‘Home’ is inspired by a walk on Kalathas beach during a December sunset. All the different elements reflect the harmony and openness but there’s a tree that has always stood out to me. It’s been there forever and we’ve established an unspoken understanding: we both find a purpose in solitude. 

Dalot - Home

The Volume Settings Folder is the work of Italian artist M. Beckmann from a small town on the outskirts of Padua, in the country’s North-East. His musical journey began in 2004 following two parallel paths; a brief flirtation with progressive and nu-metal and a more enduring exploration into Folk Electronica and Post Rock sounds, gradually leading him to Ambient and Drone music. In 2011 he launched The Volume Settings Folder, self-releasing and also appearing on Organic Industries, EKAR Records, Oscarson, Fallen Metropolis and Whitelabrecs, with the 17th edition of Home Diaries back in 2017. The project has drawn inspiration from an eclectic palette; from Electronica giants such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Autechre to the Scandinavian nu-jazz of Arve Henriksen and Nils Petter Molvær; drone pioneers such as Rafael Anton Irisarri and the Modern Classical works of Max Richter and Nils Frahm.

The creative process remains rooted in improvisation. Tracks often begin with fragments of guitar, samples, field recordings or synths, layered live using looping techniques, hardware and pedals. Recording is immediate, committing ideas in the moment with minimal post-production. For this latest album entitled ‘Corporate Shamanism’, sessions took place throughout 2023 and 2024, using an array of instruments and tools including acoustic and electric guitar, kalimba, cassette and reel-to-reel tape, hardware including an OP-1 Field, monome norns and a carefully curated chain of pedals and effects. Recordings were captured to handheld devices before being shaped in Ableton Live with only subtle adjustments.

This provocatively titled album ‘Corporate Shamanism’ is free from a strict concept, yet the album carries with it a strong sense of place and time; an impressionistic reflection of autumn and winter by the sea, filtered through nostalgia and calmness. Polaroid photographs from these colder seasons inform the mood, with the music evoking shifting coastal light, perishing temperatures and quiet transformation.

For the artist, these pieces trace connections to landscapes tied to childhood memories and the way they shift with the changing seasons. The result is a deeply atmospheric work that invites stillness, contemplation, and a lingering sense of the familiar. The title ‘Corporate Shamanism’ hints at the pressures of modern life which is a striking contrast to the nostalgic warmth of Polaroid photographs and reel-to-reel tape. Yet in many ways, this album seeks to offer a quiet antidote to an overstimulated world.

Credits
Written and produced by M. Beckmann
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Photography by Filippo Bordigato
Artwork by M. Beckmann
Art and design by Andrew Heath

Corporate Shamanism

Learn More

wlr194 The Volume Settings Folder - Corporate Shamanism

sounds of hope

youtube: ://www.youtube.com/@andrew35music
spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5k8JI9DoxpWKkVc5Hb4ETA?si=xkxfM2A3Q3yNh7hIAARg4A
apple music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/andrew/1787733681
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew35music/

binary soul

This track is quoted from EP "
the vanishing point".
Listening to all tracks of EP and purchasing are available on a link below.

https://gallerysix.bandcamp.com/album/the-vanishing-point

written, mixed, mastered by Hidekazu Imashige 
cover photo, design by Hidekazu Imashige

Tidal Shift

Part of ArtLism.JP, Vol. 7
http://artlism-jp.tumblr.com/discography

Warmth - Distance

Fostercare

CloudBurn & Factory - Visitor (Free)

To all - Track 12 of the album Dett by Kevin Verwijmeren. 
Available via Bandcamp and other record stores. 
Pre-order 01/10/2018
Release    23/10/2018

Dett

To All

Never Said Goodbye

Sacred Geometry is full of detail and texture. Its emotional depth comes from a connected place. Following my experiences in yoga and plant medicine I began to see the mathematical elegance of nature. To mirror these geometric forms in sound was the source of my creative process.

The first half of the record captures a performance at the 2018 Le Guess Who? Festival in Utrecht, Holland. Voice, guitar, synthesiser and field recordings were processed into a collage of mediative sounds. In the second half of the record acoustic sounds are fused with harder electronic processes. The track Toroids represents my vision for this record (almost) perfectly.

Closer consideration for the mysteries of consciousness has led the music to border on the spiritual. I hope people will find something to meditate on in each of these songs in the same way I have.

- Alex Smalley

releases September 27, 2019

Music - Alex Smalley
Violin on The Golden Ratio - Jane Wild
Piano on Dimensionality - Lucia Adam
Mastering - Porya Hatami
Artwork - Rafael Araujo

Thanx to Maria, Alma, Family Schmidt Smalley, Paul @Shimmering Moods, Bic & Jane, Si & Lee, Lucia, Andy, Rafael, Porya and Dmitry for their love and support. I would also like to thank anyone who is listening to my music. We are all connected.

Buy CD / CS / DL

The Golden Ratio

I'm happy to announce my debut album “The Gathering Dawn" is out! Much gratitude to those who have picked up a copy of the album. Thanks for listening!
Download/Stream here: https://heliosmusic.bandcamp.com/track/unfolding-feat-goldmund

"Unfolding" is an as-of-yet unreleased track.

Buy 'The Gathering Dawn' here: https://bit.ly/34kUBd2
🎧 Spotify: spoti.fi/2DmEQ9R
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenniffs/
Facebook: bit.ly/30SW7BR

Hollie Kenniff - Unfolding (featuring Goldmund)

Music from A Strangely Isolated Place + 9128.live.

Ambient & electronica music blog, mix series, record label and radio station. Est. 2008.

Dalot - Home

astrangelyisolatedplace