Jolanda Moletta - Oceanine (2026)

Italian ambient artist and "one-woman electronic choir", Jolanda Moletta resided on this blog already back in 2022. Since then, she released 4 albums, including this one: a touching ode to female artfulness. The soundscapes here have two things in common: they're could hardly be any more airy and each of them was created with a different female artist.

Inspired by the mystic presence of sea creatures like sirens and water nymphs, the ethereal soundscapes on the album enchant everyone who is reckless enough to listen. And although there's no gruesome death involved, the listener is also at risk of disappearing for some time. Waving like the sea itself, the compositions strike with the weight that is put on the siren-like vocalizations which makes all 11 tracks very coherent, even if each of them is unique in some aspects.

As said, Moletta invited 11 artists from all over Europe, including her previous collaborator, Karen Vogt as well as the only, as far as I can see, male guest, Polish artist Robert Skrzyński aka Yellow Belly. The way Moletta worked is particularly interesting as all the sounds on the album are actually more or less processed vocals. "For each piece, I invited every vocalist involved to contribute a raw stem: a short, unedited melodic fragment" she adds and trying to figure out how this beautiful compositions were done is part of their magic.And just like magic, they'll remain mystery to me.

Oceanine costs 10 EUR. 

Check: Their Voices Rise Above the Waves

Country: Italy

Genre: ambient pop

Label: Beacon Sound

Jolanda Moletta - Nine Spells (2022)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:youtube:

Mike Lazarev - Gradiscence (2026)

Born in Ukraine, living in UK, this ambient producer with the looks of a hermit and the music sensibility of a poet made some more magic and enchanted it onto a short EP entitled Gradiscence.  His unhurried piano-based soundscapes create this kind of atmosphere that is as cozy as it is beautiful.

Not everything he makes gets to me, but this year's EP is another release after 2023's Sacred Tonalities that touched my spiritual side. There is something in the quality of those key sounds accompanied by next to nothing else that strikes me throughout the album. Every one of them feels like a finger touch on my spine, bringing an overwhelming feeling of warm if nostalgic embrace. The minimalism of the compositions really brings the piano sounds out so that they can charm the audience freely. Still, my favourite part of the EP is the one where the piano finally gives up and submerges into the moody, omnipresent electronic drone. Love it.

Gradiscence costs 6 EUR (5 GBP).

Check: Gradiscent

Country: Ukraine/UK

Genre: piano soundscape

Label: Bigo and Twigetti

Mike Lazarev - Sacred Tonalities (2023)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:youtube:

:spotify:

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

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

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)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify:

Marielle V Jakobsons - The Patterns Lost to Air (2026)

California-based artist Marielle V Jakobsons has never been posted about on this blog, even though I highly value her previous album, 2016's Star Core. It makes it extremely interesting as what finally brought her here is an album marked by the notion of change and leaving one's comfort zone, which includes the change of the music itself.

The Patterns Lost to Air is a collection of lively soundscapes filled with glimmering electronica and wild, ellusive sounds. When I listen to this kind of ambient, I always picture a meadow on a warm, summer day. Life everywhere, even if not visible at first. It's hard to believe that Jakobsons' best works so far have been droney and dark neoclassical/electronic pieces. It's like the same place seen at night: both beautiful, both showing similar shapes, but inherently very different. And perhaps this is what I like about this album so much: it's a proof that change can be good, especially when you change from beautiful to beautiful. 

The Patterns Lost to Air costs 10 USD.

Check: Warm Spring

Country: California, US

Genre: lively soundscape

Label: Thrill Jockey Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Stray Theories - Falter (2026)

A curious blend of various slow and atmospheric music genres has been recently served by a New Zealand-based artist Micah Templeton-Wolfe. His solo project Stray Theories is now on the 5th  (or 6th according to RYM) album and Falter is a-maze-ing! The thick as fog and moody as hell soundscape takes you to a melancholic but strangely cosy place.

