Juno Recommends Ambient / Drone July 2019

Review: Max Wuerden's latest full-length excursion is apparently entitled "Format" because the digital download and vinyl versions are completely different (I.E he tailored the tracks to each format). We've not listened to the digital edition, but this vinyl version is, at times, breathtakingly good. While each of the nine tracks is beat-free and undeniably ambient in nature, there's still plenty of subtle variety to be found throughout. Compare, for example, the pulsing beauty of "Desiccate", where what sound like processed clarinet lines slowly rise above sunrise-ready chord sequences, and the clandestine creepiness of "Format", a paranoid and claustrophobic affair that creaks under the weight of its own post-apocalyptic intent. Other highlights include the hypnotic, stretched-out analogue electronics of "Wirkungsgrad" and the becalmed musical waters of "Exothermic Reaction".

Review: Norwegian ambient veteran Biosphere has enjoyed something of a renaissance of late, thanks in no small part to a series of essential reissues of his 1990s work. His latest release, "The Senja Recordings", is not a reissue, though, but rather his most significant and extensive new album in years. Icy, windswept and atmospheric, it was apparently recorded during extended stays on a Norwegian island over the course of four years. There's plenty of sparse, dark ambient material, of course, but also plenty of distorted but quietly melodic compositions that mirror the loneliness of his remote surroundings. He brings us closer than ever to those surroundings via extensive use of field recordings made during his time on the island, something that only enhances the listening experience.

Review: Kompakt continues to reissue the early, in-demand works of hypnotic ambient techno pioneer Wolfgang Voigt AKA Gas. This time it's "Konigsforst", an album that has been unavailable on vinyl since its' initial pressing on Mille Plateaux in 1998. Built around locked-in, soft-focus techno rhythms, drowsy neo-classical movements, densely layered samples and hazy, hard-to-define melodic elements, the album's eight tracks remain as potent now as they did 21 years ago. Voigt has made a lot of inspired music in his thickset "sound soup" style, but there's something extra-special about this "Konigsforst", which we'd describe as the audio equivalent of a sunrise stumble through an ancient German forest.

Review: Although best known for his mutant dancehall and twisted dub work as The Bug, Kevin Martin has impeccable experimental credentials. Here he offers further supporting evidence via a first album under his given name for admirable Aussie imprint Room 40. Comprised of two lengthy suites of interconnected tracks, "Sirens" was inspired by the birth of Martin's first-born child. It's a wonderfully atmospheric affair, with gentle and joyous ambient cuts being joined by paranoia-laden experimental electronica, dark and gripping drone soundscapes, and the kind of frazzled but quietly uplifting fare that wrests poignant and melancholic moments from fragments of noise and hushed, effects-laden field recordings.

Review: Prolific Canadian composer Sarah Davachi shows no signs of slowing down. 2019 is barely six months old and she's already offering up her second set of the year, her seventh in total since the start of 2017. This time round, the Los Angeles-based experimentalist has returned to her roots, delivering a set of two distinctive halves. The A-side "Perfumes" suite is startlingly simple in concept, with Davachi creating a dreamlike mood via sustained, slowly shifting church organ chords and gentle piano motifs. It's little short of stunning. Turn to side B and you'll be treated to an exercise in avant-garde modern classical, where slowly vibrating strings and minimalist movements slowly evolve over 21 spell binding minutes.

Review: Henrik Schwarz may have once produced some the deepest and most atmospheric house records around, but in recent years his dancefloor output has been minimal. Instead, he's re-cast himself as composer and producer working at the cutting edge of neo-classical/electronic music fusion. He's at it again here in cahoots with Dutch string section Alma Quartet. Their inventive and otherworldly arrangements are brilliantly blended with Schwarz's subtle electronics and experimental production techniques to create evocative and imaginative pieces that are often hard to pin down. Sometimes, they're cyclical and heady, as if all involved are channeling Philip Glass or Steve Reich; at other points, they sound like classical versions of unheard minimal techno tracks. Throughout, you'll be surprised, inspired and entertained in equal measure.