The last few weeks have most definitely seen some of the best releases so far this year which in turn has made this months selection that much tuffer to select…

No.1:  Nils Frahm and Anne Müller – 7 Fingers

The album is sequenced in an extraordinary way; alternating between introspective classical pieces and glitchy, propulsive hallucinations creating an all-around, complete listening experience. 7 Fingers is an absolute necessity and will surely stand as one of the better releases of the year. Full info

No.2: Fieldhead – Riser

There is still, amongst the grainy production and experimental techniques, a defiantly pop sensibility at play in this EP. The tracks are catchy and simple but, with Elam’s production shaping and distorting them, they become something other than pop – they sound like they could fall apart in your hands. I had the opportunity to review the digital version of this EP but there is a real physicality, a real presence, to the Fieldhead sound which is strangely incongruent with contemporary music formats.  My advice? Snap up the vinyl if you can – otherwise buy the download and transfer it to tape for a proper listening experience. Full info

No.3: Marta Mist – Distance/Skeletal/Union

This is beautiful, exploratory sound art of a kind unthinkable within the constraints of the short form music I have until recently been accustomed to. Marta Mist have made music that deserves to be actively engaged with rather than simply ‘heard’, and I can only recommend “Distance-Skeletal-Union” with highest praise of the most sincere kind. Full info

No.4: Hummingbird – Our Fearful Symmetry

Hummingbird’s marriage of restrained classicism and contemporary electronic atmospheric manipulation means that “Our Fearful Symmetry” is very much a record of the moment – the ambient/electro-acoustic scene abounds with artists mining the same vein of inspiration – however, while many acts aspire to the creation of reminiscence-evoking beauty it is an uncommon achievement. The artist behind Hummingbird accomplishes a startling ubiquity of grace throughout this album and though it is a debut outing for the project, the strength of the material and its connotative power betray the unmistakable hand of a master at work. Full info

No.5: F.S.Blumm & Nils Frahm – Music For Lovers Music Versus Time

This is certainly a “different” album and thankfully despite this it doesn’t feel forced. F.S Blumm and Nils Frahm have found a way through their collaboration, to showcase their passion for music and in turn provide their listeners with an opportunity to enjoy their work in a way that is by no means conventional. The album encourages listeners to love the sounds they listen to and by taking time to soak up the creativity and appreciate the artistry at work, the depth of the work on display here comes to life. Full info

No.6: Evan Caminiti – West Winds

Evan Caminiti is a guitarist full of big ideas and even bigger sounds. currently known as one-half of the San Francisco Bay Area avant droners Barn Owl, Caminiti has spent a great deal of time the past few years playing and recording gorgeous solo explorations focused primarily on the guitar, but, when need be, accented by additional instrumentation. Full info

No 7: Sonmi451 – Ruis

The piece is a wonderful walk along slowly pulsating sine waves, lingering piano loops, cradling strings and the solar warmth of little cracks, pops and soft hisses. Ruis truly is a hidden treasure. At first it seems to be nothing more but a lovely track, “ordinary” prettiness, though once you put it on while you’re trying to sleep, it becomes as essential as your pillow or your favorite blanket. It is probably the most efficient piece we’ve had the chance to release. A lush, soft and hypnotic path into unconsciousness. More info

No. 8: The Green Kingdom – Prismatic

Following the beautiful Twig and Twine (November 2009, Own Records), Michael Cottone returns with Prismatic, his latest work under the moniker The Green Kingdom. The Detroit based sound artist has once again mixed many disparate influences and ideas into a wonderfully creative album. More info

No 9: Scott Cortez and Thisquietarmy – Meridians

Where as the first piece was mainly made up of droning low ends and sharp high end swells, this piece features intertwining melodic passages of enveloping warmth, sharp digital fuzz and beautiful distant distortion. This track is exactly what I was hoping for from the collaboration between these two projects; 13 minutes of blissful ambient shoegaze. The tones and textures created on this piece are sublime, reminiscent of shimmering sea water lapping against a breath taking landscape or bright sun glare through a frosted window. More info

No.10: Daphne Oram – Oramics (Deluxe Vinyl Edition)

As this remarkable 44-track collection shows, however, her work ranks amongst the most varied and pioneering ever made, and it’s quite incredible to think that this is the first time any of these precious recordings have been available on vinyl. 155 minutes/8 sides of vinyl cut by Lupo at D&M, housed in a heavyweight 300 gram gatefold sleeve, featuring rare archive photographs. More info

