Bottenvikens Silverkyrka: Listening and dancing together to techno music is one of the more spiritually fulfilling things

It's always super exciting to present local artists who haven't conquered the world yet but got all the potential to take over one day. Hailing from Northern Sweden, Ludvig Widman and Andréas Brännström go under the name of Bottenvikens Silverkyrka and preach some quirky acid techno with synths and drum machines. In order to give you a proper introduction, we had a chat with the energetic duo who also put together a trippy mix for your listening pleasures.

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Roll The Dice: Somebody just happy-go-lucky laying in a swimming pool

Swedish duo Roll The Dice, consisting of Peder Mannerfelt and Malcolm Pardon, recently released their 4th full-length record 'Born to Ruin' on The New Black. Together they take their aesthetic to a whole new level, stripped to the bone, spiced up with jazz and curious electronics. We met them to chat about everything you wanted to know about the new record but didn't dare to ask.

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Ametsub: There is so much music that uses glitchy piano as the main resource, so I am staying away from that

Only few musicians can transit through the music scene like Ametsub has done over the last 10 years. We spoke to him about the early stages of his career in Tokyo, the importance of challenging conformity, the Arctic Circle as a main aesthetic resource, his relationship with international audiences in live performances, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and his new instrument called Giant Mbira.

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Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri: Feelings are engraved in the groove of the vinyl

Kompakt & Pop Ambient legend Leandro Fresco teamed up for the first time with our favourite Rafael Anton Irisarri (Room40, Ghostly) for a ravishing album 'La Equidistancia' on A Strangely Isolated Place. We spoke to the ambient giants about their first collaborative record, working together while being thousands of miles away and letting go of controlling everything.

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Yves De Mey: The only thing that could help is that people start buying music again

Antwerp-based producer Yves De Mey has his roots in sound design and scoring for performing arts, film and installations. He released on Line, Sandwell District, Opal Tapes and Modal Analysis. He is also one half of Sendai with Peter Van Hoesen. His main tools are an ever-growing modular analog rig and some vintage synths, combined with an avid interest in audio manipulation. We had a chat with Yves about synths, inspirations, Sendai, the Belgian music scene and the Intonal Festival, where he recently performed both solo and with Sendai.

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INTONAL 2017: Interview with Finn of Tomland

There is no Intonal Festival without Finn Albertsson aka Finn of Tomland. He's been an electronic/dub/experimental DJ since 1994 and if someone knows how to put together a proper DJ set, he's the man. He also runs his own label SonuoS, so by reading our special feature you are not only going to get an in-depth interview with the legendary Finn and some proper insights into Intonal but also a special track 'Woot!' by A.O.T played at 33rpm – courtesy of SonuoS.

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Henning Schmiedt & Christoph Berg: All thoughts about concepts and ideas have to come to an end when you finally play music

Henning Schmiedt and Christoph Berg recently teamed up for a collaborative release on flau. 'bei' was released 14th April and it's not only an intimate and versatile record with full of playful surprises but also the celebration of trust and open-mindedness. We had a chat about their improvisational collaboration, challenges, self-discovery and future plans.

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Talent Bazaar: József Iszlai

Let's visit Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), a city we never really mentioned before. Here, in the heart of Transylvania, lives József Iszlai, a young man who's been working with sound design for more than 9 years. One of his latest projects entitled ‘Our Environment Remixed’ was born from a really exciting concept. He created different types of electronic music from field recordings he's captured in Cluj-Napoca. We figured this was the perfect timing for a chat with him, to catch a glimpse of how things are done in this fairly unknown corner of Europe.

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Alec Empire: I don’t like trial and error stuff. Maybe I am too German when it comes to that.

Alec Empire (Atari Teenage Riot, Mille Plateaux) scored the German/French full-length motion picture 'Volt', directed by Tarek Ehlail. The film premiered in the German theaters in the beginning of the month, and now Dependent Records has released the soundtrack to live its own life. We had a little chat with Alec about scoring this rather fascinating piece of art and everything that lies beyond. You can also listen to one of the most epic tracks from the album.

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Marcus Fjellström: The gray area between the acoustic and the electronic is my favourite field to play around in

We're back in business! So is Swedish composer Marcus Fjellström who resurrected after a six-years-long absence on Miasmah with an eerie new record 'Skelektikon'. We figured it was the perfect timing to chat with him about all the skeletons in his closet – all you need to know about the new record, how to avoid album titles Rammstein would use, the perks of being a DIY filmmaker and the latest adventures of moving to London to score an AMC thriller series.

