Review: A aka Mika Vainio's 'Fermionit' is a significant release from the late Finnish producer, who passed away in 2017. Originally featured in a Belgium Detuned 6x12 boxset just before his death, the track received critical acclaim from collectors and fans. Now, it returns to Mika's own Sahko label for a well-deserved 12" release. 'Fermionit' embodies the essence of Finnish techno with its minimalistic, cold and stark sound. The track's passive-aggressive edge showcases Vainio's signature style, blending raw, unfiltered textures with a profound sense of depth. This release not only honors Vainio's legacy but also offers a chance for new listeners to experience the pure DNA of Finnish techno. An essential listen for fans of minimalist and avant-garde electronic music.
Review: Portal ends the year with a delightfully well-crafted and deliciously deep techno long player from Acaera. It opens up in dubbed-out and stripped-back fashion with supple rolling rhythms way down below the most deft of pads. 'Anaesthesia' brings some fizzing static electricity to the mix but the mood remains foggy and bleak in beautiful ways then 'Learned Behaviour' brings a little more thump to the low end but the atmosphere remains sparse. 'Forella' is a dub techno cruiser that floats on airy breaks and 'Reorientation' shuts down with three-plus minutes of eerie ambiance.
Review: Actress released a mix for Resident Advisor in June and to everyone's surprise, it was filled entirely with new, unreleased music. When asked if this was a new album, Darren S. Cunningham, aka Actress, responded simply, "It's a collage - Braque." Call it what you likeia mix, a mixtape, a collage, or even an albumiit's unmistakably another bold statement from Actress. Cunningham's approach defies labels and formats, creating music that exists in its own space, evolving without concern for conventional definitions or boundaries. It's just pure, unfiltered Actress, doing what he does best.
Review: Agonis' debut album Neutropia receives a well-earned remix treatment here. Originally released in 2021, the album showcased Agonis' evolution beyond deep, hypnotic techno by incorporating half-paced drum & bass, rolling amen breaks, trip-hop and futuristic techno. Neutropia Remixed broadens this palette further with four distinctive reworks. Carrier slows 'Thermo' into a half-time rhythmic masterpiece, Christina Vantzou crafts a mesmerising drone trip, upsammy injects shimmering dynamics into 'Algoflash' and Felix K transforms 'Pyrchid' into an intricate drum workout.
Review: Basel-based experimental labels Amenthia Recordings and A Walking Contradiction join forces for their first collaborative release here in the form of the Flash Crash/Hack Crash EP. Both labels are known for pushing boundaries within their close-knit creative circles and this one features Agonis' heavy stepper and Konduku's whirlpool of low frequencies on the Amenthia side, while Lemont continues the low-end, tripped-out vibe. Varuna represents A Walking Contradiction and delivers swampy, slow-motion sounds in their signature style. This release embodies both labels' commitment to daring, unconventional electronic sounds.
Review: The Analogue Attic microverse is defined by a unified commitment to the deepest ideas of where house music can head, and no one embodies that spirit better than Alex Albrecht. On this latest 12" he's heading into the velvet folds of low tempo chugger 'The Blacksmith' and downtempo dream state 'Coles Ridge' with elegiac piano sparkling atop fathoms-deep pads and the softest of percussion. This is house music as a vessel for pure relaxation and sentimental meditation, and across six tracks Albrecht offers up balm after balm to soundtrack oceanic realms of calm - a much needed tonic for the frenetic pace of modern life.
Review: The original 'Subterraneans', composed by David Bowie from their 1977 album 'Low', was an emotionally striking piece that illustrated the struggles of withdrawal. German legend Alva Noto teams up with Depeche Mode's Martin Gore and ambient wizard William Basinski to transform the piece into an ephemeral, ghostly number that is almost even more chilling - with ambient synths and vocal echoing that conjure being lost in a deep cave, something almost supernatural at every turn. A truly haunting, yet aurally astounding, cover.
Review: If you're familiar with imprints like Nous'laer Audio, AD93, Tikita, or Semantica, but haven't yet explored the galaxy of sound coming from Ahrpe Records, now's your chance. Amandra is one of two heads behind said stable, and here the French producer shows everyone what time it is with a space walk through acid warbles and tribalistic rhythms. Neither of which give a particularly accurate description of what's here, but both are defining features of the tracks and EP as a whole. Whether it's the jazz-imbued shuffle of 'Prorokini', the phat wobbling steps of 'Brera Som Som' itself, or the wall of distorted percussion on 'Fanfaron', all four originals are standouts and hard to compare, while the cherry-picked remixes show just how much can be done with what's here, if the right ears are involved.
