Experimental Electronic Music
A sweeping double-length release, Exposure Fields pairs nine original tracks with eleven transformative reworks to extend Dissolved’s singular IDM vision—fractured rhythms, ethereal atmospheres, and luminous melodic detail—into a deeply immersive statement shaped as much by collaboration as by the artist’s own enduring voice.
Each piece on Unseen Footage stands as a reflection, transmitting an ambient frequency both mournful and illuminating. In charting these aural landscapes, West doesn’t merely score silence or sorrow; he challenges us to listen deeply, to sit with uncomfortable truths, and to recognize patterns we are doomed to repeat unless understood.
These works feel like sonic residue from a scorched reality—assembled gradually, layer upon layer, into contemplative yet fractured shapes. MVW crafts immersive, multidimensional pieces where evolving sound design breathes slowly, alternately swelling and dissipating, constructing only to deconstruct.
Together, these explorations form a captivating mosaic of splintered downtempo clicks and cuts, crafted from the upper echelons of experimental electronic music.
The listener is drawn into abstract formulas and affective textures by patterns of untranslatable structures.
Highlighting hundreds of releases in 2024 (and allowing December to set in), we’ve compiled a list of our favorites along with links to their corresponding Igloo reviews and release pages. Since the lists are arranged alphabetically by artist—and a snapshot of tracks are featured in our Soundcloud playlist along with selected Bandcamp tracks and random artwork selections—there are, as usual, no winners or runners-up.
Crafting enigmatic soundscapes, Michael Valentine West—unsurprisingly also scoring soundtracks for several independent films—delivers seven tracks jam-packed with sophisticated glitch elements, evoking a resemblance to his previous audio compositions but with a greater emphasis.
Seven years after its initial release, and the skilled sound sculptor returns with a revived and impacting EP.
You might even draw parallels to the early works of Mouse On Mars, Autechre (“Gantz Graf” era), or even Richard Devine’s industrial-leaning sandblasted synthesizer techniques.
After covering several hundred releases in 2023, many notables—including links to their respective Igloo reviews or release pages—are cataloged here. As usual, there are no winners or runners-up as the lists are alphabetized by artist and selected tracks are featured on our Soundcloud playlist.
