From Overseas and City of Dawn : Misty Memories

The latest from label Past Inside The Present is a free fall into sonic bliss with the collaborative Misty Memories. Bringing together for the first time artists From Overseas and City Of Dawn, this ambient/new age record brings together “nostalgic tape sounds, lo-fi strings, mesmerizing guitar loops, and Kévin(Séry’s) use of subtle vocal samples create […]

Charles Stepney : Step on Step

Charles Stepney may not be a household name, but the Chicago-based producer, arranger, and composer was an enigmatic musical mind in the 60s and 70s. First as a staff producer at Chess Records in the 1960s where he was the creative force behind artists like Rotary Connection, Minnie Riperton, Marlena Shaw, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, […]

Kevin Hambrick : Talking Birds

Kevin Hambrick has been a staple in the Midwest music scene for 20 years, leading the indie rock charge in both The Orange Opera and as a solo artist. Regardless of which project Hambrick is writing in and for, the sound is decidedly Hambrick. With his solo work Kevin Hambrick handles all the band duties […]

The Soft Moon : Exister

Luis Vasquez’ music project The Soft Moon has made consistently compelling and visceral post-punk/darkwave albums for over a decade now. Starting out with mostly pulsating rhythms, jagged guitars, flanged bass lines, and icy synths, Vasquez made records that felt emotionally raw. Joy Division, Bauhaus, early Cure, and Nine Inch Nails were foundational bands for the […]

Paul Riedl : Ambient Mixtape Vol. 5 [The Water Tape]

Outside of the cosmic metal of Blood Incantation, lead singer/guitarist Paul Riedl conjures deeply meditative, thoughtful, and transcendent electronic music. A man alone with analog sounds and a need to connect to the universe in both an intellectual and spiritual way. Even behind the death metal swells, tempo changes on a dime, and the jagged […]

Preoccupations : Arrangements

Preoccupations, formerly Viet Cong, are a Canadian four-piece that rose from the ashes of indie rock darlings Women. Where Women was more in the vein of bands like Deerhunter and Pavement, Preoccupations went for a more darker, propulsive sound. From their ‘Cassette’ ep debut to their self-titled full-length as Viet Cong to name change to […]

The Black Angels : Wilderness of Mirrors

Austin’s The Black Angels have done quite a unique thing in that throughout their nearly 20-year career as a psych rock band they’ve remained relevant. They’ve never tried being anything more than what they are, which is a dark, looming rock band. No forays into ballads, EDM, pop rock, or the like. Their records are […]

Hunter Complex : Airports and Ports

For my money Lars Meijer, aka Hunter Complex, is making some of the most exciting and innovative electronic music currently. As a composer he approaches his work not only a student of the electronic music world, but from the world of jazz, modern classical, pop music, and from a cinematic approach. His releases over the […]

zake and Ossa : Syntheticopia

Maybe it’s just me and my own overactive imagination, but when I’m deep in it with some heady ambient and new age music I often imagine floating in space. The deep and healing tones of heavily-effected guitar, the warm buzz of analog synths, the wash of digital pads like static rain, and just the overwhelming […]

Alone 1980 : If Looks Could Kill

Sweden’s Alone 1980 makes sprawling, electro masterpieces of dread and melancholy. Low key synths and electronics lock into late 70s/early 80s DIY horror scores, but Alone 1980 adds their own touches of pop/sci fi/electronic music to give it all a dreamy atmosphere. More like genre synth scores than just horror synth scores, Alone 1980s Mikael […]