Terrace Of Memories
*250 copies limited edition* 1992’s Terrace Of Memories is an organic ambient album of longing and gentle melancholic minimalism. Sam Rosenthal (Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s founder/synthesist, then based in Los Angeles) and Dirk Serries (then recording under the moniker vidnaObmana in Belgium) blended their atmospheres and somber contemplative electronics on this timeless album filled with lush, dark and beautiful impressions. Energized by a passage of text written by Sam concerning a lost love…
MPU105
Ilian Tape kicks on with another entry into its ITX Series, this time with a lovely hand-stamped long player from MPU101. It is a deep dive into escapist ambient worlds with plenty of grainy tape hiss and cosmic static, celestial melodies and provocative moments of introspection. Analogue machinery is really brought to the fore on fuzzy sounds like 'CreamyPORTAL-Xa' with patient and pastoral synth smears, while 'APEX CA 91352' has brighter and more mellifluous melodies rising up through the mix.…
Franciska og Emilie
Jonas Torstensen returns to Discreet Music with the second Franciska album, following up the much praised Tryghed (Discreet Music 12) that was released in early 2023. Since Tryghed came out, Franciska has quickly become an established forefront of a young, new generation of Scandinavian experimental DIY musicians. This time a joint effort with his longtime friend and collaborator Camille Helt Haarder, the new album is dedicated to their shared hometown Odense in Denmark.
Mainly based on piano lo…
Columns / Falling Columns
*300 copies limited edition* Ben Kelly is one of the UK’s most influential designers. Kelly is best known for his interior design of the legendary nightclub, The Haçienda in Manchester. His practice has produced influential work for 180 Studios, Virgil Abloh, The Sex Pistols, The V&A, Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren and Factory Records. The Vinyl Factory first collaborated with Kelly to commission and stage his installation RUIN, produced in collaboration with Virgil Abloh, at 180 Studios in …
The Sarajevo Spiral
*300 copies limited edition* Nam-Khar and Vortex, two of the most prolific bands in the German occult underground, have joined forces to create their latest album, "The Sarajevo Spiral." Both bands have developed their respective ritualistic styles over numerous concept albums, making this collaboration a natural progression amidst the rising global conflicts of the current 'new 1920s.' The result is a martial and meditative album, unfolding eleven complex compositions that reflect on the human …
För Alltid
*80 copies limited edition* 'För alltid' is an album about time. The fuzzy & shapeless memories floating without coherence. Shortwave radio recordings picking up unbroken codes from the past. Hopeful voices whispering about a possible future from a hopeless now.
Inscriptions
*100 copies limited edition* "'Inscriptions' is an album inspired by the melancholy romance of autumn, the reflection of leaves in the rippling surface of a lake, crumbling architectural facades, and faded ink scripts on parchment. The album began with a collection of environmental sounds I recorded in Tallinn, Estonia back in the autumn of 2011, during a residency at the Estonian Artists' Association. These field recordings focus in on the quiet, everyday sounds of streets, parks, a lake and a …
Пустоши
*50 hand-numbered copies* On the summer solstice of 2023, NEN, with joy and sorrow, presents a new recording by tremorkikimor, "a non-human fem ensemble from the nearest swamp", now scattered by Russian war against Ukraine across different countries. Word to the authoresses: ‘Russian expression “В лихую годину” (‘In a bad times’) is right about the chronotope of our album. A field recording with crows and a humming port on Kanonersky Island, essential for this recording, was made amidst the pand…
Unessakaan Ei Voi Välttyä Ratkaisun Etsimiseltä
Miro-Benjamin Lindström's CD, "Unessakaan ei voi välttyä ratkaisun etsimiseltä," immerses listeners in a sonic journey characterized by its deeply minimalistic essence. Lindström crafts a captivating atmosphere through slow, quiet compositions that invite microscopic introspection. The album's title, translating to "Even In A Dream One Cannot Escape the Search for a Solution," hints at the contemplative theme threading through the six tracks. The listener is gently guided through aural landscape…
Polaris
Hot on the heels of their acclaimed second album, Iris, One Million Eyes unveil their latestwork, Polaris. This new album is a rich tapestry of analog and instrumental elements, creatinga vibrant and dynamic experience. Formerly known as Tempelhof (where they collaborated with artists like Gigi Masin), Luciano Ermondi and Paolo Mazzacani created One Million Eyes upon the realizing they needed a new creative outlet to rekindle their passion for making music. This new project allowed them to appro…
Drone Islands - Borealis
While the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is largely celebrated as a breathtaking natural wonder, it also has a more eerie, unexplained, and sinister side that has perplexed and unsettled observers for centuries. The strange, flickering lights have long been steeped in mystique, inspiring tales of supernatural forces, spirits, and even foreboding omens. In the quiet of the Arctic night, where the lights can seem to pulse with an almost otherworldly energy, it’s easy to understand why ancien…
Below/Light
Tip! "Below/Light" by Filer Coleman is a selection of ambient works by Jim Filer Coleman. It represents an antidote, or perhaps a counterpart, to the more aggressive music that he may be more known for such as Cop Shoot Cop and Human Impact. These tracks were recorded over a span of a few years, slowly evolving and seeking definition. Electrocoustic in nature, the approach was always exploratory and playful, searching for balance and connection with the natural world.
