A CLOSER LISTEN weekly #16
The 40 Best Compilation Albums of All Time
Dear Listeners. Joseph again. I promised some lists coming up, and the season deluge has now begun. We’re currently in the middle of our ACL Fall Previews, always a much loved feature. I’ll collect those in the next installment, after all the categories have been published But just a few days ago, ACL co-founder Jeremy Bye compiled our staff picks for the “The 40 Best Compilation Albums of All Time.” This was really fun to put together, both making my own list, but especially seeing what my colleagues thought to include as their picks. What makes a great compilation anyway? Of course, the answer to this is going to be somewhat subjective, and Jeremy identifies a number of different categories that speak to the spirit that animates ACL.
In going through the process of compiling my favorites, however, there were a number of personally important compilations that just didn’t feel appropriate for ACL. That said, we all have to start somewhere, and hopefully these off the cuff reflections may be of interests to readers of this newsletter. I certainly didn’t grow up listening to John Cage and Morton Feldman. I had never heard to Stockhausen until after 9/11. My earliest musical memories was making my parents put Bon Jovi or Michael Jackson on the turntable again. (It was the late 1980s…) Like many kids of my generation, I bought Green Day’s Dookie and The Offspring’s Smash in 1994, when I was ten years old. I didn’t have money then and my family was never very well off, so I acquired new CDs very slowly in those days. Then in 1997, I bought a copy of Epitaph Records Punk O Rama Vol. 2. I’m pretty certain this was the first label sampler I ever came across, and in a very serious way it changed my life and influenced how I continue to discover new music to this day. I honestly can’t remember what drew me to it, but it may very well have just been the artwork. I doubt very much that I was aware then that this was the same label who released Smash, but maybe I was. I must have seen Rancid’s video for “Ruby Soho” by that point, but I don’t think any of the other bands on here would have rung any bells. I still remember the feeling of hearing Descendants, Pennywise, Pulley, Millencolin, NOFX, and Bad Religion for the first time, and more than any other single experience, listening to Punk O Rama Vol. 2 changed the course of my life for the next few years. It also matters that this was the second volume. There was more to go back and discover, all these bands with histories stretching back a decade or more, so many records to discover that would lead to other bands and other records. I can only compare it to randomly picking up a comic book on a spinner rack at the drugstore or the newstand; there’s this disorientation that happens, but it is exciting because that small glimpse of a larger world leaves you wanting more.
By 1998, I was an angsty eighth grader and was primed for hardcore. Pop punk was beginning to lose my interest, and groups like Pennywise and Bad Religion had instilled in me some expectation of politics from punk that seemed foreign to groups like Blink 182 and MxPx. And so somehow Chicago’s Victory Records found me the same as Epitaph, and in fact there was a direct connection. Epitaph released Refused’s magnum opus, The Shape of Punk to Come in the fall of 1998, which I bought immediately after hearing “Summer Holidays vs Punk Routine” on Punk O Rama Vol. 4 in June 1999. But then I learned that Refused had broken up mid tour the previous year, sending me digging for their earlier records. I suspect that’s what brought Victory Style II to me, though I may be misremembering, maybe I heard this first and that tipped me off to Refused’s record on Epitaph. In any case, Refused was probably the first band I had to search for to find their records, to mail order their old CDs, to scrape the then-relatively sparse Internet for any and all information about this band from Sweden.
Besides Refused, that Victory compilation introduced me to Earth Crisis, Strife, Snapcase, and Integrity. Going to see such groups was a revelation, especially Snapcase. Earth Crisis’ militancy was interesting but ultimately didn’t appeal to me, while a Snapcase seemed to suggest a way to make heavy music that eschewed tough guy posturing and mindless aggression. It was at hardcore shows that I got introduced to contemporary political struggles, from fights against police brutality to environmentalism and animal rights. Victory’s aesthetic would shift over the years, and I was there for a lot of it, from seeing Boysetsfire and Thursday in a New Jersey firehouse in the summer of 2000 up to Taking Back Sunday headlining massive venues just a few short years later. Right, so we’re rather far from the ACL aesthetic, but I can still see an important throughline. The experimentation that Refused displayed on The Shape of Punk to Come made a lasting impression, and I continued to hunt for new and surprising sounds after that, even when it led to genres I may not have anticipated. But style aside, sampling a label’s catalogue remains one of my tried and true methods of discovering new music. And that all began with my first compilation.
Sound off in the comments and share your own early memories with compilations, or any of your favorites for that matter. OK, now onto the main feature:
The 40 Best Compilation Albums of All Time (part one, part two)
The 40 Best Compilation Albums of All Time ~ Part One
You may not think of compilations with the same nostalgia that you treat the first record you bought in a shop. But there is a good chance that your first opportunity of experiencing music in a physical form, be it LP, tape, or CD, was a compilation. It could have been a present from a grandparent, uncertain what a child might like. It could have been a magazine’s cover-mounted CD; maybe an old one lying around the house and caught your eye. It may have been a mixtape passed on by a friend. But the variety of names and song titles, with a design that caught the attention said the same thing. Listen to this – it will change your world.
We mention ‘mixtapes’ above because – in a sense – a lot of these compilations operate in the same field. Instead of a tape compiler spending hours picking out the right tracks to go in the correct order, and then sweating over a tape deck to ensure the volumes stay consistent, it’s a record label doing the same thing. Ultimately, they seek to achieve the same goal. If you or I make a compilation, it is to impress a friend with our breadth of taste or – maybe – express our depths of emotion to that girl we have a crush on. This is who I am! these tapes say. Please like me! But where we are concerned on this list, it is Kranky and Constellation who are projecting the same sentiment. And, as it turns out, the whole planet: we sent a compilation into space on the Voyager probes. This is who we are! Check out our record collection!
This list is not just about record labels or friends – or planets – seeking to attract fresh new music fans. There are a couple of other areas where we can detect a theme. The first is the attempt to define a musical style, to pull together a collection of tracks that share similar features but might not have previously sat next to each other. Pool your selection and give it a genre name: breakcore, post-rock, turntablism, etc. If you are a label with a creative and inventive roster (pretty much the only sort of label we review at ACL), then you can task them with making something special: locked grooves, ringtones, pieces for pipe organ, for example. Pick your theme wisely and time the compilation’s release well, and suddenly you have produced a work that defines an era.
The other style of compilation is retrospective curation: this is where record labels really do the work. Thorough research, proper licensing, and eye-catching design work are contributory factors. The trick is to detect an area of music that hasn’t been raked over thoroughly before. Analog Africa, Light In The Attic, Numero Group, and Soul Jazz are all labels that excavate the past with welcome levels of care and sensitivity; shining a spotlight on previously ignored areas of music. You might not like everything they uncover, but they often find a gem that points you off in a fresh musical direction.