This months top ten post is well worth the wait and see’s the number one slot going to Herion’s exquisite project ‘Out and About’…

Herion – Out and About

Emanuele Errante, Enrico Coniglio, and Elisa Marzorati have created a wonderful album that moves right to the soul of the listener. While I was familiar with Emanuele Errante, who released the excellent Humus album on Somnia in 2008, the other performers were a mystery to me. Marzorati’s piano motifs, mixed with Coniglio’s multi-faceted contributions involving melodica, harmonica, and treated guitar, all meld beautifully with Errante’s orchestral arrangements. Full info

Peter Broderick – Three Film Score Intakes

As a multi-instrumentalist of some distinction it seems unfair to typecast Peter Broderick’s sound, but one could cite two clear genre pools that his music fits within. On the one hand is his acoustic, singer/songwriter guitar based folk music. Records like “Home” and “4 Tracks” fall into this genre. On the other hand his meshing of ambient, electronic sounds with classical instruments like piano and violin can be found on the albums “Docile,” “Float,” and “Music For Falling From Trees.” This sound is also found on his latest record, a super limited edition EP release from Schedios Records entitled “Three Film Score Intakes.” Full info

Mains de Givre – Esther Marie

The classically trained stringed arrangements that flow from Émilie’s violin are the perfect partner, however, as graceful patterns fuse together flawlessly creating a deep sense of hope and light cutting through the impending gloom. This is what makes the whole ‘Esther Marie’ experience so intoxicating, and provides the listener with a great depth of resonating experiences not like anything I have heard or witnessed for some time. Full info

Akira Rabelais – Caduceus

To create Caduceus, Rabelais processed recordings of guitar through the Argeïphontes Lyre, a software instrument of his own design. It’s a decade-old codebase that’s written like a poem and tended like a garden: as Rabelais explains, his work comes from a process of “music driving software, and software feeding music.” “I was always making little instruments as a child, lots of odd stringed things and percussion bits … metal plates along a barbed-wire fence. I think AL descends from this bloodline. It scratches my four year old self’s itch to ring metal plates with a bb-gun.” Full info

Natureboy – Natureboy

Natureboy weaves loops, waves of guitar, synth, bass, and drums with acoustic folk to create a haunting synthesis of moody and intelligent, melodic and angular music. Her lyrics are both starkly emotional and strangely evocative; drawing the listener into a strange and resonant world that persists long after the music is over. Full info

Wreaths – Like Sparks From Throats Falling

Like Sparks From Throats Falling is a truly eclectic collection of sounds with a plethora of arrangements, instruments and ideas, all impeccably executed. This is a challenging, intelligent album that will demand your rapt attention and is all the more rewarding for it. Full info

Taylor Deupree – Shoals

After being invited to an artist residency program at the University of York Music Research Centre in 2009, Taylor Deupree was soon inspired to delve into their collection of Japanese and Balinese gamelan instruments. Deupree decided to restrict himself to using these instruments alone and set about using the Kyma programming language to develop his own looping program for use with the project. Full info

Ghostwriter – The Continuing Adventures Of The Strange Sound Association

It’s amazing how many different instruments are featured in this piece without making the variety appear like a gimmick or without overcrowding the tracks. Melodicas, music-boxes, vintage synths and a lot of other boutique and rare instruments find their way into the 15 tracks of the nearly 40 minutes long album. Full info

Rameses III – For José María

Rameses III have produced a warm and organic piece of music that drifts along effortlessly, giving the impression of genuine sincerity. For Jose Maria is a fitting tribute to a father and husband whose remarkable personality touched all those who knew him. Full info

Simon Scott – Traba

Traba is a beautifully esoteric work of digitally manipulated instruments which have been layered into dense textures that almost, but never quite, overcome the melody present. There are harsh sounds here too, rhythmic and mechanistic, though this listener is left with a sense that buried deep within the loss and the anguish, an ethereal beauty lies beneath the waves. Full info

Apologies for posting this months top 10 a little late. Below you can find our current fav releases that are doing the rounds on the Fluid playlists and come highly recommended…

1. Olan Mill – Pine

Listening to “Pine,” the second release from record label Serein, and the debut recording from Olan Mill, it is clear the group’s two collaborators are appreciators of these sounds. For while this compact, concise group of recordings are created from a palette of instruments and not from field recordings so usually associated with ambient music, such is the dream like, slow motion quality of the sounds at work that one could easily forget they are listening to a record, as the notes seamlessly form part of their natural surroundings. Full info

2. Svarte Greiner – Penpals Forever (And Ever)

A1, the record’s opening track commences with the light plucking of guitar, which when joined by a more devious sounding electric guitar reminds me of the opening of David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” where a camera moves from a serene suburban garden deep into the soil beneath it. Once the more ominous sounds are established, there is no reproach, and the first 11 minutes of this record also houses a background of industrial-like noises, which create an eerie sound, almost like screaming. Full info

3. Talvihorros – Music In Four Movements

Recent examples of creative takes on self-immolation have included Gus Van Sant’s movie “Last Days,” which through a slow paced narrative recreated the final moments of a musician made to resemble Kurt Cobain. Last year in the literary world readers were treated to the excellent debut novel from David Vann entitled “Legend of a Suicide” which contained a selection of fictional short stories all of which housed reflections on the suicide of the writer’s father. Now, from a musical perspective comes “Music In Four Movements” by Talvihorros, a four track album representing the final four days of an individual set on ending their own life. Full info

4. Richard A Ingram – Consolamentum

White Box Recordings have so far proven that they are a label to be reckoned with. Previous offerings from the likes of Danny Saul and Liondialer demonstrate that these guys mean business and the next project from Richard A Ingram confirms this as he presents a stunning collection of expressive compositions. Full info

5. Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose – Bridge Carols

Bridge Carols takes the listener to a place that exists between the notes and behind the words of modern music. This breaking down and rebuilding, cutting down to the core and polishing, results in something truer and more fundamental. It’s music that feels intimately familiar, timeless; at its heart, quite natural and human. Full info

6. Horse Feathers – Thistled Spring

From the first piano notes of the title track, Thistled Spring shows itself to be an album of rebirth, renewal, and fragile hope. The sun is out in the world evoked by this music, and in the first couple of songs it feels like the sun of early spring, glinting on a frosty river where the ice is just breaking up. “Thistled Spring” and “Starving Robins” both continue Ringle’s trademark use of space in songwriting, but in this case the space is full of potential, like the spaces between drops of melting snow. Full info

7. Sunslide – Field Piano

Squelching of boots walking the flooded fields, the rattle of a gate and then the piano. These nocturnes bring an impression of the landscape in keeping with Satie and Poulenc; where the music is found between the silence and the hammer on the string. Full info

8. Bobby and Blumm – A Little Big

Nothing forces itself on You, no babbling, no twaddle. B&B only use the notes, that they consider really necessary. Their songs are in focus. They are refined. They have a superb feeling for time. Duets and dialogues are engaged in close arrangements. A slight rise of the eye-brow and the next harmony appears just like that. Fine-felt sounds, for the love of music. And the more You listen to this album the more beautiful it becomes, the deeper it roots. Full info

9. Films – Messenger

Film’s first celebratory album titled, “Messenger” is based on an imaginary fable. The album brings classical instruments such as piano, violin, viola, and cello, an ensemble of instruments that provokes images of solemn church music and layers this with a touch of electronic sound, and a silky veil of a woman’s voice ringing from far in the distance beyond the fog and together, turns the entire album into one deep fairy tale. Full info

10 . Greg Davis – Regarding Wave

Musically this album has a shimmering brightness about it, almost like an auditory hall of mirrors where the smallest chime echoes and repeats kaleidoscopically forever. Over the course of three tracks, Greg produces moments of rippling beauty via polite tonal drones that evolve at glacial speed. Full of harmony and accessibility, Regarding Wave is not only a welcome addition to Greg’s diverse oeuvre, but also a worthy introduction to his music for newcomers. Full info

Another great month of releases has made it an extremely tuff choice to only select our current fav 10…

1. Antonymes – Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future

Packages arrive through the post on a regular basis with regards to cd submissions for the Fluid playlists. This always excites me and sometimes I feel like the young child on Christmas morning eagerly waiting to find out what could possibly be inside…

This week however I had the luxury of opening a package that was ‘above the norm’ to say the least. Something that had so much attention to detail with regards to design, appearance, funcionality and of course, sound.

