Paa Annandalii - Altars [2015]

This massive release is actually 2 separate albums. I would be very surprised to find a better drone release than this for 2015.
Altars I is reminiscent of the Mohave Triangles sound. I instantly thought of Sky Limousine and Josh Burke as well. It is psych-drone done well. Very well.
Altars II begins in silence and builds like a Steve Roach piece. A slow build to some very warm swells, then before you become aware of it, it's gotten dark. The ending is loud and noisy and massive.

I really don't think I could talk up this album enough.
25 copy limited edition
c95
CPL002
try / buy

Paa Annandalii - Yen Pox [2015]

Robert Thompson is a friend that I have mentioned multiple times before. His previous projects Mohave Triangles and REALMS have been recognized as some of the best psych drone to come out of 2008-2010.
He is one half of Quartz Safari, who have released 2 tapes on Rotifer and Fadeaway, and plan on releasing a 3rd tape soon.
Paa Annandalii was birthed out of the death of Mohave Triangles, and his first release Transhumance brings back memories of feeling like I was traveling on a spaceship when I rode the late night train home.

Yen Pox was recorded in 2012, and is the first release on Robert's label Celestial Paths Ltd. 
The tape is an ultra low-fi 3rd generation recording of droning guitar and synth with an overlay of hypnotizing guitar doodles. Simplistic and patient, it is a definitive ambient piece. It doesn't demand my attention, and yet I find myself getting lost in the track without noticing.

25 copy limited edition
c30
CPL 001
dl / buy 

 

Machinefabriek ‎– Dubbeltjes [2014]

dl

Tomonari Nozaki ‎– Une Histoire De Bleu [2013]

perhaps the best ambient release since 2010







dl

Mark McGuire ‎– Get Me Out Of Here [2010]

dl

Jannick Schou ‎– Act Of Shimmering [2011]

dl

Jannick Schou ‎– Eldey [2013]

dl

Dark Matter Travelers - Lotus Birthing The Cosmos [2013]

dl

Lucette Bourdin

RIP. An ambient god. Think Roach, think Budd. All her releases are available free in lossy/lossless, full detail, and reviews on archive.org. These are just a few of my favorites.

Radiant Stars [2009] 

dl











Silver Moon [2009]

dl

Hakobune

Watching The Prescribed Burn [2013]

 true drone. peaceful. beautiful.

dl [320] / buy

Dead Leaves Crumble [2013]

dl [v0] / buy

support Hakobune. Incredible, prolific artist.

36 - Shadow Play [2013]

He's still got it. 

dl / buy [320]

Fennel - A Leap Across A Chasm [2010]

My buddy Franciscus is a true artist and one of the few people whose taste in ambient/drone I fully trust. Over the past few years we have sent our doodles and ideas back and forth, and it's been a pleasure to watch his techniques and style grow. This release is his first full length dive into ambient music, and it is professional as well as exceptional. As he finished his last semester at UCSB in Mathematics, Franciscus was overcome with nostalgia and decided to create an album to pay homage to his years on campus. Various field recordings from the area are accompanied by hums and swells, creating a tranquil and smooth album. A sound that is not too far from something Fennesz would do, yet original in its own way.

1: Fluid Boundary / Radiant Yellow, Humid Green (7:18)
2: Hollow Reverie (3:29)
3: Twilit Bioswales (4:44)
4: Windswept Chaparral / Fluid Boundary 2 (9:39)
5: Fabricating Memories (7:18)
6: Zona Glacialis (6:03)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/85mb)

Irezumi - Endurance [2008]

Upped by request.
DISCOGS
DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/256/105mb)

Best of 09

#1 Leyland Kirby - Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was

Some of you know Leyland Kirby as The Caretaker or V/Vm. Others may not know him at all. Either way, this album transcends everything he's done in the past. Kirby began focusing on dreams and memories when he started releasing music under The Caretaker. His music seems to be dedicated to this general theme since then. But The Caretaker tries hard to be spooky and fill a niche. This release under his real name sounds more personal. It's a 3xCD release, totaling nearly 4 hours of music. The biggest standout track to me is the sixth track on cd #2, "I've Hummed This Tune To All The Girls I've Known." He uses an instrument I've only heard from early 80's moog artists. He makes it wail and weep. The first and last tracks are melancholy doodles on the piano with swells of drone, and they are heart breakers.

