Well, now... Headphone Commute's Best of the Year feature for 2024 is all done and dusted (I hope you enjoyed this instalment and your wallet is not too sore). I spent the last two weeks unplugging from the world (even as the events around the world seemed to spin out of control), reflecting on the future direction of this platform and the next steps that I intend to take to improve upon our collective sonic journey guided by these honest words on honest music. And fear not, the authentic curation of HC-delivered content that you have hopefully grown accustomed to is here to stay, even as I branch off in a slight detour (more on that later). Meanwhile, to stay true to my words and to prove the above point, I'm excited to share with you this exclusive track premiere by a Stockholm duo of Johan Kisro and Petter Lindhagen, recording under the project name Dött ljus for the always-excellent London-based Slowcraft Records. The music embraces playful experimentation, crossing numerous genres while pairing the album's vibrant energy with soft, moody undertones. This careful balance creates a richly layered voyage, blending sounds in ways that tantalize the brainwaves in just the right way, shaking off the winter clouds and pulling the listener into a warm blanket of sincerity. I think it's fair to say that if it wasn't for James Murray's keen ear for the careful curation of his genre-spanning imprint, I would have never come upon this tender album, and that's precisely the type of connection with the label owners (who put their time and energy into every single release) and artists behind the music that I seek. And now, enjoy the track!

Bottna

TRACK PREMIERE : Dött ljus - Bottna

In the words of the composer:
In this piece I am trying to capture trying and failing, improving...moving towards the light.
The opening 3 chord phrase is extended and re-harmonised, growing in length, density and volume each time. After several tonal tangents we eventually succeed in resolving to a home chord of D major in the final bar.

Fail Better

'Pentatonic Ruins' [CD|LP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den385
available on all formats at http://denovali.com/mansur

"Pentatonic Ruins" is MANSUR’s 5th release on Denovali - it follows the 2022 "Oscuras Flores" album. "Pentatonic Ruins" is more of a song adaptation album than a new material album. It highlights the vocals of Martina Horvath and presents a collection of Mansur songs in a more hypnotic and trance like manner. This album can be seen as songs for transcendental rituals.

Mansur - Szaturnusz

Il y a toujours eu un piano à la maison. Mon oncle Pascal en jouait parfois, ma mère à de rares occasions. Moi je n'ai jamais "appris", mais j'écoutais, m'aventurais parfois à pianoter quelques notes… Ce que j'ai continué à faire jusqu'à aujourd'hui, écouter beaucoup, pianoter un peu. Il y a toujours un piano ici qui ne sert pas beaucoup, avec sous chaque touche cette sorte d'émotion latente, particulière, au potentiel immense, qui ne demande qu'à être activée par un toucher sensible. Et cela tout le monde en est capable, musicien-ne ou pas. D'où cette idée de faire un mix spécial Piano Day, avec un maximum de contributions originales enregistrées pour l'occasion. J'ai lancé des invitations à participer, trouvé un bon micro à prêter - merci Yvan! - et enregistré quelques beaux moments, la plupart improvisés (ou presque). Parmi les participant-e-s, il y a des ami-e-s dont la musique n'est pas forcément la pratique principale (ou le piano pas forcément l'instrument de prédilection) et d'autres que je ne connais pas mais dont la musique m'a touché lors de mes pérégrinations internautiques... Ci-dessous la playlist, et encore plus bas des liens pour suivre les artistes qui vous auront le plus fait vibrer. Bonne écoute!

