Review: Jochem Peteri's material under the NewWorldAquarium moniker has, in all honesty, kept the house and techno scene grounded over the years. So much so that the Dutchman's simple yet singular touch is still seen by many as the pinnacle of the last ten years of dance music resurgence, and it is difficult to think of anything he has put out that isn't memorable. He's here with his 154 alias this week, up on Boomkat's Ediitons imprint, with two ethereal slices of house bliss, tinted by a warm and peaceful ambient glow. "Wherever You Go" and "I Will Follow" are two sides of the same coin, the journey told in two separate chapters, where vast electornic soundscapes drive the tracks forwards; the beats, a placid collection of distant kicks, linger in mid-air magnificently. This is Ross 154.
Review: Heaven Smile is a Nduja-affiliated label that is back with a second offering that takes a trip into futuristic techno as well as offering up some superb abstract outings. 'Hold-1' is an ambient soundscape that draws you into a filtered synth that pulses as changes shape. 'Track 2' is dubby, techno-leaning house with diffuse chord vamps and 'Aliasing' is a distorted, scruffy collage of broken beats and knackered claps with a fuzzy pulse running through the middle. 'Hold-3' offers another ambient moment to catch your breath then 'Windmill' suspends you in amongst the stars.
Deep Beneath The Ocean Waves Of Labyrinths & Coral Caves (9:54)
Review: Since making his debut as 33.10.3402 11 years ago, Nenad Markovic has built up quite a catalogue of experimental, left-of-centre musical treats, most notably via frequent outings on L.I.E.S and ESP Institute. Here he makes his bow on another label, Third World, in the process providing DJ Evan's imprint with its debut release. First up, he provides a fresh '2022 mix' of the previously compilation-only '1000 Julys', a minimalistic epic where wayward electronics, intoxicating industrial sounds, hazy chords and marimba style melodies rise above a deep, weighty bassline and sparse, shuffling drum machine beats. 'Deep Beneath The Ocean Waves Of Labyrinths and Coral Waves' is similarly informed but warmer and deeper, with melodic motifs that lap like waves, pads that wash over your soul, and beats that bubble and spit attractively.
Review: We're living in a unique time in history. Most of our planet has already been traversed and catalogued by people who have come before us. Earth, at least from a geographical perspective, has few discoveries left for us. The true unknown lies in the worlds beyond our own. It's likely that in the next few decades, humans will finally have the means to take our first tentative steps on the surface of our neighbouring planet, Mars. We will be the first known species that has both the knowledge and the desire to transcend our existence beyond our home planet and expand further into space. There may even be people alive today whose children will be born on a planet that isn't called Earth. For them, the concept of "home" has a very different meaning to our own. They will be Tomorrow's Explorers, redefining what it means to be human, whilst retaining the very thing that makes us so - our unquenchable thirst to explore the unknown.
"Tomorrow's Explorers is the follow-up to my 2015 EP 'Sine Dust'. Usually when I finish a record, I draw a line under it and move onto the next concept, with the explicit desire to do something different. After 'Sine Dust', I felt that there was more of a story to tell. Space is a pretty big place! Whereas 'Sine Dust' was a 100% synthesiser-based record, 'Tomorrow's Explorers' expands the sound gamut considerably, introducing heavy string-based sections, that work alongside the synths and pads to create expansive, enveloping walls of sound. This culminates in the 13 minute title track, which I feel is one of my most audibly rich, melodically complex tracks to date. Drawing influence from every other record I've made, whilst taking the sound to new and unfamiliar places, 'Tomorrow's Explorers' is sure to please fans both old and new. The endless themes of space have been explored countless times by artists in the past. It's a limitless source of inspiration for many of us and always a joy to discover. As usual, I hope you enjoy where it takes you." -36
Review: Two Past Inside the Present artists that have previously released works on the PITP label come together for this anonymous split ep. 19 minutes of lush, slow-moving ambient trails. With this record we want listeners to go in blind, without ego or expectation, with the sole focus on what truly matters: the music. The artists and titles will remain anonymous until the vinyl sells out and then we will reveal all.
Review: Having recently devoted more of his time to the breezy, melodious bliss of the D.K project, Dang Khoa-Chau once again dons the 45 ACP alias for a more downbeat E.P on L.I.E.S. It's arguably far more accessible than his previous work for the label under the now familiar moniker, but still pleasingly left-of-centre. There's much to admire throughout, from the poignant melodies, drifting keys and spaced-out drums of "Hang In There", and Marimba-laden deep space techno of "Smoked Out", to the clarinet-laden ambient textures of bittersweet closer "Graveyard Shift". While opener "Slick Response" - a bubbling, ear-pleasing chunk of metronomic techno - feels a little more positive, it's still largely melancholic in tone.
Review: Adding yet another record to the pile that has so far been provided by the label A_A, the experimental dub artists behind said outfit (Satoshi Tomiie and Nao Gunji) have really outdone themselves out here. On pink splatter vinyl comes 'Dissonant', one of many EPs to have emerged from the same heads-down studio session that saw to its predecessor, 'Radiant'. Tracks 1-4 lock in a slew of impressive ear-scourings and dub-delayed experimentations, with the first and last tracks particularly blowing us away with their broken beats, which allow for more attention to be paid to every undulation, crackle and knock.
Review: Artificial Owl Recordings welcomes aboard New Yorkers Satoshi Tomiie and Naotake Gunji for the label's fifth release; a recording of their collaborative A_A project and live show, which first came to light at the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. A_A, an ongoing audio project, explores the visceral tension between floor-centric ambient electronica and improvised sound/audio performance. Here, found and object-activated sounds fire a collective dub trigger, producing a distinctly somatic regrounding across five original works.
