I owe a lot to many other record labels I've known or checked out over the years, each helping me to shape my own tastes through the music they release, the way they go about things and the passion they show for music. Some in particular have had a much bigger influence on me and I thought it'd be nice to pay tribute to my record label heroes through the occasional blog spotlight.

I had this idea some time ago and made a note of a handful of labels that I'd write about. Coincidently I ordered some CDs from Home Normal in the summer and Ian Hawgood, the label founder, sent me quite a few extra! This was a timely reminder to start preparing the first of these 'label heroes' blog posts and before long, I was raiding my CD collection for Home Normal classics. I have narrowed down this impressive 200+ strong discography to my personal favourite 10 records. Of course, it's an impossible task - there are so many great albums and everything is at such a high standard. So, my list becomes about which records mean the most to me personally or which ones I spent (or still spend!) the most time with.

I've known Ian for many years now from back when I'd check out his netlabel music and the early days of Home Normal in and around 2010. He is currently based on the South Coast of the UK but has also operated the label from Tokyo, Japan and Poland. I had the pleasure of releasing on Home Normal back in 2012 with my music as Spheruleus (alongside Ekca Liena) and this was a proud moment for me, as I'd been watching with awe as he built an incredible label. Ian curates with a wonderful consistency both in quality of output and in the stunning visual brand he has created. He continues to build this fantastic label, with a stable of top quality artists and a family feel.

Read on below to see my list and if somehow you haven't yet discovered Home Normal, click HERE to explore!

Rosales
Half Light
2024

Ian himself is a regular collaborator and I’ve enjoyed seeing how he pairs with artists over the years. It was exciting to see how he’d work with Brad Deschamps who records as anthéne and also runs the Polar Seas label; they work together under their alias Rosales. The project actually kicked off on another quality label; Warmth’s Archives. Whilst it was a close call between ‘Half Light’ and ‘Woven Songs’, I’ve gone for Half Light because when I listened to it recently it really blew me away whilst I was working, in a way that I wasn’t expecting. I’d missed this record when it came out, perhaps because it was released in December and I tend to shut myself off from new music at that time after concluding my year end list. I often play Ambient music during the day as I can allow it to drift over to me whilst I concentrate on what I’m doing. The minimal artwork and lack of specific track titles suggested to me that this might be the perfect accompaniment to work to one morning. But instead, each track really gripped me for and held my attention. So this under the radar beauty sneaks into my list of all-time favourites on the strength of just that one special listen. And, because it's that good.

anthéne
Weightless
2019

Speaking of the aforementioned Brad Deschamps, here he crops up on this list again with his 2019 solo album 'Weightless' under his prolific anthéne alias. When I was compiling my best albums of that year I was torn between Brad's 'Lost Channel' album for Archives and this album, 'Weightless', on Home Normal. And that same year I worked with Brad for the first time on Whitelabrecs with his marvellous 'Asymmetry' album. Spoilt for choice and it's easy to hear why his work is cherished by so many Ambient fans. The cover artwork for Weightless looks like the sort of view you'd see looking out of a plane window, across the mountains and out to an optimistic, endless sky. But the title 'Weightless' does not necessarily get you thinking of jumbo jets - and neither does the music. This is something far more graceful, that soars like a bird.

David Cordero & Rhucle
So Far, So Close
2025

This wasn’t the first collaboration between Cadiz based artist David Cordero and Japan’s Rhucle, but for me it was the first time I listened properly to their work due to the fact that I follow both of these artists on Spotify. I was hooked from the very beginning, no sooner had I heard the filigree synths and gentle, reverb-drenched piano of the opener ‘So Far’. It’s a short piece and the next one ‘Origen’ had me thinking right away of Budd and Eno’s work together. In less than 3 minutes, this album locks me in and that’s a rare quality in today’s fast moving world. At the 3 minute mark, a lot of Ambient can often still be taking its time to get going. Of course that’s the point of Ambient music but I think what sets the best albums apart from those that simply do the job as ‘pleasant background drones’ is their immediacy in emanating a mood and translating that feeling to the listener. So whilst this record is new, it is so good that for me it jumps right up there amongst the best of the Home Normal catalog. I've been playing so much this year!

