Somnambulance - from the chalk to the stream - 2025 self-released
Tracing a path from Berlin School to Dub Ambient via drone and shoegaze…
This studio recording from this somewhat relaxed group of west country electronicists sees them responding to an unexpected summer rainstorm as nearby stream transforms into a powerful river as the rains flow off the chalk hills. "from the chalk to the stream" is one 39 minute-long improvisation. It builds on previous Somnambulance releases - the recent "Tripartite Drifting Lab" on Liverpool's Moolakii Club Audio Interface, "Wally's Ashes" from 2023, and their two cds on Colander Records - with Andy Roid's shift from synthesisers and Digitakt to his recently acquired modular set-up, coupled with Saul Yarg's decision to employ a second, rhythmic, guitar to complement Just George's filigree looping guitar work and King Razor's inclusion of radio broadcasts and other sampled material, this current version of the group seems ready to embark on their next project: a documentary-style film of live performances in unusual locations. I look forward to seeing the results."
https://somnambulanceuk.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-chalk-to-the-stream
Rubber Bus - Urban Dust ep - 2025 Rubber Bus Records
A related item to the Somnambulance dudes, joined by Tim Hawthorn, (latterly of The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet), who is usually found leading The Anarchetypes or composing soundtracks for films. Here he takes on the guise of a kind of visionary poet railing against many and various contaminants in the home, the environment and the planet generally. These sentiments can either be taken literally at face value, or as I prefer, can be seen as a stylistic vehicle for concerns of a more existential or personal nature. The musicians create a unique kind of spacerock dub-reggae combination with some lovely, twisted guitar work, pounding electronics and delicate wafts of production tricks in order to perplex the listener. The album version is presented first - from the new Welcome To Karmic City long player - followed by three remixes by members of the band, and if that wasn't enough for you, there's two live tracks added as well. The live version of Noh Yogah is from a Real Music Club show in Brighton and features occasional member Daniel Spicer - the author of books on the Turkish Psychedelic Underground and Peter Brotzmann - while the live version of Assassin was recorded at New Avalon Ballroom in Glastonbury and features the redoubtable Tim Hawthorn on vocals. Apparently Rubber Bus are rarely seen in public - they don't tour as far as I'm aware, preferring to hit unwary festivals without warning. I'd advise you to keep an eye out though - from the evidence presented here they are as unhinged live as they are on record, so well worth checking out.
https://rubberbus.bandcamp.com/album/urban-dust-ep
mazenta z - Doubt thou the stars are fire - 2025 self-released
Titled after a line from Shakespeare, this cd is one of the most compelling ambient releases I have heard this year. The mysterious mazenta z are a trio of two synthesiserists and a guitar player based in Brighton, UK. Hellbent on control of their material, they recorded, mixed and mastered the tracks themselves and roped in one of their partners, painter Hiroko Lewis, to contribute the fine artwork for the sleeve. The music itself is ambient in style - and consequently extremely relaxing - but runs a gamut of influences from 1970s jazz fusion through David Sylvian and Holger Czukay's mid-80s experiments and more recent YouTube Lockdown Ambient, (I just made that genre up). I like the way the guitars merge with the electronics so that a gravity-defying mass is created; not exactly diaphanous or lightweight, but existing in its own plane almost, without compelling the listener's attention; just as good ambient music should. When you focus in on the material though, there is a world of detail; not just a featureless drone landscape. There is an interview with them by the Battery Operated Orchestra guys on their YT channel if you want to know more.
mazenta z interview with Battery Operated Orchestra BOOCAST
https://mazentaz.bandcamp.com/
- Joe Candy, July 2025
