Articles
2010 Ten Favourite Labels
Liam Singer

Albums
Akabu
Amorph
Keith Canisius
Carinthia
Cursor Miner
Dark Party
dOP
Evon
Ex-Wise Heads
Forever Delayed
The Fun Years
Dirk Geiger
The Green Kingdom
Chihei Hatakeyama
Hessien
Robin Holcomb
The Inventors of Aircraft
Peter Jørgensen
Loveliescrushing
My Dry Wet Mess
Silje Nes
Ontayso
Piiptsjilling
Pleq
Radioseed
relapxych.0
Sharp & Whetham
Liam Singer
Erik K Skodvin
Sarah Kirkland Snider
Squares On Both Sides
Strië
Sutekh
David Sylvian
Taiga II
Francesco Tristano
RJ Valeo
Victoire
Wreaths
Zelienople

Compilations / Mixes
Buzz.RO! 2010
Crónica L
Timo Maas
Movement Torino Festival
Sebastian Mullaert

EPs
Dday One / Glen Porter
Depth Affect
Enabl.ed
The Gentleman Losers
Gulls
Mimosa
Piece of Shh…
Shufflepunk
Teebs & Jackhigh
Telekaster
thisquietarmy + yellow6
Tom White

The Inventors of Aircraft: As It Is
Resting Bell

That London-based Phil Tomsett released his first The Inventors of Aircraft album Unknown Language on Serein should tell you something about the kind of deep ambient-drone material presented on the thirty-three-minute follow-up As It Is. The dark, monochromatic cover, too, conveys the primal character of the release's five settings. Throughout the recording, simple melodic motifs repeat slowly in shimmering drone formations while speckles of clicks, scratches, crackle, and dust punctuate the time-suspending unfurl.

The elemental dimension of the The Inventors of Aircraft style surfaces near the end of the opening piece, “A Way In,” when brooding ambient tones and washes are joined by sounds that suggest tectonic plates shifting. “We Have Arrived” perpetuates the mood of the first track via geological shudder before sleek synth tones announce the alien visitors' appearance on terra firma. The middle setting, “Let Me Give You What You Want,” takes the listener to an even deeper subterranean level when the track stretches out in slow-motion for eleven minutes and at times seems on the verge of expiring altogether. On paper, Tomsett's formula might appear simple and straightforward, but the sweeping dark ambient tracks he creates are arresting to say the least. As It Is is that rarely encountered case where one wishes more material had been included, not less.

November 2010