His label advertises the new album as a blend of ambient, neoclassical and post-rock music that is so homogeneous that it doesn't resemble any one of them anymore. And I kinda agree: this music feels like a coherent mass of various things, but when you submerge yourself into the compositions, you don't know what it is around you. And you don't really need to know. The feeling is amazing anyway. You know what's important: the peacefulness, the weight of the sound, the beauty. Yes, this is how I imagine dreaming under a weight blanket.

Another words that appears a lot in the album's description is "cinematic". The soundscapes here indeed don't feel intimate, it's not something between you and the artist, it's so much more. In that way, I can see the reference to post-rock (cause formally there's little in common). And as a post-rock fan, I have to appreciate it.

Falter costs 9 USD.

Check: Lifelines

Country: New Zealand

Genre: atmospheric soundscape

Label: n5MD

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Dear Gravity & Raphah - Chronos (2026)

Another transatlantic collaborations in recent months makes it to the blog. This time it's a short EP made by Mike Graff aka Dear Gravity from the States and the artist known as Raphah from UK. It is short, but it's also so beautiful like a drop of dew in the morning sunshine.

As is clearly stated in the EP's title, the main theme of music here is the concept of time. The slow, introspective compositions feel like they are meant to make you experience the time flowing around you, from nothingness to nothingness. But while this concept is dreadful (to me and I'm sure to most people), the artists turn it into a thing of beauty. Thick layers of ambient with occasional droplets of piano sounds always get me. The album's slow pace and beautiful combination of neoclassical and ambient sound is a perfect way to end a day.

Chronos costs 5 USD.

Check: Chronos

Country: Minnesota, US/UK

Genre: neoclassical ambient

Label: Echoes Blue Music

Dear Gravity & We Dream of Eden - Holocene (2022)

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Dear Gravity):

:facebook (Raphah):
:official (Dear Gravity):

:instagram (Dear Gravity):

:instagram (Raphah):

:spotify:

Be Still the Earth & Jacob David - sigh (2026)

It is a tiny album, but Marshall Usinger (a.k.a. Be Still The Earth) and Jacob David make up such a breath-taking duo, I had to post a little note on the EP here. The softest of soundscapes is here, made of warm electronica and beautiful piano notes, making the audience feel like listening to literal clouds.

The ambient producer from Colorado and the Danish pianist made sure to create this souondscapes with the warmest sounds: the very subtle electronica is never too loud, never too present, always just enough to employ the listeners' ears. It is not the background for the piano keys either. Rather both, the electronica and the piano sounds coexist within each other, creating one body of sound that waves a little, but always only a little. And even Benjamin Tatlow (a.k.a. Antarctic Wastelands) is here for a second! Listening to these 10 minutes is such an amazing experience!

sigh costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: fold

Country: Colorado 

Genre: piano soundscape

Label: slow echo

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Be Still the Earth):
:official (Be Still the Earth):

:official (Jacob David):

:instagram (Jacob David):

:spotify:

Born Erased - Birds Drink My Blood (2025)

Angel Simitchiev has appeared on this blog twice already but never under the moniker of Born Erased. His dark ambient soundscapes are of the best quality and now this is further certified by the fact that the December album was released by Cyclic Law. 

If you wonder what's the deal with the surprising and gory title of the album, its description explains it: the album is inspired by the brutal yet impressive nature of... nature. If you (metaphorically) squint a little, you can hear the album as a distorted soundtrack to documentary movie on the wonders and dangers of [insert any place that is not yet entirely tamed by humans]. Especially the moments where Simitchiev's dark ambient reveals some more ethereal sides (as in Voider). This probably means that, although still in the realm of ambient soundscapes, the tracks here are structured in a cinematic way, making them way more approachable to fans of other kinds of music.

Until, of course, this facade is completely destroyed by the industrial anxiety in Throne of Cages, but I guess it also fits the topic quite well. The nature is brutal, but the humans canbe even more so.

Birds Drink My Blood costs 8 EUR.

