New releases last two weeks: Ambient/Drone

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Review: On his return to China in 2019 after a period away, Brock van Wey noticed a "strange, sound emitting item" on the table. It was a handmade 'steel tongue drum', a unique percussion instrument associated with spirituality and meditation in Asian culture. A few days later, van Wey recorded an extended jam of himself playing it, and later overdubbed electronic sounds, melodies, chords and textures. The result is The Depth of Rain, the long-serving ambient and drone artist's second Bvdub album of 2024. Where some of van Wey's ambient sets can tend towards the intense and claustrophobic, The Depth of Rain is a genuinely melodious, evocative and spring-like affair that ebbs and flows wonderfully throughout, providing entertainment and sonic bliss in equal measure.

Review: Brian Williams' Lustmord project has existed in different forms for over 40 years, though it's only in the last couple of decades - when it has become a vehicle for his solo work - that new musical missives have become a regular occurrence. On Much Unseen Is Also Here, the former industrial musician turned soundtrack composer once again showcases his mastery of pitch-black sonics, creepy soundscapes and horror-inspired dark ambient workouts. As you'd expect, the sound design is incredible - listen on good quality headphones for the ultimate listening experience - while Williams' penchant for throwing in suspenseful chords, billowing aural textures and unsettling vocalisations adds further layers of paganistic mystery.

Review: After many years of waiting, CV313 (Stephen Hitchell) brings out blue vinyl editions of some of his cherished dub techno classics. Originally released in 2007 and again in 2009, 'Subtraktive' took the M7 formula and deepened it even further becoming the blueprint for CV313 and the Echospace label for years to come. Comes with the live in Japan version also. This reissue is a warm welcome for those concerned about ever getting a copy.

Review: Like many ambient and drone artists, New Zealander Rudy Adrian specialises in ringing maximum emotion from abstract electronics, experimental tones and immersive, widescreen soundscapes. As the title suggests, Reflections on a Moonlit Lake is another emotive exploration designed, in his words, for "rest, reading, meditation and sleep". For proof, check the slow-burn swell of opener 'Mirror Island', where echoing wood block hits and lapping waves rise above immersive chords and yearning melodies, the Pete Namlook-goes-to-the-South-Island flex of 'Lunar Shadow', and the faintly foreboding half asleep/half-awake haziness of 'Within The Darkness'. Impeccable ambience.