Spring is giving way to summer in these parts. The days are at their longest and will soon be at their hottest, though the sweltering torpor of August’s doldrums is still comfortably far away. That is the backdrop for a new musical journey through a group of new releases to accompany the slow drift into another Virginia summer featuring anthéne (Canada), Gallery Six (Japan), and UK-based artists Good Weather for an Airstrike, The Lonely Bell, Tides, and Will Samson.
anthéne – descendre
Bandcamp (LP/digital)
For even the most recent followers of the blog, Brad Deschamps’ anthéne project needs little introduction. For the better part of a decade now he has produced a prolific amount of beautiful ambient music that still manages resonate on an emotional level. That remains as true as ever on his latest work entitled descendre. The album’s title is a French word for “come down” or “descend”, a reference to the artist’s own struggles with “anxiety and the constant feeling of being heightened and overwhelmed”. While some artists approach this kind of theme by unsettling the listener, Brad’s approach here strikes an empathetic tone and is more likely to induce calmness and serenity as if soothing the troubled mind rather attempting to portray it. That makes this album a welcoming one indeed.
Descendre was released April 18, 2025 by the Germany-based Oscarson label on limited edition vinyl LP as well as digital & streaming. A very limited test press edition is also available. The album was mastered by Ian Hawgood and features artwork by John Mark Lapham.
Gallery Six – Kisetsu
Bandcamp (cassette/digital)
Hailing from Hiroshima, Japan, Hidekazu Imashige has been making ‘sound sketches’ by mixing drone sounds and field recordings for a number of years under the moniker of Gallery Six. His latest effort appears on Le Mont Analogue, an offshoot of the Dronarivm label focused on limited cassette tape editions. Entitled Kisetsu (or ‘seasons‘), it takes us on a peaceful journey inspired by the many words for seasons the Japanese have beyond spring, summer, fall, and winter – a quiet celebration of the wonder at the heart of the idea that “every day is a season, and at every moment it is changing.”
Kisetsu was released March 17, 2025, by Le Mont Analogue on cassette tape & digital and features a painting by Canadian artist Arthur Heming on the cover.
Good Weather for an Airstrike – suspended animation
Bandcamp (digital)
The latest album from Tom Honey‘s long-running Good Weather for an Airstrike project, suspended animation is a contemplative drone journey with two of the tracks written & produced in collaboration with Ben Tatlow, aka Antarctic Wastelands. Tom conceived GWFAA in 2009 to help alleviate suffering caused by tinnitus with the idea of creating sounds to help induce sleep. It is something he has mastered quite well as evidenced by the way he surehandedly guides the 10 tracks that comprise the record across a shimmering sea of rest and reflection.
Suspended animation was released digitally on June 13, 2025, by Echoes Blue Music and features artwork by Ben Tatlow.
The Lonely Bell – Impermanence, Unfolding
Bandcamp (digital)
Based on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Northern Hebrides, Ali Murray makes music under the name of The Lonely Bell that often feels as majestic and remote as the place where it is created. Impermanence, Unfolding is a long-form piece which he describes as “a sonic meditation on the transient nature of being”. Thirty-four minutes elapse on the clock, but you may barely notice as ethereal voicings and a haunting melody unfurl and undulate to create a sensation of suspended time and deep introspection.
Impermanence, Unfolding was released digitally by Dead Forest Records on January 2, 2025, and features artwork by Evgeny Vasillev Bazarov.
Tides – Where Her Flowers Still Bloom
Bandcamp (CD/digital) | Michael Scott Dawson
Tides is the project of multi-instrumentalist and photographer, Samuel Death who is originally from South East England and now resides in Aberdeenshire, Scotland where he finds inspiration for his music and photography. Where Her Flowers Still Bloom is presented to us as both a deeply personal exploration of memory, grief, and healing – written as a response to witnessing his mother’s battle with early-onset dementia – as well as a reflection on personal growth and transformation. These are themes we can see reflected in the poignant song titles, but even more importantly in the meticulous sound design and melancholic beauty woven into the music which makes it a moving listen.
Tides was released on May 17, 2025, by Whitelabrecs on vinyl-effect CD as well as digital download & streaming.
Will Samson – Songs of Beginning and Belonging
Bandcamp (LP/digital)
Dauw’s introduction to the newest album from UK-based artist Will Samson, the label reminds us that the path to the creation is not always an easy one for the artist, even for music as delicate and bucolic as we hear on Songs of Beginning and Belonging. The album is a reflection on his experience of feeling caught between being “too experimental” for some and “too indie” for others as well as a period of disillusionment with the music industry after a major indie record deal got derailed by the Covid pandemic.
The glowing optimism and uplifting beauty of opening track “I Will Sing Again Soon” is emblematic of the redirection of creative energy the music represents as Samson embarks on a sonic quest for “inner peace and renewal…driven by a desire to move past old wounds and start anew”. Recorded between November 2022 and May 2024 in the secluded location of Will’s former studio in Portugal, the album was created specifically for Dauw using analog instruments and a collection of tape machines giving it a lovely homespun quality that only adds to its charms.
Songs of Beginning and Belonging was released January 31, 2025, by the Dauw label on limited edition vinyl as well as digital download & streaming. The album was mastered by Taylor Deupree and features artwork by Eva Vermeiren and design by Jelle Martens.