Back catalogue: Classical

Review: This new one from our favourite US ambient outlet takes the form of a selection of long-form compositions from artists who are close to the label. As such it's a perfect reflection of its signature sound - deeply immersive soundscapes, slowly shifting synths and meditative moods made with a mix of hardware tools, guitars, pedals and even baritone vocals. It's named after a Norwegian term for warmth and intimacy, which certainly plays out from the evolving loops of 'A Whisper' to the textured melancholy of 'Canaan' and the reverberant drift of 'Coronation Ring'.

Review: Shackleton and Waclaw Zimpel's first album Primal Forms was a masterful collaboration which arrived on Cosmo Rhythmatic in 2020. The pair clearly found fruit in their crossover as they return for a second instalment, this time on 7K! and with an expanded approach thanks to the addition of Siddhartha Belmannu, a strikingly talented young singer in the field of Indian classical music. The over-arching intention of the artists was to make a joyous album about the wonder of life and living, but of course this isn't a one-dimensional happy-clappy record. Rather, it's a meditative exercise dealing in fascinating microtonality and mesmerising harmonic interplay with the power to have a profound, uncanny effect on the listener.

Review: Los Angeles-based composer Tashi Wada steps out with his long awaited debut album, What Is Not Strange?, and a fine first solo outing it is too. It is by far his most ambitious and widescreen work to date and it comes laden with plenty of emotion as a result of the fact that it was written and recorded over a period that encompassed the death of his father and the rather opposite feelings of experiencing the birth of his daughter. As such Wada reflects inward to explore various themes including being alive, mortality and finding one's place in the world. His unique song based expressionism goes from ecstatic to denser forms and starker contrasts. It is a wonderful experiment and immersive listen.

Review: Mutant has hooked up with Hollywood Records and 20th Century Studios to offer up the first ever physical release of Benjamin Wallfisch's score for Alien: Romulus. Wallfisch's masterful score successfully revives the chilling atmosphere of the original Alien films with the dissonant, atonal soundscapes of Jerry Goldsmith and melodies from later sequels creating a uniquely immersive listen. This limited edition release captures Wallfisch's remarkable craft and is a fine tribute to the franchise's legacy while adding his own distinct voice. It includes liner notes by director Fede Alvarez for an ever fuller experience.

Review: This deluxe vinyl reissue presents the original Bride of Frankenstein soundtrack featuring remastered audio, new artwork, and estate-approved likenesses of Elsa Lanchester. Directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff and Lanchester, the 1935 horror classic is widely regarded as one of cinema's greatest sequels and was rightly celebrated as Whale's masterpiece. The movie was added to the U.S. National Film Registry in 1998 for its cultural significance and this historic release has been sourced from master acetates at Syracuse University and Universal's archives and marks the first time the film's original score is available on vinyl.

Review: This project began in 2018 when Jonny Campos was on a break from playing guitar with Grammy-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers and recorded ambient pedal steel passages at Kirkland Middleton's house. The resulting tracks are named after vanished Southern Louisiana waterways and evoke a sense of impermanence. The music flows like a dream, slipping into consciousness as a serene, meditative experience or a deeply resonant one. The album first came digitally and on cassette via Nouveau Electric Records in 2020 but now lands on vinyl thanks to DFA.

Review: "One might thus regard the Welsh rarebit as a Machine in which a process is applied to the conditioning and perception of the world of bread and cheese." Suffice to say, John White might not have had the same ideas about what constitutes Machine Music back in 1976 as you do today. This is also the first time we've ever managed to get a reference to Welsh rarebit into the first line of writing about a record, so everyone is learning something today. "The Machines" White refers to are the individual tracks themselves, all recorded between 1967 and 1972 and all comprising different combinations of a thing. Six pairs of "bass melody instruments" made 'Autumn Countdown Machine', different permutations of "the articulations 'ging, gang, gong, gung, ho!'" comprise 'Jews Harp Machine'. And 'Son of Gothic Chord' is crafted from the sequential chord progression of four keyboard players, spanning an octave. Conceptual experimental and wildly imaginative stuff on the borderline of electronica, abstract, mathematical and something otherworldly.

Review: Adam Wiltzie is an American-born, Belgium-based ambient composer, sound designer, film soundtracker and one half of A Winged Victory For The Sullen. His latest album-length suite was inspired by two things: a recurring dream in which people die after listening to his music, and a fascination with sodium pentathol, a barbiturate routinely used as a general anaesthetic. It's a kind of musical exploration of - to paraphrase his label's accompanying press release - tiptoeing between beauty and oblivion, or sleepiness and wakefulness. Mixed by Loop man Robert Hampson and featuring strings recorded in Budapest, the album ebbs and flows majestically, with billowing orchestral moments nestling side by side with creepy ambience, immersive and dream-like soundscapes, simmering melodic motifs and the kind of arty but enveloping fare that reminded us a little of the Orb and Robert Fripp's mid-90s FFWD project.

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.