*Limited Edition of 350 copies only in handmade cardboard/textile packaging, embossed and numbered, including printed innersleeve & download code redeemable from the label" Typically lush ambient, neo-classical, chamber pop and quasi-film-score music from Berlin's Sonic Pieces label, this time from Spain's Rauelsson. The album was recorded by the sea, and it really comes across in the music, which is self-consciously grand in scale and oscillates between the calm and the tempestuous. Piano is Rauelsson's main weapon of expression, and like so many artists in this sphere, Harold Budd and Philip Glass a… Read more

*Deluxe gatefold double vinyl with one black disc and one white LP, includes a free CD inside, designed by Danis artists and long-time Efterklang collaborators Hvass&Hannibal* "With the release of their fourth album ‘Piramida’, Efterklang performed it for the first time - before the record itself was released - at the iconic Sydney Opera House in May 2012 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. An unorthodox way of introducing a new body of work, perhaps, but the moment has become a milestone in Efterklang’s twelveyear history. Early on in the gestation process of ‘Pi… Read more

**Vinyl only - new from the always intriguing Em imprint** Japan's outsider music specialists, EM Records, look to the lysergic Finnish psych scene and the home-spun analog ecologies of Jonna Karanka aka Kuupuu on 'Sisar'. Possibly best known for her issues on Dekorder and with Islaja and Lau Nau in Hertta Lussu Ässä for De Stijl, the soundworld of Kuupuu is a kaleidoscopically evolving headspace marrying folksy melodic whimsy and visionary sonic abstraction, increasingly incorporating electronic sounds alongside her glossolalic vocals and weirdly tuned acoustic instruments. In 'Sisar' ("sister" in Engl… Read more

**Includes digital download redeemable from the label** Epic visions of cosmic North Americana from cellist Rebecca Foon, founder of Esmerine and former member of A Silver Mt Zion and Set Fire To Flames. Constellation bill her debut as Saltland as existing at the intersection of drone, no-wave, improv, dream-pop and minimalism, and point out that it was cut at her home-studio in Montreal, but don't be fooled into thinking that this is a washed-out, lo-fidelity set; it's quite the opposite, a bold, widescreen work, engineered by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire), that feels … Read more

*Includes Download Code Redeemable From The Label* It's generally hard to be anything but swept away by Julianna Barwick's pedal-enabled cathedrals of vocal beauty, but this new two-tracker is a brave and unexpectedly chilly offering from her, representing something of a departure from the ecstatic, densely massed harmonies of her much-loved The Magic Place LP. 'Pacing' is about as minimalist as she's ever got; her quivering vocal lines, though looped and layered, sounding less like the ecstatic choir of old and more like a solitary ghost trudging through Elysium. It's beautiful, but downca… Read more

Mark Nelson's cherished Pan American quietly slip back into our consciousness as a band proper, now adding the estimable talents of Steven Hess (Cleared/Haptic) and Nelson's former Labradford bandmate, Robert Donne to the project. While Nelson assuredly handles all production, the live feel is definitely more prominent, folding in the patter of Hess's percussion and Bobby Donne's languid bass at the centre of seven beautifully diffuse soundscapes bordering on the frontier lands of post-rock, dub techno and ambient electronica, yet never clearly falling within any one sector. Every … Read more

"For the second time in 20 years, Palestine and Z'ev are performing together, and this is the first time they've recorded it! Unreleased material from Charlemagne's lair, a place now called Charleworld, where both fellows spent 3 days in June 2010. Part of the Sub Rosa/Laboratoire Central sessions."

**RE-PRESS. Includes free download code redeemable from the label** "A balm for troubled minds", "Unparalleled", and "Poised to become something of a sensation", are all phrases used to describe the unmistakably beautiful music of Nils Frahm. We're used to hearing Nils tickling the ivories but for 'Juno' he was encouraged by close friend and label mentor Peter Broderick to sketch something for the titular instrument. The result is two utterly sublime pieces transposing the skills of Nils onto an instrument he rarely uses, but evidently should do more often. There's an almost Aphexian melancholy to bo… Read more

Review to follow shortly…

Extraordinary re-interpretations of two of Jacob Kirkegaard's back-catalogue pieces by Danish classical ensemble Scenatet. The original 'Church' (from 2006's 4 Rooms) was wrought out of ambient recordings of an abandoned church inside the radioactive zone at Chernobyl; 'Labyrinthitis' (2008), meanwhile, was composed from "oto-acoustic" tones generated by Kirkegaard's own ears. Hearing these sounds transcribed into the realm of Music with a capital 'M' - and performed on clarinet, trombone, violin, cello, percussion - does nothing to diminish their abstract power. If anything, it enhances… Read more

Alga Marghen swiftly follow their edition of Corner's seminal 'Piano Activities' with these experimental percussive compositions performed and recorded at Merce Cunningham's studio in New York, at Cavriago in Italy, and at the Avant Garde Festival, Cambridge, MA between 1974-1978. "…the culmination of many years experience and experiment with the properties of resonant metal objects, whether intended for music or not", the first three pieces are extracted from an hour long performance recorded at Merce Cunnigham's studio, performed by David Behrman (electronics and performer) with the… Read more

