Mercatante is a New York-based electronic musician with self-releases dating back to 2007, appearing on a handful of boutique and independent labels. For his debut appearance on ASIP, Mercatante takes the concept of Ø [a symbol used in mathematics for an empty set or null] and explores the possibilities of starting out from nothing, "specifically, trying to understand how the idea of ‘nothing’ fits into the realm of sound, and at the same time, exist in a world of influence at every turn." This is an album that could easily appear on the celebrated raster label or get a head nod from the Alva Noto crowd. Across the ten surgically precise pieces, Mercante explores the concepts of meticulously placed sonic elements, investigating void and all that negative space. It is at once minimal in its execution and maximal in the presented sound, occupying frequencies evoked by glitchy IDM [is that still a used term?], post-techno and reductionist soundtracks.

"Beginning with open spaces and allowing sonic textures to live and evolve past where you may expect, Ø allows the space between notes to become equally as important as the notes themselves."

Love Of Lies

TRACK PREMIERE : Salvatore Mercatante - Love Of Lies

... and here we are, at the end of the Xerrox series. For those who have been all along on the ride, the fifth and final volume concludes an incredible journey which Alva Noto started back in 2007, with the exploration between the original and the copy, the distinction between the two in the analogue and digital world, and the context which each one holds. This was before the concept of non-fungible tokens designed to represent proof of authenticity for the original [digital] art, music, and collectables. Nearly two decades in the making, the five albums capture Carsten Nicolai's evolving philosophy around the method and the system. "The copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition." I've covered Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and Vol 4 in detail, in the last of which I have predicted that this fifth and final volume will come out in 2025. So, I am delighted and a little sad to feature this exclusive premiere of a track from the final entry as the voyage approached dissolution. This is an emotional experience filled with moments of melancholy and the bittersweet feelings of goodbye, not the least of which are influenced by the connection to the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was a fan of this series.

Read more on Headphone Commute:
https://headphonecommute.com/2024/11/25/alva-noto-xerrox-nausicaa/

Xerrox Vol. 5

Xerrox Nausicaa

TRACK PREMIERE : Alva Noto - Xerrox Nausicaa

~ IIKKI 026 ~

music : øjeRum 
artwork : Irene Zottola
album : Langt Fra Jorden ("Lejos De La Tierra" for the book)
duration : 36.39 mn 
date : December 26th 2024

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Music by øjeRum 

Mastered by Taylor Deupree 
Artwork by Irene Zottola
Design by Sprflxgrfzm

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edition : 
• vinyl: limited to 250 copies / gold LP / hand numbered  / pantone / black inner 
• cd: limited to 150 CD / pantone 
• book: limited to 500 copies / hand numbered / hand stamped / cover embossed / gold hot stamping on the cover

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pre-order : December 06th, 2024 / official release : December 26th, 2024

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Links : 
https://iikki.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.iikki-books.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://oejerum.bandcamp.com/
https://www.irenezottola.com/

øjeRum - Poppeltræet Med Syv Grene

Some things could be attributed to chance, while others result from human [in]action. Reality has a way of unfolding, but we also can shape it, if we only try. We can create distortion fields in this world, both negative and positive. I prefer to do it with music [and also with these words], feeling the pressure levels of air displaced through this space, seeing my actions evolve our community. The key is to channel it into the right things. The key is to mould this reality by lowering suffering and not creating more insanity spun out by imaginary thoughts. Turkish electronic musician Siné Buyuka expresses her frustration, aggrievement and grief for the loss and devastation of the 2022 Turkiye-Syria earthquake on her latest album, Farewell. Producing under her Sinemis moniker, the music captures the visceral emotional maelstrom through sound shaped by organic pads, pulsating bass, and prickly stabs from semi-modular synths. Buyuka's music is "at once a love letter to the beautiful land that she once called home and a scathing indictment of the governing powers that have so harmed its own people, culture, and freedom." The tension of this cinematic expression is held together by beatless rhythm and sweeping noise that would appeal to fans of Caterina Barbieri, Alessandro Cortini and Helene Vogelsinger. Siné, of course, is more than an artist - she is also the founder and curator of an Istanbul and London-based boutique label, Injazero Records, which put out a benefit compilation two years ago (March 2023) titled re-LEAF with all profits donated to the Ahbap NGO in Turkiye for their wide-range relief operation in an ethnically diverse area home to millions of immigrants and Syrian refugees.

