2026: #ambient

Somewhere out there is a time-traveling alien parasite called pdqb that possesses the ability to inhabit human bodies and use them for creative purposes. Throughout its seemingly eternal existence, it has utilized many hosts who have become famous without contributing anything to their success. As soon as pdqb has drained its host mentally and physically, it leaves him or her and searches for someone else. Many of those poor infected human beings do not survive this ordeal or descend into insanity. Out of respect for the fans and those left behind, we do not name famous examples. We allow the world to believe that Fassbinder, Dostoyevsky, Sakamoto, Welles, or Curie were solely responsible for their successes. However, the physical state in which pdqb finds itself after leaving one host and seeking another most closely resembles a contemplative, perceptual steam boiler. In this state, pdqb is fragile and confused, losing all memories of its host and their actions, and is completely pure. Sometimes, when it cannot find a suitable host for days, it simply sits down in a DAW Café somewhere in the in-between world and produces...

Lia Ouyang Rusli is a film composer based in New York City. She makes solo music under the moniker OHYUNG.

OHYUNG is an Asian American experimental musician and film composer based in Brooklyn. She composes music for films under the name Lia Ouyang Rusli

Called “the quintessential modern composer” by the London Independent, Austin-based composer-bandleader-improviser Graham Reynolds records and performs music for film, theater, dance, rock clubs, and concert halls. He recently scored Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon (Sony) with Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley, Hit Man (Netflix), Happy Jail (Netflix), Shop Hitting Yourself (Lincoln Center Theater), Out of Her Mind (BBC), Grimm Tales (Ballet Austin), and a multi-year commission from Ballroom Marfa, The Marfa Triptych, culminating in his Creative Capital Award winning project Pancho Villa from a Safe Distance. Amidst his many other projects, Graham also serves as the Artistic Director of the now music-focused non-profit Golden Hornet. In 2020, Graham signed with London-based record label Fire Records and released his original score for Alfred Hitchcock’s silent classic, The Lodger. His newest work with them, The Portcullis, is a dark ambient and dungeon synth-inspired album with thematic ties to his family’s United Kingdom history.

• The Concept:
Inspired by the impending shutdown of the UK’s analogue telephone network (scheduled for early 2027) and vintage low-pressure sodium “SOX” street lighting.

• The Sound:
Features dark synthesizer tones, sparse rhythms, and atmospheric loops that echo the mechanical texture of old telephone exchanges and the historic “speaking clock” telephone service.

Abul Mogard is the alter ego of Italian musician Guido Zen, known for his evocative albums and immersive live performances. Based in Rome, he has appeared at prestigious festivals and venues, including Berlin Atonal, Poesia en Voz Alta (Mexico City), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), Centro de Cultura Condeduque (Madrid), Auditorium San Fedele (Milan), Le Guess Who? (Utrecht), and the Southbank Centre (London). Commissioned by the Organ Reframed festival, Mogard composed a piece for pipe organ, electronics, and trombones, performed at Union Chapel (London) with the London Contemporary Orchestra. His work also extends to film, including soundtracks for Duncan Whitley’s ‘Kimberlin’ and ‘Phoenix City (2021)‘, the latter commissioned by the Coventry Biennial. The BBC has featured his music multiple times, with Mary Anne Hobbs praising his remixes for Carl Craig and Fovea Hex (feat. Brian Eno), listing them among her favourite tracks. Mogard’s music has found its place across creative fields, from film and television to fashion, contemporary art and advertisements. Recent releases include ‘Impossibly Distant, Impossibly Close’ with Rafael Anton Irisarri and ‘In uno spazio immenso’ with Grand River, alongside collaborations with KMRU, Colin Potter, CoH, and Cindytalk. His new album ‘Quiet Pieces’ will be released on his imprint, Soft Echoes.

from spotify

MAXIMUM EXPOSURE INC. PRESENTS JOY RIDER, THE DEBUT ALBUM FROM DOWN TOWN, THE TORONTO DUO OF IAN ELIAS AFIF AND MAXWELL CECIL STOVER.

PRODUCED AND MIXED IN COLLABORATION WITH TONY PRICE IN TORONTO, JOY RIDER PORTRAYS A NEW VISION FOR LOW-END MUSIC AS SCULPTURE. LIQUID BASS PAINTINGS, ALLOY TONE ABSTRACTIONS — A VIRTUAL STILL LIFE FORMED OUT OF FRETLESS ALUMINUM BASS, SPECULAR SOPRANO SAXOPHONE CYBERNETICS, AND METALLIC RHYTHM ARCHITECTURES.

THESE PIECES BELONG TO A LINEAGE OF POST-MINIMALIST, LOW-END EXPERIMENTALISM THAT TREATS ELECTROACOUSTIC IMPROVISATION AND AMBIENT SYNTHESIS AS MUTABLE SOUND MATTER —JOE ZAWINUL’S CIRCUITBOARD CARTOGRAPHIES, THE INSURGENT BASS GUITAR MUTATIONS OF BILL LASWELL, MICK KARN, AND ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE, EVAN PARKER’S RECURSIVE MULTIPHONIC INVESTIGATIONS, THE MOST TEXTURAL SIDES FROM THe ЕСМ CATALOGUE AND THE SONIC HOLOGRAPHY CONSTRUCTED BY JON HASSELL AND MICHAEL BROOK DURING THEIR SESSIONS IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO.

THE ALBUM UNFOLDS LIKE A SERIES OF SUSPENDED ENVIRONMENTS — MUSIC FOR INSIDE A CITY.

from bandcamp