Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Rafet's You Are In The Embrace Of The History is a thought-provoking debut released on Research Records, where Daniel Rafet Grima delves into ambient and drone music with a sense of reverence for ancestral memory. Side-1 begins with the title track, a piece that carries an air of longing and introspection. The atmosphere is rich with layers of ambient sound and chamber music depths. The next song featuring DGrima, adds another dimension with its haunting, immersive quality. On Side-2, Iti's remix introduces a delicate piano melody and a subtle beat, infusing the original with a fresh, creative energy. In contrast, Kuniyuki Takahashi's remix takes a more abstract approach, deconstructing the track into an intriguing exploration of sound and texture. You Are In The Embrace Of The History is a meditative and deeply reflective work that resonates with both beauty and depth.

Review: Max Richter's latest work Sleep: Tranquillity Base first arrived on Deutsche Grammophon for World Sleep Day. Ot is a thirty minute work split across two parts and are inspired by the moon landings. It is music that "functions as a vessel that disconnects and travels through the body of work, allowing art to provide something which resembles peace within ourselves." It also comes with a couple of belting remixes from much loved contemporary innovators Alva Noto and Kelly Lee Owens. There is a reason Max Richter is so well revered and his music has had over three billion streams and this EP is one of them.

Review: The state51 Conspiracy label comes very much correct early on in the New Year with this two-track grey marbled vinyl 12" in a fancy spot-varnished sleeve. It takes the form of two fresh Santaka reworks of original compositions by Rytis Mazulis and avant-garde choir Melos Collective which were first released back in 2020. Santaka, which means "confluence" in Lithuanian, is the coming together of DJ and producer Manfredas and drummer and producer Marijus Aleksa and here they layer up disembodied vocals and dark jazz melodies on 'Ramybe' and then 'Autoportretas' is a textural ambient exploration packed with fascinating sound designs.

Review: Vrioon was the first ever collaboration album between Alva Noto and legendary synth man and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. 20 years after it became the first instalments of V.I.R.U.S.'s five records together it gets the full reissue treatment. The original tracks from the album are joined by an all new composition 'Landscape Skizze' which was laid down in 2005. The record is defined by alternate piano chords, lush electronic tones and quivering timbres that are delicate yet impactful.

Review: In a first-time collaboration, psychedelic trance godhead Simon Posford (best known as Hallucinogen and a founding member of Shpongle) teams up with fellow hippie and flutist Raja Ram (Ronald Rothfield) on a welling improvisatory record, Improvisations For Piano And Flute. Though both are highly esteemed artists in their respective micro-corners of the electronic music scene, Posford and Rothfield both depart significantly from their usually danceable ends for a living-room recorded set of ambiences. With a synth placed atop an antique Bluthner piano, Raj and Simon would join in after the other first begun playing, delivering a 44-minute effluence for the spontaneous soul.

Review: Known for his raw authenticity, Hot Water Music co-frontman Ragan embraces a dynamic blend of genres on this new collection. The album's lead single, 'Wild In Our Ways', showcases Ragan's signature gravelly voice alongside harder-hitting Americana-infused rock, marking a shift from his usual folk sound. The track's anthemic spirit captures themes of survival and resilience, with lyrics that rally behind the underdog. Ragan's commitment to honesty and musical exploration shines throughout Love and Lore, which was delayed due to the pandemic and his family commitments. Conceptualised in 2016, it eventually came together in early 2023. Songs like 'Echo the Halls', also featured on the album, continue this bold sonic evolution and Ragan's approach remains rooted in integrity and a willingness to stretch beyond boundaries. For fans of both his punk and solo work, Love and Lore promises to be a bold, heartfelt release, with his unmistakable warmth and conviction at its core.

Review: Samuel Reinhard's latest release, Movement, feels like a deep dive into the possibilities of space, texture, and repetition. Known for his intricate chamber compositions, Reinhard steps into electroacoustic territory, crafting a piece that's as much about what isn't there as what is. The title track 'No. 1', at a staggering 20 minutes, unfolds at a near-glacial pace. Piano notes decay as they meet fragments of cello, bass flute, double bass, baritone sax, and harp - all contributing to a sonic landscape where time feels stretched. The minimalist arrangement isn't about creating immersive soundscapes but rather letting each note breathe, decay, and be accompanied by the physical actions that produced them. It's a stark reminder that silence, or near-silence, can be just as powerful as sound. In keeping with his usual method, Reinhard uses a predetermined system to arrange these instrumental recordings. It's not the grand layering of instruments into a single cohesive whole, but rather the augmentation of subtle textures, crafting a free-floating counterpoint. There's no rush to move from one point to the next, leaving listeners to focus on the resonance of each note, the breath that fills an instrument, or the bow held in mid-air. As with previous releases on Hallow Ground and Prasens Editionen, including names like Lawrence English and Kali Malone, Movement is an exploration of perception, duration, and attention. Reinhard has produced a suite that manages to evoke both stillness and motion - a paradox that's central to his compositional style.

Review: Finish dub techno powerhouse Joachim Spieth welcomes UK artist Rhubiqs to his well-regarded Affin label for a debut appearance that sinks you into a widescreen world of ambient lushness. His Aegis of Silence album takes cues from divergent sounds like post-rock and soft ambient as well as drone and even modern classical. It's an ever-shifting soundscape with smeared pads and nostalgia dreams, half-remembered thoughts and a sense of mood that ranges from escapist and blissed out to more ominous and paranoid.

