I spent a solid hour this morning watching dust motes suspended in a single shaft of sunlight, my entire nervous system held absolutely captive by Magdi Aboul-Kheir and his devastatingly immersive new album, "Slow Heat". The Germany-based journalist and classically trained pianist usually writes across a massive spectrum of genres, pivoting wildly from trance to late romanticism. Today, he has dropped an ambient, contemporary...

Roger Knox’s “Buluunarbi & The Old North Star” has settled in, and it’s like unearthing a geode – outwardly unassuming country bedrock, but crack it open and the crystals of story shimmer with a fierce, knowing light. The 'Koori King of Country', as he's known, doesn't just sing; he offers up pieces of a map drawn in river water and resilience, guiding you through...