Back in stock: Ambient/Drone

Review: Way back in 1975, two albums slipped out that would effectively establish the synthesizer-fired "new age" sound. Arguably the more important - and better quality - of the two was "Inter-dimensional Music", the debut LP from California-based musician Iasos. Here reissued on vinyl for the first time in a decade, the superb set combines drowsy ambient chords, gentle organ melodies and other subtle instrumental flourishes (bass guitar, pedal steel, lazy electric guitar solos) with field recordings of lapping waves, babbling brooks and so on. While new age would become a bit of a cheesy cliche in later years, "Inter-Dimensional Music" is a superb collection of drifting, meditative tracks that soothe and seduce the senses.

Review: Up until his death in 2003, Hiroshi Yoshimura spent decades offering up immaculate albums that blurred the boundaries between ambient, new age and minimalism. For those not versed in the Japanese ambient pioneer's vast catalogue, 1986's "Green" - which is here reissued by Light In The Attic - remains one of his most impressive works. Created using a minimal number of instruments (mostly synthesizers and electric pianos), the set is as quietly jazzy as it is relaxing. Highlights include the meditative, Terry Riley influenced bliss of "Feel", the pulsing organ stabs and blissful electronics of "Sheep", the garden-ready musical hug that is "Green" and the swelling opener "Creek".

Review: Since the mid 1990s electronic explorer and sound designer Ryoji Ikeda has amassed a vast catalogue of releases. Some of these, though, are either hard to find or were only released on certain formats - hence this release on Sahko. It gathers together two lengthy compositions from early in his career that were previously only available on CD. Our pick of the pair is gorgeous A-side 'Luxus 1-3', a stunning, 16-minute suite from 1995 debut album 1000 Fragments that fuses deep space ambience with the orchestral musical cycles of American minimalism and plenty of gently mild-altering effects. Flipside 'Space', which first surfaced in 1998, is a ghostly piece of haunting sound design in which distance sub-bass tones struggle to break through a dense fog of creeping chords and digital watch bleeps.

Review: Melodies In The Sand is another vital album from Melody As Truth. It collects together the works of Czech artists Irena and Vojt?ch Havlovi, a husband and wife pair who made music int he 80s as part of experimental collective Capella Antiqua e Moderna. Their style spanned various styles of European classical music and was never less than unorthodox yet beguiling. This record really shines a light on these talented artists and brims with an emotional honesty and vulnerability that will impact anyone who hears it. The delicate keys, the vocal whispers and way they drift in and out, the rippling chords -these are always empty, subtle tracks but they leave an inedible mark.

Review: Poetic Hovering Synth Tinkerer.

Review: Yagya (Adalsteinn Gudmundsson) is one of the foremost names on the intersection of ambient house, dub techno, and dream pop, having achieved international renown for their many icy, mournful and gaseous long-players and EPs for many imprints over the years. 'Faded Photographs' is Yagya's latest, and his ninth album to date, bringing together an interesting dozen of tracks overlaid with vocals from fellow artists Benoit Pioulard and Bandreas, and saxophonist oskar Gudjonsson. While stooped in pop songwriting, every track here locks in a triplet groove on top of 4x4 beat structures, producing a skippy, carefree and lackadaisical effect.

Review: Mysterious techno artist Rrose presents their first ever CD release, and their second full-length project to date. Following 2019's Hymn to Moisture, Please Touch features 11 slippery slinkers, flaunting Rrose's penchant for hypnotics and minimalisms; the likes of 'Spores' and 'Spines' refuse to indulge too many novel sounds, preferring to allow their more immersive textures to rattle and ricochet over each mix, producing a delugey wash. Thematically, the LP deals with themes of touch, intimacy and embodiment, doing some of the work to bridge the schizophonic gap that's remained open since the dawn of recorded music.

Review: Dino Sabatini returns to his own Outis Music label with another mesmerising selection of deep electronic sounds that seem to take plenty of influences from dub, downtempo, ambient and trip hop. The open has a creeping melodic sequence that is forever subtly shifting and brings a sense of eeriness to the smooth and unhurried dub rhythms below. 'Inenarrabilis' is then a double quick flurry of tiny synth loops and trippy effects then 'Plena Lunae' allows you to breathe once more and sink into a vast dub soundscape. 'Ego Experior' shuts down with some paranoid baselines bubbling up through a slowly churning groove. Some quality work here for sure.

Review: Arv & Miljo's new album delves into radical environmental activism and draws from the Swedish Plogbill movement's early 90s actions alongside Earth First! and Earth Liberation Front. Mixing monologues, interviews, protest songs, and site recordings with raw kosmische synth music, the pair crafts a mesmerising audio collage. Chaotic yet harmonious, disorienting yet soothing, the album reflects dedication, passion, and the spirit of change. Originally a limited CDR release in 2021, it quickly became a highlight in Arv & Miljo's discography. Now on, Jorden Forst offers a multi-faceted journey through environmental activism and the human spirit's resilience.