Back catalogue: Classical

Review: Released to acclaim in 1985, The Falcon and the Snowman recounts the extraordinary true story of Christopher Boyce (Timothy Hutton) and Andrew Daulton Lee (Sean Penn), childhood friends who betrayed their country by selling U.S. satellite secrets to the Soviets in the 70s. The film's score, crafted by jazz virtuoso Pat Metheny alongside pianist Lyle Mays, is a masterful blend of tension and melancholy, enriched by orchestral arrangements from the National Philharmonic Orchestra. The standout track, 'This Is Not America,' features lyrics by David Bowie and became one of his notable hits of the decade, reaching No. 14 in the UK. All in all, an exclusive collector's box set.

Review: Michaelangelo Antonioni's name will always be synonymous with incredibly beautiful cinema, even if those movies can be challenging at times. Pablo's Eye takes some inspiration from the visceral aesthetic qualities that defined many of the great auteur's work, and then distills this into soundscapes that are uniquely spectacular, deceptively polished and yet effortless and raw. Whether you'd really call this ambient is a question for another time and another place - The List Was Sharp Our Eyes Were Open certainly creates ambience. We might be cast adrift on a small dingy, the peril of being stranded in the ocean subsiding into a strange sense of calm and quiet, motifs and tracks passing by like island in the endless blue. But when getting lost feels this good, who needs saving?

Review: Estonian contemporary classical musician Arvo Part is by now perhaps best known for his devastating opus 'Spiegel Im Spiegel'. But to focus solely on this ascendant piece would be to do a disservice to the best of his works, of which there is not only much, but also a personally idiosyncratic method that suggests genius. Mississippi Records expand on this elusive and fascinating musician's oeuvre, helping disseminate a new collection of renditions by Boston-based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. Part's music is ternary, and he is responsible for the use of the term "tintinnabular" in music theory: a far cry from the bell-related meaning of the term, tintinnabular music refers to a specific compositional style in which one hand arpeggiates the tonic triad (plays notes 1, 3 and 5), while the other hand ascends the remaining notes of the scale in stepwise motion. Decidedly minimalist, then, the versions of 'Silentium' and 'Vater Unser' in particular render Part's technique in full naked technicolour, with their thin strings building to gobsmacking, tearjerking heights. No wonder that, so famously, of his sparse compositions, Part had this to say: "I have nothing to say... It is dangerous to say anything, because if I've said it already in words there might be nothing left for my music."

Review: Arvo Part stands as one of the most influential composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, pioneering the "holy minimalism" movement with a sound that is both stark and transcendent. Emerging from Soviet-occupied Estonia, his early experiments in serialism gave way to a deeply spiritual style influenced by Gregorian chant and Orthodox choral traditions. His self-developed tintinnabuli technique, marked by bell-like harmonies and spacious phrasing, has made his work beloved across classical and contemporary circles. This collection highlights Part's signature meditative depth. At its core is a never-before-released version of 'Silentium,' performed by Boston's A Far Cry at an unhurried pace, stretching the piece's time-suspending qualities to their limit. The album also includes the warm yet solemn 'Vater Unser,' the introspective piano piece 'Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinuschka,' and a stirring interpretation of 'Fratres for Strings and Percussion.' Each piece reflects Part's belief in music as a form of prayeriunspoken, yet profoundly resonant.

