Arcticology - Haven

One of the finest netlabel artists I've ever come across, I periodically mistake Arcticology for older Steve Roach when I'm not paying attention. Maybe I listen to too much ambient. Maybe I don't.



Arcticology - Haven

Label: Earth Mantra
Genre: ambient
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Night
2. Ascent
3. Fern
4. Island
5. Ether
6. Dream
7. Garden
8. Temple
9. Flint
10. Breathe

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Nadja - The Bungled & The Botched

Presenting the most bad ass riff in doom metal history. One of Nadja's very finest.



Nadja - The Bungled & The Botched

Label: ConSouling Sounds
Genre: doom metal, ambient
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. The Bungled & The Botched
2. Absorbed In You

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Lustmord vs Metal Beast

Derived from a joint performance by Lustmord and Metal Beast broadcast live on KUCI 89.9, Orange County, California, June 20 1997. The broadcast was put together at short notice with very little preparation, and as a result is mostly improvised, and intentionally chaotic in part, being something of an experiment. Manipulated further and reconstructed for this release.

One of my favourite releases of all time. Absolutely brilliant manipulations.



Lustmord vs Metal Beast

Label: Side Effects
Genre: dark ambient, avantgarde
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Broadcast Frequencies Converge
2. Open Towers Emerge (Version)
3. Heart Of A Dog Chapter III
4. Torens Parts
5. Phleisch
6. Heavy Manners
7. Transmission Fades

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Lights Out Asia - Tanks And Recognizers

Upping this by request; post rock content will likely be sparse, but Lights Out Asia are spectacular in their execution of manifesting physical space from sound. Get it while it's hot.



Lights Out Asia - Tanks And Recognizers

Label: n5MD
Genre: post rock, ambient
Quality: mp3/192kbps

1. Roy
2. Ring Of Stars
3. Four Square
4. Oh! Toronto
5. March Against The Savages
6. Lilies On The Subway
7. Art Divided By Science
8. Drift/Fade
9. Spiti Elefas

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Nadja & Black Boned Angel - Christ Send Light

I'd be doing a disservice not to feature Nadja prominently here. Unfortunately, I'm strapped for time, so this collab with Black Boned Angel is all you get for now. Delicious drones. More Nadja later.



Nadja & Black Boned Angel - Christ Send Light

Label: Battlecruiser
Genre: doom metal, drone
Quality: mp3/224kbps

1. Christ Send Light

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URNA - Sepulcrum

Another one-off, yet fantastic piece of black atmosphere. I am by no means a metal zealot, but releases like Sepulcrum hit the spot. Excellent ambient synth interludes (to use the term loosely - said interludes dominate fully half of the album) carve a haunting niche in an otherwise solid chunk of distortion; very likely my favourite metal album of all time.



URNA - Sepulcrum

Label: Aeternitas Tenebrarum Music Foundation
Genre: black metal, ambient
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Ab Vita Morte (In Fidei Abitus)
2. Intermezzo I
3. Fundamentum Et Factum
4. Intermezzo II
5. Mors Imperatrix Mundi MMVI
6. Postludium
7. Ego Sum
8. Sic Juvat Ire Sub Umbras MMVI
9. The Gate Of Nanna

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Brian Eno & J. Peter Schwalm - Drawn From Life

I only experienced this release for the first time last evening, and it's so good, it needs to go up here right away. If you're seriously unfamiliar with Brian Eno, die.



Brian Eno & J. Peter Schwalm - Drawn From Life

Label: Opal Records
Genre: ambient, downtempo
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. From This Moment
2. Persis
3. Like Pictures Part #1
4. Like Pictures Part #2
5. Night Traffic
6. Rising Dust
7. Intenser
8. More Dust
9. Bloom
10. Two Voices
11. Bloom (Instrumental)

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Duul_Drv - Fade With Consequence

Field recordings, wonderfully treated. Duul_Drv presents the listener with a microscopic world imbued with sparse drones and tones. I've tried to sleep to this release, but I continually find myself paying too close attention to the level of detail.



Duul_Drv - Fade With Consequence

Label: and/OAR
Genre: ambient, microsound
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Still Flowing Beneath The Ice. There Is Hoarfrost On The Trees
2. A Range Of Outward Emotions On An Awkward Snowy Day
3. -40°c
4. Blue On Day (For Chartier, Günter And Roden)
5. Still Finding Leaves And Sand In My Sleeping Bag
6. Those Birds Are Very Far Away
7. We Don't Have To Fight
8. A Place Not Too Far Out, Just Close To The Perimeter

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Gridlock - Under

I was contemplating whether or not to offer up some more Gridlock so soon for the sake of variety, but I figure this is too rare a release not to provide. The final release from Gridlock, Under doesn't quite realize the grandeur of Formless, but nevertheless offers a dignified last hurrah. Limited to 211 copies.



Gridlock - Under

Label: Piehead Records
Genre: post industrial, ambient
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. 15
2. 11
3. 5-6

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Khlyst - Chaos Is My Name

In what is (hopefully not just) a one-off sideproject of Thorr's Hammer, Khlyst's Chaos Is My Name presents an entirely improvised ambient-black soundscape that quite frankly would make Burzum cry. If you can survive the immediate brutality of the opening track, you will be royally treated to a cloudy haze of atmosphere unparalleled in its scope. Truly an epic.



