Back in stock: Ambient/Drone

Review: Barker's latest release is a masterclass in fluid experimentation, embracing unpredictability with a delicate balance of harmony and controlled chaos. Following his acclaimed previous work, this new collection of tracks finds him refining his craft while allowing for spontaneity to take the lead. Opening with 'Force of Habit', the project immediately sets a tone of shifting momentum, while Reframingithe serotonin-laced lead singleispirals through shimmering arpeggios, evoking echoes of classic trance before drifting into uncharted territory. Tracks like 'Difference' and 'Repetition' and 'The Remembering Self' showcase Barker's intricate layering, weaving together mechanical precision with an organic sense of movement. A deep dive into mechanical instrumentation lies at the heart of this work, with Barker exploring the possibilities of automation not as a replacement for human touch, but as a tool for new forms of expression. The result is a body of work that mirrors the uncertainty of its time, embracing change rather than resisting it. As the final moments of this LP fade out, Barker leaves us with a feeling of transformationimusic that adapts to the moment in which it exists.

Review: A split release featuring two distinct yet complementary compositions by Francois J. Bonnet and Sarah Davachi. French composer Bonnet's 'Banshee' is a journey to the edges of the old world, where the boundaries between nature and human presence blur. Drawing on field recordings made in the Inner Hebrides, he weaves an aural tableau where the calls of seabirds intertwine with the mournful wail of the wind and the gentle lapping of water against the shore merges with the distant drone of a boat engine. The piece unfolds in seven interwoven movements, each capturing a different facet of the landscape's character. Meanwhile, Canadian artist Davachi's 'Basse Brevis' is a minimalist exploration of timbre, space and duration. Through subtle shifts in texture and harmony, Davachi creates a work that is both precise and evocative, its slowly evolving soundscapes inviting deep listening and contemplation. The piece's restrained yet poignant character creates a gentle tension, blurring the lines between instrumental and concrete approaches to sound. A compelling example of the power of sound to evoke place and emotion, offering two distinct yet complementary perspectives on the relationship between humans and the natural world.

Review: Four Seasons in Kyoto marks the final chapter in Argentina-based electronica group The Kyoto Connection's ambient trilogy following Postcards and The Flower, The Bird and The Mountain. The series is inspired by the ambient and environmental music of 1980s-90s Japan and this final piece of the puzzle paints another delightful musical portrait of rural life that has long been shaped by nature and tradition. Across 14 delicate, transportive compositions, producer Facundo Arena captures the emotional rhythm of Japan's changing seasons with whimsical melodies and gentle percussive patter, soothing vocal coos and more eerie and autumnal pieces. With contributions from Japanese friends and fans, this record feels personal and heartfelt and is a brilliant farewell to a project rooted in beauty and nostalgia.

Review: This collaborative LP is a beautiful and intimate work that draws on elements of Americana, experimental sound design and post-rock. The duo have a deep connection going back to their hometown of San Antonio, Texas and here create a unique sound with lush textures and emotional depth that, unlike their previous work, involved more found sounds. No Floor showcases their mastery of traditional composition and sound manipulation with tracks like 'Kinda Tropical' and 'The Applebees Outside Kalamazoo, Michigan' evoking nostalgia and the complexities of youth. All throughout this record, you can feel the duo's bond in its delicate, evolving soundscapes.

Review: Yumiko Morioka's Resonance was originally released in 1987 on Akira Ito's Green & Water imprint. Album, artist and label would all trifect to help along the enviro-ambient sound of which Ito was to become a part. For its quiescent but heartrending chamber pianos, Resonance was known for its use mostly in documentaries and as background music for spas, which hardly befitted the weight of Morioka's actual achievement at the time. By 1994, Morioka had moved to California, where she had shifted her focus to family life, unaware that Resonance had gained a new following outside Japan via online platforms. In 2017, when Morioka learned of this, she was recovering from a devastating California wildfire that destroyed her home and belongings. Despite the tragedy, she returned to Japan, worked in commercial music, and later opened a chocolate shop in Tokyo. Resonance, recorded on a Bosendorfer grand, blends improvisation with calm, introspective beauty, influenced by both Japanese environmental music and Western composers such as Erik Satie. The album was remastered in 2023, preserving its serene quality.

