Dauw Belgium 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Finland's Olli Aarni delivers two swirling, longform tape meanderings on Dauw Belgium. Aarni's music is effortlessly analogous to organic structures and growth, and the A-side is a blissfully suspended, gauzy trip, with resonant pads and emotive tintinnabulations permeating thick, gravelly clouds of teeming tape flutter. On the flip, hollow drones give way to a dense haze of soft noise and abstraction, before regressing to purer sine rumblings towards a cathartic conclusion.

Review: Taylor Deupree and The Humble Bee have hooked up for their first collaborative album, Re: Case Studies, an immersive and pensive ambient beauty. It was originally conceived as a solo project and Deupree's abstract feedback loop-based compositions were shelved until discussions with the label prompted him to invite a collaborator. Craig Tattersall, aka The Humble Bee, responded with his own sonic interpretations and built on Deupree's foundations. The result is a cohesive yet distinct collaboration that honours the original while evolving into something new so what began as an unfinished idea is now a full-fledged and thoughtful, layered exploration of sound.

Review: Dylan Henner (AD 93, Phantom Limb) returns to Dauw with Performs Raymond Scott's Soothing Sounds for Baby, an album reinterpreting selections from Scott's iconic 1962 work. Available on limited edition vinyl, featuring artwork by Skrew Studio that references the original releases. Raymond Scott's contributions to music are immeasurable and pioneering, with his records remaining uniquely interesting. Viewed through the lens of modern "ambient" music, the meaning of his compositions has evolved. Once revolutionary, they now serve as archival pieces, preserving an era of early electronic music and its technological constraints. In homage to Scott's foresight and genius, Henner recontextualises these ideas within a 2024 musician's mindset and studio, creating a version that aligns with his perception of Scott's music's purpose: soothing babies. Henner revisited the original records briefly, transcribing melodies and noting timbres, before embarking on his own creative journey. This album honors Scott's legacy while infusing it with contemporary sensibilities.

Review: Ghent based tape label Dauw branches out for this album from Vil and presses it up to nice heavyweight wax. It's a multi-layered ambient work that is steeped in half forgotten memories, in nostalgic, in longing for a different time and place. There is beauty in that pain, with light, hopeful pads often just about shining through the murk and the mire to bring optimism to the lo-fi and grainy drones. Analogue machinery was clearly used to make this record and that lends it a nice hazy feel throughout. This might be Brooklynite Luke Entelis's best work yet under the Viul guise he has had for some 20 years.