We’ve listed 40 compilations here, although there has been a bit of rule-stretching, so some entries include multiple titles. There are 20 today and 20 tomorrow, listed alphabetically; we’ve included links to Bandcamp where possible, YouTube or Discogs where it isn’t. One of the drawbacks with compilations is that ones that feature multiple licenses go out of print and don’t reappear, and some that we have included are tricky to track down. Happy exploring!
Angola Soundtrack – The Unique Sound Of Luanda 1968-1976 (Analog Africa, 2010)
A friend passed me the three-volume Buda Musique compilations a few years before this came out, igniting a deep love for Angolan music. While I had some grounding in Brazilian music and knew a bit of African jazz and funk, genres which seem to make up the roots of much Angolan music, this music transcends shared rhythms and triads. So I was primed for the release of Analog Africa’s Angola Soundtrack, which is impeccably curated to present the best of the best, including pioneering artists Os Bongos, Africa Ritmos, Os Kiezos, and the truly exceptional David Zé. Recorded during Angola’s war of independence from Portuguese colonization and the first years of the subsequent decade’s long civil war, these songs largely eschew melancholy in favor of dance floor-ready celebration in the face of the trauma of war. While the more psychedelic 2013 follow-up might more readily appeal to our readers, Angola Soundtrack remains the best introduction to the music of this era. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Artificial Intelligence (Warp, 1992)
Warp had a tradition of compiling their early club-focussed 12” releases into handy compilations with the word ‘groove’ in the title. So the arrival of Artificial Intelligence in 1992 was a conscious repositioning of the label. This was a prelude for a new series – of albums, no less, for home listening. Aside from Alex Paterson, whose “Loving You Live” creates a bridge between Warp and The Orb’s ambient techno, all the artists featured would be part of the Artificial Intelligence series. There were a few name changes along the way, but Aphex Twin, Autechre, B12, Richie Hawtin, Speedy J, and Black Dog Productions would be part of this highly influential wave of ‘electronic music for the mind.’ The series would draw to a close with the second Artificial Intelligence compilation that is track-for-track the stronger release but lacks the audacious shock of the new of the first edition. (Jeremy Bye)
Bangs & Works, Volume 1: A Chicago Footwork Compilation (Planet Mu, 2010)
Gradually over the last decade or so, footwork seems to have gained a foothold in popular consciousness. Nowadays, it seems an increasing number of electronic musicians are influenced by its rapidly fidgety beats, moody sub-bass, and bizarrely abstract vocal snippets. However, footwork already had a ten-year history when Planet Mu released this compilation in 2010 (and the second instalment the following year). This genre grew from the underbelly of Chicago house, serving the needs of competitive dance battles. Though late to the party, this primer is still a worthy competitor for our listening time. It is a compelling initiation into an understated, but uncompromising music whose idiosyncrasies show it was in no hurry to court mass appeal. Including multiple tracks per artist may break compilation etiquette, but allows listeners to develop a taste for individual styles – those of lesser-known artists, as well as the best-known trailblazers like RP Boo and DJ Rashad. (Samuel Rogers)
Berceuses (Albin Michel Publishing House / CIRM / Museums of Paris, 1991)
Even after 30 years, the pitch for this album is still unique: lullabies and music for children composed by cutting-edge avant-garde artists. Mostly from Europe, these composers bring atonality, complex rhythms, electroacoustic methods, collage techniques, and highly irregular approaches to the lullaby form. Considering the people involved, some efforts are surprisingly tame, like Robert Ashley’s “Giving Love Away”, which has a dreamful, impressionistic quality; others retain a certain radicalism, such as Georges Aperghis’ “Berceuse”, an atonal exercise that reframes the freedom of wonder less as a Romantic flow of imagination and more as an organizational principle for endless sequences of sound. Accompanied by a book of paintings by modernist Dutch artist Corneille, who was committed to vanguard art education for children, this multimedia work of art records a special moment in modern composition, an experiment in truly bringing enriching, difficult art to all. (David Murrieta Flores)
Birds of a Feather – Boxed Set (Flaming Pines, 2014)
We hope it’s not cheating to include a boxed set that was originally 12 separate CD3″s. The set also appears on A Closer Listen’s Best Field Recording & Soundscape Albums of the Decade. The fact that the compilation is now a dozen tiny discs in a tiny birdhouse is a visual and tactile bonus, but the music is the selling point. Whenever possible, the artists include field recordings of the birds in question; when the birds are extinct, they make do with aural inventions. The subjects span science and folk tales, from the common crow to the legendary phoenix. Each piece ends up being a meditation on nature’s beauty and fragility. With 460 avian species now classified as endangered, the survivors need all the love and attention they can get. (Richard Allen)
Brain in a Box: The Science Fiction Collection (Rhino Records, 2000)
For over two decades, visitors have asked about the holographic brain in my music room. It’s Brain in a Box! Inside the box are a book and five discs, which collect Movie Themes, TV Themes, Pop, Incidental/Lounge, and Novelty songs. To listen is to travel through time and space, spanning the generations of what people once imagined as “future music.” From the classics (The Day the Earth Stood Still) to The Matrix, combining well-known tracks (“Telstar”) with lesser-known gems, the box set is a real treat. Considering how scary some of these shows and movies once were, it’s amazing to see fear translated into fun. While we’re at it, a happy 65th anniversary to The Blob, as viewing parties have sprung up across the globe this year, reenacting the rush from the movie theatre! If Amazon is sold out, look for copies on eBay. (Richard Allen)
Chain Reaction … Compiled (Chain Reaction, 1998)
Released five years into the existence of the defining minimal techno label’s decade-long run of genre-defining 12”s, These nine tracks compiled from vinyl, remastered and collected on one CD, serve as a document of the best of European minimal techno. Under the monikers Basic Channel, Rhythm & Sound, Maurizio, and others, Berlin-based production duo Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald transformed the sounds of Detroit techno with Jamaican dub techniques. Their labels were always shrouded in mystery preferring the attention fall on the music itself, so it’s fitting that this rare CD edition goes beyond the obvious classics. Porter Ricks and Monolake are the best known of the artists featured here, and deliver what are probably still the strongest cuts, but the lesser-remembered artists such as Vainqueur shine as well, often in varying permutations, solo outings or new duo combinations. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Compilame’sta (Híbridas y Quimeras, 2019)
