Here are the dark ambient albums that we at This is Darkness have been listening to recently – some are new releases, but a few are older gems we’ve just (re)discovered.
Please check these out by clicking on the Bandcamp link next to each review, and please consider supporting the featured artists.
Enjoy!
If you have a Bandcamp release you’d like to be considered for inclusion as one of our picks of the month , please email richdodgin-tid@virginmedia.com. Bandcamp download codes for albums to be reviewed are always very welcome, but are not essential.
Wahn – Echo Mist Light
The latest release from French electronic music producer, Wahn, is an incredible album featuring techno, ambient, drones, and dub aesthetics. With echoing soundscapes and Dub-inflected delays, this is one of those gorgeous albums where the music is multi-layered, with rhythm and repetition working in unison to create a listening experience that is quite simply breath-taking. Highly recommended for fans of electronic music and dark ambient / drone with an edge. Stunning!
Valgorth – Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the debut album from Argentinian Valgorth (Aldo Requena), and an impressive debut at that. With elements of dark ambient, black ambient, and drone all expertly blended together, the end result is an audio journey full of dark delights, with cosmic inspired dissonance and unfolding soundscapes drawing the listener in from the first moment. Fantastic!
Substak – The Mutated Woods
Regular readers will know by now that I’m a big fan of Athens-based Substak – their music never failing to move and engage me. The Mutated Woods is a wonderful thirty-two minute long drone track that manages to be both harsh and hypnotic in equal measure, at times sounding something like an aircraft engine, but with a multitude of textures and nuances that give it real depth. Definitely one of those albums for listening to with headphones as you lie back in a darkened room. Incredible!
Giacomo Vanelli & Matteo Cantaluppi – A Small Life and Unnoticed Movements
Wow. Every now and then, an album comes along that leaves a makes a real impression on you. A Small Life and Unnoticed Movements is one of those albums. Born from a live performance in Milan, and then later transformed in the studio through Fender Rhodes and subtle ambient processing, the six tracks here explore micro-sounds from nature in an album that is as absorbing as it is beautiful. Highly recommended for those who like music with heart and a gentle ambiance. Gorgeous!
VVAA – Ancestral Rites
Spanish label, Ominous Sounds, continues to release albums of the highest quality, with their latest collection, Ancestral Rites, being another perfect example. With seven dark / ritual ambient tracks from seven talented musicians, this is a fantastic album from start to finish. Each track explores the concept of ancestral magic – each offering something different, but working together to create an album with a cohesive feel. Very highly recommended for fans of dak / ritual ambient. Amazing!
Rapoon – Grain of Light
New from the ever awesome Unexplained Sounds Group label is Grain of Light by Rapoon (Robin Storey), a delightful album of meditative, eastern-influenced ambient. The music here is introspective in nature, with non-Western rhythms and pulses of sound that carry the listener with them. Evoking ritual, thought, and memory, Grain of Light is a remarkable album and one that fans of music with depth and meaning should definitely check out. Magnificent!
Nerthus – Jonastal
The latest release from German audio and visual dark ambient artist Nerthus is Jonastal, a thematic audio exploration of the Nazi bunker system and concentration camp. As you’d expect from the theme, this is a dark and brooding album, but it’s done in a respectful manner, leaving the listener both disturbed and touched by the experience. At a time where a lot of music is nothing more than a disposable commodity, it’s refreshing and heart-warming to know that music with real meaning is still being created. Breath-taking!
insectarium – Initiation
insectarium is an artist whose music is always of the highest quality, and Sombre Soniks is a label that never fails to deliver. So when I discovered this new album, I had high expectations… and I’m delighted to say I wasn’t disappointed! Initiation is an electro-acoustic ritual ambient album, featuring an impressive range of traditional instruments, including a 36” Stagg Tam Tam gong, a digeridoo, seven Tibetan bowls, bamboo and metal wind chimes, and a rainstick… to name just a few. This is powerful stuff, with a ritual soundscape that I found hypnotic and inspirational. This is very highly recommended for fans of ritual ambient. Superb!
Sam – Hornet’s Hell
Polish musician Sam has released a number of impressive albums, every single one of which has made a huge impression on me. His latest release, Hornet’s Hell, is inspired by and dedicated to the “Hornet Fuzz” guitar effect, providing a bluesy ambiance that runs through all 5 of these gorgeous electronic-tinged tracks. This is one of those amazing albums that rewards the listener with something different each and every time they listen to it. I’ve had this on repeat play since I first heard it, and I keep discovering new delights hidden in its multi-layered textures. Astounding!
