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“For Today” is a timeless album—a sonic journey that seamlessly blends electronic influences, Trip-Hop, Folk, Indie Rock,
and Psychedelia.
It unfolds like an immersive soundscape, rich in complex atmospheres, experimental textures, and a deep emotional
undercurrent. Agosta has envisioned a record that transcends trends and market conventions, crafting a cinematic, soulstirring experience that fuses the intensity of trip-hop, the purity of folk, and the swirling colours of psychedelia.
The result is music that stimulates the intellect as much as it stirs the heart. With a delicate, refined touch and melodic
depth, Agosta combines contemporary sounds with vintage warmth, pairing poetic lyrics with themes of love, introspection,
and the human experience.
A standout element of “For Today” is the presence of five tracks featuring female performers and writers. This
intergenerational collaboration brings a richness of perspective and emotional range to the album. Far from a simple gesture
of gender inclusion, it serves as an authentic integration of diverse voices, offering new layers of sensitivity and storytelling.
Where Agosta’s previous work leaned more toward instrumental composition, here the inclusion of female voices adds
lyrical nuance and depth. These contributions explore themes such as love, identity, relationships, and personal liberation—
offering a poetic yet grounded lens through which to experience the album’s contemporary sound.
In essence, “For Today” is a mature and cohesive work that defies the boundaries of traditional genres, creating a unique
and resonant sonic world.
Each track explores a different emotional and musical dimension, with meticulous attention to sound design and a clear
desire for emotional experimentation. The album balances the introspective depth of trip-hop with the lightness and
spirituality of folk, weaving in modern pop elements and touches of psychedelia and groove.
The result is a compelling, emotionally charged, and genre-blending experience—one that invites listeners not only to hear,
but to feel.
An absolute must-listen!

On September 26th, 2025, two decades and seven albums into his career, American musician, composer, and academic John Maus will release his most transcendent work yet: Later Than You Think. Arriving via his new label YOUNG, the album explores themes of grief, justice, rebirth, transformation, and spiritual warfare - coalescing into a work of confession and confrontation: an aural metaphysics where affect, intellect, and spirit converge in search of the beautiful, the truth and the real. Written, produced, and recorded in the Ozarks of Southwest Missouri, Later Than You Think spans 16 tracks and contains multitudes - the lush and the bare, the sacred and the profane, minimalist discipline and maximalist indulgence, counterpoint and simple pop harmony. At its core, the album reaffirms John Maus’ commitment to radical sincerity and emotional truth in an age of alienation. Powered by confrontation, faith and transformation - driven by the urgent belief that meaning still matters, and time is of the essence. Holding a degree in experimental music from CalArts and a PhD in political science from the University of Hawaii, Maus has been dubbed a “philosopher pop star” and “analog futurist” for the way he merges academic rigor with lo-fi synth-pop aesthetics. His influence spans genres and generations—from UK grime icon Skepta, who sampled his track “I’m Only Human,” and Gen-Z rapper nettspend, to filmmaker Josh Safdie, actor Natasha Lyonne, and photographer Wolfgang Tillmans. His track “Cop Killer” features in the 2025 film Friendship, underscoring his continued relevance across high and low culture. With five previous albums under his belt - Songs (2006), Love Is Real (2007), We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011), Screen Memories (2017) and Addendum (2018) - Maus has carved out a singular path where irony, grief, joy, and absurdity can coexist and gained a cult following along the way. On Late r Than You Think Maus doesn’t just return—he confronts, confesses, and transforms. The result is not only a career-defining work, but a rare artistic offering: one that dares to believe in meaning, beauty, and the possibility of transcendence

Introducing Nazareno (Argentina) – Making waves straight out of South America, Nazareno marks his arrival on the global stage with a powerful debut on Unearthed Records. Known for his raw energy, deep musicality, and forward-thinking sound design, this release not only introduces his artistry to the world but also celebrates a milestone: his first-ever vinyl pressing. With this record, Nazareno captures the spirit of Argentina’s underground while pushing boundaries into new sonic territory – a statement of what’s to come.

