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The next installment of MFM's popular multi-artist compilation Virtual Dreams: 'Virtual Dreams - Ambient Explorations In The House And Techno Age, Japan 1993-1999'. As with Part One, released in 2020, 'Virtual Dreams II' shines a light on house and techno-adjacent music that helped redefine the definition of ambient music during the 1990s.

The focus of Part One heavily fell on music from techno and house producers in Europe, eagerly exploring new soundtracks for chill-out rooms and re-imagining the potential future of club culture from new perspectives. For Part Two, we narrow the lens to focus on a unique time and place, namely Japan between 1993-1999. Despite missing out on the 'Acid House Fever', club culture was beginning to take shape in Japan during the early '90s. In contrast to the rest of the world, where ambient techno / IDM emerged as a by-product or response to the scene, 'listening techno', as it is known in Japan, was a central pillar of the culture right from the start.

'Virtual Dreams II' aims to shine a light on this unique moment in time where the thread of ambient music weaved its way through the music of an emerging club culture. This period saw the birth of many great Japanese techno labels such as Sublime Records, Transonic Records, Syzygy Records, Frogman Records, and Form@ Records, following in the late '90s. 'Virtual Dreams II' features ambient, chill-out, and intelligent techno from these leading labels alongside other lesser-known but equally influential imprints, as well as ambient deviations from Japanese house producers. Much of the music featured has only ever been released on CD.

'Virtual Dreams II' is compiled by Eiji Taniguchi and Jamie Tiller, who have worked closely together on previous Music From Memory releases such as 'Heisei No Oto' and 'Dream Dolphin - Gaia'. It is also the final project Jamie Tiller worked on before his tragic passing in 2023. Jamie had been researching, planning, and compiling this version of Virtual Dreams even before the first chapter was released, believing that there were many great tracks in Japan that fit the concept of the series. Knowing how much love and energy he put into compiling it gives it an extra special place in our hearts.

Compiled by Jamie Tiller and Eiji Taniguchi with artwork by Kenta Senekt, design by Steele Bonus and liner notes by Itaru W. Mita,

First 12" remix EP by Yuima Enya, lead singer of Super Cats, with remixes by Altz, Ramza, Calpiss & DJ Moras, and DJ snuc. The first 12-inch remix work "malaka Remixes" by Yuima, who creates jazz and world music into modern beats, will be released on September 12. Four of Japan's best beatmakers/DJs, Altz, Ramza, Calpiss & DJ Moras, and DJ snuc, boldly reworked the title track "malaka" from Yuima Enya's first album to create an extremely rare record that lets you enjoy the cutting edge of the club music scene!

Where does pop start and experimental music end? Instead of drawing lines, Red On keeps on exploring the spaces in between these supposed poles with his latest album Phantom Easy, a record that offers moments of pure beauty as well as unpredictable, uncontrollable wilderness.

The spaces Red On moves in aren’t per se terra incognita, but have been explored in recent years by like-minded musicians such as How To Dress Well, Fever Ray, or Dawuna, as well as artists that are affiliated with Präsenes Editionen, where Red On’s album is published, such as Martina Lussi, Belia Winnewisser, or Magda Drozd. Yet, Phantom Easy is an exploration of its own: The melancholic album, which is informed by pop, electroacoustic music, rhythm-focused jazz, and krautrock, is carried by Red On's voice, which appears in ever-changing stages of alienation. The wistful tone of the twelve tracks is reinforced by single phrases sung by Red On that, through their repetition, develop an urgency that can hardly be escaped. The result is pop music that is brave enough to embrace the adventure; or experimental music that doesn’t shy away from offering catchy hooks and grand melodies.

The sea has long been central to Japanese culture, symbolizing both sustenance and spiritual
depth. Charles A.D.'s Deep Diver draws inspiration from this, channeling the ancient traditions
of diving and fishing into his music. Historically, the sea has influenced everything from Shinto
rituals to the livelihoods of coastal communities. In Deep Diver, this reverence flows through
aquatic soundscapes, where rhythmic waves of 90s house and Detroit techno meet Japanese
minimal production techniques, New Age and Pacific Jazz. Like the tides, the album ebbs and
flows, creating a serene yet dynamic homage to the timeless connection between Japan and
the sea.
The opening track 'Deep Diver' plunges into the depths, its abstract sound design capturing the
sensation of deep-sea propulsion. Rhythmic bubbles pulse gently alongside slow-moving
chords, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. The textures are lush yet restrained, setting a
tranquil stage that pulls the listener into a submerged world. 'Underwater Ruins' builds on this
aquatic theme, introducing rhythmic layers and bass-heavy notes reminiscent of mid-90s
Japanese ambient techno. The smooth, melodic flow nods to pioneers like Mr.YT and Susumu
Yokota, while subtly incorporating the Detroit techno influence through soulful, deep basslines.
The track feels like a fusion of ambient and techno, balancing serene tones with a rolling
groove, emblematic of Japanese techno soul. As the album progresses into 'Bubble Ring', it
becomes clear that Charles A.D. is a master of minimalism. The production is timeless, leaning
on analog techniques where echo-drenched chords and carefully layered soundscapes take on
an addictive, hypnotic quality. The simplicity of the composition is deceptive, as each element
carries weight, drawing the listener deeper into the rhythm and space between the notes.
'Merperson' is where organic rhythms truly come into play. Charles A.D. gently evolves the
patterns, allowing each percussive hit to flow naturally into the next. Soothing melodies emerge
from within the track’s structure, eventually reaching an emotional peak without ever feeling
forced. The organic nature of the arrangement creates an effortless progression that feels
deeply connected to the natural movement of water.Starting the second half with 'Deep Exploration', the theme of underwater excursions becomes
even more pronounced. Light, steady drumming anchors the track, allowing the melodic layers
to develop gradually. It unfolds with a calm, measured pace, before ending softly, almost as if
the sounds are drifting off into the oceanic depths. 'Diffuse Reflection' stands out as the most
dub house-influenced on the album, with rolling rhythms and hypnotic elements reminiscent of
Maurizio's deep, pulsing sound. Yet here, the production feels submerged, with aquatic effects
swirling around the rhythmic core, blending dub house with a fluid, oceanic touch. 'Traitors'
delves even deeper into dub-inspired territory. Deep, resonant bass hits combine with wooden
drums, while static-like sounds evoke the image of a radio tuning through static to find clarity.
Chords shimmer briefly before fading back into the liquid depths, evoking the ebb and flow of
the tide. The final track on Deep Diver 'Levitation', is a fitting conclusion, as the rhythms merge
and overlap like waves gently lapping the shore. The minimalistic arrangement allows each
element to blend effortlessly into the next, creating a sense of unity and closure. The sounds
move with the gentle grace of water, ending the album in a way that feels both complete and
open-ended, like the infinite motion of the sea.

A sonic portal to a parallel universe where neon-soaked dreamscapes transform the stark realities of a post-pandemic world. Music for a forgotten future, where echoes of the 80s cast long, enigmatic shadows through a rich tapestry of emotion that charts a journey from isolation and fear towards healing and hope. This is the journey of Season One and Season Two, the debut companion albums for the solo project of Italian composer Battaglia, both out this fall on Four Flies Records.

A sonic portal to a parallel universe where neon-soaked dreamscapes transform the stark realities of a post-pandemic world. Music for a forgotten future, where echoes of the 80s cast long, enigmatic shadows through a rich tapestry of emotion that charts a journey from isolation and fear towards healing and hope. This is the journey of Season One and Season Two, the debut companion albums for the solo project of Italian composer Battaglia, both out this fall on Four Flies Records.

Ambient explorers Swims come up trumps with the debut record by London musician and visual artist Loz Keystone, and Glaswegian electronics tamperer and jazz trumpeter Christos Stylianides.
"Craobh Haven" is the dreamlike product of a week's residency in a little cabin in the Scottish village of the same name. Driving around the surrounding countryside each day to gather field recordings, evenings were spent by the duo assembling their findings into tape loops. These little rotating sculptures - containing stones and the rushing waters of the Craignish peninsula, the voices of locals and the cabin's oven timer - formed the basis for one track per night.
While Keystone's whirling touches of Moog, guitar and space echo suggest the murky, placid vastness of the record's setting, the pitch-shifted, probing trumpet of Stylianides soars and stacks countermelodies like vapour trails braided in the atmosphere.
For a record made out of loch water, Hebridean slate and mud - it is surprisingly tuneful and sometimes almost groovy. Recommended if you like Jon Hassell, Roméo Poirier, Spillage Fete.

Multi Culti serve up a full-length treat from Peruvian artist Aristidez. Cofounder of Lima-based party collective Casa Locasa and the non-profit label Behua Icara (translated as Healing Rhythms), in support of indigenous culture, Aristidez has recently relocated to Berlin. With releases on Calypso, Disque-Discos, and Kebrada, as well as remixes for Amplio Espectro, Ida Sound, Discos Aquelarre, Rotten City Files, and Playground Records, Aristidez has quietly made a name for himself with a growing catalog of low-key dance tracks that have been championed by the likes of Matias Aguayo, Andrew Weatherall (rip), and Inigo Vontier, to name a few. With an emphasis on the hypnotic power of rhythm, Aristidez channels indigenous influences in subtle fashion, alluding to visionary experience without resorting to pastiche or obvious tropes. There are freaky tribal rhythms but no shaman samples, just expertly produced tracks than reveal an expansive set of electronic influences that range across tempos and decades, from breaky 90s rave, 80s proto-trance, cult dub, downtempo and more. It’s listenable, danceable, heady and kaleidoscopic stuff that should stand the test of time.

February of 2021 marked an eventful month for visionary Western Massachusetts electro-acoustic percussionist Jake Meginsky: the birth of his daughter Luce, the death of his friend and mentor (and the subject of his celebrated 2018 documentary, Full Mantis) Milford Graves, and the creation of Trinities. A four-piece suite heavily inspired by Graves’ notion of the primacy of threes as “a fundamental pattern in the universe - and the lowest, strongest and most generative structure in rhythm” the album showcases Meginsky’s adventurous vein of pointillist minimalism: stark, oblique, cerebral, fluid. It’s free music in both form and function, liberated from rhythm, pattern, or expectation. Abrupt flurries of metallic reverberations ping and echo against charged silences like avant-garde morse code. Textures clang and hang in low-lit air. Presence and absence commingling in elusive ballets of resonance and negative space.

Among the many influential teachings of free jazz icon Milford Graves was the idea of three-ness as “the underlying structure… the grounded being of all music.” It’s a concept both dialectical and divine – the sacred geometry of an idea, its opposite, and the synthesis that binds the two. For Trinities, Meginsky developed modular synth patches that allowed him to explore triplet structures in an intuitive way, “the threes as a structural principal, the building blocks, felt rather than heard”. During sleep deprived sessions with his newborn infant listening, he channeled the grief of Graves’ passing in early morning improvisations alternately quiet and questing, inquisitive and defiant.

The outlier is “2521,” a celestial lullaby of suspended frequencies composed on a 4-track in the birthing room of the hospital during a particularly strict phase of quarantine lockdown (no coming or going, or visitors, for a week straight). Meginsky played the piece for his daughter “as she came into this world, and while she slept.” Its harmonic tranquility ebbs and radiates in soft arcs like a soft dawn glowing on the horizon – welcoming those newly here, and waving warmly to those in the hereafter

Techno, Disco, Italo, Electronics, House, Library, Cosmic and Ambient frequencies - These are the bedrocks of the Midnight Drive ethos and sound. A label shining a light on overlooked or unheralded creations and respectfully reissuing them for the contemporary audience. A label that respects and understands the connection between these disparate and sometimes forgotten forms of musical expression and celebrates them. Midnight Drive are extremely proud to reintroduce the world to the sublime after-hours, cult downtempo sounds of Belgian duo Pieter Kuyl and Jan Van Den Bergh aka Mappa Mundi.

The latest in a complete series of Ghost Box re-issues, Mind How You Go is an EP of haunting electronica inspired by the misremembered sounds and emotions of TV public information films. It’s spooky, witty and catchy.

The 2005 debut EP for Cate Brook’s The Advisory Circle

originally released on 3” CD, and now issued on vinyl for the first time.

“These tracks offer an uncanny blend of library music, institutional electronica, BBC Open University audiologophonics and daft, po-faced clips sampled and distorted from daytime science programmes... its earnest electronics and broadwinged optimism get surprisingly deep under the skin.”

Rob Young, The Wire

Melos Kalpa formed in 2019 around the vision of Tom Relleen; a quintet of musicians employing unconventional instruments and strategies to make music that exists somewhere at the intersection of improvisation, minimalism and sublimated reverie.

