![David Sylvian - Blemish: This is about as stark and bare as it gets. Using the minimal elements of nauseating feedback and unplaceably ghostly the synth-pop pioneer and former Japan frontman paints a haunting backdrop to his tortured sighs of gutting desperation. It almost feels like Sylvian is whispering into your ear as he mourns:]()
David Sylvian - Blemish: This is about as stark and bare as it gets. Using the minimal elements of nauseating feedback and unplaceably ghostly the synth-pop pioneer and former Japan frontman paints a haunting backdrop to his tortured sighs of gutting desperation. It almost feels like Sylvian is whispering into your ear as he mourns: "I fall outside of her - she doesn't notice at all". It's almost unbearable.
![Amiina - Kurr: No country does ambient like Iceland (if you'd grown up around lava fields, waterfalls and whales we reckon you'd be pretty chilled too), and female quartet Amiina took things to the next level of delicate with their 2007 debut, Kurr. Isolated cellos and glockenspiels mix with bells, theramin, bells and even melodies performed on wine glasses on this stunningly haunting album. Music legend Lee Hazelwood added a spoken word narrative to Amiina's 'Hilli' single, his last ever studio recording before his death in 2007.]()
Amiina - Kurr: No country does ambient like Iceland (if you'd grown up around lava fields, waterfalls and whales we reckon you'd be pretty chilled too), and female quartet Amiina took things to the next level of delicate with their 2007 debut, Kurr. Isolated cellos and glockenspiels mix with bells, theramin, bells and even melodies performed on wine glasses on this stunningly haunting album. Music legend Lee Hazelwood added a spoken word narrative to Amiina's 'Hilli' single, his last ever studio recording before his death in 2007.
![Pablo Nouvelle - Winter In Helsinki: Soul music for the 21st Century, Pablo Nouvelle's Winter In Helsinki is a record dripping in sadness, but bereft of misery. Working with samples from the likes of Marvin Gaye the Swiss producer draws out the pain that's often at the heart of soul music and lays it bare. Drawing on the trip hop production techniques pioneered by the likes of DJ Shadow, Nouvelle crafts something entirely his own that's ideal for frank personal introspection.]()
Pablo Nouvelle - Winter In Helsinki: Soul music for the 21st Century, Pablo Nouvelle's Winter In Helsinki is a record dripping in sadness, but bereft of misery. Working with samples from the likes of Marvin Gaye the Swiss producer draws out the pain that's often at the heart of soul music and lays it bare. Drawing on the trip hop production techniques pioneered by the likes of DJ Shadow, Nouvelle crafts something entirely his own that's ideal for frank personal introspection.
![Chet Faker - Thinking In Textures: This EP made little impact when it was released last year, however Chet Faker's recent appearance with rising electronic star Flume has lead people to revisit this masterclass in subtlety and simplicity. Predominantly based around breakthrough single 'I'm Into You', the seven track release captures the subdued energy Faker emits live with a mix of staggered electronic samples and live instrumentation, presenting a distant, raw sound that manages to resonate through its overwhelming emotional undertone.]()
Chet Faker - Thinking In Textures: This EP made little impact when it was released last year, however Chet Faker's recent appearance with rising electronic star Flume has lead people to revisit this masterclass in subtlety and simplicity. Predominantly based around breakthrough single 'I'm Into You', the seven track release captures the subdued energy Faker emits live with a mix of staggered electronic samples and live instrumentation, presenting a distant, raw sound that manages to resonate through its overwhelming emotional undertone.
![Terry Callier - Alive: One of the most genuinely moving performers ever, brought back to music after a long hiatus by Acid Jazz Records' determined boss Eddie Piller. Alive was recorded during a show at the Jazz Cafe in London and captures the light-hearted emotional sincerity of Callier's music perfectly. Sometimes breezy jazz, sometimes impassioned soul, consistently uplifting with an effortless grace. Callier's quiet humility shines through on a record that demonstrates music without ego at its best.]()
Terry Callier - Alive: One of the most genuinely moving performers ever, brought back to music after a long hiatus by Acid Jazz Records' determined boss Eddie Piller. Alive was recorded during a show at the Jazz Cafe in London and captures the light-hearted emotional sincerity of Callier's music perfectly. Sometimes breezy jazz, sometimes impassioned soul, consistently uplifting with an effortless grace. Callier's quiet humility shines through on a record that demonstrates music without ego at its best.
![Beach House - Bloom: As intimate a listening experience as you could hope to hear, Bloom is a true treasure trove of personal and perfectly-formed pop gems. Claustrophobic elements are expanded to form a sprawling soundscape. From the miasmic guitars to the swelling synths punctuated by subtle beats – all of the essentials of Beach House’s dream pop sound are cut to a crystal-like precision.]()
Beach House - Bloom: As intimate a listening experience as you could hope to hear, Bloom is a true treasure trove of personal and perfectly-formed pop gems. Claustrophobic elements are expanded to form a sprawling soundscape. From the miasmic guitars to the swelling synths punctuated by subtle beats – all of the essentials of Beach House’s dream pop sound are cut to a crystal-like precision.