C.A.R. (Choosing Acronyms Randomly) is the musical project of Chloé Raunet, a Canadian-born, London-based artist known for her icy synths, warm vocals, and left-field pop sensibility. Drawing from post-punk, electro, and experimental songwriting, she creates music that’s both emotionally charged and sonically adventurous.

Following a five-year hiatus, C.A.R. returns with Shyana, the first single from her long-awaited fourth album, Dance at Oscar’s. Produced by Nathan Ridley, the release marks a creative rebirth: a new label, a new live formation with Joni Green, and a sound pulsing with revitalised energy. After a pandemic-induced break to focus on filmmaking — and a period of burnout and disillusionment — Raunet was ready to walk away from music altogether. But a pair of carried-over festival dates and an impromptu onstage reunion with longtime friend Joni Green unexpectedly reignited the spark. What was meant to be a farewell became the start of something new.

Shyana is a shimmering slice of machine-funk — a warped and groovy tribute to Paul Anka, filtered through C.A.R.’s surreal pop lens. A meditation on teen hysteria, pop manufacture, and the strange alchemy of early fame, the track pulses with wonky elegance and strutting confidence. One of the most playful cuts from Dance at Oscar’s, it showcases Nathan Ridley’s tight, swaggering production while capturing the album’s embrace of movement, humour, and the weirdness of cultural nostalgia.

On the B-side, Cecilia Road offers a more reflective counterpoint — a nostalgic, synth-drenched ballad built around a call-and-response vocal, throbbing melodies, and emotional tension. Intimate yet expansive, it hints at vulnerability without losing the pulse.

Artwork by Chloé Raunet, Craig Richards and Oliver Hupfau.

12th Isle ready the first of many new releases after a break over the first half of 2025. Radx is a new collaborative endeavour between label artists X.Y.R. and Vlad Dobrovolski (½ of S A D) exploring a shared appreciation of vintage 80s & 90s synthesisers, ambient-adjacent furniture music and, er, dragons. Referencing the electronica of artists such as Kim Cascone/Hydrosphere as well as the sci-fi literature of Michael Swanwick where dragons act as living machines, the pair combine various synthesis models, pedals and samplers for an album that sits somewhere firmly between each of their solo works. From the cathedralic ascension of ‘Heavenly Shepherd of Silence’ to the back-room bean bag swirls of ‘Ovgo’s Etheric Mind’ and dense, jungle-like humidity of ‘Liminal Space’, the more ambient-leaning end of the catalogue is built upon further.

On point, until it hurts. With a decade-spanning discography, several bands and half of SHXCXCHCXSH this restless creator presents himself. SSTROM embodies the calmly bold. Building a version of the modern disco that nobody asked for. SSTROM is the capsule that shocks and comforts, gathers and spark a new thought. The robust shell acts as a camouflage for the wild and wicked bleakness of the music he produces. If the contemporary club urge could be described as a helmet waiting to brake this experience is what you are after; surprising, uplifting and changing. With 'Avvik' SSTROM carves out 6 somatically clear scenes articulating diverse textures, densities and states of aggregation. The constructions evolves as fractious rhythms strives for another order. Trial and errors bungys droughty, moist, stiff and tensile. Sstrom forces us to flicker in twitches between layers and dimensions beyond the given three.

GET OUT OF HERE!

Zarkoff brings it all:

– A cry to battle
– An ode to the abyss
– A sacriligious chant

INVOLUCIJA recruits vocalist & poet Zarkoff from Sumerian Fleet to deliver razor-sharp justice. You can label it EBM, industrial techno or even futuristic math-rock – we just call it Balkan Body Music.

“And after a line, another line” (Serbo-Croatian: I poslije linije, linija) is a flippant reference to Yugoslvia’s nostalgic lament ‘And after Tito – Tito!’ Oh how the ethical goalposts of the past are moved, again and again.