Musicians Agathe Max (Abstract Concrete, Papivores, These Towns), Jem Doulton (Thurston Moore Group, Too Many Things), David John Morris (Red River Dialect) and Tom Relleen (Tomaga) perform via the conduit of producer Marta Salogni’s intricate tape preparations, which create rich textures, delays and distortions of their unique instrumental palette (marimba, vibraphone, violin, guitar, mandolin, Buchla Music Easel and more). Using techniques of chance and (non)intention to determine the direction of composition, the group felt their way into new terrains in the autumn and winter of 2019/20; sauntering days of immersive play recorded at Studio Zona, London.

From this undulating territory five distinct zones - with their own peculiar landmarks, weather and dialects – are now opening via the portal of this, the band’s first record. These realms have been awaiting visitors since taking form four years ago. Uninhabited and uninterpreted. Thriving, grieving and interrelating. The band now make them available for the listener’s own exploration, passing on the possibility of a not-knowing experience; where next, why not, so what, let’s go? The gift they all experienced in the joyful journey-without-goal from which these artifacts came.

They will be performing resemblances of these recordings in live settings in the coming year, giving new life to the final project of their dear friend Tom Relleen; much missed but still somehow smiling in the midst of these memories forgetting themselves for a fresh moment.

(Repress 2024 / Limited Edition Riso Printed Cover Sleeve) “Nostalgia Por Mesozo´ica” is an exploration of "experimental exotica" consisted of synthesized tropical attributes — an artificial landscape isolated behind the glass frame. Reminiscent of recording techniques and sonorities ubiquitous in the 60’s and 70’s, it could conceivably have been intended as a soundtrack for the Mesozoic Era exhibition at your favorite Natural History museum.

Four years after their Discrepant debut - 'oooo' -, Lisbon-based travellers Jibóia return to the fold with another offering of globetrotting psychedelia with 'Salar'. With the core trio of Óscar Silva, Ricardo Martins and Mestre André augmented by a stellar parade of collaborators on various roles, 'Salar' further expands on the transglobal visions by now pretty trademarked by the band. Intersped among shorter vignettes for drums, saxophone and bass, each of the more fully fleshed tracks casts a guest to elevate Jibóia's music to uncharted realms - both in a mystical and geographical sense.

Opener 'Selar' summons the cello of songstress Joana Guerra for a skewed dialogue with Silva's guitar, propelled by Martins' drums and percussion and André's electronic textures into 4 minutes and 20 seconds that feel epic - if there was any psychedelic numerological symbolism needed. On 'Solar', Silva's non-western plucking rides on for Yaw Tembe's trumpet to veer in a multitude in directions, while the mysterious 'Sitar' conjures the voice of moroccan musician Ayoub El Ayadi for a contemplative nighttime prayer. Elsewhere, guitarist Rui Carvalho aka Filho da Mãe injects dissonant guitar lines unto 'Sarar's pummelling dance and Pedro Augusto's electronics hover below the shapeshifting dynamics of 'Sonar', among mesmerising keyboard lines. 'Salir' featuring Daiyen Jone enchanted flute brings the album to a close at its most reflective, all crepuscular synth lines and reverbed handclaps.

Quasai, might be an underwater bird, nearly a chamaleon, or a medusa. It iterates and evolves in a cubistic entanglement, casting songs of displacement, provoking hypnagogic magnetism and sonic pareidolia. Like a storm scene, which is made up by set of means used to give the illusion of rain, wind, thunder, and a raging sea. A nautical journey, precisely, where hypnotic rhythms float among waves of tapes, savory synthesizers and from afar the diaphonic echo of sibylline voices. And it is precisely now that we will pass through Petropolis. Quasai was born facing the nordic sea, then migrated to the outpost of Spettro, in Brescia, where Francesco Fonassi, with his colleagues, welcomes electronic avant-garde performers and sound activists to join and contribute to an always growing community. LP, special limited edition 150 copies Gatefold cover, without glue, printed on a special paper partially recycled from citrus scraps.

