Juno Recommends Leftfield June 2020

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: Established in the early 1980s by Toyama-based musician Tsuyoshi Kawabata, Pale Cocoon was Japan's short-lived answer to musical fusionists Woo, Penguin Cafe Orchestra and The Durutti Column. The outfit's sole album, 1984's cassette-only "Mayu", has long been considered a cult classic, hence this first ever vinyl edition. Musically, the album is magic, with Kawabata and his collaborators offering up unearthly, mind-massaging soundscapes and pastoral, slow-burn songs crafted from effects-laden guitar textures, haunting flutes, quietly colourful synthesiser motifs, drowsy vocal passages, field recordings, occasional drum machine rhythms and chiming, off-kilter percussion. Wisely they've stretched the 60-minute album across two slabs of wax, too, meaning that every oddball sonic detail and picturesque musical refrain comes through loud and clear. In a word: superb.

Review: Moby seems to be getting nostalgic in his old age. Having spent much of the last 30 years releasing a mixture of ambient and downtempo beats, "All Visible Objects" sees the veteran New York producer step back towards the dancefloor. It was of course with house and techno that he made his name, and there are tracks on this album that either recall the ethereal, energy-packed quality of his early rave-era hits ("Go", "Move", "I Feel It", "Hymn" etc.) or musical styles born in the 1990s (trance, progressive house and so on). It's pretty forthright at times, with Moby's inclusion of socio-political messages - the money raised from sales of the album will be donated to a range of charities - adding an extra layer of intensity.

Review: Stroom's latest must-check release is a mini-compilation featuring suitably obscure electronic tracks originally released between 1993 and '96. Check first Ron Boots' picturesque "Lachrymation", where chiming melodies, lilting lead lines and spacey chords rise above similarly spaced-out beats, before turning your attention to the meditative, early morning swell of Jo Bogaert's immersive - and aptly titled - "Ambient Kinsky". Turn to the flip for the hazy, tabla-driven dreaminess of Morten Sondergaard's bleeping "Sahara I Mine Maender", as well as Ron Boots epic "Far Boundaries". The latter is an incredible slice of slow-burn ambient bliss that sounds like it was recorded in one of Europe's grandest old cathedrals.

Review: It's taken a while, but finally the World has woken up to what a terrific DJ Josey Rebelle is. Having snagged her first magazine cover earlier in the year, she's now mixed her first CD for Tim Sweeney's Beats In Space label. It's an absolute doozy, as you'd expect, with this vinyl sampler showcasing four of her most potent selections. In keeping with her soul-fired eclecticism, we're treated to synth-laden electro goodness (Fotomachine's "Bboy"), some deliciously drowsy and deep slipped two-step swing (Shy One's "Route II Romeos"), a slab of lusciously fluid jazz-house (the endless electric piano solos of Access 58's "Jazz Drama") and the most stunningly stirring, string-laden drum and bass cut you'll hear this year (Nookie's remix of Rogue Unit's "Dance of the Sarooes").

Review: Hot on the heels of "2017-2019", his second album of angular, off-kilter electronics and mechanical rhythms work under the Against All Logic alias, Nicolas Jaar offers up a 12" containing two eyebrow-raising collaborative cuts. Legendary alternative artist Lydia Lunch, who also features on the album, pops up on A-side "Illusions of Shameless Abundance", adding a out there spoken word vocal - much of which is presented as a series of overlapping loops - to Jaar's skewed modular electronics and trippy, out-of-this-world sounds. Estado Unido and FKA Twigs lend a hand on flipside "Alucinao", providing gently soulful lyrical flavour to a distorted, thrillingly aggressive South American electro rhythm, sweaty pots-and-pans percussion and metallic melodic elements.

Review: The latest full-length excursion from the Zake Drone label brings together imprint chief Zake and Past Inside The Present collaborator Slow Dancing Society for a first collaborative outing. Comprising six slow-motion tracks that sit somewhere between drone, academic ambient, sound design, ambient techno and neo-classical, "Mirrored" is an undeniably meditative affair capable of soothing stressed minds and warming aching limbs. There are of course distinctive highlights - see the gently throbbing deep space chords and hypnotic deep techno beats of "Mirrored", the windswept-but-warm pulse of "Anamnesis" and the contemplative late night drift of "Nadir" - but the album's greatest strength is undoubtedly how it sits together as a coherent, mood-enhancing whole.

