Some recent favorites culled from the latter part of 2007 and early 2008. Scott Smallwood proves that drones are still alive and well by offering three engaging soundscapes (of which Still in Here is a standout) as part of the Sijis discorporation series. Resting Bell is still going strong with its string of top-notch ambient releases of which enita nons Sub Routine is a prime example. Sine3pms 45th release Ballerinis Circolari Per Paesaggio is one more demonstration of this labels ability to satisfy my experimental tastes. Clinical Archives continues its rapid-fire onslaught of experimental releases with some live recording by Antanas Jasenka titled Giip. Con-v warmed my heart with some cozy sounds on Corey Allens Observing Warmth and brought on a touch of melancholy with Ashers minimalist soundscape Study for Autumn. After a long hiatus, Stasisfield returned at the end of 2007 reestablishing its vitality with two excellent releases capturing the acoustics of galleries and museums on the compilation The Sonics of Art Spaces (John Kannenberg and Steve Roden show their respective expertise here) and offering delicate tones, scrapes, glitches, and sometimes faint sounds on Fourms CIL. Webbed Hand took me on a pleasantly organic ambient journey with The Nature of Lights A Lullaby for Madisen with Slumber Sets being my favorite track. Dark Winter delivered a beautifully dark compilation of seasonal soundscapes via A Candles Golden Glow. Mystifieds Silent Night, Droney Night was especially affecting to my ears. The Mandorla netlabel released three excellent net-albums dedicated to the Autumn season. The first in the series, Autumn Soundscapes brought some wonderful electro-acoustic and field recording-based soundscapes. Christopher McFalls Perplex Fable and Scott Taylors London Autumn are especially memorable. Cory Allens release Satori in Atlantis, especially the piece Vipassana, gave me a glimpse of enlightenment and proved again what an excellent netlabel Test Tube truly is. Homophoni is one of those labels that I check everyday without fail hoping for a new mp3 release, Ashers in camera is one of the obvious reasons why.

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews