(Val)liam – [2005] Early Reflections

Soothing ambient goodness. Almost acoustic bubble-bath

This ambient masterpiece has been released by still active netlabel Dewtone back in 2005, but has dropped out of their official back catalogue since then.

Fortunately, archive.org did, well, archive this gem for us. 2 of the 9 relaxing tracks make it into my review. But it is the full release you should be treating yourself with. As another reviewer there put it:

In all, an absolutely beautiful work to be placed along with your finest ambient recordings.

electrocelt on archive.org
Continue reading “(Val)liam – [2005] Early Reflections”

Various Artists – [2012] netBloc, Volume 39: Antididonai

Exceptional pop compilation. The fabulous series does it yet again…

Again it’s time to honour one of the more than 50 episodes of the netBloc series.

Like usual, two tracks are far to few to cover all the gems in this release. Like usual for a blocSonic release, it covers a broad range of popular music genres, ranging from alternative rock, to easy listening to instrumental hip hop.

Continue reading “Various Artists – [2012] netBloc, Volume 39: Antididonai”

Daenjellson – [2008] Walk Your Soft Skin on the Edges

Mellow indie pop. Soft vocals, slightly arts’y production, yet well grounded acoustic pop.

I have a hard time writing this entry paragraph. This short, 5 track, 15 minutes long EP by solo artist Daenjellson is not easy to classify. Acoustic guitar, violin, slightly husky voice all contribute to a hard-to-pin indie sound. Continue reading “Daenjellson – [2008] Walk Your Soft Skin on the Edges”

Stellardrone – [2010] Sublime

Intense drone music. Slowly pulsating synth chords; delivering loads of spacey space sound.

Drone music is a dish best served at low to medium volume in a dimmed room. Headphones are a plus, but not necessary. Relaxing or comforting activities become twice as effective. I generally can recommend Stellardrone’s other works if you are a friend of this genre. Continue reading “Stellardrone – [2010] Sublime”

Geolm – [2017] One Hundred Sights EP

Tightly produced ambient house. Individually lovely samples achieve greatness in arrangement.

NuLogic is a fine (no so) little netlabel, at home in the electronic branches of the genre tree. French canadian musician Geolm knows how to make a good first impression. Marvellously produced sound samples, some even with an analogue touch to them, blend nicely to stern beats. Continue reading “Geolm – [2017] One Hundred Sights EP”

Erugo Purakushi – [2017] SPARK

Trippy synthwave techno ambience. Slightly experimental, yet thoroughly enjoyable as upbeat background music.

Minimal, vowel-free netlabel MNMN Records pumps out a steady stream of diverse, slighly experimental music. This item with catalogue number 483 surfs on the edge between synth wave and glitchy ambient. 9 tracks, each longer than six minutes, make for a pretty spaced up ambience. Continue reading “Erugo Purakushi – [2017] SPARK”

Wooden Legs – [2011] If it doesn’t last forever…

Italian Irish Celtic medieval folk. Great album by active band touring throughout Europe

It’s great to re-discover awesome historical music in the cellar of my music collection. It’s even greater to find out that the band is still active, releasing new stuff (latest album: 2015), and having gigs at least in France, Italy, Austria. Continue reading “Wooden Legs – [2011] If it doesn’t last forever…”

Various Artists – [2010] netwaves 04.28: new beats

Deep House compilation. Fusion of podcast (as a 60 minute mix track) and compilation (10 individual tracks) in one free format.

Excellent, long running series of netlabel compilations, having amassed over 450 episodes between 2006 and 2018. This compilation features tracks from netlabels Budabeats, Broque, and others. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2010] netwaves 04.28: new beats”

Various Artists – [2010] netBloc, Volume 30: Aldartea

Exceptional pop compilation. Outstanding quality from start to finish in 12 tracks.

I’ll directly pass the microphone to the curator:

The netBloc series is my humble attempt to shine some light on music that truly deserves to be heard by as many people as possible.

And this is exactly what he has accomplished with (as of 2018) just over 50 compilations that show the potential of netaudio culture, both in breadth and depth. It’s almost unfair to select among those, but I have my routines: Continue reading “Various Artists – [2010] netBloc, Volume 30: Aldartea”

Seki Takashi – [2016] Night City

Friendly ambient electronica. If Minecraft would have another soundtrack, this EP could set the style.

Ambient music is hard to discover for me: while I am in the mood for exploration, I tend to favour louder and more immediately “gratifying” productions. This EP released at a Portuguese netlabel focused on Japanese music – yes, apparently that’s a thing – MiMi Records. Here, calm bleeps create an ambience very conducive to relaxing activities. Continue reading “Seki Takashi – [2016] Night City”