As Zarkoff warns: don’t turn your back on the golden youth!

/// Berlin labels aufnahme + wiedergabe and INVOLUCIJA·ORG connect again for another split-label release // INVOLUCIJA is an experimental post-industrial collaboration with artists from ex-Yugoslavian countries, started by Michel Morin (Sneak-Thief / Polygamy Boys) and Lucija Invo. ///

Mysticisms' is delighted to reissue Nail's timeless debut release, Cassiopeia. Appearing on the DiY Collective's 'Strictly 4 Groovers' compilation album for Warp Records in 1993, the original appears as a stand alone at last and is backed with a specially created 2019 Remix.
Starting in 1989 and centered around Nottingham, the collective, also known as DiY Sound System, were a focal point for the burgeoning house scene in the midlands. Promoting an alternative take on post-acid house's creeping commercialisation, DiY kept to simple ethos of good music and a good party and were at the forefront of the new Free Party movement.
Alongside parties, the collective set up a studio and label and young Neil Tolliday was introduced by in-house engineer Damian Stanley. 'Nail' was born and during studio downtime, the 18 year old wrote Cassiopeia around the S1000 sampler, Juno 106, Oberheim Matrix 1000 and Roland SH101.
Cassiopeia became the stand out inclusion on the compilation and rightly, is still highly prized. Fitting in and outside the Deep House vibe DiY were known, it fuses elements of ambient and even trance, with a beautiful arpeggio and vocal sample atop simple, but killer bass line and claps. Tolliday's 2019 Remix is a fitting accompaniment, stretching towards dub techno before house kicks back perfectly for today's heads.
Bounce the Mystery.

New compilation by Coco Maria on her own new founded imprint Club Coco. Comes with a 4 page folded insert.

There are albums that aren’t just listened to—they’re lived in. Club Coco – New Dimensions in Latin Music is one of them. This compilation, curated by Coco María, marks the first release on her own label and serves as a sonic portrait of what Latin music can become when it’s guided by intuition rather than labels. Eleven tracks open the windows and cross continents as effortlessly as changing a song. Here, Neapolitan synthesizers coexist with digital cumbias, voices whisper from within the groove, and rhythms invite movement—without urgency or pretense.

This selection isn’t defined by a genre but by a feeling: that of someone dancing with an open heart and keen ears. Each track is a postcard from a corner of the world, and also a love letter to rhythm and the emotions it stirs. From Bogotá to Naples, passing through Lima, Amsterdam, and New York, this compilation offers a journey where past and future brush against each other in the present moment. Club Coco doesn’t aim to define a sonic truth, but to invite listeners to discover new ways of hearing and feeling.

The party has already started. Come on in.

Swiss label keepitgoing. returns with La Buena Muerte, a three-tracker uniting Ricardo Villalobos & Washington Miranda, Siddhartha, and Wata with Jorge González of Los Updates — a cross-section of Chile’s most vital electronic voices brought together on one record.

The EP opens with Bajo Tierra – Mis Juguetes, a ten-minute drift of slow-burning minimalism where Villalobos’ elastic modular textures and patient rhythmic detail entwine with Miranda’s hypnotic vocal, processed and stretched into new shapes and forms — a continuation of the deep, organic dialogues the pair first explored on De Cada Uno in 2022. On the flip, Siddhartha – Poema 4 slides into minimal electro and broken beat territory, sparse yet restless. Razor-sharp drums and pulsing bass unfold through dynamic structures that thrives on tension and space where a menacing voice cuts through with insistence. Closing the record, Wata – El Soul de Los Que Sobran (feat. Jorge González) brings González’s unmistakable voice into Wata’s playful framework, a looser, rather light-hearted cut where percussion and gentle melodies expand the palette and connect the EP back to Chile’s rich electronic lineage.

