AMN Reviews: Various Artists – Unexplained Sounds Group – 9th Annual Report (Mid Year Edition) (2023; Unexplained Sounds Group)

Twice a year, Unexplained Sounds Group puts out its Annual Report, a compilation of largely unreleased and new recordings from experimental artists around the globe. This mid-year edition was released in late June and consists of over 3 hours of music.

The first impression you have upon listening to the album is of its depth and breadth. There are a handful of familiar artists – Richard Bégin, Michael Valentine West, David Lee Myers, and Michael Bonaventure – but the vast majority of contributors are lesser-known musicians. With tracks running from about 3 minutes to over 24 in length, each artist is given the space they need to communicate their vision.

As has become typical with this series, the “experimental” music selected leans toward the more cerebral and compositionally sophisticated. There is a fair amount of diversity present, with examples of ambient, post-industrial, drone, sound art, field recordings, electroacoustic, and so on. Indeed, the first few tracks take on notably gritty and analog textures that are strangely catchy despite their novelty and hazy weirdness.

For the most part, these tracks are slow-moving and deliberately paced, with a few exceptions that exhibit propulsive patterns or loops. Nonetheless, the majority are beatless and textural rather than melodic.

If you have been curious about the output from Unexplained Sounds Group, this compilation (or any one of its several predecessors in the series) is a great introduction to the label and its evolving sound. Highly recommended.

Artists represented on this recording include Daniele Bogon, Cévennes, Oubys, Richard Bégin, Stephono-ZIP, Chelidon Frame, Jakob Grunditz & Michael Grunditz, RSOT/CPR, vÄäristymä, Simon Serc, Audio Obscura, Yousef Kawar, Kasra Faridi & Aida Hormozian, RIG, Loo(p)cy, DAFAKE, Henrik Meierkord, The Tara Experiment, progettosonoro, Michael Valentine West, Zach Zinn, Plurals, david lee Myers, Silent Chaos, Michael Bonaventure TRI:.OBYTE, Hans Castrup, Cyclamen Systems, and Teeth of Devine.