[gterma001] : Indo - Rupa Loka (2011-08-08)The Rupa Loka, one of the hidden planes of existence beyond our own is the focus for this album, a serene world populated by beings more refined and evolved than ourselves. The album is a journey through this nature kingdom and incorporates soundscapes rich in flavour and mystery. The recordings were originally produced in 2009 and rediscovered and carefully reassembled and remastered in the process. The album comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet depicting the realm of the Rupa Loka.
The longtime gterma favourite "Sky" was originally released by Mathias as a double album in the year 2000 available through the then Klaus Wiese website. The Sky sessions are longform drones with an enormously uplifting character. For the new edition we condensed the best moments of the original release into a single mix and combined it with more recent drones produced in 2010 and everything was then remastered. The album comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
Stephen Parsick and Markus Reuter have once again met up to brew their own kind of dronescapes. The path leads into sonic hinterlands where processed guitar fuses with experiments of a decidedly electronic nature. Complex structures are erected from out of a mysterious tonal language, and the journey meanders between cold and harrowing audioscapes into the blooming fields of the outer reaches of the psychosphere. Comes in a jewelcase with a 8-page booklet.
Adrift on an endless ocean, suspended into mellow water gently rocking you to sleep. Each wave carries you further from land and into a twilight existence, the sun warming your face and the water sending a million glittering reflections into your gaze. The result is a mini-album of serene ambient soundscapes with a harrowing undertone. Comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
Dedicated to the great protectors of our realm comes this tributary to the Four Heavenly Kings of Caturmaharajika. Four artists each provide an interpretation of one of the four guardian kings and their continuous efforts to ward off all evil that threatens our world. Expect longform ambient with a mysterious twist. The album comes in a jewelcase with a 16 page booklet.
Describing the works of Nirmanakaya requires a lot of imagination, as this music transcends the typical boundaries of genre and style. In this hidden world haunting chants are fused with pumping beats and infectious melody unlike anything we had ever heard before. The Nirmanakaya mini-album collects all the available material thus far produced by this unique artist. Comes in a jewelcase with a 16-page booklet depicting a fascinating mythological world.
Indo returns with a harrowing and cold narrative of Hungarian explorer and Orientalist Csoma de Körös' long journey to Zanskar valley where he studied the mysteries of the Tibetan language and Buddhist wisdom in the 1820s. Journey with us through the narrow mountain passes into the secluded villages at the foot of the Himalayas under the watchful eye of King Virudhaka. Comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
The long and often dreary winters up here in the north are characterized by burning nightskies as the cold tears into the skin and the wind torments our eyes. Conversely the short summers with their bright colours and dreamlike nights have a very profound effect on the people and creatures dwelling underneath. One long flowing epos dedicated to the Sun and her voyage across the burning evening skies of Northern Europe. Comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
Long before Buddhism spread into the Himalayas the region was at the mercy of frightening spirits and powerful divinities.Seetyca and Artin Mucht join the bonpo shamans in search for traces of the old faith, now consumed by the benevolent teachings of Lord Buddha. These are stark aural landscapes with a mystic touch, yet clear as crystalline ice. Allow yourself to be lost in the world of Parikrama. The album comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
[gterma010] : Mathias Grassow - Alchemystery (2012-02-01)Freestyle recordings are the order of the day as Mathias treads an improvised path into the colourful and enigmatic realms of the ever present mystery that is music. Traditionalists and purists beware, these sound sculptings will challenge any drone-ambient prejudice. Double album comes in a jewelcase with a 16-page booklet. Read more about the Alchemy Sessions on the Path of the Shaman page.
[gterma011] : Havdis - The Hidden Islands (2012-03-23)Norwegian Havdis creates achingly beautiful aural paintings of a coastal world with streaks of romanticism and melancholy, a cold and unforgiving harsh environment of stark beauty and mystery for you to explore. Journey into the foggy waters and find a hidden archipelago to spellbind your soul. The album comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
The Urenga project draws its inspiration from nature and projects an aural sensation of a living, breathing world somewhere in the borderlands between dub techno and ambient. After the rain stops falling and the storm clouds withdraw beyond the horizon, the tide once again rolls in like a wave of evening colour glow. Hypnotizing and captivating music to spend half-awake in your bed through the thick tropical night. Comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
Prepare for a bit of sound archaeology as we revisit two related drone pieces recorded back in 1999. Together they illustrate a difficult voyage to the mystical continent of Uttarakuru, believed populated by a highly refined people with deep spiritual capabilities. Journey across a treacherous ocean and gloom mountains in search of its floating cities. Double album comes in a jewelcase with a 12-page booklet.
