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The first collaboration between Yair Elazar Glotman (Berlin) and Mats Erlandsson (Stockholm) started back in 2015. Their first joint album was released in 2017 on Miasmah Records. „Negative Chambers“ was created on traditional acoustic instruments. It was one of the best ambient/drone records in the class of 2017 and also reviewed here.

Both proliftic composers are fimiliar with collaborations. Yair Elazar Glotman was heavently involved in the Jóhann Jóhannsson composed soundtrack „Last and First Man“ on the german imprint Deutsche Gramophon. Mats Erlandsson on the other side works on different projects. For example the last two records from Maria W. Horn (Epistasis, Kontrapoetik) and his own fantastic EP „Hypodermic Letters“. With their new release „Emanate“ they try something different with a wonderful ensamble in the background. They follow-on with their ideas of a „displaced sound“ and combining electronic and accustic sounds, both analog and digital. In our fast living word „Emanate“ feels like a foreign body. It‘s a very fine-detailed record. Everything starts with „From Light To Refrection“ a slow starting intro and drone-based background. After a period of time they added strings and orchestra parts. The classical elements here are very detailed in the brackground. The record himself was divided into nine parts and was envisaged and recorded as one long single piece. The structure in „Emanate“ follows a three part palindrome A1 – B1 – C – B2 – A2. Each track will followed by an „Interlude“. Because of that structure it‘s difficult to pick an single track as a highlight. In terms of atmopshere it could be compared to Hildur Guðnadóttir‘s „Chernobyl“ score or Jóhann Jóhannsson‘s „The Miner‘s Hymns“. It‘s hard to describe in words and has to be listened by yourself. „Emanate is a texturally rich, deep spectrum exploration that flows and unfolds almost seamlessly throughout it‘s fifty-minute span to create an energy field which feels simultaneously static and yet continually shifting (Bandcamp)“.

As a sound artist and composer Holm started back in 2014 with his first record „Andøya“ it was made from contact mic recordings of pylons carrying communications cables that connected listening stations on an Arctic Norwegian island. Eric Holm‘s new album reflects on his time spent underwater. A series of field recordings captured both above and below the surfaces.

With his new album „Surface Variations“ Holm creates an intimate atmosphere via oceanic sounds and rhythms taken from mechanical diving apparatuses. It connects the dissonances between humanity and nature in such a perfect way. It starts with the wide open field recordings from „Phorcys“ to imagine this special underwater atmosphere. It combines nature sounds with a tone of science fiction elements. „Sagara“ starts with way more distortion and drone elements and a nice interplay between light and darkness. Here you can feel the mystery of the ocean with a sort of meditation. With „Alioth“ the main tone switches in a more dark tone area with his stomping rhythm. It‘s a very unique and special track wich such an exciting flow. „Opalescence“ on the other hand brings the light back an stage. With a variety of elements here. It feels a bit weightless, like you are lost in space or between two worlds with a peak at the end. Difficult to describe in words but it reminds me on the last William Basinski (One Time Out of Time) from last year. The next one „Salp“ draws a different picture without changes the album main-tone. It starts with nature field recordings and combine it with a great ambient tone. To complete „Surface Variations“ the stomping „Trifolium“ marks an great end. To describe it in just one sentence: „Driftign alone, the sea becomes a timeless space for contemplation, a place to dream of new futures whilst reconciling the flotsam of the past (Bandcamp)“. What a fantastic record, highly recommended!

Everything between Daniel Avery and Alessandro Cortini started as a collaborative experiment a couple of years ago. Avery and Cortini worked remotely out of any concept or deadline. Back in 2018 when both finished their tour with Nine Inch Nails they completed the final result „Illusion of Time“. A record with the collision of two unexpected sounds.

