We start with a timely song by the late Jóhan Jóhannsson, marked by an overwhelming sense of sadness, and composed for the soundtrack of a documentary that he filmed on the island of South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Light shimmers and electronic minimalism undercut 'Nebulous', a haunting song by London-based 12-piece vocal group Shards. The album is an astonishing exploration of the human voice and is worth an end-to-end listen. Read more about it here.

‍

The next two songs are taken from Substrata, an album recorded in 1997 by the Norwegian electronic musician Biosphere. With its cold and remote feel, it's a cinematic collection of dark, slightly melodic, and melancholic soundscapes.

With its repetitive pattern, this atmospheric song sends you on a journey deep into the mind, inviting you through its conscious balance of foreground and background to go exploring inside the sound.

‍

We continue with 3 songs from one of electronic music’s greatest pioneers, the legendary Suzanne Ciani (Oct 2021 mixtape). After an incredible career spanning forty years, Ciani’s accomplishments have become a benchmark when discussing the origins of musical synthesis.

In December 2019, after six years of sound experimentation, Lapsus Festival bid farewell to Barcelona’s Centre for Contemporary Culture. Its final event was entitled 'A Sonic Womb' and was dedicated to the musical roots of the synthesizer, with Suzanne Ciani headlining the night. The songs on this mixtape are taken from that performance.

She’s performing on a Buchla 200e synth, generating incredible tones, textures and electroacoustic abstractions.

A week ago, I hosted a listening session around the theme of VOICES. As I was going through the song selection process, I stumbled upon NYX, an all-female choir that aims to create immersive and euphoric experiences using drones and noise. 'Void' is their debut single.

Vladimir Ivkovic & Lena Willikens dropped this track halfway through a captivating 4-hour listening session in Berlin last Saturday. On this song, Ian Curtis' desperate plea for help (he took his life 2 months before the album was released) fell on deaf ears despite being audibly obvious. A beautifully haunting suicide note.

Clocking in at just under 10 minutes, 'Hanoi 6' by Unknown Mortal Orchestra is an hypnotic mix of psychedelic sounds and sax.

This epic song is a celebration of the human voice and its ability to act as an instrument merging seamlessly with strings and percussions.

Argentinian Juana Molina’s original songwriting blends folk with electronica and experimental pop. Listen to her live rendition of 'Eras' at a 2020 concert in Mexico.

Nik Bärtsch’s jams are simply out of this world. His music focuses on “interlocking rhythmic development, in which band members shift in and out as soloists and melodic leads, while the rest weave together tightly knit, percussive structures that propel the pieces forward”. 'Modul 45' definitely hit a chord, so did 'Module 22' and 'Module 47'. If you're into very long, multi-layered rule-bending jams, then this is for you.

On 'Fin De L'Affaire', one of the most underrated musicians of the bop era soothes us with his tenor saxophone.

Alfa Mist’s reworking of the classic Eddie Henderson jazz fusion track 'Galaxy' takes us to a deeper, bass-heavy place. This song is part of Blue Note Re:imagined, a collection of Blue Note tracks reinterpreted by rising UK artists.

Touches of psychedelic rock with Heater’s 'Gum Drop', perhaps the album's sweetest treat. A sound that grows more cavernous at every turn, tethered to reality only by the siren sound of the saxophone.

Mellifluous mix of jazz, krautrock, grooves and Pink Floy influences on this carefree song by Melbourne-based band Mildlife.

Next is a feel-good, uplifting song based on an essay written in 1997 as a hypothetical commencement speech. Give this one a couple of listens.

This 17-min improvisation was performed at the Everness Festival and deserves to be experienced while lying on your bed in darkness, right before going to sleep.

We continue with a gracious piece of low-tempo electronica by Martin Roth.

And conclude with 'Gracias a la Vida', a song by the Chilean musician Violeta Parra, released on the last album she published before committing suicide. A delicate ode to life and gratitude.