Photo: session studio avec Jann Dūne, 25 mars 2025

Playlist :
Antonin De Bemels - Ceux qui restent, module piano 1
Eva Koliopoulou - Η Μνημειώδης Απόδραση του Οράτιου Σουώρτς
Antonin De Bemels - La douceur (piano solo), variation
Hughes Devos - 17 mars impro I
Lucy Claire - Dear Shadows
Antonin De Bemels - Ceux qui restent, module piano 5
Marco Lucchi - [year's end] Farewell
Haroun - Sirène inversée
Mr. Pepper aka A.Sh feat. Edward Burton - Moent
Antonin De Bemels - Ceux qui restent, module piano 3
Boris Gronemberger - About Luc
David Christophe - 21 mars impro IV "si tu m'entends"
Marco Lucchi - Music for a film to come
Antonin De Bemels - La douceur (piano solo), thème principal
Olivier Taskin - 25 mars impro XII
Lucy Claire - Willow
Hughes Devos - 17 mars impro II
Jann Dūne - Birds in the Attic (25 mars, prise 4)
Olivier Taskin - 25 mars impro V
Juju - 15 mars impro "constellation"
Lucy Claire - Nettle
Julie Nayer - 15 novembre 1993
Olivier Taskin - 25 mars impro III
David Christophe - 21 mars impro III "sans filet"
Rachel Langlais - Latinitas
Antonin De Bemels - La douceur (piano solo), final
Olivier Taskin - 25 mars impro IV
Hughes Devos - 17 mars impro III
Rachel Langlais - Institutioni
Olivier Taskin - 25 mars impro IX
David Christophe - 21 mars impro I "départ"
Antonin De Bemels - Jour de neige
Olivier Taskin - 25 mars impro VI

Pour approfondir :
Antonin De Bemels (Bruxelles) -> https://antonindebemels.bandcamp.com
Eva Koliopoulou (Athènes) -> https://soundcloud.com/eyaklp
Hughes Devos (Bruxelles) -> https://thinconsolation.bandcamp.com/album/la-place-des-yeux
Lucy Claire (Londres) -> https://soundcloud.com/lucyclaire
Marco Lucchi (Modena) -> https://soundcloud.com/marcolucchi
Edward Burton (Saint-Petersbourg) -> https://soundcloud.com/edwardburton
Alexey Shlykov (Saint-Petersbourg) -> https://soundcloud.com/alexey-shlykov
Boris Gronemberger (Bruxelles) -> https://www.riverintolake.com
David Christophe (Bruxelles) -> https://davidlundmusic.bandcamp.com/album/ever
Jann Dūne (Bruxelles) -> https://soundcloud.com/nina-sky-w-k-coeur
Julie Nayer (Bruxelles) -> https://cimarra.be/julie-nayer/
Olivier Taskin (Bruxelles) -> https://soundcloud.com/olitaski
Rachel Langlais (Saint-Arnoult) -> https://unjenesaisquoi.bandcamp.com/album/dothe

Mélancolie douce XXVIII (Spéciale Piano Day)

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

A track from the recently released new album by Rauelsson entitled "Niu". 
Out February 7th, 2025. https://www.mi-so-store.com/products/rauelsson-niu

Rauelsson - Prelude No. 7

 Mahler: Ging heut' morgens ubers Feld (from Songs of a Wayfarer). Gustav Mahler, piano, recorded in on November 9, 1905 at the M. Welte & Sons studios in Leipzig.

Mahler - Ging heut' morgens ubers Feld - Gustav Mahler, piano 1905

'Petrichor' is the third studio album from long-time collaborators James Osland and Andrew Heath, and serves as a natural continuation of their creative partnership following the release of Elysian Fields (2024), also on the esteemed Fluid Audio label.

The two artists were initially brought together by a shared admiration for each other’s work within the ambient music community. Andrew Heath is an established figure in the genre, with numerous albums and EPs released on respected imprints such as Disco Gecko, Whitelabrecs, Rusted Tone Recordings, Elm Records, and White Paddy Mountain. James Osland, meanwhile, is both an accomplished artist and the founder of Elm Records, a boutique label known for its thoughtful curation. His personal discography includes releases on Unknown Tone Records, Whitelabrecs, Flaming Pines, and Dewtone Recordings, among others. Osland’s practice explores the intersection of sound, memory, and place, working across both sonic and visual mediums.

Petrichor began to take shape during an exchange of ideas between the two artists in the late winter and early spring of 2024. As Andrew shared loops and sonic sketches, James found himself listening from his studio, watching the unrelenting English rain from the window. These moments of stillness-quiet reflections on the shifting of seasons-informed the mood and direction of the album.

What emerged is a collection of slowly evolving compositions, revealing gentle melodies, nuanced textures, and soft drones-much like the tender unfolding of early spring leaves. The album carefully weaves together field recordings, organic textures, and synthesis to create immersive soundscapes that capture the subtle beauty and contemplative atmosphere of seasonal change.

Mansur - Szaturnusz

Denovali

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