Two years after he first appeared on Balmat with 1977, Mike Paradinas returns with 1979. The sense of continuity between the two records is clear, and not just from their titles. Both capture the Planet Mu head venturing into the wilderness, seeking something—half-formed memories, thoughts caught in midair—in some of the most abstract, searching music he has released.
Just like 1977, 1979 surveys a synth-heavy array of ethereal soundscapes, ominous crevasses, and strange, psychedelic fugues. Like its predecessor, the new album’s atmospheric cast sets it apart from much of the work Paradinas has released as μ-Ziq on Planet Mu. It’s not strictly an ambient record, but it’s close, as close as this famously mutable artist ever comes to inhabiting a particular genre.
Paradinas’ inspiration for the record began on visits to the Spanish cities of Ávila and Majadahona, where his family hails from. That might account for the sense that there are spirits flitting through this music, presences you can intuit if not quite grasp. But 1979 is also a record to meet on your own terms, and to find your own meanings in.
It’s a stunning record, every track a world unto itself: the mysterious contours of “Majadahonda at Dawn”; the playful melodic fillips of “Clari”; the airy melancholy of “Galletas”; the full-scale breakbeat abandon (yes, you read that right) of “Houzz 14,” the rarest of dancefloor detours for Balmat. There are echoes of classic braindance and isolationist ambient and golden-age IDM; there are easter eggs and recurring themes and hidden symmetries. Every time we listen, we discover something new. Despite what the title might suggest, it’s less a trip back in time than a portal to another universe, a destination for(to?) which only Mike Paradinas knows the exact coordinates. – Philip Sherburne, Balmat
A quiet intensity permeates Chantal Michelle’s music, like a veiled flame. Even at its most spare and delicate, an undulating tension unsettles the ear through wavering microtonal interference and uncanny spatial juxtaposition. She takes seriously the mandate of the composer to foster new relationships between various types of sounds, bringing together disparate field recordings, instrumental stems, and the sounds of circuitry in unheard configurations. Resolution is elusive, in its place a sense of oblong cyclicality and prickly uncertainty. When the veil is pulled back, we find more depth, more complexity, and more mystery.
Unit of Heart, Michelle’s second album of 2026, presents two interrelated pieces that highlight diverging compositional modes. Here she brings in two key collaborators: Patrick Shiroishi, who contributes flutes and saxophones throughout, and poet Funto Omojola, whose words and voice bookend the title composition. Both compositions unfold gradually, but where the album’s a-side “Sudden Oceans” presents a minimal tonal palette focused entirely on the subtle grain of wind instruments, “Unit of Heart” proceeds linearly, moving through passages of synthesizer, environmental recordings, and full-cheeked wails of saxophone. Both encourage a state of focused listening as the scope of the music deepens and widens.
“Sudden Oceans” allows the listener to hover in rippling currents of air, breath overlapping breath in a shimmering patchwork. All flutes and saxophones on the piece are played by Shiroishi, which are molded by Michelle into a pattern that resembles the flow of tidal waters, surging and receding moment to moment as the tonal density increases. Expansive and recursive, it reflects both the restorative awe and eerie disquiet of encountering the sublime. The first and last sounds we hear are the gentle rush of unmediated breath as Shiroishi connects and disconnects from his flute.
Michelle’s skill at presenting the familiar as preternatural comes to the fore on “Unit of Heart, ” one of her most ambitious works. Omojola’s voice begins with a melody that could be a lullaby, but as it’s bounced around the stereo field it takes on a haunted quality. Their poem, reprinted on the LP’s inner sleeve, hints at a similar type of transformation: “I mean this is where our mouth turns saliva into spears only a throat can recognize. ” Pads of downy synthesizer billow and are subsumed by a discordant ringing. The climactic section features atonal electronics and field recordings, first of water and then the evening call of insects, processed in such a way to transform them into pulsating bursts of noise. What we think we know about the world, what is elemental, can change with even the slightest adjustment of the lens.
Coil’s 17-minute soundtrack for »How to Destroy Angels«, performed on January 19, 1984: ritual music ›for the accumulation of male sexual energy‹, structured around magickal and numerological concepts.