Review: Combine Sculpture's Membrane Pop album With Eric Holm's Andoya LP and you're close to knowing what Ancient Astronaut's debut opus on Nicolas Jaar's Other People label sounds like. It's weird and wonderful on "A1" and "A2", while there's calmer, oceanic moments on "B2". Things become more industrialised and dubby on "B3", all of which are held together by two 'when you hear the chime turn the page'-type interludes that top and tail the B-side.
Review: We have long been fans of the specific sort of techno that Spanish label Semantica deals in. It is always artful and superbly well-designed and this new Artefaklt record totally fits in with that vibe. It finds Dutch pair Robin Koek and Nick Lapien layering up hypnotic drones and linear deep techno drums to perfectly escapist and heady effect on 'Diorama', while intricate sound designs add the sort of details to 'Natura' that make this miscue as suited to home listening on headphones as losing it in a club. 'Natant' is another undulating mix of electronica, ambient and techno that casts your mind free. 'Floodplain' is a heavenly closer.
Pulse 02(coloured vinyl 12"+ MP3 download code limited to 200 copies (comes in different coloured vinyl, we cannot guarantee which one you will receive))
Joachim Spieth - "Subtle" (Nitechord remix) (4:45)
Review: Past Inside the Present's 'Pulse' series is an investigation into ambient tech and beat-driven ambient sounds. Who better for the job on this second edition than master craftsmen ASC and Joachim Spieth? ASC opens up with 'Tidal Disruption Event', an understated, underwater rhythm with jittery percussive patterns and bright shards of melodic light piercing through the mix as more coarse soundwaves break over the top. Spieth's 'Subtle' is just as artful and delicate a mix of persuasive rhythm and melodic beauty. A classy Nitechord remix closes out this fascinating EP.
Review: Given his long-held love of fusing elements of different musical cultures from around the world, Auntie Flo (real name Brian D'Souza) is almost the perfect Multi-Culti artist. It's something of a surprise then to find that this is only his second outing on the label. He begins in confident mood with 'Esperanto', a delightfully melodious, bubbly and synth-heavy slab of chugging sonic joy, before wrapping waves of mind-altering electronics and sun-bright synths around a slipped Afro-tech beat on 'Unua Libro'. Over on side two, D'Souza takes us to a deeper and more immersive place on 'El Heine', explores hybrid cosmic/ambient soundscapes on 'Ho Mia Kor', and doffs a cap to the new age ambient pioneers of times gone by on blissful closing cut 'Mia Penso'.
Review: Grand River's always-illuminating One Instrument label reawakens with a new album from Martin Sander and Michel Isorinne's Bandhagens Musikforening project. Having previously appeared on Northern Electronics and Semantica, now these two advanced synthesists place all their attention on a select few studio pieces to see how far they can take them. First up is the Roland System 100, which affords them plenty of tonal possibilities for the pulsing, kinetic 'Nedgravd I Naturen'. With the Yamaha DX-7 they create a towering ambient piece of FM synthesis, while the Roland SH-101 gets applied to a dense and detailed slice of obtuse leftfield techno. The Oberheim Matrix 6R becomes a vehicle for cinematic melancholy, and the Waldorf Microwave teases out an immersive swirl of ambience as you might well expect from the One Instrument series.
B-STOCK: Torn sleeve otherwise in excellent condition
Nedgravd I Naturen (Roland System 100)
Morklaggning (Yamaha DX-7)
Midnattsmanifest (Roland SH-101)
Cirkelskifte (Oberheim Matrix 6R)
Vitmossa (Waldorf Microwave)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Torn sleeve otherwise in excellent condition***
Grand River's always-illuminating One Instrument label reawakens with a new album from Martin Sander and Michel Isorinne's Bandhagens Musikforening project. Having previously appeared on Northern Electronics and Semantica, now these two advanced synthesists place all their attention on a select few studio pieces to see how far they can take them. First up is the Roland System 100, which affords them plenty of tonal possibilities for the pulsing, kinetic 'Nedgravd I Naturen'. With the Yamaha DX-7 they create a towering ambient piece of FM synthesis, while the Roland SH-101 gets applied to a dense and detailed slice of obtuse leftfield techno. The Oberheim Matrix 6R becomes a vehicle for cinematic melancholy, and the Waldorf Microwave teases out an immersive swirl of ambience as you might well expect from the One Instrument series.
