Sonologyst – Planetarium (Cold Spring)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

An aural exploration of the solar system by Sonologyst, using data from NASA’s probes.

On the latest album by Sonologyst, raw data from radio waves, electromagnetic fields, and plasma fluctuations, utilising data sonification files provided by NASA, are transformed into a haunting soundscape, unveiling the ambient music of planets, solar winds, and the cosmic beyond.

As the newest addition to Sonologyst’s series of sonic documentaries, this work deepens his exploration of the sonic spectrum, converting cosmic phenomena into immersive auditory experiences.

Double CD in a matt-finish gatefold ecopak, with a bonus disc of the raw source material from NASA’s probes.

…

NASA and other space agencies have captured “sounds” from the cosmos by recording non-audible signals like radio waves, electromagnetic waves, and plasma (ionized gas that’s prevalent in space) wave fluctuations. These are converted into audio frequencies we can hear using a process called data sonification. Spacecraft like Voyager, Cassini, and Juno are equipped with special instruments (e.g., plasma wave antennas, magnetometers, radio wave receivers) to detect radio waves, plasma waves, and electromagnetic fields.

These signals can provide data on phenomena like solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, and charged particles. Since many of these signals are outside our hearing range (radio waves might have frequencies far below the audible range (20 Hz to 20 kHz) or far above it, while magnetic and plasma waves are often in the range of milliHertz (mHz) to kilohertz (kHz), also outside human hearing.), they are converted using various techniques, including frequency scaling, sampling, filtering, and amplitude modulation. Some events, like plasma wave bursts, happen over long periods. Scientists may speed up the playback so we can hear the changes in a shorter time frame.

After conversion, the resulting sounds are often enhanced to make certain patterns, pitches, or changes in intensity more noticeable. This may involve amplifying certain frequencies or adding layers to represent multi-dimensional data. This processing helps bring out subtle differences that might otherwise be hard to discern.

Data sonification files provided by NASA.
Analogue synthesizers, sampling, and processing by Sonologyst.
Recorded and mastered at Sonologyst studio from July to November 2024.
Graphic design by Abby Helasdottir.

Caldon Glover – Eternal Night Radio (Cryo Chamber)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

Caldon Glover presents their third album for Cryo-Chamber: Eternal Night Radio, a reflection on the uncanny dream, the waking nightmare, and the place between dreaming and waking where the world feels more unbearable than the darkest dream.

You’re walking down a street at night. To your left there is nothing you can see, just the sound of running water. To the right houses line the street, mostly dark, but a few lit from within. Figures stand at the windows in silhouette, their faces obscured. Above you are streetlights, separated by deep shadows and yet there are no stars. Behind you walks a stranger, but you can not turn to see him.

In the Night, everything has disappeared.

All music written and recorded by Caldon Glover except where noted
“All of Them” Vocals and additional sounds by Tabitha Celani
“The Outside The Night” Vocals by Adam Stanton
Cover art by Randal Collier-Ford
Mastering and CD interior art by Simon Heath

PPFPESSco – Big Bong Gong (Pan Pan Pan Avian Distress Call)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description: Went Walking down along the
Delta river bottom, High
As a Kite, Feeling Down
Right Blue in the
Face ing Facts
Sun was cracked,
Crawled straight out up, Up
Of the Toad Stool
Getting on to Dusk, Paralell to Ruts,
When up ahead there was cross
roads. By the sign there was
A Man
With a Golden Violin, The man was
Dressed in Black, Sulphur in the stacks
Of fire cones vibrate the sky
” Uh Uh ” they said, their face a glowing red –
” I might be the Devil, I won’t deny it be
cause it’s True “
” However, Facts is facts “
( Satan looked taken aback )
” I Want nothing, at all , No
Thing to do with You “
He Looked me right through
” I Was talking to your Woe-Man “
Lucifer held up a withered hand, And all the birds for miles fell
out of the air ~ ” I Can’t Believe the things she said “
Ol’ Nicks face went even deeper Red
” And quite frankly I’ve never been quite so scared “
Shuffled forward a bit, Golden Fiiddle & Bow in mitts
” And I have no Deal, No Joke or riddle for you “
He Put the treasure by my shoes
” Just leave me the fuck alone “
And with a Puff of Brimstone, he was gone ~
And Now I’m the richest man on earth, But still have the
Deep Bong Blues

Council Estate Electronics – MIRFIELD (Avalanche Recordings)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

New album from the JK Broadrick & Diarmuid Dalton electronic music project Council Estate Electronics

Absorbing early industrial music, krautrock and dub / dub techno.

Exploring the immediate geography of the areas of Birmingham where Justin and Diarmuid were raised.

JK Broadrick – Electronics
Diarmuid Dalton – Electronics

Produced by Justin K Broadrick at Avalanche Studio, UK

2020 – 2024

AVALANCHE RECORDINGS / 2025 /
AREC081 /

Kompuls – Interalto (Ant-Zen)

Posted by John Lithium on

KOMPULS is the solo project of tim kniep, best known as one half of the industrial duo synapscape. a longtime figure in the german electronic music scene, kniep is recognized for his intense vocal delivery, complex rhythmic structures, and innovative sound design.

‘interaltro’, the debut album by KOMPULS, is an intricate fusion of depth and complexity, where rhythmic noise provides a dynamic foundation. the relentless pulse serves as a canvas for eclectic sonic threads, capturing the spirit of the times with subtlety and nuance.

balancing raw intensity with refinement, the album ventures into experimental territory, propelled by broken beats and technoid influences that create a surreal auditory experience. kniep’s sound design intertwines electronic, idm and glitch, creating a constantly shifting klangteppich – a sound carpet – where timbres evolve and fragment in perpetual motion.

ultimately, ‘interaltro’ stands as a cohesive artistic statement, inviting the listener into a layered exploration of structure and fragmentation, where sound unfolds with intellectual rigor and unpredictability.

KOMPULS : tim kniep
artwork by stefan alt

this is ant-zen dig109

The Colour Of Madness – Sundowning (Cruel Nature Recordings)

Posted by John Lithium on

The Colour of Madness is Jacob Brant, a musician working in the post-ambient field. He has previously released work under his own name, alongside collaborations with other artists. Jacob lives in Margate, where he curates a series of experimental music events under the name Superliminal.

“Sundowning” is an exploration of the electric guitar within the post-ambient and post-noise landscapes. Recorded over a chaotic period in a mixture of studios, living rooms, and late-night liminal spaces across the UK and Europe, “Sundowning” is as much a document of time as it is a musical statement. Some pieces were meticulously crafted, whereas others originated as lo-fi mobile phone recordings of improvised sessions, later transformed through artful processing into post-ambient, electroacoustic compositions. The electric guitar is the primary source material, though it’s often rendered unrecognisable — submerged under textures, stretched into drones or fractured into shadowy melodic fragments. The album also features haunting vocals, field recordings and acoustic instruments, all woven into a layered tapestry of memory and emotion.

Arvo Zylo & Hal McGee – The Bubblegum Variations (HalTapes)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

The Bubblegum Variations consists of more than 350 recordings by Arvo Zylo and Hal McGee mixed together in a chance process assemblage.

Arvo Zylo’s notes for The Bubblegum Variations:
— Hal McGee has been recording experimental music and noise since 1981. Arvo Zylo was born in 1981, and has been active since the year 2000. For this project, Arvo initially intended to contribute solely walkie talkie recordings of himself from 2014 and 2015; “Image streaming” in a free association, dream-like style. This audio has largely not been listened to by Arvo since shortly after it was recorded.
— That single creative spark gave way to other ideas, which included harmonium & toy pipe organ (thanks to Jason Lazer), and also stems from rare, long out of print tapes, unreleased recordings sometimes dating back to 2001, various field recordings, and occasional attempts at singing. Some of the recordings included a Yamaha RM1x Sequencer, a Casio SK-1 knock off called an “SS330”, some elements of the Korg Elektribe series, two Line6 Delay Pedals, A haunted BOSS Micro BR handheld recorder, a USB handheld recorder, a coronet, a belt sander, a sampler, a smart phone, and a laptop. Thanks Hal for your friendship!

Hal McGee’s notes for The Bubblegum Variations:
— I was quite happy in mid-May 2025 when Arvo proposed that we do a collaboration. I immediately started making recordings with two Sony ICD PX-470 stereo digital dictaphones, of sounds from my daily life, diaristic entries, my dog Stanley, my brother Mark McGee, circuit bent Casio SK-1, Stylophone CPM DS-2 analog synthesizer, KQ Unotone iPhone synth, Haltoid noise box, miscellaneous sounds from Apartment Music 54, and my friends Ben Keselowsky, Josh Tippery, and Alex Smith. I read aloud two texts by Lenny Pearlman.

Home-brewed CD-Rs of The Bubblegum Variations are available for sale and trade from Hal McGee — haltapes@gmail.com

Laibach – Alamut (Mute)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description:

Laibach and A/POLITICAL present Alamut – a brand-new album of original symphonic work based on the novel of the same name – released on double vinyl and CD box set via Mute.

The album was recorded by Laibach and the musicians who performed Alamut live at a former Crusader castle in Ljubljana in 2022. The musicians involved include the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the Human-Voice Ensemble vocal group from Tehran, the Gallina Women’s Choir, and AccordiOna, a women’s accordion orchestra backed by additional accordion players, conducted by Iranian conductor Navid Goharib.

Alamut is an original symphonic work by Laibach based on a famous story from eleventh-century Persia, as told by the Slovene writer Vladimir Bartol in his novel of the same title published in 1938. The central character is Hassan-i Sabbāh, the charismatic religious and political leader of the Nizari Ismailis and the founder of a mysterious military formation known as the Assassins, whose name is still feared and respected today. Hassan-i Sabbāh is a self-proclaimed prophet who leads a holy war against the Seljuk Empire from his eyrie – the castle of Alamut. Alamut looked at mechanisms of propaganda at the time when Bartol, a Slovenian author, witnessed the rise of Fascism in Trieste, Italy, where he lived.

In Laibach’s Alamut, the ideas of radical nihilism interweave with the classical Persian poetry of Omar Khayyam, the sensual verses of Mahsati Ganjavi blend with minimalist orchestral colours derived from Iranian tradition. Hassan-i Sabbāh’s propaganda mechanisms are echoed in the industrial principle of the workings of the orchestra and Laibach’s unique sound.

Available on double vinyl and CD box set.