Kevin Richard Martin – Black

An ambient album by The Bug that is an eulogy to Amy Winehouse—such a fascinating concept that I would have never seen coming. It comes with probably the best liner notes I have ever read on Bandcamp. Not because it’s a whole lot but it gives such a personal perspective to such an unexpected record.

Also, using the word “muse” just opens up this whole realm of thoughts how muses work for artists, which I’ve always found interesting. When a muse is depicted in a movie they tend to be this groupie that hangs with the rock band, but how a muse as a person and personality inspires art is rarely seen. Funny thing that Californication comes to mind where the muse is an interesting character. And recently I read about the life of Daphne Guinness who is also cited as being the muse for fashion designers like Alexander McQueen and Karl Lagerfeld. Just reading her bio, seeing her style of photos, and listening to her records makes me go “oh yes, I can see that”.

So, to get back to Black, it’s interesting how inspiration came come from such random places, and how a muse can find you even when you’re not searching.

Tomaga – Intimate Immensity

It’s like if you played IDM ambient but with live instruments (which reminds me of the time I attended a Plaid concert played by an orchestra in a concert hall), other times industrial jazz and a touch of experimental music. But it’s rather smooth and pleasant, not harsh.

Pye Corner Audio – Entangled Routes

Atmospheric electronic music, like a soundtrack to a movie that never was. Genres go mainly on the ambient to synthwave axis.

Being exposed to lots of sci-fi and futuristic noir things, it’s easy to see this as a perfect backdrop for a cyberpunk book or RPG play session.

Emeka Ogboh – Beyond The Yellow Haze

Electronic ambient music with lots of busy city life field recordings. It’s not like a beatless soundscape populated by urban noises, it’s often pretty upbeat. And that, mixed with the sounds of busy streets create this quite lively atmosphere, which feels like a rushing metropolis of ants.

Sunda Arc – Tides

From ambient to mid-tempo, from moody electronics to modern classical. A debut record that sounds like a debut record: full of references and inspiration but I have yet to hear the dintinct voice of Sunda Arc. I can hear the blue electronics of Moderat, the piano play of Nils Frahm, also the clarinet comes with a Floex reference to me. Nice sounds overall, just needs more originality next time.