Throughout history man has made and used music for two distinct and separate purposes. In recent years, particularly since the advent of sound recording, the most popular use of music has been for entertainment - the temporary amusement and distraction of as large a number as possible. As a consequence, many people tend to overlook its more fundamental and ancient use as a tool for affecting man's body and spirit. The many varieties of religious music from around the world contain a vast quantity of clues to the way in which sound can affect the physical and mental state of the serious listener, yet many find their associations with religion itself too difficult a stigma to overlook in their appreciation of the sound and its potential, for its own sake.
On this record, hopefully the first in a series, we have tried to produce sound which has a real, practical and beneficial power in this modern Era. Specifically, it is intended as an accumulator of male sexual energy. Although we make neither claims nor rules for its use, we do suggest that for maximum potency it should only be played in circumstances that exclusively male and/or onanistic in nature. What these are is entirely up to you.
The execution of the piece was structured around concepts we felt would work for us - in this case magickal and numerological rather than conventionally musical in form. One image or symbol which we drew upon that may be useful to bear in mind is that of Mars, often indicated by the male symbol.
Should this music have any power, over and above the banal and transitory titillation achieved by most records available now, it is a positive and beneficial power to be used and controlled by the listener, as he desires.
Coil’s 17-minute soundtrack for »How to Destroy Angels«, performed on January 19, 1984: ritual music ›for the accumulation of male sexual energy‹, structured around magickal and numerological concepts.
Throughout history man has made and used music for two distinct and separate purposes. In recent years, particularly since the advent of sound recording, the most popular use of music has been for entertainment - the temporary amusement and distraction of as large a number as possible. As a consequence, many people tend to overlook its more fundamental and ancient use as a tool for affecting man's body and spirit. The many varieties of religious music from around the world contain a vast quantity of clues to the way in which sound can affect the physical and mental state of the serious listener, yet many find their associations with religion itself too difficult a stigma to overlook in their appreciation of the sound and its potential, for its own sake.
On this record, hopefully the first in a series, we have tried to produce sound which has a real, practical and beneficial power in this modern Era. Specifically, it is intended as an accumulator of male sexual energy. Although we make neither claims nor rules for its use, we do suggest that for maximum potency it should only be played in circumstances that exclusively male and/or onanistic in nature. What these are is entirely up to you.
The execution of the piece was structured around concepts we felt would work for us - in this case magickal and numerological rather than conventionally musical in form. One image or symbol which we drew upon that may be useful to bear in mind is that of Mars, often indicated by the male symbol.
Should this music have any power, over and above the banal and transitory titillation achieved by most records available now, it is a positive and beneficial power to be used and controlled by the listener, as he desires.
The songs of Jules de Corte are condensed, folky gems with an almost effortless charm. Poised between the intimate and the universal, between lightness and darkness, they touch on religion, love, loss, and the small dramas of everyday life. Yet they resist easy translation. Packed with wordplay, de Corte’s signature alliterations, humor, and local cultural references, the songs inevitably lose something in another language. Still, when a Belgian quartet of improvisers takes them on, joined by American songwriter Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, the songs are reborn rather than merely transposed: literal fidelity gives way to interpretation, and what is lost in words is often gained in spirit.
Even without tracing every change, their overall effect is fascinating. Songs are slowed down, often doubled in length, and filled with unexpected musical intrusions. They gain fuller arrangements and are placed in an entirely new context. Replacing de Corte’s piano with guitar can create a radically different vibe, as in “Mariska.” An added solo can heighten the contrast between childlike perspective and the almost matter- of-fact brutality of “Little Anita.” In “The Stranger,” another use of contrast unsettles the everyday harmony, transforming it with a subtle, disorienting twist.
Ultimately, these performances show that interpretation is not successful simply because it is literal. With the groundwork laid by Linus, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy further liberated the songs from their original versions. Lyrics and melodies become malleable, shaped by his recognizable cadences, timbre, and personal quirks. Like his collaborators, he allows himself the freedom to bend the material to his own approach. There is no radical break between this performance and his other records. Listeners familiar with the originals may be puzzled at first; for those new to de Corte, it is a wholly different experience.