Review: Bochum Welt's 2019 album "Seafire" was arguably one of the strongest full-length sets that Central Processing Unit has released to date, which given the Sheffield-based label's track record is high praise indeed. This EP offers fresh interpretations of some of the album's many highlights. First up is a perfectly pitched radio edit of "More Light" a gorgeous slice of IDM bliss that recalls the halcyon days of Boards of Canada, which is later given a slightly chunkier - but no less beautiful - treatment by EOD and a bustling, club-ready electro re-fix, complete with Yorkshire bleeps, by veteran DJ/producer James Zabeila. Elsewhere, the ambient mix of "G1" is as luscious and blissful as you'd expect, while Teflon Tel Aviv's revision of "Color Me" is opaque, sun-kissed and more than a little spaced-out.

Review: Xpq? founders D Tiffany and Special Guest DJ are keeping quiet about the identity of the "married outlaws" behind the previously unheard Low Budget Aliens project. This debut album arrives with little or no fanfare or fuss, or even the usual functional info sheet supplied to record stores and media outlets. So what's in store? In summary: peculiar, off-kilter excellence. Jumpy, skittish and imaginative, the majority of the eight tracks twist warped, mind-altering electronics and strange sounds around weighty basslines and unearthly rhythms that variously doff a cap to juke, jungle, grime, IDM and what would once have been called "brain-dance". It's an exciting and sometimes unsettling template, but one that consistently delivers on its eccentric, experimental promise.

Review: First released way back in 1982, Blancmange's "Living On The Ceiling" remains one of the most alluring and eccentric of all new wave-era synth-pop cuts, in part because the unusual inclusion of tabla and sitar parts gives it an unusually exotic, mind-altering flavour. This timely reissue includes the original album mix (B1) and '82 12" version (B2), as well as two brand new reworks from the mighty Roman Flugel. The veteran German producer has delivered the goods, first via a deliciously wonky, otherworldly and analogue-rich revision that brilliantly fuses elements of trippy Teutonic techno and raw, turn-of-the-80s New Wave. As you'd expect, his accompanying dub takes the track further in this direction, delivering a deliciously skewed trip into sparse, heavy, early morning territory.

Review: Josey Rebelle has taken the slow and steady arc from underground champion to treasured icon of DJ culture. Now it's common knowledge she's a peerless selector with an innate style of communication through her tunes, and this incredible run for Beats In Space is further proof. Following on from Powder's startling first instalment, this session posits the DJ mix as vibrant artistic statement, pushing back against the tide of mix series closures and swathes of half-baked online streams. It also absolutely kicks too, ripping through techno, house, electro and more with Rebelle's surefooted swagger all over the blends and juxtapositions.

Review: Downtempo dream team Jonny Nash and Suzanne Kraft join forces once more for another excursion far out to sea. Their ambient soundscapes are as lush as they come and are the perfectly transportive sounds we need right now. From mellow and melancholic piano chords to meandering synth lines there is lots to get lost in here, always with a real sense of slowly unfolding narrative and deep sense of immersion. The tenderness of this duo seems to know no bounds as they continue to find truly moving beauty in the most minimal of compositions.

Review: Kompakt main man and ambient maestro Wolfgang Voigt served up some of his finest work yet on the Ruckverzauberung album a couple of years ago. Now Astral Industries treats us to a live recording of said album, taken from Voigt's performance at Hackney venue St Johns Church in March last year. The dark and brooding soundscapes of this modern classical exploration take on a new and dynamic dimension as his immersive compositions of haunting, densely layered strings and sinister swirling pads transport you to another world, behind the mirror. A fine release from Astral Industries.

Review: Moby seems to be getting nostalgic in his old age. Having spent much of the last 30 years releasing a mixture of ambient and downtempo beats, "All Visible Objects" sees the veteran New York producer step back towards the dancefloor. It was of course with house and techno that he made his name, and there are tracks on this album that either recall the ethereal, energy-packed quality of his early rave-era hits ("Go", "Move", "I Feel It", "Hymn" etc.) or musical styles born in the 1990s (trance, progressive house and so on). It's pretty forthright at times, with Moby's inclusion of socio-political messages - the money raised from sales of the album will be donated to a range of charities - adding an extra layer of intensity.

