“In a Quiet Radiance” by Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri

The sessions that would eventually result in Where Light Pauses in the Silence of the Sun, the second studio album from Abul Mogard and Rafael Anton Irisarri, were recorded over a three-day period of improvisation during a Berlin residency. Those initial recordings were then further reworked and refined, with Mogard and Irisarri exchanging music and ideas back and forth across the Atlantic while, at the same time, weaving in contributions from Martina Bertoni and Andrea Burelli, both of whom are Italians living in Berlin.

There are certainly far easier and less demanding ways to record, produce, and mix an album. But in this case, all of that time and effort proved worthwhile, because I daresay that Where Light Pauses in the Silence of the Sun is one of the most beautiful albums you’re likely to hear in 2026.

The album’s center-piece, “In a Quiet Radiance,” is a perfect example of Mogard and Irisarri’s thoughtful approach to ambient and drone music. Over the course of ten minutes, the song ably lives up to its contemplative title thanks to a gentle and evocative swirl of modular synths and guitar drones that’s so perfectly seamless, you can’t tell where one instrument ends and the other begins. Meanwhile, Bertoni and Burelli’s cello and violin arrangements imbue the song with additional grace, as do Burelli’s wordless vocals.

Stars of the Lid’s The Tired Sounds Of is an obvious point of comparison, but Mogard, Irisarri, Bertoni, and Burelli carve out a transcendent and rarefied sonic space that’s entirely their own.

Where Light Pauses in the Silence of the Sun will be released by Black Knoll Editions on June 26, 2026.