Articles
2007 Top 10s and 20s
2007 Artist Picks
Meissner Interview

Albums
7 Hertz
Aarktica
Alka
Axiotronic
Dale Berning
BJNilsen & Z'ev
John Callaghan
Cousin Lou
Dif:use
Disrupt
Domink Eulberg
Donna Regina
Eedl
Erstlaub
FF Burning & BC Motel
Fibla
Figurines
Fond Of Tigers
Freescha
Brian Grainger
Inhabitants
Klimek
Liquid Stranger
Low Res
Mlle Caro & Franck Garcia
Northern
Adam Pacione
Part Timer
Steve Peters
Phreakon
Pig & Dan
Pinch
Rechenzentrum
Sebastien Roux
Sciajno & English
The Seasons
Slow Dancing Society
Steinbrüchel
Talvekoidik
Translations
Ulver
Uusitalo
Tony Wilson 6Tet
Wilson/Lee/Bentley

Compilations/Mixes
15 Exitos Grandes
Steve Lawler
Pole
Sven Väth

3"/ 7"/ 10"/ 12"/ EPs
Ada
Alland Byallo
Formication
Tim Hecker
Hybernation
Karoshi Bros
Lilienweiss
Move D
Tor Lundvall
Shreber Harber Mole FW
Sun Electric
Amon Tobin
Gez Varley

Tor Lundvall: The Seasons Unfold Sampler
Strange Fortune

The most compelling thing about Tor Lundvall's The Seasons Unfold Sampler isn't so much its four appealing settings but the fact that they're teasers for a forthcoming 4-CD set that'll feature his first four ambient solo albums. It'll be interesting to hear how well Lundvall's material holds up in that quantity; certainly the sampler, which follows up last year's Empty City album, augurs well enough for it. He's clearly been creating music for a good many years, as the dates associated with the EPs' tracks indicate.

Swathed in reverb, “Whir” (originally recorded in November 1995 for the Ice album) exudes an ethereal glow as its pianos and washes flow like slow-motion ripples in an underground cave. The ghostly “29” is an atmospheric piano-based ballad featuring an equally peaceful vocal (by Lundvall, presumably). Recorded in 1993, “November's Fields” is as autumnal and reflective as its title suggests it should be, and the passing of fourteen years hasn't lessened the charm of its softly pitter-pattering rhythms and gently whistling tones. The EP's material isn't ambient per se, though it does share with the genre a certain calm and peacefulness. Regardless, the four pieces here are songs first and foremost, though of a particularly atmospheric and haunted sort.

January 2008