Matt Borghi & Loneward - The Still Guardian

 Matt Borghi & Loneward

The Still Guardian

Seven years have passed since Mike's previous collaborative work. Now, Loneward joins ambient guitarist Matt Borghi, and they journey together to explore lighter and darker colours, all the while under the watchful gaze of the still guardian.

Please note that the free MP3 option will not be available for this album. Select Spotify (via a free account), or YouTube to listen for free.

Bandcamp ►https://altusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-still-guardian/
Spotify ► https://spoti.fi/32gMexv
Google ► https://apple.co/2HzYuBo
Apple ► https://bit.ly/2zwNGzx
Amazon ► https://amzn.to/34bCOoT
YouTube ►https://youtu.be/6_R8Y58YLzQ

"The Unity" from Aatma Records - New Altus Single

Now available from Aatma Records:

"The Unity" 

 

A compilation featuring 16 artists, including a new single from Altus.

Available for download and 2-CD set.

 

 

https://aatma.bandcamp.com/album/the-unity-an-aatma-compilation

 

The Unity is a concept, a belief in the affinity shared across a far-flung community of artists. It is about the deep and powerful connections we make to the music, and to the places it can take us. It is a celebration of various styles contained within a single genre, and the unifying ability of Art. 

Now Available: Loneward - Home

What is a place one can truly call home? An abode to savour life's simplest treasures; remember memories past; a speck of light amid a world of dark; warmth to battle the cold. For some it has always been attainable, while others have misplaced their map, or damaged their compass. It could be in front of them and hidden in plain sight. The meaning of home is beyond simple definition. However, most important is once within that sacred space, you are whole. If you're unable to achieve this, you must change what is necessary until you can. You deserve no less.

Now available on Bandcamp
which is the best way to support any artist.

You can download the MP3 for free

Also available on:

Spotify

Google Music

Apple Music

Amazon

YouTube

You wanted Altus on vinyl?

I'm extremely thrilled to announce that a small piece of Altus has been pressed to vinyl, all thanks to A Strangely Isolated Place.

If you're not familiar with this label, I invite you to take the time to explore their offerings.

Listener-favourite Sodium Glow from Black Trees Among Amber Skies has been chosen to be part of this massive 3 x LP collection of ambient cuts, titled Full Circle.

PURCHASE HERE 

 

Update: It sold out ridiculously fast on Bandcamp.
Check out all the buy options at

 https://asip.lnk.to/asipv00xWE

 

Below is the press release:

_______________________

A Strangely Isolated Place / Full Circle (ASIPV00X)

We’re very excited to share with you our ten-year anniversary compilation titled, Full Circle. This has been well over a year in the making and was due to be released on the exact anniversary of August 26th, (the date of the first blog post in 2008), but due to our need to get a perfect press, it has been delayed a little until now.

~

The music presented in this compilation is probably the closest distillation of what has inspired A Strangely Isolated Place over the past ten years. The ASIP website and its many versions; blog posts; guest mixes; even some of the older archived (now hidden) posts, were revisited to find the perfect tracks to put forward.

There were, however, a few limitations in mind: (1) It had to be a track previously written about or featured in some capacity on ASIP from 2008-2018. (2) The track has previously not been released on vinyl. (3) The artist isn’t currently a part of the ASIP label family.
The end result isn’t a compilation of rarities, b-sides or label exclusives that you may have expected at a typical ten-year milestone. Instead, it’s a compilation of music that has helped define ASIP as many people know it today. From drone and space ambient; to shoegaze-inspired guitars; nostalgic electronica and melodic synthesizer music, Full Circle presents many of the elements that have been captured over the past ten years on A Strangely Isolated Place.

To help celebrate the occasion, all profits from this compilation will go to a charity called The Harmony Project. We felt that investing in and helping the next generation of potential musicians would be a fitting tribute to the overall concept of the release.

Pressed into the grooves of this record is some of the finest music to grace my ears that I felt passionate enough to feature on ASIP in the past, and now once more on vinyl - Ryan Griffin. In more ways than one, we’ve come full circle.

Full Circle track list:

A1. Rhian Sheehan / Quietly Returning
A2. Ous Mal / Marraskuu
A3. ASPIDISTRAFLY / Sea Of Glass
A4. Winterlight / Awake And Sleeping

B1. Altus / Sodium Glow
B2. Ourson / 237

C1. Stellardrone / Billions And Billions
C2. LJ Kruzer / Ter4
C3. Horizon Fire / Piney Hills Blaze
C4. Need A Name / Road To Berlin

D1. Freescha / Moving D2. Alla Farmer / Elektrik Sunrize
D3. Anders Ilar / Rain In All Familiar Places

E1. :papercutz / Where Beasts Die (Kiyoko remix)
E2. Solar Fields / Going In

F1. Ulrich Schnauss / Shine (Mint remix)
F2. bvdub / Don’t Say You Know

Artwork by Mario Morales
Additional layout and gatefold design by Nick Brzostowski
All tracks re-mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri

Release date: November 5th 2018. Format: 3xLP and digital download. (Silver and Transparent vinyl editions).

