{"title":"The Index","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"roberto-musci-tower-of-silence-2xlp","title":"Roberto Musci - Tower Of Silence 2xLP","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1974, the Italian musician Roberto Musci started traveling throughout Africa, the Middle East, India and elsewhere in Asia. During his journeys, he would collect field recordings and study various musical traditions from those particular regions, adopting and manipulating those sounds into his own electronic scores. His chimera of modern technologies with these non-western elements paralleled the \"fourth world\" recordings of ethnomusicologically non-placed compositions that Jon Hassell produced through his highly influential recordings in the late '70s and early '80s. \u003cem\u003eTower Of Silence\u003c\/em\u003e is an anthology of material that was composed from 1983 up to the present day, including a number of collaborative tracks and various previously issued albums. Despite the vast timeframe for this collection, \u003cem\u003eTower Of Silence\u003c\/em\u003e maintains a uniform sound for a quasi-mystical sense of tranquility and meditation. These earnest recordings might adopt the vocal chants from Ghana or the dervish percussive patter from Morrocan Sufis or the mesmerizing harmonic ragas from the subcontinent. In turn, his hypnotic, relaxed compositions of percussive objects, wind-chimes, airy flutes and looped field recordings skitter somewhat painterly across surfaces of dreamtime ambience and fretless bass motifs.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Music From Memory","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":27712189825,"sku":"MFM014","price":39.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1427\/6532\/products\/mailorder_musci.jpg?v=1476824596"},{"product_id":"astrid-sonne-great-doubt-lp","title":"Astrid Sonne - Great Doubt LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eGreat Doubt\u003c\/em\u003e is the third full length LP by Danish composer Astrid Sonne. Throughout her acclaimed discography, Astrid Sonne has been carefully crafting different moods through electronic and acoustic instrumental endeavours. On \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGreat Doubt\u003c\/em\u003e this skill is refined, now with the distinct addition of the composer's own vocal in front. The tone of each track is unmistakably Sonne’s, structured around contrasts through an impeccable sense of timing. Lyrics on the album are sparse, merely highlighting different scenes or emotional states of being, leaving the music to fill in the blanks. Yet they also form a pattern of ambiguity, consolidated through the album title, searching for answers through looking at how and what you are asking, questions for the world, questions of love.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe viola, a trusted companion since Astrid Sonne’s youth, appears effortlessly throughout the album, fully integrated into the sonic universe; through a pizzicato driven arrangement in the poignant track »Almost« or along with booms and claps in mutated cinematic stabs during \"Give my all\", paraphrasing Mariah Carey's 1997 ballad. Yet the string section also gives way to explorations of woodwinds, counterbalancing the bowed movements with digital brass and airy flutes. Finally, beats and detuned piano are fresh additions to the soundscape, cementing how Sonne’s practice is always evolving into new territories.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Escho","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47756461080873,"sku":"ESC192","price":34.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1427\/6532\/files\/astrid-sonne-great-doubt-lp.jpg?v=1709937702"},{"product_id":"smerz-big-city-life-lp","title":"Smerz - Big City Life LP","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem data-is-only-node=\"\" data-end=\"15\" data-start=\"0\"\u003eBig City Life\u003c\/em\u003e is the second album by Norwegian duo Smerz, blending minimal pop with stripped-back club textures and intimate vocals. Built on subtle rhythms and understated melodies, the record captures a quiet tension—playful yet melancholic, precise yet emotionally open.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Escho","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52855736729897,"sku":"ESC203","price":34.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1427\/6532\/files\/smerz-big-city-life-lp_8243cff0-b00f-4ef6-b464-ce54e21caebf.jpg?v=1774005685"},{"product_id":"soichi-terada-asakusa-light-lp","title":"Soichi Terada - Asakusa Light LP","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"flex flex-col text-sm pb-25\"\u003e\n\u003csection class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none [--shadow-height:45px] has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none has-data-writing-block:-mt-(--shadow-height) has-data-writing-block:pt-(--shadow-height) [\u0026amp;:has([data-writing-block])\u0026gt;*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-698efe84-9454-8397-9918-49d202f3c5cb-2\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-120\" data-scroll-anchor=\"true\" data-turn=\"assistant\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"a4aef143-d9ff-4108-a5a4-1776efccace7\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-3\" class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+\u0026amp;]:mt-1\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\" tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"436\"\u003eBack in 2015, Japanese deep house pioneer Soichi Terada stepped back into the limelight courtesy of \u003cem data-start=\"100\" data-end=\"126\"\u003eSounds From The Far East\u003c\/em\u003e, a Rush Hour-released, Hunee curated retrospective of material released on his Far East Recording label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Buoyed by the positive response and renewed interest in his work, Terada went back into studio to record his first new album of house music for over 25 years, \u003cem data-start=\"420\" data-end=\"435\"\u003eAsakusa Light\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"438\" data-end=\"813\"\u003eDeveloped over 18 months, Terada tried to recreate the mental and physical processes that led to the creation of his acclaimed earlier work. Those familiar with Terada’s celebrated, dancefloor-focused sound of the 1990s – a vibrant, atmospheric, and emotive take on deep house powered by the twin attractions of groove and melody – will find much to enjoy on \u003cem data-start=\"797\" data-end=\"812\"\u003eAsakusa Light\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"815\" data-end=\"1317\"\u003e“I tried to recall my feelings 30 years ago, but when I tried it, I found it super difficult,” he explains. “I didn’t even know what I thought about myself five years ago, and the mental metabolic cycle seems to be faster than I thought. I tried different methods, including digging up my old MIDI data and composing by remembering old experiences. With the help of Rush Hour, I found some of the light from my heart that I had 30 years ago. I nicknamed the light I found in my heart, ‘Asakusa Light’.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1319\" data-end=\"1679\"\u003eProduced using the very same synthesizers and drum machines that powered his 1990s work, the album is a joyous, colourful and life-affirming collection of timeless house music that not only recalls Terada’s own impeccable back catalogue, but also that of similarly celebrated contemporaries such as the Burrell Brothers or Ben Cenac (Dream 2 Science, Sha-Lor).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1681\" data-end=\"2075\"\u003eTerada, who has spent much of the last two decades writing video game music, has always had a gift for combining warm, undulating synthesizer basslines and perfectly programmed machine drums with stirring chords, smile-inducing melodies and mellow musical flourishes. It’s this immersive, sun-kissed and tuneful trademark style that takes centre stage on \u003cem data-start=\"2036\" data-end=\"2051\"\u003eAsakusa Light\u003c\/em\u003e, an album for the ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2077\" data-end=\"2413\"\u003eThe set begins with the alien-sounding chords, soft-touch percussion and dawn-friendly warmth of ‘Silent Chord’ and ends on a high via the bouncing string stabs, starlight chords and thickset grooves of ‘Blinker’; in between, you’ll find a deluge of effortlessly feelgood music that’s the aural equivalent of a dopamine rush at sunrise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2415\" data-end=\"2842\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eThere are subtle variations aplenty throughout the album – see the 8-bit lead lines and pulsing electronic textures of ‘Takusambient’, the vintage Tony Humphries flex of ‘Diving Into Minds’ and the effortlessly funky ‘Marimbau’ – but it’s the uniquely atmospheric, vivid and tactile nature of Terada’s loved-up sound that resonates. After well over 30 years in house music, the light in his heart is shining brighter than ever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/section\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Rush Hour","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52855736795433,"sku":"RHM041","price":34.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1427\/6532\/files\/soichi-terada-asakusa-light-lp.jpg?v=1774005232"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.strandedrecords.com\/collections\/the-index.oembed","provider":"Stranded Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}