TRACK PREMIERE : Sinemis - It's Not Fate, It's You

From the album Layers of Afternoon, Available June 13, 2025 on Western Vinyl
Pre-order / Listen https://lnk.to/layersofafternoon

Goldmund - "Darnley"

Blurstem’s 'Remnants and Whispers' is an album of memory-of echoes and fragments, of moments gathered and reshaped, of the past carried gently into the present. Released on Fluid Audio, renowned for its exquisitely crafted physical editions, this collection of soundscapes and textures is imbued with nostalgia, intimacy, and the quiet weight of time.

The album weaves together the delicate and the vast, the small and the sweeping. Tiny, almost imperceptible guitar plucks flicker like candlelight amidst expansive ambient washes. The sonic palette moves seamlessly between lo-fi warmth and pristine clarity, embracing the imperfections of cassette recording and the wobbly, warbled charm of home videos from a lost era. Each track breathes with a human touch-organic instruments processed and reimagined, from tremolo strings pitched and resampled on “Tethered” to layers of sound that feel like old photographs brought to life.

At its heart, 'Remnants and Whispers' explores the idea of remnants-what we carry with us through life, the fragments of friendships, memories, and fleeting moments that shape who we are. Much like the album’s sonic construction-built from past sketches, ideas, and textures revived and given new form-the music mirrors the way we collect and reinterpret our own experiences over time.

This ethos extends beyond the music itself into its physical presentation, with Fluid Audio’s deluxe edition incorporating 1920s sheet music and book fragments as old as the 1890s-historical relics that feel like the perfect visual counterpart to the album’s themes of memory, loss, and renewal. The tactile nature of these artifacts deepens the listening experience, making 'Remnants and Whispers' not just an album, but a tangible connection to the past.

Mastered on Bartels’ late ’60s analog tape machine, the album’s final touch further enhances its warmth and character, adding an unmistakable depth and timeless quality to its sonic palette.

A meditation on change, nostalgia, and the beauty of imperfection, Remnants and Whispers is an invitation to pause, reflect, and listen-not just to the music, but to the quiet echoes of our own stories.

Music: Blurstem
Mastering: Bartels
Design: Crossley

www.fluidaudio.co.uk
www.blurstem.bandcamp.com

Blurstem - Along the Rails

'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.

James Osland & Andrew Heath - Outside The Light Was Starting To Wane

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)

I don't think I will ever forget the first time I heard m.=addiction. I can also confirm that every time I played out that record, folks waltzed over to me to find out the name. Something mystical and enigmatic brought them over to music, making me feel like I was a snake charmer enchanting a cobra with the sounds of a pungi. The music of Dictaphone often evoked hazy spaces, full of jazzy smoke, lo-fi textures, and noir voices, occupying those distant corners of your memory where you felt glamorous comfort, charming enchantment, and warming delight. Since the 2002 debut, the Berlin-based duo of Oliver Doerell and Roger Döring released five more albums, all of which I think I have covered on Headphone Commute. And, in my humble opinion, their latest upcoming release is the closest to that special aura I felt nearly two decades ago. Unstable is Dictaphone's 6th full-length, where Doerel and Döring are also joined by Alexander Stoze (on violin) to mesmerise us with that special scent of future-retro nostalgia that seems to drift in the air like thick incense in a temple of soporific ghosts.

TRACK PREMIERE : Dictaphone - Desplendor

from 'Disrupt / Construct' [LP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den325
available on all formats at http://denovali.com/n

Disrupt/Construct is a long-form music release featuring two compositions: Disrupt and Construct. Disrupt/Construct is a composed effort between Ricky Graham (Signals Under Tests) and Hellmut Neidhardt (N). Graham collected musical responses to a series of his own guitar improvisations from Neidhardt over the period of a year. Graham then crafted this album at the Elektronmusikstudion EMS in Stockholm, Sweden. Disrupt is a series of buckling themes that function as self-contained, shorter musical compositions. Construct presents a semi-improvised stream-of-consciousness piece that stands in contrast to the disruptive nature of its counterpart and divides into three self-contained musical movements.

Disrupt / Construct

N(57) / Signals Under Tests - Construct I

"Remembrance" is taken from "Invisible Island". Midori Hirano´s follow up album from 2015s "Minor Planet". Handmade LP and CD editions available from Sonic Pieces February 7th.