In 2017 MAZE gave a stunning interpretation of Jitterbug at the Tactile Paths Festival in Berlin, full of subtle detail and fluid energy. That they have returned to the work now - and have also created this beautiful realization of bayou-borne, for Pauline - is something for which I am deeply grateful.

A meditative music collaboration between composers Richard Reed Parry (of Arcade Fire) and Susie Ibarra, “Field II: Slow Drift” is a gently enveloping, avant-garde sound exploration. Parry and Ibarra collaborated remotely on the composition, which will appear on their forthcoming album Heart and Breath: Rhythm and Tone Fields (out 15 July). Remarkably, they used the rhythm of their heartbeats and breathing patterns to create each track on the album. “This doesn’t sound like any record I’ve ever heard,” Parry says in a statement. “There’s a sensibility to it that was enabled by remote recording, and the fact that we made our breath into music and then into samples and then we built on that to make an album.”

Equipped with a variety of trumpets, a ridiculous array of percussion instruments, and far too many electronics, Wim Van Hasselt and Koen Plaetinck combine to create an entirely new musical space. Presenting brand-new commissions as well as arrangements, they stretch the boundaries of classical music into a unique world of sounds and visuals, infused with traditional music, electro-underground, improvisation and – above all – their own vivid personalities. What if dreaming became reality? The imaginary tangible? When living a fairy-tale the fantastic is the concrete…

Initially founded by German-born Robert Raths in 2007, the London-based label has grown and extended across the world with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Berlin. Spanning over ten years, Erased Tapes has nurtured avant-garde artists from all around the world whilst remaining genre-defying and truly independent.

As the label’s tenth anniversary celebrations draw to a close, the latest Erased Tapes compilation, featuring new and unreleased music as well as a selection of its tenth year’s highlights, is now available. Curated and sequenced by Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths, Erased Tapes Collection IX also contains tracks from label favourites including Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Kiasmos and Ben Lukas Boysen, as well as Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s Kora Kora taken from the re-issue of their final studio album Union Cafe.

For his new album ‘Contemplations ~ Opus I’, he chose his long lost upright piano as a perfect companion to compose his new pieces on. DeLange about ‘Contemplations ~ Opus I’: “We all need time to ponder on our lives, but rarely take the time to contemplate. I decided to secure my own pondering time and keep a diary in the form of musical phrases that reflect the emotions of that day.

"The New Backwards" was conceived by Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson in 2007, revisiting stray tracks which hadn't seemed to gel with the material he had chosen for the more somber "Ape of Naples" from 2005, COIL's initial posthumous release, a sort of requiem and a kiss-goodbye to his then recently deceased partner John Balance…

Bree van Reyk is a drummer, percussionist, composer and sound artist who makes unconventional and tradition-challenging performance works. Her music resides in the intersection between contemporary classical, indie-rock and performance art. Her musical universe is rich, collaborative and spontaneous; within lives an adventurous sensibility. A knack for noticing the little things and their counterpoints.

Dmitry Evgrafov returns with his fourth career album and third for FatCat’s 130701 imprint (Max Richter, Johann Johannsson, Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka). His most accomplished work to date, ‘Surrender’ is a broad and dramatic record that expands the Moscow-based artist’s palette and reaches beyond the usual post-classical range. Revealing an ambitious scope across the twelve-track span, it is bold in conception and beautifully recorded.

This Sea Souls album is a deeply personal love letter / psychological dive into the sea. Each piece is inspired by how the sea and the weather reflected my emotions on a particular day in 2020. It was such a turbulent year and each track on this album represents a different snapshot of that time.

This Sea Souls album is a deeply personal love letter / psychological dive into the sea. Each piece is inspired by how the sea and the weather reflected my emotions on a particular day in 2020. It was such a turbulent year and each track on this album represents a different snapshot of that time.

Reprogrammed, resampled and reimagined, 11 5 18 2 5 18 is a collection of 9 tracks that serve as a translation of Tiersen’s live show, taking songs from his 2021 release Kerber plus additional tracks from his catalog, completely restructured to present a brand new album. With a mesmerizing mix of piano patterns, swirling electronics and dancefloor-ready grooves, these songs continue an exciting new chapter in his career.

French Ivor Novello-nominated pianist Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch steps back from the world of film soundtracks for her third studio album ‘Ravage’. Her sound has the effortless sense of sonic expedition that draws comparisons with the likes of Johann Johannsson, Mica Levi and Hildur Gudnadottir.

Ron Adelaar is a Dutch-based pianist and composer of neoclassical, meditative piano compositions. Besides that he is A&R manager at Andante Piano, sublabel of Disruptive Records run by his son Ivo Adelaar. Ron had an early introduction to piano music, as he started his career at the age of 13 by playing the organ and piano at several churches in his hometown Amersfoort (The Netherlands), all together with his father Ton Adelaar who played the flute.