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Back catalogue: Ambient/Drone
Juno's full catalogue of Ambient/Drone
Albums
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Reverberations Of Non Stop Traffic On Redding Road (clear vinyl LP + MP3 download code)
Cat: SHIMMY 2022LPC1. Rel: 21 Mar 24
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.
… Read morePlayed by: Juno Recommends Ambient/Drone
in stock $31.52
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Cat: RBINC 010LP. Rel: 22 Nov 23
Review: Gerd Jansen's faultless Running Back is back with another of its hard-to-define but essential albums, Keep Looking Where The Light Comes From, this time from Panoram. It is a record that blurs the line between chaos and beauty, with fuzzy synths and improvised rhythms offering up some intriguing sound designs and unusual textures. There is a psychedelic feel to many of those, but so too a dream-like quality where barely-there melodies and half-remembered vocals drift in and out of earshot. Both maximal and minimal compositions feature with nods to ASMR pleasures and a mix of synthetic and acoustic sounds.
… Read more in stock $21.85
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Review: Parus is a Belarusian ethno-ambient project blending pagan songs with modern soundscapes and Zara is their debut album. Led by ethnographer and folk singer Hanna Silivonchyk, the record features traditional Belarusian songs in various dialects, all accompanied by synths and field recordings crafted by Anton Anishchanka. The tracks were gathered during ethnographic expeditions across Belarusian national parks, and songs like 'Soniejka' and the title cut offer intimate reflections on life, love and mythology. It connects to the past while maintaining a deep personal edge that makes Zara a fascinating exploration of Belarusian culture.
… Read more in stock $24.89
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Cat: OUEST 091. Rel: 29 Sep 21
Review: There's a point in To All Sides They Will Stretch Out Their Hands when the nature of drone really makes itself clear. To the lazy ear that might easily be confused for 'Formula To Attract Affections', with its gorgeous waves of synth washing through your ears, like non-bio washing detergent. Others could assume it's the transient refrains of 'Dream Song of the Woman'. Neither are really true.
'In the Great Night My Heart Will Go Out' is quite possibly one of the greatest things you've ever heard sound like a walk home in the drizzle at 6AM. You can hear every detail of can against pave-ment, rat against wind, kebab against bin. And yet very little happens or changes within the noises. The sound of a British suburban street in the witching hours. Weirdly beautiful.
… Read more'In the Great Night My Heart Will Go Out' is quite possibly one of the greatest things you've ever heard sound like a walk home in the drizzle at 6AM. You can hear every detail of can against pave-ment, rat against wind, kebab against bin. And yet very little happens or changes within the noises. The sound of a British suburban street in the witching hours. Weirdly beautiful.
in stock $22.11
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The Air Outside Feels Crazy Right Now (LP in embossed sleeve)
Cat: ASM 08LP. Rel: 04 Apr 25
Review: Perila returns with a reflective spiritual successor to her 2022 album that comes on Vaagner's sister label A Sunken Mall. The album takes in eight tracks produced between 2021 and 2023 and they all do a fine job of conveying a serene vulnerability with its drifting, ethereal soundscapes smeared with echoing voices, droning guitars and resonant textures. It's like a whispered conversation during quiet moments and once again makes for a world that doesn't need to be understood, only felt. The Air Outside Feels Crazy Right Now reminds us that finding inner peace through music can counter the chaos of the external world and help turn fragility into strength.
… Read morePlayed by: Alexis Le-Tan, Juno Recommends Ambient/Drone
in stock $39.80
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Neither The Beginning Nor The End Exist (limited LP + insert)
Cat: TDR 003. Rel: 06 Jul 23
Review: Petteril aka James Gilbert has created a series of audio collages that muse on the notion of impermanence - the idea that living in the moment is all we really have, that those moments have no real beginning and end. That live has no value other than the memories we make. He improvises using several instruments - a mix of the physical, analogue and digital - and uses generative elements that all loop delicately and very much help you give yourself over to being lost in the music, in the moment, in the magic of life. It's a soothing listen that traverses various moods, always with an immersive design.
… Read more in stock $23.78
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Review: American DJ, producer and electronic musician Evan Shornstein, AKA Photay, is perhaps best known for his work on labels like the uber-exalted Ninja Tune, highly respected Astro Nautico, and super-good Mexican Summer. And at times (well, on 2022's On Hold), he's worked with telephone hold music samples. Forget all that, though, because here he teams up with the similarly visionary-minded Carlos NiNo for a masterclass in atmosphere and laidback, slick, immersive tones.
It's hard to really put your finger on what's happening with An Offering. In some ways, it's contemporary classical, or at least it makes you feel like you're listening to an orchestra warming up, possibly playing incidental parts to augment some narrative playing out on an audibly large stage. In other ways, this is highly experimental business that occupies a space in a kind of instrumentally-unique ambient world. Jazzy, strange, ethereal, and utterly mesmerising.
