The latest release from the Absence of Wax netlabel is a lengthy rumble by Albert Ortega. Based in Los Angeles, Ortega reportedly mixes field recordings and electronic processing to achieve his unique, partially “real,” partially “artificial” ends. Little of the real world is necessarily evident in one such final result, “Internal Weather,” but the track’s title and sonic properties hint at what is going on.
To begin with, the latter: while mechanical in its immediate appearance, the uptempo rattle that is at the heart of “Internal Weather” is closer to that of an unintended rhythm, like a car or a refrigerator, than that of an intended rhythm, like a song with a proper beat. There’s a beauty to such an unintended rhythm because despite its appearance of having an inhuman motor, it is in fact fluid and impossible to pin down metrically. This aligns it, aesthetically, with generative art.
As for that title, “Internal Weather” touches on the way a systems-based compositional approach such as Ortega’s can come to constitute its own small-scale ecosystem.
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Michel Banabila‘s “In Other Words” could just as well be called “In Others’ Words.” It’s an eight-minute stretch of light, nearly melodic sound, above which transpires a sequence of brief recordings of individuals speaking. These individuals’ languages, voices, ages, and other semi-discernible traits vary widely as the work proceeds. 
Fans of the intersection of metal and ambient can trace the overlap at least as far back as the solos of late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. He performed these languorous swells that seemed designed to test the stuctural integrity of whatever venue the band might be playing in. The thick drones made an interesting counterpoint to the occasional classical-guitar flourishes of band member Kirk Hammett. Employed by a lesser musician, they could be considered an ambient backdrop to Hammett’s foregrounded virtuosity. But Burton had his own brand of expertise, akin to fellow metal-oriented bassist Bill Laswell’s chest-pummeling exercises in aggressive stasis. Burton died 25 years ago this coming September 27, and it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t be pleased with the rise of sonorous doom metal by the likes of Earth, Sun O))), and Boris. Add to that list Alura Une, whose “Dybbuk,” recently appearing on the 