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Tough Love have partnered with West Coast imprint Mt St Mtn for the release of Free Advice, the instant slowcore/dreampop classic by San Fran four piece, Cindy. The full album is available to stream/download now, while a highly limited transparent vinyl pressing will be released on 20th November. Limited to just 250 copies, this pressing follows the long sold-out edition of 100 released earlier in the year and which was previously only available in the US. Free Advice offers a somber-yet-uplifting take on sobered dream pop. Imagine if Galaxie 500’s On Fire didn’t have a guitar solo or if The Trinity Session was stripped of its folk & blues roots; it’s just pure mood. Like sitting in a half-empty movie theater that’s playing Alphaville or Wild Strawberries and watching patron’s heads briefly illuminated from the screen; Free Advice (and all of the Cindy output) transfers you to these momentary worlds. Cindy is Karina Gill on guitar/vocals, Aaron Diko on synth/keys, Simon Phillips on Drums/Percussion, and Jesse Jackson on Bass/Keys + Simon and Jesse on backing vocals. The songs on Free Advice are these moments in mood: Phillips & Jackson’s rhythms create the foundation, while Diko’s keys rise and fall. Gill’s guitar rattles, vocals brood, and lyrics create these narratives that depict observers, not necessarily wronged rather, cautious and investigative of the world around them

Second release from Takashi Nakazato on Ten Lovers Music following last years amazing Clandestina album which had some incredible guest appearances from Luisito Quintero and Roberto Quintero amongst others. This time Takashi introduces his band Galavanters where he is joined by his fellow member: Soncho - Trombone and Shakuhachi, Toshitaka Shibata - Keyboards, Kenichi Fukushima - Tenor Saxophone, Ryozo Obayashi - Bass, Ippei Sawamura - Drums.

Takashi provides the percussion and also wrote, produced and mixed the whole EP which is an amazing journey through Japanese inspired modern jazz fusion. All four tracks showcase the wealth of talent in this sextet of musicians.

Simona Zambolis first album on Mille Plateaux "Ethernity" is a piece of haunting music - vibrating, pulsing and cutting through the concrete and the chaos at the same time, when you listen close enough. The album is a journey through trans-reality, not only as a melancholic drama, but also as a travel to alien worlds, hence as a necessity of an electronic intervention. "Ethernithy" is radical fictioning in a non-expressive, non-melancholic and ultrablack sense. Profound music demands blackness, not silence. When we speak of communication or mediation, the reference is always that of the mystical tradition of the via negativa; mediation and communication always imply the dissolution of sender and receiver, leaving not only the message that is the gulf or abyss, but a perception out there, which senses should be able to recognize and even love.

Limited edition purple double vinyl with rainbow laminate finish gatefold sleeve.

Kylie’s record-breaking fifteenth studio album ‘DISCO’ was released to widespread acclaim last year and was hailed as ‘an irresistible tonic to real life. Thank God for Kylie Minogue’ by Metro in a 5* review and ‘the ultimate rescue remedy’ by The Observer (4*). It featured lead singles ‘Say Something’, which received widespread praise - deemed ‘a galactic slice of pop music heaven’ by i-D - and ‘Magic’, which NME called ‘an exuberant, horn-fuelled romp.’

About ‘DISCO’

‘DISCO’ was released in November 2020 and entered the charts at Number 1 in the UK, making it Kylie’s eighth UK Number 1 album. It is a record-breaking release for the pop icon, making Kylie the first female solo artist to claim Number 1 albums in five consecutive decades (‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s, ‘10s, and ‘20s). ‘DISCO’ received widespread critical acclaim, deemed ‘an irresistible tonic to real life. Thank God for Kylie Minogue’ by Metro in a 5* review, ‘the ultimate rescue remedy’ by The Observer (4*) and ‘an exquisitely produced, effervescent tribute to 70s and 80s disco music and dance as escapism’ by The i (4*).

For ‘DISCO’, Kylie worked with long-time collaborator Biff Standard plus Sky Adams (with whom she worked with on Golden), Teemu Brunila (David Guetta, Jason Derulo) and Maegan Cottone (Iggy Azalea, Demi Lovato), alongside others. The album was largely recorded in lockdown with each team member recording and working from a separate location, leading to Kylie having a vocal engineering credit on all but two of the sixteen tracks on the record.

