A regularly updated seasonal selection of ambient, modern classical, and electroacoustic works (Closed on 6/5/2023). 

Image by Jeremy Bishop via Unsplash
Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/0-seaQYYOqI

Field Journal Companion - Spring 2023

The secret and lascivious playlist by Murator

A collection of tracks exclusively premiered on Headphone Commute

Exclusive Track Premieres

Sustain Series returns for its third iteration, bringing together ever-more artists for another showcase of recycled music. Reworks and newfound collaborations make up this 27-piece album, demonstrating what can be achieved with ‘one’s trash and another’s treasure’.

 https://bit.ly/amb-sustain3

All Bandcamp proceeds of this album are to be donated to Eden Reforestation Projects, to help continue their work sustaining important local environments, and providing jobs to those that restore and maintain them.

James Bernard - Growth (Off Land Recycle)

Carvings

Carvings (feat. Leslie Savoy Burrs)

Birch Forest

álom

Christian Balvig is a Danish composer known for his score for the Scandinavian drama series Cry Wolf [with the Copenhagen-based electropop group, When Saints Go Machine], as well as his work with orchestras like The Royal Danish Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic and The Danish Chamber Orchestra. To be completely honest, this is the first time I am listening to Balvig [although I noticed him being credited on a few Efterklang albums], and it's exciting for me to discover his music from the upcoming solo debut, Night Poem. "The album is an ode to and from the night, a rebellion against constant stimuli, and a meticulous hunt for ghost notes and the almost imperceptible sound of piano keys." The piece I am premiering for you today, titled "Where All Is", features a closely mic'ed piano with all of its beautiful mechanic sounds, just enough bass to give it the platform it needs to sustain the sparkling synth arpeggios and backing acoustic percussion. This is a lovely track to wake up to in the early morning as the darkness quietly recedes to light, and we find ourselves faced with another brand new day full of possibilities and welcome prospects. All we have to do is float throughout it all and let it be, as the universe will set its course for us to follow.

Night Poem

Where All Is

TRACK PREMIERE : Christian Balvig - Where All Is

Skogspromenad

This song is my contribution to help celebrate Piano Day 2023. Life has been messy in the last couple of years, so I haven’t really been able to release new songs lately, despite my desire to do so. ‘Hello old friend’ is all about reconnecting. Reconnecting with my piano, which is my current instrument of choice to express whatever I’m feeling. Reconnecting with myself, as playing the piano allows me to sit still, process things and just be myself. And, as a result of all this, hopefully reconnecting with my audience at a deeper level, as I feel like I’ve been living very far away from everything and everyone.

Cover artwork by Rita ( ritaslittleworld_ on instagram ).

Hello old friend (Piano Day 2023)

kuukan no oto - morimoto naoki

For over two decades, the Osnabrück duo of Stephan Otten and Oliver Klemm has inhabited the sacred intersection of Krautrock's motorik pulse, ambient's expansive consciousness, and contemporary electronica's limitless possibility. Their approach to composition mirrors the architectural precision I've celebrated in my previous coverage on HC, where each element serves both structural and emotional purposes. In the liminal hours between consciousness and dream, Sankt Otten crafts sonic territories that feel both ancient and impossibly futuristic. "Die Gute Fee War Schon Da" (The Good Fairy Was Already There) emerges from their forthcoming album Tote Winkel like a meditation on synthetic breath. Long sighs and deep breathing from a machine that carries an undercurrent of foreboding beauty. This particular piece unfolds with the hypnotic inevitability of oncoming headlights—mesmerizing yet tinged with existential unease. Recorded predominantly live with Martin Schmeing spontaneously contributing DX7 textures, the track embodies Sankt Otten's evolution toward more organic creation methods. The fairy tale reference in the title suggests narrative completion. As their fourteenth album approaches on Denovali, Sankt Otten continues to prove that the most profound electronic music emerges not from technological innovation alone, but from the spaces where human vulnerability meets synthetic precision. Fans of synth-based explorations of future-retro sound will agree.

TRACK PREMIERE : Sankt Otten - Die Gute Fee War Schon Da

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

Jason van Wyk is a Cape Town (South Africa) based electronic music producer whose music I often wish could have been my own. From cinematic soundscapes to soft piano keys and mesmerising passages, the elements of his pieces are all the necessary ingredients that I often try to combine in my music. And that is basically the highest sort of praise that I could give. There are many incredible ambient musicians who truly inspire me with their ability to create and transport me to their fantastic sonic worlds. And plenty have contributed to my growth as a musician - I am permanently indebted to many of them, whom I am honoured to call friends. But in my soul, I am a pianist, and the instrument [or its echoes] inevitably make it into my tracks. And this is what I love about Jason's music. His most recent release on the beloved n5MD, Inherent, is a more upbeat, forward-driven progression, combining his skills of crafting dance-oriented grooves with atmospheric soundtracks. For his upcoming EP, Jason reworked three tracks into pure ambient pieces. To truly appreciate the transformation, start by hearing the original track, followed by this alternative version. If you want to dig deeper into the process behind the composition (including the details of the actual effects chain used, like the Space Echo, etc.), you can read up on Headphone Community, where Jason revealed it all when he was a featured artist for the entire month of July [the content is still up there!]. Deep listening and focus are essential to truly appreciate the textures here...

https://www.patreon.com/HeadphoneCommunity







TRACK PREMIERE : Jason van Wyk - Inner (Horizon)

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

We Almost Lost Detroit Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson

Available now at http://www.adsrsounds.com/product/presets/stereophonic-jazz-sessions/

‘Stereophonic - Hip Hop Soul & Organic Jazz Sessions’ is a brand new library from Production Master, ideal for those who adore soulful melodies mixed with classic hip-hop beats.

Mimicking the warmth and feel of your vintage vinyl collection, merging lines between boom-bap and old school rap, this collection is an ode to bold.

Authentic drum and percussion folder
Explore the wide selection of original drum and percussion sounds; this impressive collection includes a variety of vintage breaks, dusty kick drums, punchy snares, organic percussion, dazzling hi-hats, crisp tops & more! All beats come as a full drum loops and the stripped stems and one shots for the maximum control.

Lush chords, instruments and basslines
Featuring a diverse mix of live and synthetic melody and bass loops, ‘Stereophonic - Hip Hop Soul & Organic Jazz Sessions’ offers a huge range of useful, creative and inspiring loops ranging from bass guitar riffs, mellow pianos and delicate organ phrases to smooth analogue-synthesised leads and synths.

Lavish atmospheres
Uncovering a plethora of emanating atmospheres ideal for backing any existing project, this folder should not be overlooked. Our atmosphere pick contains a solid foundation of ethereal pads, distant leads and authentic field recordings optimal to deliver that extra layer to your production.

Special FX
The FX folder features dazzling sounds to lay down as hits or atmospheres with a vast combination of high-fidelity drones and foley recordings to cut through your mix. Each sound has been processed and refined to bring studio-quality effects to your tracks.

Grab ‘Stereophonic - Hip Hop Soul & Organic Jazz Sessions’ now!

Pack Contents:

22 Atmospheres
13 Bass Loops
72 Drum & Percussion Loops
52 Drum & Percussion One Shots
13 FX
18 Chord Loops
20 Instrument Loops
Total Number Of Files:

210
556 MB

Stereophonic

Stereophonic - Hip Hop Soul & Organic Jazz Sessions

Here are some original solo piano pieces...  some mixes from my podcast... some exclusive track premieres...  and some tracks from the albums I review on Headphone Commute... Enjoy!