Days are shorter; nights are colder. 

Svetlana Maraš & Bodies Under The Waterfall - Angry Ambient Artists Vol. 2
Manchester's Forwind presents a collaboration between Serbian Svetlana Maraš and British George Royle, aka Bodies Under The Waterfall. It's scuzzy and visceral, as you'd expect from the title (and artwork, above). 'Drinking Problem' is particularly harrowing.

Lovozero + Kira Weinstein - Hello World
Another collab, this from Russian artists, the former a multidisciplinary activist and the latter a pop and rock artist who's moving into sound art and experimentation. Hello World is a 16-minute movement of languid drift and strange melodies, building and receding, operatic vocals and harmonica stopping you from getting too comfortable.

Lockah - Bike Tracks
Lockah is seriously underrated. This new PWYW release is a riotous ball of fun. Big 80s synths, like you've heard on stuff like 'Barcelona Drums', it's full of claps and drum machine hits and an irresistible rolling bass line. BOUNCE.

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A few labels are raising funds for different causes right now. Sacred Bones, which this year released albums from Jenny Hval, John Carpenter and Marissa Nadler among others, has put all its albums as PWYM until December 4 and will be donating all proceeds to the water protectors at Standing Rock in North Dakota.

Meanwhile, Off Minor, the label run by Jordan GCZ of Juju & Jordash, has also put all releases (bar two) as PWYM, and asks people to donate instead to the American Civil Liberties Union, which fights to protect civil rights, and/or the Southern Poverty Law Center, which "is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society". Both are US-based.  

If you're aware of other labels doing something similar, please let me know! 

SoundCloud playlist

en creux / Reloc - Noisevember
For the past month, artists have been sharing ideas and explorations under the Noisevember banner. One such artist is en creux / reloc, who released on the brilliant Arell label a few months ago. Her sketches and ideas range from straight-up noise to skippy electronics, repeated vocal samples etc. It's a set of 22 tracks (some days are joined together, some skipped), but they're engaging enough to keep your attention.

sadfem - hikikomori ~ when
sadfem is a UK-based rapper and producer. The first track takes its title from the Japanese phenomenon of total withdrawal from social life and so it's full of gentle melancholy without being overly morose. Resigned, you might call it. 'when' features muted synth melodies and has a restrained head-nod beat, if that makes sense. 

LaurieCarter - for loops
I came across one of the tracks in this set and continued to listen down through his recent updates and just couldn't pick a single one to feature. Four beautiful electronic tracks, not ambient per se but definitely informed by a certain kind of bliss. Lovely.

8Radio Show - Nadir Guest Mix
Nadir is a collaborative project of Dubliners Minos and Moving Still. They put together an hour of sounds for Heinous Beats (yeesh) on 8Radio, and it's a nice dive through beatless scapes and driving house. 

0N4B - J For Jam
A few months old this, it's a lengthy session of ambient/drone from Egypt's ON4B, aka Onsy and Abadir. It's thrilling really, not unlike the Noisevember set above in how it navigates different choppy sounds, but it also presents lovely melody and heartbreak.

D Tiffany - Far Out
Canada's Heart to Heart has a record out soon from Elka and D Tiffany, and here's a first taste. It's a nice departure for her, with gorgeous melodies and a more pristine sound than before. That said, it's murky, just not as murky.  

In another life, I have submitted an end-of-year list of albums and songs (tracks, really). Let me know if you'd like to read it.