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Blessed Initiative: The album for me is somewhere between pride and embarrassment

Yair Elazar Glotman does not need an introduction. However, his new project Blessed Initiative might. As a singular project, the self-titled 'Blessed Initiative' was released in November on Subtext Recordings. We spoke to Yair about this fascinating, dissonant trip he took with this new record and he also made a guest mix for us.

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Franz Kirmann: Music has become playlist material, it completely changes the artistic value

Franz Kirmann​ mainly works with Denovali​ releasing music under his own name and with Piano Interrupted​. We spoke to him about the origins of his last album 'Elysian Park', how he got tired of his own music and how we’re constantly bombarded by music and how difficult filtering becomes these days. Franz is a great storyteller not just as a musician but also when it comes to speaking his mind.

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Havenaire: If I would’ve released Tremolo on my own I would’ve had a hard time reaching out

Havenaire is John Roger Olsson from Stockholm, Sweden. He's released his debut tape 'Tremolo' on Constellation Tatsu earlier this year – an album that would definitely need more attention. For this reason, we spoke to the Swedish musician about his new electronic project and we're also happy to premiere four videos that accompany four tracks from the album, made by Magnus Dahlbäck.

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FORMA: We specifically asked for a rotting tomato with an eyeball

FORMA consist of improvisational synth explorers Mark Dwinell, John Also Bennett and George Bennett. The Brooklyn-based experimental group released two full-length records on Spectrum Spools (2011-2012). This year they found a new home on Kranky and in September they returned with their long-awaited third album 'Physicalist'. We spoke to the guys about the new record, their background and inspiration, side projects, rotting tomatoes and much more. They also made a mind-blowing guest mix that sure is going to take you to places you never expected to visit.

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Molnbär av John: My own parallel universe where I can escape all this cruel darkness

Molnbär av John is the moniker of John Henriksson from Sweden who just released his debut full-length album 'The End' on the excellent flau label. Sounds from another era, melodies and textures from the cloudy horizon, organic and romantic experimental compositions, easy listening jazzy undertones. We spoke about early influences, creative friends, vintage dandy clothes, his own label Tona Serenad, the problematic Stockholm music scene and we've also got an exclusive Varg (Northern Electronics / Posh Isolation) remix to share with you.

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Robert Curgenven: Recording one note at a time – across 9 countries and 15 locations

Robert Curgenven is an Ireland-based Australian composer using sound as a physical field of perception. His work encourages the listeners to consider their physical experience of sound. For instance for his latest project 'Climata', which was released as an album on Dragon's Eye Recordings, he recorded what could be called the audible movement of the air – he made site-specific recordings across 9 countries in 15 of James Turrell’s Skyspaces, which resulted in an archive over 200 individual recordings. After completing this tremendous work, we thought it was time to talk to Robert about these mysterious Skyspaces and his experiences all over the world.

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Pierce Warnecke: Certain people have no idea I compose music

Pierce Warnecke has recently released his solo debut 'Memory Fragments' on Lawrence English's Room40, so we thought it was time to have a chat with this exciting upcoming artist. Luckily, he visited the EMS studios in Stockholm, so we had a chance to talk about his background, all his different ongoing projects and about feeling European as an American. Also, check out the mesmerising video for 'Remnants Remembered' from the album.

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Ben Lukas Boysen: To feel the connection between a musician and his instrument is such a wonderful and inimitable thing

Ben Lukas Boysen is back with a spellbinding new album on Erased Tapes Records. 'Spells' was released on the 10th of June and if there's such a thing as a good excuse to make another interview with the German wunderkind, this is definitely it. Also, we asked him to prepare his second mix for Sounds Of A Tired City – some things you just cannot get enough of.

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Damaskin: Ode to Eliane Radigue

Really not much is known about Damaskin, the mysterious Belgium-based techno producer who's also known as Seraphim Rytm. He's extremely skilled in the world of harsh industrial techno, but he's not a stranger when it comes to creating ambient-leaning sounds either. He's been doing numerous self-releases but he's recently appeared on labels like Silent Season, Noiztank, New Body and New York Haunted, finally gaining some recognition. However, we think that he deserves to be even more in the spotlight! We chatted to him briefly and he also recorded a rather special live composition, which is an homage to our all-time favourite Eliane Radigue.