CD 1: When We Parted, My Heart Wanted To Die (76:40)

1: When We Parted, My Heart Wanted To Die (Friedrichshain Memory) (15:06)
2: The Sound Of Music Vanishing (11:15)
3: The Beauty Of The Impending Tragedy Of My Existence (7:36)
4: And As I Sat Beside You I Felt The Great Sadness That Day (12:52)
5: Tonight Is The Last Night Of The World (9:36)
6: To The Place Between The Twilight And The Dawn (20:15)

CD 2: Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was (78:57)

1: When Did Our Dreams And Futures Drift So Far Apart ? (9:53)
2: Not Even Nostalgia Is As Good As It Used To Be (9:40)
3: Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was (20:26) 4: Stay Light, There Is A Rainbow A Coming (12:16)
5: And Nothing Comes Between The Sadness And The Scream (6:59)
6: I've Hummed This Tune To All The Girls I've Known (12:48)
7: Not As She Is Now But As She Appears In My Dreams (6:55)

CD 3: Memories Live Longer Than Dreams (79:58)

1: Memories Live Longer Than Dreams (8:37)
2: Don't Sleep I Am Not What I Seem, I'm A Very Quiet Storm (13:17)
3: A Longing To Be Absorbed For A While Into A Different And Beautiful World (13:20)
4: Days In The Wilderness (4:17)
5: Stralauer Peninsula (16:56)
6: We All Won That Day, Sunshine (2:44)
7: And At Dawn Armed With Glowing Patience, We Will Enter The Cities Of Glory (Stripped) (10:47)

(disc1/disk2/disk3) (Mediafire/mp3/256/417mb)

Best of 09

#2 Celer - Capri

2009 was the year I really got into Celer. After I gave Capri a try, I fell in love and began grabbing every release I could. Then July came along, and news of Dani's death hit me hard. Will told me each album represents a certain time of their life, and each track is a moment/feeling/experience they shared together. Their sound is so personal, and although the listener will never connect to the songs as closely as the creators, some of the emotion seeps through the swells and it's true beauty shines. Celer has raised the bar for my expectations as far as drone goes, and they have given me a new appreciation for ambient music in general.

1: Mouthfeels Of Capreae (3:03)
2: Polaroid Family Portrait (3:40)
3: Unequal Temperament (2:06)
4: Ascensionaires (3:19)
5: A Pause (0:42)
6: An Erne Of A Sigh (3:00)
7: With Ice, Anent The Steam (1:05)
8: We Missed You Favonian (4:21)
9: Listen To The Inverted Sounds, Falling (2:22)
10: Op.0 (0:33)
11: Is Lands (2:40)
12: Bracelets Passed To Spanish Hands (1:29)
13: Paired Plateaus (2:08)
14: When Ice Makes You Weep (2:13)
15: Transposing Piano (1:08)
16: In Characteristic Form (4:17)
17: Transcribe This Past (1:38)
18: Still Running (3:24)
19: In A Past Of Haze, These Beaches (0:58)
20: I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (2:19)
21: Sonata For Dual, Unaccompanied Piano (3:04)
22: Craven Gardens (3:51)
23: Lint White (7:27)
24: Others World (1:21)
25: Symtolomny (2:28)
26: Anacapri (4:18)
27: Lists Of Sycophants And Wishing (3:01)
28: Rich Telescopes (4:10)
29: A Sorted Ending (1:18)

DOWNLOAD (Sendspace/mp3/v2/106mb)

Best of 09

#3 William Basinski - 92982

I don't have much to say about this album. It is Basinski in his best form. He gives you a tease of his ability and loops it. The sound washes over you until it becomes ingrained in your being. When my room is at a certain shade of darkness, I can hear the third track of this album. When I ride the trains in the rain, I hear dlp 3. His tracks haunt me, and the more I listen to them, the more goosebumps I get.

