OREN AMBARCHI Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Pale Calling sees Black Truffle boss and all round experimental maven Oren Ambarchi collaborating with Kassel Jaeger and James Rushford for an album consisting of two long form compositions laid down in Paris back in 2014. Featuring killer artwork from Sunn O))) man Stephen O'Malley, and mastered by Rashad Becker, Pale Calling is aptly described as "a mysterious space of slowly cycling electronics, distracted vocal mumbles and often unidentifiable field recordings." It arrives in a busy year for Ambarchi's Black Truffle following long players from Charlemagne Palestine and improvisational trio AMM, and proves to be a delicious listen that will appeal to fans of the recent Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Felicia Atkinson album.

Review: Given that Ricardo Villalobos was one of a handful of guest producers who featured on Oren Ambarchi's recent Hubris album - a krautrock-influenced minimalist techno exploration that also boasted contributions from Jim O'Rourke and Mark Fell, amongst others - it seems fitting that he's been roped in to provide two new remixes. The Chilean's contribution to the album was largely rhythm-based, and his two lengthy Variations - each stretched across one side of wax - promote undulating, heads-down dancefloor hypnotism above all else. Naturally, his drum programming and use of subtle stylistic shifts is as on-point as ever, with Ambarchi's original textures being manipulated into mind-altering new shapes.

Review: In the latest instalment of avant-garde studies for Black Truffle, Oren Ambarchi brings together his regular cohorts for some collaborative pieces that span a staggering range of styles without ever letting up on the uncompromising leftfield remit of the label. The first tracks deal in fragile, tense situations that work drone into an organic context through the haunting use of vocal, flute and found sound, before swerving into the calamity of noise rock squall at its finest. Coming on like a NY hardcore contingent, it's hard to believe it sits on the same release as the opening tracks, and makes the record as a whole all the more enjoyable to process.