Beautiful sounds from Joanna Brouk – an artist who was sometimes lost amidst the new age scene of the 80s, but one who's got a much deeper, more intellectual approach overall! True, Brouk's music does have a certain meditative spirit – but she also was a student of Terry Riley and Robert Ashley, and drank deep of the new compositional spirit of the time – especially in the work of Riley, which is often reflected here, but in a more contemplative way than his own recordings. Music sometimes features a core line on flute, opening up and unfolding slowly – and there's also some nice piano, and even a bit of conch shell and Orca sounds too. Double-length set features the usual strong Numero Group level of notes and history – and contains 22 tracks in all, some of which were only ever issued on cassette! CD

Some of the moodiest, most majestic music we've ever heard from composer Joanna Brouk – which might be a surprise, given that the initial release of the album was only on a cassette with a relatively cheesy cover! There's a depth here that's almost like 4AD at its mid-80s height – very dark sounds inspired by the sea, served up in a mixture of processed voice, moog, buchla, flutes, whale songs, and other sonic elements – all with a richness that's wonderful all the way through – and which shows how, in the more sophisticated corners of the new age scene, the music really crossed over into other genres. Titles include "Atavesta", "Playing In The Water", "Diving Deeper Remembering Love", "The Reminder Of Long Ago", "Return To The Deep", and "The Sounding". LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the moodiest, most majestic music we've ever heard from composer Joanna Brouk – which might be a surprise, given that the initial release of the album was only on a cassette with a relatively cheesy cover! There's a depth here that's almost like 4AD at its mid-80s height – very dark sounds inspired by the sea, served up in a mixture of processed voice, moog, buchla, flutes, whale songs, and other sonic elements – all with a richness that's wonderful all the way through – and which shows how, in the more sophisticated corners of the new age scene, the music really crossed over into other genres. Titles include "Atavesta", "Playing In The Water", "Diving Deeper Remembering Love", "The Reminder Of Long Ago", "Return To The Deep", and "The Sounding". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful sounds from Joanna Brouk – an artist who was sometimes lost amidst the new age scene of the 80s, but one who's got a much deeper, more intellectual approach overall! True, Brouk's music does have a certain meditative spirit – but she also was a student of Terry Riley and Robert Ashley, and drank deep of the new compositional spirit of the time – especially in the work of Riley, which is often reflected here, but in a more contemplative way than his own recordings. Music sometimes features a core line on flute, opening up and unfolding slowly – and there's also some nice piano, and even a bit of conch shell and Orca sounds too. Double-length set features the usual strong Numero Group level of notes and history – and contains 22 tracks in all, some of which were only ever issued on cassette! CD

A very cool book – and way different than you might expect from the title – as the discography doesn't only focus on contemporary ambient albums, but instead traces a history of moody sounds from the late 50s onwards! The publication is one of the most interesting Japanese discographies we've seen so far – filled with an evolving conception of ambient sounds, through jazz, acid folk, kraut rock, electronic music, and a host of other styles that predate Brian Eno's 70s experiments in ambient – and all the many Eno-inspired projects to follow – with chapters on John Cage, Joe Meek, Gigi Masin, Pauline Oliveros, Iasos, Walter Marchetti, Luc Ferrari, Lol Coxhill, Joanna Brouk, Sun Electric, Max Richter, and dozens of other artists. As with most Japanese discographies, the book has images of record covers, with dates, labels, and artists in English – plus a small review in Japanese – and even if you can't understand that last bit, you can still understand plenty from the way the book breaks down the music into various years and styles. This expanded edition is even better than the previous one – with chapters that include Space Age records of the 50s and 60s, Meditation records of the 70s, Post Modern records of the late 70s and 80s, Chill Scape records of the early 90s, Drone/Improvisation records of the late 90s/early 00s, and a Diversity section of more recent records. Book is softcover, over 300 pages, and filled with hundreds of images throughout! Book

An amazing compilation – and a really groundbreaking attempt to get to the true heart of new age music – that initial moment of meditative sound on records from the American underground – very pure in both spirit and execution before the whole thing got watered down and commercial! The massive set digs way deeper than we might have expected – way past the Bay Area indies who rose the genre to prominence, to a whole host of tiny US labels from the postwar years onward – home to individual players with a very personal sound – on instruments that range from conventional piano to global sources, electronics, and even some items of their own invention. The choice of tracks is perfect – really getting back to the basics of the genre in a great way – and the music is very laidback and meditative, with ethereal qualities that are completely sublime – especially in the context of the great packaging and notes of the whole collection. Many tracks here were never issued on CD – and many were only from rare tapes, too – and the double-length batch of work is one of the most unique musical journeys we've ever taken! Titles include "Lifting Off" by Joanna Brouk, "Arabian Fantasy" by Daniel Emmanuel, "Formentera Sunset Clouds" by Iasos, "Seventh Chakra Keynote B" by Steven Halpern, "Om Mani Padme Hum" by Constance Derby, "Unicorns In Paradise" by Laraaji, "Blue Spirals" by Daniel Kobialka, "As The Earth Kissed The Moon" by Michael Stearns, and "Waterfall Winds" by Alice Damon. CD