With artwork by Damian Schopf, brother of Martin Schopf aka Dandy Jack, La Buena Muerte stands as a collective statement of Chilean experimentalism — free of borders, rooted in collaboration, and tuned for the floor.

Odessey One is probably one of the hottest, most appreciated and sought-after bands when it comes to caribbean funky Disco and Boogie music from Trinidad and Tobago.
These super talented musicians recorded a few incredibly good grooves in the Caribbean Sound Studio in the early 80s, which were long considered lost or very hard to find.
It was a bunch of friends around the composer, guitarist and singer Arnold Shuffler, like Nicholas Rostant, Carla Fauche and Colleen Grant, who came together in Port of Spain for a few jam sessions as a studioband.
Only a handful of vinyl copies were pressed from the tapes at KH studios pressing plant, which did not have much airplay at the time.
Sound Essence is more than happy about a renewed collaboration with mastermind Arnold Shuffler and to present this soulful island, disco, boogie synth funk to the music-lovers
community worldwide!

An elusive cult gem resurfaces through Glossy Mistakes. Originally released in 1986, L'Empire Des Sons is an otherworldly blend of synth pop, folk experimentation, and cinematic percussive layers-dreamlike, poetic, and wildly ahead of its time. L'Empire Des Sons was a fleeting yet powerful transmission from the fringes of the French underground-an album that blurred genre lines and evaded easy classification. Fusing experimental folk, lo-fi synth pop, and avant-garde textures, the record exists in its own sonic universe: poetic, layered, and fiercely independent. Formed in Saint-Étienne by percussionist and composer Dominique Lentin (Dagon, Fille Qui Mousse) and first-time vocalist Bipé Redon, L'Empire Des Sons emerged from the vibrant DIY spirit of the early 1980s. Their paths crossed during the interdisciplinary project L'Opéra Quotidien, and what followed was an intuitive, deeply collaborative process. "I would bring in lyrics and my voice," Bipé recalled, "and Dominique would shape the music around the atmosphere or rhythm suggested by the words." The result is a collection of songs that feel both meticulously constructed and completely free. Ethnic percussion, marimbas, xylophones, and synthesizers dance around Bipé's surreal, fragmented lyrics-little sonic postcards from imagined worlds. There's a theatricality here, but it never feels forced; rather, it's playful, intimate, and raw. Despite their inventiveness, L'Empire Des Sons remained a well-kept secret-circulating only in select avant-garde circles and eventually becoming an extremely sought-after collector's item. Now, thanks to Glossy Mistakes, this lost artifact returns to the world with new life: remastered from the original tapes, pressed on vinyl for the first time with extended liner notes. L'Empire Des Sons was never meant to be boxed in. Like the quote from Brian Eno that opens their liner notes-"For the world to be interesting, you have to be manipulating it all the time"-their music resists stasis. It evolves, shifts, surprises. And now, it finally gets the audience it always deserved.

Leeds-based producer Nathan Alexander kicks off KUJE's debut release with PROFETIA EP, a bold four-tracker that drips personality and club-focused energy.
A rising name turning heads from the likes of Blasha & Allatt and NIX, Nathan brings his signature blend of cheeky rhythms and weighty low-end to the table. KUJE001 proudly marks the first chapter of the label's journey, dedicated to unearthing raw, unfiltered talent.
The A-side delivers serious impact: Bound is a propulsive dancefloor tool built for DJs, while Rabbit Hole hits hard with distorted effects and a Blawan-esque edge. On the flip, Tracer floats into spacey, bounding territory with a touch of psychedelic energy, already picking up early support. Closing the release is Technical Itch, a UK-rooted banger that ties together the artist's heritage with the label's forward-thinking intent.
Each track carries Nathan's unmistakable character-playful, punchy, and irresistibly 2-steppable. This is techno with a wink, made for sweat-soaked floors and heads-down moments alike.