Altus News & New Release

This is a big update,
but I encourage you to take a few minutes to read through it. Thanks!

New Direction for Altus

The music of Altus has evolved over the past 17 years (since 2001), and it's always been difficult to narrow down the genre it belonged under. Ambient covers most of what I do but has never been a perfect fit.

Recently, the music has become “more ambient”, in that it could easily become aural wallpaper. That's not a slight against the music. Many others—myself included—enjoy ambient music in its “true form”, but it's been a nagging concern for me. I question if those who've been long-time listeners may not enjoy every album due to this shift.

Introducing Loneward

To rectify that, I present the new project: Loneward
and its first release: Protection.

This new project will exist alongside Altus, however from this point on, Loneward will be the source of my purer ambient and drone works. Recent examples would be Innerspace, Komorebi, as well as the ever-elusive Coma Cluster (to which I might be able to surpass one day).

Altus will return to the more active form of its past—Pioneer being the first album to begin that trend. Of course, there'll always be overlap of styles between the two projects, but my ultimate goal is to create a cohesive and consistent experience for both of them.

Purchase Protection from Bandcamp

Download Protection (MP3) for free

Rediscovering Burlorke

My third project, which is likely unknown to most of you, is Burlorke. This explores a completely different style of music. The first release With You, Without was released in 2016, however I didn’t do much to advertise it, and was separate from the Altus project which didn’t help with its exposure. In hindsight, trying to keep the two projects separate produced more work than I wanted, so to simplify things, it’s now available on my site for free download. I encourage you to check it out! If it's not to your liking, don't fret. This project will always take a backseat to Altus and Loneward.

Purchase With You, Without from Bandcamp

Download With You, Without (MP3) for free

Continued Updates & Where to Listen

News for all three projects will be available wherever you currently receive updates for Altus, and the home base for all my music will be https://altusmusic.ca. The landing page will now feature the latest release for each project, and the discography section will keep track of all albums.

And in case you weren’t aware, Altus, Loneward, and Burlorke are also available on Spotify, iTunes/Apple Music, Google Music, YouTube, Amazon, and of course, Bandcamp. While the complete Altus discography is not available on the major platforms, you’ll likely find your favourites there. If there’s an Altus album you’d like made available, don’t hesitate to let me know, but be aware that some albums won’t pass muster in the approval process for various reasons.

Finally, I’d like to say "thank you" to all those who’ve supported my work on Bandcamp, as well as through PayPal donations and purchasing/streaming on the various platforms. I'd also like to say "you're most welcome" to those who appreciate the option to download the music for free.

It’s been an amazing ride (24 Hours was released 17 years ago), and I hope that you’ll stay with me for many more years of aural adventures.

- Mike

"Pioneer" Now Available

Now available on Bandcamp (44.1kHz/24-bit) FLAC and WAV
as well as free MP3

It’d be a one-way trip,

but would you give up the chance

to be part of an expedition to another world?

Leave Earth behind and travel beyond our solar system. Altus returns with vast, evolving chord progressions, accompanied by articulate arpeggiated synths, pulsing basses, soaring leads, and lush pads.

High volume and active listening is encouraged.

Also available on Spotify, Google Music, Apple Music, Amazon, and YouTube.

Now available for free download: Altus - Winter Embrace (15th Anniversary Edition)

Winter Embrace
15th Anniversary Edition

I'll keep this short and sweet:
the free MP3 version is available to download now!

http://altusmusic.ca/we_15th.html
You'll find the MP3 link on the bottom left side.

Thank you to everyone who supported the album on Bandcamp, especially those who purchased the CD. Of course, factory-pressed CD copies are still available to purchase on Bandcamp and Databloem. So if you missed out before, please buy yourself a copy.

I'm currently very busy starting a new business (not music-related), but once things have settled in the new year, I have exciting news to announce my next music project. Without going into too much detail, I plan on trying to return the sound of Altus to its original form. If you've been enjoying the music I've been releasing these past few years, don't fret. That style won't disappear, it will only be released under a different name.

You'll have to wait to find out more.

Happy holidays, and my best to you for 2018.

