Andrew Chalk/Faraway Press

it's about time this underground luminary of peace had his own thread. an untrained composer, andrew has crafted a serene yet breathtaking palette of distant synthesis and mysterious acousmatics, quietly issuing carefully, intricately handcrafted records, tapes and discs since the 1980s. he has collaborated with the new blockaders, current 93, jim o'rourke, david jackman & more. amongst typical CDs and LPs, the work of faraway press stands out, garnished in ribbons, obi strips, fold out panels and delicate wooden spines. he has painstakingly bookbound and printed most of the sleeves for his releases at home. as if andrew's extensive, distinctively dreamy catalogue wasn't sufficient, he is also committed to fine artistry, painting and pencilling vignettes and landscapes of his own world. there is no-one in the field of 'ambient' more dedicated, DIY and kind. andrew is reclusive and private, but we write letters every month, and he is always happy to correspond and send his work in the mail. his music has brought me great respite in the most difficult periods of my life, and i'm grateful to have his sound world grace my stereo every day. unfortunately, andrew closed faraway press last year due to increasing costs, but that hasn't halted his moving, timeless work from being issued.

his new LP 'dioramas' is due next year on an'archives. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/アンドリュー-チョーク/切組灯籠絵-dioramas/

& you can visit his exhibition 'dreams unseen' in manchester now. https://www.instagram.com/anywhereoutofthe.world/p/DC9f8vjssoL/?img_index=1

start with: 'violin by night', 'goldfall', 'everyone goes home when the sun sets'

east of the sun is the first album of his that i listened to- it's singularly beautiful. began picking thru his discography (what's available of it) on bandcamp during the last several months--it's staggering (the breadth of releases, consistently beautiful) ... overwhelmed by the quantity and seemingly high quality of it all; chalk has quickly become one of my favorite artists, after decades of seeing his albums cited by others online and not quite catching on. the bulk of the material is still new to me. thank you for the album recommendations.

East Of The Sun is great

the "Mirror Of The Sea" collab LP w/Christoph Heeman is fantastic, all time fave, also a stunningly gorgeous picture disc. then of course there are the zillion Mirror releases they did, my faves are Visiting Star and Islands

his classic "Over The Edges" LP on Anomalous still rules

the Sumac collab w/Jonathan Coleclough is also a fave

the only recent release I've heard of his is "The End Times" but yeah it's pretty much all in the interesting-to-good-to-great zone

I just bumped the Organum thread earlier today and I now remember Chalk is on a bunch of the early stuff, also this CD covers some of his very early work:
https://www.discogs.com/release/137798-Andrew-Chalk-Crescent

this one from earlier this year is lovely as well

https://andrewchalk.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-the-sea-2

Absolutely about time we have a FP/AC thread; thank you Maelin. Thanks too, Sleeve, I missed that Songs of the Sea.

I kind of gave up on keeping all the records straight (which one is which)—it's about a 5" wide chunk on my record shelf—just pull one out and enjoy. One fave worth calling out is 'Baroque Steps' from 2018; stunning.

Also love all the associated groupings—Marsfield, Circaea, Elodie, the Vikki Jackman lps, etc.—all great.

he's had his fingers in so many pies its ridiculous. i've been listening for five years yet can't keep up, either. just as i get into an older work he's putting out something new. so much i haven't heard, yet. ah, the vikki jackman stuff... 'a paper doll's whisper of spring' is really incredible.

i also find it absolutely crackers that the same man made searing industrial noise for years!

Completely crackers!

Last year on a visit to New York I was thrilled to discover that Ergot Records has a whole dedicated Andrew Chalk bin!

lol I was gonna mention Ferial Confine xp

Favourites: Vega, East of the Sun, Blue Eyes of the March, Marsfield's The Towering Sky, Isolde's On Waving and Drowning, Ferial Confine's The Full Use of Nothing, all his work with The New Blockaders, Organum and Ora. Can't go wrong with anything from about 2010 and before. His best stuff has this out-of-focus quality where you can hear the structure very well but it's somehow elusive like a half-remembered dream and the harmonic elements seem to be eternally slipping or melting away in the fog. Prefer when he's in longform drift mode than the short melodic Eno-ish things that started creeping in around Violin by Night.

Chalk's handmade packaging is always exquisite, best looking/feeling releases I've ever encountered.