A yin/yang four-track release by PCM, Milan-Italy’s trio of producers, Francesco Perra, Matteo Cantaluppi and Matteo Millea who alternate tracks that emotionally range from the pits of sheer angst to elevation of tranquility to dread again and then ascension to sublime wonderment. Quite the emotional wave for just four tracks, you may get vertigo from the sharp rise and falls. Title track “Attraverso” has a sense of elevated angst-ridden tension from keyboard/organ that builds gradually to greater angst and intensity. When you feel things cannot get any more dim or dark, the tones continue until you feel you are in a chamber where water enters, rises, and realize there is no escape. “Attraverso” eerie keyboard/organ resonances are joined with wisps of heavy wind that skitter over tracks like rats treading afloat as flood waters continue to rise, fill and then spill beyond the confines. As apprehensive as the track may feel, there is also a certain kind of resonating beauty to it as the piece progresses and the listener is fully enveloped in layers of waves. The following, “Atraves” deeply contrasts with gentle, pensive, spacious, strumming tones later joined by a compliment of sparse yet mellifluous electric guitar notes and shimmering tones that hover. Somehow this piece conveys romantic overtones, with a hint of wistful longing and mystery. Once more we return to angst ridden territories with the steadily modulating, galloping synth tones that continue into a kind of crescendo panic attack accented with sparse guitar notes that streak by like angels who survey a procession of the damned. The fevered pitch continues for about ten minutes without letting up, rather going through a gradual rise until components of the piece finally dissolves. Capping the release is “Par”, a mellifluous ambient counter to all angst to an orchestral sweeping finish with a slightly wintry feel, with lovely guitar notes that instill a sense of nocturnal, wind-swept landscapes, gentle guitar notes, with an occasional pulse-hum and a magical, uplifting finish. Though there are a mere four tracks, Attraverso feels more like an album for the variety of intense moods and emotions expressed.

A lovely listen from first to last track, with different, rhythmic IDM styles and textures with an abundance of warm emotion, exuberance and often a sense of uplifting joy. On Secuund, One cannot help but be reminded of the likes of the Arovane/Phonem collaborations for the angular beats and atmospherics, Autechre for the antiseptic, industrial-grade beats melded with bit-rot decaying, glitch-filled ones, or the whimsical, longing-filled melodies and downtempo beats of Tycho. While these perceived influences evidenced in shared textural palettes exist, Suumhow’s approach to melody stands on its own. “Muuscl” opens the album halting, stuttering, glitch-ridden and discombobulated, but this picks up speed and dexterity mid way through into playful melodic robotic breaks-dance track. “Till'inf” has the sharp, mechanical beats and intricate programming of Phonem and the airy atmospheric melody of Arovane, but with a certain kind of assertiveness. “West Bend” is the Tycho like melodic intermission, dreamy, somewhat whimsical and sweet as is “Bora Bora” with its slightly melancholic melody and comparatively simpler stripped-down beats and kind of wistful melody. “Cabin” among favoured tracks draws near with the momentum of an approaching storm, stuttering IDM breaks kick-in about a minute into the song and counter melodies join in about mid way through with an engaging point, counter point that culminates into a manic, blurpy video game bonus round crescendo. “56” has an early Autechre feel for the industrial grade beats, plucky melodies, and glitchy robotics, set to a nice, subdued, near melancholic melody. “Vapor” is another favoured track where less influence is heard and Suumhow’s own quality surfaces with its slightly faded melody and that catchy, slightly distorted bassline interplay into the crown jewel track. Starts with the glitchy-click of a skipping CD before a lovely, strong, pleasant emotionally rousing melody, assertive beats deliver a strong finish to a strong album. What makes Suumhow stand-out is their craft of melody, while the beats and textures are mere vehicles to instill their own slightly nostalgic mood recalling vestiges of past pop, tantalizingly close to recollection but never realized. Instead, the magic is in how Secuund dwells in the spaces greater than the sum of its parts.

Life Is But An Empty Dream here and not in the Zen sense either, Okada aka Greg Pappas’, EP/album exudes ambient atmosphere on some parts and downtempo on others. A cheerfully titled four track EP, or album, as the tracks are pretty long, up to twenty minutes each, with equally sunny track titles aimed to brighten your overcast days. Opening with “Fucked Up Inside” coupled with the album cover photo, both belong on a motivational poster. The song itself is comprised of a dirge like piano with slabs of distant distortion, cymbals shimmer into thunderclaps and sparse drums punctuate while a chorus of desolate vocals hover like ghosts of children over a genocide site – all culminate towards crescendo, then dissolve into a sparse piano and string arrangements. Though somewhat discordant, there is a slight emotional uplift towards the end that suggests release from Earthly despair. Next track, “The Right To Destroy Myself” returns with ambient atmospheric chorus and more sparse piano and slowed- down processed crying. Midway, the melody picks up to beats and rhythmically panned synth tones that accompany the atmospheric crying that reminds of the stylings of BVDUB, but in the first quarter, dissipates into sparse piano, ghostly atmospherics. The productively titled, “Killing Myself For Your Love” brings back the mournful chorus, this time accentuated with well-crafted beat programming that too dissolves two thirds of the way through and makes a nice cinematic ambient bit—reaffirming the pain and ‘ultimate release’ motif. Final track, “I Still Wake Up...” is actually beautiful and probably the more optimistic one-- slightly washed out like a faded photograph exposed to much sunlight, comprised of layers set to downtempo beats and gentle guitar. For all the bleak titles, the final track feels somehow sunnier, Okada affirms that every silver lining has a dark beloved cloud. Dramatic, angsty, deeply sad ambient with very brief sunny breaks with occasional demonstrations of crafty beat science. Listen, listen, listen to Okada’s album hardcopy or digital stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but an empty dream...