Review: Passepartout Duo is formed of Nicoletta Favari and Christopher Salvito, whom since 2015 have been on a continuous journey travelling the world's corners, engaged in a creative process they term "slow music". Their most recent record, in collaboration with fellow duo and peers Inoyama Land, Radio Yugawara is the latest reaffirmation of this affinity with the global slow movement, an increasingly, wilfully pan-resistant lifestyle umbrella. This record was recorded in 2023, in the latter duo's Makoto Inoue's hometown of Yugawara, where his family runs a kindergarten, and whose space then doubled up as a recording studio. Made largely with children's instruments - handbells, a glockenspiel, a xylophone, recorders, melodicas, and harmonicas - an obvious association of naif innocence might be taken away from this record, but this is of course a surface interpretation. By the time we've hacked past the surface thickets of 'Abstract Pets', we enter much murkier territory, the slow unfurling of 'Simoom' and the monoized ambient assemblages of 'Mosaic' among the most notable. Through its formative rooting in themes of childhood and play, and titular reference to radio, this dyadic double date portray an effective rep of the act of 'tuning in' - something we can only really do at all in a slower-paced environment.

Review: The soundtrack to Graham Eatough's stage adaptation of David Keenan's novel, This Is Memorial Device, composed by Stephen Pastel - of Kurt Cobain faves The Pastels fame - and Gavin Thomson, offers a compelling third iteration of the book's myth. Fusing reworked home recordings from the era with expanded versions of music originally scored for the theatre production, the album captures the essence of Glasgow's post-punk scene from 1978 to 1986. Tracks like 'Introduction To Why I Did It' and 'We Have Sex' evoke a sense of youthful hope and creativity, reflecting the play's exploration of art, music, and romance in small-town Scotland. Directed by Julian House, the video for 'We Have Sex' adds a vibrant visual dimension to the DIY aesthetic of the era. This Is Memorial Device: Music from the Stage Play not only complements the book and stage adaptation but also stands on its own torch for the spirit of post-punk and the power of belief in the transformative potential of art.

Review: Penguin Cafe Orchestra's debut release offers a unique blend of minimalist classical, folk, and avant-garde influences, with a distinct, whimsical charm. Opening with the iconic 'Penguin Cafe Single,' the track immediately sets the tone with its playful melody and intricate arrangements. 'The Sound of Someone You Love Who's Going Away and It Doesn't Matter' follows with a more reflective mood, its wistful theme evoking a deep sense of longing. The album's blend of simple, yet profound compositions showcases Simon Jeffes' ability to evoke powerful emotions with minimal means. This blue vinyl reissue brings a fresh vibrancy to a seminal album that continues to captivate listeners with its otherworldly sound.

Review: Perila returns with a reflective spiritual successor to her 2022 album that comes on Vaagner's sister label A Sunken Mall. The album takes in eight tracks produced between 2021 and 2023 and they all do a fine job of conveying a serene vulnerability with its drifting, ethereal soundscapes smeared with echoing voices, droning guitars and resonant textures. It's like a whispered conversation during quiet moments and once again makes for a world that doesn't need to be understood, only felt. The Air Outside Feels Crazy Right Now reminds us that finding inner peace through music can counter the chaos of the external world and help turn fragility into strength.

Review: Perila's latest double album is a mesmerising exploration of ambient soundscapes, field recordings and vocal manipulation. Spanning 21 tracks, the work unfolds like an immersive narrative, with each side offering its own thematic journey. Her voice drifts through vast, haunting spaces, weaving into ghostly chorals and spectral pulses, creating an eerie atmosphere that blends the intimate with the outer world. Tracks like 'Deza' and 'Sepula Purm' highlight her ability to transform simple vocal echoes into atmospheric wonders, while 'Nia' introduces faint low-end rumbles that evolve into hypnotic rhythms. As the album progresses, Perila delves deeper into industrial and experimental terrain, with tracks like 'Mola' offering a soft, meditative reprieve, before 'Supa Mi' strips everything back to raw, acapella fragments. The sound grows more intense as it moves forward, with 'Darbounouse Song' delivering a creative peak of crackling textures and resonant gong tones, and 'She Wonder' exploring rhythmic digital precipitation. Her use of field recordings, fragmented whispers, and organic sounds results in a deeply personal and atmospheric experience, making this her most cohesive and fully realized work to date. Fans of experimental, immersive sound will find much to admire here.