Check: Voider

Country: Bulgaria

Genre: cinematic dark ambient

Label: Cyclic Law

Shentov, Simitchiev, Lukanov - Pain and Power (2024)

Angel Simitchiev & Linus Schrab - Airborne (2021)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Mary Lattimore & Julianna Barwick - Tragic Magic (2026)

What can you get when you have an acclaimed harpist (Mary Lattimore) and equally acclaimed ambient pop artist Julianna Barwick in one room (I assume (EDIT: it was a whole philharmonie!) )creating music? Well, exactly what you've expected: pure magic (even if tragic). The two American musicians created one of the highlights of the dawn of this year and filled it with the perfect soundscape.

While I know some projects with harp music (LEYA!), it is still pretty exotic to me. I've seen Lattimore performing live already and harp sounds and subtle electronica make an interesting blend, but I feel like only now, with the addition of ethereal vocals, it is complete. I can't get rid of the picture of tall tree-stacked forest while listening to this album (curse you, fantasy movies!) so it's no wonder this is exactly what the album's cover art features. But there is also a certain amount of ethereal mist and omnipresent melancholia in the air present.

Naturally (sic!), this brings up the hippie, New Age vibes o the picture as well. But, according to the album's description, it is mostly focused on the human nature and inter-human relations. And nature. And the cosmic. I guess you can't escape these. Nevertheless, the combination of ambient pop with the sound of harp is something I did not have on my bingo card for 2026 music, but I'm glad I found it.

Tragic Magic costs 10 EUR.

Check: Perpetual Adoration

Country: US

Genre: harp-based ambient pop

Label: InFiné

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Julianna Barwick):

:facebook (Mary Lattimore):
:official (Mary Lattimore):

:instagram (Mary Lattimore):

:instagram (Julianna Barwick):

:spotify:

Tsarewitch - Yer (2025)

Drones and pipe organ sounds sounds like a perfect combination to me. So I had to take a closer look at this EP. Released by Alexander Yordaki, an artist from Moldova who wanted to draw people's attention to the situation in his homeland, the elusive Gaugazia in the southern part of Moldova.

Thematically speaking, it's worth taking a look at the artist's description of this album where he briefly talks about who the Gaugaz people are and what is the danger for them right now (spoiler alert, like in most cases in our part of the world, the answer is "Russia"). So go to his Bandcamp and read it. And then maybe Wikipedia to have a better idea of the complexity of this case. (and yes, I'm happy to say that it's my first Moldavian artist on the blog, not to mention a Gaugaz one!)

Musically speaking, the EP is one composition made of sloooow and deeeep sound of pipe organs with some subtle additions in the form of "recordings from Yalpug, a steppe valley in Comrat where a dry riverbed divides the suburb from the town" and a bit of spoken word samples towards the end. The whole thing feels extremely nostalgic and it's not a coincidence as it is a piece of very personal music about what one person sees as a home.

Yer costs 1 EUR.

Check: Yer

Country: Moldova

Genre: pipe organ drone

Label: Reflection Nebula

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Desolate Horizons - October Noise (2025)

This is one of the artists who produce tons of ambient music but also every release from him I come across, makes me feel in a very special way. This heavy, overwhelming ambient soundscapes are something you can feel more than hear.

Even if this is not an album, it's just 4 relatively short tracks, it is no different. The sound here feels strange and unnerving, dangerous and overwhelming, but also there is a lot of this airy hope and ethereal pleasure. So it is not a surprise that the musician states the following:"Through this release, I am trying to make sense of life again, and to come to terms with the grief and horror that reality has brought in recent years". What is life if not exactly what the music here evokes?

October Noise costs 4 USD.

Check: An Ongoing Heartbreak

Genre: ethereal soundscape

Desolate Horizons - The Vague and Terrible Uncertainty (2019)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

Hand to Earth - Ŋurru Wäŋa (2025)

This is a special project, you can see it in the album title in Wáglilak language, you can see it in the multi-ethnic line-up and the music itself. The latter can be only described as world music meeting dark ambient and this thought alone would make me very excited to try these sounds.

There is a lot to read about the album (and I recommend doing so on the project's Bandcamp page), but the main things are that sense of belonging and the notion of home are the main themes here. This cannot be a surprise since the members of the projects come from very different places. However, whenever this happens, people very soon discover that it doesn't matter at all as their home can easily encompass entire planet.

