Beyond Earth & Sky

Embrace the Infinite

Piano M 7969 3:32 09-08-2025

TheRelease
A gentle sanctuary for the soul — soft melodic synths, a flute’s quiet breath, piano notes like fingertips over still water. Beneath it all: the whisper of fire, the steady river’s flow, the song of birds, and the distant toll of church bells.

This is the sound of letting go — of opening your hands to what has been, and making space for what will come.
It is not an ending, but a loosening. A remembering.
A way to breathe again.

Let it meet you where you are.
Let it carry you where you’re going.

TheRelease

Substrata 2

Poa Alpina

Substrata + Man with a Movie Camera

Chukhung

Map 165 is a collaboration between Martin A Smith and Tim Hooper exploring disorganised sound, atonality, beauty and evocation. Following on from 2014’s The Fatigue of Sunlight and Wine (Voxxov) and their collection of live recordings A Foreign Country, we are pleased to announce the release of their latest album Of Adam Sleeping in the Lap of God. 

An ambient work in four movements inspired by the north portico of Chartres cathedral Of Adam Sleeping in the Lap of God melts stone into music using a series of field recordings, synths and guitars. 

Of Heaven and earth: 
The formless becomes formed. A swirling coalescence of themes and sounds. Through repetition a pattern appears. Order is created. Across a slow shimmering, four notes call out bridging the void. 

The deepest midnight blue 
The sound from the lowest point of the lake 
The silence of the space above the Earth 
The beat of the heart 

Of the firmament: 
A blissful disorientation. Shimmering, confusing, a wrapping inwards of time and rhythm with multiple refraction of the same themes overlaid but still apparent. 

It is the clangour of bells reflected off stone walls in an old town 
It is the beat of wings over a lake 
It is the confusion of walking in to a dark interior out of the brilliant sunshine 
It is the clamour of foreign languages in the market place 

Of the Sun and the Moon: 
Reflective and contemplative, with a receding sadness. Watching the last sun of Summer set knowing that Winter will be coming. 

Wind between the fingers of trees 
Dust settling in corners until Spring 
Hands resting upon the table 
Valleys filled with fine rain 

Of Eden: 
Neither afraid of night or morning. Each day welcomed; each day passing as easily as water in a river. The security of knowing what you like and trusting your judgement. Equal with all, afraid of none. Night comes blissfully again. 

The comfort of time passing 
The first moment of sleep 
Closing the door once home 
A friend’s voice 

Written and recorded by Martin A. Smith and Tim Hooper 
Assembled and Produced by Martin A. Smith 
Choir at Chartres Cathedral recorded by Helen Smith 
Recorded at Flying Boat Studio, Cambridge, UK 
Sleeve artwork by Katie English 
This is Rural Colours 84

Map165 / Of Adam sleeping in the lap of God (Snippets)

Spanish composer Pepo Galán lands on the exquisite imprint Archives with a follow-up to the acclaimed Human Values Disappear. 
This time, the artist steps out of his comfort zone to create a record that melts the boundaries of ambient music, challenging our preconceived notion of how a drone record should sound. 

Part of the charm of Strange Parentheses lies in its seamless blend of genres, quickly shifting from early day Kranky sounds (Dead fish on the shore, In a Straight Line) to more glitch-inspired pieces (High Seas Tempest, Almost Alone in this Life). 

However, the biggest strength - and surprise - of the album lies in its delicate use of vocals. For this endeavour, Pepo recruited the talented German choreographer Sita Ostheimer, who brings her impressive vocal range to three of the album’s tracks. Sita’s symbiotic performance adds a newfound intensity to the mix, echoing the emotional resonance of artists like Grouper or Julianna Barwick. 

These refined sounds become palpable in the album’s centerpiece, S a m o a, a song that starts off with a delicate Sonic Pieces-inspired piano, gradually evolving into a soul-crushing ballad. Here, Pepo builds a wall of guitar and string sounds around Sita’s vocals, transporting us to a state of mind that is equal parts melancholic and blissful. 

This gravitational pull between darkness and hope acts as a guiding light throughout the rest of the album, eventually landing on a high note with the tear-jerking sounds of U Broke Me. By the time the pitched-down vocals fade away, it is safe to assume that Pepo Galán has produced another exquisite record, one that rivals the heights reached by Human Values Disappear, confirming him as one of the most exciting artists to watch in our modern ambient landscape. 

Words by Carlos Maquieira. 

All music written, produced and mixed by Pepo Galán in 2018, 
except 'High Seas Tempest' and 'Almost Alone In this Life' in 2015. 

Samoa 
Piano: Sergio Díaz De Rojas 
Strings: Reyes Oteo 
Trombone: Carlos Rodríguez 
Lyrics: Marisa Ares 
Voice: Sita Ostheimer 

Bleeding Eyes 
Voice Sampler: Sita Ostheimer 'It’s You' 

U Broke Me 
Lyrics and Voice: Roger Robinson 

Mastering by Taylor Deupree 
Photography by Brian Young | www.instagram.com/losingtoday 
Archives49 // ArchivesCD30 
Archives / 2018 

... 

In loving memory of Brian Young.

strange parenthesis

Buy CD/Cass/Dig

Pepo Galán - In A Straight Line

When Glider was first released in 2008, it felt like a natural phenomenon captured and recreated with sheets of astral guitar and electronic whispers. Rafael Anton Irisarri's debut album as The Sight Below is part of a long continuum of ambient-inspired musicians pushing at the edges of Brian Eno's iconic idea, incorporating elements of drone, minimalism, shoegaze, and techno with transformative effects. Ten years later, like-minded artists continue to explore the remote landscapes Glider traversed, and to celebrate the album's reissue, many of them have reworked its music for a special mixtape.

From electronic music pioneers like Biosphere, to Slowdive's Simon Scott, to Swedish techno auteur Acronym, each of the eight producers on Glider 10: Reworks brings a unique perspective to the source material. Composer Benoît Pioulard, a frequent collaborator with Irisarri, adds a new density and wistful pathos to the once sparse "Further Away." In the hands of Spanish ambient artist Warmth, the calming pulse of "A Fractured Smile" is inverted to a swirling bath of texture and light. Pop Ambient veterans Leandro Fresco and Markus Guentner both distill their reworks (“Without Motion” and “Dour”) into pure ethereal bliss. The two versions of Glider's opening track, "At First Touch," range from Yagya's immersive techno vista to an all but indiscernible mirage by Simon Scott. No matter the approach, the eight reworks featured here feel wholly contained in the singular ecosystem The Sight Below crafted 10 years ago.

glider 10 reworks

The Sight Below - A Fractured Smile (Warmth Remix)

Remix album for the latest Warmth's work 'Parallel'. Including remixes by Shuta Yasukochi, Warmth, Pepo Galán, Purl, The Green Kingdom, David Cordero, Powlos and SVLBRD.

Written and Produced by Agus Mena
Remixes by Shuta Yasukochi, Warmth, Pepo Galán, Purl, The Green Kingdom, David Cordero, Powlos and SVLBRD.
Mastering by Taylor Deupree
Photography by Alexander Kopatz
www.go70north.com
Archives52 // ArchivesCD33
Archives / 2019

Parallel Remixed

Buy CD/Dig

Warmth - Receiver (Warmth Remix)

Tracing Back the Radiance

Palace of Time

Written and produced by Shuta Yasukochi & Carlos Ferreira
Mastered by Fraser McGowan
Photography Alexander Kopatz
www.go70north.com
ARCHIVES68 // ARCHIVESCD49
Archives | 2020

Palace of Time

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma