Auxiliary Vinyl & CDs

Review: Ambient stalwart ASC continues his cosmic explorations with the brand new LP 'Colours Of Absence', the follow up to this year's 'Original Soundtrack'. Both LPs were written during 2020's lockdowns, a time of much strife and creativity for artists. For ASC, it was a time of downshifting - the producer focused on incorporating as many acoustic instruments as possible into his music, reflecting a kind of musical rewilding. Filled with dropletty pads, plinky string-strikes, and many an ambient wash in between, we're sure this one'll calm your soul well enough.

Review: ** REPRESS ALERT ** Both staples of Geoff Presha's Samurai Horo imprint, ASC (James Clements) and Sam KDC (Samuel Wood) teamed up on the former's Auxiliary label for a mesmerising journey into dark ambient soundscapes. Originally released back in 2013, these evocative and engulfing compositions entered the dark atmosphere they had cultivated in their respective 'grey area' reductions, with aesthetics in the vein of Geir Jenssen (Biosphere) or Carsten Nicolai (Alva Noto). It was best described by one of our very own reviewers at the time as being 'so deep it makes Autonomic sound like peak time tackle'. And indeed, this joint effort laid down the groundwork for each artist's work to follow: such as Clements' much lauded opus Truth Be Told (released the following year) and Wood's next two chilling and suspense filled journeys Late Night Innominate and KVLTVR 2 - also on Auxiliary.

Review: It has been a little less than 12 months since Sam KDC bestowed his 'Omen Rising' album on fans, a record that saw the British producer refocus attention on beats - or at least rhythms. Now he's back for another full-length voyage, with ASC in tow; another UK head (although now based in the US) who, interestingly, first cut his teeth in the driving dnb scene of the late-1990s. The results of their combined efforts are as deep as they are textured, with work such as 'Awakened Senses' offering the kind of noises you'd expect to hear after descending into the abyss. Moody, atmospheric sounds glide past our ears, occasionally catching the proverbial glint of a new note before slowly receding into the unknown. 'Interoception', meanwhile, shimmers its way to the mind's eye via icy, twinkling keys.

Review: Emerging from the ether in July 2024, Surfacing is the third collaborative long player from ASC and Sam KDC. Producers known for their ability to create and set moods with comparatively abstract ambient soundscapes, their latest is no exception. A collection of work which opts for an un-rushed approach to creating big feelings and moments from relatively consistent sounds and noises. Not much seems to happen, until you realise how much has been happening. In many ways, it's a maximalist thing - attempting to pick apart tracks like 'Mirage' and 'Shimmer' reveals the density of these sonics. Walls of sound that are acoustically and melodically light enough to float on air, yet actually so thick they swallow the listener hole, with little hope of escape until the final refrains fade.