Music can be a great companion allowing us to feel connected, comforted, inspired, or simply transported through the vehicle of sound. From cinematic vistas and atmospheric soundscapes to an empathetic embrace of stillness, beauty, and self-reflection, the albums in this category are especially well suited to do just that. With gratitude to the entire community of musicians that have continued to persevere with their art during discouraging and uncertain times, here is a survey of only some of this year’s most memorable inner journeys.
Abul Mogard & Rafael Anton Irisarri – Impossibly distant, impossibly close
Info: Abul Mogard Bandcamp | Rafael Anton Irisarri Bandcamp
While Abul Mogard (the alter ego of Guido Zen) and Rafael Anton Irisarri each create music that is often labeled as ambient, anyone familiar with their work would likely agree that they do not necessarily comply with Eno’s oft repeated hypothesis that it “must be as ignorable as it is interesting”. In their own distinctive ways, these two artists create stunning compositional soundscapes that command the attention of their listeners by mastering a vast sonic range and exhibiting tremendous thematic and emotional heft. Until recently, however, the two had not collaborated with one another, but after being brought together for a sold-out performance to open the SoundSet Series in Madrid last year, a “creative spark” was lit that resulted in this album which features a pair of magnificent long form sonic excursions.
Impossibly distant, impossibly close was released April 26, 2024, in three limited vinyl LP editions (yellow, green, and black) and features artwork by Marja de Sanctis.
Alaskan Tapes – Something Ephemeral
Info: https://alaskantapes.bandcamp.com/album/something-ephemeral
Another ambient gem from Brady Kendall’s Alaskan Tapes project. Featuring delicate synth layers, acoustic guitar, and notably cello on the closing the track, the music is consistent with the organic introspective approach that graced his previous albums albeit with a deliberately simplified approach. Another nice touch is the introduction of collaborations which surface on some of the tracks with contributions from Moshimoss and Andrew Tasselmyer. Just an easy album to settle into.
Whenever I write songs, I like the mystery and surprise of what people will take away from them. At the same time, I just want listeners to enjoy it. I hope it’s calming and peaceful, which is what ambient music should be. I also want audiences to realize ambience can be very interesting…
Something Ephemeral was released September 20, 2024, in limited edition green & white vinyl as well as digital by Nettwerk Music Group
Anthéne – seven pieces for harmonium
Info: https://imaginarynorth.bandcamp.com/album/seven-pieces-for-harmonium
As prolific as ever in 2024, Brad Deschamps’ anthéne, project saw a number of fine releases and I enjoyed every one of them. Seven pieces for harmonium was particularly interesting, however, in its origin and execution, however. When Daniel Field reached out to Brad about creating something for his Imaginary North label, he challenged him to do so using an approach or instrument he hadn’t used before. As a result, Brad decided to create all the songs using only a harmonium and effects pedals which yielded and album with the all the compelling compositional hallmarks of an anthéne record, but with new and sometimes surprising tonal attributes as compared with his other work.
Seven pieces for harmonium was released September 20, 2024, on limited edition cassette and digital by Imaginary North.
Benoît Pioulard & Offthesky – Sunder
Info: https://laaps.bandcamp.com/album/sunder
Sunder is the first full-length collaboration between Thomas Meluch, aka Benoît Pioulard, and Jason Corder best known under the moniker of Offthesky. The listener is immersed right from the off in tape saturated verdure that grows out of the seamless blending of their distinctive stylistic approaches. Recorded at studios in their respective locations of Brooklyn (Meluch) and Denver (Corder) the album is a lush, diaphanous weave of electric and acoustic guitar, voice, microcassette tape, field recordings, modular synth, strings and flute that aches with melancholy and organic beauty.
Sunder was released January 22, 2024, in both limited CD and vinyl LP editions by the Laaps imprint and features artwork by Meluch himself.
Chihei Hatakeyama, Hakobune, zakè, From Overseas – Live Improvisations
Info: https://zakedrone.bandcamp.com/album/live-improvisations
This pair of live collaborations between two very compatible artist duets begins with what must be considered nothing less than found treasure for ambient music enthusiasts. It starts off with a recently unearthed 2014 performance by Chihei Hatakeyama and Hakobune – a tender and patient exploration of sonic space by two acknowledged masters of ambient guitar. The B side of the album offers up a performance by zakè and frequent collaborator Kévin Séry, aka From Overseas, which responds in kind, an efflorescent homage to the spirit of the newly discovered work of two legends of the scene from two artists very much on its vanguard.
Live Improvisations was released January 1, 2024, on CD, digital, and a pair of limited vinyl LP editions (‘fuschia rose’ and black) by Zakè Drone Recordings.
Civic Hall – The Trembling Line
Info: https://thehumblebee.bandcamp.com/album/the-trembling-line
You can count on the highly eclectic Lost Tribe Sound label to bowl you over at least a few times every year with albums that are often as intricate and beautiful as they are ambitious and inventive. A case in point is the debut of Civic Hall, a new project that brings together Craig Tattersall and Euan Millar-McMeeken best known as The Humble Bee and Glacis respectively though they both have recorded under a number of other aliases. The Trembling Line is delicate affair that smolders with deeply felt emotional undercurrent arising from Millar-McMeeken’s melancholic piano lines and whispered vocals while the fragility of Tattersall’s tape-saturated sounds adds a quiet intensity all its own.
To this day, it’s hard to verbalize what makes an album speak to us or feel right for the label. Though one thing is certain, ‘The Trembling Line’ may just be the pinnacle of that exploration, where all else slips away and you are completely inside of it, a moment to feel nothing or everything all at once.
Lost Tribe Sound
The Trembling Line was released November 16, 2024, on limited edition CD and digital by Lost Tribe Sound and features artwork by Andrew Mackenzie.
Federico Mosconi – Slow Motion
Info: https://federicomosconi.bandcamp.com/album/slow-motion
Following a pair of very pleasant forays into the more acoustic side of his music on recent releases like Nocturnal (Dronarivm, 2023) and Outdoor Melodies (Whitelabrecs, 2022), Italian composer & guitarist Federico Mosconi pivots back to the kind of immersive drone-like soundscapes that have characterized his more imposing works. Slow Motion presents us with three movements, or “stories”, comprised of sonic material which continually evolves in cyclical fashion to take the listener on an expansive and absorbing musical journey.
Slow Motion was released March 15, 2024, on limited edition CD & digital directly by the artist.
The Green Kingdom – Arcadian
Info: https://soundinsilencerecords.bandcamp.com/album/arcadian
Arcadian extends the guitar-centric approach Michael Cottone has been favoring of late for his albums under The Green Kingdom moniker. The liner notes remind us that the title by definition evokes “something rural, rustic, or pastoral, especially suggesting simple, innocent contentment” and Cottone is more than capable of conjuring sounds that do just that. Beautiful arcs and strands of electric guitar feature prominently, but he uses a variety of instruments, electronic sources, sampled textures and field recordings to fully flesh out these blissful, contemplative soundscapes.
Arcadian was released digitally and on limited edition CD on April 22, 2024, by Athens-based Sound in Silence label.
Hollie Kenniff – For Forever
Info: https://holliekenniff.bandcamp.com/album/for-forever
After years as a key part of electronic pop band Mint Julep with husband Keith Kenniff (Goldmund, Helios), Hollie Kenniff began releasing records under her own name with The Quiet Drift in 2021 and last year’s moving tome We All Have Places That We Miss. With For Forever she once again soars with a luminous swirl of shoegaze, drones, and angelic vocals that effortlessly drifts from impressionistic soundscapes to beautiful melodic forays.
For Forever was released digitally on December 6, 2024, by Nettwerk Music Group.
The Humble Bee & Offthesky – Here In, Absence
Link: https://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/here-in-absence
The musical side of this audio-visual IIKKI book edition, which features photography by Mikael Siirilä, comes from Craig Tattersall in his familiar alias of The Humble Bee together with experimental-ambient multimedia artist Jason Corder best known as Offthesky. It is the second outing for the duo on the label with the first being All Other Voices Gone, Only Yours Remains in 2019 not to mention the lovely We Were the Hum of Dreams which appeared in 2020 on sister label Laaps. This gives us some idea what to expect, but that only heightens the anticipation for what inevitably was always going to be a unique and delicate work of stunning beauty.
Here In, Absence was released February 29, 2024, by IIKKI in limited, hand-numbered CD and vinyl LP editions along with an 80-page hardcover artbook each of which can be purchased separately or bundled.
James Osland & Andrew Heath – Elysian Fields
Link: Fluid Audio | Facture Bandcamp | James Osland Bandcamp | Andrew Heath Bandcamp
Meticulously crafted, patient sounds come to us from southeast of England via Fluid Audio on this collaboration between James Osland (based in Devon) and Andrew Heath (based in Stroud). It is the second outing for the duo who are each deeply rooted in the ambient scene as solo artists and, in the case of Osland, running the well-regarded Elm Records label. It seems quite a natural fit with Osland’s abstract explorations of “sound, memory, and place” beautifully complementing Heath’s embrace of piano motifs, electronics, and field recordings. The result is something like a waking dream that seems illusory and out of time and yet somehow familiar.
Elysian Fields was released on January 12, 2024, in an elaborate bespoke “book edition” CD by Fluid Audio while digital copies can be ordered either from the label’s Facture offshoot or directly from the artists.
Jonas Munk – Mirror Phase
Info: https://jonasmunk.bandcamp.com/album/mirror-phase
Jonas Munk, aka Manual, concludes a trilogy of ambient albums under his own name with this collection of eight minimalist compositions rendered in layers of guitar and tape loops. The glowing orange gradients of the of the album cover portend the blissful warmth that will radiate from the music inside while the gentle oscillations of opening track “Dawn Layer” launches the listener onto a sea of undulating sonic currents. The rest of the magic in this introspective journey is down to Munk’s masterful manipulation of patterns, intervals, and phases especially in the 18-minute title piece.
Mirror Phase was released October 24, 2024, on CD, digital, and vinyl LP by Munk’s own Azure Vista Records.
Lamasz & Thme – Chiffons d’azur
Link: https://thme-sound.bandcamp.com/album/chiffons-dazur
“Fragile nostalgia, immersive drone, and magnetic tape” – that is all the liner notes tell us about this lovely collaboration between Pier-Luc Tremblay, aka Lamasz, and Théo Martin, aka Thme, and perhaps it is just as well because you won’t want to delay any longer than necessary before falling under the spell of these idyllic soundscapes woven of tender melodies and gauzy textures.
Chiffons d’azur was released November 19, 2024, on limited edition cassette tape and digital by Seil Records.
The Lonely Bell – The Absent Years
Link: The Lonely Bell (digital/cassette) | Oscarson (LP/digital/cassette)
The Lonely Bell is an ambient music project from musician Ali Murray based on the Isle of Lewis, the northern most section of the largest island of Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. Steeped in history, myth, & legend and with its rugged landscape facing outward to vast northern seas in all directions, it seems a fitting location for the kind of dark, capacious drone ambient music with which Murray plies his trade. With The Absent Years, however, we find him tempering his sound somewhat with passages of shimmering piano and guitar and melodies that veritably ache with melancholy. It would be hard to improve on the words of fellow musician & photographer Katie Griesar who describes the album as “landscape and dreamscape at once, an encounter with an immensity so elegiac and enveloping that it comforts.”
The Absent Years was released April 12, 2024, on limited edition vinyl LP, cassette, and digital from the Oscarson label or direct from the artist.
øjeRum – Langt Fra Jorden
Link: https://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/langt-fra-jorden
IIKKI closed out another strong year with this December release with imagery from Spanish photographer and artist Irene Zottola and music by Danish musician and artist Paw Grabowski known as øjeRum. Too long absent from these pages, Grabowski is in fine form on the musical side of the audio-visual dialogue that makes up Langt Fra Jorden allowing us to immerse ourselves in the eclectic beauty of his collagic style and organic approach to composing and recording. Mesmerizing from the shimmering acoustics of the “Vi Hængte Vores Harper I Piletræerne For Enden Af Dalen” (“we hung our harps in the willow trees at the end of the valley“) which opens the album to the creaking organ oscillations of “Tiden Strejfede Om I Sivene” (“time roamed in the reeds“) which closes it.
Langt Fra Jorden was released December 26, 2024, by IIKKI in limited, hand-numbered CD and vinyl LP editions along with an 80-page hardcover artbook each of which can be purchased separately or bundled.
Olli Aarni – Yö näkyy
Links: https://olliaarni.bandcamp.com/album/y-n-kyy
Ten years after furnishing the inaugural release for the Ghent-based Dauw imprint, Finnish sound artist Olli Arni returns to the label to bookend the other side of the intervening decade with an expansive new record. Entitled Yö näkyy (loosely translated as ‘the night appears‘ in English), the album comprises a pair of densely textured longform pieces woven from tape loops of varying lengths blissfully washing against each other in waves of granular beauty.
Yö näkyy was released April 3, 2024, on limited edition vinyl LP & digital by the Dauw label. A very limited number of risograph prints of the artwork by Alicia Carrera can also be ordered.
Olma & Michael Grigoni – Tusk II
Links: https://olmamn.bandcamp.com/album/tusk-ii
Tusk II is essentially two EPs married together into a splendid full album experience. The first half comprises the five tracks that make up the Tusk I EP which were created by Olma (one of the many musical alter-egos of Chris Bartels aka Elskavon and Blurstem), and Michael Grigoni whose recent work has focused on experimental and ambient applications of the dobro, lap steel, and pedal steel guitar. For the second half of the album, we have remixes of the original songs each by a different artist, namely Braulio Lam, Andrew Tasselmyer, Alaskan Tapes, Stephen Vitiello (with Molly Berg and Chrystine Rayburn), and Be Still the Earth. Though ambient in nature, the album is quite the vibrant and varied pastiche of sounds & textures as one might expect with so many creative and distinct artistic voices in the mix. Listeners will find something new with every spin, but what remains constant is the congenial charm and pastoral warmth it exudes.
Tusk II was released June 14, 2024, as a digital album by Nettwerk Music Group
r beny – discerned in the fugue of streams
Link: https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/album/discerned-in-the-fugue-of-streams
It has been a minute since we had a full-length release from Californian artist Austin Cairns, aka r beny, and this album on the recently launched Quiet Details imprint is a most welcome return. When writing about his music a little over 5 years ago, I said that there were few artists working today who can elicit such soulful, emotive sounds from their gadgets and machines and that remains as true as ever with discerned in the fugue of streams. Lush, heavily atmospheric, densely layered, and deeply emotive, it is something of an ambient tour de force in which the artist soothes his own anxieties and gives like-minded listeners a vehicle to do the same.
This album is a contemplation on slowing down and paying mind to the quiet details within the threads of noise and patterns – finding meaning and hope in bodies of water in motion, the wind blowing through the forest, the white noise of a warming world, the endless barrage of algorithms and advertising, and the cacophony of internal voices and feedback memories of my anxious brain.
Austin Cairns
discerned in the fugue of streams was released October 23, 2024, on limited edition CD and digital by Quiet Details.
Rime Trails – Ephemeral Carvings
Links: https://rimetrails.bandcamp.com/album/ephemeral-carvings
With very little fanfare, anonymous Danish ambient sound artist Rime Trails continues to create introspective soundscapes of understated beauty. There is an autumnal quality to this one that resonated in an especially haunting way, but I enjoyed the whole series of “carvings” albums released this year which adds Air Carvings (released on Shimmering Moods in March) and companion EP Forgotten Carvings not to mention stand-alone releases Recollections and Dawn Embers.
Ephemeral Carvings was released digitally on April 25, 2024, directly by the artist.
Rosales – Half-Light
Link: https://homenormal.bandcamp.com/album/half-light
It was nice to see another album from Rosales which is a project that finds Ian Hawgood and Brad Deschamps (aka anthéne) sourcing sounds from ambient guitar and tape processing and blending them with touches of mellotron, synths, and field recordings. Ian and Brad do mix things up a bit from album to album and on Half-Light they pivot from the comparatively bright and bucolic mood of 2022’s Woven Songs to something more ruminative and crepuscular. If one were to have to describe the twilight hours of an overcast autumn afternoon in musical form, it might sound very much like what they have conjured here.
Half-Light was released December 6, 2024, on limited edition CD and digital by Home Normal.
