. Western Grey is the Naarm trio of field recorder, composer and academic Philip Samartzis, guitarist and composer Dave Brown (Candlesnuffer), and late percussionist Sean Baxter. Their previous album Glacial Erratic (2003, Dr Jims), existed somewhere between electroacoustic composition, free improvisation, and sound design. Their latest album was recorded back in 2006, inside West Space—a Melbourne artist-run initiative over two nights during its summer shutdown.

Princess Liar is the latest evolution in the artistic journey of Julie Montan. We last caught up with Julie at the release of her Lovers of the Black Bird project ‘Ocean of No Time’ back in 2021. Much has happened since then, with Montan relocating from the grimy backstreets of Inner Northern Melbourne, to the tropical hot-dog nights of Cairns in Far North Queensland.

With Chapter commencing this reissue series of whimsical Australian electronic producer Jeremy Dower I’ve been tearing my house apart trying to locate his Chapter released compact disc EP from 2002, Music For Retirement Villages, Circa 2050. At the time I remember being really struck by these jaunty self assured almost genreless electronic ditties that seemed to owe as much to muzak as electronica, and possess all the time in the world.

Horse MacGyver is Naarm based media artist and sound designer Timothy Dwyer. He's been making some pretty unhinged music over the last decade or so on labels such as Nice music and Being Intense Records, playing live regularly, touring with Indonesia's iconic duo Senyawa - even making music videos for the likes of Lucy Cliche and Lost Animal. His latest album is…

. Brad E. Rose is a Tulsa based musician who records both under his own name or under aliases like North Sea, Charlatan, and numerous others. He also runs The Jewel Garden label and is a founder of the Foxy Digitalis music site. Over the years we've been quite taken with his gentle sonic experiments, more often than not released on Room40.

Horse MacGyver is Naarm / Melbourne based media artist and sound designer Timothy Dwyer who has previously released his music on the likes of !K7, Disaro, No Patience Records, Nice Music, and Moontown Tapes. His forthcoming third album is Bing Bong. This irrepressible burst of energy is the title track. Using the sound palette of Melbourne's iconic Federation Bells, alongside his playful electrics and percussive bursts, …

Ov Pain is the duo Renee Barrance and Tim Player who are not only band mates but partners, who hail from Aotearoa but have resided in Naarm for the last decade. They first came to our attention via a couple of albums they released on It Records, Reliquary of Dusk and The Churning Blue of Noon, both quite mysterious illusive albums that seemed to traverse multiple styles.

Back in 2002 I chanced upon Jeremy Dower’s Music For Retirement Villages Circa 2050 and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Weird jaunty and melancholic it felt leagues ahead of the music I had been listening to. It turns out Dower had been making music under the name Tetrphnm in the mid to late 1990s, at first using a Compaq 386 computer, a Sound Blaster card and a copied Cakewalk sequencer.

In the last few months we've become a little obsessed with UK artist Craven Faults. His music is long form, hypnotic slow moving, modular synth work that seems to just hover in the air and fill the space. When combined with pastoral videos of sheep or fields in bleak beautiful barren farming communities, as he frequently does on youtube…

Somayeh is a writer, photographer and film director based in London. She is part of a new generation of Iranian filmmakers blending the poetic sensibilities of Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi with “surreal Western influences” citing directors Jonathan Glazer, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Joachim Trier. Her films make use of slick postproduction techniques and sound design, and her short Baby (2016) was awarded “Best Sound Design” by…

Denovali · Tauceti - Guanyin Tauceti is the the alias of Lyon-based DJ, producer, and composer Lilou Chelal. Whilst she's known for her dark, tropical, and sensual techno sets, her debut ambient full-length album Guanyin offers a different side to her musical personality - albeit with distinct links to her DJ work. It's a dark ambient semi classical work, with skittering electrics that could easily be an alternate score to Blade Runner.

. Back in 2002 I chanced upon Jeremy Dower's Music For Retirement Villages Circa 2050 and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Weird jaunty and melancholic it felt leagues ahead of the electronic music I had been listening to. It turns out Dower had been making music under the name Tetrphnm in the mid to late 1990s, at first using a Compaq 386 computer, a Sound Blaster card and a copied Cakewalk sequencer.