Cologne - based composer and multi - instrumentalist Ozan Tekin’s second studio album “Anarya” will be released via Gülbaba Records on May 27 th . Tekin winds his musical journey back from Cologne to Adana with a long layover in Istanbul in “Anarya”. A triangle of migration drawn by musical notation and performance. The album is composed of 14 tracks and each one of them is a sound story that echoes Tekin’s distinct memories from these three cities. “Anarya” is the end product of a process in which Tekin and his upright piano co - tuned each other. It is an artistic representation of the idiosyncratic phenomenon called stimmung in German; a spectrum of tones, moods and atmospheres expressed in personal and instrumental terms. Tekin concludes the piano conversations from his previously released EPs in 2021 (“Anarya I” and “Anarya Ii”). The remarkably catchy melodies and immersive melancholic arpeggios fl ow throughout. The transposed narrative of “Anarya” sprung up from its roots when Tekin came across with a 66 - years old worn out piano in Cologne. Mesmerized by its unique sound, he felt the urge to make recordings with this piano before it fell apart. Aft er spending months learning its mechanics, Tekin recorded his second album with the old upright piano he repaired and brought back to life. The uneasy changes in time signatures and ambient ornamentations with gloomy synths of 80’s, lush strings and room tones set up the atmospheric stage of “Anarya I” in the first five tracks. Following six tracks of the album attempts to revisit Tekin’s emotional and episodic memories in Istanbul. His unaffected absorption into piano music in the first two parts of “Anar ya” are followed by his coyishly joyful tracks later in the album: an idle “ode”, a lost “lament” and a colorful “jam”. These three tracks blend the neoclassical, jazz and ambient sounds of Cologne and Istanbul with sentiments of childhood and rascality in Adana. The piano conversations of Tekin throughout “Anarya” are accompanied by his analogue synthesizers, vocals, bass guitar, Hanitra Wagner’s violin and Berke Can Özcan’s drums , percussions and vibraphone, and Emre Malikler’s mix and mastering. The sou nds of collaboration go deeper and louder as the album’s tracks move forward and Tekin’s memories go backwards simultaneously. Anarya gitmek (“to go back”) is a vernacular saying from Tekin’s hometown Adana and Tekin makes a figurative attempt to migrate b ackwards via the compositions that came into being in his most recent home, Cologne. Having been born out of an upright piano, Tekin’s compositions have instrumental origins, however, due to his constantly mutating sense of belonging, his melodies can’t be pinpointed to any specific heimat . Tekin’s continuously transforming music is an invitation to his listeners to explore and experience his music in their own terms. Tekin’s personal memories that shape “Anarya” is open to new forms of sonic exploration and rearrangement. This openness lies in Tekin’s determined faith in not to be entrenched in any single genre. The immersive intimacy radiating from the collaborative piano conversations in “Anarya” is an invitation signature to his music’s current and fut ure followers. Text by Mehmet Ekinci