The noise scene and its ways of performing have been customarily associated with a type of masculinity, its aggression, violence, and freedom coded through virile forms of negation. The queer & feminist collective Híbridas y Quimeras (‘Hybrids and Chimeras’), from Mexico City, has since 2017 laid claim to noise and experimental electronic music as cyborg practices that affirm life: ‘Noise is witchery. Noise is magic. Noise is pleasure’, they state. The collective’s understanding of noise is an expansive one, freeing it from the restraints of pure aural negativity. Whether it’s the meditative minimalism of Alina Sánchez’s “En el agua” or the grinding electronics of Magenta’s “Time Illness”, this music is framed as confrontation, the anthology’s title a common word-game in Mexico meant as an insult. This witchery, magic and pleasure are not meant for peace, but a life-affirming war, a battle for freedom and equality that will surely define our age. (David Murrieta Flores)
Cosmic Machine: A Voyage Across French Cosmic and Electronic Avantgarde (1970-1980) (Because Music, 2013)
In the title of this wonderful compilation, two details risk misleading us. ‘1970-1980’ gives the sense of an archival retrospective – but this music is so tantalisingly fresh it could be recorded tomorrow. Meanwhile, ‘avantgarde’ these musicians may be, but pop sensibilities are not far away. Rather than cold and menacing synth textures, this record tends toward shimmering brightness. Its catchier moments would not seem amiss beneath a chart-topping love song. Taking a broader listen, the component parts include spacey vignettes, cinematic synth, lite electro-funk, lush and airy disco, over-saturated string arrangements, plasticky TV soundtracks, and vocoder-wielding robo-pop. The line-up stretches from new age to new wave, yet astonishingly it hangs together perfectly with a coherent palette of joyfully synthetic sound. (Samuel Rogers)
Diggin’ in the Carts: A Collection of Pioneering Japanese Video Game Music (Hyperdub, 2017)
Perhaps because of its commercial context as part of a product, videogame music has pretty much never been the subject of anthologies. This compilation, made after the documental mini-series by Red Bull Music Academy, single-handedly pushes forward the notion that, far from an afterthought, these pieces seamlessly cross musical contexts, enriching the historical panorama of electronic music in Japan (and beyond). These chiptunes from the 80s and 90s show the potential creativity of new, surprising sounds, as well as of the synthesis of altogether familiar ones converted into aural data; an 8-bit orchestral piece’s merit does not reside in its fidelity to acoustic instruments, but in their utter transformation. There is an entire world of creativity in the chipset that is constantly reacting to the pressures of the game industry and the musical artworld, producing works that are often as simple and fun as they are innovative. (David Murrieta Flores)
Earth, Volume One: LTJ Bukem Presents… (Earth, 1996)
Drum n’ bass was a music forged through 12” singles, dubplates, and limited pressings. Only a handful of producers were bold enough to make an album-length statement – and the success rate was not particularly high. However, drum n’ bass flourished in the field of compilations, although – again – the results were often mixed. One name stood out – when LTJ Bukem ‘presented’ a release, you could be assured of quality. Although Logical Progression is arguably better known, we’ve gone for Earth Volume One., which tempers the drum n’ bass with fusion-inspired grooves: across ten tracks, there’s a lot more variation than you might expect. The influence of jazz here is palpable: Poets Of Thought seem less interested in an Amen Break than a funky bassline and latin percussion. Their three tracks contrast the frantic jungle rhythms elsewhere: and the compilation ends on its strongest moment, Doc Scott’s “Tokyo Dawn.” (Jeremy Bye)
Ecomodern series (Eco Futurist Corporation, 2015-2018)
Through conceptual eclecticism, the Ecomodern compilations made their mark on electronic music as a neo-avant-garde project, picking up on the lost trail of green modernism co-opted by technocrats and extremely rich world-swindlers. Against their dreams of sustainable exploitation – keeping the outmoded nature/culture divide alive – the Eco Futurist Corporation presented hybrids of various kinds, in which said divide becomes completely muddled: natural sounds from field recordings merge with computer-generated natural sounds, while grime beats are built through the techniques of musique concrète. The artists gathered here are equally diverse, adapting the principles of an ecomodernism guided by utopian science fiction to mould genres as distinct as vaporwave and drone into a series of interesting exercises in futurist world-building. This alternative ‘fictioning’ of sounds weaves another, hopeful meaning for the digital means of production that, whether we find ourselves in agreement or not, does encapsulate the urgency of the problems of our time. (David Murrieta Flores)
Field Works Metaphonics: The Complete Field Works Recordings (Temporary Residence, 2018)
In competitive terms, this project was always going to have an edge on a list of Best Compilations, because it’s a massive offering: seven LPs and a book, including a healthy amount of music from Matmos, Mary Lattimore, Eluvium and many more. Stuart Hyatt’s field recordings are the starting point for this series of explorations, which travels from the subterranean caverns of earth to the outer reaches of space, making many stops along the way: a state fair, a waterway, a cave without a name. Bernie Krause writes the introduction to the book, which is itself inspired by his writings, a beautiful feedback loop. Since its initial publication (and billing as ‘complete’), the series has continued with a new round of laudable entries. (Richard Allen)
Fluxus Anthology: A Collection of Music and Sound Events, Edited by Maurizio Nannucci (Recorthings & Zona Archives, 1989)
The avant-garde international movement and organization known as Fluxus was crucial in defining what we know today as sound art. Cutting across borders, political and aesthetic alike, its multidisciplinary practice interwove performance and music with a confrontational, yet playful ethos: ‘take a record and eat it’, says Ben Vautier in “Some Ideas for Fluxus”, and ‘if it’s too hard, throw it out the window’. A profound questioning of music as an institution and the categories that support its status is but one of the results produced by Fluxus’ incisive explorations of the limits between art and life. This veritable archive of a compilation, then, fruitfully brings together artists that did not reduce themselves to either the visual, the poetic, or the musical, but often, like Nam June Paik, pierced through all of them. Claim this piece of history as yours, and let it claim you as well. (David Murrieta Flores)
