First Impressions 055: A filmy residue of echoes. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 055: A filmy residue of echoes. Featuring -

Externalism
Briana Marela
Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty, Hahn Rowe
Lagoss & Abagwagwa
Civilistjävel! x Mayssa Jallad
Ensemble Nist-Nah

Always free.

First Impressions 054: Life's a glitch. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 054: Life's a glitch. Featuring

claire rousay & Gretchen Korsmo
Purelink
Imryll
Houser : Weathers: Wyche
Spectrical
felt body

Link in bio or 1stimpressions.substack.com to read. Always free.

1stimpressions.substack.com/p/first-impr...

First Impressions 053: Esoteric brutalism. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 053: Esoteric Brutalism Featuring

billy woods
Cole Pulice
Celestial
Leyden Jars
Concepción Huerta
Devin Sarno

1stimpressions.substack.com/p/first-impr...

First Impressions 052: Slow dance dissolves. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 052: Slow dance dissolves. Featuring

Eli Winter
Tara Cunningham
Loris S Sarid
Poppy H
ezmerelda
goo

Art for art's sake:LE designs for works by 

Fuubutsushi
Sam Prekop
Chihei Hatakeyama
Caterina Barbieri 

Find their pieces at the artists' Bandcamp pages. 

Cover artworks created by Mark Gowing using NON Fonts from The Letters.

First Impressions 051: Closely guarded things. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 051: Closely guarded things - Featuring

perila
Eiko Ishibashi
Arthur Russell
Nico Georis
April Magazine
Valerie June

Art for art's sake:LE designs for works by

Golden Retriever
Megan Alice Clune
Chuck Jonson and JWPATON
Melanie Velarde

Find their pieces at the artists' Bandcamp pages.

Cover artworks created by Mark Gowing using NON Fonts from theletters.co

First Impressions 050: Reverent and reckless. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 050: Reverent and reckless - Featuring

Eggy
bambinodj
Michael Grigoni * Pan•American
Joseba Irazoki
PremRock
Helen Island

and Azizam.

Always free.

First Impressions 049: Conscious existence in the digital age. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 048: Conscious existence in the digital age. Featuring - 

more eaze + claire rousay
Hirsohi Yoshimura
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma
Strategy
Dumbells
Wadada Leo Smith + Vijay Iyer

The graceful arc of Fennesz’ The Last Days of May was inspired by Rowland S. Howard, who he considers ‘one of the greatest guitarists’.

On our Bandcamp.

The graceful arc of Fennesz’ The Last Days of May was inspired by Rowland S. Howard, who he considers ‘one of the greatest guitarists’.

On our Bandcamp.

IIf love is a dream, then Close Quarters is a reverie holding that ideal close. The pairing of More Eaze and Wendy Eisenberg blends American minimalism and Americana to connect in the name of lasting romance. Enjoy, partake, proceed.

First Impressions 048: Inquiry, instinct, awe and respect. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 048: Inquiry, instinct, awe and respect.

Featuring -

Judith Hamann
Whatever The Weather
Shinetiac
Dania + Rosso Polare
Joni Void
Oksana Linde

and 'ambient' music.

Always free.

Natalia Beylis' Coy-Koi moves from the known to the unknown. In her imaginary tracing of a fish's journey from tank to pond, Coy-Koi navigates the endless layers of sound that contain untold stories and new possibilities.

Listen - buy - support at our Bandcamp.

First Impressions 047: It’s often beautiful inside this black hole. Featuring

Daniel Bachman
Pink Must
Poppy H
Patrick Shiroishi + Piotr Kurek
Nickolas Mohanna

1stimpressions.substack.com/p/first-impr...

Pitchfork says Fennesz' The Last Days of May is "part of a late-career shift that’s producing some of his most straightforwardly emotional music".
If you long for the more overt beauty of Fennesz' guitar playing, listen to this gently epic work.

Listen - buy - support at our Bandcamp.

We won’t be doing tour t-shirts much longer. Soon to be vintage!

longformeditions.threadless.com

First Impressions 046: Every hallucination has a heart. Featuring -

Jules Reidy
J.WLSN
Gunn-Truscinski Duo
Theodore Cale Schafer
J
Kroppskännedom

and Substack.

Link in bio or 1stimpressions.substack.com to read.

" . . the end result makes me imagine what might happen if Steve Reich scored a Western."

Thanks to Bandcamp Daily for including what's Close Quarters in their Best Ambient for the past month.

Listen - buy - support at our Bandcamp.

If you've been underwater and seen the sunlight streaming in patterns above you, that's the feeling Natalia Beylis perfectly captures on Coy-Koi. Her Longform Editions piece was inspired by a fish's grace through water, a simple premise rendered with curiosity, wonder and beauty.

On Bandcamp.

Tujiko Noriko's Echoes on the Hem meditates on impermanence and transformation, like a whispered memory. Its subtle melodies evolve in a quietly uplifting tenor, hanging just out of reach but still close enough to feel its presence.

On our Bandcamp.

Fennesz' The Last Days of May is a bittersweet ode to summer's slow fade, drawn to be long and lingering in a way that can only be his.

Listen - buy - support at our Bandcamp.

@zsennef.bsky.social

We are thrilled to offer a surprise final work: Angel Bat Dawid’s score for The Book of Enoch. This ecstatic, spectral jazz suite, rich with electronics and classical flourishes, aims to inspire “a more equitable understanding of our shared human heritage.”

On Bandcamp.

Tomorrow.

💚

Futureproofing #12: The end of Longform Editions An interview with the Australian record label that became a beloved exercise in releasing music outside industry norms.

Andrew Ryce’s Futureproofing is excellent. Thanks to Andrew for his time with us:

Soz

First Impressions 045: Swapping spit for sugar. Initial vibes on new music

First Impressions 045: Swapping Spit for Sugar - featuring

Laura Agnusdei
Noémi Buchi
John Glacier
Ali Omar
Horsegirl
Civilistjävel!

and superfans.

Wendy Eisenberg and More Eaze bring maverick spirit and soulful resonance on Close Quarters,lifting Americana towards minimalism, with dueling banjo, guitar, violin, harmonies, and pedal steel, to create a beautiful blend of tradition, modern rush, and connection.

On our Bandcamp.

Based in rural Ireland, Natalia Beylis’ work explores the natural sounds and atmosphere of her surroundings. Coy-Koi was inspired by a neighbor’s Koi fish, capturing the airy, somnambulant state of its waterbeds with curling ambience and pillowy waves of warmth.

On our Bandcamp.