Fall Music Preview - Ambient

A Closer Listen

Genre blends are on the rise, as heard in this season’s slate of ambient releases. Many of these are threaded with folk, electronic and experimental music, which produce attention in new markets.  This being said, today’s preview covers the calm end of a deep lake.

Photography courtesy of Holly Holdredge Bangert at Holdredge Images.

Rich’s Pick #1:  Various Artists ~ Place Language (Fluid Audio, September 30) Those familiar with Richard Skelton’s work are likely familiar with Robert Macfarlane as well.  The author’s book Underland has been making waves all summer, and now his masterpiece Landmarks has its own score.  Place Language begins with the glorious glossaries of that volume, then offers beautiful expansions on linguistic themes.  Twenty-eight artists participate, including Skelton, Hammock, Ian Hawgood, Kate Carr and more.  It’s time to get registered for that mailing list if you don’t want to miss out!

Rich’s Pick #2:  Minor Pieces ~ The Heavy Steps of Dreaming (Fatcat, October 4) The name is new, but the players are not.  Ian William Craig teams up with Missy Donaldson on this ambient folk album, replete with acoustic guitar.  And not just any folk album, one of the best we’ve ever heard, putting him in the rare company of artists such as Alicia Merz, cracking our instrumental-based site despite the vocal approach.  Quality is quality, as these uplifting lyrics and gorgeous vocal performances prove.

Want more of this type of music? Japanese vocalist Akaihirume may remind some of Craig, in a guest appearance on Carl Stone‘s Himalaya. The album blends styles from ambient to folk to hip-hop, with a world music vibe (Unseen Worlds, September 20). Marielle Jakobsons (Date Palms) and Chuck Johnson join forces as Saariselka, producing an ethereal folk painting on the nature-centered The Ground Our Sky (Temporary Residence, October 18).  Another possible tour partner for Minor Pieces is Mára (Faith Coloccia), whose faith-based exhalations celebrate motherhood and the possibility of transcendence.  Here Behold Your Own is out September 13 on SIGE.  Matteo Uggeri mixes vocal, instrumental and field recording on The Next Wait, dedicated to his daughters and featuring a Black Flag cover (Grey Sparkle, September 10).

The Quiet Stuff

LINE is leaping into fall with two new releases on September 6.  Pinkcourtesyphone and harpist Gwyneth Wentink merge skills again on when she had no mirror… she watched her shadow, a contemplative release that delves into ideas of self-image.  The self-titled Six Microphones comes from designer/composer Robert Gerard Pietrusko, and “explores the mutually constitutive relationships among sound, space, and audience.”  The music began as an installation, and is now released in partnership with Counter Audition. Chogori‘s Lake is an improvised release with double bass, guitar and synth, and would normally fall into our Experimental category, save for the fact that it’s so relaxing, meant to remind listeners of “a warm late summer evening by the lake” (Less Records, October 11). The same holds true for PIP, a trumpet / guitar duo who produce a restive patina.  Possible Worlds is out September 27 on SOFA.  Hollie Keniff offers sunlight on The Gathering Dawn; we hope the mesmerizing This Part of You finds a dock (n5MD, November). Drifting in Silence is a perfect name for an ambient project, this one midway through its second decade.  Away is the artist’s latest transportive set (Labile, October 25).

Balmorhea’s Michael A. Muller is making his solo debut with Lower River, a more sedate affair than his work with the band.  The lead single is placid, though the actor in the debut video is anything but (Beacon Sound/1631 Recordings, October 25).  Orphax has been performing Live Circles for a few years now, inviting audiences to “lose track of time and space.”  It’s easy to see how this might happen, given the mood of this extended piece (Moving Furniture, September 13). Inspired by a trip to Asuka, Chihei Hatakeyama came home to produce Forgotten Hill, a gentle tribute to burial grounds, stone chambers and a Buddha in a rice field (Room40, September 20).  Strangely, a second autumn release also references rice fields; on Going Home, Ai Yamamoto uses field recordings to create a sonic photograph of her home, and by extension, all homes (Dragon’s Eye Recordings, September 20).

