Charity Empressa - The Skin of Whippets and A Riot of Snowflakes

I’d like to start this drone discussion off with the band that introduced me to the genre. Charity Empressa is the side-project band of Campuzano and Frank Lenz, who each have been in Starflyer 59 alongside Chrindie bands like Prayer Chain, Fold Zandura, the Lassie Foundation, Cush, Headphones, etc. Both albums have some guest stars; for example, Richard Swift plays organ on a track on the first album. This is certainly not drone in its pure form (you’ll find that none of the albums this week are), as there are lyrics, and occasionally drums, but it preserves that weightless feeling of endless calming sound that wraps around you.

Jason Lytle - NYLONANDJUNO

Jason Lytle is the main dude from the band Grandaddy and it’s truly impressive how he translates the sonic palette of his band into an album of instrumental drones and soundscapes.

Suss & Immersion - Nanocluster, Vol. 3

Suss is an “ambient country” band with huge widescreen vibes, and this collaborative album matches them up with a band I’m less familiar with called Immersion. There’s a mix of sounds here, some great spacey drone, some motorik beat, and some full on post-punk here too.

Benoît Pioulard - Stanza IV

Borne out of a daily solo guitar tape loop practice, Stanza IV takes the results and refigures these drones solo and with a little help from some friends. This is gauzy, warm drones that vary from barely there to enveloping.

Patricia Wolf - Hrafnamynd

A soundtrack that functions as a love letter to Iceland, this album is chiming and ebullient, twinkling and joyful. It’s still ambient drone, so it’s fundamentally chill and thoughtful, but it’s the most sunny day album in this list today.

Harry Gorski-Brown - Durt Dronemaker After Dreamboats

Coming from the Greater Lanarkshire Auricular Research Council, this album is drone in a very literal since: drone-based folk music/sound collage from the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. This is weird and visceral and surprisingly puts me in my feels.

Field Recordings from the Sahel

The Sahel is the transition zone between the humid savannas to the south of North Africa and the drier Sahara Desert to the north. This is a field recording that’s part found sound, part diegetic music, part ambient noise, and a healthy dose of the drone of humanity living a desert-adjacent life.