Review: Few artists have had such a global impact on electronic music than Thomas Bangalter, the legendary DJ, producer and songwriter who is best known as one-half of the former dance titans Daft Punk. He has many more skills up his sleeve though as he has proven since leading the duo. One is writing soundtracks such as this one, Chiroptera, for Acte 2: Retour a la Caverne, which was a JR creation with choreography from Damien Jalet. It was performed in Paris in front of the Opera de Paris (Opera Garnier) on November 12th, 2023 and involved more than 150 dancers. You can now relive it musically with this limited 12".
Review: The icy techno sounds of Cologne's Barnt make their way across Europe here to Studio Barnhus's Swedish bunker. Across five fresh cuts, he brings plenty of experimental flair but also some playful rhythms to a forward-thinking EP that sounds like little else. 'Aqua Melopella' is an unsettling opener with glistening synths scurrying like ants over a sparse rhythm, 'Aqua Breeze' establishes a marching beat and 'Aqua Bass' brings twanging synths and frosted loops that keep you on your toes. 'Millennium Silver' is another tune blend of dystopian synth sounds and distorted lines that speak of human destruction and last of all 'Millennium Melopella' offers moments of ambient reflection.
Review: Beau operates at the sharp end of the UK electronic underground and creates an immersive, dark ambient sound that is influenced by trailblazers like Burial. His soundscapes combine ethereal textures with moody rhythms and that is very much the case here on Lacuna, his new album for Feat PLAtes. It is full of roomy sounds, icy glass synths, smeared pads, late-night moods and evocative atmospheres that draw you in ever deeper, sometimes looking over your shoulder, always lost in deep thought. A real lost tape from the short-lived night bus genre, you could say.
Review: John Beltran's label debut sees the maestro flexing and showcasing the full spectrum of his composing and production skills over four diverse tracks.
Fmsquared (Epiloggy) (Beauvine bonus Perc version) (3:17)
Lansqape4 (Short_onetake) (5:57)
Review: Royal Wavetable Mellodies & Old TDKs by Mexico baed artist Brainwaltzera is a perfect coming totters of the symphonic, the synthetic, the organic and the electronic. It's a record that could be a lost 70s classic as much as a new school homage to minimalism, experimental ambient and vintage synths. In fact, this is a selection of archive recordings in the artist's characteristically idiosyncratic style that we cannot get enough of. The collection of tracks are gorgeously native and innocent, with wispy melodies and retro keys all smeared and smudged into moving pieces of ambient that are beatless but dynamic.
Review:
After his surprise drop with music writer and producer Blackdown on the Keysound label last month, the enigmatic Burial is now back with a fresh new EP all of his own. It comes on his longtime home of Hyperdub and features two more of his deft designed, ghostly deep dubstep post-nightbus joints. 'Chemz' is a strict raver filled with rushed up sounds, plenty of dance floor love and big hooks that is many different tracks, moods and vibes all rolled into one. As always, these Burial sounds look back to go forwards and do so in thrilling fashion.
Review: Is there any artist in electronic music that releases as little music yet remains as highly revered as Burial? We can't think of any. As it happens, this new Streetlands EP is actually the hallowed UK producer's second outing of 2022 after the ambient offering Antidawn back in January. As always it finds him back on Kode9's Hyperdub label. 'Hospital Chapel' is eerie atmosphere and lo-fi samples, 'Streelands' is another sparse ambient cut that is full of melancholy and 'Exokind' is the soundtrack of a faraway planet with distant solar winds and only the smallest of microbial activities for you to tune into before a signature angelic vocal brings the beauty.
Review: Philadelphia's cultural significance doesn't quite resonate in the same way on the European side of the Atlantic as it does back in the States. Of course we all know about Philly Cheese Steak, Hall & Oates, and The Roots, but the extent to which the biggest city in Pennsylvania acts as a melting pot for creativity, without really shouting about it, is really quite remarkable once you lift the lid. And we've not even mentioned It's Always Sunny... yet.