Khlyst - Chaos Is My Name

Label: Hydra Head Records
Genre: black metal, noise
Quality: mp3/VBR256

1. I
2. II
3. III
4. IV
5. V
6. VI
7. VII
8. VIII

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Level - Opale

Heavily processed piano works. A fleeting, if beautiful release. Recommended.



Level - Opale

Label: Spekk
Genre: ambient, modern classical
Quality: mp3/VBR192

1. Opale 1 (Jeux)
2. Opale 2 (Ae Ist)
3. Opale 3 (Braide)
4. Opale 4 (Mobilus)
5. Opale 5 (Eastre)
6. Opale 6 (Oriente)
7. Opale 7 (A Frozen Moment)
8. Opale 8 (Il Alp)

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Merzbow - Animal Magnetism

Of Merzbow's endless releases, this is probably one of his easiest to swallow. I can actually withstand coming upon it while my iPod is on random without momentarily flinching in pain. Yes, this is 'the one with the chickens'. Amazingly, this release even ends with a completely-discernable guitar riff.



Merzbow - Animal Magnetism

Label: Alien8 Recordings
Genre: noise, avantgarde
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Animal Magnetism
2. Quiet Men
3. Super Sheep
4. A Ptarmigan
5. Pier 39

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Rhys Chatham - A Crimson Grail (For 400 Electric Guitars)

This is exactly what you think it is. An orchestra of 400 electric guitars, unrecognizable as they melt into a grand wave of sound. Commissioned for the 2005 Nuit Blanche in Paris, and further proof that Paris' Nuit Blanche is still the best. Must be heard to be believed.



Rhys Chatham - A Crimson Grail (For 400 Electric Guitars)

Label: Table Of The Elements
Genre: drone, modern classical
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. A Crimson Grail Part 1
2. A Crimson Grail Part 2
3. A Crimson Grail Part 3

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MONO & World's End Girlfriend - Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain

An album so moving, I'm always afraid to listen to it again, fearing the experience may not be quite as powerful as the last time. But it always is. MONO is definitely the core of this collaboration, and World's End Girlfriend is at his most mature (for those who aren't familiar with the latter, he'll undoubtedly make another appearance here at a later date.)
Highly recommended.



MONO & World's End Girlfriend - Palmless Prayer/Mass Murder Refrain

Label: Temporary Residence Ltd.
Genre: modern classical, ambient
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Untitled #1
2. Untitled #2
3. Untitled #3
4. Untitled #4
5. Untitled #5

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Contagious Orgasm & Telepherique - Crosses Deeply

Contagious Orgasm is a name I don't see get much credit in the blog community, and I can't understand why. Though challenging, each release is a truly unique experience. Though Crosses Deeply is a collaboration with Germany's Telepherique, it is, as far as I'm concerned, one of the strongest examples of his work (not to mention his ridiculous song titles).
I apologize for the relatively low quality, but it was hard enough to find as is.



Contagious Orgasm + Telepherique - Crosses Deeply

Label: SSSM
Genre: avantgarde, noise
Quality: mp3/VBR192

1. The Dejected Time The Tasty Black Coffee Go Ahead With
2. Hapiness
3. He Electronic Circuit Which Is Played Back In The Trash Box
4. Rewound Reality
5. Time Is Necessary To Repair This Machine
6. An Electric Wave Between Foreign Countries
7. Milk And Sugar And Those Re-Discovery
8. The Line Which Has Been Connected Somewhere
9. A Walk With You
10. And As For The Dream Which You See...

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Hecq - Night Falls

Fans of Hecq already know him for his post industrial reverb-y glitchathons, but his latest effort, the aptly-titled Night Falls, is a different beast altogether. Touted by Hecq himself as the beginning of a new era for his music, Night Falls is a beautiful, beatless foray into the realm of classical, and comes packed with an atmosphere so thick the listener can taste it. Hecq's magnum opus by far.



Hecq - Night Falls

Label: Hymen Records
Genre: modern classical, ambient
Quality: mp3/VBR256

1. Nightfalls
2. Never Leave
3. Dis
4. Dis (Reverberation)
5. Bending Time
6. Aback
7. Come Home
8. Giants
9. Magnetism
10. Red Sky
11. Above
12. I Am You

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Gridlock - Formless

Starting things off with a bang. Ironically, in my opinion, this is the most beautifully-crafted album in existence, and as such, this blog can only go downhill from here. The attention to detail, the meticulous sound crafting, is beyond words. So I'll stop. An absolute must-purchase, by any means necessary.



Gridlock - Formless

Label: Hymen Records
Genre: post industrial, IDM
Quality: mp3/320kbps

1. Pallid
2. Distance
3.
4. Return
5. Song23
6. Invert
7.
8. Chrometaphor
9. Scratch
10. Displacement
11. The 8th Winter
12. Re/Module
13.
14. Atomontage
15. Done Processing

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Begin.

This blog will soon be an archive of my favourite music, much of which is incredibly elusive and by most accounts utterly impossible to find. Most of what you will find forthwith will be assorted ambient, avantgarde, drone, microsound, field recording, modern classical, post industrial, and anything else that suits.

I'm an advocate of supporting the artists, and as such, I urge those who download to purchase the albums they enjoy as they are able.

If anyone identifies where the name of this blog is taken from, I will be impressed.