The Undara project is a loose constellation of musicians and artists hailing from Portugal. Setting an interdisciplinary path through musical arcanum and artistic obscurity their journey of discovery leads into a dark and unknown wilderness, tripping over smoldering rocks and stumbling over the very roots of mankind's origin. Hear the distant call of the untamed lands to which mankind rarely chooses to venture. Comes in a jewelcase with a 8-page booklet.
Originally released in 2004 this remarkable album presents a flow of ambience carried ashore on the ethereal waves of a mysterious but recurring tide. Based around the ancient Indian rudra veena instrument this is a warm flood you do not want to ebb out. "Ocean" is produced in cooperation with Sangha Records and presented in memoriam to this talented musician. Album comes in a jewelcase with a 16-page booklet.
Continuing on his musical wanderings as seen on "Alchemystery", Mathias once again travels down the obscured path of the shaman. Solemn soundscaping with heavy elements of percussion and flute selected from material recorded in winter and spring of 2012. The search for the legendary springs of Mímir and Urðr has begun. Double album comes in a jewelcase with a 16-page booklet.
When the final faint rays of light shine upon motionless limbs, colours begin to fade as the pelagic darkness bides a welcome with its cold and soft embrace. The descent continues, unevenly adrift on an unknown current. The boundaries of time and space no longer apply. Finally at rest on the distant seabed new life is destined to spring from this empty shell anew. Comes in a jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
Looming underneath these towering creatures we normally refer to as clouds, it is easy to stop and stare with fascination and introspection at their cyclic drifting across the heavens. The pattern looks much the same from above, watching these silent skyriders fall prey to unrelenting winds, sweeping them away underneath and above, while they muster all their strength to stay with the sun. The Long Flight is a retrospective glance down the ambient side of Texas based project Patterns of the Sky and comes in a jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
The drone tapestries of Parikrama can once again be heard as they have finally materialized here in the Manusyaloka, or our human realm again. After having seemingly phased out of our world the travellers have visited the vast continents circling Mount Meru and on their way back nearly got lost in the thick vegetation of the age old Himmaphan forest, having there encountered bizarre creatures that defy description. Seasoned gterma veterans will know what to expect. Comes in a jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
As the harvest season is over the cold and dark autumn is already creeping upon us. In October, the Hunter's Moon sits high atop the sky, bathing the landscape in its eerie bright light. The hunters would welcome this change which gives them a better chance of catching their next prey. Meanwhile, the people sit by candle light in their cottages on the edge of the forest, awaiting their soon return. Deep inside the woods, others bide their time. Album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
Last Industrial Estate is one of the various projects of Anders Peterson of Ghost Sound and gterma fame, a warm and melancholic twist upon the dark ambient canvas. LIEs is an ode to the remnants of the industrial era and expands upon of the self-titled album released on Kalpamantra netlabel earlier this summer. The album now features a more sinister edge which stands out like a jet-black pool of oil upon an overlooked dusty tarmac. Album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
[gterma022] : Enh - Body Of Blue (2013-04-03)Body of Blue is a very personal form of expression signed Ian Handsley, who moved his operations into an old hotel on the Pacific coast of Japan. From there he has been able to experience the different characters of various types of weather systems forming literally upon his very doorstep. Ian's ethereal soundscapes reach into the otherworld and allow a tired mind to drift into a deep sonic ocean. Album comes in a jewelcase with a 16-page booklet.
