Bremen, Germany based drone ambient duo Troum will release the new full-length album “EmphasYs” on April 24, 2026 via Cyclic Law and Transgredient Records, paired with the first vinyl edition of the Troum & Raison d’être collaboration album, “Xibipiio – In and Out of Experience”.

Details on Troum’s ‘EmphasYs’ album

“EmphasYs” is a seven-track album built around the idea of one dominant instrument per piece. Initially developed under the working title “Schwerpunkt” (“focal point”), the project asks what happens when one core sound becomes the centre of an entire composition instead of one layer among many.

Each track focuses on a specific instrument: electric guitar, cello, accordion, didgeridoo, acoustic guitar, zither, or saxophone. These sources are then treated as material for drones, resonance and texture, processed into long-form pieces typical of the duo’s work.

The album runs 63:05 and appears as a co-release between Cyclic Law and Transgredient Records.

“EmphasYs” will be available in three formats:

• CD edition of 500 copies in a 4-panel Digipak
• 2LP edition of 300 copies (100 copies on marbled blue & black vinyl, 200 copies on black vinyl) in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves
• Digital download via Cyclic Law’s Bandcamp page

Pre-orders are open now via Cyclic Law’s official store.

Troum & Raison d’être collaboration album ‘Xibipiio – In and Out of Experience’ comes to vinyl

On the same date, Cyclic Law will issue a 2LP edition of “Xibipiio – In and Out of Experience“, the collaborative work by Troum and Raison d’être first released in 2017.

Originally created between 2013 and 2017 as the second part of the collaboration that began with “De Aeris In Sublunaria Influxu” (2015, Essence Music), “Xibipiio” uses sound sources by Raison d’être that were transformed, re-framed and layered by Troum. Additional material recorded by Troum includes guitars, voices, flutes, accordion, cello, violin, didgeridoo, dombra, tapes and found sounds.

The concept is linked to a linguistic and perceptual notion from the Amazonian Pirahã people, structuring the album as a sequence of distinct “micro-worlds” of perception. In its original version, the work comprised nine pieces and appeared on CD and digital formats via Transgredient Records.

The new 2LP edition expands the album to eleven tracks with two previously unreleased bonus pieces, bringing the total running time to 72:10. It is limited to 300 copies (100 copies on marbled red & black vinyl, 200 copies on black vinyl) and comes in a gatefold sleeve with matte lamination. Mastering was done by Peter Andersson, while artwork was created by Marcin Lojek with pattern drawings by Bartosz Zaskorski.

Pre-orders are available via Cyclic Law or via the label’s Bandcamp page. The earlier CD/digital edition of “Xibipiio – In and Out of Experience” (2017) remains available via the shared Bandcamp page of both projects.

About Troum

Troum is a Bremen-based German drone and dark ambient duo founded in early 1997 by Stefan Knappe and Martin Gitschel after the end of their previous project Maeror Tri. Alongside their work as artists, the members are behind Drone Records, which has documented a wide range of experimental and ambient music since the 1990s.

The project focuses on multi-layered, largely guitar-based and tape-based drones, combining electric and acoustic instruments, voices and field recordings while avoiding samplers and computer-generated sound. Over time, Troum have issued a large series of albums, EPs and collaborations through labels such as Transgredient Records, Essence Music, Zoharum, Cold Spring and Cyclic Law.

Key long-form releases include albums such as “Tjukurrpa” (early 2000s), later works like “Acouasme” (Cold Spring, mid-2010s) and compilation-style releases like “Da-Pu-Ri-To-Jo (The Singles 2004–2016)” on Zoharum, which gathered rare and single tracks into a single edition.

About raison d’être

Raison d’être is the long-running dark ambient project of Swedish composer Peter Andersson, founded in 1991 in Linköping, Sweden. Early releases appeared through Cold Meat Industry.

Over more than three decades, Raison d’être has released a substantial body of work including albums such as “Prospectus I” (early 1990s), “Enthralled by the Wind of Loneliness”, “The Empty Hollow Unfolds”, “Metamorphyses”, “Mise en Abyme”, “Alchymeia” and “Daemonum”. Many of these titles have later appeared in expanded or remastered editions on Cyclic Law, often with additional material, revised mastering at K-14 level and new packaging.

More recent activity includes the 2025 2LP reissue of “The Empty Hollow Unfolds” via Cyclic Law and Rune Serpent Europa, continuing a series of remastered and expanded editions.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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