Latest from long time IDM-ster Richard Bailey aka Proem delivers us his meticulous brand of robo-beat-glitch constructions since 1999, meaning he really is Until Here for Years. There are a lot of musical ideas and approaches Bailey expresses, track-to-track, but to this listener, Proem hits best when he is on the ambient-atmospheric tip. First track, best track, “Rectangle Snake” with its moody melody and serene atmospherics intertwine into an uplifting slice of listening bliss. The following, “Cuddle Buddy” despite the name, comes off as sinister dub step with faint eerie nymph vocals accompanied by mechanical rhythms and warbly laser synth tones that instill a futurist bent, while “False Hope” has a nice yet somewhat menacing groove, track paused mid way for producer to have a sip of tea and then resume on a more serious-intent. I do like Bailey’s whimsical production approach. “Stick To Music Snowflake” is another slice of ambient atmospheric intermission before “Until Here Robot” where playful melodies mingle with juggernaut beats and manic sugar-rush melodies. “Pine the Bear” however, starts with the sluggish drowsiness of a robot undergoing a boot sequence and system integrity check before getting into a skittering drum n’ bass sequence that fizzles out at the one-and-a-half minute mark, perhaps alternating programs, to then get into strutting beat and melody science with elaborate, ornate rhythm constructions as complex and intricate as a Swiss mechanical marvel. By contrast “Chain Reaction” seems more impishly mischievous with the up-tempo gait-rhythm, understated melody that seems to bolt off. “An Effort Was Made” is stark, sparse notes that warms up with optimism into a nice atmospheric IDM bit. “The Sad Underneath” bodes darker, plucky guitar-note IDM, swaggering deftly crafted martial arts cool IDM. “Kids that Hate Live Things” is a favoured melodic IDM piece here, playful and well-crafted with joy laden overtones, cheerier melodies and a gorgeous balance of beat and melody. “Your Bones Back Together” caps the album with all to brief yet enjoyable vaguely melancholic and whimsical IDM. Until Here for Years, Elaborate, catchy IDM and emotionally evocative, Bailey continues to deliver, giving us the goods that tug at the heart strings and bumps the rump. Gorgeously produced IDM with a broad range of moods and a stream of textures a music filled with percussive consonants, shimmering, atmospheric vowels, that spells out deep and moving emotion.

Deep music for deep listening to immerse in varied moods and textures where melodic fragments luxuriously float in plush atmospherics, some serene and some disquieting. Indeed, the album title, like some track names suggest Cold War era tension and this listener cannot help but feel that Agencies may be tapping into memories of when humanity was closer to the horrific brink. The Number Stations opens with the psychedelic, “When Tomorrow Becomes Today”, where disquieting ambient fits right at home under the ‘illbient’ genre. Saturated in reverberating, choppily phasing psychedelic fragments that echo in the perpetual distance—like fever dreams—as tones ripple, dissolve, then re-materialize, fragment and re-assemble into a continuous, dizzying loop. This track serves the function of ‘time machine’ and takes the listener back to a narrative that is about to unfold. Subsequent track, the aptly named, “Quarantine the Past” has remnants of the psychedelic ripple, only this time on a more serene backdrop as the waves then become modulating, near-retro sublime synth tones. A din of radio chatter from mission control levitates as radio signals float in the aether and dissolve into ongoing ripples of time. “Shelters” offers a tentative, fledgling start amidst a sedated plume of angst while playful Casiotone notes and distant guitar flows through much the way a child weaves through throngs that queue to the bomb shelter. The magic in the track is in how discord is successfully merged with a sense of playful wonderment. “Time Lag Accumulation” opens with metallic resonance as if from turning bike spokes before pensive keyboards materialize and bring calm reassurance, even when a disembodied vocal chorus joins. Wood instruments interplay for an intermission of tranquility. “Wasp Network” sets the tone for tension with nice, dramatic synth sweeps and understated beats, radio signal transmissions and voices that indecipherably intone with a sense of urgency that dissolves midway through into another dreamy excursion. “Standing Wave Levitation” and “Carriers” are both comparatively serene yet brief ambient tracks; the former accentuated with understated melody and guitar feedback, the latter has faint toybox tunes within the larger drone tone. “Errornets” is melancholic infused with static crackles and enigmatic shuffling, but “Static Dead Lines” is more expansive; a fuller, lush backdrop with understated beats and muted melodies. Among the more mellifluous tracks is “End of Transmission” which starts with a barrage of radio frequency feedback before sequaying into an orchestral cinematic ambient piece complimented with acoustic guitar and piano, culminating into a wash of bliss. Finally, the title track, “The Number Stations” caps the release on a somewhat dramatic note, melds drone and ambient seamlessly—though it starts off with discord it is then overwhelmed with guitar ambience and piano fragments that fall like a drizzle amidst distant static crackles. It is not known whether the narrative is stuck in time, but what remains is a lingering sense of bittersweet and wistful melancholy. If you are into deep, lush and layered yet masterfully crafted ambient-drone with melodic overtones, this album is for you.