Ambient/experimental/noise
A magnificent, terrifying work of sonic magic. Markus Mehr (of Germany) has found a meeting point between two very different types of experimental music: the ambient soundscape and harsh noise. The resulting sound is a dynamic dance between peace and violence, where the two dancers unite and separate at their volatile will. Released on Hidden Shoal, no less. 7 is FCC questionable, but all other songs are wordless and FCC clean. Favorites: 2, 4, 5, 8.

1. (2:07)—Harsh noise. Glitchy, bassy, barely there beat. Sounds of various softly played stringed instruments appear and vanish.
2. *(6:47)—Machine noises fuse with lovely drone washes. Morphs into a looping pattern with faint horn sounds. Falls into chaos, snaps back together.
3. (4:40)—Fades in slowly, and then BAM, a distorted hurricane of a drone that from there disappears and returns without warning.
4. *(8:54)—A melancholy loop that feels comforting at the beginning and becomes downright orchestral and epic by the middle.
5. *(9:12)—Foreboding, assaulting intro. Bursts into a drop-dead gorgeous, looping motif that features both horn sounds and something that seems like wordless, wailing vocals.
6. (1:20)—Loud, glitchy, percussive. A malfunctioning robot learning how to boogie.
7. (2:42)—BACKGROUND FCCS? Recording of monks chanting, background recording of woman shouting, electronic noises and tones.
8. *(9:43)—Water sounds, plinking sounds, soothing drones, piano. Very faint drums. Noise and deep bass creep in around the halfway mark and then burst in without warning. Builds and builds; this is EPIC. And then fades.