#NovAudit

Cover art for the benefit compilation ‘All About HER’. A stylised digital image suggesting arches supported on tall pillars, coloured red and green, on a deep blue background.

#NovAudit
Day 30 and last

Various Artists, ‘All About HER’ (2023)

As is now becoming traditional, we end with an epic (3 hours+ in this case) fundraiser compilation, this one in support of Hollow Earth Radio in Seattle. Featuring a who’s who of the electronic scene from both sides of the pond.

Front cover of the book-bound CD edition of ‘Mote’

Cover of the booklet inside the CD edition of ‘Mote’

‘Mote’ CD, inside the deluxe book-bound edition.

Page from the booklet of the CD edition of ‘Mote’ by Avi C Engel, showing the album credits.

#NovAudit
Day 29
Avi C Engel, ‘Mote’ (2025)

Eight gorgeous, atmospheric songs from this Canadian artist released on folk and folk-adjacent UK label, Fenny Compton. There are only 2 of these elegant book-bound CDs left as I type, and a few regular CDs (link: fennycompton.bandcamp.com/album/fc8-mote)

Cover art for سماع. An aerial photo of a city freeway system with skyscrapers in the background.

#NovAudit
Day 28

سماع [Sama'a] (Audition)
by أحمد [Ahmed]
(2025)
Free jazz quartet who re-imagine the music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik. This is their latest LP, released on Cafe Oto’s in-house OTOROKU label. Four long improvisations that focus on simple elements: an arabic scale or just 3 notes repeated.

Pack shot of Mücha 12”: front cover of sleeve, a painting by Argentine artist Marco Ortolan; black vinyl record.

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Day 27
Mücha, “Skin”/“You Make Me Go Under” (2025)

Just in under the wire today, but it’s a short one: a 12” EP from Amanda Butterworth’s Mücha alias, released on Frequency Domain. Two new tracks, plus remixes by Surgeon and Datasette. Came out in March but I bought my copy last month.

Cover art of ‘Movements of a Cloud’. A digital representation of clouds with a formation of six birds flying across them.

#NovAudit
Day 26
Minimal Drone GRL and Belial Pilgrim, ‘Movements of a Cloud’ (2022)

Collab between Canadian sound sculptor & US electronic producer. The first two parts remind me of the ambient side of 808 State. But then huge strings take the piece more in the vein of US composers like John Adams

Pack shot of Ecstasy, Passion & Pain’s self titled LP, released on Pye International Records in 1974: front cover of sleeve (the group are assembled, some seated some standing, in a basement - dungeon? - dressed formally; there are candles and gold chains strewn around, including some chains around the wrists of the seated members); black vinyl LP.

#NovAudit
Day 25
Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, s/t (1974)

Soul/disco sextet led by Barbara Roy who also wrote most of this, their only LP. Got this cheap but crackly copy at Flashback almost exactly a year ago while hunting for VinylSanta goodies. Which reminds me, better get on with this year’s hunt 😬

Cover art of ‘Fix Your Hearts’. A young woman in a launderette.

‘Fix Your Hearts’ : CD and the inside of its gatefold card wallet, showing the track listing and credits.

#NovAudit
Day 24
Jilk, ‘Fix Your Hearts’ (2025)

“It started with a focus on 60s/70s french pop. Three, four chords. Verses, choruses. The collective's blend of post-rock, glitchy electronica and ambient house pulled and mutated those ideas, forming them into one of their most striking releases yet”

#NovAudit
Day 23
Korb, ‘Korb III’ (2022)

Dreamlord Recordings’ acts - and there seems to be membership overlap across a few of them- mine the catalogue of 1970s Kosmische and synth-tinged psychedelia for inspiration. The results can be mixed, but Korb is probably the best variant of the core idea.

Pack shot of the 2021 LP release of La Bête Noire. This is the Jean-Claude Vannier score to a 1983 film by Patrick Chaput. Coupled with a reconstruction (from reference tapes and demos) of the orchestral music from Robert Benayoun’s film ‘Paris n’existe pas’ (1968, score credited to Vannier and Serge Gainsbourg). Front cover of sleeve (a large fly approaches a blood spattered red rose), vinyl (inside a black inner sleeve), booklet (back cover).

#NovAudit
Day 22
Jean-Claude Vannier, ‘La Bête Noire’ OST (1983) c/w music from ‘Paris n’existe pas’ (1968)

Vinyl buy from Jelly Records of Clapton in August. Two film scores from the Vannier archive made available for the first time in 2021 by Finders Keepers Records. Came with 16 page booklet.

Cover art of Suffocating Repetition’. A black and white image of a human head and shoulders. The lower half of the face and the neck are distorted, overlaid with a fragmented collage giving the overall impression of decay.

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Day 21
Terminal 11, ‘Suffocating Repetition’ (2024)

Five tracks, initially percussive and busy but which gradually open up and allow in melody. The artist describes the album as an opportunity to question his aversion to repetition, just when Covid-driven WFH had created unwanted routine.

Steve Reich, ‘Drumming’. CD and its slipcase.

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Day 20
Steve Reich and Musicians, ‘Drumming’

Disc 3 of Nonesuch ‘Collected Works’ CD 💿 box set, a 🎁 for my last b’day from @robertbaldock.bsky.social which I’m slowly getting through. This version recorded 1987. I’m about to compare it with the Ictus + Synergy Vocals recording from 2002.

Cover art for ‘Rarities’ by Enofa. An arrangement of photographs including trees, plants and chess pieces. The overall colour scheme is earth tones.

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Day 19
Enofa, ‘Rarities’ (2024)

A two-hour+ compilation of Imogen Hayley Baker’s music released (under various names) in the previous 20 years and then lost to the ether. Ranges widely across ‘dance’/‘electronic’ genres, but there’s a grittiness that unifies. The continuous mix also helps

Pack shot of ‘In A Fugue State’; front cover of sleeve + black vinyl LP

#NovAudit
Day 18
Joe Harvey-Whyte and Paul Cousins, ‘In A Fugue State’ (2025)

LP released a few weeks ago on @nonemorerecords.bsky.social - pedal steel and some electric guitar fed into Cousins’ reel-to-reel tape loop set up, then morphed into dreamy soundscapes. Exceptionally beautiful.

Cover art of ‘State 48+’: a monochrome photo of 3 humans standing over a dolphin possibly placed on a gurney (i.e. out of the water). The recording artist’s logo is placed above the photograph.

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Day 17
Lookout Mountain Laboratory, ‘Initial Report’ / ‘State 48+’ (2024)

New-ish alias of Jonathan Sharp. 5 EPs so far. From the sounds & visuals you might think the project is about aliens, but closer inspection reveals it relates more to inner space, consciousness and metaprogramming.

Pack shot of the cassette edition of ‘Folklore’ by Ramirez, aka French synthesist Denis Violet: J-card (a digital graphic design in black, white and dark green on a lime green background); cassette shell (left half is white, right half is black)

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Day 16
Ramirez, ‘Folklore’ (2025)

A 2nd tape on Astra Solaria Recordings in this series. 6 lengthy (ca. 10mins each) synth jams based around short, repeating sequences. I really liked “Borders”: starts jazzy and ends almost like a raga.

Thanks DJ Bongo Boy for supplying the digital files

Front cover art of ‘Consciousness Program’. A hazy, close up shot of some silver spherical objects that reflect a bright, golden light source. In some of the spheres you can just make out a reflection of the head and torso of a man.

#NovAudit
Day 15
Denis Wize, ‘Consciousness Program’ (1980; remastered by the artist & reissued 2002)

Lo-fi sound collage, ambient synth, sitar & dub. Occasionally he sings. Splashes of rhythm. Think Shuggie Otis but weirder. True outsider music. Love it. Can’t remember how I came to acquire this…

Pack shot of the CD 💿 edition of ‘Memorial Waterslides’: sleeve, disc, foldout poster and hype sticker

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Day 14
MEMORIALS, ‘Memorial Waterslides’ (2024)

CD found in a Fopp sale rack last month. The duo’s debut proper tho’ there was a double LP & tape of film-related music before this. The motorik beat of the opener is a feint; it soon veers into jazz skronk, psychedelia and even torch song.

Cover art to part 3 of ‘Spiritual Ascension’ by m e m o r y メモリー. A fuzzy shot of a Japanese woman dressed all in white, possibly sitting in a white rowboat. In the background we see trees and plants reflected in open water.

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Day 13
m e m o r y メモリー, “スピリチュアルアセンション (Spiritual Ascension)” (2021-22)

From the latest arrival to one of the oldest unplayed things in my digital library: a trilogy of albums by a mysterious US-based producer, known mainly for slushwave tho’ this is more ambient/naturewave in style …

‘Melodies’ by onepointwo. Vinyl edition. LP in “disco bag” style sleeve.

Melodies’ by onepointwo: rear of sleeve of the vinyl edition

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Day 12
onepointwo, ‘Melodies’ (2025)

Received today! Advance copy of a new LP by this Greek electronic musician (not even available for preorder yet so I’m just showing off innit). At the more ambient end of what he does. And yes, melodic.

Released at the end of the month on Subexotic.

Cover art for ‘Lautner’ by Bendu. A balsawood model of a house on stilts standing on a fake hilltop, set artfully against a backdrop drop of a golden sun and architectural drawings. (John Lautner is a celebrated Los Angeles architect; the album is a “sort of” homage to him.)

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Day 11
Bendu, ‘Lautner’ (2025)

More electronics from the USA. Melodic, but I like the use of distortion, reverb and sampled voices (used as additional texture) that give the impression each track is being beamed down from an orbiting satellite. A digital purchase but there is 1 CD left 🔗⬇️

Pack shot of the cassette edition of ‘A Disorganized Body’ released on the French label Astra Solaria Recordings. L-R: outer jacket, lime green cassette tape, large button badge resting on a transparent plastic tape case, J-card inner with track list, credits, etc printed on it.

#NovAudit
Day 10
Future Children, ‘A Disorganized Body’ (2025)

Soundtrack by US duo to a short film about the strange case of a 19th century Frenchwoman who claimed to be only skin & bones. The music varies wildly in style, from lyrical pop to ghostly synth jams overlaid with operatic female voice.

Cover art of ‘Milton Keynes Shopping Trip’: the top of ‘The Point’ cinema complex against a clear blue sky.

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Day 9
Andrew Spackman, ‘Milton Keynes Shopping Trip’ (2024)

Excoriating noise featuring saxophone, keys and beats (by turn, skittish and thunderous), maybe some guitar too? Rings the changes with these different elements in a very satisfying way. Not an easy listen but worth the effort.

Pack shot of the LP ‘Electric Element’ by Karin Krog & John Surman with Ben Surman. Front of sleeve (a double shot of an electric light bulb, with the two shots overlapping slightly against a hazy blue and yellow background); black vinyl LP with multicoloured label (possibly a processed version of the cover art).

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Day 8
Surman + Krog, ‘Electric Element’ (2025)
As I was at Jonny T’s groovy fayre earlier, today seems a good day to finally give this Trunk Records LP a spin. Processed voice & bass clarinets + keys/electronics. Recorded in 2013 but unreleased til now. Bought new in Hackney, end of August

Cover art for ‘Regen’ by Oceanographer. A psychedelic (or maybe aquatic) splurge of pink, blue and orange, studded with points of bright light.

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Day 7
Oceanographer, ‘Regen’ (2025)

Shimmering electronics from this Springfield, MO based producer. Soft pulses supporting bright tone-splashes and ambient wash. I paid a whole $1 for the digital album back in March.

Front cover of the sleeve to Time’s Encomium (1969) an LP released on Nonsuch. A bit of futuristic-looking, spacey graphic art on the left, half of the composer’s sleeve notes about the composition on the right.

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Day 6
Charles Wuorinen, ‘Time’s Encomium for synthesized & processed synthesized sound’

Bleep, bloop! Realised using mainly the RCA synth, completed & first released in 1969. This is the first UK pressing from ca.1970. Instagram sez I picked this up s/h almost exactly 1 year ago (whoops)

Cover art of ‘Manville Heights’. A tasteful, framed drawing in the Japanese style using a lot of pink, light blue and turquoise. What looks like a backdrop of rolling hills is overlaid with blobs of a viscous liquid, maybe oil. In turn this image is overlaid with white-coloured sprigs of leafy grass that extend into the frame and also throw shadows onto the backdrop.

#NovAudit
Day 5
Manville Heights, s/t (2016)

Side project of the artist who more usually records as Yves Malone (tho’ that’s just two of the many pseudonyms he makes music under). This is melodic electronica made with both hardware and software - including a vocaloid-esque program on a few tracks.

Pack shot for Sigrid’s ‘How To Let Go’: front of outer sleeve (the artist, in a long red dress, stands atop a silver saloon car parked incongruously in the slopes of a mountain region); black vinyl with a yellow label; inner sleeve (mostly obscured).

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Day 4
Sigrid, ‘How To Let Go’ (2022)

Second LP from this Norwegian pop singer-songwriter I’m rather partial to. A moodier affair than either her debut, or the new one released a couple of weeks back. But the singing is first rate. Got this online, new, from an Edinburgh shop last year.

Cover art for the compilation ‘Été infini’. A colourful painting of a river or harbour; the shore is lined with buildings of a small town and the sky is variously orange, yellow, pink and blue, suggesting a summer sunset. These colours are reflected in the water too.

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Day 3
Various, ‘Été infini’ (2025)

An unseasonal pick today but whatever.

For 12 years now, French label La Souterraine has promoted new francophone indie, synthpop, rap and chanson. With all digital releases free or nominally priced. This themed comp is drawn from the label’s catalogue

Front sleeve and vinyl for the 1971 self-titled debut LP by The Undisputed Truth. Three people sit cross-legged in the woods around what appears to be a large candle. Their eyes are fixed on its bright flame.

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Day 2
The Undisputed Truth - s/t (1971)

Have a ‘best of’ on CD including tracks from this, but I’ve never owned the original LP. Trippy goodness all the way through.

Bought at the Epping record fair last weekend. Sleeve a bit battered & vinyl needs a clean. Dutch pressing acc. to discogs

Cover art of The MLFS’s ‘Astra Shambotica (Pay No More Than 99p)’. Five pairs of overlapping, primary-coloured semi circles, arranged vertically on a light blue background.

#NovAudit
A sequel to #SeptAudit : playing unheard albums in my collection (digital & physical)

Day 1
The Music Liberation Front Sweden, ‘Astra Shambotica (Pay No More Than 99p)’ (2025)

Don’t think I paid even 99p for this; the artist likely sent me a code as it’s now behind a subscriber paywall.