Liminal States
Peter Rehberg is known for his pioneering electronic work with computer software which over time evolved into a modular set up alongside running Mego and then Editions Mego labels.
Pop Ambient 2025
In recent years, the introductory texts for the Pop Ambient compilation series, which is released every year on Kompakt as the last release before the Christmas break, often began with the sentence "Every year again...". “Every year again”, a quiet, almost unnoticed maxim of self-evidentness. Because this is already the 25th issue to be published this year. 25 years in increasingly fast-moving times in the even faster-moving music business is an eternity that doesn't just feel like it. It is all…
Hardanger
*150 hand-numbered copies limited edition* Hardanger is a collaboration by Mariska Baars (aka Soccer Committee), Niki Jansen, and Rutger Zuydervelt (aka Machinefabriek). The title refers to the instrument played by Jansen, the Hardanger fiddle. It’s a fresh addition to the established musical chemistry from regular collaborators Baars and Zuydervelt. The music on Hardanger started with improvisations by Niki Jansen, guided by Mariska Baars, who responded with vocal and guitar recordings. Rutger …
A Life In Setting Suns
** 180g opaque blue/pink vinyl record. Edition of 200. ** That liminal moment, when the phosphorescence behind the window shade first disrupts your eyelids, is a difficult one to pinpoint. Sometimes the earliest thought in your mind is a long-tail partial memory of those last few moments of a thousand-yard dream, sometimes it’s an irrepressible descending sigh as you anticipate what’s to follow, whether with apprehension or ardor. Centuries have passed in your unconscious absence; every frequenc…
Obscured Instinct and the pale Folklore
*200 copies limited edition* "Obscured Instinct and the Pale Folklore," is an evocative sonic journey crafted by the Hungarian musician, Kokum. This album traverses the shadowy corridors of dark folk music and the pulsating rhythms of new wave post-industrial soundscapes, creating an otherworldly and mesmerizing experience. Kokum, a visionary artist who utilizes only his voice, field recordings, and the sounds of everyday objects, manipulates these elements with a myriad of electronic effects, b…
City of Tethers
*100 copies limited edition* The album 'City of Tethers' is inspired by a passage from Italo Calvino’s 'Invisible Cities', particularly the description of the city of Ottavia. This city is suspended over an abyss, held up by a net that its inhabitants know will eventually give way. “Suspended over the void, the lives of Ottavia’s inhabitants are less uncertain than in other cities. They know the net will not last,” Calvino writes. The image of Ottavia has become a powerful symbol of fragility an…
Projections Of A Coral City
Coral Morphologic and Nick León’s Projections of a Coral City marks a series of collisions between distant worlds: the organic and the artificial, the Eocene and the Anthropocene, sea and cement—and even, perhaps, ambient music and activism. Coral Morphologic are the Miami duo of marine biologist Colin Foord and musician J.D. McKay; since 2007, they have used a variety of multimedia projects to generate environmental awareness of marine biodiversity—most notably Coral City Camera, an underwater …
Terrace Of Memories
*250 copies limited edition* 1992’s Terrace Of Memories is an organic ambient album of longing and gentle melancholic minimalism. Sam Rosenthal (Black Tape For A Blue Girl’s founder/synthesist, then based in Los Angeles) and Dirk Serries (then recording under the moniker vidnaObmana in Belgium) blended their atmospheres and somber contemplative electronics on this timeless album filled with lush, dark and beautiful impressions. Energized by a passage of text written by Sam concerning a lost love…
MPU105
Ilian Tape kicks on with another entry into its ITX Series, this time with a lovely hand-stamped long player from MPU101. It is a deep dive into escapist ambient worlds with plenty of grainy tape hiss and cosmic static, celestial melodies and provocative moments of introspection. Analogue machinery is really brought to the fore on fuzzy sounds like 'CreamyPORTAL-Xa' with patient and pastoral synth smears, while 'APEX CA 91352' has brighter and more mellifluous melodies rising up through the mix.…
Franciska og Emilie
Jonas Torstensen returns to Discreet Music with the second Franciska album, following up the much praised Tryghed (Discreet Music 12) that was released in early 2023. Since Tryghed came out, Franciska has quickly become an established forefront of a young, new generation of Scandinavian experimental DIY musicians. This time a joint effort with his longtime friend and collaborator Camille Helt Haarder, the new album is dedicated to their shared hometown Odense in Denmark.
