Juno Recommends Leftfield Best of 2020

Review: Amsterdam label Music from Memory started their 12" series in order to present music that "was never available in this format but might just feel more at home there". The debut in the series from obscure San Francisco artist Joel Graham set the bar high, and we are happy to report this latest 12" featuring the work of UK artist Michal Turtle is just as good! A precursor to a wider retrospective planned on MFM, Are You Psychic? features two tracks from the early 80s Turtle improvised in his parents living room using various bits of gear and will delight anyone with a taste for discovering obscure electronic music from days gone by. B side track "Astral Decoy" is a particularly delightful production!

Review: Kris Baha had a big year in 2019 with the release of his debut album on CockTail d'Amore and an EP on Pinkman, and now the Australian body music man in Berlin is back with a high-pressure heater for [Emotional] Especial. "Barely Alive" is the kind of sinewy proto-industrial cut that will appeal to fans of Ministry's earlier work, when the synths reigned supreme and there was pop to match the noir. Especial then call on a cast of remixers to interpret the track in different ways, from Timothy J Fairplay amping up the dystopian disco tropes to Das Ding creating a sleek electro-funk twist with the original's gothic undertones intact.

Review: Creamy Encouraging Mystical Mantras.

Review: Robert Rental is an artist as influential as he is overlooked. An anchor of the early British DIY and post-punk scene, his name is most frequently uttered alongside illustrious collaborators such as Thomas Leer and Daniel Miller. Dark Entries and Optimo ally to illuminate some of Rental's early solo works with an expanded reissue of his debut 7" Paralysis /A.C.C.. Both labels have previously excavated Rental's catalog; we reissued the collaborative LP with Glenn Wallis in 2017, and Optimo released a collection of demos in 2018.

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: Leicestershire band In Embrace had a brief but productive run through the 80s that yielded a grip of albums and EPs, but Emotional Rescue have decided to focus on one track on particular. "The Living Daylights" originally came out in 1983, and here we get treated to two alternative mixes from a band who didn't take the transition from live band to studio project lightly. This is angular new wave with dubby undertones at its best. Timothy J Fairplay also steps up on the B side to deliver two choice remixes that vary the intensity from brooding disco dub to lysergic tripper without altering the groove.

Review: Grauzone's 1980 cut "Raum" has long been an overlooked gem - a heavyweight, dancefloor-centric post-punk disco cut that was previously hidden away on a hard-to-find compilation. Thankfully WRWTFWW Records has decided to give it a single release, accompanying the re-mastered original - a killer blend of spacey electronic pulses, punk-funk bass, snaking sax lines and electronic pulses - with some brilliant new remixes. The standout rework comes from Naum Gabo, who joined forces with Liquid Liquid man Dennis Young to deliver a percussive, low-slung take rich in fuzzy guitars, jaunty electronic melodies and breathless male vocals. The Ata Extended Mix, which opts for a more dubbed-out sound, more picturesque melodies and echo-laden guitars, is also rather special.

Review: This reissue of Global Communication's peerless 1994 ambient/ambient techno classic is one of two fresh vinyl pressings due this year, with original producers Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton reportedly putting the final touches to an audiophile-quality re-master of their own. While some may wait for that, others will prefer to grab a copy of this Music On Vinyl edition, which has been pressed on clear vinyl. "76:14" has not aged a bit in the 26 years that have passed since it first appeared; if anything, its blend of psychedelic electronics, head-in-the-clouds ambient sounds, dawn-ready beats and hypnotic techno motifs sounds fresher now than when it first appeared in stores. In other words, it's one of those albums everyone should own.

Review: So, how long have you been waiting for this one to drop? The answer really depends on two things - whether you've just been waiting for new long form material from the UK IDM legends Autechre, or whether you've been waiting for Autechre to put a proper album together that stays true to the principles and format of a 'proper album', as this does.

Either way let's just say Sign has been some time in the making, and it's definitely a case of payoff for patience. For the most part it's the waves of space age melody that really stand out, tracks like 'Esc Desc' seem to fill the room with bands of sci-fi harmony. Of course there's plenty of glitch and bleep here, too - the stepping 'Au14' is a case in point - alongside rumbling, bass-heavy business like 'Si100', where playful drips of percussion create a juxtaposition of innocence and menace.