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Eric Holm: Diving in snow, ice, helmets… there was no way I wasn’t going to do that!

Eric Holm is back with his second album entitled 'Barotrauma', which was recorded in the Nordic fjords south of Oslo while he was training at the Norwegian School of Commercial diving. A totally different world, different means of recording and different experiences but somewhat of the same atmosphere as in 'Andøya' when it comes to the end results. We decided it was time to catch up with Eric again to talk about these otherworldly experiences and we are also proud to premiere a piece called 'Enceladus' from the upcoming album. 'Barotrauma' will be released on Subtext on 24th June.

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Merrin Karras: The beauty of music is that it’s forever

Producing electronic music since 2002, Irish-born Berlin-based Brendan Gregoriy is more widely known for his distinctive house and techno productions as Chymera. This might change with his new alias Merrin Karras and his debut record on A Strangely Isolated Place, which is an astonishing journey to the deepest depths of ambient music. Inspired by musicians like Klaus Schulze, Biosphere or Abul Mogard, 'Apex' is a timeless homage to the early pioneers of music and a love letter to the synthesiser. We chatted about his early inspirations and were also curious to know some more about his new alias and the new album, which will be released on 29th July.

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Spheruleus: making music available, without worrying about what will ‘sell’

Spheruleus is UK-based artist Harry Towell. His work has been released on various labels such as Under The Spire, Hibernate, Home Normal, Eilean Rec. and Time Released Sound. He also runs the Audio Gourmet netlabel (which also used to be a blog once upon a time), Tessellate Recordings and recently launched the highly promising whitelabrecs. Sometimes he still blogs over at Irregular Crates. We have no idea how come he had some time to prepare a rather special vinyl-only ambient mix for Sounds Of A Tired City, but let him tell us what he's been up to these days.

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Pär Grindvik: I never sleep and always work

Pär Grindvik has been a central figure in the Swedish electronic music scene since the 90's, he has released music on numerous electronic labels. In 2002 he founded Stockholm LTD, which started out as an outlet for timeless electronic music and has since developed into a trademark for quality electronic music from a wide range of international artists. Even though he has released dozens of EPs and played in the best clubs in the world, the time for a full-length release has come just now. 'Isle of Real' will be released on Stockholm LTD on May 24. We had the pleasure of chatting to Pär about the Swedish music scene back in the days, his new album and his collaboration with Peder Mannerfelt, who's one of the most exciting characters in Swedish electronic music these days. We even asked Peder to tell us how studio life looks like with Pär.

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Gidge: We probably have ourselves to blame for not being more well-known in Sweden

Gidge are Ludvig Stolterman and Jonatan Nilsson, an electronic duo from Umeå, Sweden. After their debut record 'Autumn Bells' on Atomnation they just released their second LP 'Lulin'. However, this is not just a record: it’s a collaboration between Gidge, the Lampray film production company and NORR arts platform. They wanted to break the traditional pattern of creating a music video for the pieces, therefore they treated the visuals as individual entity, which are separated from the music, yet strongly connected. We spoke to Ludvig and Jonatan about Gidge, Umeå and 'Lulin', Read, watch and listen!

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INTONAL Experimental Music Festival 2016 – Interview with Ulf Eriksson

In case you missed it last year, we are going to introduce a festival that for some reason didn't make it to the hyped 'festivals you should attend in April' lists. However, you really should! Showcasing a wide range of experimental music from abstract sound experiments to new and inspiring electronic dance music, Intonal is the perfect place for festivalgoers who prefer an intense but also a more intimate sound experience. You must be wondering about the line-up... how about Morton Subotnick, James Holden, Stephen O'Malley, TM404, Peder Mannerfelt, LCC, Kara-Lis Coverdale and Thomas Ankersmit just to name a few?

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Julia Kent & Sontag Shogun: Scandinavian Tour

Canadian cellist and composer Julia Kent and US/Canadian piano and electronics trio Sontag Shogun (Ian Temple, piano; Jeremy Young, tapes, oscillators, piezo mics; Jesse Perlstein, laptop, field recordings) just started their Scandinavian Spring tour. They will be sharing the stage to promote Julia's recent album 'Asperities' and to present some upcoming material from Sontag Shogun. They will be performing in Denmark and more extensively in Sweden during these upcoming days. We thought we would introduce them a bit, so you can make sure not to miss their concerts if you live in the area!