Does it really matter that the original “Little Jesus, Mighty God” is a 100-second nugget combining playful naivete with biblical fervor? In the hands of these five explorers, the song becomes an intriguing contemplation, with subtle musical shades and a recitation in which every syllable carries a maturity that offers a new perspective. Then there is “The Outsider,” which feels as genuine as any original American folk song. The musicians’ process is more than reinterpretation—it is reimagination, bringing new musical compatibility and emotional depth. Whether that depth was there from the start, waiting to be uncovered, or created in the process is beside the point. What matters is that Linus and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy have made the essence of these songs their own, paying homage yet dancing to their own tune.
Linus is the Belgian duo of guitarist and banjo player Ruben Machtelinckx and reedist and synthesiser player Thomas Jillings. Across five previous albums — Onland (2014), Linus + Skarbø / Leroux (2015), Felt Like Old language at the crossroads of folk, jazz, minimalism, chamber music and free improvisation. Their music is adventurous, shaped by a particular sensitivity to texture, timbre and the subtle interaction between musicians.
What began as a duo gradually grew into a flexible musical world, bringing Linus together with musicians such as Nils Økland, Ingar Zach, Niels Van Heertum, Øyvind Skarbø and Frederik Leroux. Yet each new constellation has remained recognisably Linus: music in which carefully considered forms leave space for intuition, interaction and the unexpected.
For their sixth album, Linus takes a new step by moving into the world of song and text. Inspired by a shared love for the late Dutch songwriter Jules De Corte, the album is a reimagining of De Corte’s unique repertoire. More than simply interpreting De Corte’s songs, they absorb and reshape them, bringing them into dialogue with their own musical language. In keeping with this open approach, they are joined by celebrated vocalist Bonnie “Prince” Billy. With albums such as 1999’s I See a Darkness appearing on several greatest album lists, Bonnie “Prince” Billy is a cult figure in the alternative folk scene, and his highly intuitive way of singing seamlessly matches the subtle interplay Linus has developed over more than a decade.
Phill Niblock completed BLK+LND in late November 2023. It is one of Phill Niblock's final compositions and was commissioned by bassist Robert Black (who passed away in the summer of 2023). The piece is based on recordings of acoustic bass and bass clarinet performed by Neil Leonard and Robert Black under Niblock's direction in 2021.
Phill Niblock (1933-2024) as an artist whose fifty-year career spanned minimalist and experimental music, film and photography. He has been a maverick presence on the fringes of the avant-garde. In the history books he is the forgotten Minimalist. Since 1985, he served as director of Experimental Intermedia, a foundation for avant-garde music based in New York with a branch in Ghent, and curator of the foundation's record label XI. Known for his thick, loud drones of music, his signature sound is filled with microtones of instrumental timbres that generate many other tones in the performance space. He said: 'What I am doing with my music is to produce something without rhythm or melody, by using many microtones that cause movements very, very slowly.' In 2013, his diverse artistic career was the subject of a retrospective realized in partnership between Circuit (Centre d'art contemporain Lausanne) and Musée de l'Elysée (Paris). The following year he was honored with the prestigious Foundation for Contemporary Arts John Cage Award. Since 1968 he also put on over 1000 concerts in his loft space in New York.