Altus - Winter Embrace (15th Anniversary Edition)

Winter Embrace
15th Anniversary Edition

For many people, winter isn’t an enjoyable time of year. Even I have a love/hate relationship with the season, but when the snow is falling and everything is quiet, it slows the world down to my preferred state. That’s what I’ve been trying to capture in the music over all these years.

I’ve explored other aspects of winter, such as in the sombre Black Trees Among Amber Skies (2010), as well as recapturing the magic of the original Winter Embrace in The Sidereal Cycle 3 (2012). But I’ve been told by many long time listeners that the original holds a special place in their heart and mind.

 
Discover the story and creation of Winter Embrace

What I'm offering now is the definitive version of Winter Embrace. Aside from the twinkling bells that permeate the recording, everything you hear has been meticulously rebuilt from the ground up, treated with the utmost respect in terms of keeping the mood intact. To be clear, changes have been made, but if you were to compare, I think you’d agree this version is a vast improvement.

Factory-pressed CD in glossy 4-panel digipak now available!

Check out the review at Sonic Immersion
http://www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=A&review=73595

Buyers from the Americas
(and download / 24-bit formats + mp3)

Purchase at Bandcamp

Buyers from Europe / Asia / Africa / Australia

(for lower shipping fees)

Purchase at Databloem

Free MP3 download will be available on December 21, 2017.
A reminder email with a link will be sent at that time.

Prepare to Rediscover the Familiar

Prepare to rediscover the familiar in one week.

For the first time, Altus will be available on pressed CD.

Altus back catalogue now available at Bandcamp

After numerous requests, it's finally available. You'll now find all solo Altus albums available on Bandcamp. They're available to purchase at $1 an album, so you'd like to include more Altus in your Bandcamp library, the cost is minimal.

Later this summer, I aim to have everything available on all the major retailers and streaming services.

I may include collaborative albums in the future, but I'll need to work out those details with each artist.

Of course, nothing has changed in terms of availability elsewhere. You can still get all the albums for free via my site.

(It appears Bandcamp is sending e-mails when it wasn't supposed to. I apologize if you get a slew of e-mails about "new releases".)

"Sleep Theory Volume 3" Review at Sonic Immersion

Check out the review for Sleep Theory Volume 3 at Sonic Immersion.
http://www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=A&review=73545

Thank you as always, Bert!

"Sleep Theory Volume 3" Now Available

Now available on Bandcamp (44.1kHz/24-bit) FLAC and WAV
as well as free MP3

Settle in for three more sessions of sleep theory.
This is music not for sleeping, but to help you explore what happens while you sleep.

How Do You Listen to Altus?

Please take a moment to answer a few questions about how you listen to Altus.
https://goo.gl/forms/ZTcmYABuVjiV0U5E2

"Below The Root" review at Sonic Immersion

My thanks to Bert at Sonic Immersion for his review of "Below The Root"
http://www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=A&review=73503

"Below The Root" game background details

Curious to know more about the game Below The Root?
Here's a great post that goes into excellent detail:
http://blog.stahlmandesign.com/below-the-root-a-story-a-computer-game-and-my-lifelong-obsession/

"Below The Root" Now Available

Now available on Bandcamp (44.1kHz/24-bit) FLAC and WAV
as well as free MP3

Prepare yourself for a brooding, cinematic adventure below the root.
Listening on headphones in a darkened room is encouraged.


The title is based on a game from 1984 with the same name. The game’s story takes place after the Green Sky Trilogy of novels by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. It was one of the first open-world games where you could travel in any direction right from the beginning, presenting a very large gameworld for its time.

As a child, the game fascinated me, but not entirely due to the vast land to explore. I often pondered what lay beyond the gameworld’s borders. This music is an aural representation of what one might discover.

"Innerspace" review at Hypnagogue

Thanks John for sharing your detailed thoughts on Innerspace.
https://hypnagogue.net/2017/01/05/altus-innerspace/

Innerspace included in November's WVKR-FM "Secret Music" Top 20 Playlist

Thanks to Scott Raymond at WVKR-FM for including Innerspace in November's "Secret Music" Top 20 Playlist.

http://secretmusicwvkr.blogspot.com/2016/12/secret-music-news-december-2016.html

"Innerspace" review at Sonic Immersion

Check out the review for Innerspace at Sonic Immersion.
http://www.sonicimmersion.org/review.php?letter=A&review=73439

Thanks Bert!

"Innerspace" Now Available

Altus is proud to present INNERSPACE—a journey not beyond, but within. 70+ minutes of music in pure ambient form. It doesn't demand your attention, yet the sombre touch you've come to expect from Altus is here.

Now available on Bandcamp (44.1kHz/24-bit) FLAC and WAV
as well as free MP3