Back catalogue: Classical

Review: Heart Dance Recordings is a genuinely unique proposition: a new age, ambient and spiritual music label run by, and for, women, offering up decidedly calming music from an ever-growing roster of artists. The Phoenix-based imprint's latest full-length excursion was created by a trio of musicians: flautist Sherry Finzer, percussionist and vocalist Karasvana (real name Ella Hunt) and synthesizer enthusiast-come-guitarist City of Dawn (Damian Duque). There's much to admire about The Journeying Sun, from the daybreak beauty of 'Memory of Awakening' and the immersive, enveloping bliss of 'On Seashores of Endless Worlds', with its haunting chimes and drifting vocal refrains, to wide-eyed aural wonder of 'Resident Wandering' and the simultaneously pastoral and ethereal 'Indefiniteness'.

Review: Ben Kaczor and Niculin Barandun's debut album, Pointed Frequencies come on the tasteful German outlet Dial Records and explores the healing potential of sound through six immersive tracks. Their collaboration began in 2022 for an audiovisual show at Digital Art Festival Zurich and has developed masterfully since and as Kaczor studied sound therapy, Barandun became intrigued by its possibilities, and it is that which has inspired the album's direction. It incorporates therapeutic elements like binaural beats and solfeggio frequencies into a seamless blend of ambient and experimental music. Through free improvisation, the pair have cooked up some brilliantly contemplative pieces here.

Review: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." So said Henry V before the battle of Agincourt in one of Shakespeare's many lauded histories. The quote went on to Christen Stephen Ambrose's 1993 novel and a subsequent American war drama miniseries of the same name, chronicling the journey of the "Easy Company," a group of American paratroopers during World War II. Training, combat tussles, and fraternal bonds are given a brutal portrayal in the film, and this mood of brutality and endurance was not unnoticeably underscored by Michael Kamen's soundtrack, now reissued on gatefold 2xLP. Kamen, known for his scores for Die Hard, X-Men and Memento, brought out a mood of orchestral fortuity, successfully mirroring the film's intent to portray themes of glory, tragedy and camaraderie, all of which ooze from its many orchestral swells and windfalls.

Review: Polish producer, multi-faced musician and multi-instrumental maestro Albert Karch knows his way around the sound engineer's desk. So much his finesse is unmistakeable, with a number of standout records already behind him. For example, the 2019 stunner, Celestially Light, created in collaboration with Japanese folk singer and songwriter Ichiko Aoba, Here, he delivers another exceptional joint project, teaming up with Irish ambient icon Gareth Quinn Redmond, himself no stranger to the WRWTFWW label, for a sublime outing of precise strings and pianos. A slow, meandering journey into melodic immersion which captivates and lulls, it moves between moments of sparse quiet, electronic experimentation, and more complex and full sounding arrangements in a way that holds the attention until the very last. A thing of patient beauty that deserves to be in your shopping basket.

Review: Dubio makes no secret of its intention, from the word go. The opening, titular track give us the lay of the land. A record inspired by the soundtrack to a puzzle game of the same name, there's a cyclical, perpetual kind of motion to everything here. Obviously, we know where the start of each piece is, and the conclusion. But the vibe isn't forward motion, nor backwards. Instead, there's a gradual meandering tempo, a loose, open-ended kind of aesthetic that invokes the old cliche - the journey, not the destination. And with that, you can't help but sense a little mystery here, too. Kettel isn't always known for this type of free spirited exploration, and yet here we are, and how we got here is part of what we're trying to figure out. Musically, that means warm pads and string refrains, twinkling chimes, plodding, almost unsteady percussion and a sense of wonder and perpetuity throughout.

Review: It was in 1998 that pioneering Canadian musician levin Key released his solo debut Music For Cats. Artoffact Records reissued it on vinyl back in 2014 and now they do so again but this time on gatefold pink and blue splattered vinyl double album. It's a unique work that blends classical, glitch, and noise-driven pieces, featuring collaborations with artists like Dwayne Goettel, Genesis P.Orridge, Philth, and Mark Spybey. 'Music Fur Cats' showcases Key's songwriting depth, followed by 'Wind On Small Paws' with its electro-industrial sci-fi vibe. 'Meteorite' offers glitchy beats. Familiar tracks like 'Bird', 'Blotter', and 'Greenhouse Gasses' provide accessible listening, albeit experimental. 'Music For Cats' is gritty and against the grain, yet melodic. While not mainstream, it's an intriguing, well-crafted release, appealing to experimental electronic enthusiasts and completists alike.

Review: .You have to admire Basil Kirchin's attitude. At the age of 13, he joined his father's Big Band orchestra,, debuting at Tottenham Court Road's Paramount venue, and would spend up to eight hours a day practicing music during the London Blitz. Soon after the war ended, he went off to tour with a number of famous names, including Teddy Foster and Ted Heath, before he rejoined his old man's outfit for another stint. The arrival of rock & roll in the late-1950s catalysed a decision to leave that group again, telling his parent "you're a prisoner of rhythm, and I was fed up playing other people's music." At this point, Kirchin headed for India, spending five months in the Ramakrishna Temple trying to figure out what life was about, and if his world view had any substance beyond "the ramblings of a pot-head." This was before other artists were doing that kind of thing. A true visionary who would go on to play a pivotal role in the British jazz, avant garde, free jazz and experimental scenes, now you know all that is there anyway you're not buying this?

Review: Tom Ford's second feature film was another classy affair. A refined and sophisticated piece that's based on the1993 novel, Tony & Susan, which was written by Austin Wright. If you're not seen it, we'll not spoil it, but to quickly summarise it involves a gallery owner reading a new novel by her first husband. In its pages, she sees plenty that mirrors how their relationship played out. Reflective, tense and thoughtful moods abound. Who better to provide the soundtrack, then, than Abel Korzeniowski. An accomplished composter, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter responsible for a plethora of excellent scores, here he provides exactly the tonic. Subtle, but incredibly powerful slices if contemporary classical that seem to speak to the mind and heart in equal measure. Those who like this should also check A Single Man, the directorial debut of Ford which Korzeniowski also scored.

Review: Jesper Kyd may not be a 'household name', but once you've encountered the Danish composer and sound designer's work you're unlikely to forget who he is or what he is capable of. Largely self-taught, he began exploring composition at an early age, by 14 was composing on a Commodore 64 and then an Amiga, and later became a member of the audio-visual computer-based artist collective Silents DK, a demogroup. Soon after that, he was collaborating with the Crionics coders. Seemingly born into the world of video game development, but from a staunchly artistic perspective, to date he's created some of the most accomplished game scores we've encountered, and 2006's Hitman: Blood Money is among them. Recorded with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, it's tense, building, grand and, even without the on-screen action, thoroughly captivating contemporary classical stuff.

Review: "I would beg listeners both animal and human to allow these beautiful landscapes I've created in collaboration with Mark Nelson to sing and speak and weep for themselves. Please. Forget about words. Just LISTEN," says Kramer of this latest exploration of sounds less familiar. Meanwhile, Nelson quotes the legendary Arthur Russell for his take on things: "If I could convince you these are words of love, the heartache would remain but the pain would be gone". The Chicago-based composer and performer certainly summarises this listening experience. There's pure bliss running through these serene ambient, almost New Age-style tracks, but within that a certain reflective sadness. Crystalline melodies refract and develop, ebb and flow, at times making pure harmonies, in other moments more atmospheric refrains. They make us long for things that were or may be, although there's still space here for taking stock and acknowledging what is.