The package that I talk about is the upcoming limited edition photo book release of ‘Beauty Becomes The Enemy Of The Future’ by Ian Hazeldine, otherwise known as Antonymes. Full details here

2. Sam Amidon – I See The Sign

Staying true to the formula found in Sam’s aforementioned 2007 LP and also in 2008’s “All Is Well,” this new record largely comprises of old-time melodies and lyrics, with children’s singing games common throughout. Where “All Is Well” built upon his sound, adding horns and string arrangements to bring a greater sense of depth to the instrumental constructions of his work, “I See The Sign” evolves this sound significantly. Full details here

3. Plinth – Albatross

“Albatross” is a collection of 5 interpretations of the Fleetwood Mac track of the same name and like the changes we are witnessing in the world around us, it provides the listener with a variation of audible delights suitable for the adapting seasons.

Despite being a bird, in literary circles the Albatross itself is largely considered to hold metaphorical value.  Sometimes defined as a wearisome burden, this is in an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Full details here

4. Scott Tuma – Dandelion

“Dandelion” is a a hymn to loves won, then lost. Dying on the vine, he bellows “You are so pretty,” yearning for something simpler and easier to navigate. “You’re always on my mind” reminds us that things come to an end, that even the best things have a shelflife. It runs head first into the megalith that is “Free Dirt.” Mike Weis makes his present felt as the duo navigates the darkest moments Tuma’s ever put to tape. This is “Taradiddle” drowned in the mud. Hope is lost to the darkness as denial turns to acceptance. Winding down into a wall of cymbals and heavy-handed acoustic guitar, it’s total catharsis. Tuma and Weis show again just how well they work together. Full details here

5. The Sight Below – It All Falls Apart

In the year since Glider’s release, The Sight Below honed his craft and traveled the world, toting his equipment to distant cities and festivals, playing breathtaking audio/visual performances, and wandering off into the night. Evidently, this was time well-spent. With his new album It All Falls Apart, The Sight Below expands upon his strengths at every turn, crafting a paean to impermanence, an ambient meditation that uses the sounds of sadness in the service of sweet emotional catharsis. Full details here

6. David A Jaycock – The Coleopterous Cuckoos Collude

An active member of Pickled Egg recording artists Big Eyes, as well as The Big Eyes Family Players, David plays a vast selection of instruments, with his signature guitar intricacies joined by analogue synthesizers, bowed banjos, toy piano, harmonium, and a zither . Subsequently, The Coleopterous Cuckoos Collude is an achingly beautiful work of cinematic majesty; its progressive classicism enhanced by David’s will to actively break traditional musical boundaries. Full details here

7. Gareth Hardwick – Of The Sea And Shore

Recorded over a four month period during the Winter of 2009/10, Gareth’s characteristic long form guitar drones have been enhanced by a widened palette of sounds consisting of different instrumentation, effects and recording techniques. Cymbals and chimes supply a percussive undercurrent, whilst radio static, dictaphone field recordings and harmonium are used to add further texture. Full details here

8. Alva Noto – For 2

As we listen we are almost aware of this record having breath, as a watchful vacuum draws in influences before exhaling them back into the music. This ebb and flow marks time over for 2’s reference points, reminding us that creativity is perceptive of that which lies at its edges and, similar to language, absorbs it within. Full details here

9. FNS – FNS

Despite being his first recording for Miasmah, it transpires that FNS or Fredrik Ness Sevendal is in fact a veteran of the Oslo experimental scene. Having collaborated with several groups over the years, FNS is very much his solo project. Using a variety of instruments, but predominantly focusing on guitar, there is a premeditated approach here; an effort to ensure the lo-fi nature of the record is appreciated by the listener.

Opening with “Silence to Say Hello,” the intention of this sound is clear. Delicate guitar riffs, in tandem with light percussion, are counter balanced with an un-even swirling of self constructed noise and reverbs. “Sappélur” is an altogether different affair and for all the meditative qualities of the opening track, this is an unsettling cacophony of noisy drones. Full details here

10. Tanner Menard – The Oceans of Your Aura

Each ’song’ in the album was created using two instances of pianoteq, a physical modeling software that here replicates two pianos each 10 meters in length, each having a unique tuning system always tuned one hertz from the other with A being 444 and 445 respectively. Both pianos also allow their strings to vibrate freely through the use of a constantly activated damper pedal. Loops of midi data drive these pianos through an improvisation that I carefully crafted into slow motion portraits of quasi-song structures. Full details here