Review: Marc Ribot's latest LP draws on decades of work and reflection, gluing fragments recorded over years back together to form a coherent whole, and finally foregrounding Ribot's own voice in the process. Sparked by a memory of one of his daughter's childhood drawings, Map Of A Blue City perambulates states of disorientation and openness, tracing the emotional topography of loss. Stark truths pivot against tender storytelling, at once producing an intimately distant space. "Recording production is really complicated," he says, "but it all boils down to what kind of room the listener feels they're standing in." Not quite autobiographical, it's a record built on the long, unresolved tension between what changes and what doesn't.

Review: Spring has sprung, and for many, Vivaldi's original 'Spring' composition might have just as quickly sprung into the minds of most classical heads. But perhaps most of y'all didn't see this one coming. We were bowled over on hearing news of Max Richter's electronic recompositions of Vivaldi's 'Seasons' 10 years ago; there hadn't been a proper vogue for electronic resources of classical music since Wendy Carlos did 'Switched-On Bach'. Now it gets another 'alternative rendering' (keyword: rendering); performed by an ensemble that almost entirely consists of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse musicians, we hear yet another futuristic take on a stone cold classic, with Richter himself playing a vintage '70s Moog.

Review: Originally released way back in 1969, Terry Riley's "A Rainbow In Curved Air" album remains one of the minimal maestro's most significant works. Crafted using overdubbing techniques, the three-movement title track features Riley playing layer upon layer of electric organ and electric Harpsichord motifs to create a hypnotic, Indian style raga. It was hugely influential at the time - inside and outside of the emerging minimalism scene - and later influenced the ambient and ambient house movements. Here it gets the audiophile reissue treatment, with the title track once again being joined by original flipside "Poppy Nogood & The Phantom Band" - a trippy wig-out in which Riley pays tribute to soprano saxophonist John Coltrane over more hypnotic, fast-past organ refrains.

Review: It's hard to believe that Steve Roach's landmark space ambient exploration is now four decades young. Emphasis on the young, considering we're getting new releases through that sound pretty similar. No disrespect to those that do - the point is Structures From Silence was so massively ahead of its time it still feels like the rest of us are catching up. Floating on a dust ring somewhere close to Saturn, maybe, this is lush, dreamy, cosmic synth stuff to lose yourself in. Just be sure there's a yurt close by, because this one's all about lying down and staring into your own thoughts. An exercise in escapism, without needing to move a muscle. In 2025, there's plenty of off-world talk as Earth buckles under the weight of capitalism. Little do they know some of us left that place behind decades ago.

Review: A quadruple box set spanning recordings made between 1968 and 1980 on two-track Revox tape, these previously unreleased works showcase the hypnotic cycles and textural explorations that define kosmische musik. Using his signature Farfisa organ and Echolette tape delay, the pieces evoke the spirit of Roedelius' Selbstportrait series and collaborations with Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother. Rather than a strict retrospective, 90 feels like a timeless sound journey, blending cascading minimalist loops with the organic warmth that has inspired generations. Tracks are unnamed and unmoored from chronology, allowing the listener to experience them as fluid expressions of Roedelius's artistry. The music recalls the meditative brilliance of contemporaries like Terry Riley, while firmly rooted in the experimental ethos of early German electronic music. Released to celebrate Roedelius's 90th birthday, this collection is both a celebration and a rediscovery, offering a vivid portrait of a visionary artist. 90 is a masterclass in innovation and introspection, essential for fans of kosmische and beyond.

Review: Claire Rousay's The Bloody Lady is a reimagined score for Viktor Kubal's 1980 Slovak animated film, based on the story of Elisabeth Bathory, a noblewoman accused of heinous murders. Known for pushing boundaries in experimental and ambient music, Rousay crafted the album after moving to LA, blending granular synths, piano, and field recordings into 11 evocative tracks. This new composition, commissioned after a coincidental visit to Bathory's castle, was first performed live at Videodroom/Film Fest Gent 2023. The score mirrors the film's darkly whimsical tone, shifting between delicate melodies and menacing undercurrents. Inspired by the heart's rhythmic pulse, central to the plot, Rousay's use of subtle, everyday sounds complements the film's folk tale narrative. The multilayered nature of Kubal's animation, with its mix of fairytale simplicity and deeper moral ambiguity, resonated with Rousay, who explored these themes through her sonic landscapes. This album stands as both a tribute to Kubal's legacy and a distinctive artistic statement. By leaving space in the soundtrack, Rousay invites deeper engagement with the story, reinforcing its timeless themes of love, destruction and humanity.

Review: A posthumous release that furthers Arthur Russell's now legendary status. Recorded in Downtown New York City on December 20, 1985, it's an intimate, unedited solo live performance recorded at Phill Niblock's loft space known as Experimental Intermedia Foundation. The takes are very raw and unpolished that it makes you feel like one of the very few in attendance. 'That's the Very Reason' is a beautiful, tender experimental folk piece showing he needed very few materials in order to send listeners on a journey of transcendence. 'Too Early To Tell' is highly idiosyncratic and produces a sound not normally associated with cello. And 'Sunlit Water' has an oriental feel and provides beautiful resolve to a resplendent set.