Outdoor Meditations

Since when do raucous punk rockers record meditation albums?  Katherina Bornefeld manages to complete the yin to her yang on Angeltalk, which exposes her other career as a sound healer (The Daydream Library Series, September 27).  H. Takahashi applies his brand of “Pulse Minimalism” to Sonne und Wasser, dedicated to the slow growth of plants (Where to Now?, September 27).  TROVA‘s tranquil Littlelwaf Linden was sparked by the scent of the Little Leaf Linden Tree, and is preceded by the shimmering single Silver (TMP, September 20). Meanwhile, Marc Barreca‘s The Grey and the Green reverses the name of a song by New Model Army and finds its inspiration “in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains” (Palace of Lights, September 27).  Tapes and Topographies‘ Ubiquitous Clouds has a sound to match its cover and title; it’s soothing in all the best ways (Simulacra, September 13).  Nullhøyde offers a two-track tribute to the Arctic, spacing out his sounds to match the sights of the landscape (September 6).  Shasta Cults explores the music of the Buchla synth on Configurations, another example of the instrument’s recent rescue from obscurity and continued popularity (Important, September 13).  For a more classic use of the synth, check out Important’s vinyl version of Elaine Radigue‘s 1971 opus Chry-Ptus (October 11).

Past Inside the Present went on a quiet tear this summer, releasing a surprising amount of new music.  Benoit Pioulard‘s May/Atra is a combination of old and new, a reissue of four sold-out tracks with the addition of four unheard pieces (September 10).  The Warm Jets‘ Here We Come is an Eno tribute album of sorts, featuring thoughtful guitar and a shoegaze vibe (Somewherecold, September 15).  Toby Wiltshire was dually inspired by the death of a loved one and the birth of his daughter; the mixed emotions come into play on the melancholic Surfacing (September 20).  øjeRum has released an average of an album a month this year, all on different labels; we think it’s time to slow down!  Nevertheless, there’s yet another album on the way: 7 Sjæle (Midira, October 11).  Pergola‘s Bird Visitor is the soundtrack to the short film of the same name, a gentle persuasion of guitar, shruti box and more.  The concurrent release is September 13 (Yellow K/Good Soil).  Shruti box can also be heard on Kochi, Wil Bolton‘s tribute to the Arabian Sea.  The album features field recordings captured at Fort Kochi Beach in South India (Audiobulb, October 23).  Space and sound inform Remo Seeland‘s multi-continental Hollow Body, which studies the manner in which the body reacts to subways, crowds and wide open spaces.  Guests include Norman Westburg and Reinier van Houdt (Hallow Ground, September 13).

Electronic Ambient

This category is mirrored by Ambient Electronic; the order of words indicates the dominant quality of these split works.  Two retrospectives on Empire of Signs gather unheard electronic ambience along with classics:  Inoyama Land‘s Commissions: 1977-2000 and Masahiro Sugaya‘s Horizon Vol. 1.  Each release showcases the meditative sounds of these famed Japanese composers, and will be available on September 20 and October 11.  Lightbath collects four years of modular synth on Selected Public Works Vol. 1-4, although calling this a “performance video” is a stretch.  The tapes will be out on September 27 and October 10.  Don’t be fooled by the name worriedaboutsatan; Blind Tiger is more soothing than scary (save for “There Is No Bonfire”).  The set gets more involved as it progresses, moving to rhythm in the finale (Past Inside the Present, October 4).  Old tapes, cheap LPs and YouTube videos are turned to mulch in the laptop processors of Jonathan Scherk and Daniel Majer, yielding engrossing sound collages on It’s Counterpart (Faitiche, October 4).

Små Vågor‘s 4 is a peaceful set, intended “for the hours between midnight and early dawn.”  The percolating album is released on Flora & Fauna on September 20.  Petra‘s Aunis is inspired by the geological formations of Nisyros (Greece).  The recording pairs the artists who are known separately as Anenon and Bed (Injazero, September 20).  Moog shares space with piano, nylon steel and field recordings on LC01, a warm offering from Low Chord (Other Songs, September 6).  Adriaan de Roover shifts from soft blankets to percussive beds on Leaves, released on the label of the same name.  The album honors nature and family, and includes a quiet nudge on climate change (October 11).  Synth wakens the roosters on Side Tracks (the title referring to the fact that one track fills each side), a peaceful set from the duo Georgia (Métron Records, September 6).  Florian T M Zeisig translates voice and percussion into currents on the curiously-titled ZZZZZzzzzzz. Some tracks drone while others pulse (Anòmia, September 6).  Electric Capablanca‘s intriguing Puzzles & Studies is a blend of influences, which range from “Italian midi classical (to) imagined mitteleuropa ambient” (Kit Records, September 13).  Dylan Henner‘s Caribbean-influenced Storm Brother in the Dusk features the steel pans of Fimber Bravo and an island vibe.  The music is a reminder that it’s always summer somewhere (Phantom Limb, September 6)!