… Read moreIt's hard to really put your finger on what's happening with An Offering. In some ways, it's contemporary classical, or at least it makes you feel like you're listening to an orchestra warming up, possibly playing incidental parts to augment some narrative playing out on an audibly large stage. In other ways, this is highly experimental business that occupies a space in a kind of instrumentally-unique ambient world. Jazzy, strange, ethereal, and utterly mesmerising.
in stock $16.03
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Review: With the gentle waves of melody floating calmly beneath a layer of distortion somewhere between the crackling of old wax and gentle raindrops, Bonus makes no secret of its intent to make you feel utterly, irreversibly relaxed. And things only get more inviting as the album progresses, with work like 'Leaving a Conversation' defining what we're talking about. These are tunes to get lost in, all thoughts and concerns slowly dissipating into some ether or other.
None of which is to say this is background music, or anything short of powerful ambient drone. 'Elkhorn' is a great example - walls of sound and a strong sense of rhythmic urgency open the track, which gradually builds subtle beats around those more gentile tones, creating something that could work on dancefloors or amid meditation sessions alike, with 'Folds & Rips' and 'Drops In The Water' among the other items here on a similar tip.
… Read moreNone of which is to say this is background music, or anything short of powerful ambient drone. 'Elkhorn' is a great example - walls of sound and a strong sense of rhythmic urgency open the track, which gradually builds subtle beats around those more gentile tones, creating something that could work on dancefloors or amid meditation sessions alike, with 'Folds & Rips' and 'Drops In The Water' among the other items here on a similar tip.
in stock $47.29
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Picture Music (remastered) (gatefold 2xLP)
Cat: LER 1028. Rel: 06 Jul 22
Review: Picture Music's works are pining dedications to idealized, fragile beauty. At the same time, the 80s Brisbane duo's name functioned as a nice pun, with every one of their works intended as workable in film, hence "picture music". Here their groundbreaking yet lesser-spotted ambient debut album, first released in 1987 on tape, gets a wax reissue via Left Ear. We're thrown back to a candlelit array of twilit tunes, from the curious, marimba-ey narrative developer 'Ivory Coast' to the light yet evocative, heart chakra-affirming piece 'Landscape'.
… Read more in stock $31.80
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Des Morts (Of The Dead) (Soundtrack) (LP + insert)
Cat: FKR 114LP. Rel: 13 Apr 23
Review: If you've not seen Des Morts then buckle up and prepare for something you'll never, ever forget. The critically acclaimed documentary is one of very few films to directly deal with the unspeakable of life - death. During the course of the running time, you encounter doctors desperately trying to save a stab victim, a body melting in the heat of a crematorium chamber, the execution of a Philippine guerrilla, people who are about to be no more, and those they will leave behind.
Fear of all this is a largely Western condition, but humans have a universal obsession with death that stays with us until all questions are eventually answered when we finally die. Composer Alain Pierre does his best to convey this mystery, awe, and unknowing via a soundtrack that runs between outtakes from the film, synthesiser overtures, field recordings, religious chants and more.
… Read moreFear of all this is a largely Western condition, but humans have a universal obsession with death that stays with us until all questions are eventually answered when we finally die. Composer Alain Pierre does his best to convey this mystery, awe, and unknowing via a soundtrack that runs between outtakes from the film, synthesiser overtures, field recordings, religious chants and more.
in stock $28.75
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Kum: Percorsi Intrecciati Con Franco Battiato (gatefold 2xLP + insert)
Cat: 838876 6630276. Rel: 31 Jan 25
Review: KUM explores the work of Giusto Pio from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, which was a period of intense sound experimentation. The album features four pieces-'Rappel,' 'Alla Corte di Nefertiti,' 'MeDeA' and 'A.D.A.M. Ubi Es' which are all linked by Pio's collaboration with Franco Battiato. Their creative exchange helped shape Pio's post-avant-garde vision and blend new musical fragments and "astral counterpoints in frequencies and colours in time." Nearly 50 years later, KUM offers a philological perspective on these intertwined artistic paths that highlights the innovative approach that defined Pio's unique exploration of sound and composition.
… Read more in stock $50.87
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Koselig (LP limited to 200 copies)
Cat: PITPZD 036. Rel: 10 Feb 25
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'.
… Read more in stock $17.69
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Review: Duane Pitre's Omniscient Voices is another excellent one from the acclaim pianist and composer. It is his first since the highs of 2015's 'Bayou Electric' and finds Pitre composing short piano motifs and feeding them into a generative computer program which then in real time convert them into microtonal electronic sounds. It results in an album of minimalism, with blurry chords and more detuned sounding notes that cut through the ambiance. Sounds decay and evolve, smudge and melt into one another as this warm and enveloping album unfolds with hints of sadness, loneliness and bitterness all found within.
… Read morePlayed by: Juno Recommends Ambient/Drone
in stock $26.27
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Silver Streams (transparent orange vinyl LP limited to 300 copies)
Cat: PLANT43 008LP. Rel: 06 Mar 23
Review: Perhaps slightly better known for his dancefloor-enlivening electro productions, this is actually the third full length ambient album from UK producer Emile Facey under the Plant43 moniker. He's been writing and storing up atmospheric synthesiser experiments alongside his dancefloor oriented output since his last ambient LP The Countless Stones released in 2020, and the eight tracks here are meditative, ethereal affairs, Facey carving out a beautiful set of vivid emotions out of crystal clear pure sounds and arpeggios rolling like gentle waves lapping at a shore. Imagine classic Tangerine Dream combined with the balance and poise of Global Communication and you're getting close.
