Synth / Electronic / Ambient

Arnold Dreyblatt: Double Bass Viols with Excited Strings
Ruth Charloff: Double Bass Viols with Excited Strings
Randal Baier: Midget Upright Princess Piano Forte
K. Mason Hill: Portable Pipe Organ
Michael Hauenstein: Hurdy Gurdy

I saw this band or a very similar version of this band a couple of years later, but, most importantly, in a similar space; in a large, old, very reverberent building, where the overtones (the main point of this music) builds and continues to floa

“Duet Emmo is the legendary collaboration between Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis (both of Wire and Dome) and Daniel Miller (The Normal and founder/owner of Mute).
Or So It Seems... was originally released in 1983, and was the act's only release. The result was the perfect amalgamation of Miller's hard-line electronics and Gilbert and Lewis's abstract and sparse textures, exhibiting why the anagrammatic combination of Dome and Mute was a fitting name for this project.”

“Wolfgang Düren played guitar in various local bands in the 1970s, but soon became more and more interested in electronic music. From 1978, he was a roadie for Tangerine Dream for three years, toured the world with them and programmed their sequencers. In the 1980s he worked for the Hamburg musician and inventor Wolfgang Palm and his company PPG (Palm Products Germany), which is mainly known for the development of the revolutionary digitally controlled PPG - Wave.
In 1988, Wolfgang Düren went into...

This was the very first (and one of the best and also the least ‘new-agey’) release by this duo who at this time were working in a more 'kosmiche' vein but with its own personality.

"Nice mix of sequencer based electronic music, fluttering flute, airy female voice and acoustic/electric guitar. Excellent atmospheres and even a few heavy rocked out moments towards the end that are well placed to add some much needed spice. A quite varied album, that needs a few listens to appreciate."-rateyourmusic.

“A reissue of Emerald Web's Sound Trek, originally released in 1980. Pioneering space music duo Emerald Web, comprised of Bob Stohl and soulmate Kat Epple, made some of the most ethereal, divine, and healing sounds between 1979 and 1990.
Crafting their debut album in a haunted mansion in northwest Connecticut, their second disc was created in a small log cabin. A subsequent move to the San Francisco Bay Area brought an extended stay at an Indonesian martial arts ashram, which led to the Valley of...

"Sharing social circles and spiritual ideologies with artists such as Iasos, Connie Demby and Deuter, whilst splitting label release schedules with Laraaji, Laurie Spiegel and Wendy Carlos, the unique Florida-raised soul mate duo known as Emerald Web released their privately pressed debut LP at an axis where post-prog rock met proto-new age and ambient electronic music. At the turn of the 1980s, Bob Stohl and Kat Epple embarked on a ten-year spiritual journey playing at planetariums and laser shows above...

“A rarefied blend of vintage synthesizers and acoustic instruments, the Valley Of The Birds album by Emerald Web was created in 1981 by two pioneers in electronic music, space music, and audio technology, Bob Stohl and Kat Epple.
Originally recorded and composed in their 4-track, reel-to-reel home studio, they created their signature thickly-layered timbres by serving as recording engineers, and simultaneously playing an array of monophonic synthesizers, flutes, other acoustic instruments, and...

This CD edition includes 7 bonus tracks not found on the original single CD issue.

This was the third 'official' release by the great, modern space/cosmic-sound group Emeralds. Like Cluster, Fripp and Eno and Richard Pinhas (among others) before them, they are the ultimate in dream-state/trance music. Highly recommended

“In the late 2000s a sprawling catalog of what is now genre-defining music was emanating from an unlikely place. Cleveland, Ohio has a broad reputation for many things, but..

This was the third 'official' release by the great, modern space/cosmic-sound group Emeralds. Like Cluster, Fripp and Eno and Richard Pinhas (among others) before them, they are the ultimate in dream-state/trance music. Highly recommended

“In the late 2000s a sprawling catalog of what is now genre-defining music was emanating from an unlikely place. Cleveland, Ohio has a broad reputation for many things, but in the aughts, psyche-expanding Kosmische wasn't necessarily Cleveland's calling card...

