Otarion - Time of Nations

Artist: Pink'n Orange
P: 2025
Rolf Plankensteiner, the musician and composer of the album "Exponentialis," sees himself as part of an age of exponential developments, aware that technologies in a finite world always reach their limits. At the same time, he experiences in his musical work that the creative expression of sounds and rhythms, and the effects of music on the listener, can expand almost endlessly. Thus, a turning point occurs at which the vertical of the exponential transforms into the universal. Quantity transforms into quality. And precisely this change is the special characteristic of music. The project band Pink 'n Orange celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2025 and now calls itself "The Pink 'n Orange Project." The artist collective consists primarily of Gabriele Schwerdfeger, Rolf Plankensteiner, Ives Fritzsch, Johny Demeuricy, and Conrad Westhoff. But good friends like Walter Bartel, Boris Schaa, Maurice Dreier, and Wolfgang Moser also regularly contribute their special parts to various projects, as in "EXPONENTIALIS." The music on the CD is a sound collage whose titles can invite self-reflection.

Artist: Unisphere
P: 2025
Following their debut album Endless Endeavour and the acclaimed second release Tempus,
UNI Sphere continues their artistic journey with OpUS Tria.
The album expands on their signature sound: melodic, atmospheric, and immersive,
creating soundscapes that push the boundaries of electronic music.

Artist: Lightwave
P: 2025
In the story of electronic music – and especially that with a more experimental, ambient viewpoint – the name of Lightwave will not be known to many. Christoph Harbonnier and Christian Wittman released their first album, Modular Experiments, in 1987, after which they recorded Cités Analogues in April and May 1988. It was released as a casette. Their relative neglect is a mystery, but the restoration of this album should ensure their profile is raised. Bureau B have done the duo proud with a reissue on LP, CD and download. Their press release lists an inventory of RSF, ARP, Roland and Oberheim modular systems, mixed on A&H 12/2 and recorded to tape on a Revox B77 tape machine – a complex set-up but one aimed at what they describe as ‘a concept album, comprising of a series of discrete compositions and atmospheres assembled into two continuous tracks. The tracks are split out a little by dividers, with field recordings and tape processing softening the join between sections. This is a fascinating listen, and if you didn’t already know you might suspect that Cités Analogues had been recorded in the last year, such is its reach and originality. Whether they work in long or short form the duo make subtly shifting soundscapes that are unexpectedly intense in their realisation. On occasion they hit some winsome grooves, as in the slow but elastic Le Purvis. Agora is lost in thought, musing over a slowly shifting bass, while the eerie Polycentre and activity of News are at once complementary. Cités Analogues itself is an effective long form piece, its quarter-hour duration packed full of ideas and fragments that are given an assured and compelling development. As the album evolves Lightwave create soundscapes with industrial roots but with added splashes of instrumental colour. These are especially evident on Ophelia, a dream sequence with feather-light textures, suspended in mid-air.