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Review: British duo Raime are back with the first album since 2012's brilliant Quarter Turns A Living Line and their signature style of dark ambience and haunting imaginary soundtracks which incorporate jungle, dub and post-punk influences into the mix also. The album is said to be largely influenced by their side project Moin which incorporates rock and metal influences too. According to Blackest Ever Black "the DNA of dub-techno, garage/grime and post-hardcore rock music spliced into sleek and predatory new forms." Highlights include the moody subtractive rock of "Dialling In, Falling Out", the dub and post punk crossover of "Dead Heat" and the brooding mood-lighting of "Cold Cain".

Review: James Clements continues his explorations into the depths of the grey zone as ASC with The Farthest Reaches double pack on Auxiliary. Samurai Music's Presha has excitedly called these four tracks "a definitive musical statement from one of the most important electronic musicians of our era," and who are we to argue with him? Making full usage of the format and available space, this is ASC in exploratory mode across a quartet of deep ten minute plus productions that have it all; sound design, atmosphere, groove, bass weight. To simply call these epic is selling The Farthest Reaches short!

Review: Although you're probably into the current wave of ambient that is being released today, one must pay homage to the original innovators of the genre. Jon Hopkins is one such producer; an integral part of the British downtempo wave of the late 90s and early 2000s which has featured other ground-breaking artists like Squarepusher, The Orbital and many more. Opalescent is his debut album from 2001, and this reissue is pressed up by the original Just Music imprint from back in the day. Hopkins' music on here is the sort of stuff to be enjoyed by a any sort of listener; bittersweet electronic soul that touches many different aspects of electronica and IDM. From the placid waves of "Elegaic", to the break-driven balearica of "Private Universe", through to the spectral "Opalescent" itself, and the more industrial tones of "Fading Glow", Jon Hopkins takes the listener through the full cycle, and gives us many different reasons to find this album still as compelling as it was back fifteen years ago.

Review: The music Venezuelan artist Alejandro Ghersi makes as Arca first came to the fore via UNO, the New York label who issued a trio of compelling releases in 2012. Arca's brand of glossy, high grade beat experimentation has seen him go on to work with Kanye West and FKA Twigs as well as release on venerated US indie Hippos In Tanks. An album deal with Mute may seem unexpected yet the UK label have a long and proud tradition of challenging conventions. Entitled Xen, Mute have described the 15 track set as full of "mercurial forms, fluxing unpredictably from smooth to spiked to sweet" and you wont get much of an idea from the soundclips. If you were charmed by the FKA Twigs set this is an album that will get your serotonins bubbling.

Review: Given that Ricardo Villalobos was one of a handful of guest producers who featured on Oren Ambarchi's recent Hubris album - a krautrock-influenced minimalist techno exploration that also boasted contributions from Jim O'Rourke and Mark Fell, amongst others - it seems fitting that he's been roped in to provide two new remixes. The Chilean's contribution to the album was largely rhythm-based, and his two lengthy Variations - each stretched across one side of wax - promote undulating, heads-down dancefloor hypnotism above all else. Naturally, his drum programming and use of subtle stylistic shifts is as on-point as ever, with Ambarchi's original textures being manipulated into mind-altering new shapes.

Review: Audiomatique are happy and proud to present "The Trentemoller Chronicles". This new double album is not a new studio album, but an overview of Trentemoller's impressive body of work. "The Trentemoller Chronicles" include Anders' personal selection of his best songs and remixes, which have only been available on vinyl or on compilations, as well as some new and exclusive songs. This is an essential piece of minimal/tech house.

Review: Although the past several years have seen ambient musician Christian Fennesz collaborating with a number of high profile figures - Ryuchi Sakamoto to name one - as well as release an EP, cassette, and soundtrack, the Austrian's last full solo LP was 2008?s Black Sea, making Becs very eagerly awaited indeed. A conceptual follow-up to 2001's seminal Endless Summer, Becs supposedly eschews the drone-based productions of Black Sea and sees a return to the "more florid pop mechanisms" of Endless Summer, something evident across the searing yet colourful textures that make up the album.

Review: Widely regarded as Boards of Canada's finest hour, Music Has The Right To Children finds itself the subject of a well-deserved 2LP gatefold reissue from Warp Records. One of the most defining records of what was known for better or worse as IDM still sounds as timeless as it did in 1998, as the library tones of "Wildlife Analysis", thick downtempo rhythms of "Roygbiv" and out of focus melodies of "Olson" prove. Essential!

