A gallery of sound. Spaciousness is the epitome of what forward-facing, thematic experimentation can bring you. Lo Recordings have always been known for their impactful visuals, their collab with the graphic design team Non-Format has granted them that status, but now with Spaciousness, we see music actively evoking imagery in our heads, almost as if we were experiencing the latest exhibition on the subject of sound. This compilation, arranged by Lo Recordings’ founder Jon Tye, transcends genre with ease - flying from the almost macabre Flecks of Endless Spaces, to the serenely old school Orange Cascade, and all the way to the unearthly Ode to Flora, there is certainly something for everyone here - assumed you’re championing the ongoing ambient renaissance as much as we do.

Many are the highlights: Chatterscope is an interlude for the ages that keeps you on the edge of your feet as you hear the ever familiar intros to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and the Mission Impossible theme; Woodstock, a rustling and bustling walk through chaos, which like Brownian motion, finds its order only in the continuous descent into tension; the spatial and spiritual Birth Of A Star Child, leads us through roads untravelled in a mixture of extraterrestrial and divine, equal parts unsettling and nostalgic; and finally our office favorite, Andras’ “If You Can’t Understand This Plaque, How Could An Alien“, a track that hits old country music in the stomach and spits it back out with a magnetic intensity of spirit, drifting from soothing string plucks, to a melancholically grandiose bowing of the violin that is incredibly reminiscent of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’ “Assassination of Jesse James“ soundtrack.

Jon Tye said that “Spaciousness is about nurturing our inner spaces, and enhancing our outside spaces, not by focusing on genres, but opening them out. This is about redefining the past, and co-creating the future”, and surely he hits the nail on the head, especially as it concerns shaping the future. With the energy of young composers, and the maturity of venerated genre elders, Spaciousness bridges the gap between sound amalgamation and experimentation, offering a bold outlook on the state and possibilities of ambient music.