„Illusion Of Time“ is a powerful album rooted in trust, process and experimentation. It starts with the opening track „Sun“. A massive drone and a raw synth driven one. It works nicely to dive into the record. It floods perfectly into the album title track, one of the highlights on „Illusion Of Time“. It’s a more focussed track and way more silent then the opener. The melody is the key element here. With a small amount of distortion and noise, it’s such a beautiful track. „CC Pad“ picks up the slower tempo from the predecessor. It‘s more like an ambient track and together with „Space Channel“ it works more like a bridge between this and the next one. With „Inside The Ruins“ the album tone switches again to a more dark and uncomfortable picture. It’s a pulsing and impressing track at the same way. „At First Sight“ and „Interrupted By The Cloud Of Light“ catches the key elements from „Illusion Of Time“ as two great ambient tracks before „Enter Exit“ smashes the stage. It‘s clearly a Cortini infected track. Such a beast of a track! Next to last is „Water“ an ambient track that drifts away sometimes but still keep his foundation. It shows in such a great way the strength of this record. As a heavy synthy based record it never feels monoton. The record fades out with the closing part of „Stills“. „Illusion Of Time“ delivers a great varity of sounds and spectrum, thanks to Avery and Cortini for such a nice collaboration.

Brooklyn-based cellist and neo-classic artist Clarice Jansen released one of the most relevant records in 2020. After her critical acclaimed debut „For This From That Will Be Filled“ back in 2018, Jansen comes back with a more Drone influenced record. Different as the predecessor, it‘s entirely written and performed by Jansen itself with a high variety of effects and pedals.

With her new album „The Experience Of Repetition As Death“ Jansen debuts on the well known FatCat records imprint. The record was mixed by Francesco Donadello (A Winged Victory For The Sullen) and mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Vox-Ton studios in Berlin back in 2018. Jansen works with a bunch of stellar artists in the past, including Jóhann Jóhannson, Max Richter, Dustin O‘Holloran and Stars Of The Lid. She also works as artistic director of the well known ACME (The American Contemporary Music Ensemble) to develop modern classical music to the next level. As a solo artist Jansen is an expert to improvising and layering her instruments through loops and electronic effects with a rich series of drone-based sound fields. With her new record Jansen reaches a new level of this evolution. It starts with the massive cello foreground in the opening track „Daily“. It‘s a more neo classical one that‘s divided into two parts and fading perfectly into the second track. „Day tonight“ starts with a dark-tone drone intro. The reference to earlier works from Rafael Anton Irisarri isn‘t unmistakeable. It‘s a balance between darkness and light and the shades between. With „Metastable“ the drones are more present and frightening. It was inspired by the chorus of repetitive beeping heard in hospitals. The beeps here integrate themselves into a single loop. But one of the most dramatic parts of the five pieces is „Holy Mother“. For me it‘s the center and masterpiece of the record. It starts with a dramatic Cello part before the drone elements kicks in. The switching between fore and background is pure beauty. The title refers to the Tibetan name of Mount Everest (Qomolangma). With a runtime about 12 minutes it is also the longest track of the record. It‘s a monument of a track! With the closing track Jansens picks up the tape loops from the opener, but this time with the tape having been subjected to methods of degredation in order to erode the sound. It ends with a quartet of cellos and a warm melody without effects and a perfect fading out. „The Experience Of Reputation As Death“ is a powerful record between neo classic and drone elements. What a journey!

Back in February, the Indianapolis based record label Past Inside The Present signed a new artist called T.R. Jordan, former known as The Greatest Hoax. The Washington based composer debuts with the contemporary classic album “Just For You”. It’s a very unique record about the evolution of personal relationship and the paths they take.

„Just For You“ is an record that fits perfectly in these unpredictable times. It‘s a very intimate and personal one. Nowadays there a lot of contemporary classic albums out there, but only a few of them shines as bright as this one. Produced and mixed by Rafael Anton Irisarri (The Sight Below, Ghostly International) and mastered by Taylor Deupree (12K Mastering). The details in arragements and behind the scenes are very impressive. Each track has it‘s own identity. All of it starts with the slowly piano keys of „Unsaid“. This piano leads the track the hole time in cooperation of the ambient base line. Drone meets ambient meets neo classic. „Bruised World“ picks up the mood and sets the piano more in the foreground. Later on additional strings matches perfectly. A very beautiful stripped down / acoustic track. The next one is „Leap of Faith“. A clearly more ambient oriented track that fits perfect as the album main part. Next up is one of my favourite tracks on „Just For You“. „Reflection“ shines from start to finish. On one hand the track is very simple and works with just a few arrangements. But on the other hand these kind of simplicity here is the key. It‘s still the most intense moment of the hole album. The album closer „Rise Again“ and „Still Yours“ are not less impressive and complement the album in a great way. The six tracks presented here are spellbinding contemporary classical overtures of such spectacular beauty they seem destined to score the most humanistic moments of sci fi (Juno Records).