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Dalhous: Acceptance is Reality

"Information to follow." This is all we can read on the Blackest Ever Black website about Marc Dall's Dalhous project. The lack of information cannot be blamed on a lazy webmaster but rather on the fact that Marc prefers to keep things private and lets his music speak for himself. However, the Edinburgh-based artist has a lot say, since his third full-length album – and possibly the most personal one so far – entitled 'The Composite Moods Collection Vol.1: House Number 44' will be released today, 11 March on Blackest Ever Black. We managed to break the silence and asked Marc to talk a little bit about the album, which is the first part of a trilogy that roughly revolves around the idea of an individual suffering from mental disorder. Read on and get a taste of the new record as well!

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Tor Lundvall: I don’t value my work based on how others value it

As we mentioned earlier, we had the greatest possible pleasure to talk to the artist behind one of the best ambient albums last year. This would be 'The Park' (released on Dais Records) and its creator, the American painter and musician Tor Lundvall. He's been active in the music scene for around two decades now, however he never promotes his music violently... he is not even active on social media, he prefers to stay in the background and let his art speak for himself. Let's stop the music for a second and give some space for his thoughts on his influences, nature, self-promotion, solitude and Benoît Pioulard.

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worriedaboutsatan: We’re hard people to tame, and we really don’t like being told what to do

worriedaboutsatan are an electronic music duo from Manchester, UK that formed in 2006 in Leeds by Gavin Miller and Tom Ragsdale. Their debut album 'Arrivals' was released in 2009 – a record which won much critical acclaim for its slow motion atmospherics and dark, techno infused electronica. 'Even Temper' marks the first full length since their 2009 debut. Taking cues from techno, krautrock, drone and even '70s prog rock, the album spans a wide range of sounds, all with an underlying thread and intensity. We spoke to Gavin and Tom about their influences and the adventurous life of worriedaboutsatan... and they even prepared a guest mix including delicacies by Edith Progue, Krzysztof Penderecki, Brian Eno, Pendle Coven, Jeff Mills and many others!

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Wilted Woman: My idea of the perfect set up was having as many shitty effect pedals as possible

Eel Burn aka Wilted Woman is a musician and composer focusing on rhythmic electronic music with elements reaching from Berliner Schule to industrial and musique concrète. We had the pleasure to chat with this creative lady before her visit in Stockholm for the Sound of Stockholm festival. If you have missed the show, now you can even listen to her set which was recorded during her performance in Fylkingen... and if that would not be enough, as a bonus she even prepared a guest mix for us!

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Andrea Belfi: I like hypnotic and challenging acoustic experiences, where people can just sit and float

Andrea Belfi has a profound connection with Sweden, his last album 'Natura Morta' was partly recorded at Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm and now he will be a vital part of celebrating 15 years of Room40 just a few steps away from the very same studio. We spoke to Andrea about his influences and recent interests, Stockholm, synthesizers and a special instrument called trimba. He even prepared a guest mix featuring Peder Mannerfelt, Mike Cooper and Eric Thielemans just to name a few.

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Olivia Block: I wanted to make an orchestra sound like anything but an orchestra

Olivia Block creates electroacoustic sound compositions for performance, recordings, installations, cinema, orchestra and chamber music concerts. Between 9-16 October she is doing an artist residency at Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm, and during her visit she will also perform at Fylkingen on 16 October as part of ROOM40 Openframe. For this reason we have decided to introduce you to the wonderful and multifaceted world of Olivia Block.

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Tomoyoshi Date: The fact that ambient music was born in the West and imported into Japan is very meaningful

Tomoyoshi Date creates acoustic and organic sounds with a little touch of digital processing. He began to create electronic music in 1998, and later on he formed Opitope with Chihei Hatakeyama, ILLUHA with Corey Fuller, and Melodía with Federico Durand. Originally he is an emergency room doctor, using both western and oriental medicine, and these days he also researches the relationship between sound and the physical body. We spoke to Tomoyoshi about the importance and impact of combining western and oriental traditions both in medicine and music, so you can also get an intimate insight into the life of yet another talented Japanese musician.

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Yair Elazar Glotman: I realized that I fell in love with the idea and not the actual thing

Yair Elazar Glotman is a classically trained composer, contrabass player and sound artist living and working in Berlin. He's been releasing music under his own name and his KETEV moniker, we could hear him play the contrabass in 'Nimbes', a collaboration with James Ginzburg and he recently released his second full-length album, 'Études' on Subtext. We met Yair at Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm, and we had the pleasure to talk about his new album and his special relationship with the contrabass.

