Ambient: Aglaia – Essences Referable to Nothingness (2025)

73 / 100

Over five sprawling tracks, Aglaia crafts a meditative blend of electroacoustic instruments that evoking serene yet ancient atmospheres. Songs of tranquil beauty and darker drones. A textured, contemplative listen for fans of Alio Die or Tim Hecker.

Across roughly 90 minutes split into five tracks, Gino Fioravanti, the mind behind the Italian electroacoustic/ambient project Aglaia, delivers hypnotic meditation or zen music that full of serenity and peace yet steering clear of modern sonic cues instead evoking ancient whispers generated through synthesizers on Essences Referable to Nothingness, especially on the opener, "Archaic Echoes."

The rest of the album, as previously described, is ambient music blended with acoustic instruments such as sitar and harp, evoking a calming sensation. For me, the top track candidates are "Evening Meadows" and "Hidden Levels," followed by "The Nature of Light." The thicker ambient drones in "The Grace and the Three Essences," which lean toward dark ambient, felt a bit less appealing to my taste.

Even though I consider them top candidates, only "Evening Meadows" and "Hidden Levels" will go through my favorite playlist trial. Overall, the album feels somewhat gritty textured, especially when compared to the more relaxing ambient/folk works of the lost project, The Hashira Theory. But if you love Alio Die, Nobuhiro Okahashi, and or Tim Hecker, this release is recommended.

Comments

Breakcore: Subheroine - End. (2025)

77 / 100 End. is Subheroine ’s most immersive and emotionally textured work yet ... Is being a week late enough to make a new release feel cold and stale? Maybe it’s the effect of our fast-paced modern world and the FOMO trend. Who knows. Whatever. Alright then, let’s welcome a new breakcore/drum & bass album (though it runs under 30 minutes) from Subheroine : End. ! End. by SUBHEROINE Released just on November 7 via Japan’s veteran breakcore label, Lost Frog Productions , End . delivers a noticeably more atmospheric vibe this time. So, tagging it as atmospheric drum & bass makes perfect sense, while the “depressive” tag seems to apply only to the cover art. But is that really the case? As always, there are surprises when reviewing music—those unexpected moments that make certain tracks sound more intriguing than expected. The most prominent depressive elements appear in the sampled voice of an anime girl sounding shocked or weakened in...

Soundtrack: Dragica Kahlina - Ava Chapter 1 OST (2022)

78 / 100 A compelling dark ambient soundtrack , best enjoyed by fans of atmospheric and cosmic soundscapes rather than traditional game OST seekers. Ava is a mobile puzzle game inspired by tarot cards , developed by Stardust LLC . It was released in four chapters, rolled out periodically between February 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. While there’s a claim that the game won an award, it was never explained exactly where or what it won. For the soundtrack of Chapter 1, Stardust LLC collaborated with local, Zurich-based artist Dragica Kahlina . Ava Chapter 1 OST by Dragica Kahlina Although the game came out in 2020, Kahlina only uploaded the OST two years later on Bandcamp , using cover art from Level 11: The Crown that features Ava herself. The atmosphere of darkness and cosmic vastness is strongly felt throughout the eleven tracks, built primarily on dark ambient foundations and layered with various sounds: echoing stick-like noises...

Electronica/IDM: 4T Thieves - Humanoid (2018)

70 / 100 Humanoid is a compact and tastefully crafted slice of IDM-leaning electronica that blends futuristic elements without overwhelming the listener. I opened my December with an electronica release by 4T Thieves , an EP titled Humanoid , which came out back in February 2018. A brief profile and the project’s track record can be found on RYM or Last.fm , and it’s clear that this act has been active since the 90s, although only arriving on Bandcamp around 2018. Humanoid by 4T Thieves As the name suggests, Humanoid presents a modern environment tinged with a futuristic sci-fi atmosphere, supported by drum work leaning toward IDM and prominent synth/bass that paints the image of a future city gate on “ Elemental .” This is followed by “ Codex ,” which is given a special dose of classic IDM-style glitch effects , and the rest continues into “ The Looking Glass ,” which gives off a nighttime-shadow feel through its slightly dark synth melodies. “Band...

Search This Blog