Jonas Munk is a Danish composer known for his atmospheric, ambient soundscapes, released under his real name, as well as the celebrated Manual project, which I've been following from the early 2000s via Make Mine Music, Darla, and Morr. Most of his solo works (and collaborations with Ulrich Schnauss) appear on his own Azure Vista Records, including the record I'm sharing today. And if that's not enough, you may [and should] recognise his other renowned project with Jason Kolb, known as Billow Observatory, which I've lauded on these pages for every single release. If you already know this fantastic artist, you can learn more about his process in this interview, which I published in 2019: In the studio with Jonas Munk. His latest release, titled Mirror Phase, is the final record in the trilogy of minimal ambient albums composed using guitar loops and lush synth pads. My favourite piece on the album is the title track, which is why I'm happy to premiere it for you today. This is the longest piece, approaching 18 minutes, and it's a slow-burn evolution of warm frequencies that oscillate at different phases, creating that beating of constantly shifting patterns, which finally develop into a blissful sonic space. Suddenly, all of the eighteen minutes pass, and I feel like I should experience the journey all over. Everything is perfectly out of focus, creating a brand-new perspective on repeat rotations. These are the stunning "sonic structures that gradually evolve, like cloud formations in the sky..." Fans of delicate and introspective moments from the likes of William Basinski, Christopher Willits, and Stars of the Lid will find themselves in a familiar environment with plenty of texture to get lost in and then discover themselves again.

Read more on Headphone Commute:
https://headphonecommute.com/2024/10/24/jonas-munk-mirror-phase/

Mirror Phase

TRACK PREMIERE : Jonas Munk - Mirror Phase

I've started writing personalized 1 minute songs: https://owseymusic.myshopify.com/products/1-minute-commission

Visit our online Music Production Academy and start learning how to make music today: https://zeverb.com/

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Stream this song & discover past releases on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0btK9KZQ1KGUIjxoxZT2dt?si=1gOxt4mwSnWSoy-jHpVnxQ

Bandcamp: Download this song & view my entire 200+ song discography: https://owsey.bandcamp.com/album/theres-a-party-somewhere-in-this-castle-but-i-find-you-alone-on-a-balcony

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there's a party somewhere in this castle, but i find you alone on a balcony (Orchestrated)

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

Theme

Theme (From MindsEye)

Out now across all streaming platforms, Cascades is the first single from the forthcoming album, Inherent — Available 13 June on vinyl, CD and digital through n5MD.

https://ffm.to/cascades

Written and produced by Jason van Wyk
Mastered by Ian Hawgood, Mokoshi Mastering
Cover photography by Gean Burrell

Cascades

Stream

~ LAAPS 044 ~ [SEQ.06 - LP44]

artist : Aiko Takahashi
album : The Grass Harp
duration : 41.11 mn
date : June 09th, 2025

edition :
-  vinyl : limited to 200 copies / apricot LP / selective UV varnish (front+back) / hand numbered 
- cd : limited to 150 copies / pantone / hand numbered + handcrafted, sealed

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pre-order : May 02nd, 2025 / official release : June 09th, 2025
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Piano, Tape Loops, Drones recorded by Aiko between March and November 2024 in Aiko's former studio, a secluded spot near the River Isonzo, between Gorizia and Nova Gorica.

Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Artwork by Thomas Ratt
Design by Sprflxgrfzm
 
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Links :
https://laaps-records.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://aikotakahashi.bandcamp.com/
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℗ & © 2 0 2 5 - L A A P S - L A A P S 0 4 4

Aiko Takahashi - Vases À Iris

Taken from "We are lone swans floundering in a deep river or sudden magic" the new album by Fallen. Pre orders start 9.05.2025 at Shimmering Moods Records: shimmeringmoodsrecords.bandcamp.com
LimitedCD , hand numbered, hand made sleeves. Edition of 45. 
Release date: 16.05.2025

Fallen - This deep river of sudden magic

Real Lo-fi sound. Combination of vinyl records and audio cassettes in one mix. The perfect music for relaxation, meditation, and stress relief by Dionisaf.

1. KapTep & Christian Alsemgeest - The Day the Internet Went Away (Exhale B3) https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/exhale
2. Jens Pauly - Unterholz (Narrows B2) https://lontanoseries.bandcamp.com/album/narrows
3. Scott Campbell - Green Cicadas (Stillness A4) https://scott-campbell.bandcamp.com/album/stillness
4. zYklen - 2:55 pm - Alongshore (Palace of Chords A5) https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/palace-of-chords
5. Russell Burden & Craig Tattersall - Turnings (Diagenesis A1) https://laaps.bandcamp.com/album/diagenesis
6. Dionisaf & Suseti - Inner Youth (Ambient Cat Mixtape B4) https://ambientcat.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-cat-mixtape
7. Adrian Lane - Desire Paths (Desire Paths A1) https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/desire-paths
8. Iván Muela - Whisper (Monologues A1) https://rustedtonerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/monologues
9. Observatories (Ian Hawgood & Craig Tattersall) - I’ve Lost Confidence in Words (Our Recently Acquired Knowledge B3) https://iikki.bandcamp.com/album/our-recently-acquired-knowledge
10. KapTep & Brannan Lane - Music for Migraines (Part 6) (Music for Migraines A5) https://ambientcat.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-migraines
11. Dionisaf - Iki (Shibui B1) https://chitrarecords.bandcamp.com/album/shibui


Watch on YouTube ▶️

LO-FI AMBIENT MIX #7 by Dionisaf | Tascam cassette deck & Pioneer record player

Stateside (dub)

Simon Shackleton - We All Shine On (Stas Drive Unreleased Remix)

17. Puremusic - Stars (2015 Rework Edit)

Jason van Wyk is a composer and music producer based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Starting with his first release in 2004, producing mostly club music during this period, his productions soon found a home on the Dutch label Black Hole Recordings, where numerous singles, collaborations and remixes followed.

2013 saw the release of van Wyk’s first solo album Days You Remember. Moving away from his previously established sound, the album took on a range of influences, from abstract electronic music to post-classical and ambient.

Van Wyk’s second album Attachment was released in 2016 and his third album Opacity in 2017 on the UK label Home Normal. Both albums consisted of minimal compositions for piano, chamber strings and electronics.

In 2018, van Wyk signed to the American label n5MD. His fourth album Threads was released in 2021, with its followup Descendants released in 2022. While Threads reflects some of his previous electronic works, Descendants built upon these production methods, taking its underlying elements further and pushing them to their extremes while diving further into abstract and ambient territory. 2023 saw a return to n5MD with Deepriver - Volume One; a collaborative album together with Swedish, Stockholm-based musician Joni Ljungqvist.

Besides his releases, van Wyk has composed for various film, documentary and media projects. These include the feature film Triggered for Samuel Goldwyn Films, brands such as The Criterion Collection, Taschen and LinkedIn, library and production music for Universal, Paramount and Netflix, as well as sound design work for Roland.

Now, in 2025, van Wyk’s sixth solo album Inherent is set for release 13 June. By mining his past endeavours in club music, neo-classical and film composition, Inherent brings van Wyk’s sound into previously unexplored territory.

Bio written by James Harris (updated April 2025)

Cascades

Jason van Wyk

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