There are Korean poems and singing in one of the native Australian tongues that represent the folk/world music part and the minimalist, dark but also quite surprisingly uplifting and soothing backgrounds that add up to the ambient part of the music. The effects are mesmerizing, especially that they are fueled by the use of various (and so different from each other) instrument as the music here is "written in the scribble of electronics, in the sighs of the clarinet and trumpet, in the broad brush strokes of the yidaki, and the snap of the bilma" (kudos to those of you who know what those are, I didn't). 

Ŋurru Wäŋa costs 9 USD.

Check: Gaḏayka

Country: Australia, South Korea

Genre: dark world music

Label: Room40

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Meierkord/Andersson - Passager (2025)

Two Scandinavian artists Henrik Meierkord and Pelle Andersson joined forces to create a gem of an album. This neoclassical release is as beautiful as it is dark and unnerving.

"A thoughtful soundscape filled with blackness and sadness but also streaks of light" is what the album is called on the artists' Bandcamp and there is no way to deny that. The piano keys come and go, making the world a bit more beautiful with each stroke. But they are only a counterbalance here. The slowness of the compositions and the gravity of strings in the backgrounds make the instrumental soundscapes ridiculously unnerving in the most attractive of ways.

And there is a good reason for the concept for the album as Andersson had to face the cruelty of serious sickness and all the emotions it brings with itself. Once again, the quote from the artists describes it in the best way possible, calling the album "passages between hope and warmth, despair and panic. Where light meets darkness, the beautiful the distorted".

Passager costs 7 EUR (72 SEK).

Check: Försjunken

Country: Sweden

Genre: dark neoclassical

Label: Ella Ruth instituten

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Henrik Meierkord):

:instagram (Henrik Meierkord):

:instagram (Pelle Andersson):

:soundcloud (Henrik Meierkord):

:spotify:

Ola Budzyńska - Lanquidities (2025)

In the era of fantastic neoclassical but also experimenting Polish artists like Hania Rani and Resina, there are still somewhat lesser known artists that need to be discovered. Ola Budzyńska is hardly one of those since she is known as a member of a chamber pop duo Ljos, but Lanquidities makes for her debut solo release and it's absolutely charming.

Budzyńska is a violist and this is the base of the new album. But there is so much more here. The subtle soundscapes hide electronic sounds and vocalizations that add some spooky and airy vibes and make everything just swarm with life. The ethereal sounds come and go throughout the whole compositions, making the audience mesmerised with ease. Everything just radiates this atmosphere that is beautiful even if dark, inviting even if mysterious, especially when for one song Budzyńska is joined by Tomasz Mreńca, creating one of my favourite cooperations in Polish music this year.

Lanquidities costs 12 EUR.

Check: 22:22

Country: Poland

Genre: viola-led soundscape

Label: Left Eye Blind Records

Ljos - A Foreword (2020)

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:spotify:

Deaf Center - Reverie (2025)

Somehow this is only the first time the Norwegian duo Deaf Center appears on my blog. It's a shame for me as Erik K. Skodvin and Otto A. Totland create their works of art for over two decades now. But their dark improvisation had to eventually turn up here and I'm glad it's this beautiful, yet unsettling album.

The new album includes two long compositions that balance the darker and unnerving atmosphere with the beauty of piano notes. The slow pace of the darkness that is woven into this music makes me think of a winter morning that will turn into a bright day but for now is still cold and unwelcoming. The album was recorded live and, as it is mentioned on their Bandcamp page, "as always, the duo favours improvisation, and what emerged on this evening turned out to be a truly magical encounter". The piano, cello and guitar sounds glued together with dark electronica give out peculiar but addictive vibes.

Reverie costs 7 EUR.

Check: Rev

Country: Norway

Genre: dark neoclassical

Label: Sonic Pieces

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:spotify:

Harbors - When We Are Free (2025)

When two acclaimed neoclassical artists start a new project together, you know it should be good. But when they are also a couple, it's a strong lead that the project will be also very emotional. Hollie and Keith Kenniff created Mint Julep and Meadows before, now they are known as Harbors.