Ian Hawgood & Danny Norbury
Faintly Recollected
2018

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Modern Classical music. I consider Whitelabrecs to be every bit a Modern Classical label as it is an Ambient one. A hugely influential artist to me personally in developing this taste, is cellist and composer Danny Norbury. I've always loved his 2009 classic 'Light In August' which came out at a similar time to when the likes of Home Normal and Cotton Goods were emerging as the best labels in the scene. It had been a while since I'd seen any of Danny's music until this collaboration landed! Although, it wasn't complete silence as he had been working with The Boats and then further collaborations with Ian and others as Black Elk and part of Kinder Scout. In this record I was struck by how Ian and Danny were able to combine cello and restrained electro-acoustic ambience. I'd say it's more of an Ambient record than Modern Classical despite the cello taking centre stage. The strings ache and yawn, to prolong the mournful atmospheres. Yes, there's a lot to be sad about in this world but playing this album in the right mindset, it may just fill you with hope - if just for a while.

Altars Altars
Fragments
2019

Ian’s curation has always served us a range of high quality Ambient music, and that which can be both electronic drones and a more folk-led sound. In this classic from Altars Altars, we have a LoFi guitar sound, like a liquefied Post Rock band. It’s a marvellous collection of pieces; I’ve always enjoyed how it feels both Ambient (in that you can leave it on in the background) AND you can also experience them more consciously as songs - particularly if you dial up the volume a bit. There's a fantastic warmth to the album, adding another dimension and the write-up explains that it was sampled from worn out children's cassette tapes.

Melodía
Diario de viaje
2014

I’ve always enjoyed Federico Durand’s music and some of his records are amongst my favourite in the Ambient genre. Then Japanese artist Tomoyoshi Date’s work, notably on the likes of 12k, puts him up there too - and this collaboration between the two was a big spectacle back in 2014 when Home Normal released it. I remember seeing it everwhere; the socials, the press and rightly so - it's so good! The cover art suggests something warm and intimate and this album is exactly that! Tour diaries from Japan and Europe between two talented artists, producing something which feels magical and live. I picked it up back then and really enjoyed it, but never more so than now over a decade later since my last listen! There's a restrain and patience to their playing - it's magical stuff.

Offthesky
Hiding Nature
2010

Through my days of trawling netlabels for interesting ambient music, and indulging in all of Jason Corder’s free music on the likes of Resting Bell, I think this may actually have been how I came to discover Home Normal. I think I can trace it back to Resting Bell, run by Christian Roth who I know worked closely with Ian in the early days. Both Ian and Jason had amazing netlabel releases on Resting Bell. Jason has gone on to do educational lectures about sound design sharing his many years of expertise in the field. But knowing his work over the last 20 years, he’s always created such imaginative sounds and this album is a fine example. It is technically minimal Ambient music, but it is littered with all kinds of tiny details that layer up to be a very tactile listen. My route into Ambient music was simple sparse synth pads and plenty of reverb. But listening to this for the first time unlocked something else in me and I owe a lot to Jason’s work, for moving me deeper into the Ambient scene. There are some magical standout tracks that I particularly love, such as those vocals in ‘Frozen Fountain’ and the aching guitar of ‘Hand Held Lightly’.

Tobias Hellkvist
Evolutions
2010

I had a period of many years where I’d lost the CD and audio files, so I didn’t listen to this record. It was another I tracked down on Discogs and listening back now, I remember first experiencing the tingling notes of what sounds like a dreamy zither dancing across the stereo field, and being in awe of Tobias Hellqvist’s ‘Evolutions’. Every track is wondrous - the second track ‘Patience’ is a real gem, with fractured nostalgic drones and light guitar lines which build to a crescendo. I could go on to describe each track and wax lyrical about this record - it’s an absolute master piece and some of my favourite electro acoustic music of all time.

Ghost and Tape
Var
2017

This record by Ghost and Tape was one of my favourites in 2017 and I seemed to play it to death that year. So many settling textures to sink into. Deep chimes and fractured tones, with satisfying passages of light noise. I also really love the cover artwork - blossoms against a faded blue sky is a popular subject for album covers and something I’ll never tire of. But this example is one of my favourites; it must be the addition of twinkling lights or stars which help add to this album’s magic and allure. An all-time Home Normal classic here - probably the best in my book. Although that could change, depending on what direction the wind is blowing.