Lykanthea x Savage Sister - Sundrowned

As a classically trained vocalist in the (traditional Indian) style of Carnatic music, there was always going to be something of the exotic in the songcraft of Lykanthea. But as a recent collaboration with fellow Chicago dream poppers, Savage Sister, shows - in this case, the exotic stretches to the otherwordly.

Spread across four tracks, new EP Sundrowned is a melting pot of rich atmospherics and delicate electronica, showcasing the instrumental alchemy of co-writer Michael Tenzer.

Launched amidst a backdrop of cavernous synths, opening track Glass Orchids displays both the fragility and the beauty of Lykanthea's immersive call, before stand-out track Naked brings heart-stopping warmth and a moment of genuine ambient indulgence.

The tempo is raised briefly as Orphan Child offers fractured memories of Cocteau Twins elegance, before closing track Diving nestles lush keyboards amongst fluttering percussion for a final reminder of the artistry at work.

Sundrowned is available digitally as a name-your-price download through Lykanthea's Bandcamp page.

Shortwave Broadcaster - Everything You Do Is Deja-Vu

Keith Canisius, perhaps best known for his work with Rumskib, is back with a new alter ego and a new release under the banner of Shortwave Broadcaster.

Splicing multi-layered electronica with rich ambient textures, Everything You Do Is Deja-Vu takes the experimental attitudes of the Berlin School pioneers and melds them with contemporary production techniques to produce a sound as abstract as it is absorbing.

Opening track Eternal Waves sees swathes of synth jostle for place on a deep ambient bedrock, whilst the dark symphony of Europa draws heavily on the influence of William Basinksi; cited by Canisius as an inspiration to the project.

Closing couplet, Recognition and Everything You Do... forge a complex myriad of samples and loops - the former a forgotten memory played out on a strummed guitar, the latter a cut and paste patchwork of delicate drone.

Everything You Do Is Deja-Vu is digitally released by Saint Marie Records on 10th September.

iamforest - Driven Out EP

iamforest is the electronic music project of Luke Hartle, a musician and producer from Vancouver, Canada.

Whilst early Bandcamp releases favoured vocal folktronica, Hartle's recent direction has seen him champion a brand of stylish electro that nestles somewhere between chillwave and lush, textured synthpop. And it's here that iamforest seems to have found its niche - firstly with 2012's sparkling, self-titled EP and latterly with the three-track follow up, Driven Out.

Set atop a subtle backdrop of crackling vinyl, the Driven out EP blurs blissed-out melodies with lo-fi beats to produce a work comparable with Washed Out and Chad Valley's Equatorial Ultravox. Its title track shimmers amidst Hartle's hushed vocals, sending fizzing synths over delicate guitar strokes; whilst Goliath (featured track, below) sends tumbling basslines through a wall of glo-fi magic.

The EP closes with rippling synths and fuzzy edged beats as Versions provides a further slice of blissed-out electro-pop.

Driven out EP is available as a name-your-price download through Bandcamp, and you can follow the artist on Tumblr, Facebook and Soundcloud.

Twin Oaks - Gravity (Vucari Remix)

Vucari is the alias of Nick James, an ambient producer hailing from Plymouth, MA.

Describing his work as "an outlet for my brain" James has slowly pieced together a catalogue of impressive downtempo electronica, available through his Soundcloud page.

Tracks such as Silently, Hope Endures and the mesmeric Wet Snow are hallmarked by featherlite percussion and a rush of delicate synths to produce blissed-out escapist etherea.

But it's Vucari's most recent work, a collaboration with Los Angeles folk pairing Twin Oaks, which has perhaps garnered the most attention. Indeed, the Vucari remix of Gravity - originally a melodic acoustic piece - has been transformed into a soaring chillwave imprint. Inviting comparisons with contemporaries such as Sun Glitters and Blackbird Blackbird; it's a masterclass in towering, electronic dream pop.

For the time being, Gravity is available for free download here. To discover more about Twin Oaks, visit their official website or Facebook pages.

Soul Glimpse - A Gasping Rose (My Breath)

Recollections Become Phantoms is the debut album from Soul Glimpse. Darkly ambient and fiercely introspective, the album is, according to its creator Austyn Sullivan "a glimpse into the human soul... an attempt to understand what lies within us all".

Using densely layered electronica, Sullivan aims to replicate "the overwhelming feelings that hurtful past experiences can create". And if all that sounds a bit intense, it's because, well, it is...

Deeply moving and intricately woven, Recollections Become Phantoms contains 14 tracks of heartbreaking beauty. From the elegant synergy of Enduring to the raw urgency of The Mirthless Grip of the Past, this is a complex work - as unsettling as it is absorbing.

But whilst it's easy to focus on themes of darkness and melancholy, nothing should detract from the fact that this is a singularly bewitching record. There's a subtlety and warmth to Fade & Breathe and a delicate disclosure of positivity in Revival. Sullivan's own quilted vocals (stunning on Desolation Melody) swoon in and out, creating an otherworldly ambience that conjures comparisons with Active Child's Pat Grossi.

Recollections Become Phantoms is a remarkable debut; assured, inventive and one of our favourite albums of the year - thus far. Nugazer's featured track is A Gasping Rose (My Breath); a brooding lamentation set to a backdrop of effervescent sonics and pulsing drum loops. You can buy this, together with the full album, on a 'name your price' download at Soul Glimpse's Bandcamp page.

A Gasping Rose (My Breath) from Soul Glimpse on Vimeo.

Sealight - Dead Letters

Dead Letters is the debut release from Franco-Australian three-piece, Sealight. Produced by Robin Guthrie and issued by Commission 45 (home to the wonderful Heligoland), it's little surprise that this is a five-track EP of some quality.

A highly reflective record, Dead Letters traces echoes of conversation through a lyric of familial memories and kindred correspondance. The result is an absorbing, highly personal collection of songs - deeply introspective but always warm.

Guthrie's hand is most in apparent in the title track, Dead Letters, where an organic finger-picked melody is immersed in a rush of tremolo and reverb. Glorious watercolour textures wash over the vocals of Sandra Rossini creating a tender, compelling piece of music.

Sealight produce songs of real craft. To label them ambient would somewhat miss the point. Take away the programming, the synth and the pedals and this is folk music in its purest form. It's delicate storytelling coupled with first-rate musicianship, and it's very, very good.

Sealight are Dave Oliffe (guitars, synths, drones), Marc-Aurèle Ngo Xuan (drums), Sandra Rossini (vocals, acoustic guitar, concertina).

Ulrich Schnauss - On My Own

Since the beginning of the last decade, Ulrich Schnauss has been something of a standard-bearer for ambient electronica. Over the years, his hallmark of richly-layered instrumentals and deep affection for the shoegaze genre has appeared in various guises, ranging from his celebrated solo work, to countless collaborations, DJ performances and high-profile remixes.

Schnauss first came to my attention way back in May 2003 when On My Own was included on a cover-mounted CD that came free with (the now sadly defunct) Manchester music magazine, Jockey Slut.

On My Own is a remarkable example of what can be achieved when a musician is brave enough to cross-pollinate two strikingly different genres of music. Here a waspish indie bass-hook is infused with gushing ambient textures, breathless vocals and a blurring of laser-guided bleeps... I've been meaning to post this for a while now, party because the song is fantastic, and partly because the video (a DIY job by a fan) is really rather good.

Click on the picture to see the video.