Various

This label's releases are on their way to becoming a celebrated annual event, much like Kompakt's Pop Ambient series. The hook: two artists at the top of their field are selected to personally curate a disc featuring ambient-themed contributions from a handful of likeminded contributors. Label mastermind James Healey began the project in 2011 to showcase the genre's rapid evolution. This year, Scott Monteith (Deadbeat) and Gregor Asch (DJ Olive) have been invited to carry on the tradition, and the results are considerably varied. While previous editions hovered around cinematic themes and orchestrated soundscapes, Volume 3 leans further towards the experimental side of sound design. Deadbeat's disc is the more accessible of the two, with an abundance of rhythmic elements and melodic textures, as well as notable entries from Tom Thiel, Bluefields, Pole, Thomas Fehlmann, Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer. DJ Olive's offering plays out more like an exhibition: detached arrangements, heavily processed found sounds and isolating drones challenge and astound the senses. Volume 3 is a more expansive take on the label's definition of ambient music, one that has the potential to be a pivotal moment in the project's trajectory.