Folklore Tapes Calendar Customs Box-Set (Folklore Tapes, 2017)
How helpful to have four compilations compiled into one! This box set includes Crown of Light (Mid-Summer Traditions and Folklore), Fore Hallowe’en, Mid-Winter Rites & Revelries and Merry May, and now we don’t have to decide between them! The label is known for reflecting its name, and we recommend a romp through the entire catalog (with a special stop at Black Dog Traditions of England). The joy is not only in the listening, but in the reading, as one learns the right time of year to send burning wheels into the sea, and why ghost stories are told at Christmas. While the music can be spooky (there is a Halloween entry, after all!), there’s even more bucolic fun to be had, as birds sing, children dance around the May Pole, and a new generation rediscovers the joy of Saturnalia ~ to which Santa is invited. (Richard Allen)
4 Women No Cry Vol. 2 (Monika Enterprise, 2006)
Three volumes of 4 Women No Cry were produced between 2005 and 2008 on Monika Enterprise, the label run by Gudrun Gut. The premise was pretty simple: allocate four musicians approximately 16 minutes to showcase their work: a side each for the vinyl edition. It should not have been noteworthy that all 12 artists featured were female, but electronic-based music was even more male-dominated then. It is a situation that has improved slightly in the last 15 years but obviously still not enough. Most of the women here had only one opportunity to make an album, before – we hope – exploring other artistic avenues. There was some success: Lucrecia Dalt and Julia Holter both appeared on the third volume. We’ve picked out Volume 2 as the one to go for though, as it is a wealth of avant-pop, electronic exploration, and female energy. It’s a genuine shame that all four musicians have faded from view since. (Jeremy Bye)
The Gamelan Music of Bali (Seven Seas, 1991)
Although it’s cheating, our recommendation is really for the entire World Music Library in which this enthralling recording appeared. Issued throughout the 1990s by Japanese sub-label Seven Seas, the series contains countless gems that are worth dusting off. This disc surveys the dazzling, metallic percussion of Balinese gamelan ensembles (most of whom remain unnamed in the track listing). According to the liner notes, one of these compositions is subject to an evil spell, whilst another is so close to divinity that recordings were taboo. Thankfully, the musicians and label overcame the supernatural odds to collect these tracks, guiding us through important styles within the genre. A forceful, energetic example of gamelan gong kebyar gives way to two tracks of gamelan semar pegulingan, dizzyingly uplifting with light rapidness of touch. The thumping, processional sound of gamelan gong gede stands in stately contrast against the intimate, chamber instrumentation of gamelan selonding. This is surely a tourist’s way of experiencing gamelan – but you will return to its hypnotic beauty for visit after visit. (Samuel Rogers)
Headz (Mo’Wax, 1994)
This wasn’t the first Mo’Wax compilation, but it arguably defined the label and created a genre – trip-hop – in the process. The cover by Massive Attack’s 3D, the typography by Swifty, the inspirations listed on the sleeve – it all amounted to James Lavelle making a statement. Headz included artists who had paved the way, such as Nightmares On Wax and musicians who shared a similar sound (albeit briefly in the case of Autechre). However, the majority of the selections here were drawn from the Mo’Wax roster – RPM, Attica Blues and La Funk Mob would all release singles on the label. It was fresh, exciting and new music that made the provincial customer feel several degrees cooler by association. The most influential name on Headz was DJ Shadow, who contributed two lengthy excursions on the second CD, paving the way for “What Does Your Soul Look Like” and Endtroducing. (Jeremy Bye)
The Holidays Don’t Have To Be So Rotten (Flannelgraph Records, 2010)
What options does one have if one enjoys Christmas music, but is sick of hearing the same old Christmas songs? In 2010, Flannelgraph Records came to the rescue with The Holidays Don’t Have to Be So Rotten, capturing the mingled joy and melancholy of the season with intelligent, nostalgic, mostly instrumental pieces. Volume One even includes Foxhole, a post-rock band diving into pop for the occasion. Due to their instrumental nature, many of the entries are also perfectly suited for winter. The series would eventually last four volumes and offer 89 tracks, each volume featuring songs that provide the same amount of relief and distraction today. All four are still streaming, offering hope for the times when the spiked eggnog isn’t enough and one needs to survive the holidays with dignity. (Richard Allen)
Invasion From xXx Dimension (Mutant Sniper, 2004)
From the late 1970s, DJs began excerpting drum breaks from old records as a source for new music. They cannot have foreseen the sheer range of innovative styles that would pump breakbeats as their lifeblood. At one extreme of this spectrum, somewhere beyond drum and bass, is breakcore. Released on Mutant Sniper (an imprint of French electronic label Peace Off), this compilation is an admirable gateway to the genre. It showcases breath-taking programming of drums, typically cribbed from the Amen break and reconstituted into endless new shapes. This music is a thrillingly shifting terrain – but a full-length album can feel like an exhausting pummelling. Compilations give us one way of looking past the monolithic thumping (and the obnoxiously infantile humour) to discern the variety of techniques and aesthetics these artists employ. My personal highlight is Dev-Null’s contribution, which happens to have the best title: “Fuck Anyone Who Wasn’t Into the Stuff I’m Into Before I Was”. (Samuel Rogers)
Welcome to the second half of our list, in which we survey the best compilations. We shall keep the introductory waffle to part one, but suffice to say – we have tried to be as comprehensive as possible for this article. We wanted to cover multiple genres and styles of compilation while keeping within the ACL remit as much as possible. We have dived deep into our collections and picked out records that had considerable influence on us. Sometimes, these discs introduced us to new styles, genres, or labels that we had previously been unaware of. Elsewhere, there are picks that contain music by some of our favourite artists: the bonus is that the compiler places the tracks together in a way that everybody stands out. It is, of course, possible that across these 40 titles, we have omitted your favourites: please let us know in the comments if there is something we have overlooked. Thanks for reading – and happy exploring!
