Each month, writer, musician, and DJ Ted Davis wanders through the dreamlike outskirts of Bandcamp. Embracing a fluid, forward-thinking approach to ambient, anything deemed worthy of the genre tag is considered fair game for this column. This month: Albums that toy with mossy techno, unusual songwriting, humid jazz, and more.
Actress
Statik
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
In his output as Actress, Darren J. Cunningham has cemented his status as one of the moodiest dance producers of the last decade, pioneering a shadowy, vaporous fusion of techno and IDM. After a string of albums for Ninja Tune, Cunningham’s new full-length, Statik, is his first for Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound. It’s one of the prettiest Actress records to date, centered on pearly arpeggiations, bloopy leads, and hypnotic rhythms—perfectly suited for odd-hours partying and cosmic inner voyages alike.
Skee Mask
Resort
2 x Vinyl LP
Munich-based beatmaker Bryan Müller lets his work as Skee Mask speak for itself. The electronic shapeshifter rarely gives interviews, and has spent 2024 rolling out unexpected records with little context or fanfare. But it’s thanks to this combination of elusive allure and jaw-dropping technical prowess that Müller has amassed such a voracious fanbase. His new album, Resort, was released by Ilian Tape hot on the heels of the March installment of the label’s Ilian Skee series. Where its predecessor, ISS010, explored pounding, holographic techno, Resort leans into Skee Mask’s withdrawn, translucent aspects. Over 12 tracks, filtered breaks and four-on-the-floor kicks support burbling, jazzy key lines. While Resort contains its share of movement, it’s an uncharacteristically laidback addition to the Skee Mask catalog.
James Devane
Searching
Vinyl LP
James Devane’s 2008 self-titled debut was a meditative collection of cubist electronic compositions in the vein of Gas and Oval. As quickly as he burst into the world, Devane wandered back into the shadows. It wasn’t until the 2022 LP, Beauty Is Useless, that the Bay Area artist re-emerged from the ether, with a sound now centered on airy downtempo grooves and billowing synthesizer pads. Devane’s second release in two years, Searching, arrives from Swedish label Umeboshi. Billed as a companion to Beauty Is Useless, it’s formless and abstract, built on hours of chopped-up source material. The end result is deeply entrancing—as buttoned-up as it is disorienting.
Priori
This but More
2 x Vinyl LP,
Since the late 2010s, Montréal producer and DJ Priori has displayed enviable range. Whether deploying bouncy basslines as part of the duo Jump Source or scoring chill-out sessions in the project ANF, he has a knack for textured, cerebral sonics and forward-bound grooves. Priori’s new LP, This but More, is his most aloof outing to date. Issued by naff recordings—the label Priori runs with Ex-Terrestrial—the album pays homage to the healing capabilities of nature and dreams. Aided by appearances from the likes of james K and Ben Bondy, it’s one of the most fully realized records to emerge from a sphere of artists revitalizing dub and trip-hop for the internet era.
Various Artists
Out Of Season Vol.3
Out Of Season Vol. 3 brings together interesting voices from a gauzy corner of clubland. Coordinated by rising Sydney label Theory Therapy, it features contributions from artists including Maara, andrea_andrea, and DJ Birdbath, who all lean into a decidedly peaceful aesthetic. Billed as a collection of “songs for an upside-down world,” these 15 misty tracks split the difference between ambient and downtempo. Deep pads are underlined by silvery synths and barely-there drums. With all proceeds donated to Medical Aid for Palestinians, the compilation offers a spa-like reprieve for harsh times.
Various Artists
Compilation vol. 2
Ambient Curation drops a noteworthy compilation in support of Palestine—which also happens to feature some of the most exciting names in the genre. The stacked Compilation vol. 2 features 16 pieces from the likes of Gia Margaret, Sam Prekop, Ben Seretan, M. Sage, and many others. Plonky synths and peaceful organic drones cultivate a crunchy, soothing sound. Where Out Of Season Vol. 3 unites atmospheric electronic heavyweights, Ambient Curation’s charity effort hits just as hard, while zeroing in on the earthier side of the scene. All proceeds from Compilation vol. 2 go to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
Lina Filipovich
Music for an imaginary dancefloor
Vinyl LP
Lina Filipovich’s Music for an imaginary dancefloor is aptly namedl. The new LP from the Minsk-born, Paris-based arrives via London’s Blank Mind, and casts no wave-y basslines and crackly patterns in a pale, sinewy glow. Conceptually, Filipovich tried to approach her analog machines as equals, viewing them as autonomous beings. Over 38 minutes, wubby low-end flaps beneath filtered percussion and wiry, brittle leads. As ethereal club music hits a saturated point, Filipovich has cultivated an eclectic variant that is beige-hued and erudite.
DX2OV
Interzona
Vinyl LP
Gost Zvuk centralizes vital voices from Russia’s booming electronic substratum. Since 2019, the label has championed artists like Nocow, Flaty, and Hoavi, all of whom dole out frigid, left-field cuts. Gost Zvuk’s latest release is one of its most inviting to date. Interzona—from Dmitry Drozdov (aka DX2OV)—is centered on murmuring arpeggios and light drum machine sequencing. Though it incorporates breaks and elements of microhouse, the whole thing is sugary and deconstructed enough to feel more catered to decompression than hedonism.
Martha Skye Murphy
Um
Vinyl LP
Martha Skye Murphy’s identity is both a singer-songwriter and convention-eschewing composer. After spending the last few years unveiling short-form avant-pop releases, her official debut, Um, arrives via groundbreaking UK label AD 93. Setting traditional baroque songwriting to a crinkly electronic backdrop, the album is both uncanny and rich. Contributions from Claire Rousay and Roy Montgomery only heighten the excitement. Murphy has immediately established herself as a formidable addition to the experimental landscape.
Akira Kosemura & Lawrence English
Selene
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
It’s not often that Lawrence English leans fully into serenity. The Australian avant-garde institution and founder of Room40 frequently uses gravelly. manipulated noise to create wonderfully serrated pieces. But his beautiful side occasionally peeks out, notably in collaborations with Loscil and William Basinski. English’s new record with Japanese New Age musician Akira Kosemura emphasizes this gentleness. Drawing on a fascination with the beyond, the album is appropriately celestial: Kosemura’s piano playing bobs in and out of dark electronics programmed by English. The whole thing is featherweight and reflective, doing justice to its wondrous inspiration.
K. Freund
Trash Can Lamb
Vinyl LP
K. Freund has honed a sound that is as serene as it is jittery. The Ohio-based multi-instrumentalist spent decades gigging in projects like Lemon Quartet and Trouble Books, finding ways to innovate cloudy jazz and avant-pop. Freund’s new solo album, Trash Can Lamb, arrives via Soda Gong. The music relies heavily on bit-reducing analog synthesis; loops generated on piano, saxophone, and upright bass are warbled into grainy stammers. Trash Can Lamb is muggy, albeit comforting—a solid score for ambling summer evenings.
Panoram
Great Times
Vinyl LP
Philip Sherburne and Albert Salinas’ Balmat label is unpredictable, but its releases are united by colorful, bookish warmth. Great Times—the latest from Amen Dunes collaborator Panoram—encapsulates this energy. The record is largely built on synthesized mallet and voice tones, topped with splashes of digitized guitar, flute, and percussion. Across 13 compact tracks, wondrous melodies twinkle and quiver, like miniature orbs stuffed with lava lamp fluid. Panoram keeps his persona shadowy, but it doesn’t take much to get lost in Great Times’s neon-lit garden.
