Paul Hares - Blurred

Warped, wicked, head expanding beat work from Paul Hares, with Blurred on Rotifer Cassettes. Thick, glassy beds of ambience that breathe in, and out with each pulsating thump. Slightly off kilter, enough to make you think, but locked just tight enough into each groove to get your head going in full nod. Eighteen tracks over an expansive c56 that run the spectrum from zoned out and spacey to crispy and ragged. I had an absolute blast getting caught up in the twists and turns. Hares doesn't sit still for a second, throwing out changes in mood, pace, and production on every single track, fostering a wonderful sense of surprise and discovery. Need more like this one please.

Doubled sided jcard, (maybe intended to be reversible?), hand numbered miniature liner notes, edtion of 100. Grab direct from Rotifer along with the rest of what's left of an incredible new batch.

Arabian Blade - Perpetuate Myself

Foreboding gloom and distortion from Arabian Blade, with Perpetuate Myself, on Elm Recordings. Synth patches that grind and seethe, like the gnashing of a mouthful of worn down teeth. Waves of cyclical guttural bass crackle and twist, almost completely obscuring some degree of found sound or field recording (who could tell?) At times, rhythmic and near ambient, at others widow rattlingly intense. The later half of the flip side completely dominated my Mirage BPS100. Compared to the lot of typical noise recordings, the progression in this tape is damn near Shakespearean. The artist(s) continually transform the sound, introducing new textures, further developing the narrative such as it is. If you're looking for a cerebral noise tape, this is it. The right way to make loud sounds.

Fold out jcard, hand numbered edition of 100. Grab direct from Elm .

Villages - Sun Control

I'm going to keep posting these tapes by Villages until they start selling out as quickly as they should. Sun Control, the latest on Sacred Phrases, is an exceptional piece of uplifting ambient bliss. Massive sonic expanses that just go for miles. The whole thing feels like traveling at the speed of light, and watching the world become a singular stretched out, vivid, beautiful blur. Actually the warm, inviting atmosphere here is an enjoyable juxtaposition against the icy minimalism of last year's Music For Savage Flowers on Headway. Each element feels soft and distant, floating out of reach, but still perfectly accessible. For me, ambient music is about proper selection of mix and timbre, and from there, everything else either works or doesn't. Everything here works.

Pro dubbed and printed edition of 100 with liner note insert card. Dial up the physical copy direct from Sacred Phrases.

Rainbow Valley / Wind In WIllows - Split

This is the one. Pure, and ultimate space worship. Split release from the mighty Chemical Tapes featuring Rainbow Valley and Wind In Willows. Four tracks, two per artist of completely awesome constellation gazing soundtrackery. The front half from Rainbow Valley offers gradually building layers of melody, with timbres that are stunningly piercing and beautiful, things shifting from uplifting spiritual moments, to bits of sinister undertone just beneath the surface. The flip, from Wind In Willows takes a glassy miasma of opaque tones and subtle shifts, twisting twirling like a wormhole offering entrance to an unknown galaxy. Warped textural drones. Sounds like the alien abduction you dreamed about when you were twelve.

Edition of 75, mine came compliments of the excellent Tomentosa, also available to stream in full and grab over at the Chemical Tapes Bandcamp.

Giulio Aldinucci - Archipelago

Thoughtfully constructed and deeply hypnotic textures from Giulio Aldinucci, with Archipelago on Other Electricities. Each and every so often I come across a recording that sounds, without being too pretentious about things, to be a series of overwhelmingly satisfying somethings, that to me sound to be made of little to nothings. In short, a lot from a little. Vague and indescribable instrumentation that taken separately could be easily missed. Somewhere in between ambience and musique concrete, but not quite either, and better for it. And with all that said, it shouldn't be assumed that there isn't something fantastically musical going on here. Quite the opposite, massive richly detailed melodic movements that paint a gentle visual for the ears. A piece of art that seems as concerned with what your mind might see, as what your ears will hear. Truly enamored on this one.

Edition of 100, pro dubbed, hand printed cardboard wrap around case. Digital download included. Grab direct from Other Electricities.

Owlfood - Destroyers Of The Moon

Sombre, slow motion desert rock ambience from Owlfood, with Destroyers of The Moon on Behind The Door. The Boston, MA based three piece, along with a considerable supporting cast, present seven tracks of aching, patient, guitar, vocal, harmonium, and strings. Stylistically, we're talking somewhere in between the plodding doom reveries of Earth, and the patient stringed ambience of From The Mouth Of The Sun. Deep vocals, in a combination whisper/growl from front man Thommy Saraceno that, to me, almost feel as much like an additional instrument in the mix, as they do a verbal narrative. Perhaps the most definitive compositional choice is the album's lack of percussion. Without a traditional rhythmic "anchor" each track weaves into and out of consciousness effortlessly. Like ascent and descent into and out of the mind. I found myself in moments of deep concentration, examining each element, and then off in a daydream consuming the sound as an emotional whole. A stellar example of crossing the oft deeply incongruous ambient metal boundaries stealing the best from both.

Limited edition of just 250, with only 100 on this killer looking silver vinyl. Printed liner notes and digital download included. Grab direct from the band at the Owlfood Store.