A quiver in the air,
— the bird is made of salt
and something older

Hundrede fugle falder som aske fra den hvide sol

Æther #009 by Tim Six
Dronarivm Guest Mixes Series

We recently released a beautiful two-track EP by Paris-based ambient/drone artist Tim Six - https://dronarivm.bandcamp.com/album/alpine-valley - and asked him to share some recordings that he's been enjoying lately, so he came up with this mix.

You can also read about Tim's preferences in music, synthesizers, and hairstyle in a short interview we did with him: https://dronarivm.com/2025/06/28/interview-with-tim-six/

Tracklist:

00:00. Ariel Kalma ~ Water Echoes [Self-released]
03:23. Shine Grooves ~ Ambience 113 [Not Not Fun]
06:27. Lamina ~ Eclipse [Mappa]
09:57. Amkarahoi ~ Arrhythmic Wave [Biardo Records]
14:27. v a n i t a s 命死 ~ 緑のHorizon [Self-released]
17:47. TEGU ~ 2x3 [Not Not Fun]
22:20. Light Blending In ~ Entities [The Tidal Charm]
25:52. Bålsam ~ Dream Particles Forming [Global Pattern]
31:33. Evelyn Greene ~ TOUCH [Dream Journal Institute]
38:38. Mychael Danna & Tim Clément ~ Under August Sun [Chacra Alternative Music]
43:32. Jean-Paul L'Heureux ~ Rilassamento Subliminale [Demetra]
48:09. Tim Six ~ Park in the evening [Aural Canyon]

Explore more...

Æther #009 by Tim Six

After decades of chasing, accumulating, and then sharing new music with you, I think I've hit some saturation point. I think I'm done spinning in the vortex of the "new", being pulled in all directions, catching up on all the "fresh" and "innovative" tracks. I'm not saying that I will stop covering new music. No. But I think I'll focus the virtual lens of my listening on a very narrow point, investing my time and attention over more extended periods. I think I will turn inwards... towards music and the artists that genuinely make me feel. This is the case with Rafael Anton Irisarri's A Fragile Geography, an album from 2015, which captured my attention then as it does now, triggering memories, triggering thoughts, and emotion. A decade ago, during a move between coasts, Rafael lost his possessions - stolen with the moving truck - along with all his audio archives, forcing him to rebuild his studio and sound from the ground up. The pain of this loss is reflected in almost every single track on the album. This music is slightly dark and melancholic. It's visceral, and it gets under your skin. And there it stays with you for ages. Becoming part of you, becoming part of your existence.

On September 19th, the album will be reissued, beautifully remastered by Stephan Mathieu at his Schwebung studio, along with a limited edition cassette of remixes by the most renowned artists, handpicked by Rafael. "This record has always been about letting go of one life and rebuilding another", says Irisarri, "It feels fitting to return to it now - ten years later, in a different country, a different world." These reworks are worthy of your precious awareness as well. I know that there are more than a few in the pipeline (at least six), which will be revealed one at a time. As of this writing, there is already a gorgeous rework by the one and only William Basinski, with his version of "Secretly Wishing For Rain" with Gary Thomas Wright, which incorporates field recordings of Reseda rain and birds captured by Basinski himself. You can check out a digital stream of that track here. *BUT!* Today, I am premiering for you a second rework by Abul Mogard! This piece bears not only the original elements of "Persistence" but, of course, Guido's extremely personal touch that breathes new life into this sound.

Head over to headphonecommute.com to read more about this release, including a quote from Abul Mogard on the rework.

TRACK PREMIERE : Rafael Anton Irisarri - Persistence (Abul Mogard rework)

I may not trust the intarwebs, but I will surely trust my label. When it comes to discovering new music (to pop me out of my echo chamber and insistent feedback loop), it’s easy to get lost among the new releases. There’s just too much of everything, and it’s only getting harder to discern. Anyone can share their latest content. And anyone can upload with a click. There’s a reason for that. The companies that host it all have made it easy for a reason: to monetize your music. To turn your content into cash. On the flip side, the labels take their time. They are, in turn, investing in the artist. So when you buy into the label, you buy into their world. Past Inside The Present has been curating my journey since 2018, and I have learned to trust Zach’s choice in music. So when he backs North Carolina-based vocalist Angela Winter for her slightly avant-garde solo debut release for the label, I’m all ears. I write “solo” because in 2024, we’ve already heard her voice on a collaboration with the label boss himself, titled Mid Sky. Together, the duo navigated “a realm between the terrestrial and cosmic with organic drones and ethereal vocals“. In August, Angela returns with a full-length titled Forbidden Questions In Space, centered around ambient and drone improvisations, and of course, her voice, for a koan-inspired drift into the endless cosmos. If you’ve been following Headphone Commute, you know that I tend to focus on mostly instrumental music, often with a darker tint of sonic experimentation. Today, I select one of those pieces from her upcoming album to give you a taste.

TRACK PREMIERE : Angela Winter - Saturn, lightly

Jessica Moss • until all are free

This is the first single from Yara Asmar's new album. This track features John Murchison and Gideon Forbes.

3 wooden giants and mechanical birds

Recorded between March and June of this year, Future Flowers is both a reflection and a rebirth - a gentle yet resolute act of hope from composer Hans Nox.

Some of these pieces have lived quietly for years - written a decade or more ago, resting like seeds beneath the soil. Others emerged spontaneously during the recording sessions, unfolding in real time as Hans allowed instinct and feeling to take the lead. The result is an album that bridges past and present, memory and anticipation - where old melodies find new breath, and improvisation opens unexpected pathways.

“I wanted the entire experience to be more free-flowing, more playful, more adventurous than the usual cautious approach I take to composing,” Hans writes. “Rather than regretting where I’ve been or the paths that led nowhere, I’ve chosen to trust my Savior and strive toward the brightness ahead. Yesterday is gone - tomorrow is coming. How much better it is to pursue confidence and courage.”

That sense of spiritual renewal and creative surrender runs through every note. There is a tender humanness here - fragile piano phrases that pause as if mid-thought, ambient textures that drift like light across water, melodies that carry both ache and affirmation. Even the silences seem to speak, offering a kind of stillness that listens back.

Future Flowers is, in many ways, an album about release - about letting go of the weight of the past to make room for something more open, more alive. It celebrates the decision to move forward with faith and boldness, even when the path ahead is unclear. The music does not rush; it unfolds patiently, like petals opening in the sun - quiet gestures of trust and becoming.

Like its title suggests, Future Flowers invites us to believe in renewal - to tend to the unseen roots beneath our lives, trusting that beauty will bloom again in time.

In keeping with the spirit of the music, this release has been lovingly hand-assembled in a limited Fluid Audio edition, pairing Hans Nox’s compositions with bespoke artwork and tactile design. Natural textures, archival papers, and hand-numbered inserts bring a physical warmth to the experience - each copy a small act of devotion, crafted with the same care and intentionality that shaped the album itself.

Gentle, honest, and filled with quiet light, Future Flowers is not just a collection of songs - it’s a testament to resilience, to grace, and to the faith that something beautiful still lies ahead.

Music - Hans Nox
Mastering - Ian Hawgood
Design - Daniel Crossley

Hold Fast

Your Breath On Every Branch

Following his debut Dolere (2024) and a collaboration with Joachim Spieth and Markus Guentner on Arcadia (2025), zakè returns to Joachim's Affin imprint with an intensely captivating work that explores the resonance of low frequencies and subsonic vibrations. There are only three pieces on this 55-minute release (the first track runs for over 28 minutes!), and you get to preview one of them before the album is out. This is music shaped for your deep, immersive, and glacial listening sessions. Good headphones and a subwoofer (yes, at the same time) are recommended. Perfect for my slowly-waking, frazzled mind this morning!

"Low Harmonics builds upon the reflective world first introduced by Zach on Dolere, which explored how time stretches during periods of sorrow and how sound can create a brief shelter from that weight. The predecessor fluctuated between ache and relief, and now its follow-up dives further into the inward, existential space beneath those emotions. Here, the use of deep and subterranean tones feels both intimate and vast, pulling you deeper into the lower spectrum of sound, shaped by heavy bass ebbs, low-frequency flow, and slow-moving drift. This album echoes the textural gravity of artists like Thomas Köner and the cold Arctic brush of Geir Jenssen, while remaining rooted in Affin’s commitment to sound that lives outside the expected."

HEADPHONE COMMUNITY EXCLUSIVE: zakè - Low Harmonics, Part 3

November 17, 2025 (Original "9.4": June 24, 2023)

The distortion at the beginning is a part of the original exported file from 2yr ago; unfortunately unfixable

⦁︎.⬤.⦁︎◖︎vzorpb(9.4)◗︎⦁︎.⬤⦁︎ ֯●︎

poison

We are an independent record label based in Montréal, releasing experimental music we care about in the most careful ways we can.

Jessica Moss • until all are free

Constellation Records