Isolationism: Ambient 4 (Virgin Ambient Series, 1994)
The first three volumes of Virgin Records’ A Brief History of Ambient embraced the warm, fluffy and accessible end of the genre, drawing on the label’s expansive back catalogue. The fourth in the series pulled a complete 180. Compiled by Kevin Martin, Isolationism redefined a genre: this is the cold, jagged, brooding dark side of ambient that unnerves rather than comforts. It’s probably best experienced alone, at night, with lights dimmed and all the doors locked. The mood here is relentless; there’s scarcely time to breathe between the grinding intensity on display here. Martin was able to jettison Virgin’s artists and draw on a much wider spread of artists, from recognisable ‘ambient’ names such as Aphex Twin and Labradford to the more esoteric areas of improv, noise and abstract metal. All understood the assignment: to show that ambient isn’t merely a musical comfort blanket adrift in the mainstream but can unsettle and disturb equally effectively. (Jeremy Bye)
Kaleidoscope (New Spirits Known & Unknown) (Soul Jazz Records, 2020)
Some record labels have established themselves as compilation and reissue specialists. They dig deeper into the crates, delve into older labels’ lost recordings and come up with releases that are full of fresh (but old) tracks. Soul Jazz gained its reputation through a series of albums piecing together Studio One’s sprawling catalogue before branching out across the genres – including post-punk, hip hop, and krautrock. But what if a scene is happening right here, right now, on your doorstep? Wait for twenty years for a historical re-appraisal, or get it compiled straightaway? Thankfully, Soul Jazz chose the latter for Kaleidoscope, a two-hour journey around the new wave of (mostly) British Jazz – some names you will know, others you will discover. The creativity is bursting at the seams here, with a broad variety of influences channelled into these tracks; as a view on the ground of a scene evolving, it is hard to beat. (Jeremy Bye)
Available at Sounds Of The Universe
Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980–1990 (Light in the Attic Records, 2019)
Whether you are a neophyte or a connoisseur of Japanese ambient music, this stylish double-disc offering is worth the ticket price. Most listeners will find familiar names (Yellow Magic Orchestra and Joe Hisaishi, perhaps) alongside new discoveries. However, the real beauty is the curation of all this material. Through the selection and ordering of its twenty-three tracks, this release offers a stellar listening experience that effortlessly traverses interrelated styles of minimal instrumental music. There are too many highlights to name, spanning resonantly abstract percussion, reverberating worlds of water and chimes, music box meanderings, spacious gong soundings, brightly looping piano refrains, spritely bursts of organic life, solemn hymns, utopian Wurlitzer melodies, and multi-layered fourth-world visions. Many of these tracks are sophisticated studies of environmental and lived space. It may therefore surprise listeners to learn about the unabashedly corporate context in which many of these works were commissioned. If Brian Eno can make art into a Windows 95 jingle, we can hardly grumble at his Japanese peers making soundtracks to air conditioning units. (Samuel Rogers)
Kompilation (Kranky, 1998)
A simply foundational collection documenting the early years of Kranky, leading with Godspeed’s now classic “Dead Flag Blues.” The 14-track CD was designed to fill up the entire disc and was specially low-priced to introduce the European market to the genre-defying work being released by the venerable Chicago label. Much of the Kranky aesthetic, as much as one can speak of such a thing, was influenced by European artists (the now familiar stew of krautrock, free improv, psychedelia, etc etc) and connections with the UK, in particular, were crucial to the label’s early success. Labradford are conspicuously absent from this comp, but as the label’s first signing they had already established a reputation across the pond. Amongst perpetual favorites such as Stars of the Lid, Low, and Pan•American, Kompilation also features tracks from criminally underrated artists including Amp, Magnog, and Jessica Bailiff. Still a kaptivating listen nearly 25 years later. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Minute Papillon (Second Language, 2013)
The mixtape era may be over, but once upon a time, home recordists were often desperate to fill the last minute on the side of a tape. Second Language’s Minute Papillon is the perfect compilation to fill that need. With Plinth, Wixel, Jasper TX, Roll the Dice, Machinefabriek and 55 more artists, each recording 60-second songs that either end or fade away (instead of being cut off), the set produces more winning tracks than any other in a shorter period of time. From ambient to folk, chamber to post-rock, there’s something for everyone, and the brevity of the tracks guarantees that listeners will wander down paths they might have otherwise avoided. The liner print is so small one needs a magnifying glass to read it; thankfully, one is provided. (Richard Allen)
Mono No Aware (PAN, 2017)
An often under-appreciated element of the compilation is the ability of the curator to assemble multiple artists into a coherent whole. Doing the job well can make the difference between an album languishing on the ‘maybe’ pile or becoming a staple listening experience. It is fair to say that Mono No Aware is an example of the latter – it is already on its fourth repress, just five years after its first release. Credit then to Bill Kouligas, founder of PAN and compiler of this album. The music is nominally ambient in nature, but there are wide varieties within that – from glassy, tranquil pieces to noisy disruptors. It is a range of music that reflects the scope of artists involved, most of whom have featured on Pan at one stage. It could have been an incoherent clash of styles: instead, the tracks are assembled in a sequence that makes every piece a standout. (Jeremy Bye)
Monsters, Robots And Bug Men: A User’s Guide To The Rock Hinterland (Virgin Ambient Series, 1996)
The title may make you think this is an album of twangy guitar instrumentals from the ’50s. But Monsters, Robots And Bug Men is a compilation where the subtitle does all the heavy lifting. This captures the nascent era of post-rock, collating music from both sides of the Atlantic, circa 1995. Bands from God to Godflesh are the open-minded explorers before Mogwai and Godspeed unwittingly created the quiet-loud template for every other act to follow. There is surprising scope and contrast in the choices, with relentless, dubby explorations sitting alongside tranquil bliss-out moments. The good news is that (if you want to stick to one style) compiler Simon Hopkins has created some playlists in the sleeve notes. The bad news is that the crossfades of the two discs render a pick ‘n’ mix approach redundant. That’s a minor quibble: as an overview of the post-rock world, it is hard to beat. (Jeremy Bye)
