​It's questionable if regular musical forms are adequate to convey the invisible virus attacked, powerful sociopath affected times we now live in, but Atte Elias Kantonen's surprisingly easy listening, somehow soothing & perhaps even enlightening collection of whirz, blups, sqweels, glangs, squidges, brumps & frongpips for mappa might just have nailed it perfectly.

Finnish composer, sonic explorer and sound designer Atte Elias Kantonen joins mappa with a suite of fascinating whisperings. Following releases on SUPERPANG, Active Listeners Club or Granny Records, ‘POP 6 SUSURRUS’ finds Kantonen exploring the extreme edges of various sound sources. By kneading, bending, stretching and squeezing slivers of audio, he uncovers their uncanny underbelly; ‘POP 6 SUSURRUS’ creaks, gurgles, hisses, susurrates, bubbles, boils, disintegrates, echoes, plunges… Throughout, however, it also maintains a feeling of softness and vulnerability; velvety melodic clouds hover above the alien landscape. 

In creating ‘POP 6 SUSURRUS’, Kantonen was guided by the paradox of an anxious mind, and was “attempting to cartograph an in-between of order and confusion.” Hints of memories break into fragments of abstractions, clear thoughts are embellished, and listening feels like “trying to convey the nature of distilling meaning from muddled experiences.” Most of the time it feels like the music is on the verge of collapse – like a jenga tower after everyone’s had several turns – but in reality it’s all very beautifully balanced and masterfully assembled. Your ears will be pleased.

CREDITS
​Music, recorded, mixed, kneaded and twiddled by Atte Elias Kantonen in Helsinki 2020-2021 
attekantonen.cargo.site 
www.instagram.com/atteelias/ 

Artwork and layout by Kevin Hytönen 

Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi 

Words by Adam Badí Donoval  
abdonoval.com 

The work was supported by The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike)

Taking a trip down jazz fusion memory lane with a few friends, Euglossine lays down the smooth grooving, laid back lounge vibes for Sound As Language which should ease you into the week nicely and be your easy listening friend through life's ups and downs.

Euglossine is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and composer Tristan Whitehill. With a catalog of over fifteen diverse releases spanning a decade on labels like Orange Milk, Hausu Mountain, and Phinery, Euglossine's discography moves ambitiously across genre and time. Some Kind Of Forever is Euglossine's brand new full-length, out March 2022 on sound as language. Where previous Euglossine releases were a complex balance of jazz fusion, sound design, and computer music, Some Kind Of Forever sees the artist pulling back and searching for simplicity. On this album, Whitehill immerses himself in the light and delicate. Some Kind Of Forever is Whitehill's most refined and restrained work to date. Influenced by the early ECM catalog, decades of groovy/weird library music, and domestic golden-hued psychedelia, Some Kind Of Forever's subtle, meditative jazz floats by ever so softly. The album's rich and open instrumentals are pristinely constructed yet always playful. Whitehill moves deliberately as he carefully peels back the layers to create something magical and tender. Some Kind Of Forever is an instant timeless classic and the warm, gentle breeze we all need right now.
​
CREDITS
Composed Produced and Mixed by Tristan Whitehill 
Mastered by Angel Marcloid at Angel Hair Audio 
Art by Jeanine Tatlock 

Saxophone on “Mod12” by Colin Alexander Fisher 
Fretless Bass on “Grandfather Clock” by Nicholas Mendez 
Trumpet on “Tiny Cat” by Gary Tatlock 
Flowers in the Wind performed by Jack and Robert Edmondson, Kane Pour, and Nicholas Mendez 
Harmony Synthesizers on “Some Kind of Forever” by Pearl and the Oysters

Look no further for your Sunday soundtrack than the light touch of Julian Stein, his fragile tones & never quite parting foggy ambient mist. Sofa suitable, day of rest tuned & hangover friendly.

a brief collection of songs / reflections on the la river ?

music by Julian Stein 

artwork by Dalena Tran  
dalena.me

You can check the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube & Soundcloud

​Ambient tribalism is here for all your sofa based ritualistic needs as Comte weaves his multi-dimensional dreamscapes around foraged found sounds to hypnotic and horizontal effect.

ALL PROCEEDS TO SAVE THE CHILDREN UKRAINE 
ukraine.savethechildren.net

CREDITS
w & p by J. Cowhie 

Saxophone on 'Beech' played by 
Marcelo Gabard Pazos. 
'Carve' contains a sample of the field recording 
'Edge of Spree' by Joseph Kamaru. 

Mastered by Simon Cullen at Envelop. 

Thanks: 
Simon, Joseph, Lawrence, Marcelo, Steve, Greg. 

Stéille 001

A wonderfully atmospheric exercise in ambient minimalism from Alexandre Bazin for Important Records as he lights the route, smoothes the path & leaves a tempting tonal trail to the warm & welcoming end of the rocky world of experimental electronics. 

This new record of both minimal and experimental electronic music is a Piece that is separated into several movements for the purpose of stronger narrative and aesthetic coherence. 
​
The album explores the concept of percussion / resonance through the spectrum of electronic frequencies and densities with a plunge into the sound. « Percussion-Resonance » makes use of a new alphabet, a simple vocabulary in order to create innovative and personal music, with a clear and emotional subject. Structured architectural sequences give way to the experimental. Different climaxes punctuate the work in order to keep grabbing the listener’s attention. The record title tackle the theme of musique concrète developed by French composer Pierre Schaeffer as well a nod to Bernard Parmegiani’s De Natura Sonorum. Music for Buchla Music Easel, EMS Synthi, Eurorack Mutable Instruments, resonances sound textures.

Smartlink to the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube & Souncloud

Shades on, sunroof down & take a trip back to the days of soul synthesis, electro funkiness & permed mullets, as Po-one lands at his spiritual home - Dream Chimney, with a new LP of easy, breezy, pleasingly familiar (nu) Balearic boogie.

Dream Chimney is excited to announce the release of the new album from Po-One “Sound of Vision”. Loaded with 13 brand new unreleased tracks from the retro magic you have come to expect from Po-One. You might even recognize the name from our very first release Demo Tracks Vol. 1 from 2019. We have been fans of Po-One for a number of years, following his demos drops via SoundCloud, always eager for more. The time has come! 

Po-One hailing from France and born in the mid 80s takes his inspiration from just that. His Synth funk and boogie sound draws from that magic period between 1982-87. His passion for the sound truly shows in the production, rhythm and melodies. Masterful instrumental hooks, tasteful guitar licks and retro synthesizer pads all coming together in perfect harmony.

CREDITS
All tracks written, produced and mastered by Po-One 
soundcloud.com/po-one 

Cover art design by SelloRekt / LA Dreams 
ladreams.bandcamp.com

You can check the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube & Soundcloud

Sweet nu-soul with a dash of city girl attitude over some lazy Detroit beat bumpiness and a bit of electrospiritual ambience. Slip into the week with the cosmic urbanism of Monica Blaire on Mahogani Music.

to the universe…you never disappoint. thank you for all that is, for all that was, + for all that will be. source don’t lie. 


to mama v + big mo, y’all made a monsta, let the world deal and be well with that magic. 


to everyone who made this album possible, especially mahogani music and olu + co…bless ya souls divinity… 


and to the world that awaits, i pray you’re ready. IAM. 


happy listening, mB

CREDITS
​
Mixed by Toni Economides & Witt 

Mastered by Witt at SickNotes 

Front Cover by Mario Butterfield

Available on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube & Soundcloud

Sinking into the warm & wobbly twists, turns & gentle restlessness of this tonal ambient gem from Landtitles for the ever reliable Polar Seas Recordings is a fine way to spend a sedentary Sunday.

recorded in victoria bc (coast salish territory of the lekwungen 
and W̱SÁNEĆ nations) 2020-2021 
synthesizers, acoustic sources, field recordings, room tones, 
tape manipulations & dsp explorations were explored, 
extracted and interpolated 

many thanks to brad deschamps, anna gard, ian hawgood, 
michael jess and ned milligan 

mastering by ian hawgood 
artwork by michael jess (sveinbjörn) 
layout by brad deschamps 
landtitles is grant gard

You can stream the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube & Soundcloud

Natural field recordings, healing frequencies & binaural beats create a weightless & wondrous ambient lattice through which hinako omori's soft vocals & ASMR whisperings weave their restorative, chakra aligning magic for anyone wise enough to hit play on her beautiful new LP for Houndstooth.