"On January 6, 2024, two days before his passing, Phill called me to discuss the premiere and tour of BLK+LND. To distract him from his rapid decline, I engaged in his touring plan, only for him to reveal that all the details were still in his head and none of the events had been confirmed. He was entrusting the project to me. Phill would have been thrilled and honored by this concert at the Donaueschinger Musiktage. The thought of one more performance with Robert Black, whom he greatly admired, presenting his new work for low-pitched instruments that he was particularly fond of, andreconnecting with old and new friends in Donaueschingen would have meant the world to him." - Neil Leonard, Berklee College of Music, Boston
,BETHLEHEM" ist eine Zusammenarbeit, die über Grenzen hinweg entstanden ist, die nicht überschritten werden konnten. Das Stück vereint die Stimme von Lawrence Sammour - der seit mehr als fünf Jahrzehnten den Chor der Geburtskirche leitet - mit der elektroakustischen Sprache der Beiruter Komponisten Sary Moussa und Abed Kobeissy. Entstanden als Reaktion auf die Entscheidung der Geburtskirche, die Weihnachtsfeierlichkeiten während des Völkermords in Gaza auszusetzen, verwandelt das Werk traditionelle liturgische Hymnen in eine weitläufige und tief bewegende Komposition, in der Stimme, Elektronik, Buzuq und Atmosphäre ohne Hierarchie nebeneinander existieren. Weder Neuinterpretation noch Bewahrung - ,BETHLEHEM" ist ein Akt des Zuhörens über Entfernungen hinweg: ein Werk der Trauer, das auf der fortbestehenden Präsenz von kulturellem Gedächtnis, Hingabe und menschlicher Verbundenheit besteht.
,Every Martyr Is A Universe" ist das Constellation-Debüt des palästinensisch-kanadischen Gitarristen, Komponisten und Community-Organisators Bilal Nasser. Das Album entstand während der studentischen Protestbewegungen gegen den Krieg in Gaza und setzt sich mit der Frage auseinander, welche Bedeutung Kunst in Zeiten von Gewalt, Verlust und politischer Krise haben kann. Daraus entwickelt Nasser eine musikalische Reflexion über Trauer, Solidarität, Erinnerung und Widerstand. Bekannt für seine Verbindung von klassischer Gitarre, Folk-Traditionen und zeitgenössischen Einflüssen erweitert Nasser auf diesem Album seinen bisherigen Solosound erstmals um ein größeres Ensemble. Gemeinsam mit neun Musikerinnen und Musikern aus seinem kreativen Umfeld in Windsor, Ontario, schuf er vielschichtige Arrangements für Streicher, Bläser, Elektronik und Gitarren, die dem Album eine orchestrale und zugleich intime Atmosphäre verleihen. Das Ergebnis ist ein tiefgründiges, emotionales und ambitioniertes Werk, das klassische Komposition, Folk, Post-Rock und experimentelle Klänge miteinander verbindet. ,Every Martyr Is A Universe" ist zugleich persönliches Statement und kollektiver Ausdruck von Erinnerung, Hoffnung und Widerstandskraft.
After some years of (non)hiatus, Contagious are back with a new album that
furthers the evolution of their uncompromising sound. The album features the high
caliber talents of guests: Valentina Magaletti, Sofia Jernberg and Andrea Belfi.
“Being” is conceived around the different activities pursued by the band since the
release of their first (self-titled) album. Members: Sabine Erklenz, Andrea
Neumann and Mieko Suzuki have been concentrating on performing, composing
and organizing their own event series “Partners in Crime” at Morphine Raum,
Berlin.
This series is an ongoing process of inviting musicians to collaborate, share
and record new material - unrestricted by genre or anything else. It was during
these sessions, “Being" was conceived and recorded. Inspired by the wide range
of lifeforms found in nature, the track titles are once again dedicated to species
that challenge binary notions of sex.
The album conveys the band’s brutal approach to improvised processing - tense
buildups, powerful grooves and delicate release. Contagious’ signature sound
very much suits the wild vocal extensions by Sofia Jernberg, obsessive drum
patterns by Valentina Magaletti and the Moondog-esque, hypnotic percussion of
Andrea Belfi, all of whom offer powerful contributions to a tracks on the LP.
The overall result is a blissful and loving punch in the stomach
'Music aged in time, resonating from the surface to the core through layers and sediments of stones - the strata. Four morning recording sessions with a separation between them of between three and ten months - a chronozone that will rest for a time and on which the next one will be added, thus forming the total of the six pieces of the album - becoming six strata.
'A slow-moving album that develops landscapes of subtle but continuous evolution, where we find layers of diverse nature created from different procedures, bathed in the calm waters of wabisabi, where melancholy, immensity, insignificance, the potential of the unemerged, coexistence and simplicity converge at the same time.'
