Dalot & Sound Awakener - IANOS (2026)

Two artists from very different parts of the world: Nhung Nguyen and Maria Papadomanolaki or Sound Awakener and Dalot joined forces to create an album that is as moody as it is artsy and complicated. The third collaboration between the two creates this kind of soundscape that makes people think and it's not something that happens frequently.

The album is written around the "concept of duality as it is expressed through life and death, endings and beginnings", but, as the description of the release goes on, this is only a starting point to further analysis of the current world, its wars, suffering and the dawn of AI. It's interesting to think how those themes, so far away from being light and happy, are reflected in the music. Which is... not dark, but also definitely not easily approachable. It requires attention and focus, a lack of distraction and a correct mood. Especially towards the very poignant end in Body of Shells. But don't get me wrong, it's definitely a beautiful album, especially when it gets as dreamy as it does on Tone in A Minor, but still, requires some effort from the audience too. And I can only respect that.

IANOS costs 9 EUR.

Check: Tone in A Minor

Country: Greece/Vietnam

Genre: neoclassical soundscape

Label: DERDE (Dronarivm)

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Bartosz Dziadosz - Peace (2023)

Bartosz Dziadosz is better known as pleq, but this time he released his new album under his birth name. And the results are particularly interesting both thanks to the form of the music and the atmosphere that Peace is filled with.

Perhaps the artist chose to use his own name to underline the theme of the album which is the tragic war that Russia started in Ukraine and the longing for the title's peace. Interestingly enough, the album was released by the formerly Russian label DRONARIVM, making it clear that at least some of this country's citizen feel the same about the war. The music here is an extremely ethereal take on meditative and moody ambient-like neoclassical soundscapes. It's also fairly diverse genre-wise, but the overall results are clearly mesmerizing in the beauty of the neoclassic elements and experimentally interesting.

Peace costs 5 EUR.

Check: GABI

Country: Poland

Genre: experimental dreamscape

Label: DRONARIVM

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Innesti - Filament and Place (2021)

Innesti, the Illinois-based ambient artist creates some particular kind of extremely ethereal  soundscapes. The almost an hour of which is included on the new album entitled Filament and Place, is filled with field recordings that make it depict the reality around us so well.

This is that kind of music that forces you to get quieter facing the dreamy wave of peaceful music, as the artist describes it, "ethereal, minimal ambient soundscapes created with field recordings, organic synthesis, fading light, and experiments in dreaming". This oneiric feel of the whole album, the way of stretching the compositions to make it sleepy-like while filling them with extremely airy sounds everywhere, makes it the dreamiest ambient I've heard recently. 

Porya Hatami and Valotihkuu, ambient artists I respect a lot, were also involved in creating this album and it only makes me like it more.

Filament and Place costs 5 EUR.

Check: Filament and Place

Country: Illinois, US

Genre: dream ambient

Label: DRONARIVM

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Federico Mosconi - Dreamers and Tides (2021)

Another month, another great release from the Russian label DRONARIVM. This time it's the Italian drone/ambient creator Federico Mosconi and his next long play called Dreamers and Tides.

His massive, heavy soundscapes sound exactly like a musical representation of a sea. No wonder that sea is exactly what found it way to the release's cover art and that the artist's music is described in such a way: "his trip is like a tide that comes back a little bit different every time and brings something new to those who could wait for it". Indeed, the album gives the impression of perplexing dream in which every aspect is different and eerie but at the same time very much connected to the rest and to the whole. This is only underlined by the rare moments you can hear the actual guitar sounds and live instruments. The sea stays powerful even if the surface seems to be in peace and this album sounds exactly like this.

Dreamers and Tides costs 5 EUR.

Check: Dreamers and Tides

Country: Italy

Genre: massive soundscape

Label: DRONARIVM

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Valotihkuu & Dynastor - Midnight Fairytales (2020)

This is a throwback to the end of the last year when DRONARIVM released this beautiful album that's the result of collaboration between the Russian artist Denis Davydov a.k.a. Valotihkuu and the Dutchman Maurits Nieuwenhuis, better known as Dynastor. Midnight Fairytales are exactly what the title suggests.

It is also a reference to Valotihkuu's previous album, Winter Lullabies. Still, it means that what we find on the album is both a bit dark and very much dreamy. The synthy textured backgrounds are so dense that they create a heavy layer upon which some beautiful sparks of keys and electronics thrive which is so beautifully done in Creature Comforts but also spilling forward to all of the tracks. This really feels like a fairy tale, the darkness of which is only comfortable and the message comforting. And, what's most important, the world of which is beautiful like the music here.

Also, the Bandcamp's description of the album really deserves a whole paragraph all for itself, it's such a perfect summary of what we hear: "Warm, flickering candle light illuminates grandfather's face as he opens the book. Outside insects lullaby the deep dark sky, reflected in the water, a slight rustling through the leaves. You wrap yourself in your bedsheets, waiting for grandfather to start reading, you are ready to go on a journey. He winds up the music box, looks at you with a warm smile and starts reading".

Midnight Fairytales costs 6 EUR.

Check: Creature Comforts

Country: Russia/The Netherlands

Genre: dreamy soundscape

Label: DRONARIVM

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Enrico Coniglio & Giulio Aldinucci - Stalking the Elusive (2020) EN

Two Italians, Enrico Coniglio and Giulio Aldinucci, are experienced artists really keen on ambient and slow, dark electronics. So there was no way their duo wouldn't be at least good. With the DRONARIVM label, in June they released one and called it Stalking the Elusive.

The album from the two artists is a result of a live gig organized two years ago in Moscow and the many musician's mingling and experience sharing supported by one of my favourite labels. It includes both field recordings (as Coniglio seems to be known for loving them) and sounds that are extremely ethereal (in my favourite track With an Encrypted Travel Guide). In Until the End of Remembrances, the sacral nature of the duo's music is only strengthen by almost church-like organs and the diversity of their music is emphasized with the next song, It Will Not Snow Again presenting utterly apocalyptic mood while the whole thing is finished with the most droning piece At the Airport Cathedral. A beautiful album.

Stalking the Elusive costs 5 EUR.

Check: With an Encrypted Travel Guide

Country: Italy

Genre: complex ambient
Label: DRONARIVM

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Enrico Coniglio & Giulio Aldinucci - Stalking the Elusive (2020) PL

Dwaj Włosi, Enrico Coniglio i Giulio Aldinucci to doświadczeni artyści lubujący się w ambiencie i mrocznej, powolnej elektronice. Siłą rzeczy więc album tego duetu musi być co najmniej udany. W czerwcu wydali taki nakładem DRONARIVM i zatytułowali go Stalking the Elusive.

Płyta dwóch artystów to pokłosie koncertu zorganizowanego w Moskwie przed dwoma laty i wymiany doświadczeń między wieloma muzykami w ramach imprezy wspieranej przez przez jeden z moich lubionych labeli. Słychać na niej zarówno nastrojowe field recordings (bo Coniglio jest z nich znany) jak i dźwięki niezwykle eteryczne (w moim ulubionym kawałku With an Encrypted Travel Guide). W Until the End of Remembrances, sakralności muzyce duetu dodają niemal kościelne organy natomiast o zróżnicowaniu muzyki Włochów niech świadczy fakt, ze zaraz po nim nadchodzi istnie apokaliptyczny It Will Not Snow Again, a całość kończy najbardziej dronujące At the Airport Cathedral. Piękny krążek.

Stalking the Elusive kosztuje 22 złote (5 EUR).

Sprawdź: With an Encrypted Travel Guide

Kraj: Włochy

Szufladka: complex ambient
Label: DRONARIVM

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offthesky - Fallow (2019) EN

Another great release from the DRONARIVM label. This is Jason Corder's project filled with ambient soundscapes on its new album Fallow.

"The songs herein are an ode to the still beauty of forgotten light, the smell of dust-covered memory, and time-stained fragments of abandoned space at the edge of winters past". Quite a mouthful. They create a dusty, peacefully electronic soundscape comprising of raw sounds of strings making your neck thrill, soft and warm electronics and tons of talent to write sad and at the same time soothing compositions. Just like the beautiful Slow Let Go or Fallow, the only one with extremely airy vocal.

Fallow costs 7 EUR.

Check: Fallow

Country: Colorado, US

Genre: ambient soundscape

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offthesky - Fallow (2019) PL

Kolejne znakomite wydanie labelu DRONARIVM. Oto zarządzany przez Jasona Cordera projekt pełen ambientowych pejzaży na swojej nowej płycie Fallow.

"Piosenki tutaj tworzę odę do nieruchomego piękna zapomnianego światła, zapachu pokrytych kurzem wspomnień i naznaczonych czasem fragmentów opuszczonych przestrzeni u brzegów przeszłych zim". Niezła poezja. Tworzą one zakurzony, spokojnie eksperymentalny soundscape, na który składają się surowe dźwięki smyczków, od których dostaje się ciarek, miękka i ciepła elektronika i masa talentu do pisania smutnych i jednocześnie kojących kompozycji. Takich jak piękne Slow Let Go czy wyjątkowa zaopatrzona w nadzwyczaj eteryczny wokal piosenka Fallow.

Fallow kosztuje 30 złotych (7 EUR).

Sprawdź: Fallow

Kraj: Kolorado, US

Szufladka: ambient soundscape

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Purl & protoU - Sub Life (2019) EN

Sub Life is an album created thanks to the joined forces of Ludvig Cimbrelius, Swedish ambient artist known as Purl and Ukrainian drone musician Sasha Puzan creating music as protoU. Released by the irreplaceable DRONARIVM, the album brings fantastic and deeply melancholic experience.

It's filled with electronic music mixed with delicate, neoclassical piano sounds and angelically airy backing vocals. The lei motif's here the nature that exists around us and that is audible in the samples sounding like splattering waves or subtle blows of the wind. As the label states, the album "grows out of a blend of nature inducted ambiances as the artists conduct an emotional exploration of the natural world" and you can definitely feel it.

Sub Life costs 6 EUR.

Check: Sacred Fluids

Country: Sweden/Ukraine

Genre: neoclassical electronics

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Purl & protoU - Sub Life (2019) PL

Sub Life to płyta powstała dzięki połączonym siłom Ludviga Cimbreliusa, szwedzkiego artysty ambientowego tworzącego jako Purl i ukraińskiej muzyczki dronowej Saszy Puzan znanej jako protoU. Wydana przez niezastąpione DRONARIVM płyta dostarcza fantastycznych i głęboko melancholijnych wrażeń.

Wypełniona jest ona elektroniką zmieszaną z delikatnymi, neoklasycznymi dźwiękami pianina i anielsko eterycznymi chórkami. Jej motywem przewodnim jest otaczająca nas natura, którą slychać w samplach przypominających pluskanie fal czy subtelne podmuchy wiatru. Jak pisze wydawca, płyta "wyrasta z mikstury przesiąkniętych naturą ambientowych dźwięków, za pomoca których artyści przeprowadzają emocjonalną eksplorację swiata natury" i to czuć.

Sub Life kosztuje 27 złotych (6 EUR).

Sprawdź: Sacred Fluids

Kraj: Szwecja/Ukraina

Szufladka: neoclassical electronics

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