An LP-only limited edition release from Koen on Thrill Jockey.

From the label’s website:

“In The Absence Of Gravity…” is a side-long piece based around a 2008 solo performance in Brighton. The technical set up was somewhat inspired by Terry Riley’s ‘time-lag accumulator’ pieces using a delay system where Holtkamp was constantly recording over himself in order to create a continuous and fluid overall sound. A friend sent him a recording of the performance and it encouraged Holtkamp to take a non-purist approach and combine the live recording with some of his more recent studio experimentations from the summer of 2010. The work is built mainly around processed acoustic guitar, analog synthesizers, and electronics but also incorporates recordings of harmonica, electric organ, small percussion objects, and an unlikely glass of ginger ale.

At nearly 10 years old, one of my all-time favorite albums is released on double clear vinyl in a limited pressing (an edition of 750).

A photo from the manufacture’s website:

A challenging, yet enjoyable, offering from Markus Popp – his first release since 2001.

Sonna’s “Smile And The World Smiles With You”, off Temporary Residence Limited, [TRR 53, 2003].

Highly enjoyable album for fans of the Sigur Rós’ peppier excursions on Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust.

Solo acoustic guitar tracks. The album may be hard to track down now (Root Strata pressed only 500 CDs), but samples and legal electronic downloads may be purchased at boomkat.

Lately, I’ve revisited the sublime 2003 Andreas Tilliander release titled “Album”.

One of the many excellent albums in the Type Records’ archive. A subdued, minimal and modern album with hints of old Vladislav Delay records and Chain Reaction releases.

A long-standing favorite. One track, 40+ minutes. Noisy/ambient.

The decade ends with a fine year in contemporary/experimental music. The following are the best albums I’ve heard in 2009:

Favorite:

Alva Noto : Xerrox Vol.2 [Raster-Noton]

Front Cover:

Back Cover (note the font is Notobitmap):

CD:

An absolutely flawless album. It’s contemporary, ambient, grandiose and minimal. What else would you expect from Carsten Nicolai? This is the second release in a series of five.

The rest in no particular order:

Mountains : Etching[Thrill Jockey]

William Basinski : 92982 [2062]

Tomasz Bednarczyk : Let’s Make Better Mistakes Tomorrow [12k]

Black to Comm : Alphabet 1968 [Type Records]

Discovery : LP [XL Recordings]

Kevin Drumm : Imperial Horizon [Hospital Productions]

Emeralds : What Happened [No Fun Productions]

Mountains : Choral [Thrill Jockey]

Stephan Mathieu + Taylor Deupree : Transcriptions[Spekk]

Christopher Willits – Live on Earth Vol. 1 [Self-Release]

Two tiny remarks on this site’s current intro/splash page:

i.

The new photo features two of my favorite NYC buildings in the Far West Village. One is the infamous Palazzo Chupi by artist Julian Schnabel. Many more photos here. The other is Richard Meier’s Perry Street Towers (home of my future apartment if the markets are kind to me).

ii.

On completely unrelated note, I’ve finally restored the sparkline graph which depicts this site’s latest activity. The height of each bar represents the number of posts per week. Hopefully its presence will incentivize me to regularly update this site.

Far more interesting is this overview of Sparklines by none other than Edward Tufte.

I deeply enjoy most albums by Axolotl (Karl Bauer), but Telesma stands out to me as being one of his best. I bought this album at Aquarius Records last year – it’s a real shame if this CD is indeed limited to only 500 copies.

Kevin Drumm’s “Imperial Horizon” from Hospital Productions is, by far, one of the finest ambient albums of the year.