Martyna Basta - Winged in Collapse (2026)

When you are called a "sonic alchemist", you know there is something special in your music. Martyna Basta, Polish composer and singer/songwriter based in the city of Kraków (my neighbour I presume) released her third album (but first under the acclaimed 7k records) filled with ambitious electronica turned ambient pop music.

The signature sound of this album focuses on the artful electronic samples sewn together into a sonic canvas on which beautiful though enigmatic vocals are displayed. This is not an easy kind of neoclassical electronica, it requires attention and brain power to process everything that is happening around you. But it's satisfying if enjoyed properly. I love the vocals, even if they are used sparingly, they show the range of the artist's voice and add to the mysterious atmosphere of the release. 

I love that Basta invited some interesting guests, especially the harp-electronic duo LEYA (which, coincidentally, has also some Polish roots) in Laid and the British experimental rapper Rainy Miller in 2674. This is a beautiful, airy and ambitious electronic soundscape with elements of chamber pop appearing here and there that only make it more engaging to listen to.

Winged in Collapse costs 11 EUR.

Check: Laid 

Country: Poland

Genre: experimental ambient pop

Label: 7k

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Simon Goff - Vale (2021)

The English violinist and composer Simon Goff on his first solo album (the two previous ones were collaborative works of Goff, Aidan Baker and Thor Harris) shows us a neoclassical view of what his home region, Vale of York, looks like.

Goff is an experienced musician and sound engineer who worked also with such huge artists as Jóhann Jóhannsson or Hildur Guðnadóttir. His music "conjures dynamic sonic landscapes where acoustic and electronic sounds meet". While the live gigs "merge these worlds harmoniously and shift effortlessly between intimate fragility to expansive cinematic soundscapes" - and this last phrase is the key to Goff's music. Although it is mostly string-based neoclassicism (that's supposed to be very intimate), the sense of being part of something big (like a movie for instance) is very tangible here. Especially that the tracks are so different moodwise with the unnerving feeling of danger in Wooden Islands, the soothing ethereality in Murmur, the peacefulness in Now. And the one combining all of it, I Filled my Lungs with the Necessary Air, and Yelled!. This is the soundtrack, we need a movie now.

Vale costs 11 EUR.

Check: I Filled my Lungs with the Necessary Air, and Yelled! 

Country: UK

Genre: cinematic neoclassicism

Label: 7K!

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Echo Collective - The Sea Within (2020) EN

Another this week position from Belgium. This time it's a neoclassical gathering of artists under the Echo Collective moniker. Up to this point, the band has been mostly known for their reinterpretation of Amnesiac by Radiohead on classical instruments in 2018 roku. If I understand correctly, they now released their in a way debut, talking about fully independent albums, called The See Within.

Despite the number of people who create their music here that would be enough for playing almost orchestral sounds, the band's music is basically instrumental ambient. There's not a lot of tunes and the artists are mostly focused on generating atmosphere of melancholy, peace and nostalgia. There's the spirit of experimentalism noticeable sometimes in the deluge of bass sounds that overthrow violins, pianos and trumpets. But usually it's the classical instruments with the main roles and they are the most beautiful probably in the touching The Witching Hour.

Unfortunately, The Sea Within is pretty expensive costing 11 EUR!

Check: The Witching Hour

Country: Belgium    

Genre: orchestral ambient

Label: 7k!

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Echo Collective - The Sea Within (2020) PL

Kolejna w tym tygodniu pozycja z Belgii. Jednakże tym razem chodzi o neoklasyczną zbieraninę artystów pod szyldem Echo Collective. Zespół najbardziej znany z przerobienie na klasyczne instrumenty Amnesiac Radiohead w 2018 roku wydał właśnie swój, o ile dobrze rozumiem, debiutancki jeśli chodzi o zupełną niezależność album zatytułowany The See Within.

Pomimo rozmiaru pozwalającemu grać niemal orkiestralną muzykę, twórczość zespołu to bardziej instrumentalny ambient. Niewiele jest melodii, a artyści stawiają zdecydowanie na tworzenie atmosfery melancholii, spokoju i nostalgii. Czuć ducha eksperymentalności, który czasem dźwięczy z powodzi basów zabierających skrzypce, pianino czy instrumenty dęte ze sobą. Na ogół jednak to klasyczne instrumenty grają pierwsze, nomen omen, skrzypce, a najpiękniej chyba w przejmującym The Witching Hour.

Niestety, The Sea Within kosztuje aż 50 złotych (11 EUR)!

Sprawdź: The Witching Hour

Kraj: Belgia

Szufladka: orchestral ambient

Label: 7k!

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