![Emancipator - Soon It Will Be Cold Enough: No musician's ever so concisely captured a season on record as Emancipator does with Soon It Will Be Cold Enough and later on subsequent records Safe In The Steep Cliffs and Dusk To Dawn. The eerie stillness of new snow resonates through this album despite its snappy beats and ingenious compositions. An immense first album that's set the tone for everything that's followed.]()
Emancipator - Soon It Will Be Cold Enough: No musician's ever so concisely captured a season on record as Emancipator does with Soon It Will Be Cold Enough and later on subsequent records Safe In The Steep Cliffs and Dusk To Dawn. The eerie stillness of new snow resonates through this album despite its snappy beats and ingenious compositions. An immense first album that's set the tone for everything that's followed.
![Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away:]()
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Push The Sky Away: "Well, if I were to use that threadbare metaphor of albums being like children," said Nick Cave when announcing the latest Bad Seeds' release, "then Push The Sky Away is the ghost-baby in the incubator." Gone is the noisy hedonism of his recent work - now Cave is turning his focus to creating ambience and atmosphere. As the dour hymn of the title tracks fades to a mournful close you realise that while less may not necessarily be more, but it's certainly enough especially when all minute elements add up to such beautiful, embryonic simplicity. Choosing your favourite child is an impossible choice, but Push The Sky Away is the sick little Tiny Tim kid brother of the Bad Seeds' family that you can't help but love.
![Willy Mason - Where The Humans Eat: Providing quiet in the acoustic sense, Willy Mason's critically acclaimed debut was the record that established all the comparisons to Dylan and Cohen, presenting a surprisingly deep rooted sense of wisdom for a (then) 19-year-old. It is Mason's experience and personal lyrical content that ultimately does the talking on Where The Humans Eat, a point most evident on lead single 'Oxygen', which pretty much revolves around one repeated guitar note and a monotonously empowered vocal. Mason manages to find emotion without forcing it onto you throughout the record, and the albums basic, almost naive charm continues to define his career.]()
Willy Mason - Where The Humans Eat: Providing quiet in the acoustic sense, Willy Mason's critically acclaimed debut was the record that established all the comparisons to Dylan and Cohen, presenting a surprisingly deep rooted sense of wisdom for a (then) 19-year-old. It is Mason's experience and personal lyrical content that ultimately does the talking on Where The Humans Eat, a point most evident on lead single 'Oxygen', which pretty much revolves around one repeated guitar note and a monotonously empowered vocal. Mason manages to find emotion without forcing it onto you throughout the record, and the albums basic, almost naive charm continues to define his career.
![Bonobo - Black Sands: He had a good crack with The Northern Borders this year, but it's likely Bonobo will never top Black Sands. It was an album many chill-wave fans held as near-perfect, a deft blend of rhythmic genius and ambient peace. Conjuring images of wonderfully lonely beaches and cloudless skies. It was an album that made Bonobo as close to a household name as any chillout producer's likely to get.]()
Bonobo - Black Sands: He had a good crack with The Northern Borders this year, but it's likely Bonobo will never top Black Sands. It was an album many chill-wave fans held as near-perfect, a deft blend of rhythmic genius and ambient peace. Conjuring images of wonderfully lonely beaches and cloudless skies. It was an album that made Bonobo as close to a household name as any chillout producer's likely to get.
![Jonsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps: A collaboration between Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi and artist boyfriend Alex Sommers, the Riceboy Sleeps project was a direct influence on the band's 2012 release, Valtari. Looped tracks stretched over ten minutes in places, with radio static and vinyl distortion dominating the album's sounds, but despite the distant, uncompromising nature of the album, Riceboy Sleeps was a deeply intimate and warming record. The lack of vocals on the album made the introductions of a full choir on 'Boy 1904' a breath taking moment.]()
Jonsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps: A collaboration between Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi and artist boyfriend Alex Sommers, the Riceboy Sleeps project was a direct influence on the band's 2012 release, Valtari. Looped tracks stretched over ten minutes in places, with radio static and vinyl distortion dominating the album's sounds, but despite the distant, uncompromising nature of the album, Riceboy Sleeps was a deeply intimate and warming record. The lack of vocals on the album made the introductions of a full choir on 'Boy 1904' a breath taking moment.
![Zoon Van Snook - The Bridge Between Life And Death: Released this year, Zoon Van Snook's third studio album is one of 2013's most serene listens - and was inspired by (and recorded in) Iceland, with Icelandic stars Amiina, Benni Hemm Hemm and Sin Fang guesting on the record. The album is a collecton of downbeat electronica, packed with loops and samples, using distortion as an instrument to for a spectacularly chilled out listening experience. One for insomniacs.]()
Zoon Van Snook - The Bridge Between Life And Death: Released this year, Zoon Van Snook's third studio album is one of 2013's most serene listens - and was inspired by (and recorded in) Iceland, with Icelandic stars Amiina, Benni Hemm Hemm and Sin Fang guesting on the record. The album is a collecton of downbeat electronica, packed with loops and samples, using distortion as an instrument to for a spectacularly chilled out listening experience. One for insomniacs.