Review: Emotional Response bring you some truly healing sounds from Polish producer Bartosz Kruczynski, who first teamed up with the label as The Phantom for the first round of the Schleissen series back in 2015. He's since delivered a debut album to Growing Bin and released as Earth Trax on Rhythm Section and others. The mood across this collection of pieces produced for Polish studio TVP Culture opens up a rich seam of inspiration around the ambient end of Kruczynski's work through short pieces rich in sonorous delights. From fluttering fourth world-isms to hazy dub soundscapes, this is pure listening pleasure from start to finish.

Review: Reissues don't come more significant than this. Jon Hassell's work new and old has been enjoying plentiful appraisal in recent years, with his outlook on Fourth World music finding fresh relevance with a modern crop of artists. While much of his catalogue has been given a fresh lease of life, they've been saving one of his most seminal works. Vernal Equinox was originally released in 1978, one of Hassell's first albums alongside Earthquake Island. It's essentially the blueprint for outernational music - a heady brew of global signifiers stewing together in one unclassifiable pot marked out only by Hassell's inimitable trumpet style. From ambient heads to sonic explorers, you won't want to miss the chance to own this most precious of albums.

Review: The Joker film has been one of the biggest successes of the year, and the Chernobyl TV series was not far behind. What both have in common is their soundtracks, which were written by Icelandic musician and composer Hildur Gudnadottir. Eschewing all the usual tried and tested tropes, she contours up supremely absorbing pieces from violins, synths, distant drums and builds tension in fascinating new ways. That is the case here across a series of magnificent peaks and toughs that leave you looking over your shoulder. Once again then Gudnadottir proves she is in a class of one right now when it comes to soundtracks.

Review: Up until his death in 2003, Hiroshi Yoshimura spent decades offering up immaculate albums that blurred the boundaries between ambient, new age and minimalism. For those not versed in the Japanese ambient pioneer's vast catalogue, 1986's "Green" - which is here reissued by Light In The Attic - remains one of his most impressive works. Created using a minimal number of instruments (mostly synthesizers and electric pianos), the set is as quietly jazzy as it is relaxing. Highlights include the meditative, Terry Riley influenced bliss of "Feel", the pulsing organ stabs and blissful electronics of "Sheep", the garden-ready musical hug that is "Green" and the swelling opener "Creek".

Review: Given The Primitive Painter would go on to become Alter Ego it should come as no surprise to anyone that this self titled debut from 1994 still sounds incredibly polished, and manages to hit a multitude of electronic notes in one very impressive swoop - some melancholic, some otherworldly, others punchy and direct. Re-releases like this are enough to convince even the most cynical first-pressing militants of the value in re-releasing. Why shouldn't a new generation of heads be won over by the beautiful acid ravescape painted by 'A Pagan Place', the slamming toybox percussion of 'Click Song', the emotionally charged euphoric downtempo joy of appropriately-titled 'Hope' or the retro futurism of electro-stepper 'Levitation'? As essential today as it would have been 25 years ago.

Review: Sasu Ripatti's legendary Vladislav Delay alias has been at the forefront of experimental electronics since the late '90s. While the project shifts in style with every album, the lasting impact of "Multila" looms large over his discography. Originally released on seminal dub techno label Chain Reaction in 2000, Multila gathers together two 12"s that take the emergent dub techno blueprint of the time and disassemble it through a frankly mind-boggling ecosystem of sequencing and processing. The rhythms are frequently slippery, the sonics imbued with a grainy, tactile quality, and the mood is heady and evocative. As beguiling now as it was on release, this is a rightly hailed landmark in electronic music history - collectors and newcomers alike, don't sleep on this one.

Review: International specialists Soundway provide some superbly soothing and cathartic electronic beats here from Reuben Vaun Smith. The debut album follows on from his vocal and production work on
Expositions's Yellow Haze EP early in the year on the First Jams label. The seven tracks that make it up are all different perspectives on chill, with mature musical motifs, seaside sounds and trips down to the beach at sunset all checked off the list. Spare a moment to admire the artwork, too, a seamless fusion of pastel colours, 80s graphic design and tropical escapism.