This was the third 'official' release by the great, modern space/cosmic-sound group Emeralds. Like Cluster, Fripp and Eno and Richard Pinhas (among others) before them, they are the ultimate in dream-state/trance music. Highly recommended

“In the late 2000s a sprawling catalog of what is now genre-defining music was emanating from an unlikely place. Cleveland, Ohio has a broad reputation for many things, but in the aughts, psyche-expanding Kosmische wasn't necessarily Cleveland's calling card...

"If you're like me, you probably listen to any number of musical genres ranging from funk to classical, jazz to folk, rock to techno, and everything and anything in between. Listening to music, along with brushing my teeth or bathing or eating, is one...

“Typical ambient / instrumental Eno apart from the first track, which is a refreshing guitar-featuring piece, and this didn’t disappoint. It’s an amazing film with an incredible soundtrack. I've been recommending it to anyone who'll listen.”

"Originally released in 1985 on the Polydor & E'G Records label. In many respects, the sixty-one minute Thursday Afternoon rolled the entire Ambient Series into one...[Eno] returned to the tape-loop process music that spawned Discreet Music and Music...

One of a number of classic albums that pianist/composer Harold Budd made with the collaboration of Brian Eno on the EG label. This has Budd's beautiful, watery piano sound with various treatments and atmospherics. Icily lovely.

"New York City's long-reigning experimental electronics collective Excepter went through a period of great transition following their massive 2010 double album Presidence. Member Clare Amory died of cancer in 2011 and other members of the band relocated shortly afterwards. Familiar, the first work from the band after regrouping, finds the collective still incredibly strange, but moving their free-form electronics and Kraut/early-industrial-inspired sound closer to the realm of pop music. Opening track...

“Originally released in France, in 1978, a unique LP by keyboardist and composer Joël Fajerman (in collaboration with Jan Yrssen) sees its first reissue.
Some of these songs were featured on the soundtrack of 'L'Aventure Des Plantes', one of the first ecological programs on French TV. This is an astonishing album filled with ambient moods, abstract moves, melancholia and beauty.”

“Very nice electronic-prog french release. If you're into Prophet sequences, Korg and Harp Odissey...old electro..

Totally thrilled to see this electronic classic reissued, directly from the master tapes and available for the 1st time in something like 35 years. I've owned this since it was first released, and, like other, similar (although not similar sounding) early 'electronics + rock' albums by groups like Heldon, Cluster, Harmonia, etc. it's one I've never gotten tired of. Hugely and highly recommended.

"Franco Falsini is an Italian musician and producer perhaps best known for his work with his space...

“Composer and recording artist Forrest Fang refined his dynamic hybrid style of composition over the past four decades, expanding upon his roots in progressive music, minimalism, textural ambient, and the traditional musics of Asia. Drawing on his deep knowledge of sound creation and manipulation, he uses the studio like a separate instrument to create distinctive, alluring and otherworldly atmospheres. With captivating approaches to sound creation, his latest Projekt album Forever Cascades presents a...

"Phantoms is Forrest Fang s 9th solo album and the follow-up to his Projekt release, Gongland. Nearly eight years in the making, Phantoms builds on the gamelan-influenced soundscapes of its predecessor by weaving organic sounds of non-Western stringed...

“The lush ambient space music of veteran Bay Area composer Forrest Fang explores the tactile nature of sound. On his latest, The Lost Seasons of Amorphia, he brings electronically-treated Asian instruments such as gu-zheng, kim and Javanese gamelan to the fore, subtly complementing them with hypnotic processed electronics in a manner that evokes his explorative sensitivities. Over four decades, Fang developed a distinctive style deeply informed and inspired by his studies of electronic music, minimalism...