Review: Sound scientist Brock Van Wey decided to mix things up during the making of his latest album, the decidedly bittersweet and weary "Ten Times The World Lied". To begin with, he decided to deliver an album without vocals - the first time he's ever done that - before opting to record a track a month, on the tenth day of each, for ten months. Furthermore, each densely layered track was recorded and mixed live. The results are impressive, with Van Wey offering mostly melancholic - but intensely beautiful - collages of layered ambient chords, effects-laden melodic movements and extreme aural textures that fill every invisible nook and cranny of the sound space.

Review: Even by the standards of ambient artists, Celer AKA Will Long is insanely prolific. It's why he's already been the subject of one must-have box set (Smalltown Supersound's five-disc "Memory Repetitions"), and can easily make his new album, "Future Predictions", a sprawling, four-disc affair. As those familiar with his work will attest, few are capable of crafting works of such stunningly swelling beauty. All four extended pieces here - all of which were created by layering tapes loops of instruments to give the effect of a live ensemble, with added processed field recordings and sound effects - are breath-taking, delivering the kind of emotive, immersive ambience that provides a meditative distraction from the stresses of everyday life.

Review: According to Rafael Anton Irisarri, his first album for Dais was inspired by a desire to "focus on the personal in order to tell a wider human story" - itself a reversal of his usual more impersonal approach to music-making. Musically the eight-track set also offers a slight stylistic shift, too, with Irisarri's usual ghostly ambient chords, grandiose sound design and heavily processed electronic textures being joined by fractured snippets of choral recordings, similarly fuzzy string songs, and the kind of densely layered and intense sounds that recall the dark weightiness of heavy metal. Throw in a bittersweet and melancholic tone, and you have one of Irisarri's most striking albums to date.

Review: On this ear-catching album, Danish label Posh Isolation has brought together the two collaborative releases (to date) from Croatian Amor and Varg2TM. First up on side A is 2018's "Body Of Water", a wonderfully positive paddle in aquatic ambient waters in which the two producers combine lilting electronic melodies, sun-bright synthesizer motifs and opaque, watery chords in a number of tuneful, life-affirming ways. Turn to the flip for last year's follow-up, "Body Of Carbon", an altogether bolder affair that flits between gritty, beat-driven electronica (the fuzzy techno pulse of "Tell Your Tale To The River" and the doom-laden fizz of "God's Face In The Fire") and blissful ambient soundscapes ("God's Face In The Water").

Review: Having previously self-released his music online, Adam London AKA Bedroom has finally found a home to showcase his particular brand of immersive, slow-burning ambient music - albeit via a release of which only 100 copies are available worldwide. While this means you'll have to be fast to secure a copy, we'd recommend making the investment. The Chicago-based producer's work is fluid, warm, dreamy and drifting, with his extensive use of glistening, reverb-laden electric guitar solos, opaque chords and other 'traditional' acoustic instruments - there's occasional and well-placed piano, cello, viola and violin - recalling the work of Jonny Nash and the superb Music From Memory label. While London's work has its own distinct flavour, it paddles in similarly sunset-ready waters - and is every bit as alluring.

Review: If you're unfamiliar with the name Phillip Sollmann it's important to lay out the land first. This is the real name of Efdemin, one of techno's most respected and revered players who calls Berlin's much-feted Berghain and Panorama Bar home, and the moment you know this the omnipresent rhythms driving this distinctly not-really-dance-music nine-tracker forward make perfect sense. Tracks like 'Rara' will be a joy for more adventurous DJs but also work incredibly well as standalone listening pieces. Wooden percussion mimicking the kind of top ends we associate with bouncy but tough club stuff, sans kick drums and bass. 'Micro', which follows, applies the same principle to layers of chime. Elsewhere, things veer into twisted pseudo-rave - 'U/O''s lengthy refrains and drones create the impact of a 5AM breakdown in some strange otherworld, while 'Mono' closes it out on a huge, smile-inducing high.