[gterma023] : Mathias Grassow & Carsten Agthe - Beyond The Silence (2012-11-08)This summer, Mathias and Carsten performed live at the Gut Saunstorf, a retreat in Northern Germany. The concert marked the end of an extended period of silence for the people attending. The recording captures two hours of raw and ritualistic music and also features some new improvisations which were recorded during the night shift at the local hotel. Double album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
[gterma024] : As If - Faraway Trees Standing Still (2012-11-08)Danish musician and artist Kenneth Werner invites us to a journey away from the chaos of today's frenzied cities and into the quiet realm of the distant mountains and serene forests, an escape from ourselves and a home away from home. A vision painted with ambient and dubtechno crayons. Comes in a jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
The duo Aqua Dorsa, perhaps better known under their respective names, Gianluigi Gasparetti and Enrico Coniglio, here present a very solemn yet foreboding album with dark undertones. Gigi originally composed the source material which was then expanded upon by Enrico. We've done some final editing to the material during the summer and fall of 2013. The November Earth also features a short story written by Gigi in 2012, called Sogno di Luce. Album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
Veteran cosmic travellers Dirk Schlömer and Carsten Agthe look back on journeys past and present, in preparing for the excursions of tomorrow. Music made for drifting out of consciousness into the higher understanding based on enlightenment and revelation. Expect a mix of instrumentation from past and present. Album comes in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
Looking back through the first 250 years of spaceflight and terraforming, humanity is still not closer to solving the age old riddle of our cosmic origins or the true purpose of our existence. The journey must continue across new frontiers. gterma takes the help of two artists in illustrating modern life in the Vega system, one of the core colonies and located a mere 25 light years from Sol. The album is dedicated to the iconic British painter Peter Elson, whose lavish illustrations fill the 16-page booklet.
One of last year's highlights on the digital scene was the Mistral album, a beautiful and introspective piece which much like its namesake sweeps in like a strong chilling wind from the north. The forceful tempo of the mistral also leaves a strong touch of melancholy and serenity following in its wake. Originally released on Cold Tear Records last autumn the gterma edition has been continuously mixed and expanded upon. Comes in a jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
The output of Japanese drone mainstay Hakobune could best be described as both heartwarming and sombre at the same time. "If It Were To Fade" follows this tradition and captures the sensation of being lost deep inside the endless distance of a great between. Album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
Sonnenwende is the spiritual successor to Dämmerung and follows the sun along her passage through the seasons, the seemingly endless journey between darkness and light. Contemplative ambience, ominous droneworks and some dashes of folk. Double album in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
[gterma031] : VelgeNaturlig - Húmus (2013-07-01)Portuguese soundscaper VelgeNaturlig has a penchant for creating dramatic soundworlds where the elements interact freely with more complex constructs. His magical album Húmus, originally self-released some nine years ago, is a true gterma favourite and we are delighted to bring it once more into the spotlight where its regal stature can inspire a new generation of listeners. Album comes in jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
gterma follows in the wake of Ashtoreth, goddess of love and war, known by many names and cultures. Experienced sonic excavators Lee Norris and Craig Murphy have backtracked her steps through the blue tileworks of the Ishtar Gate and beyond the Temple of Marduk, only to enter a state of inbetween, a possible portal to the very realm of the gods. Journey with us into the unknown. Comes in a jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
[gterma033] : Havdis - Nightbreeze (2013-10-23)Havdis and gterma would once again like to welcome all listeners back to the northern hinterlands, to experience the magnificent colours of the long summer nights, the strange shapes of the peculiar rocky landscape and the inward journey into the expansive ocean of the mind. Ten introspective pieces of twilight music. Album in jewelcase with a 16-page booklet.
Travels on dim ethereal oceans of mystery should be familiar waters to those of you who have been following gterma for some time now. On Tamanoshima, Mathias brings us into unchartered vistas for a slightly mindbending and hypnotic journey into minimal soundworlds. A warm and glowing drift based on material composed in the summer of 2013. Album comes in the regular jewelcase with 16-page booklet.
The Tanuki is the much loved but naughty little racoon dog of Japanese lore. It invited us over to the small farmhouse where it has currently taken up residence. telling us of its many pilgrimages through forgotten and slumbering lands far away. In the same manner, we now look back on the Japanese influences on Tim Gray, perhaps better known through his Ethernet name. Nine pieces of hypnotizing and slumbering ambient with drone and dub influences. Comes in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
The world's oceans still jealously guard their many secrets from the prying eyes of our fledgling 21st century civilization. Brave minds remain convinced that unseen lands dwell in the cold depths of the deep waters. A few claim to have visited these places in their dreams. We were amazed to discover a portion of a dusty traveller's journal, telling of one travellers tireless pursuit in heeding the ocean's calling. We invite you to follow in the wake of this dreamlike journey.
