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Musical Style and Influence
The album features long, hypnotic tracks that reflect the band's experimental approach. It draws inspiration from the psychedelic sounds of early Pink Floyd and the electronic experimentation of Klaus Schulze. The music is characterized by its immersive soundscapes and intricate arrangements, making it a significant work in the progressive rock genre.
Review by
Proghead
PROG REVIEWER 
This is without a doubt the best album FAR EAST FAMILY BAND has ever
done. Unlike other albums where the band focused mainly on ballads
influenced by PINK FLOYD, on "Parallel World" they decided to merge the
prog rock style of the time with electronic music in the vein of Klaus
SCHULZE. And just like their previous album, "Nipponjin", this album was
also produced by SCHULZE, and you could swear he actually played on the
album (he didn't). All the synth duties here are Fumio Miya[&*!#]a
(who also played guitar and sang), Akira Ito, and Masanori Takasaki (who
we all know as the future New Age star of the '80s and '90s, that is
KITARO).
For "Parallel World", the band went to England to record at
Richard Branson's Manor Studios to strike a deal with Virgin Records.
Unfortunately Virgin rejected the album (their loss), so it was left
released only in Japan (with two different album covers, depending what
you got, mines is the lesser known one with the peering eyes cover).
About these two different album covers, I am unable to determine if what
I own is a reissue, but probably is. Let's say this new electronic
direction for the band was an excellent move as they produced their
ultimate masterpiece. Here you get "Metempsychosis" which shows the band
in a more experimental setting, complete with synth drones and
percussion. "Entering" and "Times" will fool you for SCHULZE's own
works, Shizuo Takasaki's drumming often reminds me of Harald Großkopf
(WALLENSTEIN member who was often found playing on SCHULZE's albums),
and it's packed with same kind of space electronic effects found on a
SCHULZE album. It's the presence of guitar (from Fumio Miya[&*!#]a
and Hirohito Fukushima) that separates this from a SCHULZE album. Then
you have "Kokoro", which harkens back to their earlier works. This is
basically a slow ballad, sung in Japanese that could easily fit on "The
Cave: Down to the Earth". This is the only song like this on "Parallel
World".
And then you get the 30 minute title track that is just
so amazing that it totally justifies the five star rating I give this
album! Here the band goes on a lengthy jam, with the Akira Fukakusa's
bass dominating with tons of killer synths, lots of great spacy string
synths and Moog. After about halfway through this piece, the bass and
drums gives away to straigh-up synth experiments. Somewhere you hear
some chanting and references to Zen Buddhism. There are some truly
mindblowing use of Mellotron that pop up on occasions, and this one
synth solo I am pretty sure none other than KITARO is responsible for. I
can't believe this album, it's hard to believe that a guy whose later
music is often dismissed as New Age fluff (KITARO, that is) is on this
album. Truly a wonderful album and if the description of this album
sounds good to you, find a copy.

Next up in the quiet details series, with a beautifully crafted interpretation, is the UK-based musician, Thomas Ragsdale, here as Sulk Rooms with Songs of Soil. (Quiet Details 49)
Full release 6th May 2026.
A mainstay of the UK electronic music and live performance scenes - Thomas has been releasing music for well over a decade and established himself as one of our most important voices, making what he describes as “luminescent electronica”.
Releasing on a range of excellent labels (Waxing Crescent, Werra Foxma, Subexotic and more), plus loads of self-releases, has created a deep back-catalogue - and he’s a regular fixture playing live across the country alongside some of the biggest names around. He also plays in the band Pijn and runs his own Frosti label.
His quiet details interpretation, Songs of Soil, is a reflection on his life living in rural Yorkshire and his connection to nature - in his own words this “is an album dedicated to the majesty of worms”.
Making extensive use of field recordings of these essential parts of the ecosystem in his allotment, Thomas imprints the organic chaos of their hidden world - sounds rarely heard by humans, amplified and shaped into captivating and mesmerising soundscapes.
These worlds are both delicate and evocative of unknown space and are the perfect compliment to the ethereal and powerful sonic atmospherics Sulk Rooms does so well. Using a range of synthesisers, guitars and effects, the album winds its way though a huge range of emotions. Vast dynamics - from time-stopping euphoria to soft introspection - Thomas’s command of his instruments is absolute.
Melodic, textural and deeply moving - this is Sulk Rooms at his very best.
Undulating synthetic motifs unfold to effervesce waves of bliss; choral pads draw you into psychedelic stasis; soft piano evokes gorgeous melancholy - all mixed with the potent textures from the worms and their ceaseless movement.
Overall a stunning and wonderfully constructed piece of work - a true album and exploration into the creativity of Sulk Rooms.
Huge thanks to Thomas.
The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Thomas which was then captured with analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.
Credits:
Music by Sulk Rooms
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Thomas Ragsdale
Design by quiet details
© quiet details 2026 all rights reserved
FreeForm Radio thanks Alex for a complimentary copy of this release.

Across
centuries, catacombs have exerted a powerful fascination on the human
imagination. These underground networks, carved beneath cities and
landscapes, have served as places of burial, devotion, secrecy, and
contemplation. Their presence continues to resonate strongly today,
inspiring artists, writers, and musicians who perceive them as symbolic
spaces where history, spirituality, and the passage of time converge.
The silence of stone corridors, the weight of centuries, and the sense
of suspended time still speak vividly to contemporary sensibilities.
“Music For Ancient Catacombs” is conceived as a descent into
subterranean spaces where time, memory, and silence accumulate layer
after layer. The catacomb emerges as a resonant chamber in which sound
takes the form of ritual, meditation, and threshold. These underground
architectures, both imagined and real, evoke permanence and decay at the
same time, spaces carved to preserve the dead and to host a deep sense
of continuity beyond human presence.
Featuring contributions from key figures of the dark ambient scene whose
work has long explored liminal zones between sound, spirituality, and
darkness, the compilation shapes a
coherent sonic environment built from drones, distant harmonics, and
slow-moving textures. Each piece unfolds as a chamber within a wider
underground complex, distinct yet interconnected, guiding the listener
through a continuous immersive experience.
In the same series:
Music For Abandoned Monasteries
eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-abandoned-monasteries
Music For Haunted Asylums
eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-haunted-asylums
Music For Alien Temples
eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-alien-temples
credits
FreeForm Radio thanks Raffaele Pezzella for a promo copy of this release.
ambient
dark ambient
drone ambient
electronic music
industrial
noise ambient
Italy