Far from static clouds and close to the moving beam in pursuit as an overflowing blue wave and a star beneath, appearing along with the moon.

Text by FH HF.

Anasisana - Infinite Horizon

More often than not, a respected label introduces me to a new artist or a project. Sometimes, a rare instance occurs in reverse, where a favourite artist appears on a previously unknown [to me] label. This is the case with the Philadelphia-based Andrew Tasselmyer, whom I’ve been a fan of for his solo ambient releases on imprints such as Shimmering Moods, Constellation Tatsu, Polar Seas, Eilean, Home Normal, and laaps, among the many, but also as a member of Hotel Neon, which I’ve been following via Past Inside the Present, Thesis, Archives, Sound in Silence, and Fluid Audio. All of those are very familiar to me – in fact, you can find most of them in my Labels Directory, but the Las Vegas-based Mystery Circles is definitely new, and I only recognise a few names on its roster. So, more for me to hear! Now, back to the release! Titled Where Substance Meets Emptiness, this 8-piece album features more than just Tasselmyer’s beautiful ambience, with some piano keys and field recordings. There are lots of sparkling and shuffling beats and percussive elements reminiscent of the early IDM era, where harmony met rhythm. The track I am premiering for you today, “Flowers in a Storm”, reminds me of those days when I would listen to Arovane, Dabrye, Metamatics, Deaf Center, and Secede. This makes me want to revisit my very own liftmuziek sessions!

"Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.
— Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore)

Taking in the magical surrealism of the celebrated Japanese author, Tasselmyer composes music that fades in and out of reality, bridging the atmospheric world of dreams and the present moment, where we find ourselves floating and merging with all the beautiful vibrations. Featuring some sonic postcards from his friends (Steven Kemner, Dave Mantel, and Sean Galloway), Tesselymyer paints a new world to traverse – one that is as imaginary as it is real, where “ordinary methods and immediate results are ditched along with their traditional maps in order to reach uncharted places of the imagination.” It’s an absolute pleasure to wander within this open space, and I find myself pleasantly lost among its many turns and expansive pastures.

The full album is out tomorrow, January 30th, 2024, on Mystery Circles. Mastered by Taylor Deupree, it is available as a digital, CD, or cassette edition. Beautiful album cover by his brother, Michael.

Where Substance Meets Emptiness

Flowers in a Storm

TRACK PREMIERE : Andrew Tasselmyer - Flowers in a Storm

Today, I am happy to share with you a new piece of music that will serve as the opening to the upcoming mini-album that I will self-release later this summer. To be honest, with all these written words for many years, talking about all this music by many of my favourite composers, I'm actually pretty shit at self-promoting myself. This is why I usually leave this "job" to the many wonderful labels to spread the word. And then I amplify and filter. "Saturated Signals" is a continuation of my sonic journey initially explored on Sacred Tonalities, which was put out on the amazing Past Inside The Present in February of 2023. Initially, it was conceived as a bonus or a follow-up track until it evolved on its own, as music usually does. I then invited a few of my dear friends to rework the piece and add their special touch to the heavily layered synthesized and organic textures which I provided as a foundation for this piece. Each distinct interpretation offers a perfect tint of the individual composer's aesthetic to create a collective whole that you can experience as a unified journey in half an hour's time, connected by an interweaving theme. I will share Saturated Reworks with the world in just a couple of weeks, followed by the full mini-album, but first, here's the single.

Saturated Signals

TRACK PREMIERE : Mike Lazarev - Saturated Signals

A golden oldie from the heady days of 2018. My first track on vinyl

Solace

Today, we're back with a track by Tristan Eckerson, who records under his Purple Decades moniker for the Portland-based Beacon Sound imprint. This piece is taken from his second album, Fraction of Centuries, where Eckerson continues experimenting with new textures, "creating an expansive zone of contemplation for his listener." I think that "Completely Still" is a perfect example of the aesthetic captured by this composer. Lo-fi tape hiss is holding up the lightly sprinkled synth keys as sweeps and drones slowly fill out the resonant crevices of the spacial landscape. The reverberated pads swell in as the fog slowly crawls over the sleepy lagoon, and the bass then awakens the cavernous rumble. Time stands still in this sonic projection, inviting the listener to pause, maybe close their eyes, take a breath, and awaken into another moment. With its glistening minimalism and neoclassical undertones, the music is an invitation to slow down, especially if you're a fan of contemplating the vastness of time, much like the surreal imagery that inspired its title. I've previously premiered a video from Eckerson's debut, Journey Test, and if you like this piece, I recommend you lead off there.

Fraction of Centuries

Completely Still

TRACK PREMIERE : Purple Decades - Completely Still

Soft Fuse - from the album Kiri No Oto

David Lynch - Excerpt from Rabbits
the concept horse - brand new descriptions [Students of Decay]
Pavel Milyakov & Lucas Dupuy - path [PSY X]
Modernist - Practical fishkeeping [Language Instinct]
Eustress - ms mrs [Cold Storage]
Blear Moon - Foreboding [Immersive Love]
Undveld - unreleased [forthcoming on Amulet of Tears]
Field Designer - Lovely legs [forthcoming on Amulet of Tears]
Patricia Wolf - Trophic Cascade 
Tim Hecker - Sunset Key Melt [kranky]
Vanity Productions - In A Purple Light [Polymorphism]
doris dana - important information enclosed [soak]
secret getii - pretty world extinction [soak]
usof - belly [Theory Therapy]
Kibosh - Air Spiral [self-released]

Amulet of Tears @ Radio Vilnius #10 / January 28th, 2025

Taken from "Hääletu kaos (A Silent Chaos)"

A few copies left:

https://shimmeringmoodsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/h-letu-kaos-a-silent-chaos

Edition of 35 handmade CD packages, wallets, stamped, hand numbered.

Releases February 8, 2025 

Music by Bertil Aas. 
Photos by Annela Samuel 
Mastered by Andrea Porcu 

SHM 330 
Shimmering Moods Records 2025
license


Etüüd - Päikese punane kaja (Red Echo Of The Sun)

previews. Pallette - Oasis of Peace | Lᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴏ Series

"Ottava" from the forthcoming album of the same name by Maps and Diagrams. 

packaging and design by handstitched* limited to 40 & 30 copies in two editions.

released: 18 october (pre-order available soon) ... Thanks for listening 🎧

https://handstitched.bandcamp.com/

Maps and Diagrams - Ottava

From "Pillars". Out on limited LP 1/10/2020

Maps and Diagrams - Ottava

Handstitched*