**Edition of 180 incredibly expensive hand numbered copies signed by the artist. Housed in silk-screened gatefold jacket...** "One of Charlemagne Palestine most well-known works, "Four Manifestations On Six Elements" is presented here as 2LP record edition limited to 180 numbered copies, the first publication of Algamars, the new sonic art division of alga marghen. The gatefold sleeve is silkscreened in one color and presents a signed drawing by Charlemagne Palestine on the front cover. In 1973 Charlemagne Palestine was commissioned to make "Four Manifestatio… Read more

**Incredible new 2LP edition limited to only 70 copies only for the world - ten pieces of "deformed" piano polyphony and discord, each precisely 6 minutes long, by the great Italian musical thinker and artist, Walter Marchetti. Originally created and recorded in 2001. This edition published in collaboration with "Video et après (Nouveau Medias) for the sixth "Oeuvres sonores" event presented by Gabriele Bonomo and Tom Johnson at Musée national d'art moderne, Paris on January 7th, 2013. Individually numbered double disc edition of 90** "As Walter Marchetti told to the produc… Read more

**An incredible, iconic piece of Fluxus and sonic art history: a recording of George Maciunas (Fluxus founder), Emmett Williams, Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Ben Patterson, Nam Jun Paik and Wolf Vostell performing Philip Corner's score, 'Piano Activities' to its most extreme interpretation; dismantling a grand piano during the four weekend-long International Festival of the Newest Music at Weisbaden Festum Fluxorum in 1962. This recording was discovered on tape in the archive of Japanese Fluxus representative Kuniharu Akiyama, and is identical to one found in 2012 in the archive of Vy… Read more

New Zealand's Rosy Parlane returns to Touch with two haunting and sublime pieces for their estimable 7" series. Both tracks were written and recorded in Auckland, NZ, 2008-2009. A-side 'Willow' is a glacially paced and sombre moiré of drone hum and fuzz wash transporting us somewhere overgrown and desolate. 'Morning' is quieter: beautiful; isolated tones and crystallising strings shimmer in the distance, just out of reach but swelling to a delectable peak and receding back where they came from.

*Julia Kent has recorded and toured with Antony And The Johnsons (with whom she continues to work) , Stars Of The Lid and Michael Gira's Angels Of Light. Her work should appeal to fans of Nils Frahm, Low, The Dirty Three, Hildur Gudnadóttir, Colleen, Hauschka, Rachel’s, Olafur Arnalds etc* "Character is New York-based cellist and arranger Julia Kent’s third solo album, and first for The Leaf Label. Her richly layered cello and environmental recordings coalesce into a gorgeous, cinematic whole – an instrumental oasis in a cluttered musical world. Accurately described as “elegant and intense” and … Read more

*Available on 180g deluxe Vinyl for the first time* Keith Kenniff - perhaps best known as Goldmund or Helios - ventures out under his own name for the 2nd time on 'Branches'. Since releasing his widely adored 'The Malady Of Elegance' and 'Caesura' albums on Type, Keith's music has been used on the soundtrack to Harmony Korine's 2007 comedy-drama 'Mister Lonely' and on the trailer for the 2009 Academy Award-nominated 'Revolutionary Road', directed by Sam Mendes; such is the cinematic potential of his grandly scaled compositions. 'Branches' combines the dulcet elect… Read more

*Available on 180g deluxe Vinyl for the first time* 'Field Drawings' is Ryan Teague's third solo album proper and a welcome return from the Bristol-based composer/producer. It's quite possible that you've heard Ryan's music before without being aware of the fact: he's received extensive national radio play on BBC Radio 3, 6Music and Classic FM, and his music has been commissioned for TV and film by Coca-Cola, Subaru, Universal and the BBC. Endorsements out of the way (i want a 2L bottle of pop and a 4WD, btw) we're left with another sparkling edition from Mr. Teague; twelve t… Read more

*Available on 180g deluxe Vinyl for the first time* "Snow Palms was initially conceived by composer David Sheppard (State River Widening, Ellis Island Sound, Phelan / Sheppard) as a vehicle for instrumental pieces based around xylophones, glockenspiels, vibraphones, metallophones and other mallet instruments. Sheppard hooked up with producer / arranger Chris Leary (Ochre) to sort the wheat from the chaff, adding layers of chamber orchestration and discrete electronic textures to many of the intricate, polyrhythmic superstructures. The duo then expanded the arrangements to embrace w… Read more

*Now available on vinyl* It's funny how much the loss of something can force you to realize how much you took it for granted, and with Berlin-based pianist and producer Nils Frahm the loss was his thumb, which he broke after falling out of a bunk bed. We may giggle at the circumstances, but for a pianist that's the loss of ten percent of your craft, and so in the period of inactivity Frahm came up with these nine (geddit?) sketches which he fleshed out once the thumb had healed. Coming across like a love song to Frahm's chosen instrument these are delicate, short pieces about and for … Read more

**Free CD version of the album enclosed inside** Kompakt welcome 2013 in sophisticated fashion with their annual 'Pop Ambient' round-up, easing into the year with lush contributions by Wolfgang Voigt, Marsen Jules, Jens-Uwe Beyer und freunds. Label co-owner Wolfgang Voigt takes prominence with two further versions of 'Rückverzauberung' and a luxurious remix of Michael Mayer's 'Sully' (from the 'Mantasy' album), thematically complemented by the breezy melodica and Burial-esque atmosphere of Jens-Uwe Beyer's 'Deutz Air 2' and the superb Pink Floyd cover 'Cirrus Minor' by Matias Aguayo… Read more

Expansive, richly romantic ambient fare from Moodgadget co-founder and Brooklyn resident Jakub Alexander, making his full-length debut on Ghostly International as Heathered Pearls. A concerted attempt to create soothing audio environments "built on repetition, erosion and melody", Loyal isn't the most groundbreaking record we've heard this year, but it compensates in terms of sheer sonic loveliness. And while chiming, mellifluous, overtly utopian dronescapes are the going rate, there are some subtle shifts in register: 'Ringing Temple (Decreased Version)' uses ritualistic drums and arpeggios t… Read more

Radiant, intensely cinematic themes for strings on this new offering for Erased Tapes from Michael Price, a film composer and music editor whose credits include the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and 007's Quantum Of Solace. He writes here for violins and cello "on an orchestral scale", and the four short and eminently digestible pieces featured - recorded at Pinewood, London - sound at once freed from the obligations of film music and deeply influenced by that tradition. Despite its title, there's a restless, galloping momentum to A Stillness, and that, coupled with the stirring harmonies throu… Read more

**Edition of 200 hand-stamped white label and sleeve** Slip Discs' 3rd micro-run edition is the debut release by Goves. The label prefer to operate a low key promo policy, offering scant background info on Goves. We can tell his first name is Larry (good name), but aside from that: nada. Anyway, 'A Crèche for the Lonely and Peculiar' offer three preternaturally curious original compositions employing acousmatic source textures, phosphorescing electro-acoustic harmonics and field recordings arranged and rendered with a haptic, cochlea-shmushing quality. They're very delicate… Read more

**Wildly diverse curiosity reaching from cosmic industrial pop to concrète experiments and avant-garde composition. Well out there. Includes A3 poster and download code redeemable from the label** "The greatest innovators are often characterized by their love - hate relationship with popularity and acceptance. To accept what is ‘now’ is to stagnate, yet to reject it is to become irrelevant. The true harbingers of the ‘new’ reach for the stars with one arm while clinging to the ground with the other. In essence, dragging us forward. Such is the case with The Wonderful World, Ian Drenna… Read more

Review to follow shortly…

**Upfront Exclusive - First edition of 600** Nearly a decade in the making, 'Observatory' features Jonas Munk (Manual) and Jason Kolb (Auburn Lull) striving for ambient guitar perfection as Billow. Arguably, they've come close to achieving their practically impossible mission, conducting themselves with divine patience and deliberation across 15 achingly blissful scenes at once evoking the humbling beauty of the natural world and the yearning sublimity of more soporific states thanks to near-surgical application of software and hardware effects. Unless you're au fait with the li… Read more

**180g white vinyl housed in printed inner and gatefold jacket with download card including one bonus track** Unless you've checked their previous LP 'Hangups Need Company', it's likely you've never heard Brian McBride (Stars Of The Lid) and Kenneth James Gibson ([a]pendics.shuffle) making chamber pop before. With certain similarities to The Beach Boys, Dirty Projectors, Jack Nietzsche and Beirut, 'Full Sundown Assembly' is their tender combination of lullaby-like melodies, lush harmonies and rich instrumentation, finding a sweet spot between … Read more

A record, housed in beautiful tip-on jacket adorned with cherubs and a label image depicting a manic baldhead with disk popping in/out of his brain, operating under the title Mad Music Inc: those are all the details known about this mightily mysterious side which first popped up in the Boston area circa late '70s. We're afforded no more info on this reissue, presenting the sounds as naked as ever. One minute it's cascading harps and celestial strings, the next it's a plangent piano solo; yep, there's a jazz fusion wah, a surging, unidentified bass rumble, a sitar riff and tabla pattern, jazz … Read more

*First time on vinyl for this excellent album, originally released on Room 40* Produced over the course of two years, A Path Less Travelled unites Japanese improvising microsound quartet Minamo with Room40 boss, Lawrence English. Field recordings, processed sounds and, of course, Minamo's initial instrumental sketches all come together in a gentle harmonic fusion that's at once layered and detailed yet eminently peaceful. You'd assume that countless hours of post-production have gone into the making of this record, yet early standout 'Headlights' still retains a very l… Read more