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… Read more.
Played by: Juno Recommends Ambient/Drone
in stock $12.71
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Review: Greek electronic music legend Lena Platonos returns to Dark Entries with Balancers, an LP of previously unreleased material recorded between 1982-1985. Athens-based Platonos has worked with the label previously to reissue her three solo LPs - Gallop, Sun Masks, and Lepidoptera - as well as to release three accompanying 12" EPs featuring modern remixes of her work. She is renowned for her forays into cutting-edge electronic experimentation as well as her striking, impressionistic poetry and lyrics, always recited in Greek. Also included is an insert with lyrics in both Greek and English.
… Read more in stock $18.79
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Review: Enji and Popp are Squama label regulars of and here they unite for their debut LP, Nant, under the Poeji alias. It finds them expanding beyond post-dub and downtempo and building on their 2022 EP, 031921 5.24 5.53, which was a limited run of dubplates, to showcase their innovation in the studio. The duo employs minimal initial ideas and relies on non-verbal cues to shape their sound in the studio and Enji's vocals, subtly integrated with reverb and guitar effects, complement Popp's intricate use of wooden and metal percussion perfectly. It's layered with tape echoes and analogue delays so Nant offers great moments of fleeting musical beauty.
… Read more in stock $27.92
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Review: Preston, UK-based Polypores (AKA Stephen James Buckley) is a great advertisement for just how fertile the North West England electronic music production scene is outside of Manchester, the region's sonic epicentre. Self-describing as "painting" sounds with synthesisers, suffice to say his a deep and patient aural world to step into, and one that reflects the rugged serenity of the region's stunning countryside. Multizonal Mindscramble is a case in point. With track titles like 'The Dream Incubator' and 'Machine Elves', it's clear these are computer sounds but made resolutely human through earthly and heavenly elements, gliding refrains, bubbling flourishes, and a vast, open feeling to arrangements. Naturally evolving, ebbing, and flowing, rather than being trapped in the regimented, hard-fixed loops and patterns that can often define output from musicians and their digital audio workstations.
… Read more in stock $28.20
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Review: Posuposu Otani is a mysterious throat singer and songwriter from Japan who dropped his debut physical album in March. By merging open-tuned guitar, Kohkin (aka the Jew's harp) and traditional throat singing, Otani creates a sound filled with rich harmonics and fluid rhythms that all evoke the mood of Impressionist art and explore themes of freedom, nature and self-discovery. Influenced by his punk roots, worldly travels and immersion in mountain life, Otani's storytelling music reflects his deep connection to the natural world and makes for a far-journeying listen.
… Read more in stock $22.11
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Effroyables Jardins (Soundtrack) (LP + insert + postcard)
Cat: ACOLOUR 040. Rel: 17 Sep 24
Review: Strange Gardens, or Effroyables Jardins, tells the story of a French clown whose son is embarrassed by him, but this tomfoolery has a serious past - antics saved the street performer and his friend, Andre, both members of the French Resistance during the war, from certain death at the hands of the Nazis. It's an intimate and, at times, troubling exploration of innocence, persecution, identity, friendship, loyalty and escapism in the most harrowing circumstances. Not to mention the short memories of mankind and the prejudices we unfairly develop when truths are committed to faded sepia photographs. Zbignieuw Preisner encapsulates this thoughtful atmosphere beautifully, providing a piano and string score that's tender, poignant, emotional, and musically captivating. A record that can just as easily stand alone as it can next to its visual brethren.
… Read more in stock $25.99
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Ambiq (LP)
Cat: AM 703/14LP. Rel: 28 Jul 14
Review: Samuel Rohrer's ArjunaMusic has been minimal in its output since 2012's debut from the label-head himself, but what he's put out has been of the highest quality. While both previous releases were strictly CD-only, Ambiq has also been pressed onto LP format. It seems strange that the deep, intricate music on the label hadn't been released on vinyl, but we're not here to question, merely to tell you how great this piece of music is. Buried in a complex shell compred of strands of free jazz, psyched-out electronics and ambient, this is as experimental as it gets. Starting from the opener, "Erdkern", we're thrown head-first into a melodic frenzy, one which expands and contracts from more rigid structures such as "Tund" and dissolves back into the abyss. The breaks on "Touching The Present" are stupendous. So great to see that the free jazz dynasty has evolved into brighter, more contemporary spheres.