The Blind Date Party hosted by Bill Callahan and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
and featuring AZITA, Matt Sweeney, Alasdair Roberts, Matt Kinsey,
Sean O’Hagan, Bill MacKay, George Xylouris, Dead Rider, David Pajo,
Mick Turner, Meg Baird, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly, Cory Hanson, Six
Organs of Admittance, David Grubbs, Cassie Berman, Cooper Crain and
Sir Richard Bishop happened online in the autumn and winter of 2020 -
2021 but the party planning dated back to the spring of 2020.
 Stuck at home, with no gigs in the foreseeable future, Bill, Bonnie and
Drag City needed an outreach program to keep themselves busy, not to
mention sane. In the absence of any company or anything on the
calendar, playing songs they loved was an idea; playing with people they
loved, the desire. And making it fun - so pairing someone with someone
else having no say in the matter, the essence of the blind date, was the
plan. Favourite songs were chosen; players from around the Drag City
galaxy were messaged. Pretty soon, songs were flying back and forth -
music in the air.
 By autumn, the songs started to appear online: Bill and Bonnie singing a
song by someone they loved and admired; each song cut by another
artist they loved and admired, then sent to Bill and Bonnie to provide the
finishing touches. The spotlight pointed in every direction each week:
toward the singers and writers who’d originally played the songs (Yusuf
Islam, Hank Williams Jr., Dave Rich, The Other Years, Billie Eilish,
Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Bill Callahan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Wyatt,
Lowell George, Johnnie Frierson, Air Supply, Will Oldham, Leonard
Cohen, David Berman, Iggy Pop and John Prine), toward their featured
collaborators, the artists whose artwork adorned each digital single and
videos made by still more collaborators.
 Like the best parties, it turned out to be everything and more than they’d
even hoped for. So many more people were involved in the process that
would on the page here. Suffice to say, making records over the years
has required a broad sense of community and an always-surprising mix
of independence and unity, inspiration and utility. Some of the best
memories are those where as many of our folks as possible were
together in one place at one time. The Blind Date Party was one of
these, maybe the most improbable one yet. It’s for everyone who’s here
and it’s in the name of everyone who’s gone but will never go and will
always live with us here. This album will too.

The Blind Date Party hosted by Bill Callahan and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
and featuring AZITA, Matt Sweeney, Alasdair Roberts, Matt Kinsey,
Sean O’Hagan, Bill MacKay, George Xylouris, Dead Rider, David Pajo,
Mick Turner, Meg Baird, Ty Segall, Emmett Kelly, Cory Hanson, Six
Organs of Admittance, David Grubbs, Cassie Berman, Cooper Crain and
Sir Richard Bishop happened online in the autumn and winter of 2020 -
2021 but the party planning dated back to the spring of 2020.
 Stuck at home, with no gigs in the foreseeable future, Bill, Bonnie and
Drag City needed an outreach program to keep themselves busy, not to
mention sane. In the absence of any company or anything on the
calendar, playing songs they loved was an idea; playing with people they
loved, the desire. And making it fun - so pairing someone with someone
else having no say in the matter, the essence of the blind date, was the
plan. Favourite songs were chosen; players from around the Drag City
galaxy were messaged. Pretty soon, songs were flying back and forth -
music in the air.
 By autumn, the songs started to appear online: Bill and Bonnie singing a
song by someone they loved and admired; each song cut by another
artist they loved and admired, then sent to Bill and Bonnie to provide the
finishing touches. The spotlight pointed in every direction each week:
toward the singers and writers who’d originally played the songs (Yusuf
Islam, Hank Williams Jr., Dave Rich, The Other Years, Billie Eilish,
Steely Dan, Lou Reed, Bill Callahan, Jerry Jeff Walker, Robert Wyatt,
Lowell George, Johnnie Frierson, Air Supply, Will Oldham, Leonard
Cohen, David Berman, Iggy Pop and John Prine), toward their featured
collaborators, the artists whose artwork adorned each digital single and
videos made by still more collaborators.
 Like the best parties, it turned out to be everything and more than they’d
even hoped for. So many more people were involved in the process that
would on the page here. Suffice to say, making records over the years
has required a broad sense of community and an always-surprising mix
of independence and unity, inspiration and utility. Some of the best
memories are those where as many of our folks as possible were
together in one place at one time. The Blind Date Party was one of
these, maybe the most improbable one yet. It’s for everyone who’s here
and it’s in the name of everyone who’s gone but will never go and will
always live with us here. This album will too.

