Ambient / Drone Recommendations November 2014

Review: Ruins is the 10th LP from Portland artist Grouper, an incredible set that's found it's home on the inimitable and always on- point Kranky label...and yes, it's another fine outing from the voco-noise head. Tracks like "Clearing", however, show another side to Grouper's usual rough edge. There's an element of smoothness to those sombre keys and far-out vocals. It's basically an ambient album with an extra layer of soul in its core - check "Made Of Air" for a seriously trippy set of soundscapes.

Review: Led by pianist David Moore, minimalist ensemble Bing & Ruth announce their arrival on RVNG Intl with a most wonderful long player in the shape of Tomorrow Was The Golden Age. First surfacing in 2007, the Yonkers-based collective seem to have used this time out of the spotlight to really hone their sound, with this third studio album a perfect introduction into their neo-classical sound. There is of course an abundance of music similar to Tomorrow Was The Golden Age, but that shouldn't take away from how accomplished a listen this nine track album is. Those seeking a palate cleanser to the endless thump of techno 12"s will certainly find sanctity in Bing & Ruth, plug in and float away.

Review: After the first split release from Lenta and Ahu last year, Shahr Farang is back with another intriguing, enveloping take on minimalistic electronics for the true meditators out there. With not a dancefloor concern in sight the listener is transported into evocative soundscapes populated by broad strokes of pad and detailed found sounds, while the most delicate pulses of rhythm fall in patient measures that would make Jan Jelinek feel somewhat hyperactive. "Love Is Silence" is the most steady 4/4 track on the release, while "Divine Light" spins off into anchorless swirls of hum and shrieks from no definable source. "Bare Shoulder" flexes on a reduced beat tip, while "You Still Come To Me In My Dreams" worms some wistful samples into the intricate and dusty surroundings to great effect.

Review: There has been a healthy amount of ambient music issued on Mule Musiq lately, with the forthcoming Lawrence album sure to turn a few heads. In the mean time Minilogue's Sebastian Mullaert has linked up with Israel's Eitan Reiter to produce this sumptuous album of mellow tones for the home-listening crowd. There are some beat-powered moments scattered throughout the album, from the brooding acid throb of "Ash Layla" to the hyper-reduced minimal thrust of "No Escape (Kick)" but these moments still manage to stay in the quieter end of the spectrum. Elsewhere beatless orchestrations waft from the speakers in a state of melancholic magnificence that marks this album as a runaway success for both artists.

Review: For those keen on ambient music, the Air Texture compilations have become something of annual fixture. Happily, this fourth installment - the first dropped in 2011 - is every bit as beguiling, lucid and dreamy as its' predecessors. As with previous editions, Air Texture Volume IV is a two-disc affair, with each CD being compiled by a different electronic musician. Editions Mego and Kranky regular Steve Hauschild handles disc one, pulling together inspired, heavenly tracks from the likes of Pulse Emitter, Mirror to Mirror and Event Cloak. More inspired still is Bnjmn's selection on disc two, which boasts surprise inclusions from dancefloor maestros Legowelt, Heiroglyphic Being, Herva and Lukid, whose "The Air You Breathe" is simply breathtaking.

Review: It would be fair to say that Krystian Shek is something of a disciple of the late, great ambient maestro Pete Namlook. Shek was a regular on the German producer's Fax imprint for a number of years, and this sixth album - his first since 2010 - is being released by Carpe Sonum, a label established in Namlook's honour. You can hear the influence of Namlook's beguiling, dream-like style throughout Sometimes Not, with heavenly textures, drawn-out chords, quiet pianos and disconnected spoken word samples rubbing shoulders with gentle beats and yearning rhythms. It's a combination that provides multiple highlights, from the melancholic organs and chiming melodies of the title track, to the lively, ambient-goes-dubstep bounce of "Whiteout".

Review: Mark Van Hoen's legacy as Locust just can't be argued with, from the early days on Apollo through significant albums for Touch and more recently Editions Mego, and it's the latter that he returns to for this latest offering. It's the kind of romantic electronica that revels in melancholy and places composition in front of sound design. The piano that leads the way on "Shadows Cast By Planes" is testament to that, while the vibes and flute-like sounds that take centre stage in "Colonnades" too remain clean and controlled. If the cinematic bombast of Vangelis shot through with a British bitterness sounds appealing then After The Rain has much to offer.

Review: Adam Wiltizie and Dustin O'Halloran return to their A Winged Victory For The Sullen project with a complete edition of all their Atomos works for the electrifying Kranky imprint - the best of homes for cutting-edge sonics and scintillating soundscapes. After a preview 12" of "VII" out earlier this year, this full compilation contains all eleven tracks for your listening pleasure. Blissful drones, neo-classical strings and just the right amount of noise paint a rather special picture. Listen to those violins intertwine so majestically with the powerful electronic backdrops of sound. Lovely stuff.

Review: In line with the timely reappraisal of all things R&S related, the resurgent Apollo have seen the opportunity to bring one of their most celebrated records back for another round. Aphex Twin's ambient recordings mature magnificently with age, sounding ever richer and more emotive as the rest of electronic music continues to play catch up all around. From the gentle breakbeats of "Xtal" to the aquatic techno lure of "Tha", the airy rave of "Pulsewidth" to the heartwrenching composition of "Ageispolis", every track is a perennial example of how far ambient techno could reach even back then. It's just that no-one quite had the arm-span of Richard D. James.

Review: Currently residing in Boston, Ricardo Donoso is a composer, percussionist and electronic musician from Rio de Janeiro. Donoso's greater body of work can be found on Digitalis alongside other dalliances with Further Records and Hospital Productions. He's also a drummer for 'avant-death metal' band Ehnahre and one half of experimental electronic duo Perispirit. Described as a producer of 'anti-techno', Donoso latest 12" provides Kathexis with two ambient and long form productions, with the first, "15:40 (Dawn)", a spacious and stripped backed session of plucks, chimes and thumps, while "13:23 (Dusk)" is an evolving swirl of haunting tones and industrial atmospheres produced in a manner similar to Lussuria.

Review: Something of a departure for this lugubrious outfit, yet if anything even darker in tone than anything they've thus far created, Ypres comprises a suite of instrumental pieces that Tindersticks created to work within an exhibition at the In Flanders Fields World War One exhibition in the place of the title, famously the home of a battlefield renowned for its bloody conflict. It therefore follows that the tone is not a little moribund herein, yet Tindersticks have created a work of bleak beauty, beautifully crafted orchestration and soundtrack-style sweep here that will delight fans of Angelo Badalamenti, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Arvo Part as much as their earlier converts.