1: 92982.1 (12:54)
2: 92982.2 (22:45)
3: 92982.4 (19:59)
4: 92982.3 (7:07)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/v2/80mb)

Best of 09

#4 36 - Hypersona

Hypersona is the first installment by 36, number 1 in a 3 part series. This album is full of emotion, and whether it makes you happy or sad, it's sure to make you feel something. The sound is hard to pinpoint, but the best way I can explain it is some really dreamy, warm chillout music. Each track floats around with texture and windy static. Cozy stuff, my default album of 09.

1: Signal (1:32)
2: 2249 (2:54)
3: Inside (5:22)
4: Intercept (0:54)
5: The Box (4:55)
6: Nephyr (5:31)
7: Beacon (3:04)
8: Hypersona (5:46)
9: Juliet (3:04)
10: Dream Window (2:01)
11: Forever (5:27)
12: Untitled (0:50)

DOWNLOAD (3six/mp3/v2/65mb)

Best of 09

#5 Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country

Hecker is back again with another massive monolith of an album. If I had to compare it to his other works, I'd say it's like Harmony in Ultravoilet with a more agressive textured sound. Heavy walls of sound mixed with calmer ambient pieces. This album has gotten me through many late night drives, pure bliss when played loud through some nice speakers.


1: 100 Years Ago (3:28)
2: Sea of Pulses (4:41)
3: The Inner Shore (4:17)
4: Pond Life (1:24)
5: Borderlands (4:46)
6: A Stop at the Chord Cascades (4:43)
7: Utropics (1:05)
8: Paragon Point (5:04)
9: Her Black Horizon (1:27)
10: Currents of Electrostasy (3:43)
11: Where Shadows Make Shadows (8:37)
12: 200 Years Ago (4:45)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/95mb)

Best of 09

#6 Gareth Hardwick - Aversions

I'm back from a very nice break, merry christmas to everyone. Hope it was excellent. I've had some serious trouble as to how I should finish this countdown. While I was making the list, I was still downloading new music, and if I had a chance to do it over it would look quite different. No matter though, I'll forge ahead and post the other notable albums when I'm done. This particular release has a strange back story, one that lead Library Tapes, Apalusa, Xela, John Simson, Steinbrüchel, Strategy, Chris Herbert, and Machinefabriek to make guest appearances. Gareth Hardwick has big friends in the ambient industry, and his guitar-based drone is a perfect example of the Low Point sound (the label he runs). While working hard on his new release, a nasty hard drive failure left him with nothing to show. In a dash to release something, he sent out old doodles and samples to his friends, and what came out of it is an album of amazing remixes. Each track is Hardwick's sound accompanied by each artists signature sound. There are also 2 doodles he threw together, which tie up a very pleasing album.

1: Aversions (1:46)
2: Last Heights (Library Tapes Remix) (4:46)
3: David (Apalusa Remix) (11:49)
4: High Tension (Xela Remix) (6:06)
5: Interlude (Ft. John Simson) (1:53)
6: Carnations (Steinbrüchel Remix) (9:04)
7: Last Heights (Strategy Remix) (5:13)
8: Dissolve (Chris Herbert Remix) (11:43)
9: Lost in the Memory (Machinefabriek Remix) (6:49)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/192/80mb)

#9 Chubby Wolf - Meandering Pupa

Chubby Wolf was the moniker of Danielle Banquet-Long, half of the duo Celer. Some of you may know that she passed away this June to heart failure. Although this is a crippling blow, Will (her husband) has informed me that Celer still has around 25 albums to be released, and Chubby Wolf has 9 already lined up with labels. And that's not including re-releases, which he promised as well. Although her death is tragic, her memories and emotions remain in her music. This release is special to me, and although it is short, it makes up for itself in beauty. Calm, peaceful, warm.

1: Anneal This Chord Of Bliss (3:54)
2: Golems Caving In To Rebels (3:48)
3: Before We Get To Grinding (2:34)
4: Melting Upwards (1:22)
5: Barefoot In Head's Hallways (3:49)

DOWNLOAD (Mediafire/mp3/320/35mb)

edit: you can also download/preview this album in lossy/lossless here