The multiple award winning action-adventure game God Of War was first released in
2005, but became such an instant hit, that Santa Monica Studio created seven more versions of the game. The most recent one, released in 2018 for the PlayStation
4, focusses on main character Kratos’ journey in the Greek world together with his son Atreus, following a path of vengeance as a result of being tricked into killing his family by Olympian gods.

God of War received universal acclaim for its story, design, graphics, combat system, characters and music. It was awarded ‘Game of the Year’ by numerous media outlets and award shows. God Of War (2018) performed well commercially, selling over five million copies within a month after its release. It became one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.

The official soundtrack won a BAFTA Award and is composed by Bear McCreary. It is set up around themes he created around primary characters in the game. Inspired by Viking folk music, McCreary used exotic instrumentation and languages from various Northern European folk traditions. It resulted in a score featuring deep choirs, pounding drums, shrieking brass and features Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør (Pálsdóttir). The American composer Bear McCreary is best known for his work on TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, The

GALATHEA is the new project by DJ Massimo Napoli, and the title of his first solo album. Borrowing the name from the homonymous Nereid from the Greek mythology, the album is a deep dive into dub, spiritual jazz and African surroundings. Over 12 tracks, the LP conceals a strong personality. Departing from club culture with particular emphasis on electronic dub, Galathea unfolds into many influences and styles, making it a unique listening experience. Mediterranean culture, afro and cinematic melodies, jazz, spiritual echoes, and soothing beats lead the listener into a subliminal escape, where the fluidity and the convergence of genres freely progress into a dream-like journey.

One of the true O.G .purveyors of Amsterdam deep sound - Aroy Dee with a first solo EP on his own M>O>S Recordings in years! Four emotive, atmospheric deep house efforts. Joined by his R-A-G peers Spaventi and G-String on the third track for the special spiral galaxy blend. Always a reccomend when Aroy Dee steps up..TIP!

At only eighteen years old, Paris DJ and producer u.r.trax has a C.V that would make most seasoned selectors blush. Blending the innocence of youth with a ferocious production palette, the emerging techno star has already played Concrete, Dehors Brut, and La Toilette, and has released on Hector Oaks Kaos label, having become infatuated with the sound at a young age - even visiting Tresor at just fourteen!

From death comes rebirth, and on ‘Dying Generation' u.r.trax flies the flag for future-gazing doof with its twisting, left-field turns and throbbing noise. An instant Berlin classic. The glitch and suspense of ‘What Was On Their Mind’ melts into the raver’s core; alarm bells ring, heartbeats race and eyes widen on its six-minute journey.

The headsy vibes on ‘You Are Your Own Distraction’ is a welcome switch-up, its punchy kicks and bouncy aesthetic inviting the listener to dance as weird as they want, before the techno tradition is dropped in favour of a hefty cut of electro flavour, molding the artists own vocals with her production for a “Miss Kitten 2.0” vibe.

Galaxial atmospherics, horror-synths and anxious energy bow us out on ‘Race Against Time’, completing the package with a furious digi-only rework from MRD.

repressed !

