Ambient
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This may be the most sophisticated break-up album ever recorded. Portugal’s Rui P. Andrade has produced an electronic ode to heartbreak that is both sad and gripping. All Lovers Go To Heaven features four pieces of primarily atmospheric drone recordings. “A.L.G.T.H.,” a kind of overture for the album, starts quietly. The piece is spacious, but…
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It was meant to be a safety test. The No.4 reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was shut down to simulate a power failure on April 26, 1986. What should have been a routine event turned into the worst nuclear accident in history. The only thing that comes…
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A few days ago, I learned the unthinkable, heartbreaking news that Matt Shoemaker has passed away. It hardly seems possible. Matt’s sound art is some of the most singular, carefully arranged, densely layered and hauntingly beautiful work one is likely to find in this realm. Most anyone who knows me has heard me talk at…
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When U.S. President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in the 2016 election, he did so by just 25,000 votes, an advantage of less than one per cent. What was most remarkable about the victory though wasn’t its margin. It was the fact that Trump was the first Republican candidate to win Wisconsin since Ronald Reagan’s re-election…
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Taylor Deupree was kind enough to add me to his 12k mailing list this week. This April release by Argentinian Federico Durand was part of my starter pack. It is Durand’s second LP for 12k. Last year’s well-received A Través Del Espejo showcased his minimalist approach to electronic music. On this recording, Durand set out…
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Andrew Stephens has delivered us another intensely gritty ambient piece, his second under the name Scattered Lodges. “The Alpine Chorus” is a single available as a digital download released at the beginning of July. Like its predecessor, the six-track Asymmetric Soup EP, this new work strikes a fascinating balance between rough and relaxing. The grit…
The Moderns 