ACL 2025 ~ Top Ten Experimental

Some of the year’s most unique releases appear here, including the sounds of Middle Eastern street protests, traditional Crimean song, diamond on disputed mud and a seminal field recording series.  Some of these artists record in perfect freedom and peace;

Machine Listening ~ Environments 12: new concepts in acoustic enrichment

Hearing of the Environments series, we wondered how we missed such a thing, until we saw the dates: an album a year from 1969-79, each side portraying a single environment.  The final installment offered “Alpine Blizzard” and “Country Thunderstorm,” with

ACL 2024 ~ The Year’s Best Film Scores

In 2024, the top fifteen global movie releases were all sequels to pre-existing blockbusters.  The bright spots were found farther down, in original screenplays and under-the-radar gems. We’ve chosen a wide selection of film scores to honor this year, from

Nika Son ~ Drift

What a beautiful, magical recording, washing up on our shores after spending six years in the tumultuous ocean, tossed here and about, a message in a bottle, a bottle containing the sound of the sea.  Drift is a film in which