We start with the poetic and evocative 'Spinning Song', the intro track to Idiot Prayer, Nick Cave’s latest album performed alone in the deserted concert hall of London’s Alexandra Palace.

Soft ambient sounds follow on 'The Light' by Abfahrt Hinwil, a German duo known for their emotional, sad and uplifting frequencies.

Berlin-based Robert Henke takes us on an aural journey with brilliant sound design and fantastic granular action. The whole album is wonderful. Carefully tailored sounds, a world in itself.

Next is 'Aralkum' by composer and violonist Galya Wisengalieva, released a couple of weeks ago on Berlin Atonal’s More Light compilation. It's taken from her album of the same title, a poignant work that sheds light on the shrinking of the Aral sea, one of the worst environmental disasters on the planet.

We continue with the one and only Nils Frahm (Sept 21 / Dec 21 / Jun 22 / Oct 22 mixtapes). Following the announcement of his new live album and concert film, he just shared a first excerpt titled 'Fundamental Values' (check out the video too).

A month ago, post-industrial pioneer Drew McDowall released Agalma, a liturgical and devotional body of work featuring an impressive spectrum of collaborators. On 'Agalma II' (a song McDowall describes as a lament for the lost), Italian synthesist Caterina Barbieri drags us gracefully into a whirlpool of melancholy.

Sote’s distorted and abstract sounds fuse Persian classical traditions with electro-acoustic arrangements. Absurd and dazzling, 'Modality Transporter' is a great testament to the originality of his synthetic soundscapes.

We take a very short break with this interlude from Crepuscule Compilation Tracks, Vol. 1, one of the many great compilations by Les Disques du Crepuscule. The independent label was founded in Brussels in 1980 and boasts a cosmopolitan roster of excellent musicians. Check out their catalog here.

Mana’s unpredictable sonic compositions whip us into a frenzy. Extreme agitation, derangement, rage, wild excitement? What do you feel listening to this one?

Synth drifts, scrambled sound collages and Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser on Oneohtrix Point Never’s latest album.

The defunct duo of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington (Apr 2022 / Aug 2022 / Oct 2022 mixtapes) recently made an unexpected reappearance on social media and dropped a 2014 archival recording from a live performance in Belgium, one of their final shows together. Listen to this incredible 17-minute extended version of 'Freak, Go Home' by DARKSIDE.

Next is the futuristic and cinematic 'Without Bodies' by Paul Jebanassam and Roly Poter (Nov 2022 mixtape), 2 contemporary composers who recently united under ALTAR to merge their technical and creative abilities.

A second interlude (from the same compilation) concludes the first chapter of the mixtape. From this point onwards, we leave the electronic realm and transition to different sounds.

After a dozen songs devoid of vocals, legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz soothes us with her voice on 'Yalla Tenam Reema'.

Mystic and visionary Terry Callier picks it up again with smokey and entrancing folk-jazz on 'Lazarus Man'.

Cranking it up a notch, Sweedish Anna Von Hausswolff (Jan 2022 mixtape) opens the floodgates and unleashes her extraordinary vocal range on us. Black metal atmosphere, sorcery and eeriness on this superb track taken from her 2018 album Dead Magic.

We start cooling down with a light oldie from Bloodstone, an American R&B, soul, and funk group that was most popular in the 1970s / early 1980s.

A musician needing no introduction, Nina Simone (Jul 2022 mixtape) knew how to pour emotional depth into almost every song she ever sang. This is her soul-stirring rendition of 'Everything Must Change'.

Ethereal and haunting 'Subterraneans' by David Bowie, a piece of unparalleled nocturnal beauty.

“We’d run out of material. And we didn’t want to put a cover tune on our first album. So we were left with gap; we needed another seven to nine minutes. So once we’d recorded the basic track [the front section, with the vocals], Mike, Robert and I went back into the studio, set the tape rolling and just improvised for about 10 minutes. And I think it’s alright." - Ian McDonald

We end with a mesmerizing, undulating track by Julia Gjertsen and Nico Rosenberg.