Review: Former Panorama Bar resident and local Berlin fixture Cassy Britton presents her first full length release since giving up her residency and leaving Europe's clubbing capital for the sunny shores of Los Angeles. The Donna LP features some dusty classic house sounds of the deeper spectrum, as heard previously on her eponymous imprint, Uzuri or Perlon sporadically over the last 10 years and her great vocals which veer from spoken word, haunting/monotone to high pitched diva moves are a constant throughout. Highlights for us were the uplifting deep disco of "All I Do", the soulful deep funk on her cover of Prince's "Strange Relationship" or the emotive yet tough techno of "Move".

Review: Meredith Monk is a bit of a legend around certain circles. The multi-talented composer, dance performer and director has appeared in and been the main producer of a a whole world of material from the early 70s right up to this very day. While her most iconic work has perhaps been credited to the infamous ECM imprint, the artist's early work is still regarded as her most poignant and expressive. Key, her debut album from 1971, is a rarity in its original form, so this reissue from Tompkins Square has probably made the wish of many collectors come true! Not only is the album a piece of work to be lauded for its vision and originality, but it also ticks off many boxes and crosses many dots. Guided by Monk's mouse-like sounds in a sort of hyper-falsetto, the LP moves and shifts between different influences and styles; from ominous drones to more dreamy soundscapes, this is ambient cranked up to the max and given a good shouting at. Psychedelic and fearless, Monk prowls on in people's imagination.

Review: Released back in 2003, Rounds was the third LP from Kieran Hebden as Four Tet and perhaps the first long player that widely established him as a pioneering voice within electronic music. Though it doesn't feel like a decade since it was released, Domino celebrate the album's tenth anniversary in requisite fashion here, reissuing it in double LP format and slipping in a CD of Four Tet performing live in Copenhagen in 2004. Listening back now, it's easy to understand why Rounds is viewed as an early classic in the Four Tet canon, transferring his love for free jazz records to a beat template that's more palatable on the ear (Fact pickers might want to know that Hebden recently revealed to Pitchfork the LP was made entirely from samples) "She Moves She" still sounds absolutely haunting too!

Review: As Autechre set out on an extensive live tour, Warp has decided the time is right to reissue their 1994 classic, Amber, on vinyl. Given that it's been unavailable on wax since then, and second hand prices have shot through the roof, this is undoubtedly a good thing. It remains one of the legendary duo's standout albums: a peerless collection of brilliant IDM tunes offering a perfect balance between the glistening, atmospheric melodiousness of their early work, and the crunchy, mathematical rhythms of their later releases. There are moments of eyes-closed calm ("Silverside"), bubbly, melody-led workouts ("Montreal", "Slip"), far-out electro missives ("Glitch"), and the odd icy epic (the brilliant "Further").

Review: While the mythical The Future Sound Of London duo are usually associated with the late 80s and early 90s wave of techno and acid house, they two producers haven't exactly been quiet over the last five years. Their original material is what made them famous, larger than life personalities within the electronic music world but, over the last five years, their Environment series have taken developed - and even matured - their style significantly. That's because they're free to experiment here, just as they did back in the golden years of club music, except that they're now doing this without the restriction of 4/4 patterns, Roland drum machines of acid baselines. The sixth volume of Environment is is a work of beauty, an all-out journey into the deepest reaches of electronica, downtempo, and and drone. Seen through the lens of two veritable pioneers of modern, experimental music. Don't miss it.

Review: Eklo head honcho Seuil returns under a new guise as 97.4. Always keen to hop on to the next big thing, with Roots 82 (as the name might suggest) he goes for a very retro influenced vibe. Starting out on the first disc with the rather electro influenced "Rue Des Anciens" or later with "Le Cour Des Miracels" (which features some very dark Derrick May strings), thereds the early noughties micro-house sounds of "Colle 2000" or the funky Detroit inspired techno-soul of "Celeri Rave"or "Savat Yab" too. There are more cool sounds to be found on the second disc such as "Grand Matin" where he shows again his more recent penchant for deeper and emotive sounds. Fans of retro laced minimal at the moment by Binh, Spacetravel or Evan Baggs will certainly enjoy this release.

