Clay Pipe Vinilo y CD

Review: On Through Passages of Time, Clay Pipe founder Frances Castle - AKA The Hardy Tree - has attempted to "soundtrack buildings and areas of London that no longer exist". Fundamentally, it's a kind of an extended ode to a London that has been cast aside in the rush towards gentrification. Musically, it feels contemporary but nostalgic, a feeling enhanced by the use of vintage equipment ("clusters" of sequenced Moog synthesizers, proto-sampling keyboard the Mellotron, and so on). Most of all, though, this is down to Castle's ability to conjure evocative aural images through the use of bittersweet melodies, melancholic chord progressions, and snatched field recordings.

Review: Michael Tanner's Plinth project has been a consistent source of quality electronics since the early 00s, with the artist releasing an album every three or four years. 2010's Music For Smalls Lighthouse was an instant hit when it landed here the first time around, so this tidy reissue from Clay Pipe is a valuable addition to our charts. If you haven't heard it, you can probably already hear its magnetic waves of organic instruments sweeping through the air, brought into shape by luscious drones and ambient soundscapes of all shapes and sizes. What we love about it the most is its natural ability to reign on elements of the wind and the sea with such ease, taking the listener onto a mystical voyage across oceanic planes of sound. A beautiful collection of tracks.

Review: The redoubtable Roberts has carved out a considerable niche for himself in the last decade, standing proud as a warm and authentic voice of Scottish folk - moreover, his work has rarely sounded more traditional or earthy than on this collaboration with James Green of the Sheffield based Big Eyes Family Players, who plays a variety of instruments including the little-known harmoniflute. Equal parts heartwarming and melancholic, the laments and celebrations on Plaint Of Lapwing possess the magical and paradoxical ability to hark back to a bygone era of a mystical folk realm overseen by legends like Incredible String Band and C.O.B. whilst engaging in style with the whys and wherefores of 2016.