Jim Coleman was an instrume…
Towards the Nocturnal Sun
*300 copies limited edition* Towards the Nocturnal Sun is the second solo album from Malaysian artist Siew Y’ng-Yin’s Reverse Image. Earlier this year she also had her debut album by her noise project Fallen Sun released by Fourth Dimension. Unlike Fallen Sun’s proclivity for melding uncompromising and often abrasive sounds together with occasional rhythmic undercurrents, Reverse Image’s approach to soundmaking is defined by measured crystalline shimmer, iridescent patterns formed on a Martian s…
forge
*200 copies limited edition* On his new album ‚forge’, ambient artist KMRU explores the blend of melody and noise, rhythm and drone. ‚forge’ marks the third release on Seil Records for the Nairobi born and Berlin based producer. Made up of 10 tracks, the album effortlessly wanders from intimate compositions over field recordings to deep and rich soundscapes. The result feels like a living, breathing organism. Music you can immerse yourself in. Like few others, the 27 year old producer carved a n…
Sleep Deprivation
"Sleep Deprivation" began in 2006, during a time when The Black Dog's sleep patterns were drastically altered by constant travel and late-night gigs: "This relentless cycle of broken sleep became a persistent part of our lives, and over time, we noticed something remarkable: our music became more emotional, raw, and vulnerable. Sleep, or the lack of it, affects every aspect of life, and its influence on our creative process was undeniable. For this album, we chose to embrace that emotional inten…
Cross Sections
*300 copies limited edition* Clothilde’s new album sounds like a constant departure from almost everything. Up until now, her music pieces seemed uncontrolled, a total commitment to the machines. She was, somehow, in between us - listener, audience - and the idea of a machine producing sounds she doesn’t seem to control. Of course, none of this was entirely true, she was mostly in control, but the fantasy, the orchestration of it was beautiful. It was sci-fi-ish, Metropolis-magnificent. In “Cros…
Clouded Mind
*Dubbed on TDK Chrome Tapes - very good quality!* Two long-form pieces evolving around experimental sampling and noticeably draws inspiration from the sharp digital sounds of the 2000s. Notably, these sounds doesn't lack the inorganicness and sterility that often are a synonym with the early digital era. From my perspective these two pieces reflect glimpses of wild articulative freedom from a otherwise verysimplistic language.
Riconnessione Iconoclastica Sacrale
“Does destruction of sacred images imply anything for the erosion of the role of the imperial icons? Because divinity being destroyed is not a representation of a spiritual form disappearing, but a consequence of historian interpretation, scientists are doing exactly what everyone would do when tripping in ego-fixation, creating a transformation which is itself subversive and self-deconditioning. The church of the Virgin has been rebuilt and lavishly refurbished, due to major insights regarding …
Red River
Kolkata-based musician Nilotpal Das aka Bios Contrast's new album 'Red River', arrives as a narrative sequel to his 'Dragon Rising' LP on Hong Kong DIY label Mouhoi. The concept behind the record is a speculative historical drama and myth taking place during the deadly Kalinga War in the Mauryan Empire of India. Following his intensive 24-hour harmonium drone compositions, Das's 'Red River' uses recordings of Bell 407, a civil utility helicopter as the main body of the record together with a 47-…