Ambient

  • Halftribe – For The Summer, Or Forever

    Halftribe’s label DRONARIVM describes the album in the concise minimalist tradition as a “laconic haze, ethereal, curiosities, nostalgic glimpses and fictional illusions.” This invented world places the listener in an atmospheric reverie with its hazy soft synths. As the listener follows the course of summer,  the album expresses all the dynamic facets that make the…

  • David Newlyn – Church Fires

    What kind of church fires are there? I know of two types. One is the type that happens metaphorically in the hearts of a church congregation. The literal type of church fires that I know of are the ones committed by Varg Vikernes and his black metal cronies in Norway in the early 1990s. Interestingly…

  • Abadir – Clattered Tell and 0N4B – dots | augsmatic diaspore

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    Rami Abadir reached out from Cairo a little while back to share two new releases he’s a part of. Both feature an approach to ambient electronic music that incorporate a range of sounds applied with a warm, gentle touch. Clattered Tell is a solo effort Abadir describes as “an anti-nostalgic work, attempting to deconstruct already…

  • Hotel Neon – Means of Knowing and Andrew Tasselmyer – Places Real and Imagined

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    Philadelphia trio Hotel Neon has earned a loyal following presenting the sort of audio-visual performances that an audience can lose themselves in. Escapism is at a premium these days. And so, as has happened throughout history, the artist’s role has gained both prominence and importance. When so many are looking to immerse themselves in something…

  • Power Therapy – Warmth For Bad Skaters

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    It is difficult to overstate the influence of a small set of bands in the 1980s and 1990s spearheaded by Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine.  Their ability to fuse old-fashioned studio-generated noise with sweet melodies is a strong link in the chain that connects The Velvet Underground to today’s avant-garde. Too often lumped in…

  • Daisuke Miyatani – Diario

    There is a moment, 32 seconds into the fourth track of Daisuke Miyatani’s exquisitely produced Diario, at which his gently strummed guitar fuses with a quiet burst of electronic noise. That combination is at the heart of what makes this 2007 recording such a pleasure. Miyatani weaves guitar and electronics together seamlessly, producing a uniquely…