Past Inside the Present US Vinyl & CDs

Review: Past Inside the Present's 'Pulse' series is an investigation into ambient tech and beat-driven ambient sounds. Who better for the job on this second edition than master craftsmen ASC and Joachim Spieth? ASC opens up with 'Tidal Disruption Event', an understated, underwater rhythm with jittery percussive patterns and bright shards of melodic light piercing through the mix as more coarse soundwaves break over the top. Spieth's 'Subtle' is just as artful and delicate a mix of persuasive rhythm and melodic beauty. A classy Nitechord remix closes out this fascinating EP.

Review: It wasn't so long ago we were writing about the joys of BVDUB's Fumika Fades, a new double pack in February that sunk us deep into moving ambient soundscapes. Now the Bay Area dub techno titan Brock van Wey is back once again with yet another album - he dropped plenty of them last year too so is clearly in a mad creative patch. Slowly Shifting Lakes comes in multiple formats, this one being a double CD. The ambient here is coarse and textured, fizzing synths stretching out over skittish rhythmic frameworks before sinking into calmer waters on cuts like the escapist 'Searching For Glowing Shores.' Another triumphant album for sure.

Review: 'PULSE 01' is the first release in PITP's new series, which is an ongoing exploration of ambient tech, while offering a more structured display of beat-driven ambient music. Pulse 01 features brand new tracks by SYNE and Influx.

SYNE is Dennis Huddleston from the UK, who is most recognized for his ambient work as 36. He returns to his SYNE alias for the first time in nearly 5 years, with only his second record since his 2017 self-titled debut LP.

'Dystalgia' is a 12 minute opus, spread over 3 movements. Soaring pads and razor sharp percussion combine for a dynamic, emotionally charged journey in sound. Showing love to the Detroit greats, but recognising the distinct UK influence which made him fall in love with Techno in the early 90's, it's a surprising pivot in Dennis' sound and one which all lovers of beautiful, melodic ambient techno should enjoy.

Influx is the techno/acid/trance moniker of James Bernard. With his first release in 1993 (Braineater EP on Sapho Records), Influx is no stranger to techno and acid. This project had been in hibernation for nearly 14 years until his 2021 remixes for his collaborative album with 36 and awakened souls (The Other Side of Darkness). Revel Dub is a dub-techno excursion with sprinkles of ambient and psy-trance rounding out the frequencies. The Slow Version dials back the tempo to half-time and travels to more ambient dub territories.

Review: 'PULSE 01' is the first release in PITP's new series, which is an ongoing exploration of ambient tech, while offering a more structured display of beat-driven ambient music. Pulse 01 features brand new tracks by SYNE and Influx.

SYNE is Dennis Huddleston from the UK, who is most recognized for his ambient work as 36. He returns to his SYNE alias for the first time in nearly 5 years, with only his second record since his 2017 self-titled debut LP.

'Dystalgia' is a 12 minute opus, spread over 3 movements. Soaring pads and razor sharp percussion combine for a dynamic, emotionally charged journey in sound. Showing love to the Detroit greats, but recognising the distinct UK influence which made him fall in love with Techno in the early 90's, it's a surprising pivot in Dennis' sound and one which all lovers of beautiful, melodic ambient techno should enjoy.

Influx is the techno/acid/trance moniker of James Bernard. With his first release in 1993 (Braineater EP on Sapho Records), Influx is no stranger to techno and acid. This project had been in hibernation for nearly 14 years until his 2021 remixes for his collaborative album with 36 and awakened souls (The Other Side of Darkness). Revel Dub is a dub-techno excursion with sprinkles of ambient and psy-trance rounding out the frequencies. The Slow Version dials back the tempo to half-time and travels to more ambient dub territories.

Review: Christopher 'Lav' Landin is a master of ambient sounds but it's been a while since we heard from him after 2017's collab with Purl on A Strangely Isolated Place. A New Landscape is a fresh album on Past Inside The Present that comes on limited and transparent orange vinyl. Contained within are a beguiling bunch of tunes with soul stirring pads, gently propulsive rhythms and gorgeous sound designs that call to mind various different references from deepest space to a warm spring day. It is an accomplished album design for mental escape.

Review: Christopher 'Lav' Landin is a master of ambient sounds but it's been a while since we heard from him after 2017's collab with Purl on A Strangely Isolated Place. A New Landscape is a fresh album on Past Inside The Present that comes on limited and coloured vinyl. Contained within are a beguiling bunch of tunes with soul stirring pads, gently propulsive rhythms and gorgeous sound designs that call to mind various different references from deepest space to a warm spring day. It is an accomplished album design for mental escape.

Review: Past Inside The Present welcomes back accomplished and prolific ambient master zake, this time alongside Oss and Fax who released the original featured track, 'Polymorph' on Module. Here it gets revisited by a top contemporary team after the hazy and absorbing extended mix kicks things off. ASC then goes dark with his mood rework and Zake himself remixes with a more optimistic sense of crepuscular synth lushness. Aural Imbalance layers in some fizzing and malfunctioning electronic sounds, Ossa suspends you amongst his heavenly rays and Influx brings gently broken beats. Fax shuts down this varied offering with a more edgy ambient sound.

Review: Another week, another new release from the unstoppable ambient powerhouse that is zake. His latest full-length LL has two new cuts by the American maestro with remixes from a hefty selection of equally prolific producers all served up on his home label Past Inside the Present and no fewer than six sides of vinyl. Across this immersive two hours of music, there is a mix of ambient, drone, drum & bass, electronica, and deep techno from Warmth, Aural Imbalance, ASC and Bvdub. It is yet another essential release from zake and co.