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.
Reverie(s)(hand-numbered clear mint vinyl 12" in spray-painted sleeve limited to 200 copies (comes in different coloured sleeve, we cannot guarantee which one you will receive))
Review: While the name may be new, A New Line (Related) is supposedly the work of an already established musician, although Kimochi was never a label that cared about hype. The music stands just fine on its own, digging into the kind of dusty and dusky house and techno formations that the label has forged its hand-sprayed identity on. There's plenty of ambient techno twirls to be enjoyed on the likes of "Dancing On Soft Borders", while the beats melt away entirely on "After A Short Illness" and grandiose EP closer "RIYL Failures". Once again Kimochi comes up with the kind of meaningful variations on the 4/4 framework that keep our record bags full and our souls enriched.
Review: Americans composers Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O'Halloran form the modern ambient project A Winged Victory For The Sullen. Separately, Wiltzie is known to have worked with The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, while O'Halloran, under his own name, has released a long line of albums, some of which are concentrated on his solo piano work. Here though, the two deliver a three-track EP that in many ways can be likened to a freeform version of the calmer moments of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, while other parts are reminiscent to the minimalistic piano keys of the American Beauty soundtrack; the 13-minute Greenhouse interpretation of "Atomos VII" is a trip worth taking too.
Review: Border Community's Luke Abbott returns to his own Buffalo Temple alongside newcomer Jake Wyllie, coming through with a self-titled three-tracker. "Xanatko", "Isaka" and "Exteberri" truly explore the deepest realms of electronic music, and together make for a mind-blowing experience on the headphones. You'll enter a realm made of woozy soundscapes, field recordings and subtle waves of improvised free jazz. It's dream music for the dreamers, one of the highest calibre. A tip for the all the ambient diggers!
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: Between Northern Electronics, Semantica, and Dimensional Exploration, techno deviant Acronym has built himself quite a reputation for conjuring the coldest, most mechanical sort of techno. In case you didn't get it, we think he's a master at the genre, and he's right up there on our list of favourite contemporaries alongside the likes of Abdulla Rashim. This new EP comes courtesy of the fledgling Auxiliary label, and it starts off by setting a cinematic scene through the hollow sounds of "Final Descent", a placid glow of harmonies which transform into an apocalyptic chain of metallic percussion on "Endless Horizon". "Walk Below The Waters" continues this mood on the flipside, thanks to a jittering artillery of drums and hi-hats that have been glued together by the raucous, minimalistic melodies suspended in the mid-end of the tune, only to be washed-out in the comparatively more diluted and tranquil whirlpool called 'Wandering Aimlessly".
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: Actress is one of those names that invokes equal parts notoriety and hero worship. Like so much of the music he is associated with, the producer and DJ, studio experimenter and synth explorer doesn't have a reputation for being the easiest artist to predict. A creator who seems determined to push boundaries, even if that sometimes means abrasive and uninviting to the uninitiated, or anyone who would have preferred to hear something less abstract, if not altogether safer. Grey Interiors is a case in point. Dropping on the always-incredible Norwegian outlet Smalltown Supersound only emphasises the fact this is going to be an exercise in boldly going... Pressed onto a single-sided white 12" reinforces the notion that this occupies a place very much unto itself. The drones, distant sound of stardust falling, and whirs of tech that make up this spacey drone experience confirming we've boarded the shuttle and are now exiting Earth's atmosphere.
Review: Laima Adelaide's new 12" on Shahr Farang is as deft as sound design gets. The hugely limited 12" is all about quiet artistry and mastering the small things. The A-side 'Empty Mind' is a delightfully sparse and empty yet potent piece with supple, suggestive rhythms and sustained chords that are grainy and lo-fi. It's amazing just how absorbing such little sound can be. 'Pattern' then takes up the whole of the flip with a more pulsing and dynamic rhythm but the whole tune still seems to float through space with distant starry twinkles, deep space energies and a hopeful sense of melodic beauty.
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 4th instalment from Australia's Analogue Attic Recordings comes from label bosses Sean La'Brooy and Alex Albrecht. Utilising field recordings from a popular Melbourne location, Edgewater Towers effortlessly transitions between ambient and dance orientated pieces.
Review: ANALOGUE ATTIC is a record label based in Melbourne, Australia. Showcasing the gentle side of electronic music down under.
The first release from AAR, 'Good Morning Passengers', introduces local duo Albrecht La'Brooy.
The Belgrave train line travels 42kms South East from Melbourne's busy Flinders Street to the peaceful gum forests of the Dandenong Ranges. 'Good Morning Passengers' explores life on the Belgrave Line; urban gentrification, multiculturalism and the journey from the suburbs to the rainforest.
Review: Given the soft-focus drowsiness and field recordings-smothered nature of their previous releases on Analog Attic and Night Tide, Alex Albrecht and Sean La'Brooy's collaborative project seems a neat fit on R&S's downtempo-focused Apollo sub-label. Typically, they've used to opportunity provided to dive even further into crystal clear ambient waters. While the EP contains a couple of gentle Balearic house shufflers (see the sun-kissed laziness of "Last Night" and effortlessly groovy "Sealers Cove"), it's the more straight-up ambient efforts that really sparkle. Check, in particular, the Johnny Nash style guitar bliss of "Daybreak" and "Darby Saddle", and the becalmed, liquid piano solos of EP standout "Tidal River", which reminded us a little of Aqua Bassino's downtempo classic "Na Na's Waltz".
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