Hi there! Long time no see. We are at the start of a new year (even though it's already February as I write this), and same as ever, I don't know the exact amount of time I will dedicate to my "ambient music is dead" endeavor this year (for the
Empty, the new Nils Frahm album contains 8 previously unreleased track conceived the start of the previous decade. They are quite gorgeous, intimate, warm, slow piano tracks. It is very comforting lullabies and this release with all the others revolving around piano day 2020 makes me quite hopeful in a
Fellow compatriot Ocoeur (aka Franck Zaragoza, composer and sound designer, based in Bruges, near Bordeaux) will release his 5th album on the legendary label n5MD on February 28. Ocoeur is an artist which never failed to create a perfect mix between sonic experimentation and melodies based optimistic ambient. I loved
Jon Hopkins, back to "simple" Piano and violin stuff is a great, early 2020, surprise. You could even say that tonight, a new Hopkins ambient track was exactly what I needed to remove some of the tension from my back. I hope it'll do the same for you!
Today, IDM legends, still kicking! Proem - Until Here for Years (n5MD) Well known Texan IDM experimenter, Richard Bailey had a surprise for us in 2019. His last two self-released LPs were very cinematic/ambient focus but his comeback on n5MD, Until here for Years, is a proper electronica release.
Some more favorites from 2019. Today's menu: dark shoegaze and joyful piano! Chasms - The Mirage (Felte Records) At the beginning of the year, a release from LA-based label Felte Records took me by surprise. Chasms, unknown to me until then, released a very pure, dark, dream pop LP called
January 2020 is coming to a close in a couple of days and I have barely scratched the surface of the plethora of end-of-the-year wrap-ups, top of year lists, best of the decade rundowns and others mixtapes popping up everywhere in my social feeds: So much good music came out
Song Exploder is a very popular bi-weekly podcast presented by podcaster and musician, Hrishikesh Hirway. In each edition, he interviews another musician about a song they wrote, cuts out his side of the conversation and replaces it with pieces of the track discussed. It’s a brilliant idea and the
A new Eluvium LP is always an event in my book but Shuffle Drone is an odd one : An off-year release after 2016 LP False Readings On and a very conceptual album : it’s made of 23 30-seconds tracks, meant to be played infinitely shuffled in a continuous unending flow
On Opacity, Jason Van Wyk (a 27 years old composer from South Africa) have created a incredibly moving and balanced album: acoustic and electronic, compact and generous, finely crafted and genuine, sentimental and reserved. Its short tracks switch back and forth between majestic pads, a few gorgeous violin melodies, pretty
I forgot to post about it, but a few weeks ago, Björk announced her new album: Utopia. Out in November, this LP is announced as a more optimistic follow up to Vulnicura and will be moving away from the raw, post-breakup, nihilistic songs. The Gate, The first single, is more
Kiasmos is the collaboration between Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen and seems to be the preferred way for the legendary Icelandic composer and pianist to add some sweet, sweet beats to his beautiful melancholic melodies. Their eponymous album was an excellent blend of modern classical ambient and minimal techno and
After reading this 2015 pitchfork feature, I could not resist the temptation to find all these tracks on Apple Music and make a mixtape of Philip Sherburne selection. All of them were available on the platform, so here you are: Emotional Intelligence: A Guide to Melodic IDM on @AppleMusic I
Three Years after their incredible first album, A Winged Victory for the Sullen was finally back in 2014 with Atomos, the score for a contemporary dance piece. And I must confess something: this album slip by me: I have listened to it one or two times and it disappeared in
Recently signed by n5MD. A very interesting track by an Italian/English duo. My kind of vocalist over my kind of glitchy music. Their Album Acht LP is out on n5md.