Bringing together therapeutic frequencies, forest bathing, and binaural sound, Hinako Omori's “a journey...” combines inner healing and natural landscapes into in an immersive cartography of the mind in ambient electronics. The album progresses not track by track but as a continuous journey; a stream of consciousness tracing hills and valleys with the warmth of analogue synthesis and Omori's voice always close at hand. It is an album with a spirit and awareness, that invites us to create a home within its sonic architectures, to find moments of peace amid our own cognitive distortions. 

“a journey...” was recorded at Omori’s home studio and Real World Studios, when Omori was an invited to perform at the immersive online festival WOMAD At Home. Before the mixing session she headed out into the surrounding landscapes, capturing field recordings with a binaural head. These spatial, 3D recordings are woven throughout the album, and situate each track in different environments, from waterways to forests in and around the Mendip Hills. "I've been thinking a lot about shinrin-yoku – forest bathing," explains Omori. "Being in that environment reduces stress levels, it's good for well-being, improving our memory and concentration, boosting our immune system and lowering blood pressure, among many other benefits – I wanted to incorporate that into the album." 

Omori is also fascinated by the physical and psychological effect of frequencies. "I’m very interested in sound therapy, brain entrainment and how certain frequencies can put our brain in certain states - alpha, beta, theta, delta," she explains. "Delta (0.5-4Hz) waves for example are said to contribute to deep restorative sleep and healing, and theta (4-7Hz) to creativity, intuition and emotional processing." 

Omori detuned oscillators to create binaural beats, syncing to the Hz of our brainwaves so that listeners might further find themselves calmed by and immersed in these soundscapes, as a sort of sonic bathing and deep listening. Within this highly tuned and deeply relaxing sound world, Omori's vocals drift in and out, offering signposts and poetic lyrics that act as Rorschach-like motifs so that listeners might find their own narrative in the record. 

Often, Omori's lyrics are left for the listener to interpret, with the exception of “The Richest Garden in your Memory”, which includes text from poet and philosopher Emily R Grosholz's poem of the same name. The pair had a chance meeting on a plane and struck up a friendship and a creative connection, then when Emily sent Omori her book Great Circles: The Transits of Mathematics and Poetry, the poem “The Richest Garden in your Memory” stood out, becoming the emotional centrepiece of “a journey...” 

“a journey...” opens with the melancholic synthesizers of 'Spaceship Lament', which immerse the listener gently in Omori's cosmos. From here the path is revealed in the title track, where in gauzy voices drift and gather across electronic plains. In "Ocean" seabirds wheel above a lonesome lament, marooned on glassy waves; 'Will You Listen In' invites an encounter in repeating a melody and layered vocals that take flight; on 'Levitation' synths ripple like light on water before a brief pause in a woodland clearing, an inhale before the balletic melancholy of 'The Richest Gardens In Your Memory'. After this, a return to waking states begins, first with the slow incline of 'Yearning' and then the closing droplets and crisp rushing water in 'Snow'. 

While “a journey...” traces her own personal growth in the last few years, Omori intends the album to be useful and healing for others too, and as such it is scattered with warm sonic affirmations, presenting a safe soundscape through which to do productive thinking: "With any healing you can often feel like you're getting somewhere, but then something might appear in the way and you have to 

find your way back to the right path," she says. “Each time you come across a roadblock, you also find an affirmation that you're heading in the right direction." 

Omori's “a journey...” sits within a rich lineage of electronic musicians who have looked to music for its healing properties, from Venezuelan musician Miguel Noya to Pauline Anna Strom's ambient soundscapes; Pauline Oliveros' deep listening meditations and the augmented field recordings of Irv Teibel's Environments series. 

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Omori began realising her own creative visions as a solo artist four years ago, beginning with the transportive 12" single Voyage (May 2019). This was shortly followed up with EP Auraelia (Nov 2019), which was inspired by a period in which she experienced intense migraines that were accompanied by auras and other visual distortions. 


Omori is a composer who thinks deeply about her music, and provides generously to her listeners. Born in Yokohama, Japan, she moved to the UK when she was three years old and lives in London. She began her musical path learning classical piano, later training as a sound engineer, and has since moved into working with analogue synths (on “a journey...” she uses a Prophet 08 and Moog Matriarch). Previous to releasing her own solo material she toured with and played on records by a raft of critically acclaimed musicians, including Kae Tempest, Georgia, and Ed O’Brian, among many others, but it is her work in sound engineering that provides the bedrock of skills that manifest her vision for “a journey...”, articulating a whole world in binaural field recordings, analogue synthesisers and augmented vocals. ​

You can hear the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube & Soundcloud