Cutting to the chase, far too late, Alex Burkat, is a case in point for the talent at work in said metropolis. A producer and DJ who has graced labels like Mister Saturday Night, Permanent Vacation, 100% Silk and Third Ear Recordings in the past, here he turns his well-tuned ear to ambient work, delivering three accomplished drone outings that do as they should - hypnotic, tunnelling, creeping but commanding.
Review: Matti Bye is Between Darkness & White Snow on this deeply absorbing new 12" on Northern Electronics. It comes as four separate pieces that all play out as part of a larger narrative. First up is 'I', a quiet, gloomy landscape on a grey winter's day with the gentle sound of flowing water and muted synth modulations placing you right in the middle of it. 'II' has more presence, a growing sense of melancholy and unease and 'III' allows a little heavenly light into the mix to gently uplift. The final chapter has a feeling of hope with subtle keys radiating from deep inside.
Review: Rambadu's self-titled label is young but already onto a good thing with a distinctly deep brand of techno. This time out the boss is back once more but in cahoots with Italian techno legend Claudio PRC. They cook up a trio of mind melters starting with 'Sai.' Warped lines menacingly roam about the stereo field over sparse kicks and deep abs. 'Matika' is just as paired back and atmospheric in a deep, dark way with slowly churning drums taking you deeper down the rabbit hole. 'Aqua' is a meatless blend of distant groans and wispy pads that keeps you in suspense.
Review: Cologne label Magazine have been releasing some fine leftfield offerings from the likes of Barnt, Drums Off Chaos, Wolfgang Voigt and Naum Gabo over the years. Now they present the debut release from Creme de la Deutz, an enigmatic project from unknown sources dealing in the kind of ambience to stick on while you gaze at the stars. Following exhibitions and performances at noted spots like Salon Des Amateurs, this limited edition pressing is hitting the streets and not likely to stick around for long. If you appreciate rich, synth-driven ambience, this album is for you.
Review: The Shot of T label serves up a versatile new split EP with CV Smiles kicking things off. A long, drawn-out and emotive synth opens up on 'Home-schooled' and comes layered with bubbly pads and serve effects that soothe the mind. Then comes a rap mix that is detailed with louche bars and more 909 production to make it pop. On the flip side, the masterful Porn Sword Tobacco flips the script with a gurgling, pulsing, deep and linear techno roller in the form of 'Techno Story' which is perfect for late-night sessions.
Review: After many years of waiting, CV313 (Stephen Hitchell) brings out blue vinyl editions of some of his cherished dub techno classics. Originally released in 2007 and again in 2009, 'Subtraktive' took the M7 formula and deepened it even further becoming the blueprint for CV313 and the Echospace label for years to come. Comes with the live in Japan version also. This reissue is a warm welcome for those concerned about ever getting a copy.
Review: This classic techno record has been remastered and repressed on nice blue limited translucent midnight vinyl to mark its tenth anniversary. It finds CV313 casting you adrift into a world of deft ambient pads, fathom-deep dub undercurrents that are so subtle you barely know they are there, and then mesmerising with ghostly apparitions and analogue modulations. On the flipside is a live version of the same tune that has a slightly more raw, textured rhythm and scraping synths so exudes a slightly different mood but is no less immersive.
Southern Coastline (Jack Lever Northern mix) (4:05)
Southern Coastline (Inhmost Coastal mix) (6:27)
Southern Coastline (Synkro remix) (5:39)
Review: Inspired by "slow and quiet life on the southern coasts of England", the debut from CVOIA - a new collaboration between producers and Captured Visions label founders Adam O'Hara and Tom Parker - offers gorgeously lolloping, lazy beats and expansive, cinematic orchestration. There's the brittle, slow motion breakbeats and woozy instrumentation of the duo's original, then remixes from four of their favourite acts: Awakened Souls, Inhmost, Jack Lever and Synkro. All the tracks are about as strenuous as an afternoon on the beach, and equally nourishing, with Synkro's rich, synth-soaked near-ambient mix a dramatic, undisputed highlight. Jack Lever's Northern Mix, meanwhile, wouldn't sound out of place nestled somewhere in Mo'Wax's first dozen or so releases. High praise indeed, but much deserved.
Review: In late 2023, Tokyo-based musician Daigo Sakuragi moved to London where he revisited recordings made with fellow Japanese artists. Inspired by the city's energy and atmosphere, he crafted Togenkyo, a 28-minute fusion of early 2000s folktronica and contemporary ambient music that now comes as two long continuous pieces on one slab of vinyl. Layering immersive synth textures with spatial production, he grounds the piece in organic drum and bass grooves while a saxophone elegantly weaves through the soundscape. Togenkyo reflects an inner utopia that is attainable yet imperfect and is a comforting, meditative work.
