Electro/Ambient

Operating out of London's Cable Street studios, on the vacated docks of empire and in the shadow of Canary Wharf, Moon Zero is the project of producer and composer Tim Garratt. This self-titled debut album is the culmination of the exploratory drone work of his first EPs, 2014's 'Tombs' and 'Loss' (Denovali). Drawing on the micro-polyphony of classical modernism and analogue-leaning contemporary electronic music, it's the finest incarnation yet of an aesthetic that's both minimal and cinematic: an unhurried, massive tapestry of sound built from minute processes and hidden melodic lines. The music spools out of Garratt's mind in the form of extensively screwed up synthesizers, bowed cymbals, liquidated instruments and detuned tape loops. Bounced between effects chains, music software, mixing desks and tape, his materials are then inflated and tampered with, in different venues of a particular significance or suggestive atmosphere. The results are enigmatic, hypnotic and register a note of mourning. They are mercifully free of the obligatory club references of electronic music that's destined for a different mood but nonetheless confines itself to bygone ost-club' tropes. "I was listening to a lot of William Basinski, Bowie's 'Low', Swans, Messiaen, Stars of the Lid, Cluster, Eno. Carl Sagan," remembers Garratt. Garratt seeks out spaces in the city which can be turned into echo chambers for his ambient, avant-gardist material. Yearning to derive some meaning from a point in space-time, these resonances turn back and pacify some of the frenzied and alienating forces in both the human and the place. Like the preceding EPs, oon Zero' was recorded at St George in the East in Shadwell, London. Having written the preliminary tape loops (this time secluded and out-of-signal in rural Wales) at the end of 2014, he returned to St George in June 2015. "I only had a five hour window to record everything, which I hope gives the record a sense of spontaneity and life". Religious themes pervade the album, drones imported from ancient sects and the never-silent industrial era - a convergence that is mirrored by the dead history of the Thames and present-day flows of money and data outside his Limehouse studio. In the time between the project's inception and the 'Moon Zero' sessions, Garratt worked on readying his material to perform live. "Because of the lack of pre-recorded material, and as the previous EPs were largely improvised, it meant that I was constantly performing new sets each time I'd play a show. Although this was liberating it was also too dependent on variables that were often out of my control. So with this album I wanted to write a more coherent piece of music which could be loosely recreated in a live scenario." He refined his method with gigs at Denovali Swingfest in Essen, Germany, Zemlika Festival in Durbe, Latvia and in London, supporting artists like Ben Frost, Hauschka, Jon Hassell, Fennesz and Cold Specks. His shows are regularly proving transcendental. Moon Zero will be touring in Europe in October with label mates Oneirogen and Second Moon Of Winter. Record Label: Denovali Style: Ambient

Artist: SK Kakraba Label: Awesome Tapes From Africa

Record Label: Nuclear Blast Style: Metal

Artist: Express Rising Label: Numero

Artist: Express Rising Label: Numero

digipak. Coming as a strictly limited edition of 500 collector copies as a three panels deluxe DigiSleeve CD with a very dark set of pictures by Animalerrant as artwork and UV spot texts for some of the darkest of packagings and, obviously also as a digital download, the EP features an exclusive and previously unreleased track by both bands for a total running time of nearly 25 minutes. EYE OF SOLITUDE are back with the aptly titled funeral march “Obsequies” which is the stylistic missing link between their many times “2013 album of the year”, the now classic “Canto III” and their 2014 monster EP (one song / 50 minutes!) “Dear Insanity“. Funeral Doom & Doom / Death at its finest! FAAL are back after two full-length albums, with an old-school-influenced yet of modern conception piece mixing a strong Doom / Death basis with slight elements of Dark Metal and old-school Gothic Metal (the right way!). Record Label: Kaotoxin Style: Death Metal

Artist: Radio Citizen Label: Republic of Music

Artist: Peaches Label: I U She Music

Artist: Masayoshi Fujita Label: Erased Tapes

Artist: The 4 Seasons Label: Real Gone Music

Artist: Stephen W Tayler Label: Esoteric/Antenna

Artist: Putumayo Kids Presents Label: Putumayo World Music

Record Label: Thrill Jockey Style: Independent

Composer, musician and producer Nils Frahm steers the new edition of Late Night Tales, set for release on 11th September. A hypnotic voyage through modern and classical composition, experimental electronics, jazz, dub techno, soundtracks and soul; Frahm's Late Night Tales haunts and beguiles. It's not mixing, so much as gently layering, like a particularly fluffy goose-down duvet folding in on itself, the folds part of the attraction, the layers part of the overall picture being painted. Many of the tracks have been edited, effected and re-made. The subtly overdubbed parts on Rhythm & Sound's 'Mango Drive' adding to the haunting hypnosis, while choral interruptions aid Miles Davis' 'Générique' on its journey towards the light. Meanwhile, on Boards Of Canada's 'In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country', the tempo is somewhat sluggish, the organs slurred, as Frahm slows it down to a funereal 33rpm that nevertheless fits perfectly. The purring of his girlfriend's cat Cleo transitions playfully between Nina Simone's definitive version of 'Who Knows Where the Time Goes' and unearthing the gentle electronics of Dub Tractor. Eddy Arnold's 'You're The Only Star', a country tune that sounds like its transmitting from a mid-west diner wireless circa 1947, is straight from the soundtrack to an imaginary David Lynch movie, comforting and dismaying all at once. This crackly reality abounds, as on Finnish band Gentleman Losers' 'Honey Bunch', that adds an unsettling texture, with a sound that is modern but as nostalgic. Frahm's own tracks bookend the mix, opening with an inspired "rework" of the infamous silent John Cage piece '4:33' ("I sat at the piano in silence and worked from there. I listened and took in the atmosphere and this is what came out of it") and ending with a solo piano version of 'Them', taken from his recently released score of the film 'Victoria'. The traditional Late Night Tales spoken word epilogue is voiced by actor Cillian Murphy (Inception, Batman, 28 Days Later), reading a short story by Edna Walsh (Hunger, Disco Pigs). Record Label: Late Night Tales Style: Electronic

OUR DARKEST HOUR by CIRCLE OF PAIN is a high class opus of Dark Metal! 13 melodious tracks convince by their expressive and straight compositions! Aggressive guitars and boombastic keyboards! But not only the instrumental parts do convince. Furthermore the lyrics reflecting a critical view on war and violence won’t let anybody untouched! Hard stuff which is also presented on the bonus DVD entitled TRILOGY OF WAR, HATE AND FORGIVENESS. Further content of this box: ROUGH CUT VIDEOS, an interview with SANDRO Lo Giudice, a photo gallery and many specials! A must for every metal fan! Record Label: Zyx Style: Dark Metal

Artist: Ballake & Segal,Vincent Sissoko Label: No Format (Indigo)

Artist: Various Artists Label: Zyx Music (ZYX)

Artist: Co La Label: Software Recording Co.

Artist: Klaus Schulze Label: Made In Germany Musi