“The Oort Cloud is a vast spherical hull of ice proposed to reside on the outer rim of our solar system. Nothing in this cloud has yet been seen, though it may contain icy objects including comets once close to the sun. This imagined place is the inspiration for ambient musician Forrest Fang's The Oort Cloud Meditations.
While many of Fang's releases are a hybrid of electronic and acoustic instruments, his latest remains predominantly a free-floating, transparent and gently unfolding electronic space..

Forrest's exquisite 3rd and 4th albums! Limited edition of 300 copies!

“Fang’s compositional stylings applied to the genre of space music with exceptional results.” – Billboard

Projekt opens the archives to bring back two formative ambient works. Originally released in 1989 and 1986 respectively, The Wolf At The Ruins and Migration have been out of print for over 20 years. They’re from the period when Fang began his own fusion of electronics and traditional non-Western instruments into a..

"Imagine the electric guitar severed from cliché and all of its physical limitations, shaping a bold new musical language."-City Newspaper

"It's a simple story. I had temporarily lost a proper studio workspace and had to move all my gear back to a small bedroom in my flat where I recorded this album. It was all done on headphones, which was rather a frustrating situation at first but later on it felt like back in the day when I produced my first records in the 1990s. In the end it was...

It's a pretty great thing to see this French musique concrete composer get his first US release at the age of 69! This includes two lengthy works; Cellule 75 ''an explosive, dynamic work for piano, percussion & tape'' & the excellent tape piece Place D...

Ken Field - saxes, flutes
Alieno deBootes - keyboards, creative mix
with
Alessandro Monti - occasional electric bass on “A new cosmo”
Matteo Bertolini - soundscapes on “Izar” and “A new cosmo”
Domenico Meggiato - some electric bass on “Krunsch”
Franco Moruzzi - extra drums on “Krunsch”

Sometimes unusual circumstances create perfect conditions for long-considered but never materialized collaborations. This distanced virtu

“An intriguing and impressive new offering from Floating Points. This is less fragile than some of Sam Shepherd's more recent work and charts a further chapter in the twisting growth of his idiosyncratic musical style and sound design. His electronic compositions navigate through a myriad of textures: minimalist backdrops, emotive refrains that approach almost orchestral intensity, skittish rhythms that seem on the verge of losing control, modulating synth work that shifts between serene and piercing...

“The Floating World is the solo project of Amanda Votta. Begun in 2005, three albums have been released so far; Full Sturgeon Moon (Hand/Eye 2005), Unda (Barl Fire 2005) and River of Flowers (Foxglove 2006), appearing as well on a few compilations. Amanda has also collaborated with Gustaf Hildebrand in Lacus Somniorum, as well as with Far Black Furlong and New Risen Throne. She also has a band, Secrets to the Sea, with Neddal Ayad from Desolation Singers.
The Apparition is Amanda Votta’s attempt to...

This is a minor classic of 1974-era French electronic space/frazzle, and features great contributions from Richard Pinhas! Recommended.

"Fluence is the brainchild and first release of sound artist / provocateur Pascal Comelade. Recorded in Montpellier, France in 1974-1975, the project consists of exploratory electronic pieces in the Fripp & Eno vernacular with a Kosmische tinge.
'A Few Reasons To Stay / A Few Reasons To Split,' a title inspired by Swiss conceptual artist Urs Lüthi, features.

Really great to see this unjustly obscure French electronic music duo get some of the music from their very obscure (and generally really good!) cassette-only releases brought into the digital realm!

"In the early 1980s, the French musical duo Fondation, comprising Ivan Coaquette and Anannka Raghel, released three tapes of fantastic electronic music which owed much to the experimentalism of the seventies. Synthesizer, drum computer, solo guitar. Repetitive, meditative, hypnotic -- between ambient..

“Ex-Tangerine Dream artist Christopher Franke released his second and third solo efforts simultaneously, following the successful Pacific Coast Highway. First, The London Concert, recorded live at London's Royal Apollo Theatre in October 1991. While three tracks are versions of pieces from Pacific Coast Highway, the material is mostly new, starting with "Empire of Light," awith its powerful, hypnotic entrance into Franke's spellbinding world of sonic images, combining dramatic electronic and calming...