'Museum Of No Art is the pseudonym of the artist and musician Mona Steinwidder. The pieces on the album A Serpent Called Emit document a two-year engagement with the clarinet and other woodwind instruments. In the search for simplicity, one encounters complexity. But the Museum discovers connections between the poles and lets them circle around each other. Impurities have found their place in it and hard cuts are intended to underline the volatility of the moment, to highlight and admire imperfection.'
'Kiliae is a collection of pieces that tell the story of a homecoming. It is a cohesive narrative that captures the feeling of what a home can be, drawing its inspiration from life in that place itself - life that has now become something different after having lived in foreign places for an extended period of time.
'Kiliae captures a certain atmosphere, a feeling that has built up during countless walks and bike commutes in and around the city of Kiel.'
Warp setzt die Autechre Reissue-Serie mit den Alben #6 und #7, 'Confield' (2001) und 'Draft 7.30' (2003), fort, die beide seit Ende der Nullerjahre nicht mehr erhältlich waren. 'Confield' erscheint als Doppelvinyl mit bedruckten Innentaschen und DL-Code (WAV/FLAC/MP3). 'Draft 7.30' kommt als Doppelvinyl mit bedruckten Innentaschen im Hochglanz-Cover und DL-Code (WAV/FLAC/MP3).
- 'Confield promises elegant production, accessibility in moderation, and one of the most enveloping, thought-provoking listening experiences to come forth from leftfield this year.' - Pitchfork 8.8/10
- 'Autechres Tracks sind trotz ihrer maschinenartigen, holperigen Insektenhaftigkeit sehr organisch, humorvoll und manchmal auf eine ganz eigene Art groovy. Dadurch vermeiden sie es, akademisch und kopfig zu erscheinen, so dass experimentelle Musik bei ihnen richtig Spass macht.' - Jazz Thing
'Baroque Sunburst is proud to present Melaponica, the unique and unheard music of the interdisciplinary Brazilian artist João Machado, entirely created by electronically processing the recordings of stingless bees.
'Machado's work with field recordings of native bees form a sound library held in international collections such as the British Library and the Animal Sound Archive in Berlin, and his research into stingless bee communication has unfolded into experimental electronic music, finally finding its way on vinyl for the first time.
'Within its 40 minutes of never-stopping music, Melaponica reveals its unique sonic universe, flawlessly moving from complex percussive rhythms to melodies and soundscapes that seem to come as much from earth as from outer space. With an impressive ability to explore the potential of its original audio sources while pushing it to the limits, João Machado's idea of music never loses musicality and groove, even in its more intimate moments.'
endlich: mit bittersweet legt marek hemmann sein zweites Soloalbum auf Freude am Tanzen vor. ein großer Schritt nach der letzten duo-Veröffentlichung unter dem namen marian, und in seiner weiter gedachten Pop-klangsprache ganz eindeutig: ein echter hemmann. zehn Tracks, schnörkellos und vorwärtsdrängend, nach hemmann-manier diffe- renziert abgemischt und lakonisch betitelt durch knappe wortmarken. der feine elektronische Sound wird immer wieder aufgebrochen durch den einsatz knarzig-poppiger Synthies, eingespielt mit einem augenscheinlich stark vermehrten maschinenpark. diese warmen, bassigen Sounds sind der stete begleiter durch das album, und führen die analoge Vergangenheit in die digitale zukunft. denn sie sind nicht mittelpunkt, sondern Teil eines erdigen bodens, auf dem alle Songs stehen. es gibt kaum einen Song, der in seinem Stil dem anderen gleicht, das album führt seine hörer von tiefem house über knackige Tanzflächenkracher und ambientsongs bis hin zu frühlingshaften romanzen mit gitarrensamples. Schon auf seinen bisherigen Veröffentlichungen offenbarte sich hemmann immer ganz einfach als großer liebhaber elektronischer musik mit einem feinen händchen für vielschichtige arrangements und den gewissen schwebenden, ins unendliche weisenden Sound. Ja, er ist gewiss der große romantiker unter den elektro-musikern, und er weiß seine musikalischen Talente auch dementsprechend einzusetzen. und so ist auch bittersweet wieder solch ein schönes, geheimnisvolles wesen zwischen Tanzfläche und balkon, zwischen süßem Sonnenaufgang und energiegeladener club-nacht.
