What's that? It's the noise of 16 tireless months in the studio. It's like listening to three decades in the music industry.

It's also the sound of homemade, hand-welded percussion instruments, without an audible drum. Impressive then, that it's one man and his Mac in Northamptonshire, with two great ears.

His debut long-player, 16:9, is a soundtrack to the greatest of epics - seamless seconds of breathtaking aural vision. Fleeting sonic supernovas that inspire emotion and command attention, while blending beautifully into the natural world of the listener. Think the exploratory moments of Vangelis' Bladerunner score, here rooted in the instrumentalism so vital to the early 21st Century, and its broad definition of 'popular music'.

Bird songs can be heard, punctuating an almost visible landscape, such is the tangible depth to these compositions. Pianos fall gently into background space, as strings, synths and a host of other, often unexpected musical tools combine to create a tragic, heroic and captivating movie in the mind. A road trip on a mass scale, the sombre closing credits of Cherry Blossom Falls offer up Vienna in violin arrangements, while Kaiyu-Shiki transports you to the eponymous Japanese garden, via a thousand crystalised chimes.

Darker moments abound in Memories Lost, as decomposing tape creates a feeling of faded photography and silent, battle-scorched earth. Meanwhile, The Fire Within recounts a town springing into life on a dark winter's morning, as ambient noise becomes hook and then melody. It might seem lazy to reel off disconnected, imagined instances. But then few films have been this vivid in the landscapes and atmospheres they create.

Stuart Sweeney has spent countless hours exploring the English countryside surrounding his home and the sounds to be found, and more importantly recorded, therein. But, far from abstract, all 12 tracks offer something reminiscent of Yann Tiersen's cinematic power, blended with the electronic-experimentation of The Heritage Orchestra. And there's something wholly new too. Far from field music, this is a sublime one-man symphony.

And that's just what makes this release so inspired. Part contemporary classical, part sound art, all compelling. There's no tunes here, just stories being told, moments getting captured and emotions laid bare. All the while remaining under the control of a technically disciplined musical aficionado. Hear the tracklist individually, or hear it all as one. Either way, from beginning to end, while under Sweeney's spell, you won't be doing much else.

1. Where The Shores Meet
2. The Fire Within
3. 16-9
4. Impressions Of A Golden Age
5. Ascension
6. Kaiyu-Shiki
7. Gold And Red
8. A Time Of Change
9. Fantasia For A Storm
10. Memories Lost
11. Tallinn (excerpt)
12. Cherry Blossom Falls

Listen to: the entire album.

Release date: 1/25/2011
Stuart Sweeney lives in Corby England

Tagged as: Ambient, Other

1. The Moon of Wintertime by Lydia McCauley: intriguing piano compositions with dynamic accompaniment
2. Music of Waters by Shira Kammen: early folk and celtic music.
3. Unspoken by Jami Sieber: enchanting cello compositions
4. Music from Braid by Sieber, Kammen and Fulton: dreamy music from the acclaimed video game Braid
5. The Story of What Happened by Jasmine Brunch: a secret garden of lucid musical dreams
6. Lines Build Walls by Ehren Starks: piano and cello/jazzy new age
7. The Ice Castle by Kirsty Hawkshaw: ambient electronica
8. Why we need Night by The Union Trade: cinematic post-rock
9. Adore by Falling You: haunting, ethereal pop ambient
10. For Relaxation by Satori: healing, meditative ambient new age
11. The True Harvest by hands upon black earth: solid, sensual, organic, languorous electronic music
12. Touch by Falling You: haunting, ethereal pop ambient
13. Abstract Love by Dr Sounds: spacey ambient/dark new age
14. Aksaray by Tim Rayborn: Medieval and Middle Eastern music
15. The Path Beyond by Tim Rayborn: Medieval and Middle Eastern music
16. Mystic Journey by Suzanne Teng: world flute with a serene energy
17. Kara Nomadica by Kara Nomadica: a fresh new sound driven by traditional Arabic and Turkish rhythms
18. Shall We Dance by Beth Quist: electro-Balkan / Indian meets New Age.
19. It Only Hurts When We Breathe Instrumental by Cancer Killing Gemini: a blend of modern rock, downtempo, industrial and post grunge
20. Silicon Sandwich (Instrumentals) by Music Inside: funky bubbling electronic pop

• MP3: High quality MP3 variable-bit-rate files. Most people download these: they are audiophile files that play everywhere.
• ALAC: Perfect quality Apple Lossless format files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, get these. They're an exact audio copy of the original CD, and include the CD artwork and artist info. This is the same format as High Definition audio provided by the iTunes store.
• AAC: High quality Apple Audio Codec files. If you use iTunes or an iPod, these files sound great and include CD art and artist info. This is the standard format provided by the iTunes music store.
• WAV: Perfect quality WAV files. This format works everywhere, and is an exact audio copy of the original CD. It sounds fantastic. Album art and artist info is unfortunately not possible with this format.
• FLAC Perfect quality open source FLAC files. This is an open source audio format. It is an exact copy of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
• OGG: High quality open source OGG files. This is an open source audio format. It is a compressed (smaller file size) version of the original CD, and includes CD artwork and artist info. Works great on Linux, VLC and many audio players based on open source.
• 128k: Medium quality 128K MP3 files. These are medium audio quality MP3 files that will work on every device. The audio quality is good enough for most uses. These files are intended for cases where you want to conserve disk space.