Markus Guentner – On Brutal Soil, We Grow
The new album from German ambient pioneer Markus Guentner is On Brutal Soil, We Grow – his most emotionally charged work to date. Exploring growth amid adversity, the music here is a breath-taking collection of ambient soundscapes that provide a meditative and reflective listening experience. In places dark and brooding, and others positive and uplifting, this is an emotional album that offers an introspective refuge from the chaos of the world around us. Tremendous!
Rhad – Ghost Music Library
Oh wow! Italian sound artist and label owner Raffaele Pezzella has released his second album under the RhaD moniker, further exploring “the margins between archival research, improvisation, and sonic abstraction”. This is incredible stuff – listening to it is like dipping into a collection of forgotten sounds tapes and recordings… an experience that is laden with feelings of nostalgia for a vanished world. This is definitely an album to check out if you like experimental music with soul and depth. Splendid!
FAIL – When you’re a nail, everything starts to look like a hammer
New on the fantastic Inner Demons Records label is another first class release from Fail, the wonderfully titled When you’re a nail, everything starts to look like a hammer – a hard hitting album of post-industrial ambient noise. This isn’t easy listening, but that’s sort of the point – the music here is an expression of grief and rage, and it is powerful and emotional stuff. Very highly recommended for those looking for something on the noisier end of the ambient / drone spectrum. Terrific!
Melophobia & Substak – +θ/esis
+θ/esis is the second collaborative release from Melophobia & Substak, and is a gorgeously minimalistic soundscape of noise / drone, with glitches, echoes and post-industrial tones added to the mix. The end result is on of those albums that at first listen feels like nothing much is going on, before you realise the hidden depths in each track and find yourself drawn into the unfolding audio journey. Brilliant!
BIRTAWIL – Dua Min
New from French “one-man post-something” musician BIRTAWIL is this stunning album of ambient / drone / post-rock with a deliciously dark brooding vibe running right through it. I’ve had this on repeat play since I first heard it, and I will definitely be checking out previous releases from this talented artist. If you’re a fan of guitar past dark ambient or post-rock, then this is an album you have to check out. Outstanding!
OUT ON IN – EP08
EP08 is the 8th in the OUT ON IN series of live studio recordings from John Gutenberger and Thom Monahan. Featuring ambient drone soundscapes, the music here is melancholic, haunting, and thought provoking – perfect for listening to via headphones on a Sunday afternoon as you contemplate your life choices. If you’re a fan of ambient drone, this album – and the others in the series – are well worth checking out. Awesome!
Reibung – chrysanthemen
Chrysanthemen is the impressive debut album from Reibung, the new project by German producer & multi-instrumentalist Ben Krahl. This is electronic ambient / drone at its finest – with multi-layered sounds, cinematic soundscapes, and dark organic textures that carry the listener to another time and place. I cannot stop listening to this, and I will be eagerly following to see what Reibung does next. Astounding!
Between Heaven and Sky – Quiet Geometry of Light
Quiet Geometry of Light is the debut EP from Between Heaven and Sky – the ambient collaboration of Spacecraft (Rishi Bhatia) and Applefish (Nik Davies). As a huge fan of Mumbai based Spacecraft, I was excited to hear this album, and I’m delighted to say that it is even better than I had hoped. With soothing space ambient soundscapes of the highest quality, this is one of those albums that is just perfect for chilling out and de-stressing to. Wonderful!
Ambiotik – Healing River
New from Ukranian music-therapist Ambiotik is Healing River, an album of beautiful ambient music, with soothing sounds and frequencies designed to help the listener relax. It’s expertly done, with the light pleasant music and calming river sounds working together to create an audio experience that is an absolute joy from start to finish. Highly recommended for those looking for something to help them relax to. Breath-taking!
1981OCTOBER5 – Arrows of Time
Designed to be purchased on cassette, Arrows of Time is an album that focuses on “…simplicity and texture : a minimal setup to stay close to primary ideas and instinctive recording“. The music is calming and provides a contemplative ambiance for the listener, giving them an opportunity to escape the pressures of an increasingly busy and demanding digital world. Beautiful!
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