Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Moby's latest album, Always Centered at Night, is an homage to the power of unrestricted creativity and the allure of New York's late 70s music scene. With the assistance of exceptional vocalists, Moby has crafted a collection of songs that are both deeply personal and universally resonant. The album's unique approach, allowing vocalists complete artistic freedom, has resulted in a tapestry of sonic genius. From serpentwithfeet's ethereal dreamlike vocals to Benjamin's poignant poetry, each track exudes a sense of vulnerability and emotional depth. Always Centered at Night transcends commercial constraints, embracing the beauty of raw and unconventional expression. Moby's aim to foster creative integrity shines through, as the featured artists pour their souls into these collaborative pieces. This eclectic mix highlights the album's commitment to diversity and the celebration of talent beyond traditional boundaries. By showcasing the immense vocal talents of his collaborators, Moby has created an album that is a tribute to the transformative power of music.

Review: Brilliantly described as a label outfit specialising in "N/Ambient", A Strangely Isolated Place welcome the very next LP from equally brilliant music production singularity Monoparts. Trip hop, dubstep and ambient collide on the Polish duo's spiffing debut, which suffered a brief period of production hell and remained accursedly unreleased for years. With Olga Wojciechowska (Scanner, Infinite Distances) on vocals and Tomasz Walkiewicz on production, the pair make an earthbound, rustic statement here, likening the record to the process of "becoming one with the earth itself - feeling the rawness of the wood, tasting the earth in your mouth, and sensing the presence of ancient spirits." As of a manic vision, forest eidola and erl-kings do indeed seem to appear as we play back the opener 'Abandoned Woods', with its fantasy birdsong and lullabying bell sounds scored over pinball drums. 'Invisible Body' murkifies the vibe with filtered snares and breathwork vocals, while latter-record treats such as 'My Reality' and 'Scattered Parts' hark back to an organic era in ambient dubstep, where producers like Jan Amit and Asa ruled the roost as foregrounders of foley sounds for use as drums.

Review: Lorenzo Montana is an Italian soundtrack composer, sound engineer, and producer, with a prolific career spanning decades. Vion is his 29th full-length album, and marks his first solo effort for the Oakland-based emotive electronics outpost n5MD. Here Montana fleshes out the full possibilities gleanable from the use of drum brushes, diving into the wonderful world of jazz brush patterns, in order produce an electroacoustic record with a glistening ambient palette - whereas beforehand, the use of drum brushes might have otherwise felt mostly unfairly relegated to 'jazzy' electronic genres like broken beat. From 'Nympalidea' to 'Vilu', Montana's expert digital touch, and ear for texture, is heard and felt throughout, with the central brush patterns banking on their distinctive timbre to both stand out and yet also melt into the surrounding, progressive ambiance.

Review: Deerhunter co-founder and drummer Moses Archuleta works solo under the Moon Diagrams alias and here he impresses once more with a second album, Cemetery Classics. This 12-track release is a collaboration between Sonic Cathedral and Angus Andrew's new label No Gold adn it has been mixed by Simian Mobile Disco man James Ford. Guests like Anastasia Coope, Patrick Flegel and Josh Diamond from Gang Gang Dance all feature on what is Archuleta's first new music since 2019's Trappy Bats mini-album. The album spans several genres, as you would expect, from Basinski-esque degradation on 'Neptune' to industrial noise on 'Listen To Me,' with postmodern pop, trip-hop, shoegaze, and more. The man himself calls it a "graveyard disc" of songs for the afterlife.

Review: Daffodils & Dirt, the debut album by Samantha Morton and Richard Russell, is a brooding and poetic exploration of Morton's troubled past and raw emotional experiences. With Russell's production prowess, the duo creates an unsettling yet captivating musical landscape that delves into themes of resilience and vulnerability. Morton's haunting vocals, coupled with Russell's sparse yet evocative soundscapes, transport listeners into the depths of her teenage years, where she grappled with homelessness and instability. The album's collaborations with artists like Jack Penate, Laura Groves, and Ali Campbell add unexpected layers of depth and beauty to the already compelling narrative. The album is a mesmerising blend of haunting melodies and raw emotion, inviting listeners to journey alongside Morton as she navigates the complexities of her past.

Review: WRWTFWW shares the long-anticipated official reissue of Chrysalide, the sole album from French multi-instrumentalist and enigmatic genius Michel Moulinie. Sourced from the original reels, this suite for various instruments - electric guitar, twelve-string acoustic and all zithers in between - comes backed by impressive beds of synth wash and mellotronic mull, fastening the kraut formula with blithe hints of humanity and warmth. First released on Ange and Jean-Claude Pognant's mythical prog rock label Crypto, it's a real mystery why this one wasn't picked up by the popular ear sooner than now. 'Lente Course' could fit on pretty much any forthcoming Western/sci-fi crossover blockbuster's soundtrack, while the album's latter half moves extra dreamily and minimalistically, with 'L'Echo De L'Acier' cycling through four-note counterpoints and the eight-minute 'Bonus' track going full-on cosmic.