Music From Saharan Cellphones (Sahel Sounds, 2010)
The compilation that put Sahel Sounds on the map made us think differently about the cellphone as a medium for music. For more than a decade digital music and peer-to-peer file sharing (and file selling) had been associated with the internet, but Christopher Kirkley’s collection of tracks from cellphone memory cards provided a window into a vibrant West African musical ecosystem with the mobile phone as ’all-purpose multimedia device.’ Looking back more than a decade later, with Mdou Moctar now a global guitar superstar, it is hard to believe that upon initial release, his group was identified only as unknown artists hailing from Niger. Sahel Sounds has since gone on to release stunning records from the likes of Wau Wau Collectif, Les Filles de Illighadad, and Luka Productions, but this is the record that started it all. (Joseph Sannicandro)
New Chronologies Of Sound (Life Is A Vic Nic, 2021)
Only a year has passed since the release of this compilation, part of a multi-media project that includes essays, an exhibition and a sound bank. Yet we are quietly confident that its historical significance will enable it to stand the test of time. While many compilations were released during the pandemic, New Chronologies of Sound looks both forward and back, remembering lost sounds while taking inventory and imagining possible trajectories. Field recordings and soundscapes form the basis of these works, posing questions of how humans experience and process what they hear. Now that we are no longer in forced isolation, are we paying as much attention to sonic cues? This priceless project is a score to an altered aural environment, one that we are still struggling to comprehend. (Richard Allen)
Ocean Of Sound (Virgin Ambient Series, 1996)
We will cover the book in a future article, but it is hard to overstate the importance of Ocean Of Sound to impressionistic music fans. Some of whom would later write for A Closer Listen. It isn’t a road map through ambient music but an entire atlas of possible directions. The double CD that David Toop compiled as a companion piece dips into almost every experimental music movement of the 20th century, and does in a way that – improbably – makes sense. My Bloody Valentine sit next to 50s exotica king Les Baxter. A recording of Howler Monkeys gives way to Peter Brotzmann’s muscular free jazz. At a 25-year remove, the lack of solo female artists is a striking flaw; it’s pretty much just Javanese singer Detty Kurnia, and Pauline Oliveros with the Deep Listening Band. But as a sampler for a century’s music, it is unsurpassable. (Jeremy Bye)
One Minute Older – Virgin Babylon Records 5th Anniversary (Virgin Babylon, 2015)
Unlike Minute Papillon above, some of these songs run a little over a minute, producing sprawling entries as long as 1:31. With 70 tracks in 89 minutes, the listening experience is as vibrant as the Japanese culture, pulsing with technicolor lights and clashes of orchestral and synthesized sound. The energy level is high throughout, as if the label had gathered film cues from 70 action films and video games and created a collage. A fifth anniversary is meant to be fun, happy and loud, and the compilation fulfills all three wishes, sounding like an arcade block party fueled by Kit-Kats, cotton candy and cake. Most importantly, the album sounds great on repeat. Instead of a beautiful mess, it’s an inspired collision. (Richard Allen)
Return Of The DJ (Bomb Hip-Hop Records, 1995)
So you thought playing a record was just a matter of dropping the needle? These DJs have returned to their booths to prove you wrong. They juggle, scratch, and cross-fade the detritus of twentieth-century sound to create a whole new culture. From groovy party cuts to stop-start showcases of technique, this compilation has it all. Funk and soul are strongly present in the source material, but a kaleidoscope of sounds can be detected in the mix. Though the music is instrumental (and solidifies the status of the turntable itself as an instrument), fragments of sampled vocals crash together in a polyvocal mash-up. This includes odd film and TV reference points, in addition to hip-hop luminaries from Slick Rick and Audio Two through to Cypress Hill and the Beastie Boys. Another obvious choice for golden age turntablism is Deep Concentration (OM Records, 1997). However, Return of the DJ shines brighter – and has a greater number of sequels! (Samuel Rogers)
Ringtones (Touch, 2001)
Comprised of 99 tracks mostly under 10 seconds, this CD of 177 ringtones is something of a curiosity, firmly rooted in the early ’00s era mobile phone ringtone trend. At the time, personalized ringtones were emerging as a means of publicly announcing one’s taste as a means of distinction, but the options provided by the big corporations left a lot to be desired. Like Brian Eno designing the Windows 95 startup sound, the short duration of each ringtone presented the artists an opportunity for formal experimentation that remains intriguing today even as ringtones have largely faded from use. Participants include Oren Ambarchi, Evan Parker, Gen Ken Montgomery, CM von Hausswolf, Main, Mika Vainio, Ryoji Ikeda, Zbigniew Karkowski, as well as uncredited field recordings – but the tracks from lesser known artists are just as likely to captivate. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Road Kill Vol. 1-3 (Hit+Run, 2012-2016)
My personal path into electronic music was the result of exposure not only to IDM but also to hip-hop, though it took me some years to realize that this was the case. I was largely turned off by the electronic production of the post-sampling era, until I discovered El-P’s productions for DefJux, and of course the beat tapes of the late J Dilla. The so-called LA Beat Scene of the ‘00s exploded onto the global stage, as producers like Flying Lotus, Knxwledge, and Ras G rose to prominence after producers like Dilla and Madlib demonstrated that producers didn’t need an MC to shine. These Hit+Run compilations serve as an excellent document of the diversity of that scene, encompassing broken beat, bass, dubstep, and experimental approaches. Producers featured include Carlos Niño, Purple/Image, Kutmah, Dibia$e, Mono/poly, Jonwayne, Daedelus, J Rocc, Rhettmatic, Matthewdavid, Mndsgn, and many more. (Joseph Sannicandro)
RRR-1000 Lock Grooves (RRRecords, 2009)
