Lagas Turmales is a producer out of Monterrey, Mexico who produce a quiet, droning, monochrome ambient music. It’s lack of dynamics is precisely how ambient music should sound to me, if we’re talking about a purist definition of the genre. This is warm, rippling ambient music worth relaxing to. One could say it would fit in well as part of a Tarkovsky soundtrack. This is a project I’d like to know more about. Transitory Tapes is responsible for releasing this intriguing album.
1000 Plateaux is the debut record by Hiiro Issiki, a Japanese composer. I don’t find too much information on Issiki’s background, but this record is a musical chimera, sprouting patterns and shapes at will, yet maintaining cohesion, and in many parts, beauty. What a stunning piece of work this is! Respect goes to Bedouin Records out of Bangkok, Thailand, for releasing this album. It’s motivation to explore their catalogue further.
French imprint Eilean Records was a truly remarkable label with 100 releases of ambient and related musics. I was going through my collection today and came across this album I purchased sometime in 2018. Sublamp is a fellow Los Angelino, Ryan Conner, who is a sound and video artist by profession. This work, like all of his titles, is a record about an imaginary space, a soundtrack for a non-existent territory, if you will. It’s a meditative piece perfect for headphone listening, and it’s one that I hope inspires you to dig deeper into Eilean Records‘ back catalog.
From the bio: Allan J. Kimmel (aka Departure Street) is an American/French solo electric guitarist based in Paris France. He plays alternative ambient and neo-folk music with shoegaze & American blues underpinnings. I could not have said it more succinctly. This is not my first time reviewing Allan’s wonderful guitar work. I featured his previous release, Two Islands In The Heart, in March of 2020. This album is one filled with clouds of guitar ambiance which relaxes and doesn’t get too much in the way of one’s thoughts. There continues to be a shoegaze or very minimalistic indie rock-flavored guitar…
Andrew Land is a composer out of Birmingham, England whose work is simple and rhythmic, played in an elegant manner, without sounding simplistic. It’s minimalistic, so those of you who enjoy the works of Harold Budd, Philip Glass or even Hans-Joachim Roedelius may want to pass your time enjoying this EP. If you prefer to stream the release, Andrew obliges you at his Spotify account.
Studnia are a duo out of Poland amd Bulgaria who tie together quite a few disparate influences seamlessly, mixing IDM and Illbient Music with a dark ambient and post-Industrial feel, all while maintaining a beat you want to move to.
Lappländer & Ancylus are a project hailing from Finland. According to their bio, both Janne Lappalainen (Lappländer) and Visa Uotila (Ancylus) have over two decades of history working in electronic music. This is quite a powerful listen. It reminds me of mid-period Tangerine Dream under the cavernous influence of Steve Roach, though with far shorter tracks. Quite a good effort.
Santiago Fradejas is an experimental musician based currently in Spain, though he hails from Argentina. He is also a friend whose work I have been honored to champion for several years now, along with the work of his wife, A.M Ferrari Fradejas. In this release, the two pair up with Diego Mamani Di Giuseppe and Coco to make bleak, dystopian guitar and moog-scapes. Considering what a horrible year 2020 was, and what disasters wait for us this year, this may well serve as a perfect soundtrack to the mess awaiting us.
Soundtrack music is always welcome in my inbox, especially if it is quiet, brooding and sets a heavy mood for an indie film. I can’t say I know too much about Daniel Thomas Freeman, but now that we are in contact, I look forward to hearing more albums which blend ambient, experimental and soundtrack music together so seamlessly. If you want to delve further into Daniel’s music, consider checking out his Spotify page. The music here is less atonal, but a pleasure to hear nonetheless.
Today’s choice, Cernichov, bear cover art on their album, The Mold Legacy, which would fool one into thinking that this was some sort of black-metal release. Far from it. It’s actually a very well-balance pairing of noise and ambient music. It’s as if a post-punk band were working with the noise and ambient aesthetic, so this sounds far more musical and stable than many of the amateur bands who sound like they’re simply flipping on the vacuum switch. Quite nice.