forms of minutiae, Hvolsvöllur (2026)

28/01/2026

• For their recent album "ebbing ice lines" — released by .of.minutiae and supported by .label via the LOM+program — recorded glaciers, drifting ice, volcanoes, avian vocalizations, and anthropogenic hums in the Low Arctic using LOM’s Uši Pro, basicUcho, and Geofón microphones among their equipment. The album brings listeners into intimate proximity with the glaciers and geologies of Iceland, Finland, and Norway, shedding light on the minute sounds produced by these environments. "ebbing ice lines" is part of UNESCO & WMO’s Art for Glaciers in celebration of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, and was also presented as an installation at (IGLOO sound gallery).

The project was supported by LOM via the LOM+program

📸 by .coudeyre while recording on the glacier Sólheimajökull

06/01/2026

• Happy new year earthlings! ❄️💫

Before fully diving into 2026, we would like to thank everyone who has made this year particularly special for forms of minutiae. Thank you to the geologies and animals that have shared their acoustic expressions; to the artists Marc Namblard, , , , and for their spellbinding work and trust; to our dear listeners for their curious ears and heartwarming support; to .music, and .spice for their precious collaboration; and to all the outlets (press, stores, etc) that have shared their reflections and enthusiasm for our releases. Knowing that so many people have a keen ear and caring curiosity for non-humans and the sonic ecologies of the world is truly a beacon of hope.

In 2025, we celebrated UNESCO’s International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation by publishing a series of albums dedicated to glaciers and the acoustic multiplicity of the ice with mesmerizing works by Marc Namblard, Ludwig Berger, Yoichi Kamimura, Cheryl E. Leonard, and Pablo Diserens. In between, we also shared Berger’s and Diserens’ findings on the remarkable philosophy of Basalt. It all felt quite ambitious for us, and it wasn’t without bumps along the way, but we made it thanks to all of you. We are grateful for—and deeply touched by—your support throughout the years.

In this posts, you’ll find some lovely EOTY selections. Thank you , , .listening & , , .notes.berlin_inm, , and

Lush sounds are on their way for 2026 ~ more soon 🌱🪲

Tender wishes,
Pablo & Mathieu

✳︎ ❄️ ✳︎

21/11/2025

• out now → ~ "ebbing ice lines" [2xLP/DL - fom19+dnz118, 2025]

Our ice series comes to an end with "ebbing ice lines", a geologically-rich and dronesque journey through the Low Arctic’s melting zones by field recordist, sound artist, and forms of minutiae co-founder Pablo Diserens. 

""What happens," Diserens asks, "if we shift our perspective and sense of scale to embody that of a glacier?" — 'ebbing ice lines' invites us to think of landforms, especially glaciers, as entities in their own right, and draws us into an intimacy with bodies far greater than our own. The album is assembled entirely of field recordings made by Diserens on three trips to the Low Arctic – twice to Iceland and once at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station in Finland, on the border with Sweden and Norway. Glacial gurgles, ice symphonies, volcanic eruptions, avian vocalizations, anthropogenic drones, geothermal pipelines, and natural resonances are all characters in the drama of Diserens’ compositions, which like much of their previous work, leans into the smallest details of sound to provide connection and transmission across multiple species, scales and subjectivities. As the title suggests, there is a receding line beyond which ice can no longer form. And yet, the primary purpose of 'ebbing ice lines', and indeed Diserens’ work more broadly, is not to warn in the conventional sense, but to create bridges of understanding through sound that provide routes for us to be more present to that which surrounds us. Hear the veil between you and the ice thin, sense your own porosity, and let your edges dissolve. Everything else will flow from there." — .spice

> published in collaboration with

> featuring additional volcanic recordings by

> this series is part of UNESCO’s & WMO’s Art for Glaciers Preservation: www.un-glacier.org/en/art

❄️

14/11/2025

• a week to go before the release of ’ "ebbing ice lines", the fifth and final album of our ice series in celebration of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation organized by & ❄️

Here, some documentation of the recording process and locations behind the album in Iceland, Finland, and Norway.

Pablo Diserens is forms of minutiae’s co-founder, and a field recordist and artist devoted to listening practices, non-human realities, and possible forms of interspecies coexistence. Rooted in ecological engagement and site-specificity, their work emphasizes listening as an act of presence and permeation for a radical planetary interrelation.

> The two last pictures were taken by while recording the Fagradalsfjall volcanic eruption 🌋

> "ebbing ice lines" releases on Nov 21st on 2xLP and digital formats in collaboration with 💿❄️

07/11/2025

• "near the bear" by Cheryl E. Leonard () on ’s best of field recordings and a lovely review on ~ many thanks to Matthew Blackwell and Richard Allen ❄️

"Leonard deploys her trademark practice of turning nearly any item into an instrument. The result is deep interrogation of our place in the world, put into high relief against the brilliant whites and blues of the High Arctic."