Ron Lessard’s Lowell Massachusettes record store and label RRRecords has built an incomparable reputation since the 1980s as the source for American, European, and Japanese noise and experimental music. Even amongst this impressive catalogue, the Lock Groove series endures as a conceptual highwater mark. The RRR-100 7” (1993) established Lessard’s concept, while RRR-500 12” LP expanded to a remarkable 500 participants, a logistical challenge for the curator but also nearly impossible for the listener to locate a particular groove. And while that may be part of the appeal, with RRR-1000 Lessard invited 20 artists to contribute 50 nano-compositions each. Still exploiting the unique physical quirks of a medium, the additional grooves allow the artists to make a more complete artistic statement with their 1.8 seconds of sound. Each cover is hand-assembled, adding to the experience and making each record a unique work of art. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Song Of The Silent Land (Constellation, 2004)
Montreal’s revered Constellation Records quickly made a name for themselves in the late 1990s with the success of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and later Toronto’s Do Make Say Think, two bands that owed a lot to the ‘post-rock’ sound emerging out of Chicago at the time. By the release of their second label compilation, Song Of The Silent Land, DMST had long since moved out of the shadow of Tortoise, and Godspeed had gone on indefinite hiatus the prior year. This comp then serves as proof that Constellation is and remains much more than its two biggest names, carving out a unique identity for the label and for the city of Montréal. In addition to DMST and Godspeed, Song features mostly rare and unreleased tracks from Silver Mt. Zion, Exhaust, Hangedup, Polmo Polpo, Black Ox Orkestar, and a personal favorite Fly Pan Am remix featuring Tim Hecker & Christof Migone. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Spire: Organ Works, Past, Present & Future (Touch, 2004)
The pipe organ wasn’t perhaps the most fashionable or obvious instrument to engage with when Spire was first mooted. Taking inspiration from the sounds he heard in the chapels and churches of his youth, Touch founder Mike Harding invited artists on the roster (including BJ Nilsen, Z’EV, and Fennesz) to take the sounds of the organ as a starting point and see what happened. Some decided to embrace the instrument in full naturalistic flow; others opted to experiment with eking out softer, less traditional tones. Swathes of fuzz and feedback were frequently present in the results – this is a Touch release, after all – but this was, in general, a softer, more respectful approach to the ‘Emperor of Instruments.’ Spire caught the imagination beyond the usual Touch audience: concerts and live recordings followed, and experimental musicians such as Kit Downes and Kali Malone are once again exploring the pipe organ’s possibilities. (Jeremy Bye)
UR Battlepak Vol. 1 (Underground Resistance, 2005)
The politically militant second-wave of Detroit techno is best represented by the sprawling anonymous collective Underground Resistance, founded by luminaries “Mad Mike” Banks, Jeff Mills, and Robert Hood. Longtime UR DJ Buzz Goree selected 16 tracks from the label’s catalogue for this compilation, designed especially for vinyl DJs. Each selection is just a minute long, however UR Battlepak Vol. 1 included two identical records so that DJs could loop and extend Buzz Goree’s edits, encouraging the development of traditional DJ skills. Most selections are credited to UR, as well as Mad Mike, Pervtech, Remote, and others. By 2005, many DJs had begun to switch over to CDJs or Serato, to mixed results. Battlepak attests to the continued relevance of vinyl to the culture of techno. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Voyager Golden Record (Ozma Records, 2017)
Once upon a time (1977), we launched a compilation into space. Ironically, the Voyager Golden Record was not available on earth until its 40th anniversary. Ozma Records’ package is now in its third edition, scheduled for release this October. The package includes a generous serving of field recordings and song (both instrumental and vocal), along with a book, print, pin and slipmat. The historical significance of the compilation – apart from its current location beyond our solar system – is the fact that these were the sounds chosen to represent Earth. Should extraterrestrial life exist, and be intelligent enough to decipher the directions, we may find that our future fate depends on this depiction. Imagine if the whale song were the piece to save us from world destruction! As a snapshot of our sonic history, this compilation is unparalleled. (Richard Allen)
Warp20 (1989-2009) (Warp, 2009)
Warp’s legacy was already cemented by the release of this anniversary compilation, but the reminder was well-timed. After twenty years of releasing classics, Warp showed no signs of slowing down, demonstrating the label had long since transcended cliched tags like IDM. The likes of Boards of Canada, Autechre, Aphex Twin, and Squarepusher are well-represented, as are Broadcast, Seefeel, Battles, FlyLo, Mira Calix, Prefuse 73, and so many others. A simple compilation couldn’t serve as a sufficient tribute, but instead a mixed-format boxed set matched quality music with outstanding packaging. Warp20 includes unreleased tracks, fan selections, reinterpretations, locked groove loops, a 65-song mix CD, and a 192-page book detailing the label’s entire catalogue. While other labels had been less able to stay relevant, Warp managed to continue to diversify without chasing trends, and continues to release relevant and critically acclaimed music to this day. (Joseph Sannicandro)
Available here
UPCOMING RELEASES
(complete list with Bandcamp links here)
Early autumn is an unusual time for many locations, as local beaches are still open and the temperatures continue to soar. Yet vacations are over and many of us have returned to school and/or work. We may not be quite ready for autumn, but here it is. Fortunately, there’s always an array of new releases to accompany us across the change of seasons, and this fall harvest is particularly large, as readers have discovered through our Fall Music Preview. New music is added daily; we hope you’ll find your next favorite album right here!
Alex Fournier/Triio ~ Triio – Six-ish Plateus (Elastic Recordings, 9 September)
Asmus Tietchens ~ Parallelen (LINE, 9 September)
Briana Marela ~ You Are a Wave (9 September)
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay ~ Withering Field (Cronica, 9 September)
Dario Crisman ~ The Nature of Thoughts (Bigo & Twigetti, 9 September)
Hekla ~ Xiuxiuejar (Phantom Limb, 9 September)
John McCowen ~ Models of Duration (Dinzu Artefacts/Astral Spirits, 9 September)
Manuel Mota & David Grubbs ~ na margem sul (Room40, 9 September)
Nickolas Mohanna ~ Sight Drawings (Run/Off Editions, 9 September)
OHMA ~ Between All Things (Colorfield, 9 September)
Random Forest ~ Ascension (9 September)
Rivers of Glass ~ By the Light of Burning Bridges (Somewherecold, 9 September)
RSS Disco ~ Mooncake (Mireia Records, 9 September)
Scaring the Mice for Revenge ~ S/T (Prohibited, 9 September)