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Stefan Jós: At some point I’m going to realize how dumb it is to use this many pseudonyms and just do everything as myself

Stefan Jós is Devon Hansen, a musician and video artist born and raised in Southern California but currently based in Montreal. He just released his first album 'Primitives' on flau/raum, with loose and moody rhythms, wood and metal, weird noises in wet caves and other goodies for ground-dwellers and mole people alike. We are convinced that Devon needs to be more in the spotlight, so we spoke to him about his influences and his inspiring new project. He even prepared a banger guest mix to spice up your hot summer days!

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Mohammad: A calmness with an underlying doom. Until now it was only doom.

We spoke to Nikos Veliotis, Coti K and Ilios about the dynamics behind Mohammad, the journey of this dexterous trilogy and the experimental music scene in the middle of the Greek crisis. To get a more intense insight into Mohammad's world, they've also prepared a guest mix featuring plenty of unreleased material and other delicacies that perfectly fit into their aural atmosphere.

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Jesse Osborne-Lanthier: I have no time right now, with all the laying in bed and stuff, haha!

Jesse Osborne-Lanthier is a conceptual electronic musician, sound/visual artist aiming to make material which engenders different cognitive responses than those engendered by established music. However, Jesse is not just an artist. He’s a refreshing phenomenon in the music world who keeps surprising us with his dynamic, multifaceted productions and collaborations. We’re proud to present an in-depth interview with the Berlin-based Canadian artist that we made when he was doing his residency at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm. He also prepared an epic two hours long guest mix spiced up with some exciting upcoming releases by him, Grischa Lichtenberger and Yair Elazar Glotman. Get ready to be blown away!

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Lumisokea: It’s important to dedicate your time to exploration

Lumisokea are a Belgian-Italian duo, formed by Koenraad Ecker and Andrea Taeggi. Their music is at once highly physical and rich in texture, using various acoustic instruments as well as analog hardware to create a dark and introspective listening experience. We were lucky enough to witness this immersive space at the Intonal Festival in Malmö, Sweden, where we also had the chance to talk to Koenraad and Andrea about how they discovered and got into electronic music, their collaboration and solo projects and of course, future plans.

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Kyoka: I thought being precise and balanced was difficult

Kyoka is a Berlin-based artist, the first female member of the raster-noton label: 2012 saw the release of her first EP 'Ish', which was followed by her first full length album, 'Is (Is Superpowered)' last year. These days she is working on new material and frequently visits the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm, so we had the chance to talk to this creative lady about her adventures in the studio and the everyday life.

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Mats Lindström: As Rózmann was painting his music, I could see these images of small organic beings

Rózmann Ákos's name fell under the international radar until Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ label (operating under Editions Mego) started to revisit his oeuvre. This finally gave his music the well-deserved attention, and also offered numerous opportunities for Mats Lindström (Studio Director of EMS) to present Rózmann's work in front of a wider audience. We were lucky enough to witness one of these astonishing performances in Malmö, Sweden during the Intonal Festival, and also had the honour to talk to Mats about this mysterious Hungarian composer.

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Peder Mannerfelt: You can be deep and dark and still smile!

Peder Mannerfelt is a remarkable producer and a singular artist who's been serving as one of Sweden’s leading electronic figures for the last decade. For his new release on Archives Intérieures (The Swedish Congo Record), Peder takes us back to the Belgian Congo in the 1930's. We caught up with him in Stockholm to chat about this exotic collection of sounds, which he decided to recreate using only synthesizers. You can also check out some of these pieces, so get ready for some proper tribal treatment!

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Black Swan: Between thoughts and music, I never hear silence

We have no idea who’s the person behind the Black Swan project (okay, that's not entirely true anymore), but that’s maybe for the best. Since the beginning of this decade we get our yearly fair share of haunting drones from New York and we should not question their origins. Although he does not give too many interviews, let alone do special guest mixes, we got both of them.

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Chihei Hatakeyama: When you are on the inside of it, Japanese ambient music does not seem to be that special

Unless you've been living in a cave in the middle of nowhere during the last decade, Chihei Hatakeyama's name sure must evoke powerful memories and delightful thoughts. Let's admit that not much is known about the person behind these celestial drones, which is mostly due to linguistic barriers. We have decided to overcome these difficulties and find out as much as possible about this mysterious Japanese treasure. Chihei also prepared a guest mix for your listening pleasure, which might be one of the most soothing collection of sounds you could hear this year.

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Klara Lewis: I cannot improvise my tracks, because then the concert would have to last several months

Klara Lewis' name should be already familiar to those who kept an open ear last year. The 21-year-old Swedish composer released her critically acclaimed debut album 'Ett' on Editions Mego in April 2014. When it comes to her music and artistic approach, there is plenty to talk about... therefore we sat down in Stockholm for a cup of noisy coffee with this talented young lady to find out more about her inspiring background and exciting future plans.

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Kreng: The record is not dedicated to the people who are dead, it’s a record for the living

It was about time for a new batch of haunting sounds, although the circumstances around the genesis of 'The Summoner' could not have been more harrowing: it is based around the five stages of mourning, been made after a year of losing several close friends. Sounds Of A Tired City was curious to hear more about Kreng's latest album, which was released on Miasmah (6 February 2015). We asked Pepijn about his most personal work up to this date, his perception of death, and you can also read a bit about his recent film-related works.

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Steinbrüchel: For me music is like a three dimensional audio based sculpture in space

Ralph Steinbrüchel is a German musician and graphic designer living in Zürich, Switzerland. His productions – be it music or graphic design – follow a distinctly sophisticated aesthetic. Steinbrüchel's musical work deals mainly with the texture and atmosphere of sound, and you could hear the results of his spacious arrangements on prominent labels like 12k, Room40 and LINE, just to name a few. On the occasion of his recent release 'Parallel Landscapes' on 12k, we would like to invite you to travel within our conversation with Ralph in which we go back to his roots, explore his inspirations and creative methods during the last 20 years.

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William Ryan Fritch: Over the last 18 years I’ve accrued a large collection of about 50 distinct musical instruments

William Ryan Fritch is a film composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. His compositions are characterized by his unique range as a multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer, which allows him to realize large ensemble arrangements as a solo endeavor. William has a surprising number of instruments and he is not afraid to use all of them. Also, he was not afraid to talk to us about his ever-expanding passion for creating music and to compile a guest mix for your pleasure.

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Eric Holm: I was born in a horrendous ice storm. So maybe it’s just in me but if it’s cold and snowing, I’m just happier

'Andøya' was one of the most impressive releases last year, but practically nothing is known about the man behind this exciting collection of mechanic purrs. This being the first interview that Eric has ever given, we tried to find out as much as possible about this man in the proper winter jacket and his fascination with remote places and unusual sounds.

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HOLOVR: The tape scene had a real underground feel – not just a signifier of being underground, obscure, niche, as it sometimes feels now

London-based artist Jimmy Billingham is the man of many musical monikers, therefore you might know him as HOLOVR, Tidal, Venn Rain and Holographic Arts, just to name a few. Over the last years he's been involved with various labels, but he kind of stayed under the radar until his first album as HOLOVR ('Lunar Lake', 2013) was released on Opal Tapes. This was followed by his second one last year ('Holo Earth'), bringing him some well-deserved attention.

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Mirel Wagner: The longest period that I’ve written a song is a decade

Mirel Wagner is a singer/songwriter born in Ethiopia and raised in Espoo, Finland. Since an early age she is writing rather doomy folk and blues songs, performing with her ethereal but rough voice, complemented with a minimalistic guitar picking. Despite the bare sounding, her music has a thoughtful intensity and a sincere weight.

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A Winged Victory For The Sullen: Some pieces live better in the memory

Sounds Of A Tired City were lucky enough to sit down with Adam and Dustin in Stockholm. We talked about the birth of 'ATOMOS', the collaboration process, finding the right performers and pushing the individual limits. We were also curious to hear a bit more about Dustin's involvement with film scores and at last but not least you will be able to find out what is happening with the new Stars Of The Lid record – if anything. However, we have failed to find an answer to a substantial question: what happened to 'ATOMOS IV'?

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Sundrugs: Making music is mainly a passion. You can always do it for yourself, silently hoping that someone will appreciate it one day.

Sundrugs is the solo ambient/drone project of Patryk Kawalarz, a composer and producer based in Warsaw, Poland. His debut album 'Hidden Scenes' was released last spring on BLWBCK, which was recently followed by 'Low' on the same Toulouse-based label. We talked to Patryk about his early and current influences, the first steps towards becoming a composer, also raising important questions about the Polish music scene and the difficulty of reaching out to the international audience. He also prepared a guest mix featuring some of his favourite tracks of this year.