Mainly based on piano lo…
Columns / Falling Columns
*300 copies limited edition* Ben Kelly is one of the UK’s most influential designers. Kelly is best known for his interior design of the legendary nightclub, The Haçienda in Manchester. His practice has produced influential work for 180 Studios, Virgil Abloh, The Sex Pistols, The V&A, Vivienne Westwood, Malcolm McLaren and Factory Records. The Vinyl Factory first collaborated with Kelly to commission and stage his installation RUIN, produced in collaboration with Virgil Abloh, at 180 Studios in …
The Sarajevo Spiral
*300 copies limited edition* Nam-Khar and Vortex, two of the most prolific bands in the German occult underground, have joined forces to create their latest album, "The Sarajevo Spiral." Both bands have developed their respective ritualistic styles over numerous concept albums, making this collaboration a natural progression amidst the rising global conflicts of the current 'new 1920s.' The result is a martial and meditative album, unfolding eleven complex compositions that reflect on the human …
För Alltid
*80 copies limited edition* 'För alltid' is an album about time. The fuzzy & shapeless memories floating without coherence. Shortwave radio recordings picking up unbroken codes from the past. Hopeful voices whispering about a possible future from a hopeless now.
Inscriptions
*100 copies limited edition* "'Inscriptions' is an album inspired by the melancholy romance of autumn, the reflection of leaves in the rippling surface of a lake, crumbling architectural facades, and faded ink scripts on parchment. The album began with a collection of environmental sounds I recorded in Tallinn, Estonia back in the autumn of 2011, during a residency at the Estonian Artists' Association. These field recordings focus in on the quiet, everyday sounds of streets, parks, a lake and a …
Пустоши
*50 hand-numbered copies* On the summer solstice of 2023, NEN, with joy and sorrow, presents a new recording by tremorkikimor, "a non-human fem ensemble from the nearest swamp", now scattered by Russian war against Ukraine across different countries. Word to the authoresses: ‘Russian expression “В лихую годину” (‘In a bad times’) is right about the chronotope of our album. A field recording with crows and a humming port on Kanonersky Island, essential for this recording, was made amidst the pand…
Unessakaan Ei Voi Välttyä Ratkaisun Etsimiseltä
Miro-Benjamin Lindström's CD, "Unessakaan ei voi välttyä ratkaisun etsimiseltä," immerses listeners in a sonic journey characterized by its deeply minimalistic essence. Lindström crafts a captivating atmosphere through slow, quiet compositions that invite microscopic introspection. The album's title, translating to "Even In A Dream One Cannot Escape the Search for a Solution," hints at the contemplative theme threading through the six tracks. The listener is gently guided through aural landscape…
Polaris
Hot on the heels of their acclaimed second album, Iris, One Million Eyes unveil their latestwork, Polaris. This new album is a rich tapestry of analog and instrumental elements, creatinga vibrant and dynamic experience. Formerly known as Tempelhof (where they collaborated with artists like Gigi Masin), Luciano Ermondi and Paolo Mazzacani created One Million Eyes upon the realizing they needed a new creative outlet to rekindle their passion for making music. This new project allowed them to appro…
Drone Islands - Borealis
While the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is largely celebrated as a breathtaking natural wonder, it also has a more eerie, unexplained, and sinister side that has perplexed and unsettled observers for centuries. The strange, flickering lights have long been steeped in mystique, inspiring tales of supernatural forces, spirits, and even foreboding omens. In the quiet of the Arctic night, where the lights can seem to pulse with an almost otherworldly energy, it’s easy to understand why ancien…