MCRV017 – Transient States. Feedback is an evocative four-track compilation that captures the deep essence of dub techno—equally suited for the dancefloor and for immersive, focused listening. Label veterans Eric Louis, Genning, Osman Oz, SUBMINIMAL (with a Tvardovsky remix), and Etzu Mahkayah all contribute. From the very first listen, the EP draws in discerning ears with its richness and detail.

Each track unfolds smoothly, evoking deep emotional textures and building a sensuous, introspective atmosphere. The release moves from subtle cues to vast sonic terrains, weaving through warm harmonics and resonant low-end thumps that captivate the body as much as the mind.

These tracks are ideal for transitional moments in a DJ set, yet stand strong on their own. Whether elevating the narrative arc, introducing mid-set tension, or closing a journey with emotional depth, each piece functions as a zealous tool for navigating sensation—crafted not just for movement, but for lasting memory.

Transient States exudes quiet power beneath a deliberate veil of restraint. Emotionally charged, sonically rich, and full of nuance, this release is a standout addition to any selector’s arsenal.

Limited edition

Drummer-composer Tom Skinner announces Kaleidoscopic Visions, his second solo album, out 26th September 2025 via Brownswood Recordings and International Anthem

Kaleidoscopic Visions unfolds across two distinct sonic landscapes. Side A presents entirely instrumental compositions performed by Skinner's live Bishara band—bassist Tom Herbert, cellist Kareem Dayes, and Robert Stillman and Chelsea Carmichael on various woodwinds and reeds—with electric guitar on two tracks courtesy of Portishead's Adrian Utley. A drummer-composer bringing his wealth of experience to bear on the role of bandleader, Skinner composed primarily on guitar, embracing the freedom that came with writing on his secondary instrument.
These compositions include "Auster," dedicated to late novelist Paul Auster, and "Margaret Anne," which honours Skinner's mother Anne Shasby, a former classical concert pianist prodigy who abandoned her own promising career in the face of systemic misogyny, only to impart on her son what Skinner calls "the gift of music."

Skinner’s musical world opens further on Side B, where a collection of poised vocal collaborations stretch out from jazz and improvisation towards a more dream-like, soulful sound. The centerpiece is "The Maxim," a ten-minute collaboration with Grammy Award-winning Meshell Ndegeocello, a dubby, spacious meditation on life and death, delivered with a free-spirited grace. For Skinner, working with Ndegeocello—whom he first saw at Glastonbury as a teenager in 1994—represents a full-circle moment, indicative of the indirect paths and inspirational detours that have shaped his life.
The album goes on to feature South Carolina-based singer Contour (Khari Lucas) who appears on the low-lit soul ballad ‘Logue’, and closes with ‘See How They Run’, featuring London keyboardist-vocalist Yaffra (Jonathan Geyevu). It is the album’s most overtly lyrical track, an articulate exposition of jazz-inflected spoken word that speaks not only to the genre-fluid nature of the music but the breadth of Skinner’s palette.
This should come as no surprise. On Kaleidoscopic Visions, one of London’s most vital musical figures gives us a sparkling glimpse of the multi-coloured lens through which his unique sound is now refracting.

Shhh. The command to be quiet is not just part of the title of one of the two sprawling compositions on this pioneering album. It's also an apt metaphor for the relaxed hypnotism and spaced-out atmosphere that define In a Silent Way, a record that pushes the boundaries of studio possibilities, artist-producer relationships, and rock-jazz chasms. Recognized as Miles Davis' first full-on fusion effort and part of his "electric" era, the 1969 landmark claims a Who's Who line-up that sends the music into an ethereal stratosphere.

Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI, this unsurpassed 180g LP edition lifts the veil on the cutting-edge assembly process that created the pair of lengthy suites. Helmed by three electric instruments, the bevelled compositions melt away all preconceived notions of "jazz," ˜rock," and "ambience," following a loose theory Davis dubbed "New Directions."

