Joachim Spieth
Terrain

Shipping from EU: ❌Shipping from UK: ✅Colombian-born, Juan Carlos Torres Alonso aka OKRAA debuts on A Strangely Isolated Place with a set of four extended, beguiling tracks that harness the power of a slowly developing, cathartic process ofexperimentation, textures and noise. With Garage and Electro releases amongst labels such as Lobster Theremin and Shadow Puppet, Juan’s OKRAA alias has laid ambition to cover many unrestricted styles moving forward, and none could be as fluid in description as ‘1994’.What began as an experiment in minimalism, 1994’s approach was dictated by the methods used within thecreation of its very first track, ‘Ola De Luz’. After developing 15 modules and patterns that were originallymeant to be performed live, Juan continued to use this bank of sounds as an expression of his manyemotions over the years. Each track on 1994 is inspired by different personal life events, but built upon andevolved from this similar palette of sounds, patches and field recordings.The result is a record that feels extremely focused, yet alive and growing with each listen, reflecting the manyyears of changing emotions. The sounds of underwater field recordings cascade into waterfalls of noise, anduniform waves of light, both stimulating and transformative, birth new levels of movement and energy aseach track progresses. It’s a combination of majestic force and respect for the detailed listening experience,minimalism birthing maximalism, in many ways.

For nearly 40 years, English producer Mark Van Hoen has been making challenging music that eludes easy categorization under his own name, as Locust, and in the groups Autocreation, Scala, and Drøne. While his output has skirted around the fringes of IDM, techno, trip-hop, ambient, drone, and electropop, it has mutated these genres' elements in distinctive ways, revealing a mind always questing for unprecedented sounds.This is Mark Van Hoen’s ninth album as Locust, and an instant classic.Drifting, hanging, holding. Hoping, seeking, searching. And then finding.Mark Van Hoen's ninth album as Locust is a cosmic whisper, a tender touch, where candid songwriting commingles with the afterimage of trip-hop and jungle. Across eight tracks, spectral melodies dance between languid breakbeats, and a formless murmur drifts through the ether, seeking a common thread.Layered in strata, "The First Cause" reveals itself anew with each listen. Delicate tones share space with bass weight. Drums crunch, and rhythms cascade. Voices loop and intone, bodiless. What at first seems melancholy, you may later find reoriented—toward promise.We seek solace in each other, and we seek solace in sound. Kinship isn't easy to come by. When a record offers its kind embrace to us as this one does, without reservation, we should take heed.Written, performed and produced by Mark Van Hoen© Touch Music/Fairwood Music UK Ltd℗ 2023 Mark Van Hoen under exclusive license to Mysteries of the Deepmarkvanhoen.comMastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, NYPhotography by Grant AaronDesign by Gabriel BenzurWords by Chris Zaldua

German musician Mary Yalex debuts on A Strangely Isolated Place depicting a storied transition from our recognizable surroundings, into a vision of the future. With releases and music styles across a variety of labels over the years, it has been Yalex’s more experimental ambient work that has stood out amongst her catalog, and in Fantasy Zone, we find Mary fine-tuning this sound to reflect the work of a true architect of storytelling, mood and atmosphere. Drawing influences from her day-to-day surroundings, Fantasy Zone begins with more vivid pieces; softer melodies and clearer instrumentation, represented as much in song titles such as Air, After Rain Comes Sun, and Half Light of Dawn. The second half of the album transitions into a future state, as Yalex draws on darker manifestations - perhaps intrinsically influenced by the state of the world, and in particular her love of nature, we play witness to more storied, haunting atmospheres, distant voices and slowly shifting gravitational chord movements. Dystopian-bound or pure fantasy, Yalex depicts a future that mirrors some of the more poignant, thought-provoking work of great synthesizer soundtracks of the past. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, and featuring artwork by Noah M / Keep Adding, Fantasy Zone will be available on Purple Smoke 12” and digital.

EU Stock: ✅UK Stock: ❌The connection between Dr. Atmo and Mick Chillage goes back to one of the finest ambient labels to ever grace this planet, FAX records. Many will remember the defining collective for their deep, extended excursions into the far-reaches of ambient mysticism - a style that is still revered to this day.Ruhleben sees a welcome return for Dr. Atmo who, after appearing on some of the very first FAX releases under his own name and different guises throughout its tenure, has been somewhat elusive of late with side-steps into other genres. Now, partnering with another FAX alumni and a foundational figure within today’s ambient music genre, Mick Chillage, the pair have returned to their roots and a defining style of ambient music.Taking Dr. Atmo’s distinctive hooks, haunting loops, and graceful melodies, Mick Chillage improvised on these foundational elements further with fine-tuned details such as delicate bass additions, rhythmic looping signals, or more organic fixtures like a finely woven Harp and extended Piano loops.Across its four extended tracks, Ruhleben is an infinite flight into mystical formations that yearn for dramatic soundscapes. A time-lapsed, slow-motion soundtrack, where Mother Nature breathes destructive fire from the depths, breaking the Earth’s surface to form dramatic cathedrals, scarred by super-natural atmospheres and eventually flooded with the life we know today.

Shipping from EU: ✅Shipping from UK: ✅The very first live stream on 9128.live broadcast from the studio of Rafael Anton Irisarri, as he and Thomas Meluch (Benoît Pioulard) pieced together a completely live improvisation, christening the newly created 9128 airwaves in 2019 and setting the bar for many more live takeovers.With one album between them as Gailes, and profound work individually (also together as Orcas), Rafael and Thomas are masters of the ambient craft, combining intricate field recordings, guitar, pedals, vocals, and heady reverb across a 40-minute non-stop immersive listen, split into two 20-minute sides for the inaugural 9128 vinyl release.

Written, recorded and produced by Matti Bye in Fårö, Sweden 2022 The recordings were made on a 1926 Steinway Grand Piano through the EMS Synthi A, recorded onto tape with Nagra IV S. Photography by Matti Bye Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at EnissLab, Rome“The prolific Swedish pianist and composer Matti Bye has long been associated with Northern Electronics, appearing on well-enumerated compilations and collaboration-rich works. This is the first time he presents his own full-length recording with the label.'Between Darkness and White Snow' captures Bye's elemental radiance in four vignettes. Recorded on a 1926 Steinway Grand Piano through an EMS Synthi A, 'Between Darkness and White Snow' renders the perplexity of polarity with a grave assembly of textural phenomena and lyrical figures. As ephemeral harmonic mazes wilt into subdued distortion, we are left with a tentative invitation to gaze into the pooling material of Bye's compositions.”