I’ve got two fantastic artists in store for you today, both representing vastly different facets of the ambient genre. I’ve got the new album “Melting Days” from electronic artist Lusine — and it is a compelling, ever-evolving, and emotionally deep album that’s made it to my 2026 essentials list. And later in the program, I’ve got the new album “Elyth” from Czech composer Blochemy, representing a more minimalist and gently chaotic unfolding of sound in very organic ways. Plus new music from CIRC, Absence, City Of Dawn & Kid Glovez, Eguana and more. Strap in and make yourself comfortable. Join us for the next hour for global ambient music, on The Relay Station. Artist information Lusine Seattle producer Jeff McIlwain — better known as Lusine — is back with his tenth full-length LP “Melting Days,” a return to his more minimal, texture-driven roots after 2023’s song-forward “Long Light.” The record was born out of grief, and it shows. McIlwain writes, “When you’re moving through grief, it’s as if you’re watching your previous life get foggier and foggier.” He draws comparisons here to his own 2007 ambient landmark “Language Barrier” — the album Loraine James once called her favorite ambient record of all time — along with influences like Susumu Yokota and the duo Mountains. Opener “Sightline” and closer “Uncharted” bookend the record with reverberant saxophone, while centerpiece “Pendulum” swells from muffled shimmer into something closer to pulsing momentum. McIlwain calls the whole process freeing — no compromise, no hooks required — just intuition, loss, and eventually, some clarity. This album has had its own resonant impact within my listening sessions, connecting with my own moments of grief and loss, volatile changes I’ve endured, and the wild ride that fate takes us on. It has its own sense of movement and evolution, compelling emotional depth, and a deep cavern for contemplation and reflection — the sort of album that has staying power and the ability to become a fixture in your habitual listening patterns. It quite easily earned a spot in my 2026 essentials list. https://lusine.bandcamp.com/https://ghostly.bandcamp.com/ blochemy Czech composer blochemy has been working quietly in ambient music since the late ‘90s, and his fifth album for Whitelabrecs, “elyth,” is exactly the kind of slow-unfolding, texture-first record you’d expect from someone who’s spent decades letting sound guide itself rather than forcing composition onto it. Built from layers of synthesizer, guitar, field recordings, and tape-style processing, the album blurs the line between electronic and organic almost entirely — there’s no lead instrument here, just things overlapping and reshaping each other over time. As blochemy puts it: “I wasn’t trying to express a specific emotion or tell a linear story. The music became a space where I could slow everything down and simply observe.” Most of these pieces started as simple improvisations, deliberately leaving the small imperfections in rather than polishing them away — so what you’re hearing is really the sound of patience itself, and a fascination with impermanence that runs through the whole record. “Elyth” is an unapologetic slow burn, leisurely unfolding with no destination in particular — quiet, delicately reflective, and lightly erratic in its own randomized way. For those that like straying off the beaten path and into less-than-orderly arrangements, this album will be right up in your wheelhouse. https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/https://blochemy.bandcamp.com/ Playlist * [0:00] INTRODUCTION * [01:31] “Summer Curve” by CIRC from “Rite” (Independent, 2026) * [05:28] “Something to Let Go Of” by Absence from “Names of Unknown Places” (Imaginary North Records, 2026) * [13:45] “Live at Moonbeans Coffee (Excerpt 3)” by City Of Dawn & Kid Glovez from “Live at Moonbeans Coffee” (Independent, 2026) * [18:45] FEATURED ARTIST SEGMENT * [20:55] “Overlook” by Lusine from “Melting Days” (Ghostly International, 2026) * [25:39] “Fly Alone” by Eguana from “Fly Alone” (Cosmic Leaf Records, 2026) * [29:25] “Shimmering Crystals” by Ancient Astronaut from “Inner Worlds” (Independent, 2026) * [34:03] “Earthshine 2” by Erik Wøllo from “Earthshine” (Projekt Records, 2026) * [37:52] FEATURED ARTIST SEGMENT * [39:55] “ira” by blochemy from “elyth” (WhiteLabRecs, 2026) * [45:01] “Alone” by LowPilott from “Alone” (Independent, 2026) * [46:57] “c12” by Lunar Ipona from “fragments” (Independent, 2026) * [48:51] “Between Seasons” by Ian Hawgood & David Cordero from “Shifting Times” (No Ray Records, 2026) * [54:23] “Reserve” by Zen Lemon from “Functional Melancholic” (Ambient Cat Records, 2026) Become a supporter today! 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