🦭

24/10/2025

Announcing: Pablo Diserens — "ebbing ice lines" [2xLP/DL - fom19+dnz118, 2025] out November 21st ❄️

For the fifth and final album of our ice series, forms of minutiae teams up with Dinzu Artefacts to present the album "ebbing ice lines" by field recordist, artist, and forms of minutiae co-founder Pablo Diserens.

On "ebbing ice lines", Pablo Diserens brings us into the geologies of the Low Arctic. Entirely assembled of field recordings of glaciers, drifting ice, volcanoes, avian vocalizations, and anthropogenic hums, the album sheds light on the minute sounds produced by these environments in Iceland, Finland and Norway. It invites us to think of landforms, especially glaciers, as entities in their own right, and draws us into an intimacy with bodies far greater than our own. The title "ebbing ice lines" plays with the existing tree line terminology — the edge past which trees do not grow — to imagine lines receding in a warming climate, beyond which ice can no longer form. The result is a dronesque and texturally-rich journey through some of the world’s most fragile melting zones.

> you can pre-order, listen, and read the text Anton Spice wrote about the album on Bandcamp
> portraits by Clément Coudeyre Photography
> project supported by LOM via LOM+you program
> published in collaboration with Dinzu Artefacts
> part of our ice sounds series in celebration of the international year of glaciers’ preservation (unesco & wmo, 2025) ❄️

26/09/2025

Out now → Cheryl E. Leonard ~ "near the bear" [CD+booklet/DL - fom18, 2025]

Our ice series continues with "near the bear", a collection of high arctic compositions by composer, instrument builder, and field recordist Cheryl E. Leonard.

In the opening track, “moffen”, Leonard calls forth the playful spirit of juvenile walruses with the help of master saxophonist Phillip Greenlief, who performs on kelpinet, a tubular piece of dried bullwhip kelp with a saxophone mouthpiece attached to one end. This frolicking composition invites audiences to marvel at the wide range of sounds walruses produce, and to share the artist’s concern about the future of this extraordinary species. “glugge”, a response to increasing industrialization in the Arctic Ocean, developed from recordings Leonard made via the porthole in her schooner cabin. Lilting ostinatos generated by the ship’s propeller build into a gasping elegy for the Arctic icecap and the ecosystems it supports. Ensconced in pulsing tones from bowed glass, “thresholds” peers through the window of a home in Upernavik, Greenland into a tempestuous Arctic storm, contemplating tensions between domestic and wild, human and more-than-human. In the slowly-evolving “mørketid”, which grew out of an improvisation on metal handrails in the ghost town of Pyramiden, Leonard wonders what it would be like to spend polar night in a Soviet coal mining settlement. The album draws to a close in Illulissat, Greenland, at a crystalizing edge of Baffin Bay, with the breath-based composition “sila”, which features bird bones brushed with feathers and bowed limpet shells.

Together, these evocative works draw listeners north, sharing sounds, wonders, and stories from the most rapidly-warming region on Earth. Though it may seem far away, Leonard’s “near the bear” reminds us that we are all marvelously and irrevocably entwined with the fragile, wild Arctic.

> the last release of our ice series will be an album by Pablo Diserens which we will announce next month ❄️

> this series is part of UNESCO’s & WMO’s Art for Glaciers Preservation: www.un-glacier.org/en/art

18/09/2025

One week to go before the release of Cheryl E. Leonard’s “near the bear”, the fourth album of our ice series in celebration of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation organized by UNESCO & WMO ❄️

Here some documentation of the recording process and Leonard’s self-built instruments used on the album.

Cheryl E. Leonard is a San Francisco-based composer, performer, and instrument builder whose works investigate natural sites and ecosystems, and human relationships with them. Her projects cultivate stones, wood, water, ice, sand, shells, feathers, and bones as musical instruments, and feature one-of-a-kind sculptural instruments and field recordings from remote locals. She uses microphones and amplification to explore subtle intricacies of sounds, and develops compositions that highlight unique voices and soundscapes while addressing environmental issues such as climate change and extinction of species. Leonard’s musical research has taken her to wilderness areas around the world, including Antarctica and the Arctic. Her works have been presented in concerts and art exhibitions in the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Australasia. Commissions include works for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Kronos Quartet, and Small Press Traffic.