This month brings with it another strong line up of releases from our top 10 selection all doing the rounds on both broadcast channels at the moment…

1. Eleh – Location Momentum

Eleh has been an enigma since the first record under that name was released in 2006. In numbered editions with letterpressed sleeves, usually on Important Records from the U.S.A., these vinyl-only releases were evidently a labour of love and attention. Further recordings have been released on the labels Taiga and Touch, making 11 vinyl editions in all. Full details here

2. Aaron Martin – Worried About The Fire

It is an album that slowly lures you in. Starting with downright dark, hypnotic drones, “Albee” is an unnerving opening laced with subtle string sounds over a looping humming of noise. It’s a track that offers no clues as to what will follow, and indeed the set-up of harmonica, banjo, organ and bell sounds that feature on this album throughout bring an ambiguity to the overall sound. Full details here

3. Monolyth & Cobalt – Rives

Mathias works with many acoustic instruments like Harmonium, Piano, Various Strings, melodica and some human sound such as breath on tape. He also uses modern technology inclusing samplers, sequencer & effects processors but his cinematic soundscapes never lose their organic feel and human emotion. Full details here

4. Danny Paul Grody – Fountain

Centered around sparkling acoustic guitar motifs, the album unfolds as a series of hypnotic mood pieces and evening hymns with a spectral lyricism invoking scenes of moving images and passing landscapes. Conceived from a collection of home recordings made over the course of a year, the album perfectly distills many of the musical forms from which Grody gravitates towards, namely the chiming kora music of West Africa, the 70’s wave of American underground acoustic guitar players, and a number of long form / drone composers and performers. Full details here

5. Balmorhea – Constellations

The disarming simplicity of the tracks on Constellations proves that Balmorhea doesn’t need dense arrangements full of 180 degree turns to craft deeply affecting compositions. More than just self-imposed limitation, the scale of this collection of songs introduces a sense of intimacy and perspective through their skillful use of space and restraint. Full details here

6. A Broken Consort – Crow Autumn

Here is an album that requires great focus from the listener; such is the detailing of each track. Perhaps best suited for headphone listening, to be able to absorb all the rich texturing, Crow Autumn is also a deeply personal record for the recording artist, inspired here by the landscapes of his native Lancashire. Full details here

7. The Moving Dawn Orchestra – Dials

Electro-acoustic contemporary classical instrumentals: Dials is a graceful suite of four mid-length compositions with minimalist sparsity and contemporary beauty. The wistful pianos, rich with reverb; the sombre string textures and the absence of percussive beats give the music a seductive timelessness. Full details here

8. S – Im Not As Good At It As You

Im not as good at it as you, coming out on the Luxembourg-based label Own Records: Much like Sadstyle, the songs are deceptively sparse, though Ghetto’s breathy vocals are often layered with achingly-beautiful harmonies. The multi-directional guitar lines and break-neck tempo changes are again in effect, but it’s the maturity of the songwriting as a whole that makes this collection stand out from its predecessors. Full details here

9. Loscil – Endless Falls

Endless Falls is the fifth full length release by Scott Morgan under the loscil moniker. The album begins and ends with the sound of rain recorded by Scott in his back yard, precipitation being a constant presence in his home city of Vancouver. Many of the other sounds on the album are derived from these same recordings, processed and combined with other harmonic sounds to create the textures and drones. Full details here

10. Dollboy – Ghost Stations

The music on Ghost Stations finds Dollboy conjuring the haunted spirit of these stations, basing his atmospherically charged compositions on field recordings captured at sites on both the U-bahn and the London Underground. As he says in the accompanying notes: “I have tried to imagine the spirits of those that might have passed through: commuters, revellers, spies, worshipers and the decaying remnants of ghostly dance orchestras.” Full details here

This month’s top 10 albums really is of the highest quality and bodes well for what has already been a super productive 2010…

1. Anna Rose – Silver Lines

Silver Lines’, forthcoming on Schedios Records literally bathes in beauty as the young artist Anna Rose creates majestic piano structured compositions that have an atmospheric portrait attached to them unlike anything I have heard for some time. It’s almost like a fusion of Nils Frahm meets Peter Broderick! Quite a statement I know, but that’s just how good this work is. Full details here

