A slip case to house all the editions of the VIRUS series, presented in an eco-friendly, cream shaded Muken paper.
Notes: We always expect high-grade aesthetics from Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto to match their exacting, elevated musical collaborations. The VIRUS series is their most recent run of works, encompassing five albums - Vrioon, Insen, Revep, Utp_, and Summvs (reMASTER), but up until now the albums have existed as separate nodes of crisp electronic expression. Organised record hoarders rejoice, because now Noton are releasing a slip case to house all the editions, presented in an eco-friendly, cream shaded Muken paper. Note, there’s no music in here - it’s purely a vessel for the music contained within.
Review: Current scene favourite Nils Frahm teamed up with Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Olafur Arnalds on three breath taking excursions through lush ambient textures on "Stare" as a surprise release back in 2012 for label founder Robert Rath. "A1" features Frahm's entrancing irresistible melody over some gorgeous all-consuming strings and glacial soundscapes courtesy of Arnalds. "A2" with its heavenly, transcendental beauty has just got to be heard while "B1" explores darker territory with its excavating soundscapes accompanying the most hauntingly delicate cello notes. Exquisite!
Review: Few artists have had such a global impact on electronic music than Thomas Bangalter, the legendary DJ, producer and songwriter who is best known as one-half of the former dance titans Daft Punk. He has many more skills up his sleeve though as he has proven since leading the duo. One is writing soundtracks such as this one, Chiroptera, for Acte 2: Retour a la Caverne, which was a JR creation with choreography from Damien Jalet. It was performed in Paris in front of the Opera de Paris (Opera Garnier) on November 12th, 2023 and involved more than 150 dancers. You can now relive it musically with this limited 12".
Review: Apparently James Adam Brown had one very definitely theme in mind with There Is Space Under Your Seat. Put simply, he wanted to explore aural interpretations of the human desire to create mental breathing room by pausing emotions to process feelings when circumstances become overwhelming. And, let's face it, they frequently have a habit of doing just that.
Recorded at ICP Studios in Belgium, after demos were laid down in his own facility deep in the stunning Yorkshire Dales, it's hard to imagine a more fitting setting for these ideas to form. A place that's equal parts bleak and beautiful, and certainly remote (in UK terms, at least). So what we have here is sometimes eerie, always stunning, packed with spatiality and a tangible emotional quality you will not be able to escape from.
Review: Matti Bye is Between Darkness & White Snow on this deeply absorbing new 12" on Northern Electronics. It comes as four separate pieces that all play out as part of a larger narrative. First up is 'I', a quiet, gloomy landscape on a grey winter's day with the gentle sound of flowing water and muted synth modulations placing you right in the middle of it. 'II' has more presence, a growing sense of melancholy and unease and 'III' allows a little heavenly light into the mix to gently uplift. The final chapter has a feeling of hope with subtle keys radiating from deep inside.
Review: Past Inside The Present is at it again, and by 'it' we mean both releasing great music and also doing so on unusual formats. This new single 'Cadere' is taken from Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea's forthcoming long-player, which will arrive in the Spring of next year, and it comes on a rather unusual glass-mastered 3" mini-CD which includes a download link and code. It's a lush and widescreen ambient single detailed with subtly uplifting chords coated in lo-fi hiss and hum. Also included is a live version of 'Alpha' which in its original form was on a previous album of the same name. It's from James Bernard and Kevin Sery and was recorded live at the Gothic Chapel in Indianapolis so has a decidedly spiritual edge.
Review: We don't know anything about Eyot Tapes other than they have a new cassette album on the way via Muscat. First comes this 7" taster with two tracks from the Paradise Lost album. 'Abhor' is brilliantly deep and enchanting with sonorous bells, distant bird calls, scattered drum rhythms and a soothing vibe that is ethereal and organic. On the flip is 'Path Of Snakes,' a more experimental mix of what sound like xylophones, muffled vocals, Middle Eastern-style melodies and drifting atmospheres of otherworld intrigue. Our only criticism of this record is that it's not longer!
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: The seventh in this series of 7" singles is by Bristol and Avon's Kinlaw and Franco Franco and it is a rare mix of sounds with R&B, Italian rap and twisted basslines all defining the tracks. 'Crocs On The Plough' is industrial and experimental in its production - earth-shattering bass, police sirens, and soot-black synths, but background chords bring light as the vocals are delivered with guttural rawness. On the flip, the OSVMVSM version slows things right down to a crawl and the distorted synths and crunchy textures take on even more otherworld character.
Review: Daniela Lalita grew up in an apartment in Peru with her mother and grandmother. That apartment gives its name to her debut EP, Trececerotres, which is an exploration of experimental electronic music rooted in magic, healing and ritual. Lalita's vocals feature throughout, and she first came to realise their power when she learned to do different voices for TV commercials as her first job. They mesh with distorted drums and Buchla synth to make for off-scale tracks where rhythm is implied, culture is explored and moods range from bleak and intense to more heartfelt and assured.