Review: The NOID imprint out of Belgium returns with its second vinyl drop, and this time takes you into some serene realms of breakbeat-driven pleasure court yes of Dave NA. His Altura EP opens with 'Escape', a wide open and airy mix of wispy synths and dusty, floating breaks. 'Elevation' has a more churning rhythm and dubby undercurrent and 'Pulse' (feat Freq444) has a hypnagogic feel, smeared vocal cries and more raw percussive patterns. 'Novox' (feat Freq444) shuts down with the most heavy and moody breakfast of the lot, a certain jungle swagger and plenty of heavy bass.
Review: Few producers do the dub techno sound better than Rod Modell and on this second Atmospherica instalment, he shows why he is so revered. "Exploring The North" is dense and subdued, the hisses and crackles ebbing and flowing fluidly over a powerful sub-bass. "Pinewood Lodge" is more atmospheric and floaty, its chords flitting about like fireflies over a camp fire on the first night of autumn. Rounding out the release is "Shot Point". Immersive, hypnotic and ghostly, it washes through the speakers like waves crashing on a deserted beach at midnight. This is electronic music that is designed to get lost in.
Det Blaser En Vind Genom Varlden, Och Det Har Det Alltid Gjort (6:54)
Review: An experimental techno hexagram in LP form from Stockholm artist Evigt Morker. Without so much as a hint of context, the techno dark-shooter here drops his third LP for resident label Northern Electronics as a surprise, and the result is rather stunning. A bleary set of impressions, some tunes on this record clip the top edge of the mix, chinking our emotive armour. The effect is gastric, dehiscent, exuding bile: 'Hemilga Eldar' leaves us dumbstruck by its ambient eventidal winds and strangely sprawled drum shapes, while 'Sokaren Hittade' combines nyctophile cantos with electric twangs. The closer 'Det Blaser En Vind...' is a headland of humility, letting in much longer gusts of tuned air.
Review: Andrea Ferlin presents four stunning tracks that dive into deep house depths on this sick new HAZE release. 'OPIA' is first and features modulated stabs, rumbling pads and a sliding bassline that makes it an ideal choice for peak hours. In contrast, 'ORGO' shines in after-hours sets with its intricate percussion polyrhythms and layered sounds. The B-side shifts the mood with 'DORF,' while 'Morning Sunshine' evokes the anticipation of a classic orchestral interlude. This one is full of goodness for all sorts of settings.
Review: New music from LA resident Fields of Mist is always worth hearing. He's previously proven to be a master of bringing a hip-hop sensibility to his work, as well as a jazzy and broken beat bone on his 2022 album Iluminated60. This latest turn to Illian Tape is another standout with a mix of dreamy, suspenseful pads and killer rhythms. 'Dreams Of The Lost Moon' isa fine example of that with its far-sighted gaze but body popping drums and 'Darkstar System M312' then gets more moody with a speedy low end and astral pads. 'Moss Nebula Tidal Dance' is another blend of deep space ambience with minimal but impactful rhythms.
Review: Queeste welcomes FMVEE with a hugely singular collection of sounds. Though this is idiosyncratic music with its very own lexicon, the feelings of which the artists speaks are familiar to us all even if the methods are not: love songs, rueful reflection and heart ache are things we can all relate to. 'EverythingUneverKnewUwanted' is a particularly dense track of abstractions that reveal more beauty with each listen. 'Seed Perfuming' is all broken bass and reflected melody that shimmers and shines in a post-dubstep fashion and 'Sobbing' is avant-pop gem with a soaring vocal from Rosie Ruel amongst heavy as you like hits and bass.