Jabu return with ‘A Soft and
Gatherable Star’, an LP that sees the Bristol-based trio evolve from a uniquely spectral take on hip hop to proffer a singular vision
between cloudy, downered dream-pop, off-kilter ambient, and the warm, low-end throb of sound system culture. This development is
aligned with contemporaries like HTRK, Dean Blunt, Tarquin Manek, YL Hooi and Rat Heart Ensemble, whilst also harkening back to
the likes of AR Kane (with whom they are set to play shows and release a collaborative single), the languorous drift of 'Victorialand' era
Cocteau Twins or The Cure circa ‘Disintegration’. Comprising Jasmine Butt (vocals, guitar), Alex Rendall (vocals, keys) and Amos
Childs (production, bass guitar), the trio’s method may have shifted but the feel remains consistent - slow, spatial, sensuous and gently
melancholic. With a career arc unlike almost any other current guitar outfit, Jabu sit within a strong lineage of off-centre Bristolian
music, and a very British strain of home-spun DIY bands. Self-recorded between Jas and Amos’ home in South Bristol and Amos’
mum’s house in rural North Somerset, the album came together via a process of trial and error - learning to play on borrowed
instruments, using the equipment “wrong”, staying up late recording and slipping into strange, semi-conscious sleep
deprived/inebriated headspaces. Having captured over 50 tracks, they honed in on those they liked most, shaping them further, whilst
carving out space to allow input from people they love and admire - Daniela Dyson’s voice and Will Memotone's clarinet on ‘Ashes
Over Shute Shelve’, Birthmark's synth on ‘Gently Fade’ and ‘Sea Mills’, Rakhi Singh (Manchester Collective) and Sebastian
Gainsborough (Vessel)’s strings and arrangements on ‘All Night’, Josh Horsley’s cello on ‘If I Asked You, You'd Tell Me’, and Lorenzo
Prati’s sax, again on ‘Sea Mills’. The album was mastered by Amir Shoat (HTRK, ML Buch, Dean Blunt, Carla Dal Forno). Influencewise, the guitar-based material recalls the bands Amos listened to when younger, and Jas’ more folk-leaning inspirations. Deep-lying
dub, hip hop and soul influences are also evident in both the way the LP was mixed, and the space ingrained in their subconscious.
Tinged with melancholy, the songs cohere as a set of soliloquies and ruminations on love and tenderness. The album’s title comes
from a poem by Amos’ late father which hangs on his wall and seeped into the record. ‘Ashes Over Shute Shelve’ is formed of lines
from another poem of his. Recited by longtime collaborator Daniela Dyson and with Will Yates (Memotone) playing his mother’s
clarinet, the track was imagined as a conversation between his parents. Geography and location also play a big part in the record, with
several significant places name-checked in songs. Shute Shelve itself is a hill near Amos’ mum’s house, who explains “There’s a tree
at the top with a 360° view of the Mendips, where my dad’s ashes were scattered. We used to go up there when we could first buy
booze from the petrol station down the road, get drunk, light a fire, listen to music from my little battery powered CD player and sleep
out without tents.” Titled after a Bristol suburb near where Amos’ grandparents lived and where Jas would spend time as a teenager,
‘Sea Mills’ references her being abandoned by friends on the Downs while high on mushrooms, stranded and missing the bus back.
‘Kosiše Flower’ references the city in Slovakia where Amos and Jas holidayed shortly after getting together and a flower he gave her,
which she pressed in a book after an argument. ‘Oceanside Spider House’ is a location in Nintendo 64 game The Legend of Zelda:
Majora’s Mask, where someone seeks shelter from the falling moon.

Belgian saxophonist, composer, and producer Mattias De Craene (Nordmann, MDCIII) announces a new solo album, ‘A House Where I Dream,’ on VIERNULVIER Records. On his second album, he delivers a highly personal and healing journey, presented as an alternative soundtrack to the 1973 cult film ‘The Holy Mountain.’

The record will be released on October 11 on vinyl LP and through all digital platforms.

"The Holy Mountain" is a surreal Mexican film from 1973 directed, written, and produced by Alejandro Jodorowsky, who also stars in the film. The film holds a prominent place in avant-garde cinema and explores themes such as spirituality, mysticism, and the quest for enlightenment. It is in this vein that ‘A House Where I Dream’ is crafted.

“My mind and soul - and thus my music - come home to this motion picture” - Mattias De Craene

The album will be presented live with the film on October 16 at Videodroom during Film Fest Gent.

ABOUT THE ALBUM
With hypnotic tape loops, grainy textures, and mesmerizing saxophone, Mattias De Craene creates possible worlds that herald a spiritual transformation. From the Scottish Highlands and desolate mountains to the deepest recesses of the soul, this music has the power to create cinematic landscapes that transcend time and space. The sound of these 8 tracks is closely related to the minimalist compositions of Terry Riley, but the work of contemporary artists like KMRU or William Basinski is also drawn from the same material.

Above all, this album is a deeply personal journey and unintentionally serves as a metaphor for De Craene's ascent of his own mountain. For the Videodroom festival by Arts Center VIERNULVIER, the saxophonist began working on a new soundtrack for the film ‘The Holy Mountain’ in 2023, but his body and mind abruptly called him to a halt, forcing him to take a professional break. However, this project never left him, leading to an honest and raw quest to find himself as both a person and an artist, with Jodorowsky as a companion de route and music as an anchor. It initiated a long process of dismantling, searching, healing and back again. The album not only provides a sanctuary for dreaming to all who listen, but for its creator it also serves as both an outcry of despair and a source of comfort during challenging times.

All the tracks on 'A House Where I Dream' share an unfiltered grain of life, as one can almost feel the damp breath of the saxophone blowing.