Classic, landmark first album by Robert Fripp (guitars) and Brian Eno (tapes/synths/treatments). Their two albums opened up a whole world of possibilities in a post-Terry Riley fashion (see: Sensations Fix, Heldon/Richard Pinhas, Doldrums, Windy & Carl and etc. etc. etc.).

Peter Frohmader Synthesizers, E-MU Samplers and 5-string Bass
Richard Pinhas - Roland Guitars + Arboretum Hyperprism process

'The best Pinhas release since the glory days of Heldon's Standby. Incendiary, musicially consistent, cohesive...one of the most powerful, dynamic & totally mind blowing releases you'll hear in 1999.''-Andy G./C&D.

These two giants of European electronic music join forces. Richard's sustained, instantly recognizable guitar work...

After Schicke, Fuhrs & Frohling (SFF) broke up, the guitarist and the keyboardist continued on making 3 studio albums and one posthumously released live album.
Ammerland
Strings
Diary
Live 1980

Nicely spacey, all instrumental music with lots of acoustic guitar beautifully contrasting with the many synthesizers, piano and mellotron.
Only Ammerland and Live 1980 have been out on CD before and this even includes the rare track from a Brain Festival release from the late 70s!!

Pretty fascinatingly hypnotic noisy electronics, sounding somewhere like early Suicide (without Alan Vega’s singing), Pascal Comelade’s early electronic experiments, ala Parallelo and Plaster Falling by John Bender. Conditionally highly recommended!

“Japanese experimentalist Hiiragi Fukuda supposedly picked up an aging monophonic Yamaha synthesizer, hooked it up to a cheap digital delay, turned on his hand-held cassette machine, and began improvising; a couple days later, the five-song album...

“The spectral second and final installment of Funerary Call’s “The Mirror Reversed” tumbles deeper through the Setian tunnels, leading the way to the vast and mysterious Other Side. Continuing from where his initial movement left us, Harlow MacFarlane once again summons the tones and auras of his Qliphothic interpretation. It is a serpentine force extending from a churning black vortex lined with crystalline fetters. A dark and textured voyage through the shards of the shattered black surface that once...

"In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s - Gas stands out in particular, a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of Gas doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster. The overwhelming feedback from a loyal international fan community and worldwide media outlets attests once again...

"In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s - Gas stands out in particular, a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of Gas doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster.
Rausch was created as a single composition. The intention is to listen to the album as a whole from beginning...

"In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s - Gas stands out in particular, a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of Gas doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster.
Rausch was created as a single composition. The intention is to listen to the album as a whole from beginning...

"Former Planet Mu affiliate Christopher Reeves continues his electronic journey as The Gasman, delivering his umpteenth album in 13 years. Aeriform isn't far removed from work by other Mu luminaries such as founder Mike Paradinas' strangely engaging bob-and-weave synth-antipop or a certain Richard James, truth be told.
Essentially though, Reeves mines a far more retro seam than his counterparts - titles like Syntax, Trip and Zports suggest there's an element of geek and a love of the ZX Spectrum, BBC..

"Former Planet Mu affiliate Christopher Reeves continues his electronic journey as The Gasman, delivering his umpteenth album in 13 years. Aeriform isn't far removed from work by other Mu luminaries such as founder Mike Paradinas' strangely engaging bob-and-weave synth-antipop or a certain Richard James, truth be told.
Essentially though, Reeves mines a far more retro seam than his counterparts - titles like Syntax, Trip and Zports suggest there's an element of geek and a love of the ZX Spectrum, BBC..

“Limited hand numbered edition of 500 in golden audiophile CD.”

“In 1969, I was commissioned to make all the music and organized noises for nineteen looped films to be run in the British Pavilion at Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan. The overall concept was to have all the films running in fixed positions so that the individual visitors would ‘mix’ their audio and visual experience by the speed and direction of their movement through and around the environment.
Since most of the ninety-second films...

