Ambient / Drone Recommendations August 2015

Review: For his last outing on Hospital Productions, Nine Inch Nails collaborator Alessandro Cortini utilized just two pieces of equipment: a Roland MC-202 and a delay pedal. For this follow-up, he's expanded his toolbox a little, supplementing those hardware pieces with two further machines: a Roland TR-606 and TB-303. Musically, Risveglio inhabits a similar space to its predecessor, with Cortini creating blurry, fluid dreamscapes built around semi-rhythmic loops, distorted chords and fuzzy ambient textures. Listeners may struggle to spot the TB-303 - most often used to create ragged waves of intense electronics - such is the unique way in which Cortini manipulates it. Regardless, the Italian's post-industrial, half-awake soundscapes are thoroughly mesmerizing.

Review: Bristol's Idle Hands label - the imprint largely representative of the shop's mood and selection - doesn't put out tonnes of music each year, but what they do release is always brimming with quality and panache. This time the tunes come in the form of an album by the shadowy O$VMV$M duo, made up of Young Echo associates Neek and Amos Childs, who have put together a selection of dub-filtered ambient sketches in true Bristolian fashion. "Beyond", a fuzzy soundscape filled with intricate field recordings and samples, sets the scene for what's to come next: a touch of UK gutter blasting on the sparse and eerie "Sad Grime", fluttering modular bleeps on "Goodbye", watery swells of delay on "Sea Mills Cash Dub", and the absurdly spaced-out "Obeah", a truly fitting last moment to this stunning LP. Cop.

Review: The legendary John Beltran returns with another masterpiece on Delsin. A master producer whose career has spanned everything from Detroit techno and electronica to Latin music, his attempt at ambient is equally well executed. The breath taking "Music for Machines" with its droning mechanical soundscape and beautiful transcending strings. "Orange Background" and its factory sounds accompanying a repetitive resonance. Beltran's emotive and sombre piano sound plays a large part and he does it tremendously on "Many Moments to Come" as well as the memorable "Love Suspended". All in all a brilliant effort and contender for one of the finest albums this year.

Review: Scott Monteith, otherwise known as Deadbeat, has been making some killer techno over the last fifteen years, appearing on every label from London's Soul Jazz to Wagon Repair and even Echochord. This time he returns to his own BLKRTZ imprint with a new EP, two beautiful sound sculptures from his mind to yours. "Walls & Dimensions I A" gathers a dusty drone storm and unleashes it with grace over huge filter sweeps and sparse soundscapes, while "Walls & Dimensions I B" feels like tamer sibling, or better, the calm after the storm. Check both because these are gorgeous pieces of abstraction.

Review: The eponymous debut album from London-based Welsh/Canadian duo Moon Ate The Dark was one of the most underrated downtempo sets of 2012; a thrillingly evocative set of piano compositions laden in reverb and subtle production trickery. While this year's follow-up, Moon Ate The Dark II, altered the formula a little - specifically by including a whisper of drone-inspired electronics and more imaginative production treatments - the mesmerising, eyes-wide-shut effect was the same. Here, the two albums are paired together for the first time on a two-disc set housed in a lovely, hand-printed sleeve. If you've not heard either album, it should be an essential purchase.

Review: Russian label SEALT has been powering through with utter might since 2010, never afraid of showcasing some new talent from the more experimental corners of the electronic music sphere. This time, the imprint is back with one of their artists, Liz Lang, who appears on the Herzglimmer EP as Auracene, a new alias. There's six tracks of chilling sonics on here: "Dubbelisque" is a sparse ambient piece with a whole load of delay and other FX running through its core; "Sanaare" is less abstract and driven by Lang's wailing vocals; "Swan Evolutions" is doomy and apocalyptic thanks to its bursts of low-end; and on the flip, there are more grey-scaled soundscapes for you to bash out in the attic. Check "Syontra - Enter Helios", in particular. If you're into the PAN output, you might want to give this a spin.

Review: The arrival of this second solo album in as many years from US producer Lee Barron was preceded by the curious announcement he plans to be referred to as b (which translates as Not Bannon). Obviously Bannon feels Patterns of Excel is a landmark, with the producer looking to move on after spending some 14 months on the album. Those looking forward to more of the searing jungle instrumentals Bannon deployed on his excellent debut LP Alternate/Endings will be disappointed with Patterns of Excel a fifteen track exploration of glitchy ambient electronics and droning textures. It feels right at home on Ninja Tune.

Review: Russian label SEALT has been powering through with utter might since 2010, never afraid of showcasing some new talent from the more experimental corners of the electronic music sphere. This time, the imprint is back with one of their artists, Liz Lang, who appears on the Herzglimmer EP as Auracene, a new alias. There's six tracks of chilling sonics on here: "Dubbelisque" is a sparse ambient piece with a whole load of delay and other FX running through its core; "Sanaare" is less abstract and driven by Lang's wailing vocals; "Swan Evolutions" is doomy and apocalyptic thanks to its bursts of low-end; and on the flip, there are more grey-scaled soundscapes for you to bash out in the attic. Check "Syontra - Enter Helios", in particular. If you're into the PAN output, you might want to give this a spin.

Review: The eponymous debut album from London-based Welsh/Canadian duo Moon Ate The Dark was one of the most underrated downtempo sets of 2012; a thrillingly evocative set of piano compositions laden in reverb and subtle production trickery. While this year's follow-up, Moon Ate The Dark II, altered the formula a little - specifically by including a whisper of drone-inspired electronics and more imaginative production treatments - the mesmerising, eyes-wide-shut effect was the same. Here, the two albums are paired together for the first time, housed in a lovely, hand-printed sleeve. If you've not heard either album, it should be an essential purchase.