Few albums are so delicately textured. And on Mobile Fidelity's meticulous reissue, such sulcate elements pour over ink-black backgrounds on a canyon-wide soundstage. In particular, Tony Williams' inventive percussive touch – he causes the cymbals to shimmer as a pieces of silver tend to do when exposed to sunlight – is broadcast with lifelike three-dimensional qualities, the panoramic view extending to Davis' nocturnal trumpet, Wayne Shorter's ribbon-unfurling saxophone, Dave Holland's extrapolative bass, and the mosaic of keys.

If the record's only accomplishment is its introduction of guitarist John McLaughlin to the world, it alone would be enough. Yet In a Silent Way continues to bedazzle, puzzle, and inspire for myriad reasons – not the least of which is the seemingly telepathic communicative methods employed by the group's members. The line-up is great on paper, but, if it's even possible, the octet sounds even better in practice, with the instruments and tonalities conjoining in avant-garde communion like hyper-sensitive tentacles exploring the stippled landscapes of an undiscovered planet.

Diverting from expectation, tubular grooves twist, turn, and spin, sometimes piling atop of each other, always shying away from structure and melody. Ellipsoidal solos provide hesitant guidance, ranging from Chick Corea's Fender Rhodes phrases to Davis' decorative spirals. And as colour is the primary unit of currency on Davis' Sketches of Spain, laid-back episodes, geometric spaces, and quiet sensuality reign here, with the set's maverick reputation attained via musings on solitude rather than explosions of noise.


Controversial for the period, the heavily edited production of In a Silent Way blew open the once-locked doors on what producer's could attempt – and how artists could assist them. Knitted together as one would construct a cross-hatched quilt, songs contain grafts of repeat passages that provide unifying structure and experimental continuity. What a statement.

Gwenan Spearing, known for her perceptive, groove-oriented DJ sets, and more recently as a live performer working with hardware improvisation, launches a new imprint, Phase Space, with Degrees of Freedom, a debut album diving deep into generative electronics, modular systems, and real-time response. Composed and recorded in 2019-2020, the album treats constraint as creative fuel, floating between ambient,
sonic sculpture, and improvisation, mapping Gwenan’s path from rural Wales to Berlin’s outer zones of experimental sound.
Sync opens with a theme on a slow triangle wave, expanding the space as it evolves. Some Pluck explores generative counterpoint using LFOs and Euclidean rhythms. Generator I unfolds in an oscillating time where keyboard and bass circuits cross-modulate. Sleep Pressure is a lullaby for grown-ups, capturing that eerie threshold before sleep, followed by Loper, where time flows fluid and unstable. The closer, Generator II, holds machine heartbeats in delicate equilibrium before unraveling into graceful decay, a soft farewell. (That’s the Universe waving.) Degrees of Freedom is algorithmic music with a pulse: visceral, hand-wired, and built for deep listening.

Hot Piroski Boss Robin 12Tree Beams Back with “Interstellar Vibes Vol. 1” A Balearic Odyssey in 5 Tracks.. Strap in and sunscreen up - Robin 12Tree is back with Interstellar Vibes Vol. 1, a scorching 5-track EP of cosmic Nu Disco and Balearic goodness inspired by strobe lights, sunsets and surfside odysseys. Opening blast The Wriggler is a peaktime disco/house rocket, all teasing arps and synth liftoffs. Feelin Free glides into deeper territory, with lush strings giving nods to deep house royalty. Then comes Who Will Heal Us, a slo-mo sunset serenade featuring new Barcelona rising soul queen, MaYa. Things get extra-terrestrial with Need You In My Life, a deep-house jam born from a Barcelona afters with Soul Mekanik’s Danny Mekanik. Finally, Tupambame brings us gently back to Earth, dripping sunshine and jazzy warmth thanks to Tanzanian vocalist Miss Vivandra. Robin 12Tree launched Hot Piroski from his Barcelona bunker in 2018, scoring early BBC Radio 1 love with his N’Gwode edit. His studio passport is stamped by the likes of Jose Padilla, Stanton Warriors, Visage, Keith Flint and more. Whether as one half of Bubble Club, founder of The Backstage Sluts, or Slyde co-pilot, he’s brought Balearic vibes to Fabric, Bugged Out!, and far-flung festivals from Australia to South America - often as The Prodigy’s tour DJ. Check out this latest release from the man with disco in his blood and chorizo in his lunchbox… Interstellar Vibes Vol. 1 will be released in digital stores from July 14th with vinyl availability from July 30th.

