Juno Recommends Ambient / Drone: July 2024

Review: Carsten Nicolai has left an indelible mark on electronic music since his debut 24 years ago, carving out a genre uniquely his own characterised by surgically precise sound shapes, glitched-out percussion, and vast atmospheres rich in frequency. Continuing his exploration of astrophysics and digital mechanics, HYbr:ID II is the second installment in Nicolai's series. Accompanied by a 12-page booklet of visually arresting diagrams, the music takes precedence. Immersive dub and electronica elements define the journey into intricately manipulated digital production, drawing inspiration from Minkowski's spacetime model. Each of the ten compositions, stemming from a score for Richard Siegal's Ectopia performance, offers a cosmic ballet of rhythm and resonance. Dense with pensive moods and resonant pitches, Nicolai's soundscape conjures a vast cosmic expanse, occasionally guiding listeners down unexpected auditory paths and prompting moments of deep reflection. The album's meticulous craftsmanship and expansive sonic palette underscore Nicolai's ability to seamlessly merge conceptual exploration with musical innovation. Perfect for fans of spatial manipulations, digital structures, and flawless sound design, Alva Noto adds another significant piece to his outstanding discography.

Review: Los Angeles-based artist Inquiri aka Lacey Harris blends choral, orchestral, IDM, glitch, and ambient music with silken vocals and diaristic field recordings on her sublime new album See You Someday. This emotional album explores grief, loss, and self-discovery as tracks like 'My Eyes Opened' and 'Be The Hero' showcase Harris's ambient prowess with delay-steeped electronics and intricate rhythms. 'They Come Around' features glitchy beats and reversed synths, while 'Our Souls Kissed' includes angelic vocals. Composed over a decade, the album documents Harris's journey through personal upheavals and healing so it is a deeply personal and rewarding work.

Review: Balmat proudly present their 11th release with a new record from Polish artist Bartosz Kruczynski, whose minimalist atmospheric sensibility has caused the label to ease their worries over being dubbed an 'ambient' label, at least for the time being. Better known by his Rhythm Section-releasing house alias Earth Trax, Kruczynski takes a stark turn here, presenting a fierce yet fine selection of acidic ambient vignettes. On Dreams & Whispers, the pH scale is piquant without verging on completely corrosive; each ambient free association here - called either a 'Dream' or a 'Whisper' - is able to melt some psychic substrate without totally eviscerating or untying others. This is revelatory, yet not overthought ambient music, designed to treat, yet not brute-force-expose, the unconscious wishes behind our dream-distortions.

Review: Windy & Carl's album Consciousness encapsulates the duo's exploration of ambient and drone music with a warmer, more pastoral feel compared to their previous works. Absent are the vague dread and claustrophobia, replaced by buoyant soundscapes that evoke sense of tranquility. The song titles themselves, such as 'The Sun' and 'Elevation,' reinforce this lighter tone. 'The Sun' opens the album with simple yet direct electric guitar chords, setting the stage for the serene journey ahead. Even tracks like 'Balance (Trembling)' touch on darker shadings but quickly transition to glowing, comforting tones. Tracks like 'Elevation' and 'The Llama's Dream' contribute to the dream-like atmosphere of the album, with shimmering tones and ethereal vocals adding to its hallucinatory quality. 'Resolution' concludes the album with a final, contemplative note. Consciousness shows Windy & Carl's dedication to perfecting the drone. While there may not be a major departure in style, the album is commitment to crafting immersive sonic experiences. For fans of ambient and drone music, Consciousness is another great album to have and enjoy.

Review: A new drone collaboration for the ages comes in the form of a heads-on collision between Kevin Martin (aka. The Bug) and Joseph Kamaru (The Bug). Firmly rooted in the esoteric, nigh chthonic drones of which both are now more than adept in evincing - Martin in tandem with his many collaborative efforts with the likes of Earth, and KMRU across the likes of recent albums such as Logue - this is a six track mesmeriser whose titles recall everything from apocalypses to hidden histories, and with each piece spanning anywhere between four to eleven minutes a pop. Beginning on a slow, soil-caked march and moving further into a land of serener incantations, on which KMRU submits his vocals, Disconnect is a haunting (yet equally, it could be said, calming) record for arrested epochs.