“Limited hand numbered edition of 500 in golden audiophile CD.”

“In 1969, I was commissioned to make all the music and organized noises for nineteen looped films to be run in the British Pavilion at Expo 70 in Osaka, Japan. The overall concept was to have all the films running in fixed positions so that the individual visitors would ‘mix’ their audio and visual experience by the speed and direction of their movement through and around the environment.
Since most of the ninety-second films...

Floaty, spacey electronic music reminiscent of the Berlin school from the 70s.

“We go back into the years of the 70’s with Brian Geigner’s – Metamorphosis Lab. Warm analog sounds, slow floating Sequences and swirls of sound effects brings a feeling of nostalgia.
His music is to be enjoyed in the quiet hours of the day!”

"Been following the evolution of synth and prog music since the early 70’s, especially the bands who relied heavily on keyboards and synthesizers. These bands and...

First-ever reissue of the first by this Philadelphia electro duo!

“Philadelphia experimental duo The Ghostwriters resurrect their 1981 LP of minimalist mayhem, Objects In Mirrors Are Closer Than They Appear.
The late Buchla maestro Charles Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Cain joined up in 1971 to craft electroacoustic chaos as Anomali, later renaming themselves The Ghostwriters. Their collaborations with choreographers and visual media artists led to their singular style, straddling...

First-ever reissue of the second, originally cassette-only release by this Philadelphia electro duo!

“Philadelphia synthesizer scribes The Ghostwriters to rouse their ambient masterwork Remote Dreaming. The late Buchla maestro Charles Cohen and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Cain joined up in 1971 to craft electroacoustic chaos as Anomali, later renaming themselves The Ghostwriters. Their collaborations with choreographers and visual media artists led to their singular style, straddling improvisation..

Strangely enough, this new ambient / electronic album (and even more so, The Evening Falls, the previous one by KJG) reminds me, more than anyone else I've heard, of the electronic music of Piero Milesi!

"A piece of intricate scales and moods, by turn streaming with the quiet flow of a small meandering rill, then suddenly veering off into an oceanic kind of tumult, In The Fields Of Nothing was conceived as a proper film soundtrack with its rhythmic ebb-and-flow and deep sense of immersion...

Strangely enough, this ambient / electronic album reminds me, more than anyone else I've heard, of the electronic music of Piero Milesi!

"On The Evening Falls, he deviates from his more beat-infused work and explores vast aural landscapes with an intricately woven tapestry of swelling string drones, shimmering pedal steel, and minimalist piano motives. The first strictly ambient solo offering from this incredibly versatile composer and musician reveals a delicate sense for rich, ruminant...

"In 1970, nine years after leaving the United States to study music in Canada, Beverly Glenn-Copeland released two self-titled albums. Both were a stunning showcase of classical and jazz acumen, layered with poetry and accompanied by some of the best players of the time. Original pressings now fetch thousands of dollars.
Glenn-Copeland then vanished as a recording artist until his re-emergence in 1986 with the release (just a few hundred copies on cassette) of what many now believe to be his...

This is a solo album by Manuel, which was recorded in 1977, but not released until 1991. It's pretty much prime period stuff of spacey guitar and electronics. “For 2019, this is a newly remastered and carefully re-edited version of the legendary 1977 studio recording for RIAS Berlin.”

“... hardly noticed by the mainstream public, some West-Berlin musicians develop a world of sound, which later eventually became labelled as "Electronic Music". These compositions of slowly evolving soundscapes...

Limited to 3000 sets only. Recorded live in August 2006 at the Metamorphose Open-Air Festival, Japan. Including 16page full-color booklet.

“Composed, performed, and mixed by Manuel Göttsching. Recorded in 1981 and first released in 1984, Manuel Göttsching's masterwork E2-E4 has since become a milestone in electronic music. This 2006 concert marks its first-ever live performance.”