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Music

Post-rock's Coastlands Meditate on Loss, Growth, Change on 'Death' (album stream)

Guitarist Jason Sissoyev speaks about Coastlands' emotionally-charged new LP, a meditation that is heavy in more ways that one. "It pummels you, then there's this release and then it keeps going," he says.

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Music

Brian Bromberg Pays Tribute to Hendrix With "Jimi" (premiere + interview)

Bass giant Brian Bromberg revisits his 2012 tribute to Jimi Hendrix 50 years after his passing, and reflects on the impact Hendrix's music has had on generations.

Jedd Beaudoin
Music

Ambient Producer Joshua van Tassel Believes We Need More Beautiful Things

Joshua van Tassel plays a modern version of one of the earliest electronic instruments: the Ondes Martenot. He discusses the calm, beautiful album he's written for it, Dance Music Volume II: More Songs for Slow Motion.

Music

The Chefs Serve Up a Wordless, Rockin' Good Time on 'Heated & Treated'

As the Chefs, a former Georgia Satellite and a former Heartbreaker cook up a full platter of the tasty instrumentals on Heated & Treated.

Music

Ryan Alfred's 'A Sudden Rush of Noise' Radiates with Cinematic Ambience (premiere) (album stream)

Ryan Alfred's (Sweet Ghosts) solo debut, A Sudden Rush of Noise, is a genre-bending collection of electronic tracks developed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Music

Neu!'s Michael Rother Talks About Experimentation and Chance

Neu!'s Michael Rother reflects on the creative environment of lockdown, the struggles of playing experimental krautrock, and the collective beauty of live performance.

Music

Laraaji Returns to His First Instrument for 'Sun Piano'

The ability to help the listener achieve a certain elevation is something Laraaji can do, at least to some degree, no matter the instrument.

Music

'The Upward Spiral' Is Nicolas Bougaïeff's Layered and Unique Approach to Techno

On his debut album for Mute, Berlin-based producer Nicolas Bougaïeff applies meticulous care and a deft, trained ear to each track, and the results are marvelous.

Music

GOD's 'God IV - Revelation' Is a Towering Feat of Theologically-Tinged Prog Metal (album stream)

GOD's God IV - Revelation is beautiful and brutal in equal measure. It's a masterful series of compositions. Hear it in full today before tomorrow's release.

Music

Luke Cissell Creates Dreamy, Electronic Soundscapes on the Eclectic 'Nightside'

Nightside, the new album from composer and multi-instrumentalist Luke Cissell, is largely synthetic and electronic but contains a great deal of warmth and melody.

Music

Flying Lotus Goes Purely Instrumental on New Version of 'Flamagra'

On the instrumental version of last year's Flamagra, Flying Lotus makes conspicuous variety feel coherent and ordered.

Music

Noveller's 'Arrow' Creates Mini-Symphonies for Guitar and Effects

Experimental guitarist, Noveller's Arrow suggests discoveries, open spaces, the sense of a calm certainty re-occurring over repeated listens.

Music

Inventions' 'Continuous Portrait' Blurs the Grandiose and the Intimate

Explosions in the Sky and Eluvium side project, Inventions are best when they are navigating the distinction between modes in real-time on Continuous Portrait.

Music

David Grubbs and Taku Unami Collaborate on the Downright Riveting 'Comet Meta'

Comet Meta is a brilliant record full of compositions and moments worthy of their own accord, but what's really enticing is that it's not only by David Grubbs but of him. It's perhaps the most emotive, dream-like, and accomplished piece of Grubbsian experimental post-rock.

Music

Inventions Conjure Mystery and Hope with the Intensely Creative 'Continuous Portrait'

Instrumental duo Matthew Robert Cooper (Eluvium) and Mark T. Smith (Explosions in the Sky) release their first album in five years as Inventions. Continuous Portrait is both sonically thrilling and oddly soothing.

Music

Christine Ott Brings the Ondes Martenot to New Heights with the Mesmerizing 'Chimères'

France's Christine Ott, known for her work as an orchestral musician and film composer, has created a unique new solo album, Chimères, that spotlights an obscure instrument.

Music

Fave Five: Rafael Anton Irisarri

As one of the most celebrated ambient composers working today, Rafael Anton Irisarri continues to evolve. We celebrate his metal-tinged new album Peripeteia with a look through the albums that made him.

Evan Sawdey
Music

Composer Kosta Jevtić Offers 'Reflections on a Journey' to the Mediterranean

Serbian composer Kosta Jevtić evokes the clement Mediterranean in solo piano form on the brilliant new album, Reflections on a Journey.