Review: Music On Vinyl return with another blinding reissue by composer Philip Glass! Heroes Symphony, or sometimes referred to as Symphony No.4, was created by Glass back in 1996 as an accompaniment to David Bowie's Heroes album. It's not necessarily one of his better known works but it contains that familiar Glassian mystique and musical freedom which characterises so many of his classical productions.

Review: School Daze is a killer compilation put together by the Dark Entries label and the Honey Soundsystem crew, collating some of the early recordings produced by Patrick Cowley in the years between 1973-81 and were later used as soundtrack material in two gay porn films. You will probably know Cowley for his Hi-NRG output or 'that' Donna Summer remix or his behind the buttons work on Sylvester tracks. Be prepared for a surprise (well quite a few as the 'explicit content' warning on the cover lives up to its billing) as this collection presents Cowley as a producer capable of many styles and moods. The closest School Daze comes to the sound Cowley is most identified is opening track "Zygote" and from here the collection runs through primitive electronics, short bursts of wave and more with a few extended gems that highlight Cowley's talent for arrangement. One of the compilations of the year!

Review: If there's one collaboration that we have bowed down to over the last few years, it's most certainly this new found friendship between London's Kevin Martin aka The Bug, and American doom metal guitarists, Earth. One wouldn't immediately make the connection between inner-city future-grime music and suburban stoner rock, but the two styles were in perfect unison, and this is because they're both fascinated with dark, looming clouds of bass. Whether that's through virtual synths or badass bass guitars, it doesn't matter, because the mood is mightily present. Concrete Desert is the alliance's debut LP, and it's all guns blazing from start to finish; tunes like "Snakes vs Rats" or "Metal Drone" represent exactly the sort of freshen-up that each respective act needed - on the one hand, The Bug could have done with some more external influences to the melodic constructions, while Earth needed a new framework to enter the minds of a new, European audience. We've dubbed this style 'metal drone', and we're pretty sure that it's gonna stick after you've played it out for a few minutes. A blinding collab, right here.

Review: Following from the success of this year's Vulnicura LP, Iceland's Bjork has decided to release an acoustic companion made up of string-only reinterpretations; a more abstract and pensive piece, if you will. One Little Indian is the label, of course, but this time there are strictly no beats, and the only concrete sounds within it are the subtle and placid wails of Bjork's own voice. While it isn't truly a pop album, there is enough playfulness and charm to render it playable not only as a solitary piece of music, but also alongside other pieces...in an explorative DJ set, perhaps.

Review: 11 years on from DJ Koze's one and only commercial mix, 2004's All People Is My Friends for Kompakt, the Pampa boss lines the 50th DJ Kicks mix, following high profile contributions from Nina Kraviz and Actress. This vinyl edition offers the best of both worlds really, featuring some 17 highlights of Kozalla's selection in their original form spread across two slabs of vinyl whilst !K7 have also thrown in a CD copy of the mix so you can hear how it's all done Koze-style. As you'd expect Koze presents one of the more far-reaching selections in the series, with Madlib-produced Freddie Gibbs nestling up alongside William Shatner, Boards of Canada remixes, Broadcast whilst the likes of Marcel Fengler, Session Victim and Frank & Tony offer some deepness.

Review: Though his career has taken many turns over the last decade, DJ Koze has remained that most illusive of creatures: a minimal-minded producer with an ear for a melody. This fourth full-length, packed to the rafters with big-name collaborations (Apparat, Caribou, Ada and Matthew Dear all feature), continues his move towards the home-listening sphere. So, while many of the heady rhythms and shuffling grooves hark back to his stripped-back past, Amygdala impresses with its woozy songs, genre-straddling fusions (see the modern soul meets deep house of "Homesick" or the steppy, tropical vibes of "Marilyn Whirlwind") and homely atmosphere.

Review: Hospital Productions is a non-stop operation and following this year's long-players from Alessandro Cortini, Ninos Du Brasil and Ron Morelli, Vatican Shadow's latest swoop is this ambient album produced with Function. The seven-track LP was recorded between Berlin and New York, and it's described as best suited for after-hours home listening, but whether you really want to listen to this after a big night is up to you. Indeed "A Year Has Passed" and "A Year Has Gone By" are downbeat and melancholic, whereas other tracks lean more towards industrial ambient, similar to fellow Hospital artist Lussuria's work. "The Nemesis Flower" is a darker highlight while "Red Opium" and "Bejewelled Body" is where the house and techno beats lie.