hero Ryuichi Sakamoto used to describe the work of Keith Kenniff, AKA Goldmund. The latter's latest, The Time It Takes, certainly fits that bill. A stunning, serene and quietly powerful collection of sonic stories that seem to tell tales of hope, heartbreak, love and loss without resorting to words.
Largely centred on Kenniff's deft piano skills, the keys act as focal points on which bigger and more ethereal arrangements hang. Tracks like 'Of No Other' and 'Day In Day Out' take the producer's minimalist spirit to heart, limiting the scale of background sounds to distant echoed refrains, while 'Memory Itself' and several others embrace the principles of drone ambient with arrangements that seem to develop without us ever noticing. A hushed epic, to say the least.
Summer Sketch (Floating Through Space On A Dream) (5:10)
Review: Following their latest maxi-EP for Infine, 'Silent Sky', Kaito (a beatsmith's production alias of a towering name, none other than Hiroshi Watanabe) returns for Collection, his newest album for Infine. Celebrated for his contributions to the "enviro-ambient" scene in his home Japan, Collection marks the latest reminiscence under Watanabe's Kaito pseudonym, which was started in 2001 after visit to Europe and subsequent release on the Kompakt label. With "Kaito" meaning both "universe" and "secret" depending on its usage, Collection is comprised of ambient, quiescent and melodic tunes which serve as individual therapies for the ear, despite their dual esoteric and cosmic quality.
Review: No prizes for guessing the kind of sonic avenues we're invited to explore here. Less obvious is the fact Kandodo is actually Simon Price, a name many psych lovers will recognise from British heavyweights The Heads - a group that have spent the last few decades bending minds to their will, or at least sound, and opening up third ears with far reaching cosmic tones. Here you can expect similar wormholes to open, but dark matter reigns supreme. Introverted to the point of collapsing in on itself, Theendisinpsyche feels sludgy, deep, heavy and all the things that make us look down and then inside ourselves. With the B-side taken up by 22-minute long epic, 'Swim Into The Sun', you should hopefully know just how intense and inescapable things get - which should only ever be taken as a strong recommendation from us.
Review: Planet Mu main man Mike 'Mu-ziq' Paradinas and Hannah Davidson AKA Mrs Jynx have long been friends, though it took shared grief (both had a parent who succumbed to cancer over the last couple of years) to finally get together in the studio and make some therapeutic music. The results, as showcased on Secret Garden, are nothing less than sublime; a set of highly emotive, picturesque tracks that mix bittersweet bliss and heart-aching musical melancholia with brief blasts of aural sunniness and rushing bliss. It's rooted in ambient and electronica, of course, but also includes a number of hypnotic, dancefloor ready excursions and rhythmic, soft-touch epics. Above all though, it's as melodious and colourful as it is poignant and thought-provoking, offering a surprisingly on-point musical translation of the grieving process.
Review:
Australian improvisational trio The Necks have been putting on superb live performances for decades. This new album is the best capturing of that yet on vinyl with four sub-20-minute pieces across four sides of wax which rather bucks their usual trend of offering up 60-minute arcs. This, their 19th album, is the result of the band all getting together each day to play off the cuff for 20 minutes. Bassist Lloyd Swanton explains of the process that "it's a really nice communal activity to bring us together in focus each day, and some lovely music has resulted from it." He's not wrong.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Stains (2:48)
Quiet In A World Full Of Noise (3:56)
Traditions (3:19)
Diets (2:28)
Stay (1:54)
Life In Numbers (4:11)
Moments For Stillness (2:00)
The Dancer (2:31)
Breath Out (2:59)
To Remove (2:16)
Ocean Past (2:36)
Try (5:34)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn reunite for new album Quiet in a World Full of Noise, which is driven by their shared curiosity and desire to defy genre conventions. Following their 2022 collaboration Pigments, this new work together blends atmospheric, orchestral soundscapes with soulful jazz and intimate, confessional vocals and the result is a raw and exposed performance from Richard who delivers stark lyricism that feels both personal and profound. The album redefines the worlds of progressive, avant-garde r&b and jazz with an ethereal yet grounded approach, heavenly melodies and plenty of wide open space in which to luxuriate. By merging the familiar with the unexpected, this fine pair create a sound that makes a lasting impression.
The Aquatic Garden Of Extra-celestial Delights (11:40)
Juggling Molecules (9:16)
Further Adventures In Shpongleland (6:15)
The Epiphany Of Mrs Kugla (6:37)
Ticking The Amygdala (8:35)
Review: Sphongle continue to gift their fans with these exquisite reissues of their illustrious catalogue, catching up to more recent times with the richly dynamic sound of Museum Of Consciousness. This 2013 epic leant in on every dimension of Simon Ponsford and Raja Ram's sound, at once bristling with kinetic electronica energy while keeping their much-loved mysticism front and centre. It's a trip, like a Sphongle album should be, but it's also got a certain bite which more than stands up to the rigours of the modern dancefloor. One of the group's great skills has been in moving with the times while staying true to a certain deep-rooted, festival-friendly playfulness. Grab a slice of cosmic delight, freshly remastered for your brain to happily feast on.
Buried At Westwood Memorial Park, In An Unmarked Grave, To The Left Of Walter Matthau
Tissue Of Lies
Pelagic Swell
Stock Horror
Dim Hopes
As Above Perhaps So Below
Mexican Helium
We Were Vaporised
(Don’t Go Back To) Boogerville
Review: Adam Wiltzie is an American-born, Belgium-based ambient composer, sound designer, film soundtracker and one half of A Winged Victory For The Sullen. His latest album-length suite was inspired by two things: a recurring dream in which people die after listening to his music, and a fascination with sodium pentathol, a barbiturate routinely used as a general anaesthetic. It's a kind of musical exploration of - to paraphrase his label's accompanying press release - tiptoeing between beauty and oblivion, or sleepiness and wakefulness. Mixed by Loop man Robert Hampson and featuring strings recorded in Budapest, the album ebbs and flows majestically, with billowing orchestral moments nestling side by side with creepy ambience, immersive and dream-like soundscapes, simmering melodic motifs and the kind of arty but enveloping fare that reminded us a little of the Orb and Robert Fripp's mid-90s FFWD project.
Review: Amongst the many Hiroshi Yoshimura albums to enjoy a reissue in recent years, it's astonishing it's taken until now for someone to do right by Surround. Yoshimura's legacy (and second hand value) has shot up since the resurgent appreciation of ambient music from Japan and some his most treasured albums have ridden waves of online algorithms to become wildly popular and highly sought after. The prices on original copies of this 1986 album tell you all you need to know, but thankfully Temporal Drift are here to present a high-end reissue of this masterful piece of ambient escapism, crafted by a true master of the genre. This is the blue vinyl pressing, all the better to dive into head first.
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