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Oren Ambarchi: I think a lot of people are very snobby about music and they don’t appreciate incredible things because of silly hang-ups

Oren Ambarchi's latest album 'Quixotism' was released early October on Editions Mego, and definitely marks a new milestone in his ever-expanding universe. Recorded with a multitude of collaborators in Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA, 'Quixotism' presents the fruit of two years of work in the form of a single, LP-length piece in five parts. We had the pleasure of talking to Oren during his brief stay in Stockholm, so you can find out more about his new techno record and its peculiar cover, his fascination with Thomas Brinkmann, experimentation in pop music and the unbearable lightness of constantly being able to create in various styles.

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Hecq / Ben Lukas Boysen: If I had a wish to send to the commercial universe, it‘d be that the world should slow down a bit more – what‘s all the rush for?

We talked to Ben about the special concept of this remix album, the difference between Hecq and Ben Lukas Boysen, and the enormous amount of patience one needs to have when working with commercials. You can also read about his dream collaborations and at last but not least you can listen to an extremely special mix featuring bits and pieces by Windy & Carl, Svarte Greiner, Demdike Stare, Morton Feldman, Lustmord, Deathprod & Biosphere and many more.

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Ben Vida: My intention was to make an electronic music record that was focused on rhythm but where the rhythms were always failing

Ben Vida is a Brooklyn-based artist and composer who mainly works with electronic compositions that utilize analog and digital synthesizing technologies, with a focus on aural phenomena and sound localization. Just recently released on Shelter Press, his latest LP 'Slipping Control' was originally composed to act as a score, a sound piece and as raw data for electronic control source. We talked to Ben about his unusual rhythmic patterns and his interests in experimental music, which he also illustrates with a rather unconventional mix especially composed for Sounds Of A Tired City.

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Julia Kent: I am working increasingly with electronic sounds and I think that would be where I would turn if the cello suddenly vanished

Julia Kent is a Vancouver-born, New York City-based cellist and composer. She has written music for film, theatre, and dance, has released three solo records, and has toured throughout North America and Europe. Her most recent solo record 'Character' was released by The Leaf Label last year. We've talked to Julia about the beginnings, the long way that eventually lead to finding her own individual voice, influences and inspirations, Paolo Sorrentino, the seductive Italy and her future plans.

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Hauschka: Pianos are obstacles that help me find more answers and new ways of finding new sounds

Volker Bertelmann aka Hauschka's name had become one with the dynamic and playful phenomena of the prepared piano. Once living its life as a classical instrument, Hauschka's plaything is ever rejuvenating, each time resurrecting as a different creature with pristine sounds bursting out from its surprised strings.

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Memory Drawings: Being open to abandoning your original idea in favor of the new one is the key to successful collaborative composition

Memory Drawings are not your usual musicians who spend long months together, experimenting with endless possibilities and each other's nerves. Besides some guest musicians every now and then, the Anglo-American group consists of Richard Adams, Joel Hanson and Sarah Kemp. Despite being at least at three different places at the same time, the members of Memory Drawings have a remarkable pace of creativity. Today we are celebrating the release of their second feature album, 'There Is No Perfect Place' – this time on Hibernate Recordings.

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36: People see a lot of ambient music as something to help them sleep, but I’m trying my hardest to keep them awake

36 is the experimental (mainly) ambient project of Dennis Huddleston from the United Kingdom. Since 2008, the focus for the project has been to develop warm, hugely emotive loop-based compositions, with particular emphasis on melody and melancholic atmosphere. Dennis has his own label 3six Recordings, which serves as the perfect platform to publish his self-released works. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and talent to manage a project like this all alone, but Dennis seems to be extremely self-conscious and determined enough to overcome any obstacles and just let his music speak for itself.

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Frank Bretschneider: When I started making music, I just wanted to explore and see what I can do. Today I only want to make music.

Between 14-27 July, EMS based in Stockholm, Sweden hosted Frank Bretschneider as a resident artist, who was eager to submerge into the legendary Buchla and Serge modular synthesizers. On this occasion, we've talked to the co-founder of Raster-Noton to find out more about what is so special about these machines, his current plans to shift from digital towards analog directions, why computer sounds made such a big impression on him when he was younger, and strolling down memory lane he also shares his experiences with mono turning to stereo, raising the question what else is out there which could make such an enormous difference within the limits of perceptible sound.

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