Release Notes
Label: Azure Vista
Release: Mirror Phase
Date: October 25th, 2024
Mastered By: Jonas Munk
Jonas Munk is a Danish composer known for his atmospheric, ambient soundscapes, released under his real name, as well as the celebrated Manual project, which I’ve been following from the early 2000s via Make Mine Music, Darla, and Morr. Most of his solo works (and collaborations with Ulrich Schnauss) appear on his own Azure Vista Records, including the record I’m sharing today. And if that’s not enough, you may [and should] recognise his other renowned project with Jason Kolb, known as Billow Observatory, which I’ve lauded on these pages for every single release. If you already know this fantastic artist, you can learn more about his process in this interview, which I published in 2019: In the studio with Jonas Munk. His latest release, titled Mirror Phase, is the final record in the trilogy of minimal ambient albums composed using guitar loops and lush synth pads. My favourite piece on the album is the title track, which is why I’m happy to premiere it for you today.
This is the longest piece, approaching 18 minutes, and it’s a slow-burn evolution of warm frequencies that oscillate at different phases, creating that beating of constantly shifting patterns, which finally develop into a blissful sonic space. Suddenly, all of the eighteen minutes pass, and I feel like I should experience the journey all over. Everything is perfectly out of focus, creating a brand-new perspective on repeat rotations. These are the stunning “sonic structures that gradually evolve, like cloud formations in the sky…” Fans of delicate and introspective moments from the likes of William Basinski, Christopher Willits, and Stars of the Lid will find themselves in a familiar environment with plenty of texture to get lost in and then discover themselves again.
The album is coming out tomorrow, October 25th, 2024, and besides being available as a digital download via Bandcamp, it is also pressed on a limited edition milky-clear vinyl and a 2xCD, which is paired with the 2021 Altered Light album (previously available only in digital format). As of this writing, there are less than a dozen copies available of each. So point your clickers here.
