Summer highlights

After a rather wet July the recent week has finally seen a return of the heat, and with it the damp grey clouds floated away to the east. We are once again blessed with a nightsky that is filled with both colours and stars. It is nights like these you never want to be turned into day. Dreams and thoughts collide on a smell of wild flowers and the calls from the young Grebes nearby. We celebrate summer with two new albums.

[gterma047] : Mathias Grassow - The Darklight Quest (out now)

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.
 

[gterma049] : Sergey Gabbasov & SiJ - Perseides (out now)

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.

A serenade for spring

The winter was long and cold, but with the coming of spring more and more artists seem to have awakened from their slumber. There have been a couple of interesting releases out in the past few weeks and now finally we are also able to release our own titles, which were unfortunately delayed for a couple of dark and damp winter months. Today, we welcome back the spring sun, and its gentle embrace of our worn souls.

[gterma042] : SiJ & Sergey Gabbasov - Zhang Zhung (out now)

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.

[gterma043] : Sean Washburn - Wave Mantra (out now)

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.