The Block E.P. by A.J. Sound is the alias of two heavyweights in the scene, Arthur Smith (Artwork) and John Kennedy (Big Apple Records). First released in 1995 this blend of Techno and Acid is getting a much-deserved reissue and remaster for its 30 year anniversary. This widely desired release is a masterpiece of minimal techno. Basemental a track thrashed by Laurent Garnier for years, so much that it featured on his "Laboratoire Mix". This feature brought even more attention to this rare release. Copies on the second hand market are being sold at £40 and even more. Now Decoy Records are treating us to this much needed reissue for collectors and DJ’s alike who weren’t favoured enough the first time round to grab a copy for themselves.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce Melopea, presenting two new pieces highlighting the incredible voice of Amelia Cuni (1958-2024), the great Italian singer, based in Berlin in later life, whose mastery of the classical Indian dhrupad developed in parallel with a commitment to contemporary experimental approaches. After two stunning archival releases documenting traditional dhrupad performances in India in the 1990s (BT079 and BT092), the two side-long pieces here embody the freedom with which Cuni explored new contexts and settings for her singing.

Both make use of a long recording of Cuni singing the pentatonic Raag Bhoop (or Bhopali) made in 2012 by her partner Werner Durand in Berlin. ‘Melopea’ began from Cuni and Durand’s superimposition of this recording with violinist Silvia Tarozzi and cellist Deborah Walker’s performance of Éliane Radigue’s ‘Occam River II’. Inspired by the beauty of this chance encounter (and other experiments with non-synchronous collaboration during the pandemic years), Tarozzi and Walker recorded independently, without hearing Cuni’s voice but ‘having her present in memory’. Tarozzi and Walker’s bowed strings places Cuni’s magisterial performance in a new context, emphasising, as Radigue commented upon hearing the initial layering of her piece with Cuni’s voice, a shared ‘searching toward the partials, overtones, these natural constituents of acoustical sounds in their richness’. Beginning with whispered bowed harmonics, the violin and cello swap the stability of dhrupad’s traditional tanpura drone for a slowly evolving, uneasy web of harmonic interactions recalling some of Harley Gaber’s work, sometimes sitting on dissonances for long periods or allowing changing interference patterns to come to the fore. Primarily focusing on her lower register, Cuni’s performance demonstrates her mastery of microtonal pitch subtleties, elegant sweeping glissandi and meditatively unhurried pacing.

The continuation of the same recording by Cuni forms the foundation of ‘Bhoop-Murchana’, with Anthea Caddy on cello and Werner Durand on soprano saxophone. In contrast to the randomised layering of the first piece, here Durand and Caddy have carefully selected pitches based on the raag Cuni sings, using the ‘Murchana’ form, which uses the constituent notes of the raag as tonics of new raags, retaining the same interval structure. Both players who have developed tones of striking depth and harmonic purity on their instruments, Caddy and Durand’s patient long tones are simultaneously rigorously grounded in the physical properties of sound and possessed of an immaterial, floating quality. Combined with Cuni’s voice and, near the piece’s end, her contributions on hammered and plucked tanpura, the effect borders on miraculous. To surrender to this music is like slipping into an onsen pool, feeling the instantaneous release of every tension. Accompanied by liner notes from Durand, Tarozzi and Walker, Melopea is both a moving tribute to the profound art of Amelia Cuni and, for the uninitiated, a perfect introduction to it.