Richard Allen

A Closer Listen

A Closer Listen

The tumult of the world creates an ongoing need for quiet music.  From soft piano to synthesized pulse, soothing brass to languid guitar, the ambient genre displays an amazing versatility.  And if ambience is yellow and drone is red, dark ambience is the orange overlap.  This preview will segue smoothly into the next, as the tone darkens to match the season.

In early September, certain geographical regions continue to bake and boil while others are beginning to feel the chill.  In the Southern Hemisphere, spring is on the way.  When weather of either extreme pushes us indoors, our ears grow better suited to minute and subtle sounds.  No matter where you are, we hope you’ll find something here to calm and soothe!

Yes, It’s a Video Game!

We’re big fans of Ian William Craig, and we’re big fans of video games, but we never thought that the two would meet … until now.  Music for Magnesium_173 is the 80-minute score to Steam’s “elegant puzzle game inspired by quantum mechanics,” but stands well on its own.  Don’t expect bouncy synth or Atari gymnastics; filaments of choral beauty are draped across pillows of hand-woven sound (Fatcat, September 23).

Scent Pairings

Few perfumeries score their own soundtracks, but Reykjavik’s Fischer is the exception.  It doesn’t hurt that Jónsi’s family is in charge.  We trust that Sounds of Fischer Vol. I will be so much better than the company-curated playlists unspooling at the local Starbucks, thanks to Jónsi, Sin Fang, Alex Somers and Kjartan Holm (I N N I, September 16).  Pushing the scent concept even further is Tenka, whom most readers also know as Meitei.  Hydration can be purchased along with a vial of fragrance designed by Ryoko to accompany the album.  Ideally, one will enjoy scent and sounds together (Métron Records, September 14, shown above).

Room40

Last year’s Label of the Year, Austrailia’s Room40, continues its ambient dominance (is that an oxymoron?) in 2022.  Their fall slate is already packed with intriguing possibilities.  First out the gate is Steve Roden (w/Jacob Danziger)‘s Dark Over Light Earth, a reflection of Mark Rothko’s paintings through harmonium, glockenspiel and violin (September 2).  Manuel Mota and David Grubbs follow quickly a week later with na margem sul, a document not only of their first live performance, but each artist’s first indoor performance on the heels of the pandemic.  Six days after that, Bill Seaman & Stephen Vitiello will offer The Other Forgotten Letters, a prequel to a forthcoming album, containing improvisations, fragments, and collaborative contributions.  The boss himself, Lawrence English, enters the fray on September 23 with Approach, inspired by the classic manga Grey and memories of the artist’s tough teenaged years.  Ben Glas‘ Superpositional Melodies is more dronelike, with high-pitched frequencies vying for attention (September 30).  We first covered Peter Knight‘s Shadow Phase in our Modern Composition section, but we’re re-listing it here for completion purposes (October 7).  On the same day, Eric Griswold‘s Sunshowers will see the light of day, the title track sounding exactly like its name, with “cascading arpeggios” of piano.  And a giant collaboration will appear on October 28, as The Prey and the Ruler features Senyawa + Lawrence English/Aviva Endean/Peter Knight/Helen Svoboda/Joe Talia, a new supergroup!  Finally, J.WLSN‘s 1993 is a series of loops culled from a box of cassettes found on the side of the road during the pandemic.  The sources may be familiar, but the sounds are not (November 11).

Low Beams and Nightlights

picnic‘s creaky little branch is a wee hidden gem (perhaps not after today), with appearances by Craig Tattersall and a host of collaborators, along with a bonus disc for those who order early.  The sound hearkens back to the classic Cotton Goods recordings that usually sold out within hours of release (Daisart, September 15).  In like fashion, Dispositions teams Bill Seaman and Dave Howe with musicians from across the globe, and is released October 7 on oscarson.  Another homespun set comes from Yara Asmar, a puppeteer who turned to home taping during the pandemic, using broken instruments, field recordings and music boxes.  Home Recordings 2018-2021 is out September 16 on Hive Mind. Discrepant’s Aquapelago: An Oceans Anthology combines field recordings with history, legends and music from artists including Mike Cooper, Sculpture and Sugai Ken.  The first in an ongoing series, the album is out September 30.  The latest collaboration from IIKKI Books pairs the music of The Three Oldmen’s Birds with the photography of Simon Vansteenwinckel, released September 29 as Rustine.  Sister label Laaps is represented by Ecovillage, who reflects on The Road Less Taken.  This pensive album arrives September 19 on red vinyl.