Review: Global Communication's 76:14 stands out as a quintessential ambient album, often overlooked in favour of more hyped releases but in recent years has cemented itself as one of the most important and beloved electronic releases of the 1990s. Tom Middleton and Mark Pritchard, under their Global Communication alias, expertly fuse ambient, Berlin-School and new age influences with beatcraft and dub elements. The album's tracks range from pure ambient pieces reminiscent of early Eno to funk-hop infused rhythms and minimalist dub pulses. Its strong songcraft and unique sonic identity have earned it a dedicated following - richly textured soundscapes and engaging compositions have made it a favourite.

Review: Isaac Helsen and Zach Frizzell, the unfathomably prolific ambient producer known as zake, have been collaborating together again. They both run the Past Inside the Present label and despite great musical kinship have only put out two records to date: beliefsystems in 2021, and Atonements earlier this year, which first came on Zake Drone Recordings and now gets a cassette reissue on Past Inside the Present. It's a gorgeously hazy analogue affair made with a reel-to-reel and Korg Minilogue. "This album embodies the theme of letting go and moving forward with acceptance," they explain, and what a beauty it is too.

Review: This enigmatic recording, ahead of its time upon release, features Caroline K's pioneering approach to analog synth music and sample experimentation. Tracks like 'The Happening World' demonstrate her focus on dark ambient and drone music, while 'Animal Lattice' offers a haunting juxtaposition of high and low notes, reminiscent of early Dead Can Dance. 'Between The Spaces' explores a range of atmospheres, from new age to dungeon synth, with ethereal undertones. Caroline K's use of background noises and found sounds adds depth and texture to compositions like 'Leaving,' leaving a lasting impression on listeners. Now Wait For Last Year remains a lasting legacy to Caroline K's innovative spirit and her enduring influence on ambient, dark ambient, and electronic music. This brilliant trip into experimental ambience will impress everyone from soundtrack lovers to those who are into darker electronics.

Review: Sometimes you only need to hear a few moments of music to know you're going to fall in love with the arrangement. Or indeed EP, as is the case with this two-part mini epic from Venice, Italy-based Gigi Masin. Named in honour of the city in the lagoon, a place where water is more of a defining factor than land, it's fitting that the pair of pieces here, each running upwards of 20 minutes, almost sound like they have been submerged in a calming bath. You can almost see sound waves moving through watery depths, in your mind's eye at least. This effect aside, the work opens with a kind of blissed out awakening through noise, the kind of instrumentation that should score the unveiling of stars overhead or te opening of a flower on a warm spring day. Flip it to find 'Abandoned Venice' a more sparse and but no less inviting experience with its layers of quiet refrain.

Review: Glimpses of Infinity offers an overview of Laraaji's earliest works, drawing from his 1978 debut Celestial Vibration and six additional studio sessions from the same era. This collection is a miraculous chronicle of new age's most fabled artist. Known originally as Edward Larry Gordon, Laraaji's music from this period is full of discovery and wonderment. Glimpses of Infinity features single-length excerpts that provide a standalone look into the nascent brilliance of one of new age's originators and masters. Each track is a window into Laraaji's early explorations in sound, capturing the heart of his celestial and meditative style. This release is perfect for both longtime fans and newcomers, offering a remarkable glimpse into the roots of Laraaji's groundbreaking catalog.

Review: Robin Guthrie's Atlas is a four-track EP showcasing new instrumentals that gently reintroduce listeners to his distinctive world. Known for shaping genres with his production and signature guitar sounds, Guthrie famously co-founded and produced for Cocteau Twins. With over four decades of musical influence, he's produced, remixed, and collaborated across various projects, from instrumental albums to movie soundtracks and Atlas serves as a tantalising preview of what's to follow later this year, namely more of Guthrie's evocative sounds that will no doubt continue his legacy of pushing boundaries.

Review: Shuttle358's Optimal.LP, finally available on vinyl for its 25th anniversary, is a landmark debut showcasing Dan Abrams' innovative approach to ambient glitch and dub. Abrams, immersed in the electronica scene of the 1990s, crafted a beautiful sonic landscape that blends ambient drones, delicate melodies, and digital static with remarkable sophistication. The album's juxtaposition of elements creates a tension that is both jarring and oddly soothing, inviting listeners into a world of sonic experimentation and exploration. From the rhythmic complexity of 1990s electronica to the emerging clicks'n'cuts movement, Optimal.LP stands as a landmark piece of work, informed by tradition yet visionary and idiosyncratic. Remastered by Andreas [LUPO] Lubich and featuring three previously unreleased tracks, this vinyl reissue captures the essence of Abrams' artistic vision. With new artwork by Daniel Castrejon, the album's aesthetic appeal is as compelling as its sonic depth. This is sure to be one of the best reissues in 2024 for electronica.

Review: Miaux's latest album, Never Coming Back, is a mesmerising journey into the depths of melancholy and timelessness. Rooted in her recent film score for the cult classic Carnival of Souls, Miaux shows her synth virtuosity and devastating songwriting skills. Crafted solely with a single synthesizer in her home studio, Miaux's compositions unfold with minimalist elegance, drawing listeners into a world of haunting beauty. Taking inspiration from the enigmatic ghost film and its influence on directors like David Lynch and George A. Romero, Miaux weaves layers of ethereal soundscapes reminiscent of Roedelius and Ruth White. Her music, with its minimal yet profound essence, captures the essence of the film's eerie narrative, evoking a sense of elevated longing and haunting claustrophobia. The album's retro-rich analogue synth lines and circular patterns resonate with fans of atmospheric film scores while offering a unique blend of melancholy and hope. Miaux's reinterpretation of the film's score breathes new life into its timeless themes, promising an immersive listening experience for audiences old and new.

Review: For well over a decade, Italian producer, electronic musician and sound designer Ocralab (real name Rocco Biscione) has been serving up immersive and enveloping ambient soundscapes, most of which tend towards the meditative and subtly sun-kissed. That's the trademark sound that he explores on gorgeous new full-length Locus Impervio, a set whose gently rising and falling melodic motifs, calming soundscapes and spacey sounds recall the halcyon days of ambient music in the mid-to-late 1990s. It's a genuinely gorgeous, soul-enriching set all told - the kind of thing we might have expected Pete Namlook, Jonah Sharp, Move D and Mixmaster Morris to put out circa 1994 (albeit with subtle nods to more contemporary, sound design-driven academic ambient releases).

Review: Emerging from the ether in July 2024, Surfacing is the third collaborative long player from ASC and Sam KDC. Producers known for their ability to create and set moods with comparatively abstract ambient soundscapes, their latest is no exception. A collection of work which opts for an un-rushed approach to creating big feelings and moments from relatively consistent sounds and noises. Not much seems to happen, until you realise how much has been happening. In many ways, it's a maximalist thing - attempting to pick apart tracks like 'Mirage' and 'Shimmer' reveals the density of these sonics. Walls of sound that are acoustically and melodically light enough to float on air, yet actually so thick they swallow the listener hole, with little hope of escape until the final refrains fade.

Review: Ambient masters Grand River and Abul Mogard team up for the first time ever on In uno spazio immenso (In A Huge Space), titularly touching on the often gargantuan feeling evoked by space ambient, a befitting name to say the least. Here the pair work in and through the genre to produce a full-circle rainbow's worth of expanse and breadth, successfully contrasting a sense of largesse with another, counterintuitive feeling of a world stood still, time having stopped. The six-track album is an impressive, but subtle grand tour of an unblemished, alpine sublime, with the opening intenso-ambience of 'Dissolvi' recalling the work of Ben Frost, and the near-closing 'Sulle barcane' serving as the album's unique denouement, made up of cryptic environmental recordings, static washes and weightless pads.

Review: zake's latest Dolere (a split release on Joachim Spieth's Affin label and his Past Inside The Present), unfolds over 70 minutes with meticulous patience. As always, the American crafts deeply emotive drone compositions, this time inspired by the profound experience of suspended time amidst sorrow. 'Dolera' evokes melancholic introspection with its analogue warmth and ethereal tape samples offering a sonic canvas for emotional reflection or meditative immersion. In contrast, 'Dolere' progresses with a darker tone, incorporating field recordings and subtle shifts akin to shadows in a forest. This album, like works by ambient luminaries like Thomas Koner, provides a poignant retreat from the relentless march of time.

Review: With the mid-1990s release of his 'Zauberberg' and 'Konigsforst' works, GAS aka Wolfgang Voigt's unique fusion of romanticism and the forest as artistic fantasy became synonymous with the blurred boundaries of post-ambient and abstract atonality. Iconic distant bass drums marched through condensed and abstract classical sounds to make for a hypnotic forest vision. His album Der Lange Marsch furthered that as it invited listeners to follow the deep bass drum into a psychedelic world of endless promises. The album plays out as a continuous loop with no beginning and no end and is as immersive as ambient gets.

Review: Transporting us to a waking dream of Los Angeles, two enigmatic music makers from the City of (Fallen) Angels present a truly stunning journey into hazy half-memories, afternoon fantasies, borrowed recollections and thoughts of things yet to happen. In many ways, Salt & Sugar Look The Same feels incomplete; tracks, half-tracks, movements, bits and pieces feel like our minds often work. Was that what we think it was? Did this happen? According to the official release burb, these 18 brief but beautiful compositions combine finger-plucked guitar work, the lens flare of electronica, and warped samples to create a take on the American primitivism music movement. The result is something that transcends boundaries of sound, time and place, and exists in a world of its own creation.

Review: Damien Duque aka. City Of Dawn delivers his next ambient record, Invincible Summer, adding to the recent trend of ambient titles fashioned after philosophical quotations. The reference in this case is Albert Camus, who penned the aphorism - "in the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer" - in his lesser-spotted memento Return To Tipasa. It's clear that existentialism is a school that resonates with Duque most relevantly; the Texan artist is known for his atmospheric works dealing in themes of embattled anxiety, overcoming, self-reflection, and autism advocacy. Evoking a space of tranquility reachable only via the hard wins of deep inner work, City Of Dawn's texturized, fluting, bell-laden incantations are a striking match to the crux of Camus' philosophy: that even in the hardest of times, there always exists an inner realm of strength and resilience.

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.

Review: Composer, sound artist and vocalist Antonina Nowacka delves into the furthest reaches and potentialities of a fantasy taxonomy via her third album, Sylphine Soporifera. Named after an imaginary species and the land it inhabits - inspired by the real-world, yet unreal desert landscape of Paracas, as well as the undulating, tree-less hills of the Outer Hebrides - the name "Sylphine Soporifera" comes from the writings of Rudolf Steiner, who describes creatures called Sylphs as the spirits of the air, and the Latin word sopor, which means deep sleep. Centring on this tension between sleep and air, Nowacka imagines a floatatory world of nimbic mountainous condensations, through ten wondrous tracks that cycle through many traditional instruments from locales as far-flung as Italy, Mexico, Nepal and Hawaii.

Review: An overview of Laraaji's earliest works, Glimpses of Infinity gathers selections from his 1978 debut Celestial Vibration, and six additional studio sessions from the era. This is a condensed version of the 2023's sold out 4xLP Boxset, perhaps among which the most notable track has been 'Segue To Infinity', the infamous 20-minute pan-piper (we intend the double meaning of the term 'pan', as its many wind instruments stretch out in a beautifully prostrated fashion, extending over both the entire stereo field and the entire length of the song). And though Laraaji's many multi-instrumental amusements are ambitious, the record never falls afoul of grandiosity or dilettantism, retaining that hard-to-achieve mix of humility and commitment to the sound, all throughout; our favourite 'glimpse' is the peek into his 'Koto' session, for which the infamous Japanese string instrument is put to work with total dexterity. Full of discovery and wonderment, Glimpses of Infinity is a miraculous chronicle of new age's most fabled artist.

Review: Dylan Henner (AD 93, Phantom Limb) returns to Dauw with Performs Raymond Scott's Soothing Sounds for Baby, an album reinterpreting selections from Scott's iconic 1962 work. Available on limited edition vinyl, featuring artwork by Skrew Studio that references the original releases. Raymond Scott's contributions to music are immeasurable and pioneering, with his records remaining uniquely interesting. Viewed through the lens of modern "ambient" music, the meaning of his compositions has evolved. Once revolutionary, they now serve as archival pieces, preserving an era of early electronic music and its technological constraints. In homage to Scott's foresight and genius, Henner recontextualises these ideas within a 2024 musician's mindset and studio, creating a version that aligns with his perception of Scott's music's purpose: soothing babies. Henner revisited the original records briefly, transcribing melodies and noting timbres, before embarking on his own creative journey. This album honors Scott's legacy while infusing it with contemporary sensibilities.

Review: Titled after Marvin Gaye's soulful 'After the Dance,' Detroit producer Scott Grooves delved into a realm beyond the dancefloor with his contribution to an exhibition by Elysia Borowy in September last year. It showcased six installations that explore experimental expressionism in visual arts and electronic music. Grooves' work critiques capitalist culture and draws from afrofuturism, creating a captivating dialogue on consumerism and futuristic themes across six thought-provoking installations: Sweet Dreams Anakin, Foot Work, Vinyl, For All-Dee People, Yellow Sun Bricks and Found Sound. These pieces challenge viewers to reflect on modern humanity, bridging the gap between observer and artwork and now the deeply absorbing, cathartic ambient music from the show arrives on CD.