The album opens with the three-part strong 'Transcention,' where the hypnotic interplay between soprano sax and lo-fi tape loops leads to higher realms of the mind and soul.
Alternating between deep frequencies and farout folk modalities, this mantra-like triptych acquires an alchemical character and ultimately transcends time and space.

In the ethereal 'Away,' one can peer into an abyss of resonance while a saturated tenor sax lends guidance in the spirit of Terry Riley's productions. 'You and Me' also bathes in a similar atmosphere, albeit in the vein of healing 90s ambient as granular sax tones converge with celestial chants. 'Gazing Upwards Towards The Sky,' offers different shades of blue as a slumbering tenor sax is juxtaposed to swift sax patterns. On 'A Stranger That Moved Me,' beauty lands in a soft and subtle manner, while the closing track 'Shepherd's Glow' drifts like a mountain wind flaring up at the darkest hour of the night.

The artwork is created by Gent-based artist Sam Timmerman, who portrays the world of 'A House Where I Dream' with playful repetition and mystique.

After more than ten years, four albums and countless shows, Swiss artist Joell Nicolas takes a turn and releases her last album as Vrvn. Despite being an ending, Storia is also a place for beginnings. For the first time, Vrvn brings together her semi-modular synth with an acoustic instrument, but not just any: a church organ. Filled with air like a dragon, it becomes both emancipating and dangerous, weaving its sounds with synthetic ones, together with voices and lyrics: in English and –also for the first time– in French. Three years of musical research condensed in ten tracks, sometimes structured as songs, sometimes as sensitive soundscapes. Stemming from an exploration of textures over structure, Storia meanders through intimate topics, such as childhood, silence, risk, healing and transformation. With the support of Ville de Lausanne and Canton de Vaud.

Fohn brings connection, displacement and new identities into the moment, on pastoral debut album Seanteach - informed by island life, marine folklore and musical tradition.
Connection to the land, the severing of earthly ties, explorations of environment, mythos and generational memory: under the moniker of Fohn, English violinist and producer Tom Connolly (Quade, AD93) takes to the fiddle on which he learned his craft as a child. Forging new bonds with his family’s island home off the coastal west of Ireland, their story is retold in Seanteach (Irish for ‘old house’), released on Odda Recordings.
“Seanteach explores the nature of my relationship with Ireland, and Connemara in particular, where my dad’s family is from,” explains Connolly, speaking on a long-form work that blends new compositions on traditional Irish fiddle with ambient electronics and evocative field recordings.
“It explores how the island of Maighinis became an almost mythological space for me, growing up in England - we would spend every summer there, but it felt equally present for me when we were back in the UK, a sort of mental solace that I found through music especially.”
Each track on the album is a reflection of aspects of that relationship to island life - where physical features intersect with mythology. Such as, ‘Boreen’, named after a colloquial term for rural byroads sometimes shared with otherworldly neighbours. ‘Aisling at Sea’ draws on the primal, unstoppable momentum of the water, while the folklore of ‘Immram’ reflects on generationally-kept tales of marine bravery and supernatural accomplishment.
“The compositions often sit at the fraying edges of memories I’ve inherited from my own experiences, that of family lore, or from stories that I have come across. I wanted the compositions to tread the space between documentation and fantasy that feels so reflective of my relationship with this place.”
Tying these worlds together is the presence and memory of Connolly’s ‘Mamó’ (Irish for grandmother), Bríd. Despite passing during Connolly’s childhood, this “larger-than-life character” shaped his imagination with anecdotes and stories, representing both a familiar figure, and the poignancies of potential and regret.
“Even at a young age I sensed a sadness emanating from her. Through a series of unfortunate and fortunate circumstances, she found herself leaving Ireland and settling in Boston like so many others. Under the impression she was an illegal immigrant in the US she didn’t return to Ireland for decades.”
‘Between the Shoreline and the Gorse’ channels her early childhood, born to a large Catholic family in the island’s ‘Seanteach’, and cast adrift from her old life - a severance of ties that Connolly attempts to make ethereal amends for, with the album named for her family home.
“It’s something that feels so visibly prominent in Connemara with its landscapes charcoaled with deserted ruins. It’s a feeling I also experience, despite never having lived in Ireland, which prompted me to want to explore the idea of longing for something/somewhere ‘un-experienced’, and to a certain extent, fictionalised.”