2. Simon Scott- Nivalis

The whole time i was writing this piece the snow just never stopped falling so i had this amazing visual flow that inspired me to keep on throwing musical ideas into the track. I had no intention to venture outside so I just kept on recording for two days, mixing as i went along, until the snow stopped. I added recordings of me clearing snow and ice from my doorstep whilst my heater was working flat out to push the sub zero temperatures up a few degrees. I see NIVALIS as a tribute to the winter, the snow and the beauty of how the seasons change here in England. – Simon Scott. Full details here

3. Dustin O’halloran – Vorleben

It could be argued that Dustin O’Halloran epitomises the new generation of ‘classical’ and classically-inspired musician/composers of recent years. Favouring heart-wrenching melodies and floating structures over atonal experimentation and avant-garde deconstruction, O’Halloran’s music exists to blow the cobwebs from your seldom-touched heart-strings and pull on them with a gentle force that many contemporary composers have long forgotten. Full details here

4. Various: Music & Migration

The compilation album Music & Migration really is music for the birds – its 21 tracks inspired by both the miracle of the migratory impulse and the human-inspired peril of avian life today. A showcase for the finest in contemporary post-classical composition, idiosyncratic folksong and pastoral soundscaping, it’s an album with a charitable raison d’etre that just happens to offer 75 minutes of bewitching, immersive sounds and stands as an enticing survey of where left-of-centre music is at in 2010. To put it another way, the first great compilation album of the new decade has arrived. Full details here

5. Hessien – Skurjn

Hessien usually occurs somewhere between the UK and Australia, somewhere between the hours of 11pm and 6am (Southern Hemisphere) & 9am and 8pm (Northern Hemisphere) Hessien is made up of acoustic noise artist Charles Sage (Australia) and Tim Diagram (UK). They collided through a coincidence and were pleased to note that the collision has produced an EP – ‘Skurjn’, to be released 29th January. ‘Skurjn’ is the first EP from Hessien, is limited to 100 copies (worldwide) and housed in hand-stitched cork sleeves (from a sustainable source) Full details here

6. Kyle Bobby Dunn – A Young Person’s Guide To

Spread across two cds with a total running time of nearly two hours, ‘A Young Person’s Guide To…’ is a stunning collection of recordings from New York based minimalist composer and sound artist Kyle Bobby Dunn. Four tracks on the first disc originally appeared as the download only album ‘Fervency’, released by the Moodgadget label in 2009. Impressed by Dunn’s sensitive and world-wise compositions, it was felt that the music deserved to be released on a physical format and expanded upon with a second disc containing an additional 60 minutes of music gathered from the same period as the ‘Fervency’ recordings. Full details here

7. Laura Veirs – July Flame

We’re very excited about this – the return of Laura Veirs to Bella Union with an album so wonderful it may well be her finest to date. The album title is “July Flame” and it was record at her Portland home with the help of friends Tucker Martine, Karl Blau, Steve Moore Eyvind Kang, Stephen Barber and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, who described their relationship like this: “Laura’s like the queen bee and my ear is her hive; she nests and makes honey in the hairs of my cochlea.” Full details here

8. Eric Chenaux – Warm Weather/Le Vieux Favori 4

It’s a tuff call to try and sum up this gorgeous little ep to be honest as we have two tracks that flow with so much beauty and yet at the same time are completely oposite in style. If you want to experience a quirky little folk type selection on one side and a Richard Skelton meets Nordic string arrangements on the other then I say grab this ep ‘quick time’! Highly recommended! Full details here

9. Clem Leek – Through the Annular

The four tracks on this project comprise of gentle piano melodies that draw the listener in through the artists exquisite compositions demonstrating a calming, almost healing type effect that leave you feeling in a place of safety from memories long past. Just close your eyes whilst listening to ‘51°03.773? and experience the emotionally wrought piano and half-glimpsed sonic sturctures and you will know exactly what I mean. Using 78rpm vinyl crackle as a primary theme for each track, Clem manages to capture a timeless arrangement of compositions that generate a gentle atmosphere reminiscent of flickering black-and-white films. Full details here

