Back in stock: Ambient/Drone

Review: Beau operates at the sharp end of the UK electronic underground and creates an immersive, dark ambient sound that is influenced by trailblazers like Burial. His soundscapes combine ethereal textures with moody rhythms and that is very much the case here on Lacuna, his new album for Feat PLAtes. It is full of roomy sounds, icy glass synths, smeared pads, late-night moods and evocative atmospheres that draw you in ever deeper, sometimes looking over your shoulder, always lost in deep thought. A real lost tape from the short-lived night bus genre, you could say.

Review: Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe join forces on a dual release infusing two distinct musical visions rooted in shared environmental concern. Their new joint release unfolds across two sides, with Luminal offering a vocal-led collection leaning into alt-pop ambiances and timbres, before Lateral rears itself in counterpart as a seamless ambient composition, making up a study in contrast and connection. Recorded in London, the project reflects Eno's lifelong exploration of mood and atmosphere, alongside Wolfe's ongoing push to blur the lines of digital innovation and tactile experience. The project builds the activist art works of Wolfe, a British-American concept artist based in Los Angeles, named by WIRED as one of "22 people changing the world," and tracks the expression of music beyond language or form.

Review: French composer Jean-Michel Jarre, world renowned for pioneering electronic music on a grand scale, emerges here in his formative years, already pushing at the edges of sound. Created in 1972 while working at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales, this early studio project captures a young innovator experimenting with an EMS VCS3 and a Farfisa organ. Tracks like 'Music Box Concerto' and 'Synthetic Jungle' weave eerie melodies into mechanical rhythms, while 'Rain Forest Rap Session' and 'Exasperated Frog' embrace playful abstraction. Jarre himself called it a "pirate record," assembled in his student room and smuggled from GRM's studios after hours. A raw, unfiltered glimpse into his early creative instincts, it foreshadows the expansive, cinematic style that would later define his career.

Review: Rod Modell's Music For Bus Stations, released by Silentes in Italy, is a masterful exploration of ambient and dub techno that immerses listeners in a transcendent soundscape. Known for his Detroit roots and innovative use of old-school recording techniques like tape loops and echo devices, Modell crafts a sonic experience that seamlessly integrates with modern architecture. The album serves as a generative backdrop, enhancing the atmosphere of bus stations with its ethereal and progressive sounds. Designed to complement rather than clash with architectural elements, the composition creates a constantly evolving, organic sound tapestry. By utilising polyrhythmic elements and shifting sonic phenomena, Modell's work induces a state of calm and reflection. Inspired by avant-garde bus station designs, such as those by Domitianus Arquitectura and Bluck & Morgen, Music For Bus Stations transforms everyday spaces into immersive sound environments. The result is a living, unpredictable auditory experience that elevates the mundane to the sublime, perfectly capturing the essence of ambient exploration. Act fast if you want a copy, Rod Modell fans are die-hards!

Review: In celebration of Arvo Part's 90th year, his latest release showcases the Estonian composer's continued exploration of minimalist, spiritually charged sound . Part's work has always sought to blend the sacred with the secular, and this collection of new renditions brings forward the timeless resonance of his choral and orchestral compositions. Opening with 'Littlemore Tractus,' based on John Henry Newman's reflections, the piece sets the tone of quiet, introspective change that permeates the entire work. His music, a dialogue between sound and silence, invites profound contemplation, with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Tonu Kaljuste's direction offering nuanced, deeply attentive performances. Compositions like 'Vater unser,' showcase Part's ability to transform liturgical text into transcendent musical experience. There's an undeniable spiritual gravity in pieces such as 'Cantique des degres' and 'Sequentia,' where strings and vocals weave in delicate yet forceful patterns, revealing a steady undercurrent of renewal. The rich textures in these works evoke both a longing for and a reconciliation with the past, capturing Part's life-long exploration of sacred music's dialogue with the world. The album culminates with 'Vater unser,' an evocative reworking that brings together choir, strings, and piano, offering a meditative close to an album that is as much about reflection as it is about the continued forward momentum of Part's artistry. Recorded in Tallinn's Methodist Church, this latest chapter is a continuation of the Part-Eicher partnership that has defined so much of his career, expanding the legacy of albums like Tabula rasa and reinforcing Part's place as one of the most significant voices in contemporary classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Review: Black Truffle proudly present A Song for Two Mothers/Occam IX, the debut solo release from Laetitia Sonami, a pioneer in electronic music and live performance innovation. Born in France in 1957, Sonami studied with Eliane Radigue before moving to California in 1978 to immerse herself in the experimental scene at Mills College. Best known for her invention, the Lady's Glove, a revolutionary interface that allowed her to manipulate sound, lights, and video, Sonami has now transitioned to a new instrumentithe Spring Spyre. The Spring Spyre, a unique contraption of springs and reverb tanks, captures the unpredictable nature of Sonami's real-time performances. In A Song for Two Mothers (2023), Sonami spins a web of intricate synthetic textures, where delicate yet chaotic sounds emerge from silence, gradually evolving into metallic percussive flurries and harmonic clouds. On the flip side, Occam IX is a profound collaboration with her former mentor, Eliane Radigue. This piece, rooted in deep sonic exploration, envelops listeners in slowly unfolding waves of synthetic tones, echoing Radigue's iconic longform works. Accompanied by insightful notes and striking imagery, this release is a vital tribute to Sonami's groundbreaking contributions to electronic music.

Review: Switzerland and Britain collide on the latest Mental Groove-facilitated collaboration between Sonic Boom and Sinner DC. An ambient record first laid to tape in 2013 to accompany live performances at the Festival La Batie in Switzerland, this six-track LP edition is but one half of a wider audiovisual experience, inspired by the idea of the limits of representation. Already building on both artists' trilling cross-sectional work in ambient ethertronica and shoegaze, this album pairs with visuals generated by Dutch artist Space Is Green using a modified ZDoom game engine.