Back catalogue: Classical

Review: Six years after their fan-favourite album Kites, Submotion Orchestra is back with the equally impressive 'Five Points' EP which was recorded over two months at Taz Modi's new studio in Sussex. If finds the band blend electronica, jazz, soul and ambient music in a fresh and distinctive way. After revisiting their past with Unplugged collections and the vinyl release of their debut album Finest Hour, this project is where the band now moves forward with a refreshed perspective. The EP, which features Ruby Wood's fragile vocals and live instrumentation, explores new sonic landscapes and pushes their sound further than ever before as a great taste of the full length to come.

Review: Reimer Eising, aka Kettel, and Lennard van der Last, aka Secede, had already been lifelong friends by the time they began working on When Can. The Dutch producers wanted to create a seamless listening experience that would unfold and develop as a film does, using cinematic-leaning sounds to achieve their big idea. The whole thing feels like a narrative, a beginning-middle-end, which is doubly impressive when you learn there was no grand plan to begin with. Just two pals exploring what might come next. Originally released in 2012 - hark!, those heady, innocent days - what's perhaps even more astounding than the picturesque, immersive soundscapes here, is the fact this is the first time When Can has made it onto vinyl. Having said that, 12 years ago was another time and place, not least in terms of music sales, so let's not dwell on what everyone was thinking by not bringing this out on wax sooner. Instead, savour every moment of the rich, dreamy electronica.

Review: Luke Sanger returns to Balmat for brand new album Dew Point Harmonics, which directly follows on from the producer's acclaimed Languid Gongue in 2021. A thirteen-tracker of dense but fibreglassy electronic mood pieces, the Norfolk native nudges us into a series but emotive but individually unique set of corners, vectorising a multiplicitous, abstract sound-space. After the opening arp-sequences of 'Solid Steps' and 'Flutter Env', we move into the more roughshod concrete of 'Poppers' then swerve through the dawny plucks and boughs of 'Morning Person' and 'Open Sauce', before finally settling to rest on a patently vibraphonic note, with 'Universal Vibrational Frequences' and. 'Vibraphone Home' not occurring in sequence without coincidence, in our view.

Review: River: The Timbre of Guitar #2 Rei Harakami is a luminous tribute to the late Japanese electronic composer Rei Harakami by Ayane Shino. By reimagining his ambient soundscapes through classical guitar, Shino delicately transforms 10 of his compositions into serene, intricate acoustic pieces. Her interpretations capture the warmth and floating quality of Harakami's originals but offer a fresh, introspective perspective. Her masterful ability to bridge electronic and classical genres leaves you in awe as you float amongst the mellifluous melodies and expressive guitar playing, with the sound of squeaking fingers on fret boards adding a sense of character that adds to its allure. A magical listen.

Review: Jimmy Lacy's first missive as Sip, a highly limited cassette put out by Chicagoan "small press" specialists Eye Vybe Records, captured him performing synthesiser soundscapes live on a local radio station. Since then, he has put out a debut studio album - the synth-wave, new-age and Radiophonic Workshop-influenced Leos Naturals - and a collaborative cassette. Here he makes his vinyl bow with another distinctive collection of synth-rooted recordings, Leos Ultras. Like much of his previous work, it seems to exist at the intersection between Stereolab, 1970s new age synthesiser recordings, lo-fi Balearica, experimental movie soundtracks and the vintage synth-powered cheeriness of Plone. It's an enticing, entertaining and pleasingly pure proposition whose occasional nods to jazz surprise and delight in equal measure.

Review: Japanese ambient owes a great debt to Masahiro Sugaya, whose work has been re-assessed and taken on all the more importance in recent years. The now cult musician and composer released his The Long Living Things album in 1988 for the performing arts company he belonged to, Pappa Tarahumara. Though it was overlooked for many years, it is now in sharp focus and gets a deserving reissue on vinyl for the first time ever by P-Vine which he also belonged to, and has long been overlooked by all but a few enthusiastic music lovers. One track from it was Grammy-nominated and rich of the record is minimalistic, with soft interwoven sequences that keep you afloat amongst the warming pads.