As the new Craven Faults album Sidings nears release, The Leaf Label have teased another of its eight tracks. Yard Loup is much shorter than the previous single Far Closes, but gives an indication of the sonic world in which the producer is operating.
What’s the music like?
Picturesque – in that it paints many images in the mind’s eye. Craven Faults has a way of working that combines long drone phrases and quicker, less defined movements, in this case a gently shimmering treble. In this case the image conjured up is a wintry, watery scene.
Does it all work…and is it recommended?
It does, though I suspect it will work a lot better in the context of the album. It certainly whets the appetite.
Listen & Buy
You can listen to the two tracks from Sidings below:
Published post no.2,760 – Wednesday 7 January 2026
This is the second single from Nathan Fake‘s forthcoming album Evaporator, due for release on 20 February on InFiné. Although called Slow Yamaha, it features a musical depiction of evaporation at the end.
What’s the music like?
Hypnotic, and ultimately compelling. The start is deceptive, with a minimal approach but gradually the track develops and the horizons start to shimmer, with lovely warm synthesizers starting to dominate.
Big blocks of sound surround the listener, so that when the music disappears in a puff of air at the end the effect is similar to the sensation of taking off.
Charles Webster And The South African Connection’s new LP is a keenly anticipated set of work between the UK deep producer and the cream of the crop from South Africa. In a recent interview, Webster traces its roots:
“In 1997 when ‘Better Day’ by Presence came out, it was a hit on the radio in South Africa”…while “in England, it wasn’t on the radio at all”.
Webster boosted his profile in South Africa with a clutch of remixes, helping create a blueprint for a regional take on the deep, soulful house genre.
The press release documents the outcome of the project: “After the instant high of the project coming together so quickly and the collaborators all gelling effortlessly with Charles, Allan confesses that “there were moments where Charles was refining it, and I was thinking, how are we going to find this common thread between all these musical styles. Charles said don’t worry, this is what I do.”
What’s the music like?
Typically for Charles Webster, this is cool deep house music but with something extra. The Atmos Blaq collaboration Free is just that, an effortless piece of music with an airy trumpet break at its core, introducing The Artist, notable for Bokani Dyer’s vivid storytelling.
Many Blessings and the nippy A Journey channel the spirit of Matthew Herbert, while retaining Webster’s signature shuffle and liquid bass, while Film Me, From The Hill and Rain are classy downtempo numbers. The latter is especially evocative with its liquid guitar and sparkly vocal from Bokang Ramatlapeng.
Soweto Sunrise is a sultry beauty, but if anything Bakulindele is even better with its punchy organ riff and meditative vocal. Qiniseka, meanwhile, is magnificently brooding, and the rolling beats and cool keyboards of Part Two prove the ideal match.
Does it all work?
It does – the quality threshold is extremely high throughout!
Is it recommended?
Very much. Quality oozes from every pore of this record, which will up the winter temperature with its hot weather grooves and winsome, soulful vocals. Highly recommended!
Listen / Buy
Published post no.2,757 – Tuesday 23 December 2025
Ambient music is often about keeping a constant flow of continuity, so that any changes occurring don’t upset the musical applecart.
Few things are as consistent in this area than Kompakt’s own Pop Ambient series, the compilation pushing on beyond a quarter-century as it looks to showcase the best ambient music to come the way of the Cologne label in the preceding year.
This collection offers 19 tracks, that, in the label’s words, are looking forward. “Joining good friends from the early days and reliable confidants are some new additions to the non-hierarchical charts of contemplative rapture culture.”
They describe their principal additions as “Micå, a Japanese electronic musician whose finely chiselled, graceful musical style has made it onto the new collection with two pieces. Also making his debut is Richard Ojijo, a seasoned sound engineer known, among other things, for his long-standing collaboration with the artist Marcel Odenbach and the Cologne-based label Magazine. Oskø aka Max Hytrek, a multi-talented newcomer to Kompakt and the music scene, debuts with his rapturously ecstatic piece Ar Vag. He’s followed by Sebastian Mullaert, appearing for the second time—this time teamed up with Sebastian Lilja aka Hush Forever. After his surprise return last year after a 20 year hiatus, we are delighted that Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass Into Silence is back again this year with one of his distinctive sound gems. As are Dirk Leyers (Closer Musik) and Mikkel Metal.”
What’s the music like?
Seasoned listeners will know exactly what to expect from this sort of compilation – and they won’t be disappointed with the unhurried selection on offer.
There is rich, restful ambience from the off in the shape of the new Micå addition Echoes Of Blue, while among the many highlights are the comforting waves of string sound on Segensklang’s Schauer der Musen, contrasting nicely with the more flighty Pale Blue Dot by Pass Into Silence.
Ümit Han provides a lovely combination of movement and stillness on Eines Tages, while the vast spaces become apparent in the weather-beaten music of Richard Ojijo and Luis Reich. An intriguing, woozy accordion number from Morgan Wurde brings accordion and brass into sonorous opposition, while Dirk Leyers’ Regolith goes stock still with the addition of some nocturnal voices.
Joachim Spieth goes darker with Onset, while the open spaces of the desert can be sensed once again in Blank Gloss’s Hairpin, Mikkel Metal’s Moss is like a sound wave lapping at a soft shore, while the last word goes to the quasi-orchestral Erlösung (translating as ‘Salvation’) from Segensklang, a study akin to watching a rowing boat, with hefty strokes from the strings above a watery drone.
Does it all work?
It does. Kompakt are past masters at this sort of compilation, and everything works in beautiful harmony and structure.
Is it recommended?
It certainly is. In such changeable times the ability of Pop Ambient to remain unaltered is a cause for celebration, providing musical balm for the soul.
Father and daughter Robert and Lyric Hood – aka Floorplan – arrive on Fabric presents with a good deal of history already clocked up with the label.
Robert remembers it well in the press release. “When you walk into Room 2 you feel like you’re walking into a moment. Once the room pulls you in, a connection is formed between a DJ & the atmosphere in that room. It’s purely organic.” His contribution to the Fabric mix series – Fabric 39 – was made back in 2008, but now he has a slightly different modus operandi. “Of the handful of techno clubs that I’ve shared stories about with Lyric, fabric was usually the one I talked about most, especially that sound system, and the crowds were just crazy”, he says.
What’s the music like?
An energy rush. Wasting no time, Floorplan set about their mix with a mission of bringing spiritually infused techno to a higher plain, with suitably euphoric vocals. Their own single You’re A Shining Star is an early highpoint, while the rolling bass underpinning My Desire For You is brilliant.
The highs continue as keyboards lead us skywards, with excellent vocals on Dale Move’s Praise, then Floorplan’s own We Give Thee Honor and Only God. Shiela’s In The Morning – via a Floorplan mix – works really well, while the closing Higher from Andrea Belli and Dave Roy Bland is a suitable plain on which to finish.
Floorplan keep the mix moving, quickly flitting from one track to the other with the minimum of fuss but with a really satisfying flow to the mix.
Does it all work?
It does. Thrills and spills, wrapped up with the minimum of fuss!
Is it recommended?
Very much so. Quickfire music at the house / techno interface, and with a generous helping hand from the spiritual side. The vocals give it a constant high throughout. Highly recommended!
Arcana.fm 