10. Konntinent – Opal Island

The Konntinent sound is very much based on micro-elements I guess, at least this time around. Unlike his earlier drone-based work, ‘Opal Island’ has much more of Antony’s guitar playing to the fore, as it does the gorgeous vocals of Lisa Madisson on ‘Dry eyed’, as well as Antony’s own beautifully subtle singing. It has odd rhythms coming in and out, piano, weird glitchy sounds and tones I can’t quite place. Its all in the craftsmanship you see. Its very rare to come across an artist who actually makes ‘songs’ which can also be defined as ‘pieces’ – and as such his work is so hard to place. Full details here

09'S Top 10 by Fluid Radio on Mixcloud

The list below is our final selection for the best 10 albums that have been doing the rounds on the Fluid playlist this year…

This hasn’t been an easy selection by any means as there has been so much great music sent to us over the past 12 months which has meant many other releases missing out. I was tempted to go with a top 20, but even then there was still many more albums I wanted to include, so I stayed disciplined and kept it at 10.

A big respect goes out to all the labels and artists that have been involved with Fluid Radio this year, and if you never made the list below, you know you still have our full respect as any music that gets played/posted on the site has to be of a high standard in the first place!

To accompany this wonderful selection of music we have created a mix with tracks playing in the order from which the albums have been listed in our top 10…

No.1: Richard Skelton – Landings

I only received this album/book in the post yesterday morning and yet within just 24 hours it has had a huge impact on me both musically and emotionally. ‘Landings’ is one of those albums that has that extra something about it. The music alone would have probably made the grade for the No.1 slot, but what makes this extra special is the book that accompanies the project. Without going into to much detail I can say that Richard’s personal writings had a powerful effect on me last night and the ‘Landings’ project is a complete masterpiece!

‘After only a few early playthroughs, Landings feels like a more ambitious and substantial package than previous Skelton outings thanks to an expanded instrumental palette and a duration that permits the exploration of a more complete and varied narrative’.- Boomkat

Full info here

No.2: Danny Norbury – Light in August

Along with Mr Skelton’s project I have to be honest here and say that listening to ‘Light In August’ for the first time made me cry. This seems to happen every now and again, and is a big indicator that I am listening to music that’s a bit special! Norbury’s release fits perfectly into the ‘Special’ catergory and will without doubt be one of those releases that still sounds as good as ever in 10 years to come. If you have never heard this album I strongly urge you to grab a copy, sit back and listen to some experimental stringed bliss!

‘This incredible full-length, Light In August, finds Norbury assuming the role of a one-man ensemble, spinning a collection of understated string and piano elegies harnessing an incredibly intimate cinematic quality’.- Boomkat

Full info here

No.3: Machinefabriek & Peter Broderick – Blank Grey Canvas Sky

There are collaborations and then there are COLLABORATIONS…This album has been a constant on the ipod over the last few months and just seems to get better and better with every listen. Have you ever listened to an album and every time noticed something new within each composition? Well that is what seems to happen everytime I listen to this little gem. The two artists have come up with a pioneering project that is way ahead of it’s time in regards to the experimental nature of it’s work and is definately the shape of things to come in 2010 and beyond on the main Fluid broadcast.

‘It’s like a hallucinated symphony orchestra drifting across airwaves before slowly disintegrating into bad reception by the piece’s oddly poignant end’. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.4: J. Tillman – Year In The Kingdom

Alternative Folk music has always been close to my heart and J. Tillman’s ‘Year In The Kingdom’ has been my special companion on many a late evening whilst pondering all things philosophical. With the new second broadcast channel imminent on Fluid Radio, Mr Tillman’s album has been a big influence for me finally taking action and getiing the upcoming experimental Folk channel in place. This guy has one of those voices that literally sends shivers down my spine, and the whole album is gorgeous.

‘Abstract folk sensibility marked out by hammered dulcimer, polyphonic vocals and an Espers-like ear for constructing a subtly ethereal, airy production’. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.5: Nest – Retold

Now I know I’ll be getting emails saying that this release shouldn’t be in the 2009 line-up as it doesn’t get released until Jan 2010, but hey, it’s a corker and as I have been listening to a promo copy for the past 6 weeks or so I just have to include it! Here we have another very interesting collaboration from Otto Totland (one half of Deaf Center) and Serain label owner Huw Roberts. This is another one of those emotionally charged projects with a refined ‘filmscape’ quality running through it. ‘Retold’ is deeeeeep man. Simple as that! Combining elements of modern/neo classical structures and experimental ambient, the album is superb and comes highly recommended for those looking to spend some dosh after the Christmas season.