This collaboration between Faith Coloccia and Daniel Menche exists somewhere between drone and field recordings. It began with Coloccia passing over five recordings of piano compositions which Menche treated, elongated and distended into long amorphous drones. They then integrated their own individually captured field recordings into the pieces, all bound by the theme of water. The result is Smelter…

. Originally from New York and living in Brussels and Melbourne since the early 2000s David Shea has produced over 115 recorded works since 1990. Having collaborated with the likes of John Zorn, Scanner, Jim O'Rourke, and Tullio Angelini as well as recording solo, he has released his music on Sub Rosa, Tzadik, More music, Metta Editions, Quatermass and numerous other labels.

Swiss artist Zimoun is best known for installations of industrial objects, creating music from the mechanical, from oscillations and rotation – the sound of movement. If you go to his website you can see some pretty incredible videos which offer a pretty clear indication of his process and the outcome. He also makes specifically audio works, having previously released Dust Resonance…

. YOUR MOTHERS DISGUSTING WINDOW is a solo project from Darlene Aaron, who has previously released music as AA Matheson, Bison Grass, Boquillas, WE1 XAM, Jenny Hickingbotham band, and DARLENE over the last 20+ years. This one's a little noisy, quite misanthropic and very extreme, with heart warming lyrics like: "Set me free from this fucking pig world This putrid shit hole, I’m dying inside…

. Connor D'Netto is a composer, performer and producer who explores the intersections of experimental electronica, ambient and electroacoustic music, combining hardware synthesisers, live instruments, guitar pedals and DIY creations. His music has been performed by the likes of the LA Phil and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and commissioned across Australia and abroad, including by ensembles such the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, and Rubiks Collective, Bang On A Can, Chromic Duo and Cats Cradle Collective.

Initial impressions: vinyl scratches in, insects, kids going aah, muffled voices, a drone, static/white noise, a thunderstorm, machine sounds…a spliffed-out beat, jazz drum breaks, dissonant guitar licks, more scratching exploding into cut-up shouts…field recordings, devices feedback…collagist, beat-juggling, scratching and glitching— restless and fidgety. Turntable Solos shifts through a wide palette of sounds, textures and tempos. It is an intriguing document compiling live recordings made in the second half of 2024.

La Festa Major de Gràcia, a celebration that’s been around for over 150 years, took place this year from the 15th until the 21st of August, holding our beloved sound art festival in the Perills passage-way amongst the festivities. The context of the event we’ll describe is rooted in a long-standing tradition that marks the season in Gràcia, a once autonomous little town (even once being presented as a kingdom), now an iconic part of the heart of the city.

. Ov Pain is Renee Barrance and Tim Player, an Aotearoa born Naarm based duo who have recorded five albums together. Their approach, often improvisatory is based around immediacy. In the past they've released a couple of albums on It Records and have traversed multiple styles that have seen them described as cold wave, post punk and gothic drone. Their latest offering…

Japanese audio visual artist Ryoji Ikeda is so far down the digital rabbit hole now that he’s made the world of 0’s and 1’s and digital code his instrument of choice. It’s hard to think of an artist who has used the sterile world of digitalia as such an effective means of self expression. Aside from his solo albums he’s become increasingly known for his installations which celebrate digital precision, sine tones and pure white digital light.

Berlin based Australian bassist and composer Mike Majkowski is no stranger to Cyclic Defrost. We last spoke with him in 2019, you can read that here, and we've reviewed a bunch of his albums including 2023's durational work Coast (review here), 2019's electronic work Between Seasons (review here), 2017's evocative drone work Days and Other Days (review…

It was impossible not to feel a sense of anticipation as we headed towards Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Buildings on the opening night of the Now or Never Festival, thanks to the warm pink glow emanating from its windows. It conjured up a distinctively woozy Suspiria vibe, suggesting tonight might very well offer something otherworldly, or at the very least out of the ordinary.

Firstly, I just want to shout out to our dearly beloved Fiona Kitschin (Bass player and vocals) who has been through the tough ordeal of breast cancer. Great to see you back Fi. After reviewing their relentless live album Tropical Fuck Storm’s Inflatable Graveyard last year, I was literally climbing the fence at the chance to review their brand-new album “Fairyland Codex”.

. Australian improvisational instrumental trio The Necks have returned with their 20th release. Disquiet consists of 4 long form pieces clocking in at 3 hours plus and not unexpectedly traverses some pretty diverse terrain. That's the beauty of the Necks, you never quite know where they are going, or where they'll end up, or even how they'll get there - but you do know it will be hypnotic.