Review: Quade's second album is steeped in the isolation and raw beauty of its birthplace: a crumbling Welsh barn surrounded by moors. The Bristol four-piece i Barney Matthews, Leo Fini, Matt Griffiths and Tom Connolly i channel this wild setting into a sound that's both fragile and immense, blurring ambient-dub textures with ghostly folk melodies and the drifting crescendos of post-rock. The Foel Tower feels like it was pulled from misty hillsides and long, firelit nights, an album of quiet intensity: tender one moment, potent the next, yet always emotionally direct. Tracks unfold patiently, as if shaped by the slow grind of weather over stone. There's a strong undercurrent of personal grief and resilience here too. The band's longtime friendship and collective hardships add a tangible intimacy, turning these atmospheric compositions into acts of quiet survival. The Foel Tower transcends as it is stark, gorgeous and deeply human. This is music for the in-between moments: dusk turning to night, silence folding into sound.

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.

Review: Swedish duo SHXCXCHCXSH distort club music by using a refined, idiosyncratic palette that challenges functionality. As logophiles, they twist language into fragmented, barely recognisable sequences, reflecting their experimental process. Their new album marks their debut for Northern Electronics and showcases a broader exploration of sound. Spanning 15 tracks in style, it combines drone elements, shredded vocals and chaotic melodies to make for a dark, intense atmosphere. Interspersed with brooding yet effervescent breaks, ......t is their most focused and comprehensive work to date and it also pushes their sound into new territories.

Review: Mille Plateaux and Raster hero Andreas Tilliander meets Fire! Orchestra's Goran Kajfes somewhere deep - and we mean DEEP - in the jazz cosmos. The farthest reaches of a universe far, far away, but one that still seems to understand how joyful vast can sound when pierced by the haunting yet strangely alluring sound of brass. But simply defining this as jazz misses a point, then throws us well beyond the pale. In Cmin would be nothing without the electronic tricks and gadgetry that first made us feel as though we'd space-walked off the edge of the known galaxy, out past the Milky Way's stardust. Echoes, tape delays, things that add mood and timbre without necessarily shouting their presence. There's magic at work here. And, contrary to the 21st Century's obsession with under-the-hood, not knowing the how is the reason why you want this.

Review: Originally confined to CDia relic of a different timeiJorg Burger's early-2000s masterwork finally sees the vinyl treatment it deserves. Lush, transportive, and quietly radical, this is ambient techno at its most fluid, a body of work that drifts between nostalgia and movement, solitude and propulsion. 'Leuchtturm' remains untouched, its soft hand drums and hazy atmospheres still unfolding like a slow sunrise. Elsewhere, 'AG Penthouse' undergoes a transformation, its flute-like trills and glassy keys now fused to a churning rhythm that recalls Tangerine Dream's work on Thief, minus the guitar histrionics. Beat-driven yet deeply immersive, each track rises, crests and recedes in perfect sequence, a travelogue in the vein of Carl Craig's Landcruising or Model 500's Deep Space. What makes this release endure isn't just its shimmering detail but its refusal to conform. In a landscape where ambient techno so often leans on a specific nostalgia, Burger sidesteps the obvious, creating a listening experience that still feels singular, 21 years later.

Review: The music from Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize and 12-Oscar-winning film encompasses the original score by Gabriel Yared with the haunting vocals of Marta Sebestyen and Fred Astaire. It is a story which has successfully made its mark on every medium that counts a - a classic to beat all classics. It's a cathartic journey that explores identity, fidelity, and fate amid the chaos of World War II. Shot against the majestic backdrop of the Northern Sahara and Italy, Yared's score blends Hungarian folk tunes, baroque themes, and romantic orchestration and mirrors the emotion of the film's characters without relying on visuals. Period tracks by Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Goodman complement the emotional depth of the story.