Review: In an unprecedented collaboration, Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc and world-renowned pianist Sofiane Pamart present Dreamers, a unique piano composition project. An unusual project to say the least, we have to admit that the idea is there: co-composed between the boy racer and the pianoforte prodigy, Leclerc and Pamart jointly describe their release as a "tribute to the journey and not just the destination", and a composition that "captures the ongoing pursuit of excellence and the never-ending evolution of dreams". It certainly is dreamy, with the likes of 'Focus' and 'The Dream Continues' wringing out the stargazing propensities of all those at home and mixing it with the raw power of the figurative racecar engine, inspiring a longing for greatness on the level embodied in these two.
Review: This is a second new and standalone 7" that is taken from Incense Music for Bed Room, a new compilation series from Incense Music that was curated by Toru Hashimoto and legendary Japanese downtempo and Balearic master Calm. On the A-side, we delve into Haruka Nakamura's beautiful tribute to Bill Evans' timeless piece 'Soiree'. On the flip, 'Valsa de Euridice' is a rendition of Vinicius de Moraes' classic from Etepalma, the inaugural 2006 album by Nobuyuki Nakajima. Renowned as a composer and pianist, Nakajima presents a captivating interpretation that captures the essence of the original piece. Together, these tracks offer a harmonious blend of homage and reinterpretation.
Review: Sheffield-based experimental label Another Timbre is reissuing some of their most sought-after CDs, starting with this collaboration between Berlin-based Japanese composer and reeds player Michiko Ogawa and cellist, composer and noted classical-electronic fusionist Lucy Railton. Designed as an exercise in creating musical magic using just three musical elements - cello, organ and sho (a Japanese reed instrument) - Fragments of Reincarnation is an evocative, atmospheric and at times hypnotic piece that sits somewhere between cutting-edge modern classical, ambient and immersive sound design. The interplay between the cello and sho, gently dancing atop a bed of sustained organ chords, is particularly impressive.
Review: Excitement abounds as British heavy industrial/dub producer Shackleton debuts a brand new project, The Purge Of Tomorrow. An outlet for his less dancefloory material, this stint is more inspired by the artist's background in noise and metal, and the EP consists of two long tracks that were developed from live performances, exploring themes of dystopia, apocalypse and survival. Cursed anti-ambient music arises from the depths of Tartarus, drawing on tropes from neoclassical music to trance. There's also contributions on strings by Kathy Alberci.
Review: Ambient EPs (as opposed to long-form LPs) tend not to be the order of the day, but the supergroup known as Quiet Voices are happy to buck that unfortunate trend. With their outlook focusing on a blend of cinematic atmosphere, ambient music and spoken word, this collaborative project - made up of the combined efforts of Jean-Yves Leloup, Helene Vogelsinger, Villeneuve & Morando, Wild Anima, Francois-Eudes Chanfrault and Maxence Cyrin - is an ode to the optic-sonic spectacle of film, recalling recently similar collage pieces such as Charle Shackleton's The Afterlight in its liberal use of monologue samples, many of which concern hot topics such as death, loss, and the threshold between them and life.
Sleep: Tranquility Base (Alva Noto Remodel edit) (5:37)
Sleep: Tranquility Base (Kelly Lee Owens remix) (4:03)
Review: Max Richter's latest work Sleep: Tranquillity Base first arrived on Deutsche Grammophon for World Sleep Day. Ot is a thirty minute work split across two parts and are inspired by the moon landings. It is music that "functions as a vessel that disconnects and travels through the body of work, allowing art to provide something which resembles peace within ourselves." It also comes with a couple of belting remixes from much loved contemporary innovators Alva Noto and Kelly Lee Owens. There is a reason Max Richter is so well revered and his music has had over three billion streams and this EP is one of them.
Review: The state51 Conspiracy label comes very much correct early on in the New Year with this two-track grey marbled vinyl 12" in a fancy spot-varnished sleeve. It takes the form of two fresh Santaka reworks of original compositions by Rytis Mazulis and avant-garde choir Melos Collective which were first released back in 2020. Santaka, which means "confluence" in Lithuanian, is the coming together of DJ and producer Manfredas and drummer and producer Marijus Aleksa and here they layer up disembodied vocals and dark jazz melodies on 'Ramybe' and then 'Autoportretas' is a textural ambient exploration packed with fascinating sound designs.
Review: Anoushka Shankar's Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn is a riveting sonic journey that seamlessly blends eastern and western musical sensibilities. From the rocking piano motifs of 'Pacifica' to the dreamy textures of 'Offering' and the mystical ambiance of 'Below the Surface,' each track unveils layers of evocative dreamscapes. Shankar's sitar weaves enchanting melodies, complemented by the soothing sounds of waves and voices. The album's fusion of instruments and tonalities creates a healing experience, inviting listeners to relax and float downstream. With its profound depth and beauty, Chapter II transcends mere background music, resonating as a genuine artistic expression. Anoushka Shankar offers a compelling soundtrack for introspection and tranquility.
Review: sTia is the nom de plume of Natia Sartania, a Tbilisi-based musician who runs the CES Records label and is co-founder of the Georgian Music Legacy Collection. For this new seven-track album she lays down her signature piano with electronic ambiance and some squeaky pedal sounds A late hip-hop instrumental also features as do plenty of melancholic melodies and collaborations with Luna Flowers and Sabana, the founding members of key Georgian hip-hop collectives KayaKata, LTFR and Temple Pharmacy. Another promising young star of that scene, Nikala, also features on the flip.
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