This is my favourite kind of a soundscape: one that feels calm, but also lively. When I know there is many things going on around me, but the whole thing is relaxing and inviting. It's like watching fireflies on a summer night. You are aware that they appear here and there, but it doesn't make the night any less peaceful. And it's the piano keys, they are the fireflies. You have to look for them to appear and then don't lose track of time trying to follow them.

When We Are Free costs 10 USD.

Check: A Portrait of Time

Country: Oregon, US

Genre: lively soundscape

Label: Nettwer Music Group

Hollie Kenniff - For Forever (2024)

:bandcamp:

:facebook (Hollie Kenniff):

:facebook (Helios):
:official:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Pan Thorarensen - Ljóstillífun (2025)

Icelandic soundscapes that reflect the country's landscapes just have to be outstanding. It is proven once again on a debut album of Pan Thorarensen, otherwise acclaimed and experienced artist known as a member of the ambient music father-son duo Stereo Hypnosis. 

The album is inspired by Icelandic nature which is really not a surprise. I feel like it's difficult not to get inspired by nature living in such a beautiful place. But it's not just inspiration, Pan used field recordings and made an inspiration into music itself. It's literally giving the voice to the nature. Second thing that draws attention to the album is the guest list. And it is really impressive and including artists like Patricia Wolf and Hoshiko Yamane of Tangerine Dream.

The results are calm and relaxing. There is no place for winter storms, it is more about the peacefulness and emptiness. I can't complaint, especially when some wildly beautiful piano keys appear.

Ljóstillífun costs 6 EUR.

Check: Glitský

Country: Iceland

Genre: instrumental ambient

Label: U Know Me Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Vetle Nærø - All Moments Must Pass (2025)

From Moments

I know the Oslo-born neoclassical artist's music from 2023's album From Moments. This year, Vetle Nærø is back with even better album filled with piano, soft electronica and tons of self-reflective abilities. It's worth listening to, even if all moments must pass as the title suggests.

The fourth album in the artist's discography is all about intimacy. The soft piano keys and even softer electronica feels closer than the skin. The main theme of the tracks, the airy, ever-changing and never-repeated nature of life can't be more personal for any human being. The omnipresent atmosphere of the tiniest of concerts is the definition of intimacy. Apart for the music, the artist (I presume) published some very wise words on his BC account, saying that "Impermanence is often seen as a source of suffering, as human resistance to change can be a central cause of our pain. Yet, within this very resistance lies the potential for profound growth".

This is the main theme of the piano-driven album. The overall psychedelic/oriental theme is further established with the use of Alan Watts's monologue sample in First You Are Born and titles such as Mantra and any other as all of them are closely connected to the main thought. Everything passes, but somehow we will be ok.

All Moments Must Pass costs 10 EUR.

Check: First You Are Born

Country: Norway

Genre: electronica-touched neoclassical

Label: piano and coffee records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:
:official:

:instagram:

:spotify:

Concepcion Huerta - El Sol de los Muertos (2025)

Sound textures, audio soundscapes, narratives delivered by notes only. Concepcion Huerta is a Mexican artist whose drones and ambient sounds create an emotional cocktail deeply rooted in her geographical background. The veins of the world are open again, just like the cover art suggests.

This emotional piece was created "entirely within a subharmonic framework and meticulously processed through tape manipulation". It has to be said that not all of the sounds here are gonna be pleasant, in fact, it's quite the opposite: some of the tracks are designed to evoke nightmares of deep undergrounds and the worlds of the dead. There is, however, no notion of morality here I think, described pictures are not terrifying or charming, they just are. It's the truth about the world as seen by the artist and as transcribed into these monumental soundscapes.

El Sol de los Muertos costs 7 EUR.

Check: El Sol de los Muertos

Country: Mexico

Genre: droney soundscape

Label: Umor-Rex

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:instagram:

:soundcloud:

:spotify: