Back catalogue: Modern Classical

Review: Rafet's You Are In The Embrace Of The History is a thought-provoking debut released on Research Records, where Daniel Rafet Grima delves into ambient and drone music with a sense of reverence for ancestral memory. Side-1 begins with the title track, a piece that carries an air of longing and introspection. The atmosphere is rich with layers of ambient sound and chamber music depths. The next song featuring DGrima, adds another dimension with its haunting, immersive quality. On Side-2, Iti's remix introduces a delicate piano melody and a subtle beat, infusing the original with a fresh, creative energy. In contrast, Kuniyuki Takahashi's remix takes a more abstract approach, deconstructing the track into an intriguing exploration of sound and texture. You Are In The Embrace Of The History is a meditative and deeply reflective work that resonates with both beauty and depth.

Review: Max Richter's latest work Sleep: Tranquillity Base first arrived on Deutsche Grammophon for World Sleep Day. Ot is a thirty minute work split across two parts and are inspired by the moon landings. It is music that "functions as a vessel that disconnects and travels through the body of work, allowing art to provide something which resembles peace within ourselves." It also comes with a couple of belting remixes from much loved contemporary innovators Alva Noto and Kelly Lee Owens. There is a reason Max Richter is so well revered and his music has had over three billion streams and this EP is one of them.

Review: Vrioon was the first ever collaboration album between Alva Noto and legendary synth man and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. 20 years after it became the first instalments of V.I.R.U.S.'s five records together it gets the full reissue treatment. The original tracks from the album are joined by an all new composition 'Landscape Skizze' which was laid down in 2005. The record is defined by alternate piano chords, lush electronic tones and quivering timbres that are delicate yet impactful.

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: Samuel Reinhard's latest release, Movement, feels like a deep dive into the possibilities of space, texture, and repetition. Known for his intricate chamber compositions, Reinhard steps into electroacoustic territory, crafting a piece that's as much about what isn't there as what is. The title track 'No. 1', at a staggering 20 minutes, unfolds at a near-glacial pace. Piano notes decay as they meet fragments of cello, bass flute, double bass, baritone sax, and harp - all contributing to a sonic landscape where time feels stretched. The minimalist arrangement isn't about creating immersive soundscapes but rather letting each note breathe, decay, and be accompanied by the physical actions that produced them. It's a stark reminder that silence, or near-silence, can be just as powerful as sound. In keeping with his usual method, Reinhard uses a predetermined system to arrange these instrumental recordings. It's not the grand layering of instruments into a single cohesive whole, but rather the augmentation of subtle textures, crafting a free-floating counterpoint. There's no rush to move from one point to the next, leaving listeners to focus on the resonance of each note, the breath that fills an instrument, or the bow held in mid-air. As with previous releases on Hallow Ground and Prasens Editionen, including names like Lawrence English and Kali Malone, Movement is an exploration of perception, duration, and attention. Reinhard has produced a suite that manages to evoke both stillness and motion - a paradox that's central to his compositional style.

Review: Finish dub techno powerhouse Joachim Spieth welcomes UK artist Rhubiqs to his well-regarded Affin label for a debut appearance that sinks you into a widescreen world of ambient lushness. His Aegis of Silence album takes cues from divergent sounds like post-rock and soft ambient as well as drone and even modern classical. It's an ever-shifting soundscape with smeared pads and nostalgia dreams, half-remembered thoughts and a sense of mood that ranges from escapist and blissed out to more ominous and paranoid.

Review: Spring has sprung, and for many, Vivaldi's original 'Spring' composition might have just as quickly sprung into the minds of most classical heads. But perhaps most of y'all didn't see this one coming. We were bowled over on hearing news of Max Richter's electronic recompositions of Vivaldi's 'Seasons' 10 years ago; there hadn't been a proper vogue for electronic resources of classical music since Wendy Carlos did 'Switched-On Bach'. Now it gets another 'alternative rendering' (keyword: rendering); performed by an ensemble that almost entirely consists of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse musicians, we hear yet another futuristic take on a stone cold classic, with Richter himself playing a vintage '70s Moog.

Review: A quadruple box set spanning recordings made between 1968 and 1980 on two-track Revox tape, these previously unreleased works showcase the hypnotic cycles and textural explorations that define kosmische musik. Using his signature Farfisa organ and Echolette tape delay, the pieces evoke the spirit of Roedelius' Selbstportrait series and collaborations with Dieter Moebius and Michael Rother. Rather than a strict retrospective, 90 feels like a timeless sound journey, blending cascading minimalist loops with the organic warmth that has inspired generations. Tracks are unnamed and unmoored from chronology, allowing the listener to experience them as fluid expressions of Roedelius's artistry. The music recalls the meditative brilliance of contemporaries like Terry Riley, while firmly rooted in the experimental ethos of early German electronic music. Released to celebrate Roedelius's 90th birthday, this collection is both a celebration and a rediscovery, offering a vivid portrait of a visionary artist. 90 is a masterclass in innovation and introspection, essential for fans of kosmische and beyond.