It has been some time now since we heard from everyone's favourite New Zealander. Rest assured though that all is well with David, and he is still composing new music. However, some material has been ready for release for quite some time but is held up at the publisher. Meanwhile, David sends us these new greetings from the sphere where ambient and Indian classical music converge. Dig out your Ramayana and float away on a little lotus leaf along the river of souls. Comes in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
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Songs for Humming is a very intimate affair, an album in strong symbiosis with the elements. Here are sixteen short songs, somewhat melancholic and almost bordering on the naive. You can feel the chill of the autumn air, smell the humid earth in your hand, taste the decay of fallen leaves. We are used to s. delivering massive dronewalls and deep, hypnotic soundscapes. Here he shows up his contemplative side, with music turning your eyes to drift into the deep blue sky. The album comes in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
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If we have any StillStream fanatics here chances are you might remember this performance, which originally streamed live on the Sadayatana show back in 2011. Although then presented without title, Jason intended for this piece to capture the aftermath of our world after having suffered through a grand deluge. gterma are very happy to bring back to life again this emotional recording. Jason has also kindly composed for us a brand new epilogue which now closes the album. Comes in jewel case with 16-page booklet.
A long time coming, we have worked zealously to present this offering to the dark entity known as Rahu. A vast demigod with a strong worldly influence, Rahu's might is perhaps best illustrated in his devouring of the sun, causing the Earth to sit in his dark shadow. We have assembled this dark mantra from material both new and old, creating a deep tribute featuring several of the profile artists of gterma. Massive double album in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
Veterans Rüdiger Gleisberg and Mathias Grassow, who have previously worked together in constellations such as KarmaCosmic and Nostalgia (together with Carsten Agthe), have come together again to create Ad Lucem, an album dedicated to the light and the hope for a better tomorrow. Six deep pieces carefully balancing on a slight penumbra between light and darkness. Comes in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
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Spreading their influence across what is today known as the rooftop of the world, the ancient kingdoms of the Zhang Zhung reached into the distant valleys and plateaus of the Himalayas. A culture centered upon the holy Mount Kailash, this people followed the Bonpo tradition, living their lives in the shadows of the many fearful Bonpo deities, but also overwatched by the compassionate Lord of the Heavens. Journey together with Vladislav Sikach and Sergey Gabbasov as they restore to life the centuries old mysteries of the Zhang Zhung. Album in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
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We step into the year of 2015 with a retrospective look on an album that has since become quite scarce in the marketplace. Wave Mantra was originally released by Sean himself fifteen years ago. It is best described as a sonic journey through an enigmatic and absorbing soundworld with a very rich organic flavour. A beautiful tale that we are very happy to see back in print again. This reissue has, like so many other gterma titles, also been gently remastered by Anders Peterson. Comes in a jewel case with 16-page booklet.
[gterma044] : Havdis - Novemberlys (2016-01-12)When the darkness of the wilting season seems the most compact, when the abyss is staring back at us through the naked branches of every tree and the forests turn eerily silent, we are also reminded of the stark beauty that encapsulates us. It is the season of introspection, and of winter sleep. On Novemberlys we collect seven pieces that immerse themselves into the strange light of winter. Album in jewelcase with 8-page booklet.
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[gterma045] : As If - Havet (2015-10-16)Kenneth Werner returns to gterma with an album inspired by the ocean that surrounds his home island of Bornholm. During our stay we will experience the passing of the seasons in the southern Baltic Sea. Twelve deep tracks hovering in the borderlands between dubtechno and ambient, the zone which we find As If returning to again and again. Album in jewel case with 16-page booklet.
[gterma046] : Urenga - Pacific Depths (2015-10-16)
The last time we encountered Urenga we retraced a confused traveller's journey among the distant islands of the West Pacific, searching for the fabled continent of Mu. On Pacifc Depths, we allow ourselves to catch our breaths and sink our tired souls into the deep blue abyss that is the lost history of Urenga itself. The album is made up of a deep ambient current collected from several digital releases that occurred between 2011 and 2013. Album in jewel case with 16-page booklet.
One of the strangest and most fascinating aspects of ambient music is the way it can sometimes morph from sonic wallpaper -where it basically functions as a soundtrack- into an agent of transformation, allowing the reshaping of the perceived world around the listener. Some of Mathias' albums have had this effect on me before, and the Darklight Quest definitely falls into this territory. gterma is happy to shine a light on this now mostly forgotten treasure, originally released as a DIY CDr in 1998.