Biogen's a different kind of musician, always travelling the road less trodden. All law's broken - no chords, no build-ups and no traditional drum patterns. Instead Biogen offers listener's fragmented shredding's, constant irritations, glitches, imbalance—and enough creative ideas to supply a whole battalion of electronic musicians. His works are full of contrast. Occasionally soft and mellow - like a cloud in trousers - Biogen would call that 'sofa-trance'. Other times the music's harsh and uncompromising with uncomfortable, irrational beats and glitches - 'Weird-core' - a vast uncharted territory. Some might be tempted to connect the contrast and contradictions in his music to his long battle with manic-depressive disorder. But the disparity in his music is its strength, confounding and delighting the listener.
It's five years since Biogen passed away, but his influence is keenly felt among Icelandic electronic musicians. In the early '90s, Sigurbjörn 'Bjössi' .orgrímsson was a pioneer of the modern electronic scene as a member of the old skool hardcore band Ajax, who for a short time counted Goldie as vocalist, and cemented his reputation for pushing the limits under his Biogen pseudonym. His musical creations weren't made to serve the past or the present, but the future.
Each release and concert offered something different. Concerts were supposed to be challenging and engaging. His releases were not easy to come by and often he'd sell his music on Laugavegur - to unsuspecting tourists intrigued by his Viking-like appearance or mesmerised by his big blue eyes. He was a friend and a mentor to many; in 1995 he was a founding member of Thule Records, and in 2007 one of the leading forces in the Weird-core movement, a group of artists focusing on the unconventional. He'd encourage young artists to release their music into the cosmos - to make mistakes and learn from them - and that wouldn't be done while sitting in a basement. Many have memories of their first gig, watching a tall and comforting figure hovering above everyone else in the crowd. That was him, and it happened rarely that he wasn't there.
A fair amount of tracks on 'Halogen Continues' are previously unreleased, or self-released in very small amounts. The music moves from 'Irrelevant Information' where Biogen illuminates on 'Stabastab" a mysterious international institute he dreamt up, originally on the 'Mutilyn' LP that he handmade and sold himself. It was an anti-LP, a non-linear album of drones, crackles and weirdness. 'Bliss' is from the 1996 double CD compilation entitled "Icelandic Dance Sampler' that he helped compile. '303 Ambient' one of the recent works of the "Weird-core" era - also a regular event showcasing abstract electronica. He was the front man of the movement; regularly performing in Reykjavik with shows included lots of break-beats and 303's.
His creativity and freedom from tradition have seen Biogen gathering appreciation as an artist with the passing of time, and are hand in hand with the concept of . The artwork by Tombo is inspired by the idea of eternity and reverence after death. Nina compiled the tracks much like other album journeys on - 'I was in the car driving in the middle of nowhere in Iceland when I heard Biogen's music for the first time. Dramatic weather conditions outside probably influenced that instant emotional connection that I had with his music. Later navigating through a large archive of his recordings it took me some time until the album took form. I picked the most idiosyncratic cuts that show his creative approach most brightly. Some of them are short cuts ending obnoxiously with a lot of temper and others gorgeous atmospheric narratives - so deep and haunting that it feels like they are not familiar with a notion of time and dissolve slowly into the eternity. It's been an honour and felt exciting to have complied his work, a responsibility I feel keenly, and I hope he would like his music together in this album.'
Biogen's friend the Icelandic musician Ruxpin (Jonas Gudmundsson) who has worked to collect together Biogen's musical legacy through his DAT recordings and hard drives, and kindly granted Nina access to the files, provided much of the text for the press release. Following the album release of 'Halogen Continues', a further album of Biogen's ambient and experimental works will be released on GALAXIID later this year.

BBE Music is excited to present the long awaited, eponymous debut album from the USA/UK partnership of JTronius and Maverick Quest, aka Sons of the Sun. Delivered remotely following a chance meeting on music-tech networking app ‘Brapp’, the ingenious pair sent files back and forth between Texas and South East London to manifest their shared vision for ‘Sons of the Sun’. Remarkably, the duo are still yet to meet in person. A respected solo artist knighted by Bootsy Collins as an official ‘funkateer,’ Berklee College graduate JTronius is an extravagant entertainer, entrepreneur and lifestyle brand. Self-dubbed The Guvna of the Galaxy, he brings his swaggy, soulful style to all his endeavours. He has shared stages with LL Cool J, The Roots, Talib Kweli, Pharrell, Busta Rhymes and Damian Marley and is an accomplished actor, appearing in a number of successful Hollywood feature films. Genre-blending record producer and multi-instrumentalist Maverick Quest grew up immersed in the aesthetic of hip hop. But in an environment where flipping loops from vinyl was standard, developing his musicianship to create his own sounds was radical, a move that paved the way for his signature sonic. He has previously performed with and produced for Guru, Grandmaster Flash, Ice T, Ibibio Sound Machine, Solo Rosa and Portico Quartet to name but a few, and is firmly rooted in the epicentre of the burgeoning South East London jazz movement. Sons of the Sun’s debut long player features a host of luminary guests and musicians from all over the globe, including guitarist Dai Miyazaki (Bilal, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Tye Tribbett), keyboard player and vocalist Matt Cusson (Christina Aguilera, Brian McKnight), singer Ayesha Brooks (The Voice, Season 6), saxophonist & flautist Jelani M. Brooks (Ghost Note, RC & The Gritz, Erykah Badu), Boston rapper Madame Cruz and Scottish horn collective The Brasscats, among many others. Mixed by Grammy-nominated Clinton “Ubiquity” McCreery and mastered at Grammy-awarded studio The Carvery, this album inks an impressive first chapter in the story of Sons of the Sun.

