Ambient
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When we listen to finely crafted electronic music, like this release from Acef Stripe, it’s easy to forget that there are people in the world who dislike the genre. The notes are so warm, the composition so fascinating, it’s hard to imagine anyone not sharing our enthusiasm. One, released over the summer by David Svrjcek…
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This new album from Leaaves feels eccentric at first. Its multifaceted title aside, these 11 songs seem to offer up one curious moment after another. Stick with it though. By the time you’ve made it through the cassette three or four times, its quirks will have begun to make sense. As is often the case…
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From the start, Giuseppe Cordaro’s new solo album offers listeners a simple elegance that comes as a great relief at the end of a difficult year. Simple, but not at all simplistic. The Reggio Emilia, Italy-based composer delivered eight new pieces to us last month that stitch multiple genres together seamlessly. Among them are ambient…
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Oslo’s Benjamin Finger has a new nine-track CD out today. Unlike Ghost Figures, the collection of piano improvisations reviewed here earlier in the year, this is a multi-layered work featuring electronics, strings and vocals. It is luxurious. The first indication that this album is something special comes as “Ultraviolet light” rumbles to life. The slow…
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Bruno Sanfilippo’s Lost & Found is more aptly titled than it first appears. His ambient solo-piano performances are certainly emotional, and will no doubt bring to mind all manner of losses and recoveries. But there’s another dimension to this five-track release that makes its title appropriate. The disc opens with “Peter,” a sparse, luxuriously paced…
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Five minutes into Andrew Osterhoudt’s (a.k.a. Channeling) new three-track mini album, you may find yourself wondering if this follow-up to his self-titled debut is going to be a rather straightforward drone affair. It’s not an unpleasant beginning. Understated distortion adds a welcome grittiness to a gentle, neatly presented introduction. But appreciating “Drift’s” subtle progression does…
The Moderns 