… Read more in stock $31.80
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Embryology (180 gram white & blue vinyl 2xLP + MP3 download code)
Cat: PITPV 050. Rel: 31 Jul 23
Review: Daljit Kundi and Ludvig Cimbrelius have Indian and Swedish backgrounds but actually came together in the UK music scene and specifically ambient jungle. They set off to explore that world totters and did so with aplomb across several great albums and EPs. This new album was actually nearly done many years ago but was shelved owing to struggles with record labels. When Past Inside The Present heard it though they encouraged the album to be finished and so here it is. It's an emotional work which "attempts to represent a psychic darkness that is as deeply restful as it is ripe with creative potential." It's absorbing, beautiful ambient from a pair of real dons.
… Read more in stock $32.36
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Review: Recorded at the legendary Eglise du Saint-Esprit in Paris, Blue Veil is the very first time we've been given a record fully dedicated to the incredible solo cello work of Lucy Railton. A spectacularly talented composer who is a master of the world's most mournful-yet-beautiful instrument, this is as much of a heart-stopping performance as it is a concept work of art. In many ways, Blue Veil is an experiment in resonance. If it were synthesised, we might refer to it as drone, although by nature the label infers a level of dullness. Here, we're talking about the natural refrains of an orchestral sunrise, the ebb and flow of contemporary classical tides. We're invited in, hypnotised, lulled and then let go. Free to wander back into the world after a brief respite from its relentless pace.
… Read more in stock $29.85
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A Monster's Expedition & Earlier Adventures (Soundtrack) (gatefold orange vinyl LP + purple vinyl LP + insert in spot-varnished sleeve)
Cat: 8BIT 81592. Rel: 06 Jun 23
Review: A Monster's Expedition + Earlier Adventures is a double disc collection of music from four different video games (namely A Monster's Expedition, Sokobond, Cosmic Express and A Good Snowman Is Hard to Build) all composed by Eli Rainsberry, Allison Walker, Nick Dymond, and Priscilla Snow. Each one is utterly unique to the game and each one comes laden with beautiful soothing atmospheres delicately coloured with ponderous and whimsical melodies that will distract you from whatever you are doing they are so gorgeous. This is music to get lost in and it comes with superbly serene artwork from Andre Rodrigues.
… Read more in stock $44.24
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Review: The Buddha Bar series is one of the most enduring in all of dance music. It made famous the bars of the same name which started in Paris and are now found throughout the world, all with a signature soundtrack of gentle downtempo, jazzy house and stylish Balearic. French label Wagram attempt to pull together some of the very best bits from the very many cosmos over the years onto this one triple pack. And they do a fine job too with nice horizontal sounds from Ravin, Carlos Campos & David Visan, Consoul Training & Pink Noisy and Panjabi Hit Squad amongst many more, all with a nice worldly feel and cocktail-sipping atmosphere.
… Read more in stock $58.34
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Rain Without Rain (LP + MP3 download code limited to 300 copies)
Cat: TAL 033LP. Rel: 16 Sep 24
Review: Rain and experimental music have long shared an intriguing connection. Hanns Eisler's 1941 work "ierzehn Arten, den Regen zu beschreiben explored rain's musical qualities while later artists like The Beatles and David Toop found inspiration in its rhythms. Today, amidst pressing climate change, rain's once poetic allure has dimmed. However, Razen's album Rain Without Rain, which was recorded in an abandoned Dusseldorf tunnel, revisits rain's musical potential. Blending early electronics and traditional instruments, the Brussels collective led by Brecht Ameel and Kim Delcour captures raw acoustics in unconventional spaces and cook up a unique soundscape that thrives on restraint and silence.
… Read more in stock $31.80
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SubHuman (reissue) (limited gatefold transparent blue vinyl 2xLP + MP3 download code)
Cat: LSTUMM 279. Rel: 10 Nov 22
Review: Depeche Mode member Alan Wilder is Recoil. This musical project found him landing on Mute with a great series of albums including the likes of Liquid and Unsound Methods as well as his sixth LP, subHuman. This one dates back to 2006 and came after a 6-year break from recording. It is dark and broody electronic music "which sets the listener a challenge to analyse what makes us human and subHuman." It's a collaboration with bluesman Joe Richardson who served up guitars as well as harmonica and eerie vocals. Themes in the record include murder, death, and religion while guest singer Carla Trevaskis did a fine job of serving up ethereal sound on 'Allelujah'.
… Read more in stock $32.62
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Review: Mind Express boss Refracted, AKA Berlin's Alex Moya, emerges from the depths of some murky, oily, opaque lake. A place unsettling and unnerving - the site of some unknown tension - but also wonderfully inimitable and hard to countenance. Powerful stuff, just not really in a way that immediately presents itself as such. Nevertheless, before you know it these tones have enveloped and ensnared. Call it ambient techno, call it ambient, call it pure futurism - parts here almost feel like the ambient noises of familiar things that haven't been invented yet. If that makes sense? A moody precog of a record, it whirs and drones, echoes and dissipates. There are moments when structure become more defined, like the mystery of 'Initiation', but for the most part these are aural infinity loops.
… Read more in stock $28.48
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Review: Marlene Ribeiro's cult status has already guaranteed copies of this will be flying out faster than you can say "first album under own name after years as Negra Branca, a member of GNOD, and collaborations with luminaries from Valentina Magaletti to Thurston Moore". And her first offering as herself, as it were, rockets straight to the pinnacle of career highs to date, a record that's so full of ideas yet consistent and complete.
Produced between Ireland, Portugal, Madeira and Salford, partly inspired by Ribeiro's grandmother, Emilia, introducing her to the concept of "recording things, here and there". The result is this incredible combination of hallucinatory dream pop, found notes and captured moments, resulting in a vivid tapestry of hook-laden songs that are meditative yet catchy, late-night but bright and breezy.
… Read moreProduced between Ireland, Portugal, Madeira and Salford, partly inspired by Ribeiro's grandmother, Emilia, introducing her to the concept of "recording things, here and there". The result is this incredible combination of hallucinatory dream pop, found notes and captured moments, resulting in a vivid tapestry of hook-laden songs that are meditative yet catchy, late-night but bright and breezy.
Played by: Juno Recommends Leftfield
in stock $25.99
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Quiet In A World Full Of Noise (LP + poster)
Cat: MRG 864LP. Rel: 03 Oct 24
Review: Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn reunite for new album Quiet in a World Full of Noise, which is driven by their shared curiosity and desire to defy genre conventions. Following their 2022 collaboration Pigments, this new work together blends atmospheric, orchestral soundscapes with soulful jazz and intimate, confessional vocals and the result is a raw and exposed performance from Richard who delivers stark lyricism that feels both personal and profound. The album redefines the worlds of progressive, avant-garde r&b and jazz with an ethereal yet grounded approach, heavenly melodies and plenty of wide open space in which to luxuriate. By merging the familiar with the unexpected, this fine pair create a sound that makes a lasting impression.
… Read more in stock $31.80
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Review: Max Richter's ninth solo album, In A Landscape, is his first recorded at his tranquil new studio in rural Oxfordshire, Studio Richter Mahr, which is a minimalist, eco-conscious retreat he shares with his wife. The album explores "reconciling polarities" and blends electronic and acoustic elements with the human experience and elements from the natural world. Comprising 19 exquisitely well-crafted and coherent tracks, this record serves as a reflective counterweight to the urgency of previous projects and focuses on Richter's immediate surroundings and a range of influences from Bach to Keats. In capturing moments of introspection using a simple palette of string quintet, piano, organ, and analogue synths, Richter impresses once again here.
… Read more in stock $39.26
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Review: This debut from the mysterious duo Atiq and dreadmaul is an immersive concept album which explores the ancient themes of transformation and initiation by blending mysticism and archaic rituals with modern electronic beats. Each track transports listeners into a haunting soundscape rich in organic elements like bone flutes, throat singing and shamanic invocations, all woven into intricate electronic arrangements. The album strikes a perfect balance between the ancient and contemporary with a feeling of ritual and cermet in the long form and immersive rhythms that are as unforgettable as they are hypotonic.
… Read more in stock $13.83
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Structures From Silence (40th Anniversary Edition) (remastered) ('sea blue & ultra clear' vinyl LP + booklet)
Cat: 617026 041537. Rel: 29 Apr 25
Review: It's hard to believe that Steve Roach's landmark space ambient exploration is now four decades young. Emphasis on the young, considering we're getting new releases through that sound pretty similar. No disrespect to those that do - the point is Structures From Silence was so massively ahead of its time it still feels like the rest of us are catching up. Floating on a dust ring somewhere close to Saturn, maybe, this is lush, dreamy, cosmic synth stuff to lose yourself in. Just be sure there's a yurt close by, because this one's all about lying down and staring into your own thoughts. An exercise in escapism, without needing to move a muscle. In 2025, there's plenty of off-world talk as Earth buckles under the weight of capitalism. Little do they know some of us left that place behind decades ago.
… Read more in stock $28.48
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Review: Robert Rental is back on the mighty Dark Entries as the cult label reissues his Mental Detentions album as an expanded double pack. Rental is a Scottish pioneer of DIY electronic music who played a key role in shaping the UK's countercultural sound alongside collaborators like Thomas Leer and Daniel Miller. Though he released little solo music, his 1979 cassette Mental Detentions was a standout of the era that featured raw demos made with budget equipment like a Roland drum machine and Stylophone keyboard. Tracks like 'Stuck' offer a distorted take on the classic motorik sound, while 'Vox' delivers an 18-minute ambient journey in which it is easy to get lost. Rental's work captures the spirit of experimentation and innovation in the face of limited resources.
… Read more in stock $33.17
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Review: Samuel Rohrer's stylish new solo album is a fine advert for his expertise as a multi-instrumentalist as it blends percussion, modular synths and keys into lovely downtempo grooves. The title may suggest romantic simplicity, but the music delivers nuanced emotional and tonal complexity and is dedicated to "brave lovers" seeking truth. Tracks like 'The Parish Bell' reveal Rohrer's focused, unhurried style with ephemeral sounds emerging and fading gracefully and guest contributions like Nils Petter Molvaer's muted horn on 'The Gift' add layers of warmth at a record which rewards attentive listening.
… Read morePlayed by: Phat Phil Cooper
in stock $23.78
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Review: RRUCCULLA finds fresh new ground to explore here on his new Zero Freq album for Lapsus. It is a wide-ranging one with vastly cinematic tracks taking you on a trip through magnificently realised compositions that pair electronic sound design with an almost orchestral architecture. The tracks sound both synthetic and abstract but organic and real world. Rhythms range from dubby and persuasive to barely there at all. In combining such grand ideas with relatable structures the Spanish composer, percussionist and multidisciplinary artist once again shows why he is in a class of one.
… Read morein stock $17.41
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Rue Des Garderies (gatefold 3xLP limited to 150 copies)
Cat: FEMACOSME 001. Rel: 02 Jul 24
Review: Rues Des Garderies, Rues Des Garderies, Rues Des Garderies. Desire Bonaventure & Zach, two to watch on the Parisian alternative electronic scene, make a case for themselves in everything from EP title to the delivery of individual tracks. Opening on bathtub-level hazy bliss, 'Deus Custoviat', we're quickly absorbed into this warm melting pot of noises. 'Soulseekerz' makes it clear that this is undoubtedly a journey, sound evolving from one another, an arrangement that speaks to the last and the next in joyful, beautiful refrains. Drone in the technical but not necessarily implied sense. Later, we get 'Gurum Nation', yet another example of chill & bass' resurgence, and the most uptempo piece of the pack so far. Regardless of individual specifics, though, you're still getting something complete here. Ambient, experimental, whatever. Ultimately it's music for a mood.
… Read more in stock $37.33
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Review: Polish audio artist and sound designer Wojciech Rubin apparently draws a lot of inspiration from gnostic texts. If that's your blank drawn, we're talking about a collection of religious beliefs that took root in the first century AD and pointed to humankind's salvation coming through knowledge, as oppose to faith. To quote South Park, "we didn't listen" and so we are where we are today. Thankfully, at least someone remembers this moment in the story of civilisation, although you'll need to listen pretty closely to spot how this has influenced Rusin. Nevertheless, Honey For The Ants is captivating stuff, giving us powerful and somewhat spiritual vocal solos, meandering piano wonders, droning didgeridoos, soft string movements and a sense of the fantastical, forgotten, and dreamt throughout.
… Read morein stock $18.04
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Resonant Bodies (heavyweight vinyl 2xLP)
Cat: MFM 059. Rel: 23 Mar 22
Review: It's the seventh studio album from Suso Saiz, and the Spanish producer has never been on better form. Once again raising the musical bar, expanding into new ambient territories. Or, as he puts it himself: 'A body vibrates producing a sound that reaches another body and makes it vibrate and generate a new sound that makes another body vibrate that generates another sound...
'Imagine an infinite orchestra of bodies multiplying their sound vibrations creating the symphony of RESONANT BODIES. Resonance as a principle of COMMUNICATION; sound as a builder of ties and interrelations between men.' Take from that what you will, we're going for slightly different terms - tracks here are serene but never background, beautiful and thought provoking, a work of art that doesn't need to shout for attention, and instead invites you in deeper by the minute.
… Read more'Imagine an infinite orchestra of bodies multiplying their sound vibrations creating the symphony of RESONANT BODIES. Resonance as a principle of COMMUNICATION; sound as a builder of ties and interrelations between men.' Take from that what you will, we're going for slightly different terms - tracks here are serene but never background, beautiful and thought provoking, a work of art that doesn't need to shout for attention, and instead invites you in deeper by the minute.
Played by: Manu Archeo
in stock $30.42
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Async (gatefold 180 gram vinyl 2xLP + postcard)
Cat: RZJM 77843. Rel: 22 Jan 24
Review: Originally released in 2017, async was the 19th studio album from Japanese heavyweight Ryuichi Sakamoto, breaking a near-decade-long hiatus during which he was treated for throat cancer. And it's incredibly dense stuff to dive into, with genius on display both in terms of theoretical approach to recording, and avant-garde thinking behind what a record could and should be. Of course, that's hardly surprising for Sakamoto, whose legacy as one of Japan's foremost sonic adventurers may still not be stated enough, even after all the post-humous repressings and tributes. On this outing, then, we have strange, otherworldly interpretations of everyday instruments, a heavy focus on playing with textures of sound, bits of artists such as David Sylvian and Paul Bowles reading texts, found noises from city streets and themes of mortality, and our difficulty in accepting that truth.
… Read more in stock $74.10
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Garden Of Shadows & Light (180 gram clear vinyl LP in embossed sleeve)
Cat: TTTT 007. Rel: 09 Jul 21
Review: It's eerie, deeply atmospheric, littered with what feel like found noises and strange abstract tones, but then rooted in impressive levels of musicality, possessing just enough form and structure to move beyond sound installation into full blown movements.
Or at least that's the case with the first part of this double release, Garden of Shadows & Light (Part 1), which sees melody used in almost abstract ways to bring emotional responses out of the listener. Meanwhile, Part 2 takes us into submerged realms that may or may not have something to do with whales. If all this sounds pretty out there then it should, after all this is Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Toop's live performance from The Silver Building in London in 2018, where the former performed sat at and inside a piano, while the latter used bone conduction and vibration motors among other things. Eccentric and innovative.