For Sundays When It Rains is a great ambient title, courtesy of Robert Rich & Luca Formentini.  The combination of lap steel, flute, piano and more produces a lulling effect (Soundscape Productions, September 30).  Holland Patent Public Library is a place, and it’s also a performer.  The dangerously titled Songs to Fall Asleep at the Wheel to is actually a score to “unconscious driving,” when one is traveling a route one knows by heart.  The album travels from the upper Hudson Valley down to Brooklyn, crossing the Whitestone Bridge along the way (Dear Life, October 21).  In contrast, Cleared‘s Of Endless Light is a long walk through city streets, a bemoaning of industry launched and deserted, and a retreat to the comfort of nature: a message delivered without a single word (Touch, September 23).

We love the description of Apertura as an invitation to the artist’s “private tavern.”  Braulio Lam‘s album is released October 7, just in time for the tale-telling season (Dragon’s Eye Recordings, shown right).  Japanese environmental music was once a micro-genre, but now it’s nearly a genre of its own.  Taro Nohara‘s Poly-Time Soundscapes / Forest of the Shrine is the latest example of aural forest bathing (WRWTFWW Records, September 30).  New Words’ Neuro-Defragmentation compilation is an attempt to step away from the artificial and return to the organic; the only confusing part is that the cover seems computer-generated (September 2).  volume settings folder recorded weekly songs during the pandemic, posting them on Instagram, and is now releasing a collection called Ghosts in the Heat.  The double disc arrives with sweet packaging, as seen below (September 1).  Littoral is beautifully described as the interplay between light and “small wavelets by the side of a shallow lake.”  The album, by the suitably named Ecotone, is out October 7 on ur audio visual.

Slow Tone Collages, sister label of Shimmering Moods, has put its fourth bundle up for pre-order.  The albums may be bought together or separately, and include Andrew Sherwell‘s Invocation of Deities by Working of Ritual Instruments, Knower‘s In Search of Nothing and Trent Hawkins‘ Generations, 20200612.  All are released on September 13, the awesome art for the first album is shown to the right.  Whitelabrecs releases a constant and reliable stream of music, and this fall will be no exception.  The early entries will be Polaroid Notes‘ Cloud Anthems and Andrew Heath & Simon McCorry‘s perfectly titled A Is For Autumn, both out on September 10.

Before Tapes & Topographies, there was Sonogram.  On Compendium, the artist compiles a selection of his softest pieces, adding one new track (September 2).  Careful Now, says James Murray on his first album in three years, a photo of what may be the young artist on the cover (Home Normal, September 2).  The label follows this on October 7 and 21 with two albums from anthéne; frayed and hope remain, the second (as one might expect) a touch more optimistic than the first.  Christopher Willits‘s Gravity is “a prayer of gratitude” and an invitation to healing, a personal album that grew from the artist’s struggles while on the way to an inner peace (Ghostly International, September 9).

Erik Mowinckel‘s Flere steder samtidig (Many places at once) combines ambience and weather, folding in field recordings for an authentic, forest-worn sound.  The soft storm of the title track is particularly appealing (Dugnag Rec., October 7).  First Snow of the Year released Norwegian White this past June, and will follow it with Awakening of the Pines, ideally as the first snow starts to fall.  The calming Skylines is the early sample of the new set.  As befits the name Moss Covered Technology, Brick and Air is a love letter to suburban soundcapes, fed by “distant traffic noise and the hum of air-conditioning outlets behind shopping precincts” (Audiobulb, September 28).  Ambientologist’s Sustain Series, Vol. 3 continues a tradition of cooperation and collaboration.  This time around, dozens of artists salvage discarded ideas and trade files across 27 peaceful pieces (September 2).  Three beautiful albums just popped up for pre-order on Vaagner, all in shades of gray.  Together they proceed from light to dark, beginning with Thme‘s dreamy A Grasp of Wonder, expanding to The Humble Bee‘s looped and abraded An Opposite Fall and ending with the aggressive Inneterre, Reborn from Appropriate Savagery (September 23).

With tracks as long as a quarter hour, Empty Sky has room to breathe.  The artist ~ Absence ~ even has a matching moniker.  This will be the first artist album from label Imaginary North, landing September 2.  OdNu has fallen in love with Dolby Atmos, which forms the basis for My Own Island.  Instruments such as clarinet and charango make guest appearances as well (Audiobulb, September 3).  Moving Furniture has two releases scheduled for September 30.  Scanner & Modelbau team up for the bright and swirling Loess, which was composed through a long pandemic tape exchange, while Jacazsek, Romke Kleefstra, Jan Kleefstra collaborate on IT DEEL I, whose sombre tone confronts the ongoing threat of environmental degradation.