Four Hands - "November 2011, North Northumberland" (Zoviet France dub)
Four Hands - "Mountain Of Mammon" (Zoviet France version)
Review: The Newcastle based Signals collective have been delightfully unpredictable in their short existence to date, with releases from artists as varied as Legowelt, John Heckle and Oppenheimer Analysis also demonstrating an ear for quality that ensures the casual observer should always check in on their latest release. That honour falls on two local North East acts in the shape of sometime Claremont 56 artist Four Hands and iconic industrial figures Zoviet France. This clear twelve inch is the most creatively ambitious record from Signals yet, with the original material from Four Hands in essence a remix he did of "Mammoth Mountain", a track from the Manchester based artist Caro Snatch. Reimagined as a luscious ambient music with real attention paid to musicality, "Sea Of Love (Mammoth Mountain mix)" is a beautiful slice of music that can't fail to captivate across the almost eight minutes of its duration. Accompanying this, Zoviet France submitted two remixes, with the first - "November 2011, North Northumberland (Zoviet France dub)" - actually a recording of themselves playing the Four Hands version on a mobile phone while one of them chops wood. Complementing this slightly odd version is a sublime thirteen minute ambient piece that truly refigures the magic of Four Hands' original piece in Zoviet France's own inimitable style.
Review: Berlin-based but American-born producer Fred P is as deep as they come. Private Society has been his latest label concern for a while now and this State of Bliss series kicked off in November last year in fine fashion. Part 2 is another of his smooth signature blends of jazz, ambient and house. 'NY' has shimmering chords and a percussive clatter that eventually clears to reveal a skittish broken beat that is live and lush. 'Awakening Desire' then cuts loose on expansive ambient pads, with worlds vocals smeared across a wide open night sky in suggestive jazz drumming drifts way down low. It's an experimental piece before the funky jazz dancer 'High Fusion' gets you on your toes with a killer bass guitar line.
Review: The first of two EPs leading up to The Future Sound of London's much anticipated 2025 album only serves to build anticipated cause they're as good as you would hope. Side A is a dark ambient odyssey that drifts through ethereal choirs into ritualistic rhythms before landing in a surreal suburban dreamscape. It's immersive, haunting and unpredictably brilliant. Side B begins with a more introspective tone but gradually shifts into unease with baroque minimalism with modular synths, breakbeats and drum machines coming totters with ambient field recordings and meticulously curated samples. It's as intricate as you would expect of this pair and is a masterclass in an atmosphere full of depth and surprise.
Review: The very first live stream on 9128.live broadcast from the studio of Rafael Anton Irisarri, as he and Thomas Meluch (Benoit Pioulard) pieced together a completely live improvisation, christening the newly created 9128 airwaves and setting the bar for many more live takeovers. With one album between them as Gailes, and profound work individually (also together as Orcas), Rafael and Thomas are masters of the ambient craft, combining intricate field recordings, guitar, pedals, vocals and heady reverb across a 40-minute non-stop immersive listen, split into two 20-minute sides for the inaugural 9128 vinyl release. The 9128 label aims to document significant live performances by artists that previously performed on the 9128.live platform. With recordings initially created for a singular collective listening moment, and often as part of a festival or takeover weekend, label recordings will re-present this music for further listening across various formats that best suit each release. Gailes - Session Two, will be available as a digital download and 12", printed in a reverse-board die-cut sleeve, black vinyl.
Review: French electronic icon Laurent Garnier returns with the FABRICLG4 EP to celebrate the 25th anniversary of London's legendary club. This release showcases Garnier's signature range and opens with 'Playing with the Low-End,' a fierce 2-step track that nods to the heritage of UK club sounds. The journey then shifts to techno with 'Resonances from the D' barrelling along with great force and then on the flip side, 'Odyssee Maison' features deep house grooves with Dan Diamond and last but not least 'On the Way Home' rounds out the experience with ambient sounds. This one comes with "augmented reality artwork" by Atelier 14 and is another doozy from the already untouchable Garnier.
Review: Trip-hop meets modern digital ambience on Gi Gi's latest for INDEX:Records. Nothing but the music meets the ear here, plunging us into ricochety sonic hotwirings from the jump. Allusions to dancehall ('Maiolica'), dub ('Palm Slick') and illbient ('Lilted Song') ring true here, while a vocal feature on the track 'Sinews' - from fellow mic-caresser and expert moniker-coiner Hysterical Love Project - yields a sound that recalls something like the combined sonics of HTRK and 3XL. A not-to-miss EP for anyone who loves it textural.
Review: INDEX:Records founder and self-styled 'DJ and sound engineer' Conna Haraway finally makes his vinyl bow following a couple of low-key cassette and digital download releases. According to the Sydney-based imprint handling the release, Theory Therapy, the wonderfully titled Spatial Fix was partially inspired by the Glasgow-based artist's 2024 tour of Japan and South Korea. You can hear that in the subtly far eastern melodies and ambient techno style textures of ten-minute opener 'Freon', whose grooves would undoubtedly have impressed the late Andrew Weatherall, and the hushed, semi-abstract, deeply layered wonder of 'Switchback'. Elsewhere, the stretched-out, immersive and meditative '1702' joins the dots between low-tempo ambient techno and dub techno, while 'Patent' is deep, otherworldly and suitably sub-heavy mutant dancehall.
