Barry Schrader, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a composer born to the electronic medium,” will release his latest album Ambient : Aether on the Ex Machina label on Friday, September 19, 2025. At 80 years old, Schrader continues to push the boundaries of electronic composition, blending ambient textures, distortion, and noise with his celebrated mastery of sound design, timbral transformation, and musical development.
Known for landmark works such as Lost Atlantis, Monkey King, The Barnum Museum, and his futuristic score for Roger Corman’s cult classic Galaxy of Terror, Schrader now turns his attention to an expansive, atmospheric soundscape. Ambient : Aether offers a unique take on classical electronic music, inviting listeners on what Schrader describes as “an imaginary journey through the aerosphere, traveling from the rising clouds we can see to the atmospheric edge and the invisible mythic aether beyond.”
The album unfolds in four large‑scale movements:
- Cloudrise — An aural portrait of ever‑changing skies, where clouds gather, dissolve, darken, brighten, and vanish into the distance.
- Atmospheric Rivers — Streams of vapor swell into torrents before dispersing into delicate rivulets of sound.
- Supernal Ascent — A layered voyage through the Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and finally the Exosphere, surrounding the listener in shifting sonic strata.
- Aether — The final movement reaches the edge of mystery, exploring the unknown beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Ambient : Aether will be available as a limited‑edition CD exclusively on Bandcamp, with streaming and digital downloads offered on Bandcamp and all major platforms, including Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon.
Contact:
Ex Machina Publications
emp@barryschrader.com