… Read moreOr at least that's the case with the first part of this double release, Garden of Shadows & Light (Part 1), which sees melody used in almost abstract ways to bring emotional responses out of the listener. Meanwhile, Part 2 takes us into submerged realms that may or may not have something to do with whales. If all this sounds pretty out there then it should, after all this is Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Toop's live performance from The Silver Building in London in 2018, where the former performed sat at and inside a piano, while the latter used bone conduction and vibration motors among other things. Eccentric and innovative.
in stock $22.11
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Ryuichi SAKAMOTO / VARIOUS
A Tribute To Ryuichi Sakamoto: To The Moon & Back (gatefold 2xLP)
Cat: 196587 37981. Rel: 01 Dec 22
Review: Released to coincide with Japanese musical Goliath Ryuichi Sakamoto's 70th birthday, To the Moon & Back was almost inevitable. Even without worrying reports about the maestro's health, there's no way anyone can have such a significant impact on global music for so long and not have people wanting to pay tribute upon reaching septuagenarian years.
And what a tribute it is. Taking elements from a huge back catalogue that stretches back to the mid-1970s, contemporary greats including Thundercat, Alva Noto, Hildur Guonadottir, The Cinematic Orchestra, and David Sylvian offer new versions and remixes of the master's stuff, with each track here chosen by Sakamoto, which is about as significant a seal of approval as you could hope for. Like the man himself, it's widely varied, consistently innovative and just really, really good.
… Read moreAnd what a tribute it is. Taking elements from a huge back catalogue that stretches back to the mid-1970s, contemporary greats including Thundercat, Alva Noto, Hildur Guonadottir, The Cinematic Orchestra, and David Sylvian offer new versions and remixes of the master's stuff, with each track here chosen by Sakamoto, which is about as significant a seal of approval as you could hope for. Like the man himself, it's widely varied, consistently innovative and just really, really good.
in stock $30.14
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Music For Tomato Plants (red vinyl LP limited to 300 copies)
Cat: CTATSU 004. Rel: 18 Sep 23
Review: Glasgow-based, Rome-born Loris S. Sarid, like many during the pandemic, found himself placing his focus in all new places once he was locked down with little to do. As such his close care for a little tomato plant, grown on a windowsill in his flat, gave him an unusual spark of inspiration which led to this album, Music for Tomato Plants. It is his homage to "the unapparent courage of simplicity, and the beauty and lightness of the most ordinary things." In real terms, it is a lush ambient exploration with melodies that are optimistic and hopeful. Sustained chords unfurl like new growth, fresh percussive lines emerge like ripened fruit and the whole thing is beautifully pure and innocent.
… Read more in stock $23.21
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Review: Norwegian black metal mainstays, Satyricon, are no strangers to pursuing outlier projects and collaborations with differing artists and ensembles such as Anja Garbarek, Trondheimsolistene, and The Norwegian National Opera Chorus, to name but a few. Their latest endeavour sees an original scoring of arguably Norway's most famous artist, Edvard Munch, and a unique exhibition of his works at the Munch museum in Oslo. One look at Munch's most iconic piece, 'The Scream', should be enough to draw the connections between both artist's meditations on isolation and despair. A singular, 56-minute composition, aural companion-piece that traverses the depths of ambient, folkloric post-black metal in a manner that's been seldom heard from the duo of Satyr and Frost; this is the sound of two equally profound artists and their works coalescing in hideously ethereal abandon.
… Read more in stock $31.24
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Ereignishorizont (gatefold 2xLP + MP3 download code)
Cat: KR 104. Rel: 01 Jun 23
Review: .Schneider TM is the multidimensional music project of Dirk Dresselhaus, and over recent years has been increasingly focused on freeform electronic compositions, conceived and constructed in the moment. This improvisation technique is hard to hear, with the producer seemingly capable of crafting these dense soundscapes that feel painstakingly constructed over time and space. Ereignishorizont, or Event Horizon is the latest case in point. Informed by science fiction, ideas around the unknown, dark matter, black holes and such phenomena at the very limits of human understanding, at times it feels like we've stepped through the portal and wound up on the other side of the dimensional scales. Performed using electroacoustic guitars - some of which he made himself - and effects fed into tube amps, taking a lead from modular synthesis, it's powerful, intriguing and, at times, oddly playful.
… Read morePlayed by: Mimi
in stock $30.14
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Review: At least one person has described Scythe's work as "expertly modulated space blues and isolationist architectures." First emerging from the ether (or at least that's how we like to think of it) through a series of clandestine cassette releases on Low Company in 2019 and 2020, Head X'Change almost feels like the culmination of all that has come before. A weird and truly wonderful place to spend time. A collaborative project between David West and R.A. Jones, elements of kosmische intermingle with a kind of earthy ambience, DIY electronics leading into white noise moments or new age melodies. At times it's so joyfully opiate you wonder if there's any way of getting back up off the pillow. In other moments, there's tension, eeriness, and uncertainty. Once you're in, it's a wild ride indeed.
