Back catalogue: Classical

Review: By 1996 Greek synth composer extraordinaire Vangelis - real name Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou - had become such an icon of electronic music not one but two retrospective anthologies arrived around the same time. Not bad considering this was only around halfway through his recording career, and in many ways his work was still in an evolutionary process. Gift was one of those compilations, and focuses attention on the first four records made by this Hellenic legend. Starting out with work from 1975's Heaven & Hell, from which an excerpt of the original (rather longwinded) 'Heaven & Hell Part II' has been lifted, we also get 'So Long Ago, So Clear', the artist's first collaboration with Jon Anderson (the musician-singer-songwriter whose name is credited on several other tracks here), and outstanding outings such as 'Pulstar' and 'Alpha'. A joy from start to finish.

Review: Christina Vantzou's ambient music is often inspired by nature, with past projects centring on the likes of fungi and the sublime landscapes she's encountered on her travels across the world. Now debuting her latest as a self-release, No 5 is, in Vantzou's own words, a - slow light omnidirectional - LP inspired by the vistas she witnessed when lounging on the isle of Syros in the Aegean Sea. It sounds luxurious, but the tone of the album itself is a lot mellower and slow-moving. 'Surreal Presence' sounds more like the siren call of a mournful swamp banshee, and the preceding tracks are equally as compelling, haunting.

Review: The good folks at Discreet Music celebrate its five-year anniversary with a special compilation featuring new and unreleased tracks from an eclectic lineup of artists. As highlighted in the extensive liner notes, this release covers plenty of ground, all of it part of the essence of Discreet Music but with an eye on evolution into new territories. It's a carefully curated collection with endless highlights - Eftergift's 'Demotiv' captures the sombreness of a dark winter night, Shadow Pattern's 'One Of These' is flickering, candle-lit space with distant synth tension and Livskraft's 'Lat Mig Tro' is a new age ceremonial ritual

Review: One may easily shorten the Light Sounds Dark label name to LSD. So too does this new V/A compilation of dark industrial soundscapes by the label befit the bad trip. With minimal release info besides an ardent confirmation by an unnamed witness - "definitely a trip into a darker dimension" - the notion of ingesting LSD takes on a whole new meaning here. The otherwise absence of info motivates some detective work: a stained-glass design on the front cover; a title referencing Indo-European paganism and/or Zoroastrianism; intense cloud-sonics and glassy chamber spaces on the ensuing tracks; everything intuitively fits, though we're not quite sure how. Some way to a narrative revelation emerges on track four, though at best it's a speak n' spell numbers station voice, half-lost under the solemn, soily noise scramble beneath. The trip only grows weirder, with strange bird calls melding into gong sounds and pan flutes on the lossy eighth track, and the closing locked groove spelling ultimate doom for the more harmonically inclined.

Review: The brilliantly cultured 29 Speedway is a Brooklyn-based record label and performance series founded in 2020 by Ben Shirken that features cutting-edge improvisational music and multimedia performances. It has hosted shows at venues like Pioneer Works and Public Records and worked with artists like James Hoff, J. Albert, Flora Yin-Wong, and Kamran Sadeghi. This new compilation UltraBody showcases artists exploring the intersection of self, technology, and spirituality and that results in a 13-track collection of out-of-this-world ambient, dub and techno fusions with an avant-garde edge.

Review: This LP uncovers the hidden diversity of Spanish music from the 50s and 60s, all composed under Franco's regime. Curated by musicologist Miguel Alvarez-Fernandez, it represents a significant advancement in understanding this music which struggled to exist until Franco's death in 1975. Released as part of the label's Early Electronic series, it features five pioneering Spanish composers who worked against the odds including Jose Val del Omar, a filmmaker and dreamlike artist linked to Lorca and BuNuel. Eduardo Polonio, known for over a hundred works from the Institute of Psychoacoustics in Ghent, Josep Maria Mestres Quadreny who was founder of the Phonos Electroacoustic Music Laboratory and collaborator with Miro and Tapies, Juan Hidalgo, a Fluxus member who engaged with Cage and Tudor, and Cristobal Halffter, a prominent figure working with Boulez, Stockhausen, and Berio.

Review: This a compilation that means more than just good music - 100% of label profits from the sales will be donated to Livyj Bereh, a group of volunteers based in Kyiv who are working in regions affected by the war. It is a superb collection of mellow sounds and ambient atmospheres with some surprising leftfield cuts and curious curveballs along the way. First up, curating the A-side, is Ukrainian Muscut who has turned to artists from his homeland only - Kavkazka Sound, Radiant Futur, Mlin Patz, Iury Lech and Ihor Okuniev all contribute while Estonian Mida then takes care of the flip with Portuguese trio Niagara in between Estonians Maarja Nuut, Rotrum, Luurel Varas and Terry Long Hermy.

Review: It's the first ever compilation from Do You Have Peace?, the celebrated Bristol label spearheaded by Jabu. Originally intended as a project that would link together disparate dream pop artists, things have naturally evolved into a far broader sonic spectrum. There are ties that bind, though, like the 'half awake' vibe running through every track here. On the list, then, you'll find DIY chamber music, cinema-worthy grand arrangements, intimate confessionals, and strange, otherworldly immersive love letters. Vocals dominate the early half, while the second allows us to escape into a mind unfettered by language, presenting sublime instrumentals without voices. Aside from a few half-heard utterances, motifs and fragments. Lush, engrossing and genuinely beautiful, it should be on everyone's list.