This is a high-octane tribute to jungle, footwork
and bass beats, with a BPM that rarely drops
below 150BPM and studded with names key to all
genres.
 It respects both the birth of the scene, with
inclusions like the late legend DJ Rashad and
former footwork dancer RP Boo, as well as its
current locality, pointing to a trio of uber cool US
producers in New York’s AceMo and Kush Jones,
and Miami-based duo INVT.
 Fellow Londoners Tim Reaper and Worldwide
Epidemic take in the latest of the UK scene, along
with label Time Tunnel who deliver remixes of
tracks from the glory days of rave.
 Driven, proudly black, gay and outspoken,
SHERELLE co-runs the established jungle label
Hooversound, while 2021 saw her launching new
label Beautiful, a platform for supporting black and
LGBTQI+ artists.

Next up on oge's main imprint is Giorgio Maulini, four cuts for the dancefloor

The gala evening at the Paris Opera on December 19, 1958 was announced in the press as "the greatest show in the world". Maria Callas, at the height of her glory, performed for the first time in front of a Parisian audience. The diva delivered all the facets of her art through the Italian classics that she loved, with the theatrical genius that is proper to her. Paris gave her a triumphant evening!

The original recording of this evening, broadcast in Eurovision throughout Europe, has been newly restored with the greatest care.

Presentation by Benoît Duteurtre, novelist, essayist and music critic.

Excerpts from Norma by Bellini
Excerpts from Il Trovatore by Verdi
Excerpts from Il Barbiere di Seviglia by Rossini
Complete second act of Tosca by Puccini

MASSIMO NAPOLI is a DJ from Catania with a passion for jazz and black music. He began his musical career in the early 90s playing funk, hip hop, and acid jazz in clubs, contributing to the spreading of the most eclectic and refined sounds in Sicily.

Departing from club culture with particular emphasis on electronic dub, Galathea unfolds into many influences and styles, making it a unique listening experience. Mediterranean culture, afro and cinematic melodies, jazz, spiritual echoes, and soothing beats lead the listener into a subliminal escape, where the fluidity and the convergence of genres freely progress intoa dream-like journey.


b A2: Afrique (Vocal Video Version) feat. Kadi Koulibaly

Electronic musician Xopher Davidson will release ‘Lux Perpetua’ this year via Daydream Library Series. A noted protége of Maryanne Amacher, Xopher recorded these two tracks in 2020 utilizing vintage synths within the beloved music studios of Mills College in Oakland, California. Xopher builds his experiments in electronic sound from a basis in painting, photography, and film, and through an interest in electronic circuits going back to building radios and homemade circuits as a kid. He has built and explored the sound world of a homebrew modular synthesizer comprised of surplus laboratory equipment: various oscillators, pulse generators, filters and an 'analog computer. He has released 4 albums as ANTIMATTER : ‘Transfixion’, ‘Antimatter Vs. Antimatter’, ‘Our Lady of the Skies’, and ‘Reset’. As an audio engineer, Davidson has worked on projects composed / performed by: the League of Automatic Composers, John Cage, Marcel Duchamp, Subtropic, Diamanda Galas, Kid 606, DJ Rupture, Darwin's Bitch, Once 11, Mix MasterMike, Hans Grusel, Phoenecia, Jonah Sharp, We, Zbigniew Karkowski, and Iannis Xenakis

WAR’s head-nodding mix of music and message started a revolution 50 years ago that continues to win over the hearts and hips of fans around the world. “Greatest Hits 2.0” will be available 29th October and is a new, career-spanning collection that expands on WAR’s platinum-certified 1976 greatest hits album, featuring the legendary songs “Spill The Wine,” “Low Rider,” “Galaxy,” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

WAR’s “Greatest Hits 2.0” 2LP contains 20 tracks, 2CD contains 24 tracks recorded between 1970 and 1994, including the gold-certified singles “Slipping Into Darkness,” “The World Is A Ghetto,” “The Cisco Kid,” and “Summer.” Another gold single, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” stayed on the charts for 31 weeks and became the soundtrack to the US-Soviet space mission where astronauts and cosmonauts linked up in the spirit of friendship. In the modern era, it has been streamed more than 100 million times. Also included is the #1 R&B smash “Low Rider,” which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

In the collection’s liner notes, Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano says GREATEST HITS 2.0 does more than capture WAR at its creative and commercial peaks. He writes: “All the big hits are here, of course, in chronological order from the Eric Burdon days up through cuts from 1982’s underrated Outlaw…But what I love about this collection is that it’s a symphonic suite for a perfect Southern California Sunday afternoon, the kind the rest of the world wants to experience but can only dream about. You can envision it by playing these albums from start to finish.”

All Detroit Techno, taken from the album DnA

After a monster year for Vince Watson, with releases on Get Physical, Tronic, SushiTech, All Day I Dream alongside his own Everysoul Audio and a host of remixes, he now ends 2021 brining his label’s biggest and most adventurous release to date: ‘DnA reSequenced’.

After the massive response to his 18 track ‘DnA’ album in 2019, Vince had a vision of having some of the tracks remixed by his favourite Detroit ‘flavoured’ artists from the 3 places that musically have made it all possible for him: Scotland, Amsterdam, Detroit.

So it is with great pleasure that Everysoul can announce remixes by none other than Carl Craig, Claude Young, John Beltran, Jon Dixon, Shawn Rudiman, Stephen Lopkin, Steve Rachmad and Stephen Brown.

Planet E boss Carl Craig is no stranger to Vince’s work, having released 4 of his singles on Planet E and previously remixing his track ‘It’s Not Over’. His remix of ‘Holographic’ takes the heavy synth lines into typical C2 remix territory, building and building with layers into a crescendo.

Jon Dixon may be one of Detroit’s rising stars as a solo artist, but as a band member of Underground Resistance and Timeline, he plays with some of the best Detroit Techno groups around: Galaxy2Galaxy and is a classically trained pianist. Jon’s releases over the last few years now showcase his personal styles and Vince was desperate to work with him, with a keen respect for his musicianship. His Remix of

John Beltran has been one of Vince’s favourite producers for over 25 years and his Pan Am remix is a journey of blissful Beltran fusion styles.

Claude Young takes his remix into a completely new and different direction, moving from the Electro of the original into an experimental masterpiece, respecting the tricky chord programming of the original and adapting into sounds that only Claude Young is able to extract.

Steve Rachmad is one of Vince’s closest allies in Amsterdam and having worked together on many projects over the years, Steve was the first name on the list. His 4/4 edition of Second Wave takes the deep Detroit chords and harmonies into a much darker and groovier direction, with early Transmat character and the funk that Steve Rachmad is known for.

Shawn Rudiman’s remix is a no nonsense straight to the floor banger, taking all the elements of the original into a much more streamlined and live improv version for the floor rather than the head.

Stephen Lopkin is one of Vince’s favourite Scottish producers and his remix takes the original into his own unique style and identity. The original had very unique chord progressions and timing and Lopkin was able to successfully extend this to make it even more complex but with a seamless flow that keeps the groove flowing.

Stephen Brown is also a top Scottish producer who Vince has been supporting and spinning for over 20 years, and his remix of Immersion removes the fluffy jazzy elements from the original and opts directly for the dancefloor, taking Immersion into new territory.

DnA

IMPORTANT NOTE: UNFORTUNATELY THE SIDES ARE REVERSED ON THE VINYL, I.E. THE A-SIDE IS THE B-SIDE AND VICE VERSA. WITH THE PURCHASE OF THE VINYL OR THE CD YOU WILL GET THE SINGLE MP3 FILES AS WELL AS A CONTINOUS MIX VIA E-MAIL.

With the cover artwork for Pop Ambient 2022, longtime KOMPAKT graphic artist Veronika Unland has once again outdone herself. Following the almost baroque, blood-red and jet-black, extremely physical sculptures of Pop Ambient 2021, which emerged from a dark, floral sea like bodies erect for dancing, the front of 2022 is adorned with a pastel-white form, intertwined, folded many times and crisscrossed with delicate shading, which seems to float on a pale pink background; soft, gentle waves woven from Venetian colors that leave the viewer puzzled: Is it a flower, a coral, a mollusk?

Again, the current edition of the tradition-steeped compilation series curated by Wolfgang Voigt is about the persistent and ever-necessary definition of beauty, of reduction, of electronic music of heavy lightness and light heaviness, of ambient's eternal promise of a state of physical and acoustic weightlessness and Pop's of redemption. And about the question why a never arbitrary combination of soundscape, drones, samples and loops, put together in a certain way, can create this feeling of warmth, depth and space, - something three-dimensional, where the imagination feels at home as a fish in the water or a bird in the sky. A key aesthetic stimulus that sends all the senses into a slow glide and drift, after which your synapses feel like they've been bathed in essential oil. Next to Soul, Ambient is probably the most effective musical healing plant of mankind.