Review: Piero Piccioni's score for Ti Ho Sposato Per Allegria (1967) offers a delightful and sophisticated accompaniment to Luciano Salce's comedy, based on Natalia Ginzburg's play. The film's narrative follows a serious lawyer who marries a whimsical and scatterbrained girl with a troubled past, just a month after meeting her. The story's charm lies in its light-hearted approach to serious themes like abortion, death, separation, and marital communication issues. Piccioni's music, released on vinyl by Musica Per Immagini, perfectly complements the film's whimsical tone. His score blends moods and aesthetic elements from his earlier works while introducing the unmistakable sound of bossa nova, funk, and lounge that would come to define much of his 70s output. The Turin-born composer's ability to simplify complex harmonic structures, infused with jazz elements, results in melodies that are both memorable and classy. Key to this soundtrack are its buoyant spirit and refined elegance. Piccioni's compositions achieve a perfect balance between catchy themes and intricate musical textures. Piccioni's talent for creating music is both light-hearted and artistically rich, making this a standout in his extensive catalog.

Review: Pianist. Conductor. Composer. Impressario. Extraordinaire. We could probably leave it at that with Piero Piccioni, but for the sake of clarity let's get clear. One of Italy's most prolific film composers of the mid-late-20th Century, this monolith of big band and jazz wrote more than 300 movie scores in his career, and also lays claim to membership of 013, the first jazz outfit broadcast in his home country following the fall of Fascism in 1944. Born in Turin, one of the epicentres of Italian music, Cadaveri Eccellenti was a 1977 crime thriller about Lino Ventura, Italy's top homicide detective, who is investigating the assassination of a judge. Full of intrigue, mystery, and tension, not to mention that underlying sense of sexiness which seems to pervade European flicks of this era, by now you can probably imagine how cool the score is.

Review: Celebrates the 50th anniversary of Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto (which is better known in Engish as Swept Away) with the ultimate edition of this classic soundtrack from Decca. Piero Piccioni's iconic score perfectly captures the 1974 film's exotic ambience with samba, bossa nova and lounge music sounds all enriched by Nora Orlandi's wordless vocals. Fully remastered from the original archive master tape, this version comes on double vinyl and tastefully honours Piccioni's remarkable contribution to Italian cinema.

Review: The Undreamt-of Centre is the fourth solo album by esteemed Australian drummer, composer, and producer Laurence Pike and it offers a modern reimagining of the requiem mass. This evocative work blends influences from modern classical music, Japanese environmental ambient, fourth-world electronics, free jazz, and Estonian choral traditions that are inspired by Tallinn-based composer Tonu Korvits. Collaborating with the VOX Sydney Philharmonia Choir and conducted by Pike's childhood friend, the composer Sam Lipman, this wonderful record was recorded in a 19th-century Gothic church which has helped to create a haunting and atmospheric soundscape that pays homage to diverse musical traditions while pushing the boundaries of contemporary composition.

Review: Lacinia is the newest cycle of compositions by Italian composer and guitarist Stefano Pilia and it extends the metaphysical and mathematical explorations introduced in his acclaimed 2022 album Spiralis Aurea. Drawing from sacred geometry, number theory and ancient musical traditions, Lacinia unfolds as a series of immersive sonic meditations. Acoustic and electroacoustic textures from strings, horns, organ, percussion and synths are all carefully interwoven and Pilia creates cyclical, ritualistic structures that evoke composers like Arvo Part, Eliane Radigue and Sarah Davachi. Inspired by liturgical music and the eternal return of transformation, Lacinia aims to seek meaning through harmony, stillness and resonance. The

Review: KUM explores the work of Giusto Pio from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, which was a period of intense sound experimentation. The album features four pieces-'Rappel,' 'Alla Corte di Nefertiti,' 'MeDeA' and 'A.D.A.M. Ubi Es' which are all linked by Pio's collaboration with Franco Battiato. Their creative exchange helped shape Pio's post-avant-garde vision and blend new musical fragments and "astral counterpoints in frequencies and colours in time." Nearly 50 years later, KUM offers a philological perspective on these intertwined artistic paths that highlights the innovative approach that defined Pio's unique exploration of sound and composition.