Music

Jim White and Marisa Anderson's 'The Quickening' Takes an Experimental Journey

Avant-garde drummer Jim White and folk guitarist Marisa Anderson get together without rehearsing to see what happens on The Quickening.

Music

Luke Schneider's 'Altar of Harmony' Hews Close to Ambient Tradition

Luke Schneider's Altar of Harmony often sounds eerily close to the Robert Fripp guitar of No Pussyfooting, only he trades in the old six-string for pedal steel.

Music

Orions Belte Travels '600m Per Minute' (EP stream) (premiere)

Norway's Orions Belte deliver a wide-ranging but cohesive collection of instrumentals on 600m Per Minute. "You pick up inspirations from words you read, cities you go to, a painting hanging in a corner at an exhibition," says guitarist Øyvind Blomstrøm.

Reviews

Sylvain Chauveau's 'Life Without Machines' Is an Indictment of How External Forces Falsely Shape Humanity

Whereas so many contemporary albums are created to harness flash and consumption, Life Without Machines allays bedazzlement. Sylvain Chauveau advocates for unplugging and disconnecting, and only then will we truly live.

Music

Matt Evans' Ambient Soundscapes Transcend the Genre on 'New Topographics'

New York-based percussionist/composer, Matt Evans brilliantly infuses his spacey sonic landscapes with the sounds of everyday life on New Topographics.

Music

Matthew D. Gantt's 'Diagnostics' Is Complex, Futuristic, and Totally Bonkers

Experimental artist, composer and educator Matthew D. Gantt has created a delightful new album, Diagnostics, that's both maddeningly dense and refreshingly playful.

Music

Circles Around the Sun Shoot for the Stars on New Album

Jamrockers Circles Around the Sun's self-titled third album finds the band transcending darkness after losing their founder in 2019 to chart a groovy new course.

Music

Experimental Rock's Trees Speak Summon Kosmische Sensations on 'Ohms'

On their inspiring second album, Ohms, Arizona avant-garde collective Trees Speak invoke the best of expansive electronica through motorik repetitions across a sprawling masterwork.

Music

Nick Storring's 'My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell' Is Beautiful, Haunting, and Otherworldly

Canadian composer Nick Storring's latest album, My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell, is mysterious, multilayered, and unforgettable.

Music

Ryan Rumery's 'At, Apart' Traffics in Nuance in the Face of Isolation

Film music composer Ryan Rumery kicks off a new Bandcamp-only Friday release series with At, Apart, which is devastating in emotional scope and careful sense of arrangement and place.

Music

Mute Duo Dazzle with the Ambient, Country-Tinged 'Lapse in Passage'

Mute Duo's second full-length album, Lapse in Passage, is dark, multilayered, and uncommonly beautiful. It's like David Lynch baked in the Texas heat. It's the soundtrack to a Cormac McCarthy-inspired fever dream.

Music

Quarterly's 'Pomegranate' is a Small Treasure of Charm and Warmth

Brooklyn-based duo Quarterly combine elements of folk and classical on the intimate, calm, and unique Pomegranate.

Music

Horse Lords Create a Loud, Disciplined Roar on 'The Common Task'

Experimental rock's Horse Lords release their first album in four years, and it's meticulous and complex, but also undeniably joyous and celebratory.

Music

Unconditional Arms Fuse Post-Punk and Post-Rock on "You're Just As Desperate" (premiere)

Featuring members of Wavves and the American Scene, Oakland's Unconditional Arms deliver an inspired instrumental that bodes well for a bright musical future.

Music

Jacoti Sommes Gets Spacey and Soulful with the Irresistible 'Travel Time'

Ohio-based producer Jacoti Sommes creates a warm sonic world where trippy vibes coexist with funky jams on his typically strange, lovable new album, Travel Time.

Music

Elkhorn Improvise the Hypnotic 'Storm Sessions'

Instrumental guitar duo Elkhorn tweak the formula with a third musician on their latest album, The Storm Sessions. Rarely has a blizzard sounded this good.

Music

Ross Goldstein's 'Timoka' Is an Ominous Collection of Dark Instrumental Beauty

Composer Ross Goldstein forges a challenging musical path on his latest album, Timoka, a wondrous collection of dark, often bleak instrumental compositions.

Music

Colin Stetson Goes to the Movies with Loud, Garish 'Color Out of Space'

Adventurous multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson scores the new horror film from director Richard Stanley, Color Out of Space, and it's a noisy, deeply enjoyable headphone trip.

Music

Frank Lenz Creates a Playful, Mad Scientist Vibe with the Wonderful 'Pyramid'

The latest album from accomplished composer and session drummer, Frank Lenz, is equal parts experimental, amusing, and oddly funky.


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