Review: In a move many might have believed not possible, Bobby Krlic makes a welcome return as The Haxan Cloak with this monumental single. It's no less than ten years since we last heard from the industrial-tinged electronica maverick on his Excavation album, but now he's back with a bruising new piece called 'N/Y' which pops up on both sides of this clear 12" platter. It's a high pressure release full of jackhammer percussion and noise blasts, plus some sirens thrown in for good measure. Holding true to the industrial tradition, it's entirely engineered as a blast of intensity, and Krlic has considerable talent to render such an approach in a powerful, provocative way.
Review: As Bobby Krlic's project The Haxan Cloak makes a return after some ten years of silence with the 'N/Y' single, it's a fine time to track back and catch up on some of his small but perfectly formed catalogue. Observatory originally came out in limited quantities in 2010, and now it sees a repress to stave off the sharks and allow more people to experience this engrossing short form release. The title track is a strong melodic mantra riding a densely packed organ-like figure into oblivion, allowing the resonant frequencies and harmonics to become the dynamic movement in the track with an expert patience. 'Honfour (Temple)' is a subtler, more shapeshifting piece with gorgeous blooms of ambience and submerged pulses that lead you deeper into Krlic's evocative sound world.
Review: A collaborative new single by sampletronic master Kieran Hebden (aka. Four Tet) and guitarist and composer William Tyler, two acclaimed musicians and both longstanding friends. Part of a recent spewing-forth of Hebden-adjacent material to hit the shelves after the artist's oft-reported-upon "agent of chaos" phase, these two tracks, pressed to a furtive 12", provide a neat counterpoint to that assessment. Rather than a pair of riddim bangers, the record flaunts Hebden's signature electronic textures and Tyler's guitar into a hypnotic, nominally dark soundwhirl, reminiscent of the earliest days of Text, but with a unique edge - a sonic corner never quite scoured before by either artist.
Review: Hidden Sequence have appeared on legendary dub techno label Mosaic in fine form of late and now they land on the Lempuyang imprint with four more serene fusions. Their Theories of Time EP opens up with the swaggering dub rhythms and bottomless depths of 'Distortion', a cut as heady as they come. 'Travelling,' as the title suggests, has a deeper rolling groove and more movement to it as it snakes through underwater dub caverns. Flip it over for more widescreen and serene explorations of the ocean floor with 'Shift' and mysterious leads of 'Delay' which is a fourth and final frictionless dub dream.
Review: Seven years after he gave us the spectacularly beautiful Asleep Versions, Jon Hopkins presents four minimal piano stunners to help us return to those half-awake moments of absolute bliss. The bit before the dark in the back of your eyes turns red and you realise it's going to be another 12 hours or so before you're climbing back into the sack and returning to a place where, let's face it, most of us are pretty happy.
In terms of the music itself, this is Hopkins and therefore you know the score in terms of vision. Opening on the tranquility of 'Heron', which sounds as though it was recorded by a lakeside in southern England complete with wildlife on tape, from here things only get more intoxicating, until the delicate pitter pattered notes of 'Wintergreen' close us out on a subtle but moving air.
Review: Kaoru Inoue's latest EP continues the journey of his acclaimed long player Dedicated to the Island, which was recently released for Record Store Day 2024. This six-track sequel features a series of self-reworked tracks from the LP, a first-time vinyl release and previously unreleased material as well as a remix by Argentina's SidiRum, who is a leading tastemaker in the tribal and slower house scenes. True to its title, the EP emphasises enhanced rhythmic elements and delivers a blend of organic, left-field electronic sounds. Inoue's talent for crafting atmospheric, innovative sounds will only improve with this superb 12".
Review: The inaugural 9128.live label release came from the UK's Jo Johnson and Hilary Robinson, featuring subtle, harmonic drones and manipulated piano, originally aired as part of the duo's set for the CALMA (Madrid) takeover on 9128.live, April 2020. Released digitally in 2020, the set is now available on 12" vinyl, split into two long-form compositions.
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