Review: The story goes that, back when he was a core member of Kraftwerk, Karl Bartos helped create the band's own theme for Fritz Lang's often-soundtracked Metropolis. Bartos has an enduring fascination with the more daring artwork of the early 20th Century, and so he took on the challenge of creating a new score for Robert Weine's landmark silent movie The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari. Using an assortment of synths in his Hamburg studio, Bartos creates a symphonious soundtrack which shows his passion for the subject matter in stark detail. A must-check for fans of Bartos and the wider Kraftwerk phenomenon, as well as fans of Weine's pioneering psychological thriller.
Review: Bristol trio Beak>, like their co-founder Geoff Barrow, have always had a tendency towards the obtuse, choosing to go where they please musically with an air of disenchanted veterans whose faith in the world is waning all the time. This dystopian streak was evident on their 2009 full-length debut, where they consciously avoided overdubs and studio trickery, and it has returned to the fore on their widely acclaimed fourth studio set - a collection of 'head music' that they insist should only be listened to in its entirety. If you do that - and you should - you'll be treated to a delightfully cosmic, psychedelic and otherworldly journey through organ-heavy dream pop ('Strawberry Line'), wide-eyed krautrock-influenced funkiness ('The Seal'), acid-fried soundtrack weirdness ('Windmill Hill'), gentler and more intergalactic excursions ('Bloody Miles') and much more besides.
Euph (Feelings In Finite) (CD2: Atmospherics - Bvdub's Re-entries)
Complete Nonsense (Calm & Chaos)
Helix (Radiate In Red)
Phosphorous (Elements Of Endlessness)
Mars Rain (Freeze And Fall)
Lost In It (Life In Lucidity)
FM (Frequencies Of Forgiveness)
Odyssey (Gazing Into Galaxies)
Genetic Experiment (Symbols And Secrets)
Review: zake's untouchable ambient imprint Past Inside the Present revisits James Bernard's classic 1994 album Atmospherics and has remastered it and paired it with some fresh reinterpretations by bvdub, a longtime friend and collaborator. Since the original release, music and technology have evolved significantly but the timeless craft and rich textures of Bernard's work remain evident. Atmospherics achieved cult status during the ambient music boom after being crafted solely with a keyboard, sequencer, 12-bit sampler, drum machine, and bass guitar, all created in real-time and without edits. Bvdub's reinterpretations honour the originals while adding new dimensions and infusing them with a melancholic air that enhances its emotional depth.
Review: Since founding DiN in 1999, Ian Boddy has been driven by a passion for collaboration, particularly with artists connected to the pioneering German electronic scene of the 1970s. When a chance meeting with Harald Grosskopf at a Dutch music festival presented the opportunity to work together, Boddy eagerly embraced Grosskopf's ear; the latter's tutelage at the Berlin school spans decades, and he is most notably for his fellowship as a drummer with Klaus Schulze, whose influence looms large over Boddy's own work. But beyond percussion, Grosskopf's Synthesist album revealed his distinct melodic sensibilities, making him an ideal creative partner for Doppelganger. Blending Berlin-schooled sequencing with evocative grooves. Boddy's modular synth textures shine on tracks like 'Boulevard Horizon', while Grosskopf's rhythmic playfulness is evident in 'Livewire'.
Review: The stylistic moniker of one Marc Dwyer (formerly in collaboration with fellow Sydney scene denizen Rebecca Liston, but now solo), Buzz Kull is an impressively accomplished darkwave and neo-EBM project that's been active since 2010. Returning to the equally esteemed Funeral Party Records, with whom Dwyer has enjoyed a productive relationship for a good while now, New Kind Of Cross delivers yet one more album-length handful of dark, danceable, anti-oppressive, cold-future-ambivalent, hysterical-discursive tracks, manifesting in a uniquely occultic sonic nonagram. Our faves have got to be the climactic 'Existence', on which a pervasive atmosphere of defeatist authoritarian realpolitik abounds - "I've never felt existence outside of this system" - and the title track, which exemplifies Dwyer's preference for beautifully textured, subliminally lo-fi arps and emphatic "eurrghs" abounding in the FX send.
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