Tess Tyler ~ Fractals Vol. 1 (Manners McDade, 9 September)
Tess Tyler feat. Spindle Ensemble ~ Fractals Vol. 2 (Manners McDade, 9 September)
Windisch Quartet ~ Meander (fun in the church, 9 September)
VISIO ~ Privacy Angels (Haunter Records, 9 September)
Tenka ~ Hydration (Metron, 14 September)
Aaron Turner & Jon Mueller ~ Now That You’ve Found It (American Dreams, 16 September)
Aura Gaze ~ Great Moon Essence (Somewherecold, 16 September)
Authentically Plastic ~ Raw Space (Hakuna Kulala, 16 September)
Daniel Patrick Cohen ~ We Deliver (Backlash Music, 16 September)
Dekatron ~ IV (Verlag System, 16 September)
Endurance ~ Verb (Muzan Editions, 16 September)
Francesco Fusaro / Froz ~ Clavicentrico (16 September)
Henning Schmidt ~ Piano Miniatures (flau, 16 September)
Joel Fausto & Illusion Orchestra ~ Deus é Cego! (Slowdriver, 16 September)
Kotoko Suzuki ~ Shimmer, Tree (Starkland, 16 September)
The London Sound Survey ~ From Dusk Til Dawn (Persistence of Sound, 16 September)
Oberst & Buchner ~ Marble Arch (Heimlich Music, 16 September)
RA Washington/Jah Nada ~ In Search of Our Father’s Gardens (Astral Spirits, 16 September)
Salt Pig ~ The Chalk Circle (Utility Tapes, 16 September)
Sara Berts ~ Braiding Fragments (Muzan Editions, 16 September)
Yukari Okamura ~ Theory (Muzan Editions, 16 September)
GHOST:WHALE ~ Echo One (Bitume, 17 September)
Maya Bennardo ~ four strings (kuyin, 17 September)
V/A ~ Rental Yields: Volume Two (Front & Follow, 17 September)
Ard Bit ~ Music for Delirious Episodes (19 September)
Ecovillage ~ The Road Less Taken (Laaps, 19 September)
Liminal Drifter ~ Cortisol (Hidden Shoal, 19 September)
LVTVM ~ Irrational Numbers (19 September)
Julia Reidy / Morten Joh ~ Tape Shadow (Futura Resistenza, 20 September)
My Education ~ EMKA (Somewherecold, 20 September)
Luminous “Diamond Ben” Kudler ~ My Summer Vacation (Psychic Liberation, 22 September)
Saloon Bizarre ~ Apocalydia (22 September)
Spirinet ~ My Kiss (Psychic Liberation, 22 September)
XINDL ~ 11 (STRD, 22 September)
Aaron Martin ~ The End of Medicine (Lost Tribe Sound, 23 September)
Aki Yli-Salomäki ~ Valunta (23 September)
Aleksandra Slyz ~ A Vibrant Touch (Warm Winters Ltd., 23 September)
Appropriate Savagery ~ Inneterre, Reborn (Vaagner, 23 September)
Conflux Coldwell ~ The Phantomatic Coast (Subexotic, 23 September)
Dogs Versus Shadows ~ Oracle Mama Dot (Subexotic, 23 September)
Garcia / Navas / Reviriego / Trilla ~ Les Capelles (Tripticks Tapes, 23 September)
Gematria ~ Gematria II: The Spindle of Necessity (Nefarious Industries, 23 September)
Gentiane MG ~ Walls Made of Glass (TPRRecords, 23 September)
The Humble Bee ~ An Opposite Fall (Vaagner, 23 September)
Ian William Craig ~ Music for Magnesium_173 (Fatcat, 23 September)
Jason Blake ~ The Compromise Rationale (Wayfarer, 23 September)
Jeff Denson, Romain Pilon, Brian Blade ~ Finding Light (Ridgeway, 23 September)
Lawrence English ~ Approach (Room40, 23 September)
Marisa Anderson ~ Still, Here (Thrill Jockey, 23 September)
Matthias Delplanque ~ Ô Seuil (Ici d’ailleurs, 23 September)
The Observatory & Koichi Shimizu ~ Demon State (Midnight Shift, 23 September)
Samuel Rohrer ~ Hungry Ghosts (Arjunamusic, 23 September)
Siavash Amini & Eugene Thacker ~ Songs for Sad Poets (Hallow Ground, 23 September)
Star Guided Vessel ~ Tethered/Severed (Somewherecold, 23 September)
Thme ~ A Grasp of Wonder (Vaagner, 23 September)
Valentina Magaletti & Yves Chaudouet ~ Batterie Fragile (unjenesaisquoi, 23 September)
Moss Covered Technology ~ Brick and Air (Audiobulb, 28 September)
The Three Oldmen’s Birds ~ Rustine (IIKKI, 29 September)
Adrian Corker ~ Since It Turned Out Something Else (SN Variations, 30 September)
Alien Alarms ~ 0 to 1 (30 September)
Andrew Cyrille, Elliot Sharp & Richard Teitelbaum ~ Evocation (Seams, 30 September)
Basher ~ Doubles (Sinking City, 30 September)
Ben Glas ~ Superpositional Melodies (Room40, 30 September)
Cole Pulice ~ Scry (Moon Glyph, 30 September)
Jacaszek, Romek Kleefstra, Jan Kleefstra ~ IT DEEL I (Moving Furniture, 30 September)
Jagath ~ Svapna (Cold Spring, 30 September)
Julia Reidy / Morton Joh ~ Tape Shadow (Futura Resistenza, 30 September)
Julien Tassin ~ primitiv (Ramble Records, 30 September)
Kamran Arashnia ~ Bounds Elimination (Flaming Pines, 30 September)
Marika Takeuchi ~ Dreamer in the Dark (Bigo & Twigetti, 30 September)
Saint Abdullah & Eomac ~ Patience of a Traitor (Other People, 30 September)
Sam Prekop ~ The Sparrow (TAL, 30 September)
Scanner & Modelbau ~ Loess (Moving Furniture, 30 September)
Thumbscrew ~ Multicolored Midnight (Cuneiform, 30 September)
Use Knife ~ The Shedding of Skin (VIERNULVIER, 30 September)
Willem Gator ~ The Encyclopedia of Failure (Hidden Shoal, 2 October)
Brian Harnetty ~ Words and Silences (Winesap, 7 October)
Eric Griswold ~ Sunshowers (Room40, 7 October)
Heith ~ X, wheel (PAN, 7 October)
Jessica Moss ~ Galaxy Heart (Constellation, 7 October)
Loraine James ~ Building Something Beautiful for Me (Phantom Limb, October 7)
Peter Knight ~ Shadow Phase (Room40, 7 October)
Sofie Birch & Antonia Nowacka ~ Languoria (Mondoj, 7 October)
SPILL ~ mycelium (Corvo, 9 October)
Alex Velasco ~ Imbued (10 October)
Ordos Mk.0 ~ Sisyphean Audio Therapy 3 (10 October)
Deniz Cuylan ~ Rings of Juniper (Hush Hush Records, 14 October)
Girih ~ Ikigai (dunk!records/A Thousand Arms Music, 14 October)
Giulio Aldinucci ~ Real (Karlrecords, 14 October)
HANDS HOLDING THE VOID ~ BRDLND (14 October)
Jeremy Rose ~ Disruption! The Voice of Drums (Earshift Music, 14 October)
Jonathan Higgins ~ Good thanks, you? (Flaming Pines, 14 October)
Masako Ohta, Mattias Lindermayr ~ MMMMH (Squama, 14 October)
Matthew J. Rolin ~ Passing (American Dreams, 14 October)
No Base Trio ~ NBT II (14 October)
Rival Consoles ~ Now Is (Erased Tapes, 14 October)
Rupert Lally ~ Cruise Controlled (Subexotic, 14 October)
Salvatore Mercatante ~ DECAS (Subexotic, 14 October)
Surgeons Girl ~ Sever (Lapsus, 14 October)
Tujiko Noriko & Paul Davies ~ Surge Original Soundtrack (SN Variations, 14 October)
Cindytalk ~ Subterminal (False Walls, 21 October)
Cate Kennan ~ The Arbitrary Dimension of Dreams (Post Present Medium, 21 October)
Clarice Jensen ~ Esthesis (Fatcat/130701)
Jairus Sharif ~ Water & Tools (telephone explosion, 21 October)
Pauline Oliveros & James Ilgenfritz ~ Altamirage (Infrequent Seams, 21 October)
Rubbish Music ~ Upcycling (Flaming Pines, 21 October)
Takuya Kuroda ~ Midnight Crisp (First Word, 21 October)
Carbon in Prose ~ Cataclysmic System Binding Loss (24 October)
Steffi ~ The Red Hunter (candy mountain, 24 October)
Vanessa Wagner ~ Mirrored (InFiné, 25 October)
Mats Persson & Kristine Scholz ~ stilla sväva (kuyin, 28 October)
Senyawa+ ~ The Prey and the Ruler (Room40, 28 October)
Daniel Avery ~ Ultra Truth (Mute, 4 November)
Suryo Botofasina ~ Everyone’s Children (Spiritmuse, 4 November)
FreqGen ~ Future 1990s (FiXT Neon, 11 November)
J.WLSN ~ 1993 (Room40, 11 November)
Terence Fixmer ~ Shifting Signals (Mute, 2 December)