For no other reason than having a good memory about the great Wim Mertens and the late Glenn Branca, I present you this minimalist classic soundtrack, one of Mertens’ best works.
Modern Classical
Francesca Marongiu – Still Forms in Air
Mexican record label Umor Rex has released an album by Italian composer Francesca Marongiu, which is heavily influenced by some spectacular Japanese New Age/Ambient releases from the mid-1980s. This was a wonderful time for ambient music in Japan, and Francesca captures the spirit perfectly while adding her own spin.
Jeff Gburek – Rounded Sleep (for Eliane Radigue)
Perhaps the most important contemporary experimental musician, Éliane Radigue, has passed away. Jeff Gburek offers a wonderful tribute in her honor. Words fail at the moment.
Jeff Gburek & Friends – Decembryonic Journey 2025
As the year heads to a close, our friend Jeff Gburek offers up one of his last releases of 2025. From his Bandcamp site: “Although most of these tracks were realized in October and November, I’ve chosen to give the title over to the coming moon of December and the Continue Reading
Marja Ahti & Manja Ristić – Transference
From the venerable Erstwhile Records’ Bandcamp site: “”Transference is a dialogue of sonic gestures and traces of visits to places and the spirit that occupies them. It unfolds as a map of subtle and drastic differences, a space where the contours of sound and silence merge, and where listening becomes Continue Reading
Avram & Dumitrescu – Performed by Hyperion Ensemble – Sacrum et Profanum
Ana-Maria Avram and Iancu Dumitrescu were a husband-and-wife duo renowned in the spectralism genre. Avram passed away suddenly in 2017, but her body of work continues to be performed regularly and is well-documented, as evidenced by this release. Dumitrescu remains active as a composer and, from the latest recordings I Continue Reading
Antonina Nowacka – Lamunan
Somewhere between the angelic and experimental lies the vocal work of Antonina Nowacka. From her Bandcamp site, and it’s quite a good read: “Forged alone in a cave on the island of Java, and recorded in a fortress in Poland, Antonina Nowacka’s “Lamunan” is an intimate exploration of a mysterious Continue Reading
Giorgi Koberidze – Forests, Tales, Cities, Forests
Now that the chaos of moving is settling down, I can finally take the time to listen to music properly again. My first proper listening session here in Tbilisi features a Georgian composer named Giorgi Koberidze. His style reminds me of Pascal Comelade—charmingly quirky yet filled with elements of electroacoustic Continue Reading
Yann Tiersen – Ker al Loch (Four Ways) EP
Not a single in the traditional sense, Yann Tiersen’s Ker al Loch (Four Ways) is a contemplative solo piano work that fits in well with his back catalog of contemporary classical music and soundtrack work. The gem of the EP for me was the track 11 5 18. 1 12. Continue Reading
Ahmed Essyad – Moroccan Electroacoustic Music
From the ever-magnificent Sub Rosa Label: “Composer Ahmed Essyad was born in Salé, Morocco, in 1938. After studying music at the Rabat Conservatoire (Morocco) he moved to Paris in 1962, where he became a student of Max Deutsch and, later, his assistant. Trained in the avant-garde practices of Western musical Continue Reading