Tags: Ambient Minimal

Review: Laima Adelaide's new 12" on Shahr Farang is as deft as sound design gets. The hugely limited 12" is all about quiet artistry and mastering the small things. The A-side 'Empty Mind' is a delightfully sparse and empty yet potent piece with supple, suggestive rhythms and sustained chords that are grainy and lo-fi. It's amazing just how absorbing such little sound can be. 'Pattern' then takes up the whole of the flip with a more pulsing and dynamic rhythm but the whole tune still seems to float through space with distant starry twinkles, deep space energies and a hopeful sense of melodic beauty.

Review: Carsten Nicolai's distinctive approach to reduced, crystalline electronics continues to bear fruit with the second part in the Hybrid:ID series, which commenced in 2021. As with the prior volume, the music contained within is drawn from a commissioned score to a dance piece by Richard Siegal. As his own Noton label outlines, these ten pieces 'delve into infinity, drawing inspiration from resonance and elasticity.' Needlepoint pulses, electrostatic flickering and elegant dub techno forms abound, each sound given appropriate space in the unmistakable style Nicolai has made his own over a celebrated career on the fringes of contemporary electronic music.

Review: Ivan Pavlov aka CoH's new experimental electronic opus Radiant Faults makes a point of its creation deriving from the use of a rare new synthesizer, the Silhouette Eins. Developed by the artist Pit Przygodda, the Eins is the centrepiece of this album for good reason: it is a unique bit of gear, in that it uses real-time video signal as its carrier for sound synthesis. This direct interfacing of visual and auditory realms inspired a haunting praxis in Pavlov, who began the album as a means to commune with ELpH, one of the "celestial beings" first communicated with and summoned by the supergroup Coil. Pavlov continues what Coil devilishly started here, fleshing ELpH out evermore into whispery echoes and sinewy traces.

Review: Returning, Dream, the sophomore album from Jack Wyllie's Paradise Cinema, blends the rhythmic intensity of African percussion with ambient textures and electronic influences. Created in London with contributions from Dakar and Sydney, the album draws inspiration from the Many Worlds theory of quantum physics, where each decision branches into new possibilities. This concept mirrors the album's abundant rhythmic diversity, led by hand drums like the tama, sabar, and surdo, played by Khadim Mbaye, Tons Sembe, and Laurence Pike. Wyllie's use of woodwinds, reeds, and synthetic layers creates a lush soundscape. The title track, 'Returning, Dream', revolves around hypnotic flute loops and ritualistic rhythms, while 'Tide' recalls Steve Reich's minimalism with delicate metallic chimes and dizzying, ecstatic patterns. 'Night Search' blends saxophone skronk with North African tonalities, invoking the trance-like riffing of the Master Musicians of Joujouka and the spiritual heights of Pharoah Sanders. 'A Morning In The Near Future' is mellow and meditative, while 'Nowhere, Home' offers a noirish, Blade Runner-esque atmosphere. Wyllie's Returning, Dream is a bold, genre-blurring journey that merges global rhythms with innovative soundscapes.

Review: This a compilation that means more than just good music - 100% of label profits from the sales will be donated to Livyj Bereh, a group of volunteers based in Kyiv who are working in regions affected by the war. It is a superb collection of mellow sounds and ambient atmospheres with some surprising leftfield cuts and curious curveballs along the way. First up, curating the A-side, is Ukrainian Muscut who has turned to artists from his homeland only - Kavkazka Sound, Radiant Futur, Mlin Patz, Iury Lech and Ihor Okuniev all contribute while Estonian Mida then takes care of the flip with Portuguese trio Niagara in between Estonians Maarja Nuut, Rotrum, Luurel Varas and Terry Long Hermy.