Ever the iconoclast, if there is one thing that Brian Eno has done with any degree of consistency throughout his varied career, it is presenting his art in an array of perpetually "out of the box" forums. All that changed – in a manner of speaking – with the release of two companion multi-disc compilations. Eno Box I: Instrumentals (1994) condenses his wordless creations, while Eno Box II: Vocals (1993) does the same for the rest of his major works on a similarly sized volume. Interestingly – and in his typically contrary fashion – this initial installment was actually issued last. Each of Eno Box I: Instrumentals' three CDs respectively concentrates on a specific facet of the artist's copious back catalog.

Through evocative, emotionally resonant music, Goodbye, Hotel Arkada, the new LP from American harpist and composer Mary Lattimore, speaks not just for its beloved namesake — a hotel in Croatia facing renovation — but for a universal loss that is shared. Six sprawling pieces shaped by change; nothing will ever be the same, and here, the artist, evolving in synthesis, celebrates and mourns the tragedy and beauty of the ephemeral, all that is lived and lost to time. Documented and edited in uncharacteristically measured sessions over the course of two years, the material remains rooted in improvisation while glistening as the most refined and robust in Lattimore’s decade-long catalog. It finds her communing with friends, contemporaries, and longtime influences, in full stride yet slowing down to nurture songs in new ways. The cast includes Lol Tolhurst (The Cure), Meg Baird, Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Roy Montgomery, Samara Lubelski, and Walt McClements.

grown in the shade of the glacier. killer whale atmospheres is a future-memory affair of sub bass propulsive drones, rhythms, chords and dorsal scars building to a forbidding sense of cold echolocations yet to come through the violent procession of darkening rains.

The fictitious tour of far-away lands continues, as anonymous artist Glåsbird follows the scratchy, folk-ambience of Norskfjǫrðr with a return to lonely arctic-island sounds. Novaya Zemlya is a Russian-owned island, stretching from just off the mainland between the Kara and Barents seas, with two islands split by the Matochkin Strait.

Glåsbird returns following the debut EP ‘Drift Stations’ which was a digital only release on Whitelabrecs just prior to Christmas last year. The eagerly awaited full-length debut album is something that this currently anonymous artist has carefully shaped over a lengthy period of time and it is entitled Grønland. Those looking to the themes of the North Pole and travel through the treacherous Arctic Circle which were contained within Drift Stations, will see a pattern of travel or rather, migration developing. Next stop – Greenland, the world’s largest island as well as one of the most uninhabited landmasses on the planet, which is thanks to stark temperatures and the permanent ice sheet which occupies most of this land.

There is no sound in space, of course, and yet over the years certain conventions have grown up, especially in film, as composers and sound effects people have tried to provide aural equivalents to the sights of stars and planets moving through the void. By now, listeners "know" what space sounds like, and Jonn Serrie's series of albums, some of their material drawn from the soundscapes he has developed for planetarium shows, well represent these impressions. In the slow-moving patterns, bits of melody and rhythm are heard here and there, but most of the music is open-ended: if not formless, it nevertheless employs loose structures in which moods or themes can stretch or be abruptly terminated. Century Seasons is a two-disc compilation in which tracks from earlier Serrie albums have been remixed and woven together to create a lengthy journey through musical space…

Ambient pioneer, glam rocker, hit producer, multimedia artist, technological innovator, worldbeat proponent, and self-described non-musician – over the course of his long, prolific, and immensely influential career, Brian Eno has been all of these things and much, much more.

Jonn Serrie proves on Planetary Chronicles, Vol. II a second time that in the genre of space music there are no limits to the imagination. Exploring the universe with Serrie - inner or outer - is like watching a plume of smoke twist and turn in currents of air then gradually disappear. This innovator of space music achieves an otherworldliness on Planetary Chronicles, Vol. II by discovering the uncharted possibilities of the synthesizer. This is not Big Bang Music; rather, it's the quiet exploration of the invisible matter of whatever universe you choose.

Synthetic Block (1998). Jonathan Block records as Synthetic Block. Synthetic Block is also the title of his debut release. He combines sequences and atmospheres to create little pockets of energy. It is all very tidy and systematic. Block sets his compositions with right angles and exact circles. He puts square pegs in square holes and round pegs in round holes. The scientific approach, while it seems harsh, works well for Block. The atmospheres are gentle and warm. The soundscapes are friendly and inviting. This is a very nice debut. It will appeal to fans of Ron Boots, Dave Fulton, and Paul Ellis…

Enduring Japanese post-rock band MONO ditch the quiet-loud histrionics on their debut feature-length soundtrack, focusing on delicate ambient arrangements and airy cinematic bliss.

Originally released in 2005, Insen is the second collaboration album between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto and the second installment of V.I.R.U.S.‘s five albums series. Remastered in 2021 in collaboration with Calyx Studio, the album’s recordings are accompanied by an unreleased composition titled Barco. Initially composed for Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s 2005 Insen tour, the audio material used in this piece is based on the subtle sounds of Barco projectors, whose tonalities served as a ground for the artists’ live improvisation.

"Namakar" is a description of our different initiation rites; australian-aboriginal, egyptian, red indian and tibetan. like the four dimensions these are four possible cardinal-points to consider the own psyche, the most fascinating and complex building of the creative-genius; the divine in me is greeting the divine in you… in remembrance to the great sacred spirit testimony of our anchestors.

In the realms of modern day late night ambient exploration Manchester's Marconi Union often draw comparisons with Brian Eno and Biosphere, perhaps Sigur Ros, but the graceful manner with which their richly melodic compositions unfold and the emotion these evoke sets them apart from their peers.
Since their 2003 debut album, 'Under Wires and Searchlights', they have continually refined and developed a unique musical identity that seamlessly blends elements of dub, jazz, ambience and electronic music. Their music straddles the worlds of artistic credibility and musical accessibility and tracks from previous albums have been selected as the beautiful backdrop to television commercials, drama and documentary films worldwide and to accompany art installations, theatre and ballet…