OPM: Flavors of Space

Matthew Lyon – Lies in Reach

A slow burn of ambient atmosphere, IDM sound design and unusual melodic and harmonic constructions. These nine tracks are all deliberately paced, minimal, and quietly cinematic. The core of this seems to come from early IDM, but it’s all slowed down to even more placid tempos and the rhythms are not quite as intricately programmed. 

Added to that palette are tiny tricks pulled from decades of ambient and academic electronic music before it, and more from lo-fi and various *wave genres that followed. Everything from glitchy timestretch noises to classic CS-80 brass gets pulled in and put to use,and the results are consistently fascinating and compulsively listenable.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Callista Graves – Morphology

Utterly idiosyncratic soundscape jazz ambient that will broaden your musical horizons. The album is dominated by the two tracks that share its title, “Morphology Pt. 1” (clocking in at almost 17 and a half minutes) and “Morphology Pt. 2” (just over nine minutes). The first is a minimal, rhythmic soundscape piece that offers constant minor variations while sticking to its guns thru its runtime.

The second opens as a duet for solo piano and oscillating drone, before slowly morphing into its own soundscape. Meanwhile, “Venomous” and the closer “Entombed (The Lodge)” offer some chill jazz just a bit on the weird side, with a couple of ultrabrief (sub 20 second!) micro compositions rounding things out. Surprising, unusual and worth checking out.

(Listened to the entire album)

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HDRF – Domains

Elegant and stately kosmische constructions that will propel you deep into inner space. Slow moving, unfolding in their own time, these tracks are full of clever and engaging sound design, from bubbly synth syrup to gossamer, shifting background textures. 

The journey this takes you on is relaxing, intriguing and pleasantly weird – perfect vibes for new takes on classic Berlin School tropes! Gently propulsive, with plenty of time to stop and look around, this is a powerful engine for exploring your inner landscape.

(Listened to the entire album)

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Robert Sharl – Ochre

A collection of extremely minimal guitar-led ambient pieces. Most of these tracks are so slight, so fleeting and spectral, that they seem almost like audio ghosts. Lightly treated electric guitar sits at the center of these tracks (insomuch as they have a center), with very slight ripples of piano, synth and ambience surrounding it and radiating out from it. 

This album definitely fits Eno’s original ambient specification – they work well as faint background music, but if you bend your attention to them and really listen, you will be rewarded by hidden depths. Whether you need some faintly post-rock flavored background music, or want to dive in and puzzle out its secrets, this will do the trick.

(Listened to the entire album)

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RadioPhobicSherkPop – Dream Themes

Eclectic and accomplished set of instrumentals that run the gamut from cheery takes on kosmische to sexy, electric funk. Eight tracks mixed into two 20+ minute continuous mixes keep the extremely mellow and thoroughly weird party going non stop, and the careful sequencing helps the individual tracks shine while still contributing the right stuff to the overall flow. 

The liner notes suggest this is music “suitable for documentaries about ruins or indie films about aspiring artists” and that is a hilariously apt description. Other touchpoints might be Boards of Canada, the weirder side of ‘00s downtempo or some of Stereolab’s quieter, instrumental work. In any case, a thoroughly entertaining mixed set that goes down easy.

(Listened to the entire album)

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