Taking cues from film soundtracks and contemporary classical music, the story is woven using a myriad of instrumentation. Dulcet piano tones are backed by string and horn arrangements, unidentifiable plucked instruments and the sound of the Welsh harp: often heavily processed, Retold is an album that has as much in common with experimental electronic music as it does with the modern classical approach.

Full info here

No.6: Le Lendemain – Fires

Yet another collaboration! Seems to be the ‘in thing’ for 2009. Danny Norbury and David Wengrenn make up the Le Lendemain project, and what a project it is to behold! The ‘Fires’ release runs in a similar vein to Nest’s ‘Retold’, combining elements of modern classical along with electronic ambient structures. For those that have never listened to ‘Fires’ where have you been? It’s a phenomenol album released on the Home Normal label. If you don’t want to take my word for it go and listen to track 5: ‘Lois’ in the above mix. Easily my favourite track of 2009!

‘It feels like a romanticised simulation of what classical music becomes when filtered through the language of soundtracks rather than the more academic corners of composition’. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.7: Zelienople – Give it up

To say I was a ‘little excited’ on hearing Zelienople was back in the studio working on a new album would probably be the understatement of the century. The project is like nothing I have ever heard before (at least not at this high standard), and ‘Give It Up’ is no exception to the rule. Fusing elements of post rock experimentation alongside droned ambient manipulation and haunted vocals, the album is taking the genre (whatever genre that is) to another level all together! Futuristic business indeed!

There’s something unspeakably magical about the way this band somehow alchemise familiar components into this deep, almost haunting mass of sound, making for an album that’s virtually impossible to categorise but which will no doubt end up taking up one of those hallowed spots in your collection reserved for the most special, moving records you feel the rest of the world just couldn’t possibly understand. Immense. – Boomkat

Full info here

No.8: Aaron Martin – Chautauqua

Aaron Martin is one of those artists that completely fascinate me. This guy has such a unique sound that quite possibly belongs somewhere in 2020 to be honest. That is meant as a huge compliment! His experimental approach to the cello/violin, organ and banjo is a sound that has me completely captivated and one that we are keen to promote more and more on the Fluid broadcast. ‘Chautauqua’ definitly takes Aarons sound that little bit further into the unkown and for anyone looking to hear groundbreaking, innovative structured compositions then this album is a must!

‘The pieces on Chautauqua are interwoven with field recordings as well as sounds from home movies, creating an edge tingling with a heightened, ghostly kind of nostalgia’. – Preservation

Full info here

No.9: Solo Andata – Solo Andata

The self titled second release coming from the 12k stables is a complete stunner! If you are looking to grab yourself an album that takes the listener on an emotionally charged journey from light to dark and then back again then this little beauty comes highly recommended!

‘Solo Andata utilizes very little, if any, electronic instruments. Acoustic guitar, piano, cello and the natural resonances of organic materials (usually by way of a violin bow, pluck, or home-made contraption) become their main instruments, and as their live shows often attest to, Solo Andata can turn almost any object into an instrument capable of producing beautiful, other-worldly music’. – 12k

Full info here

No.10: Nils Frahm – The Bells

Nils Frahm is one artist we have been paying close attention to in 2009. ‘The Bells’ is one of those albums that just seemed to come out of nowhere and completely took me by surprise. Nils has an ability to create piano structures that paint unique and inspiring sonic soundscapes full of emotion and energy. A firm personal favoutite of mine this year that often can be heard in our household when friends are round for dinner.

‘Upon first hearing Frahm’s improvisations Broderick himself was overwhelmed: “I remember thinking to myself as I lay there stunned, that I could spend ten years trying to write an amazing piece of piano music, and still it would never be half as good as these improvisations.’ – Boomkat

Full info here

Labels:

www.typerecords.com
www.alicecasey.com
www.fangbomb.com
www.bellaunion.com
www.serein.co.uk
www.homenormal.com
www.typerecords.com
www.preservation.com.au
www.12k.com
www.kningdisk.com
www.erasedtapes.com

Artists:

www.myspace.com/landingsdiary
www.myspace.com/dannynorbury
www.myspace.com/machinefabriek
www.myspace.com/peterbroderick
www.myspace.com/jtillman
www.myspace.com/lendemain
www.myspace.com/zelienople
www.myspace.com/prisonwine
www.myspace.com/soloandata
www.myspace.com/nilsfrahm