Various Artists – Sleep Mode

Relaxed Machinery: it’s a brilliant name for a netlabel presenting “organic ambient and techno music from scratch with only the purest of ingredients”.

John Koch-Northrup, label curator/coördinator, prefers to call it an ‘artist collective’, with a different business model: the artists ‘self-release’ their album, all profit is theirs, but the collective opens up distribution channels that are normally quite difficult to reach for a DIY-release: such as digital distribution via all major channels (by CD Baby), and CDR distribution by Hypnos.

Visionary Hours – The Road to Basho


The Road to Basho cover

From the first bars of the opening track “Everyday is a Journey“, one could get the impression thatThe Road to Basho” might fit in perfectly with the post-romantic classical chamber music releases so popular nowadays. 

But after a while things start to sound a bit different: although the music sounds like it is created with acoustical instruments, the theme itself does not really seem to change..it gets looped over and over again – until it’s as hypnotizing as Gavin Bryars’ “Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet” (or as a William Basinski recording without the tape deterioration).

In fact, the only way to know your player is not stuck on repeat, is by recognising the (slowly increasing) phasing effects in the background.

Pleq – Ambientblog Mix

Ambientblog proudly presents a new “Guest mix”,  contributed by Bartosz Dziadosz a.k.a. Pleq

After reviewing his latest releases, I did not hesitate when Bartosz asked me if he could contribute a mix to the ambientblog podcasts.

This Pleq Ambientblog mix is not a mix of his own music, but a mix of Various Artists that gives great insight in the kind of music that inspires Pleq.

It kicks in fairly heavy with the high pitched noise of Go Koyashiki’s “Silhouette”, which when it suddenly drops feels like it has prepared your mind to ‘open up’ for the sounds to follow.

Bartosz’ mix balances the almost industrial electronic sounds with the more organic romanticism of (for example) Library Tapes, Max Richter and Spyweirdos.  

Before closing the mix, two previously unreleased tracks are included: a collaboration with Hakobune and another with Natalia Noeila Siebula. 

Pleq – Ballet Mechanic + Good Night 2

Ballet Mechanic

According to Pleq (Bartosz Dziadosz from Warsaw, Poland)Ballet Mechanic”  is “his most personal, abstract and intellectual work to date, never to be repeated.

Ballet Mechaniccontains six tracks, over 70 minutes in total, “inviting the listener to travel through crackle, screech, squeak, sizzle and subtle drones”. 

Some of the tracks have a natural feel, like if it was created from field recordings instead of electronic sources. Other tracks  sound like distant machines humming while doing their work. 
All kinds of subtle shifts are happening in the immersive sound spectrum, but you’ll only become aware if you submerge yourself in the sound. The overall atmosphere is very calm and relaxing.

Shinobu Nemoto – Melting Loop Trip


Melting Loop Trip

Melting Loop Trip” by Shinobu Nemoto (from Kanagawa, Japan), should not be missed by anyone enjoying long-form drone music. 

It is released as a handmade 4CDR release if you want a physical copy, but it can also be downloaded (for free!) from the Resting Bell netlabel.  

It’s a massive download including sixteen loops, each loop between six and thirteen minutes long, totalling over two-and-a-half hour of deep drone listening.

 A fairly extreme release in size ánd content.

Clem Leek – Home Outside

The Rural Colours  3-inch CD subscription series continues to deliver high quality releases, most of which are sold out immediately after their release.
Luckily for those that do NOT have a subscription to these physical releases, they continue to be available as digital downloads through Bandcamp. 

Home Outside” is Clem Leek‘s contribution to the Rural Route series: it was released on january 23 as part of ‘subscription pack 7’ (and of course quickly sold out too).

*AR – Wolf Notes

*AR is the “collective pseudonym” of Autumn Richardson & Richard Skelton, and “Wolf Notes”  is their first abum together. 

But *AR is also “an archaic place-name element found in river names. (…) It is thought to mean ‘starting up, springing up, setting in motion’ “. 

A further quote from the liner notes explains what this music is about:
It “is inspired by the landscape of Ulpha – a region of spare, rugged beauty in the west uplands of Cumbria, in Northern England. Wolf Notes derives its title from the word ulpha itself, while it is understood to mean ‘the hill frequented by wolves’.”