Behind the aural test tubes, the who's who of Pop Ambient is once again at work, led for the first time by the highly trafficked Californian duo Blank Gloss, whose debut album "Melt" this year was certified by The Guardian as nothing less than "heartaching beauty". Yui Onodera's "Chrome" as well as "Kari", a cooperation of Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth, could also be imagined in the score of Denis Villeneuve's new film version of DUNE - however, colleague Hans Zimmer managed that quite well without the three. After such wonderful and stylish contributions by Reich & Würden, Triola and Thomas Fehlmann, the ear then lingers a bit longer on the ghostly "Weiht" by Morgen Wurde feat. Maria Estrella, a track like a temple of sound, a deep electronic immersion in a Japanese onsen. In this sea of unnameable time you could sink forever, but with the tracks of Andrew Thomas, Thore Pfeiffer and Max Würden & Pepo Galán the journey slowly comes to an end.

Mit dem Cover-Artwork für Pop Ambient 2022 hat sich die langjährige KOMPAKT-Grafikerin Veronika Unland einmal mehr selbst übertroffen. Nach den geradezu barocken, in blutrot und tiefschwarz gehaltenen, äußerst physischen Formationen von Pop Ambient 2021, die wie zum Tanz aufgerichtete Körper aus einem dunklen, floralen Meer auftauchten, ziert die Vorderseite von 2022 eine pastell-weiße Skulptur, in sich verschlungen, vielfach gefaltet und von zarten Schattierungen durchzogen, die auf einem blass-rosa Hintergrund zu schweben scheint; weiche, sanfte Wellen aus venezianischen Farben gewebt, die dem Betrachter Rätsel aufgeben: Ist es eine Blüte, eine Koralle, eine Molluske?

Natürlich geht es auch in der aktuellen Ausgabe der traditionsreichen, von Wolfgang Voigt kuratierten Compilation-Reihe um die beharrliche und immer wieder notwendige Definition von Schönheit, von Reduktion, um elektronische Musik von schwerer Leichtigkeit und leichter Schwere, vom ewigen Versprechen des Ambient auf einen Zustand körperlicher und akustischer Schwerelosigkeit und dem von Pop auf Erlösung. Und um die Frage, warum eine nie beliebige Kombination aus Klangfläche, Drones, Samples und Loops, auf eine bestimmte Art zusammengefügt, dieses Gefühl von Wärme, Tiefe und Raum entstehen lassen kann, - etwas dreidimensionales, in dem die Fantasie sich so zuhause fühlt wie ein Fisch im Wasser oder ein Vogel in der Luft. Ein ästhetischer Schlüsselreiz, der alle Sinne in ein langsames Gleiten und Driften versetzt, wonach sich deine Synapsen wieder anfühlen, als habe man sie in ätherischem Öl gebadet. Neben Soul ist Ambient die wahrscheinlich wirksamste musikalische Heilpflanze der Menschheit.

Hinter den auralen Reagenzgläsern hantiert einmal mehr das Who-is-Who der kompaktschen Pop Ambient-Riege, erstmals angeführt vom hoch gehandelten kalifornischen Duo Blank Gloss, deren diesjähriges Debüt-Album “Melt” der englische Guardian nichts weniger als “herzergreifende Schönheit” bescheinigte. Yui Onodera’s “Chrome” sowie “Kari”, eine Kooperation von Markus Guentner und Joachim Spieth, könnte man sich auch gut im Score von Denis Villeneuve’s Neuverfilmung von DUNE vorstellen, - das hat der Kollege Hans Zimmer allerdings auch ohne die drei ganz gut hinbekommen. Nach so wundervollen wie stilsicheren Beiträgen von Reich & Würden, Triola und Thomas Fehlmann verharrt das Ohr dann etwas länger beim geisterhaften “Weiht” von Morgen Wurde feat. Maria Estrella-Weiht, ein Track wie ein Tempel aus Klang, ein tiefes elektronisches Eintauchen in einen japanischen Onsen. In diesem Meer aus unnennbarer Zeit könnte man ewig versinken, doch mit den Tracks von Andrew Thomas, Thore Pfeiffer und Max Würden & Pepo Galán geht die Reise langsam zu Ende.