It‘s been a while since the last record from Dustin O‘ Halloran and Adam Wilzie as A Winged Victory For The Sullen was released. Their last effort „Atoms“ was released in 2014 on their long time collaboration label Erased Tapes. For the new one they switched to the larger imprint Ninja Tune. „The Undivided Five“ has a long not terminated creation process that starts in the beginning of 2018.

Unbound by any timeline Dustin O‘ Halloran and Adam Wilzie starts with the work on a new A Winged Victory For The Sullen record in spring 2018. The creation process involves many different locations around europe. All of the Orcestra recordings were done in Budapest (Hungarian Radio). A place from history were time stands still. As discribed by Adam Wilzie, it‘s never easy to take a great recording. Many things has come together. It isn‘t planable. Back in Island (Greenhouse Studios) they do some experimental recordings together with Ben Frost. Some works on the arrangements and manipulation of loops. The third recording location takes place in a church in Brussels (Saint-Jean-Baptiste Au Beguinage). They capture the sound of the church by a three set of mics and some speakers. To combine all of that, they to the mixing at Vox-Ton Studios in Berlin. With the help of Francesco Donadello they put all pieces together. But how does it sound? In a short form, fantastic. But that‘s a review so we start with the monumental 8 minute opener „Our Lord Debussy“, were the piano fades in. It‘s a perfect combination between Drone and Neo classic. A journey with many different attempts. It goes on with the ambient tone of „Sullen Sonata“. A more floating, warm melody and string driven track with some up and downs. It leads perfectly to the piano sequence of „The Haunted Victorian Pencil“. It‘s a gorgeous piece of music. After that the album re-creates space, to slowly evolve „The Slow Descent Has Begun“ were strings fades in and changes the tone quite carefully. The next track „Aqualung, Motherfucker“ starts with a wide opening until the piano drops in. The track is seperated in sequences, were drone elements are permanent in the background. „A Minor Fifth Is Made Of Phantoms“ sounds like far away. It‘s a melancholy/sad one that plays with emotions. Sequenzing is one of the main parts of „The Undivided Five“ and „Adios, Florida“ is another perfect example. Nevertheless of complexity it doesn‘t feel overloaded. A late highlight comes with „The Rhythm Of A Dividing Pair“ with a synthie driven melody and a heavy done second part of it. The closing track marks a worthy completion. It sounds like a farewell. Hopefully not to long. In one word: Masterpiece!

Last year berlin based scandinavian composer Erik Levander released a remarkable record called “Couesnon” for Katuktu Collective. Just after one year of absestence Levander returned with “Inåt” on Forwind. Levander is an mastermind for dark ambient drone records and “Inåt” is no exception!

In 2018 Levander surprised us with an unexpected release for Katuktu Collective. The extraordinary dark “Couesnon” was definitely a hidden drone gem from 2018. In a year full of great drone and ambient releases it could be easily missed, but that would be a shame. The 4-Track release is full of amazing tracks, like the opening one indicates. The new one isn’t completely different but it’s definitely more synth driven like the predecessor. The album title “Inåt”, translating “Inwards”, refers to the introspectiveness of the compositions, drawing inspiration from personal struggles in everyday life. Inåt still features a vibrant blend of digital, analog and acoustic sounds. It all starts with the gorgeous heavy Blade Runner like opener “Oförankrad”, a 7 minute dark/drone firework. The follow one “Prövning” is totaly alarming. The distortion and urgent pulsing make it the most taut and alarming piece on the album. With “År av tvivel” Levander reduces the tempo and volume a bit to provide a more oppressive and menace like atmopshere. In some parts it reminds me on the also fantastic Chernobly OST from Hildur Guðnadóttir. The second part of “Inåt” is more ambient and instrumental. “Tomhetens räckvidd” is a deep and emotive instrumental track. Erik combines electronics and woodwind with a restraint and panache that results in a beautiful and understated piece of music. But that’s not all, the album closes with the epic sounded “Celestografi”! Is there any better way to close an album? I guess not. What a journey, thanks Erik!