[gterma048] : David Parsons - Puja (2016-03-15)
David Parsons revisits gterma with a new album which was completed in 2015. Although perhaps mainly known for his panoramic and almost cinematic Himalayan soundworlds, on Puja he continues his more recent tradition of travelling the inner horizon. And in so doing, he also invites us listeners to undertake similar journeys of our own. Puja is a mysterious and magic constellation, fuelled by the spirit and discipline of the age old Asian cultures and philosophies. Comes in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
Welcome along on another trip into the forgotten hinterlands of the Eurasian plateau. Sergey and Vladimir once again skillfully guide us through the dusty backwater trails of the Mongol steppe, along the winding mountain roads that slither through the steep valleys of the Central Asian mountain ranges past crumbling old villages where hardship and beauty go hand in hand. No manmade light disturbs the eternal slumber of the starry nightsky and every cave, every hill, seems under the influence of some forgotten deity or spirit being.
The temple complex at Daiyuzan Saijoji is but one of many shrines in Japan hidden away among trees and hills. These places offer a welcome change of pace from the busy cities and a chance to experience a very special type of quiet and tranquility. Composer Noguchi Yoshinori paints a minimalistic path along the winding steps that lead through the Daiyuzan grounds. An introspective walk along the remote path that leads to past, present and future. Album in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
Cold and darkness once again descends upon Northern Europe and we huddle within the walls of our confines, creep up to fireplaces and hide under thick blankets. Those who brave the foreboding climate and venture outside into the blackness find a nocturnal world under heavy clouds, or perhaps find themselves under the scrutinizing gaze of the coldest of piercing starlight. "The Nightquest Sessions", an enigmatic dream by itself, is a trusty partner under these circumstances. Comes in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
[gterma053] : SecondFace - Transitions (2017-06-10)
Frank Vilbæk Jensen returns to gterma with a new album based on material from 2016. On Transitions we experience the full register of SecondFace with vivid and colourful musical expressions ranging from ambient to trance and dub techno. The cinematic feeling remains as strong as on the previous album Vega Colony. Album in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
Divinations is a new chapter in the Alchemy Suite, inspired by man's quest for higher knowledge and his taking to mysticism and obscure practices to find it. The album is sourced from Mathias' archival recordings and has been compiled and mixed by 121. Anders has once again done the mastering and Nina also returns with some more of her thoughtful images. Comes in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
In Nomine Tellus is an album inspired by the state of our world and draws the listener into a microcosm of its own, where a tumultous storm is angrily circling the perimeter of our still peaceful shores. Annemarie paints this aural canvas utilizing both electronic and acoustic instrumentation as well as her own voice. The album follows "In Nomine Cetus" and is the second album in a planned suite of three. Comes in a 6-panel superfile cardboard cover.
The third and last link in the trilogy made up together with the Darklight Quest and the Nightquest Sessions. Think longform desolate ambience as we soar across unknown vistas to places forgotten by time and space. On this edition we have encapsulated the original 1998 soundscape with a prologue and epilogue. Comes in jewelcase with 8-page booklet.
Skyscaper is one of the many aliases belonging to none other than gterma's longtime mastering wizard Anders Peterson. Rescape is a reinterpretation of the original Atmospheric Stratification album with the help from several well known artists usually found in the dubtechno field. Imagine ascending into the heavens during a slowly building stormfront as immesurable walls of energy are about to be unleashed. Album in jewelcase with 8-page booklet.
On a distant shore far from the prying eyes of city nightlights we encounter a bleak and rock-strewn cliffscape, inhabited mainly by small colonies of pelagic birds. It can be an eerie and desolate experience but nowhere is the horizon as vast and at night the skies sing in mysterious colours. Journey with us to this forbidden islet and bring a thick blanket and a thermos of your favourite hot beverage. Comes in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
We welcome David back to gterma with a new album completed just in time for the New Zealandish winter to draw to a close. The compositions work their way through the seven Chakras starting at the crown. During this project I noticed just how many of my own Chakras that must be permanently blocked. Ahem... Luckily it doesn't stop me from becoming fully absorbed in this otherworldly sound ritual. Headphones strongly recommended. Comes in jewel case with 8-page booklet.
Listen to excerpts from our past releases here:
