Demo tracks of traditional Irish music played by Jeni's Chickens:
Jeni Balcom, harp
Simone Westerkamp, fiddle
Doug Mast, accordion
Rex Cochran, bodhran
Recorded live at home by Doug, July 2016

Jeni's Chickens demo tracks

Once in a while, I come upon an artist whom I cannot wait to introduce to you. I met Evan Gildersleeve via the remnants of social media channels when he shared Ben Chatwin's remix of one of his tracks with me. I am a massive fan of Chatwin's ability to combine musical and grungy elements into a single sonic journey - enough so that I invited Ben to be the next featured artist on Headphone Community (in April 2025). Gildersleeve's music grazed one of the OUT TODAY columns back in 2020, but today, I'm happy to highlight this British producer front and center. All of my favourite elements of electronic music are here, from cinematic storytelling to memorable melodies to intricate sound design. Gildersleeve is not a stranger to the scene, having collaborated with artists such as Jónsi of Sigur Rós and the dearly missed Jóhann Jóhannsson. His forthcoming debut EP, Wake, appears on Max Cooper's Mesh imprint, and it's an immense pleasure to discover this artist at the beginning of his solo career [I would love to be the first one to share his first full-length!]. There are only six pieces on this teaser, and I secured the final track for this premiere, titled "Grief". The music of Wake documents "a turbulent period of self-recovery and exploring the power of collective empathy" expressed through the emotionally-charged tapestry of energy-building highs and deeply-resonant and dense collapsing lows, the likes of which are culminated on this closing piece. "Grief" is a perfect glimpse into this artist's heart, and I can't wait for you to hear the entire thing.

TRACK PREMIERE : Evan Gildersleeve - Grief

In the brackish territories where ambient Gothic dissolves into industrial techno's harsh architecture, Richie Culver's Quiet Husband finds its most compelling voice. The track I am premiering for you today, "At Your Worst," operates at this precise intersection—a dankly atmospheric piece that reflects haunted soundscapes while maintaining the raw visceral energy that has defined this multi-disciplinary artist's sonic explorations. Following his mesmerizing Atonal Festival appearance and the brutal Religious Equipment (2024) album—that unflinching portrait of addiction where track titles borrowed the clinical language of opiate blockers—Raging Habits 2 suggests a subtle shift. Here, Chicago house rhythms intermingle with looping ambient elements, creating tension between forward propulsion and suspended animation. I've had my eye and ear on Quiet Husband for a while now, seeking out the perfect piece that would appeal to all my readers, and I think that "At Your Worst" may hit that note. Disintegrating loops, raw noise and dark distortion operate in the foreground of this piece, scratching its nails on the outer walls of the chalkboard. The track's title itself speaks to Culver's unflinching examination of human fragility, that moment when substitution becomes salvation—when "noise becomes a proxy for silence, and intensity replaces numbness." This is music from the peripheral spaces of experience, from that liminal zone where endorphin rushes skim "over the synapse surface." Just days before his upcoming Berghain debut, Culver offers us not merely a composition but a séance, invoking ghosts of past raging habits while simultaneously exorcising them through the catharsis of sound. Not for the lighthearted, but if you're brave you will enjoy.

TRACK PREMIERE : Quiet Husband - At Your Worst

About a month ago, I launched and announced Headphone Community – a special place where independent artists can connect with their supporters in an intimately curated space. The first and currently featured artist is James Murray, whose music I have been covering for over a decade now. We’re only halfway through the month, and so far, I have already published an exclusive track premiere [unavailable anywhere else], an interview with Murray [he’s usually very reserved about sharing his process and technique], and a shout-out to his imprint Slowcraft [including a 50% off discount code to anything in the label’s catalogue, exclusive to the members]. And, yes, I tend to believe that for only $1 a month, as a subscriber, you get immense value for your contribution, not to mention that every dollar raised will go back to the artist! So, I feel very optimistic about the entire project and (on some mornings) proud.

But there is another thing that has been happening behind the scenes. As I began to highlight this artist and spend more time with his sound throughout the month, I started to truly connect with his music on a level much deeper than ever before. Yes, I have already lauded his 2022 album, Careful Now, as one of the best of that year, but as I listened to it again and again and again, it started to open up beyond its sonic medium. It became more than just music – a conversation between a composer and a listener, and suddenly… I really heard. This active and heightened experience of listening reminded me of the very early days of discovering the beauty of music – when I used to nestle with an album for months and years at a time. In the last greatly accelerating decades of social media, algorithms, and time-sliced attention spans, I feel like I’ve been robbed of that. And now, I’m bringing it all back. 

Today’s track premiere is from Murray’s upcoming EP, Clearings, scheduled to be released via Home Normal in April. It’s an alternative mix of one of the pieces from Careful Now, showcasing the evolution of the track with an intimate glimpse into its transition and the final shape. Read more about this alternate version directly from James on Headphone Community.

https://www.patreon.com/c/HeadphoneCommunity

TRACK PREMIERE : James Murray - Clearings (Unmasked Mix)

Sometimes I wake up in a different bed, in a different city, at a different time. Everything around me is new and there is excitement about all the possibilities. But there’s also a bit of anxiety and maybe even dread. My anchor is gone, and I am drifting with the current, afloat among the unfamiliar waters. This is when I turn back towards music. Music that makes me feel like I am safe, serene and cosy. Music that I often call my home. This is precisely what I hear in the soft piano keys of the Norwegian pianist and composer Øystein Skar, who has announced his upcoming debut album, titled Hem. I may not know him as a person, and yet his playing makes me calm. I may not truly know his story, and yet his story’s somehow mine. And while I navigate the stormy weather, this ray of sunshine points the way. In these turbulent and truly anxious times, I turn back towards home. I turn back towards music.

Composed during winter’s embrace in his woodland home outside Oslo (I imagine a hushed sanctuary of a snow-draped retreat), the piece embodies the album’s central theme of homecoming – not merely to a physical place, but to essential truths long carried within. In its patient build and emotional resolution, “Levva” invites listeners into the intimate geography of Skar’s personal mindspace. The piece stands as testimony to what becomes possible when an artist, after years of outward exploration, turns the compass needle toward the territories of the heart.

"Levva, meaning “to live well,” is a longer, more experimental track blending classical, improvisational, and electronic music. Anchored by a synth arpeggiation and a piano melody, the piece has two parts with the second evolving into an expansive, percussive, and dreamy landscape created with an array of synths. For me, it’s about embracing strength through authenticity." — Øystein Skar

TRACK PREMIERE : Øystein Skar - Levva

I have been writing about music for nearly two decades now, and it’s time to turn inwards again. Away from being a promotion vehicle and towards a curation platform, supporting music and musicians that resonate within. And when it comes to highlighting one of my favourite electronic musicians, that is certainly the case. Somewhere, in the darkened, quiet and euphonic spaces between synthetic, buzzing pulses and organic, breathing textures, Ben Chatwin has been crafting his sonic language. This voice speaks through modulated frequencies, soaring string arrangements, and the ghostly hum of man-made machinery brought to life. This month, he’s been the featured artist on Headphone Community, where I showcase his music through exclusive track premieres, unreleased alternative mixes, in-depth interviews, and yes, even an 80% OFF discount to his last album, Verdigris. You can join for only $1 a month to get access to all of the above, and invest your precious attention among the many like-minded folks who still believe in the transformative power of deliberate, thoughtful, and visceral music. Today’s track is taken from the forthcoming EP, Klasis, scheduled to be released on May 9th, 2025. This is the second release from a new project Ben calls Tether – a series of EPs and singles rolling out over the year, eventually leading to an album. The first release, The Beginning, is available on his Bandcamp, and you can name your price for that release.

See more on https://www.patreon.com/HeadphoneCommunity

TRACK PREMIERE : Ben Chatwin - Caldera

Assemble

I’ve been mesmerised with the sound of Deaf Center since the very beginning. I think it’s been more than 20 years now since their Neon City EP was released on Type. This is way before I even knew that behind the project was a Norwegian duo who started making music together as friends. This is before I knew their names to be Erik K Skodvin and Otto A. Totland. Before I listened to, admired, and celebrated their solo works on here. And, before I met each one in person, and of course, before we naturally became friends. This is precisely why, when it came to launching Headphone Community and deciding on who I should profile there from the start, I reached out to Erik and his partner Monique Recknagel (who runs Sonic Pieces imprint) to pitch them this idea (it was actually when I visited their mi-so shop in Berlin). This is why Erik is the currently featured artist for the month of May on Headphone Community (join for just $1 for an intimate journey!), and this is why I am premiering this track for you today. It’s been another long period of silence for Deaf Center, but the two long-form pieces on Reverie clearly show that they have not put their collaboration on hold. If anything, it has only evolved into a hypnotic meditation on Otto’s keys and Erik’s strings, guitar, effects, and atmospherics, designed for a very deep listening session. The recordings actually come from a live performance in October 2024 in Rabih Beaini’s studio, Morphine Raum in Berlin, during the 15th anniversary celebration of Sonic Pieces. This is less of an improvisation and more of a dialogue between the two friends who haven’t spoken in a while. It is truly magical, and I only wish I could be there to experience it live.

In “Rev”, deeply effected piano motifs reverberate and echo in the depths of the room, evolving through looping and electronics into a blissful, mesmerising cloud of (dis)harmony. The sound is reminiscent of the 7inch “Vintage Well” mixed with the basic elements of 2011’s “Owl Splinters”. […] The immediate duality of the two performers has rarely been so strongly felt, Totland’s deep melodic feeling is underscored by Skodvin’s abstract ambience and processing. Dark versus light, loud versus quiet – this has always been at the core of what makes Deaf Center a special project.

TRACK PREMIERE : Deaf Center - Rev (excerpt)

South African Jason van Wyk is quickly becoming a favourite and prominent artist on these pages. You may even think I’m biased, because I asked Jason to rework one of my tracks. But this relationship is indeed in reverse – I only requested his participation because I admire his sound, and am indeed inspired by his music when I choose to work on my own. There’s something ethereal, delicate, and dreamlike in how his cinematic pads swirl in a cocktail spatial ambience and pulsating rhythm that takes over my heart and bewitches my soul. Stunning harmonic progressions show off true musicianship, while the layered textures keep me occupied with intelligent sound design. This is the culmination of elements that I highly respect in my music. This is why I keep listening to Jason’s music and try to share it with the world. This is why, I’m sure, Mike Cadoo continues to invite him on his label. We last heard from Jason nearly three years ago [time is always speeding up], when in October of 2022, he released Descendants, which inevitably landed on my Best of the Year list in the most coveted category, Music For The Film Behind Closed Eyelids. This is a sacred space, often occupied by the likes of Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds, and, of course, Jóhann Jóhannsson. With his latest sixth full-length album, Inherent, Jason is back on n5MD, pushing his boundaries forward, featuring even more expansive soundscapes of warm ambiance, haunting piano melodies, and trance-inducing beats. Enjoy this exclusive track, and who knows, maybe Jason will show up on Headphone Community (wink, wink).

TRACK PREMIERE : Jason van Wyk - Remnants

Believe it or not, I am not that great at self-promotion. So when it comes to using this very platform, I hesitate and stall. When it comes to shouting into the world about my music, I often feel a bit self-conscious. I'm sure that musicians understand what it takes to finally "release" their work into the world. It's both - a ball of tangled tension and a sigh of great relief. And so today, I finally get over that hurdle by announcing my new album on the esteemed Dronarivm imprint. The roots of Tarnished Tapes and Saturated Signals are deeply intertwined with those of Sacred Tonalities (Past Inside The Present, 2023). In fact, a couple of pieces are complex reworks and further explorations of themes. All of it is still a little hazy, deconstructed, and concealed. Not because I'm hiding something, but because you need to scratch at the layered surface to understand and know the truth. Most of you will have no trouble, as I hope my sounds will resonate with something that you also pushed inside. In the end, my curated journey through deconstructed electronica, cinematic ambience, and modern classical sound fuses into expansive nostalgia, reductionist pianism, and deep emotional atmosphere, hopefully evoking a sense of loss, disintegration, and the fragility of our temporal selves. And now I can move on...

TRACK PREMIERE : Mike Lazarev - The Final Resonance of Light

For almost two decades, I have been tirelessly seeking honesty in music. I aim to find the sounds with which the artist speaks. Soundscapes that make you feel. Atmospheres that not only fill your room (and headphones) but truly transport you into another time and place. I will never forget the first time I heard Abul Mogard’s music. I was mesmerised. His intricate attention to sound design, rich textures, and manipulation of the created environment instantly transformed me into an avid fan. His music didn’t just augment my mood; it seemed to seep into my being, altering the code behind the perception of my mind. I didn’t just listen to his music, I invited it to be a part of my condition. In an effort to delve deeper and spend more time with such music, and more importantly, the composers themselves,  I created Headphone Community, where I feature an artist for an in-depth exploration. In the last three months, I’ve highlighted the sounds of James Murray, Ben Chatwin, and Erik K Skodvin. Today, I am honoured to announce that Abul Mogard will be the featured artist for the entire month of June! I invite you to join us on this journey, with the knowledge that your financial contribution will go directly to the artist!

Join here: https://www.patreon.com/c/HeadphoneCommunity

Lucy Campbell / Sligo maid / Sally gardens

baglamist

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