Christina Vantzou, Michael Harrison and John Also Bennett present a self-titled album inspired by ragas and just intonation, the piano notes an invitation to immersion (Seance Center, September 2).  On the same day, Rob Winstone will release I dreamt we found a way, a reflection of music as spiritual practice, and a meditation on love and loss, drenched in sonic decay (Warm Winters Ltd.).  Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka play, coo and dream their way through Languoria, sounding like the dance of morning dew (Mondoj, October 7).  Field recordings, synth and guitar flitter about the room on Tenderness, producing a feeling akin to the title.  This collaboration between Yumi Araki and Carlos Ferreira is out as of September 2 (Modern Obscure Music).

Electric Blankets

What’s Nils Frahm doing here?  On the three-hour Music for Animals, the artist abandons the piano to focus on elongated tracks and electronic textures.  This is such a big change for the artist, we’re wondering if a Synthesizer Day might be in the plans for 2023 (Leiter, September 20).  Sam Prekop (The Sea and Cake) continues his love affair with modular synth on The Sparrow, where the title track fills the entire first side.  We’re already enamored with the brass-inflected first single “Fall Is Farewell,” as we love songs whose titles match the time of year (TAL, 30 September).  Seven years have passed since Asmus Tietchens‘ last album, and Parallelen is his seventh for LINE.  Coincidence?  The artist is patient in composition, a master of the minimal (September 9).

Muzan Editions will release a Late Summer Batch on September 16, taking advantage of the gap between meteorological fall (September 1) and astronomical fall (September 22).  Three countries, three artists and three very different timbres are represented.  Yukari Okamura‘s Theory moves through a thick haze, while Sara Berts‘s Braiding Fragments plants a garden of pointillist notes and Endurance‘s Verb dives deep into tempo and pulse.  Constellation Tatsu has three releases scheduled for September 22. Tarotplane‘s Aeonium offers an extended meditation for synth and guitar; Andy Aquarius travels “from the forest to the sea” on La Force Aquarienne, showcasing the sound of the Celtic harp; and Inknose dedicates four songs to the Spirit of Water, guaranteeing a meditative vibe.

Surya Botofasina drapes Everyone’s Children in a blanket of comfort.  The set sounds like a temple, decorated with piano, synth and chimes.  A number of guest stars stop by to worship as well (Spiritmuse, November 4).  The first single from Greg Keller Music, Vol. 2 is called “Chimes,” but we’re looking forward to hearing the second track, “Fall.”  The author of a meditation podcast, Keller is now also making music to fit his (here unspoken) words (Stickfigure, September 30).  The new album from ATŌMI is a deeply textured work that incorporates a bit of modern composition for a mature and slightly melancholy feel, inspired by the concept of the fetus.  Little Flowing Oracles will be released on Lady Blunt Records on October 7 (pictured right).

Blue Glass is a wonderful name, yielding no hint of the artist’s former post-punk leanings.  Les Jardins Éternels is the sequel to Jardin des Étoile, their common thread being the films of Chris Marker.  The appropriately cinematic sound is more ambient than electronic, although the first single flips the script (Two Roads Records, October 21).  Some tracks are swifter and more active than others, but overall, Massimo Discepoli leads his listeners to relax.  On An unusual way to disappear, organic instruments frolick in electronic fields (DOF, September 3).  Erik Buschmann is set to expand his Worthless EP into an album; Blue Spells is out September 23 on Reflektor, and contains all three of the original tracks.  Starting from the other side with a three-track EP, Saul Allerton offers Trembling, Sleeping, which makes fine use of recorded dialogue to produce a mood that is simultaneously realistic and dreamy (Night Time Noise Service, September 1).

“Memory, nighttime and narrative” inform Cate Keenan‘s The Arbitrary Dimension of Dreams, in which pedal steel and analog synth create a new age swirl (Post Present Medium, October 20).   (Past Present Medium, October 21).  Of a similar mindset is tarotplane‘s The Ektachrome Dawn, which might be played just after Keenan’s disc to extend the sweet sensation (September 9).  Seahawks (no relation to the Seattle football team) share a chill vibe on Infinite Echo, inviting listeners along for the drift (Cascine, November 4).  We’ve heard of singing in the bathtub, but not recording instrumental tracks in the bathtub.  Leave it to Roméo Poirier to invent a new way to combine leisure activities.  The (perhaps ironically) titled Living Room is out October 7 on Faitiche.