Review: ile Flottante is Mr. Beatnick's fith album, following 2023's Joy In Variation (including the notorious cover of 'Love On A Real Train'), and his well-received, off-beat collaboration with London-based avant-garde agitator Richard Greenan: Coasty. This is his first contribution to the International Feel trademark; the record draws its name from the national French staple pudding enjoyed on Mr. Beatnick's childhood holidays, also being a jeux de mot (pun) for "floating island". With fantasy visions of self-suspensory lands held firmly in mind, we launch ourselves into a bristling eight-track record, breezily nodding along to the rhythmic snowfall detailed on 'Crystal Snowflakes' and the impossible aerial beaches of 'Low Tide'. A truly fantastical sonic landscape; in a realm of floating landmasses, do dolphins still dance? Mr. Beatnick seems to say yes.

Review: Muchamucham's Qantikala is a delightful surprise from this innovative Japanese band, offering a blend of funk, ambient, and dub with a distinctive island flavor. Released by Special 10 Japan, this album stands out for its unique fusion of Hawaiian and Japanese influences, creating an original and tradition-steeped sound. Highlights include 'Pulau,' which features a breezy island vibe, and 'Bing Long Moon,' where funk and ambient elements intertwine with nature sounds for a relaxing experience. 'Onsen Moku Moku' is an enchanting island love song, while 'Yunta Asadoya' delivers a light rock groove that adds to the album's diverse appeal. Qantikala is a refreshing instrumental collection that transports listeners to a serene and eclectic sonic landscape. This is such a refreshing sound!

Review: Even by the standards of the late, great Bryn Jones AKA Muslimgauze - an artist whose enormous catalogue has only grown since his death in 1999 - Rhiza Coil of Resin is something of an obscurity - a set previously only available as part of a rare box set. It was reportedly recorded at some point following the release of Narcotic (1997) and explores many of the same sonic themes. Here available as a standalone CD for the first time, the five tracks variously touch on lo-fi, delay-laden drum & bass ('Deceive For Yourself'), redlined bass and mangled breakbeats (both takes on the suitably heavy 'Arab Quarter'), experimental electronic noise meets ambient acid ('Why Iraq') and deep, dubbed-out trip-hop ('Effendi') - all peppered with his usual Arabic spoken word samples, field recordings and found sounds.

Review: Mustafa's masterfully crafted new debut album is called Dunya which translates from Arabic to "the world in all its flaws." The Sudanese-Canadian artist digs deep into religious devotion, childhood trauma, gang violence and romantic intimacy in hugely personal ways throughout the record and showcases his superb songwriting ability. His blend of genres from hip-hop to soul and r&b comes with novelistic details, lasting hooks and raw and earnest words. It features appearances from collaborators such as Aaron Dessner, Rosali?a, Clairo and Nicolas Jaar but amongst all that Mustafa's confident, distinctive voice shines bright.

Review: A new bedroom pop outfit, Mystery Time (Ayman Rostom aka. The Maghreban) paints a neatly outlaid sound-picture of quotidian lifestyles and humdrum joys, perhaps specifically those which are used to tape over the harder but more pronely repressible realities of grief and mourning. From the off of 'Thank You Deeply', we're told of "salad days in Archway" and being "on the phone in doorways", suggesting an attitude of listlessness and naivete as key to surviving the otherwise often excruciating experience of living in London. Its self-description as "maudlin" serves it just as well; the record wafts off a kind of haunted contradiction, describable only as the impossible mixture of post-punk and floral chintz, of wallpapering over the ability to feel fully and holistically with yet another lifestyle, pattern, habit, prescription. In Rostom's own words, "The title speaks for itself. Maudlin means emotionally sentimental. Tales, these songs are stories to me, about different times. Grief - there is much sadness and darkness in it, and Love - there is some light there too, a bit of joy, to frame the shadow." Rostom's vocals are just as listless and blinkered, tunnel-sung so as to express emotions through a drab medium.

Review: Label affiliates Mytron and Zongamin make a combined return to the ever-on-point Canadian stable Multi Kulti, delivering an extended selection of typically off-kilter, genre-bending sonic mastery. In what appears to be a match made in the leftfield heavens, the duo join forces to explore dance-ish music's outer reaches, blending tribal motifs with 8-bit sampling and all manner of wonkiness. From the blissful bells of Conjunction With Reality to the bass-heavy throb of GHX, there is unsurprisingly plenty to savour here. Opening cut '08932168' blends enchanting lead melodies with rolling polyrhythms and dubbed-out effects before the equatorial percussion of 'Calliope Omniglot' makes way for the wiggy atmospherics of the collection's title track. Highly recommended.