> “near the bear” releases on Sept 26th on CD+booklet and digital format 💿🦭

11/09/2025

Announcing: cheryl e. leonard — “near the bear” [CD/DL - fom18, 2025] out September 26th ❄️

Following Yoichi Kamimura’s “ryūhyō”, our ice series continues with its fourth album, “near the bear”, a collection of high arctic compositions by composer, instrument builder, and field recordist Cheryl E. Leonard ().

From walrus encounters at 79° North to watching the surface of the ocean freeze at -35° Celsius, Cheryl E. Leonard’s near the bear summons and celebrates the High Arctic. Over a decade in the making, the album investigates the far north via compositions inspired by the unique wildlife, environments, and human histories of Svalbard and Greenland. Across these five carefully-crafted compositions, Leonard weaves together sounds performed on natural and human-made objects found in polar regions, with field recordings and site-specific improvisations. Voices coaxed from stones, shells, driftwood, bones, sand, and kelp are entangled with wild soundscapes such as lapping waves, sea ice snaps, howling winds, and squeals from a frozen pond. This sonic synthesis hints at the myriad ways Arctic lifeforms and natural systems interconnect. The composer also brings her music into conversation with the rocky history of human enterprises in the Arctic by including sounds from saw blades, pyrex beakers, remnants of forsaken mining operations, and the ship she sailed on in Svalbard. Together, these evocative works draw listeners north, sharing sounds, wonders, and stories from the most rapidly-warming region on Earth. Though it may seem seem far away, Leonard’s near the bear reminds us that we are all marvelously and irrevocably entwined with the fragile, wild Arctic.

> pre-order, listen and learn more about the album on Bandcamp 🦭

> out September 26th in CD and digital formats 💿

> part of our ice sounds series in celebration of the international year of glaciers’ preservation (unesco & wmo, 2025)

❄️

08/09/2025

• “tracing basalt in the onsernone valley” by & on ’s best field recordings (august 2025) ~ many thanks to matthew blackwell 🌱

“Perhaps with this release, Basalt’s dream is in some small way realized, as we get to listen to a version of the sounds that they hoped would define them.”

🦗

02/09/2025

out now → & ~ “tracing basalt in the onsernone valley” [CD+booklet/DL - fom17+VM16, 2025] 🦗

Inspired by Basalt’s life, writings and “sonic imprint” theory, Pablo Diserens and Ludwig Berger put Basalt’s thinking and methodologies into practice. The duo followed these aphorisms like a map, listening to the Onsernone Valley and recording the sounds it fostered. As time passed, the landscape unveiled itself differently, and the parallels with Basalt’s experience grew. Sounds became palpable while the boundaries between the two artists and the world blurred. Out of this attempt to bring Basalt’s philosophy back to life, Pablo Diserens and Ludwig Berger created a counter-cartography of the valley’s soundscape, tracing the effects and interrelations of its sonic imprints. Together, the album and Basalt’s writings enact a psychogeographical gesture that urges listeners to reimagine their relationship with the world around them.

> CD+booklet designed by . These are still in production and will be available in October 💿

> 7 selected sheets of Basalt’s writings (in their original German and English translation) can be found in the CD’s booklet and as a digital PDF on Bandcamp 🌱

25/08/2025

• "tracing basalt in the onsernone valley", & ’s album inspired by the life and writings of Basalt is out now 🦗

Here some documentation of the recording process, the search for Basalt amid the insect people, and the premiere of the duo’s audiovisual performance at

Pablo Diserens is a field recordist and artist devoted to listening practices, non-human realities, and possible forms of interspecies coexistence. Rooted in ecological engagement and site-specificity, their work emphasizes listening as an act of presence and permeation for a radical planetary interrelation.

Ludwig Berger is an artist, musician, and educator whose work focuses on the sonic and vibratory dimensions of landscapes. He explores how places and species become audible, with particular attention to small-scale and often inaudible processes such as insect communication, plant rhythms, and glacial melting.

It is said that Basalt (1910 - ?) settled in the Onsernone Valley in the 1950s where they developed their "sonic imprint" hypothesis emerging from a singular methodology of listening. The core principle of their theory was the belief that sound leaves measurable traces in the matter it comes into contact with. Consequently, Basalt spent the rest of their life using their body as a sound recording device in the hopes of creating a sonic archive through their skeleton. In the end, nobody knows exactly what happened to Basalt. Some speculate that they joined what they called the insect people, their body never to be found.

> "tracing basalt in the onsernone valley" is out on CD+booklet and digital formats ~ both feature selected writings by Basalt 💿🌱

forms of minutiae

28/01/2026

06/01/2026

21/11/2025

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07/11/2025

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26/09/2025

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25/08/2025

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