Review: Billing themselves as an ethno-industrial outfit, French group Vox Populi! have more in common with the German kosmische movement than the sound of their own fair land. They came from serious stock, including Axel Kyrou's mother who was a musique concrete pioneer at GRM, which set them up to make a bold and challenging debut album Myscitismes, originally released on their own Vox Man label in 1985. Combining advanced studio manipulation and liberal FX treatments with a pastoral folk thrum, motorik synth work and a heavy dose of pan-continental mysticism, they created a stunning and forward-thinking work that sounds shockingly relevant in the here and now. Finally reissued after more than 30 years, now is the perfect chance to grab this trailblazing slice of sonic sorcery.

Review: Kraftwerk's Ralf Hutter has more or less disowned the krautrock-inspired music he and the late Florian Schneider recorded pre "Autobahn". From that album (1974) onwards, they became the electronic futurists we know and love today; before that, they swum in more organic musical pastures, mixing rudimentary synthesizer and other electronic instruments with guitars, drums, flutes and electric organ. It's this sound that's captured on "Soest Live", a rare recording captured for WDR-TV in 1970. Accompanied by drummer Klaus Dinger, Hutter and Schneider offered up a mixture of arty, proto-ambient experimentalism, and surprisingly funky, groove-based krautrock epics that combine prototype Kraftwerk grooves with the organic sounds of flute, violin and organ.

Review: There isn't a more hit-packed Kraftwerk album than The Man Machine. First released in 1978 and here reissued on red vinyl accompanied by a fresh booklet of vintage images, the album boasts some of the German band's best loved songs, including 'The Robots', cheery sing-along 'The Model', the staggeringly good 'Neon Lights', and the bubbly title track. It shows how good the album is that such gems as 'Metropolis' and the picturesque 'Spacelab' - cuts that most other bands would kill to be able to write - tend to be ignored or overlooked. If you love electronic music, you need a copy of The Man Machine in your collection.

Review: Talk about unearthing forgotten gems, or indeed gems that were never really known in the first place. Back in 1983 Soren Fauli - then 19 years old, now an established Danish artist - decided to step away from the punk bands he'd been playing with and indulge his inner autobahn. Daily Fauli was the one-time project result, with this raw, mechanical but intimate record, which has as much in common with Kraftwerk as it does Powell, the only product. While there's a rough and ready (and charming) aesthetic to the record, despite his age at the time, and the fact he had very little idea what to do with the Casios in hand, it's incredibly accomplished stuff. The playful, shuffling warbler 'Bus' representing the lighter end of a spectrum that runs as fast as the edgy arpeggiations of 'Speed' and the pared back, proto-punk runaway train of 'Hard Kogt'. A fantastic album and an interesting talking point.

Review: For a long time, Nicolas Jaar kept quiet about the Against All Logic project, using it as a hype-free alias in which he could express the more forthright and fuzzy side of his artistic personality, free of the musical preconceptions that now come with his given name. The cat's out of the bag now though, and there will no doubt be additional interest in this sophomore set from the project. As the title suggests, it features material recorded between 2017 and 2019, delivering a thrilling blend of mutant, distorted future R&B, over-saturated leftfield house, skittish digi-dancehall drum jams, concrete-clad industrial beat-scapes, and the kind of inspired-but-wonky dancefloor workouts that are next to impossible to accurately describe.

Review: Since making his debut in the early 2010s, Berlin-based American Steve Huerta has delivered a string of rock solid, dancefloor-focused EPs. On debut album "Junipero", he's decided to mix things up, delivering a warm, woozy, atmospheric and picturesque set of tracks designed to ease tired minds in the comfort of the home. There's a few nods towards the dancefloor present - not least the toasty and dreamy breakbeat house cut "All Wild Things Are Shy" and bustling "Waxwing Air" - but for the most part the set settles in to a comfortably melodious and gently enveloping blend of blissful ambient, dub-flecked electronic soundscapes, spaced-out IDM and intergalactic electronica. It's a hugely enjoyable journey.