Devotional and visceral, patient and euphoric, a poem, a hymnal. Shygirl calls Swallow! a reintroduction. Her 2022 debut Nymph announced an artist fluent in sonic languages: slippery club structures, toothy pop hooks, juicy production—music that invites you to come closer, pay attention, keep up. That magnetism took her from the electronic underground to the foreground of contemporary pop. She’s collaborated with producers Sega Bodega and Mura Masa, Charli xcx, Arca, SOPHIE, fka twigs, and Björk, and performed on stages across the globe. Swallow! is a new kind of rapturous indie songwriting, woven through the electronica she came from, recorded with Karma Kid and Casey MQ. It is the scripture of the cult of falling in love—radiant, clear-eyed, all-encompassing, divine transformation. “I want people to remember how big the world is even when you feel so small and singular,” she says. “Swallow! is the soundtrack to that experience. “This record is my message in a bottle. Let’s see who picks it up.”
Driven by a lush and irresistible energy, Beyond Brazilian Stories takes you on a musical journey between Brazilian traditions and jazz improvisation.
Introduced to the richness of Brazilian music by Philippe Baden Powell, pianist Mathieu Bélis and double bassist Stéphane Dardour founded BSP PRODUCTIONS and formed the quintet Beyond Brazilian Stories, joined by saxophonist David Florsch, drummer Louis Bao Lao, and Äulne, vocalist and flutist.
Together, they revisit masterpieces by giants such as Milton Nascimento, Airto Moreira, Hermeto Pascoal, Dorival Caymmi, Edu Lobo and Moacir Santos, blending popular melodies with soaring instrumental passages.
The group also brings its own compositions, inspired by the vibrant energy of Brazilian music, creating a sound that is both authentic and innovative.
Their new album O ritmo do sonho has been awarded the “Revelation” distinction by Jazz Magazine!
Album contributors:
Mariana Zwarg - flutist, daughter of Itiberê Zwarg, Hermeto Pascoal’s bassist.
Edmundo Carneiro - Brazilian percussion legend (Tania Maria, De La Soul, Saint Germain, etc.).
Jessica Simon - trombonist, member of the Orchestre National de Jazz.
“An explosive fusion where samba, bossa and jazz become the playground for joyful and virtuosic freedom....” Jazz Rhônes Alpes
“...the brilliant Hermeto Pascoal,
whose spirit is present throughout O ritmo do sonho...” Revelation Jazzmag
Drawn From Life, originally released on Virgin Records in 2001, was a full collaboration between Brian Eno and J. Peter Schwalm, the two having met through Eno’s longtime friend Rolf Engel. It will carry that joint billing for the first time. The album featured Holger Czukay, Laurie Anderson, Nell Catchpole and Leo Abrahams, and was supported by a tour taking in Porto and Lanzarote before a headline appearance at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival. The rights to Drawn From Life reverted to Opal when Citigroup acquired EMI and the album has not been available since. The 2026 reissue will be available across all formats and includes the bonus track ‘Bloom (Instrumental)’.
Another Day on Earth (2005) was Brian Eno’s first song-based album since Nerve Net in1992, and remains one of his most acclaimed solo records. It featured a young Jon Hopkins alongside long-standing collaborators Nell Catchpole, J. Peter Schwalm and Leo Abrahams, with lyrics co-written by Michel Faber and Danny Hillis. The album was launched with a public conversation between Eno and the writer Michael Bracewell at the Marble Palace in St Petersburg and its cover photograph was taken by Eno himself in Beijing, during his first Chinese audio installation in the city’s Ritan Park. Following Warner Bros’ purchase of Hannibal Records in 2006, the licence for Another Day on Earth lapsed in 2008 and the album has been unavailable outside Japan ever since.
“Grand, sweeping choruses ... that insinuate themselves deep into the memory, but also moments of whispering intimacy - a wistful, haunting record that runs warm with understated emotion. ★★★★★” - Matthew Collin, The Observer (2005)