Review: This new one from our favourite US ambient outlet takes the form of a selection of long-form compositions from artists who are close to the label. As such it's a perfect reflection of its signature sound - deeply immersive soundscapes, slowly shifting synths and meditative moods made with a mix of hardware tools, guitars, pedals and even baritone vocals. It's named after a Norwegian term for warmth and intimacy, which certainly plays out from the evolving loops of 'A Whisper' to the textured melancholy of 'Canaan' and the reverberant drift of 'Coronation Ring'.

Review: Enji and Popp are Squama label regulars of and here they unite for their debut LP, Nant, under the Poeji alias. It finds them expanding beyond post-dub and downtempo and building on their 2022 EP, 031921 5.24 5.53, which was a limited run of dubplates, to showcase their innovation in the studio. The duo employs minimal initial ideas and relies on non-verbal cues to shape their sound in the studio and Enji's vocals, subtly integrated with reverb and guitar effects, complement Popp's intricate use of wooden and metal percussion perfectly. It's layered with tape echoes and analogue delays so Nant offers great moments of fleeting musical beauty.

Review: In a first-time collaboration, psychedelic trance godhead Simon Posford (best known as Hallucinogen and a founding member of Shpongle) teams up with fellow hippie and flutist Raja Ram (Ronald Rothfield) on a welling improvisatory record, Improvisations For Piano And Flute. Though both are highly esteemed artists in their respective micro-corners of the electronic music scene, Posford and Rothfield both depart significantly from their usually danceable ends for a living-room recorded set of ambiences. With a synth placed atop an antique Bluthner piano, Raj and Simon would join in after the other first begun playing, delivering a 44-minute effluence for the spontaneous soul.

Review: Strange Gardens, or Effroyables Jardins, tells the story of a French clown whose son is embarrassed by him, but this tomfoolery has a serious past - antics saved the street performer and his friend, Andre, both members of the French Resistance during the war, from certain death at the hands of the Nazis. It's an intimate and, at times, troubling exploration of innocence, persecution, identity, friendship, loyalty and escapism in the most harrowing circumstances. Not to mention the short memories of mankind and the prejudices we unfairly develop when truths are committed to faded sepia photographs. Zbignieuw Preisner encapsulates this thoughtful atmosphere beautifully, providing a piano and string score that's tender, poignant, emotional, and musically captivating. A record that can just as easily stand alone as it can next to its visual brethren.

Review: Munich-based trio Prepared craft a hypnotic and high-energy journey that blurs the lines between chamber music, jazz and minimal dance. The trio i Chris Gall on prepared piano, Flo Riedl on bass clarinet and Christoph Holzhauser on drums i merges cyclical motifs and layered patterns into a trance-inducing soundscape. Drawing comparisons to Steve Reich, Jonny Greenwood and Dawn of Midi, their music pulses with rhythm and repetition, creating a hypnotic Gesamtkunstwerk that feels both innovative and timeless. Recorded live in a single room without overdubs, Module is a state-of-the-art production. Utilizing advanced 3D miking techniques for Dolby Atmos, the recording captures the raw interplay between instruments with breathtaking clarity. Across four expansive tracks divided into ten parts, the album flows through moods and textures. 'Modul Eins' opens with a downtempo introduction before evolving into an upbeat, swinging groove. 'Modul Zwei' offers a cinematic, film noir feel, while 'Modul Drei' dips into hip-hop beats with introspective breaks. The 15-minute opus 'Modul Vier' swells through four sections like changing seasons, showcasing the trio's virtuosity and cohesion. With Module, Prepared prove that repetition can be a riveting genre-defying experience that's impossible to forget.