… Read more in stock $24.33
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Review: One of three Seefeel re-releases arriving together - shining light on the band's mid-90s 'Warp years' - St/Fr/Sp is the only one of these that has really never existed in the past. Comprising two EPs, Starethrough and Fracture/Tied, the outing also brings in a very rare Autechre remix of 'Spangle', making for a package that's got collector's item written all over it.
Musically, this is around the moment when Seefeel began to fully embrace the abstract and electronic, having just signed to Warp, and while the shoegaze of their past remains audible there are so many influences here plucked from beyond that spectrum. Embracing ambient, drone, rave chill-out, dub, acid, and psychedelia, this edition reflects two ends of that world - the blissful and largely astral first EP, and beat-driven and highly rhythmic second.
… Read moreMusically, this is around the moment when Seefeel began to fully embrace the abstract and electronic, having just signed to Warp, and while the shoegaze of their past remains audible there are so many influences here plucked from beyond that spectrum. Embracing ambient, drone, rave chill-out, dub, acid, and psychedelia, this edition reflects two ends of that world - the blissful and largely astral first EP, and beat-driven and highly rhythmic second.
in stock $27.38
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Review: Seefeel's second studio album, their first for the feted Warp imprint, saw them expand on some of the ideas in their 1993 debut, continuing to embrace the lush soundscapes that typify shoegaze and rooting things in deep sub bass, while bringing fascinating new blueprints to the table.
Which isn't too surprising, given Succour landed in 1995, by which point the UK's rave scene had managed to find a way into almost every aspect of youth and pop culture. Far from a dance music album, nevertheless the record has clear acid house influences, from soaring vocal cries through to intoxicatingly loose types of syncopated rhythm crafted from heavily detailed percussive sections, with tracks like 'Vex' taking us all the way to IDM. Exquisite explorations so far ahead of their time they still sound new almost 30 years later.
… Read moreWhich isn't too surprising, given Succour landed in 1995, by which point the UK's rave scene had managed to find a way into almost every aspect of youth and pop culture. Far from a dance music album, nevertheless the record has clear acid house influences, from soaring vocal cries through to intoxicatingly loose types of syncopated rhythm crafted from heavily detailed percussive sections, with tracks like 'Vex' taking us all the way to IDM. Exquisite explorations so far ahead of their time they still sound new almost 30 years later.
in stock $46.17
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Review: The re-appraisal of early Seefeel has been long overdue. We're not entirely sure why this hasn't happened before, but to put things into context this is the first time Ch-Vox has been available on vinyl since it debuted in 1996, sidling up alongside the band's other outings dating back to 1994, all of which came about through involvement with Sheffield and global electronic music institution, Warp Records.
Ch-Vox actually landed on Rephlex, the imprint founded by Warp regular Richard D James, AKA Aphex Twin, and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Taking us further into the chill-out rooms, Sunday morning comedowns and midweek meditative moods of UK rave, in many ways Ch-Vox is more complex in concept than its predecessor, Succour, helping establish an early framework for what we now know as drone.
… Read moreCh-Vox actually landed on Rephlex, the imprint founded by Warp regular Richard D James, AKA Aphex Twin, and Grant Wilson-Claridge. Taking us further into the chill-out rooms, Sunday morning comedowns and midweek meditative moods of UK rave, in many ways Ch-Vox is more complex in concept than its predecessor, Succour, helping establish an early framework for what we now know as drone.
in stock $29.30
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Review: Throughout is a new and exciting label out of Kyoto that impresses once more here with a brilliantly cool new collaboration between Jungle Brothers' Sensational and the producer Unbuilt. The former has laid down endless amounts of interesting sounds over the years and Poiesis now joins those hallowed ranks. It is aptly described as "a paranoid party-starter cast against a menacing greyscale backdrop of impressive dystopian grandeur." The production from Sensational is on point and a mix of basted and dubbed out while the bars remind of early underground rap greats - like Def Jux rewired through a more contemporary sound.
… Read more in stock $37.06
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Shabason Krgovich Sage (LP + insert)
Cat: IF 045. Rel: 11 Apr 24
Review: Joseph Shabason, Matthew Sage, and Nicholas Krgovich form a harmonious triangle, both musically and geographically. Hailing from Toronto, Colorado, and Vancouver respectively, they converged at Sage's barn studio nestled at the foot of the Rockies to explore their shared talent for finding beauty in life's mundane moments. Shabason, known for blending late 80s adult-contemporary and smooth jazz aesthetics into ethereal soundscapes, joins forces with Sage, who combines instrumental prowess with synthesis and field recordings to evoke the natural world's whimsy and profundity. Completing the trio is Krgovich, whose observational poetics add a relatable touch to their calm expressionism. Their collaborative album, warmly Shabason, Krgovich, Sage extends the wry and melancholic micro-miracles established in their previous works.
… Read morePlayed by: Juno Recommends Ambient/Drone
in stock $26.53
