Categories
Ambient Review

Maps and Diagrams – if all will be lost

In this new offering from the ever-consistent Quiet Details – Maps and Diagrams, the alias of the esteemed electronic music veteran Tim Martin, presents a mesmerizing journey through meticulously crafted soundscapes.
Martin’s diverse palette of elements, from metallic tones to ethereal synths and organic field recordings, converges seamlessly, creating an immersive sonic tapestry.
Each track unfolds like a carefully orchestrated symphony, oscillating between psychedelic reveries and serene contemplation.

Categories
Ambient Drone Review

awakened souls – if you feel lost

Surprise package from James and Cynthia aka ‘awakened souls’.
5 tracks of carefully considered drones, created on 6 string bass, synth, guitar, vocals and synth.
Out now via bandcamp

Categories
Ambient Review Synth

Loula Yorke – Volta

Refining her setup and sound, Lou has been beavering away over the border in Suffolk on a more minimalist approach to her compositional process. Channeling early Kosmiche sensibilities, with a modern twist, Yorke conjures mesmerizing, arpeggio-driven realms that beckon listeners into the cyclical embrace of time itself.

Categories
Ambient Electro-Acoustic Review

Sedibus – SETI

Navigating the cosmic expanse, this ethereal odyssey unfolds within the embrace of Orb OG’s Alex Paterson and Andy Falconer. ‘SETI’ emanates both cold darkness and radiance, as if aboard a candlelit spacecraft meandering through the infinite cosmos, where the duo, in communion with acoustic instruments and nostalgic samples, transcend the boundaries between the familiar and uncharted realms.

The journey unfolds as a rootsy, folky, electronic, processed, minimalist, and composerly voyage, defying earthly categorizations. Dr. Paterson, reflecting on the album’s genesis, reveals the organic synergy with Falconer, describing their collaboration as an easy and intuitive exploration of musical ambiance.

Released: 23rd February 2024

Ltd edition blue LP / Ltd edition orange LP / CD / download / stream via Orbscure Recordings

Categories
Ambient Beats Documentary Dub Electro Synth

Modulations: Cinema For The Ear (1998)

Modulations is a feature-length documentary that captures a moment in history where humans and machines are fusing to create today’s most exciting sounds.

It traces the evolution of electronic music as one of the most profound artistic developments of the twentieth century. By cutting back and forth between avant-garde composers, Kraftwerk’s innovative synthesizer drones, Giorgio Moroder’s glacial Euro-disco, Afrika Bambaataa’s electro-funk, and Prodigy’s current worldwide superstarstardom, Modulations celebrates, replicates, and illuminates the nomadic drift of the post-human techno sound.

The film examines the kids who have turned the turntable into a musical instrument, disillusioned disco lovers who created acid house out of primitive synthesizers, Motor City mavericks who saw the drum machine as their escape route out of urban neglect, and a generation of British youth who transformed these blips and bleeps into dance floor anthems of their own alienation.

Modulations provides a sense of history and context in which today’s electronic music can be understood. It entertains the converted and remixes the mindset of electronica’s nay-sayers.

Categories
Ambient Review

Cat Tyson Hughes – Roses in the Casement Window

Rounding off an impressive debut year for Quiet Details, we have the gloriously ethereal ‘Roses in the Casement Window’ from Cat Tyson Hughes. The album unfolds like a dream, with Cat’s vocals cascading over deep, undulating bass, creating expansive sonic realms that resonate with emotion and honesty.

Delicate melodies emerge through the clouds of sound, revealing a meticulous layering of textures and harmonies. The combination of vocal and synth harmonies, intertwined with field recordings and electro-acoustic elements, results in a sonic tapestry that is unmistakably Cat’s own. Her ability to weave constant movement and endless layers creates soundscapes that transport the listener to an otherworldly realm.

Out now via Quiet Details bandcamp

Categories
Ambient Video

Terry Riley – Morning Corona

Some days (more often than not atm) we just need to whack on some Terry Riley and transport the mind to a tranquil state.

Categories
Ambient Avant Garde Electro-Acoustic Experimental Field Recording Minimal Review

Top Freqs of 2023

Another fine year for music here in the flatlands.
Here are our ten most frequented frequencies of the past 12 months. Go check them out and support the artists!

1. Tape Loop Orchestra – Onde Sinusoi​̈​dale Et Bande Magne​́​tique

2. S. Costa – The Radiant Point

3. Cate Brooks – Easel Studies

4. T.Jervell & ChromaDots – Faksfjord / Fragsfjord

5. Field Lines Cartographer – Tone Maps

6. Elia Piana – Sotto l​’​Albero Tutto Si Copre

7. Anagrams – Blue Voices

8. Night Gestalt – The Staring Night

9. VirusMoto –

10. Sundheim – Glades of Flowering Stone

Categories
Ambient Live Review Synth

Polypores – Live 2023


Polypores Live 2023 showcases a departure from his previously released musical endeavors, opting for an exploratory approach rooted in improvisation and continual discovery. A patchwork quilt of modular delight, the snippets of each live performance incorporate selective repetitions, ensuring that each rendition remains a unique and distinct experience.

Categories
Ambient Avant Garde Experimental Review Spoken Word

Maya Hardinge & David Louis Zuckerman – Penny (Original Soundtrack)

Very interesting spoken word narrative over synth, guitar and eastern instrumental ambient scapes. Each track on “Penny” resonates with emotional depth and musical richness, creating a compelling soundscape that captures the essence of Penny’s life.

Maya Hardinge & David Louis Zuckerman skillfully use a diverse range of minimalist arrangements to evoke the various stages of Penny’s journey, from the soulful melodies representing her introspective moments to the rhythmic beats mirroring the pulse of her adventurous encounters.