New releases last two weeks: Modern Classical

Review: With a title inspired by the utterances of The Oracle of Delphi, a cult of female priestesses who reportedly "changed the course of civilisation" by inhaling volcanic vapours, it's clear that Lee Burtucci and Olivia Block's first collaborative album is rooted in paganistic visions and experimental mysticism. It's comprised of two lengthy tracks, each accompanied by edited 'excerpts', and combines Burtucci's experimental synth sounds and tape loops with Block's processed vocalisations and hazy field recordings. Dark and suspenseful, with each extended composition delivering a mixture of mind-mangling electronics, creepy ambience and musical elements doused in trippy effects, it sits somewhere between the charred "illbient" of DJ Spooky and the deep space soundscapes of the late Pete Namlook.

Review: Some 13 years have now passed since Mississippi Records started reissuing private press albums by Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, an Ethiopian Orthodox nun, pianist and composer whose naturally religious-inspired works frequently took spiritual music to fascinating new places. Here the label turns its attention to 1972's Church of Kidane Mehret, notable not only for being recorded live in various churches across Jerusalem, but also for the use of harmonium and pipe organ as well as Emehoy's beloved piano. The original album, which in line with her other album features intricate and mood-enhancing solo translations of orthodox liturgies, has here been expanded via the inclusion of two further piano pieces from 1963's ultra-rare Der Sang Des Reeres - a set of which only 50 copies were ever produced.