“Lakes, fire, leaves and birds” can all be heard on OHMA‘s jazzy Between All Things, which honors the elements and seeks to soothe with sax and flute, drum machine and synth (Colorfield, September 9).  Also making use of field recordings, Gus Tomizuka seeks to highlight the contrast between nature and urban sprawl on Prospect & Refuge, an album anchored by warm, expressive guitar (Transitory Tapes, October 23).  With zither, shruti, tanpura and chime, there’s no mistaking the eastern vibe of Aura Gaze.  Great Moon Essence also includes guest stars, among them The Corrupting Sea (Somewherecold, September 16). World music and lyric-free vocals lend Gracia a Buddha Bar vibe. Joël Dilley and Bett Butler‘s album also features a cover by Ukrainian artist Olesya Hudyma (September 25).

Lo.Sai adopts hundred-year-old piano pieces on Mompou: An Intimate Impression, transforming them into synthesized works.  The album is both homage and reinvention (MFZ, September 30).  In contrast, philip golub creates piano loops for filters, pursuing the goal of “endless repetition” (greyfade, October 28).  Coldplay sings, “I wrote a song for you, and it was called ‘Yellow’ … Matt Christensen & P.M. Tummala have turned the color into the inspiration for Yellow Works, decorated with synth, vibraphone and Fender Rhodes (Monastral, September 2).  James Varghese recorded Ambient 1 at SMEM, the largest synthesizer museum in the world.  A sense of history is borne by its notes (Quiet Love Records, September 14).

We believe Asher Levitas when he says, I’m Not Smiling, since we trust that’s him on the cover.  But with a last name like that, we also know he can’t stay down for long.  The album is a mix of vocal and instrumental pieces, synth a constant presence (Line Explorations, October 21).  Briana Marela also mixes vocal and instrumental, often slipping into manipulations of spoken word.  You Are a Wave teeters on the precipice of pop before falling back toward experimental ambience.  The album reflects a deep loss and the struggle to recover using any tools necessary – in this case, rubber bands, egg cartons and Buchla synth (September 9).  Stuck at home, crys cole experimented with household objects, folding them into expansive compositions along with the sounds of birds and occasional drum machines.  The result is Other Meetings, an album which may never be played in concert but serves as a conceptual diary (Black Truffle, October 14).

Elif Yalvaç‘s Green Drift is ambient, until it isn’t; a couple of the pieces delve into drone, while the Turkish synthesist even ventures into dance on “Shadow Dog” (Expert Sleepers, September 23).  Floating Shrine tags itself as ambient, but touches on bright drone, with titles like “Warmth” and “Norway” keeping them in the light.  Growth and Decay is fittingly released on Decaying Spheres on September 9.  zakè and Ossa offer a sci-fi journey on syntheticopia, where the cosmic sounds of NASA probes are folded into ambience and drone.  There’s even a micro-story to accompany the release (Zakè Drone Recordings, September 2).

The Descending Dark

Christos Fanaras switches between ambient and drone on A Cry for Help, often within the same piece.  Organ tones provide an undercurrent of foreboding (Adaadat, October 2).  With pings on one slab of vinyl, drones on the other, field recordings scattered about and a smattering of voice, ROUTE 2 is difficult to categorize.  Roland Schappert‘s album is a sequel to another release earlier this year on the same label (r-ecords, September 23, pictured left).  Time Released Sound returns with In Lingua Mortuorum, inspired by the frozen figures of Pompeii.  Tiziano Popoli‘s extended piece has been dusted off from 1989 and given new life, offered in a lathe cut edition with scratched x-ray, akin to the old “bone music” recordings (September 1).

With struck bells and rustling curtains, Nabelóse‘s OMOKENTRO is shrouded in mystery, French horn and piano only serving to deepen the intrigue.  One is not quite frightened, but remains on edge (bohemian drips, September 30). Dark ambience, ghostly voices and disembodied piano make Daniel McClennan‘s Unfurling Redemption a fine choice for the darker months; the tape was released on Cruel Nature September 2.  Slow echoes and undulations characterize Threads, where Mattie Barbier plays his trombone in a water tank, far from the madding crowd (SOFA, October 14). Finally, Alphaxone dives into the depths of dark ambience and the intersection of drone on The Infinite Void, where we will pick up tomorrow in the last installment of our 2022 Fall Music Preview!

Richard Allen