Review: It never rains but it pours for fans of Etch at the moment, with not only an extensive long player set to drop on Sneaker Social Club in November 2024, but also this four tracker on that other much loved and consistently wonderful label Ilian Tape. His work is stepped in the textures of jungle, drum & bass, grime, dubstep and bass but rarely enslaved by their limitations. Admittedly, the final of the four tracks here, 'Clockwork Romance', vaguely resembles a late 90s techstep workout, with a hint of junglist roughneck-ness, but the other offerings are very much their own beasts, from the clattering turntablist-constructed beat of 'Jack's Design' to the gnarly, scratchy groove of 'Asami' - imagine Basic Channel and Burial jamming - and the breezy, sunny-sounding opener 'Liz's Track'. Eclectic, individual and bursting with rich flavours.
Review: Ilian Tape's ITX Series provides another opportunity to sink into some deeply escapist ambient and drone soundscapes from the usually dance floor-focused breakbeat and techno label. MPU101 has served up a few of these EPs before and they always find them coax plenty of magic out of their analogue machines. 'TEAM 700_76' is a nice and bleary-eyed post-Blade Runner soundtrack, 'BLOCK-1_2AREA666' has a darker undercurrent of menace, 'TrailerparkBeauty' brings some twinkling celestial keys and 'Sunset Memories' closes on frazzled chords that speak of heat damage from a scorching sun.
Review: Ilian Tape kicks on with another entry into its ITX Series, this time with a lovely hand-stamped long player from MPU101. It is a deep dive into escapist ambient worlds with plenty of grainy tape hiss and cosmic static, celestial melodies and provocative moments of introspection. Analogue machinery is really brought to the fore on fuzzy sounds like 'CreamyPORTAL-Xa' with patient and pastoral synth smears, while 'APEX CA 91352' has brighter and more mellifluous melodies rising up through the mix. There is plenty of pensive beauty in these cuts, not least the gorgeous 'Junelake Smokes'. Another gem from Ilian Tape.
Review: Ilian Tape is back with a new entry into their ITX Series and as always it comes with four interesting but unhelpful keywords from the Munich crew themselves: Mind-expanding Spaceship Customer Support. The music sure is cosmic and mind-expanding from Struciton, who opens with the thrilling breakbeats of 'Just' which are wired up with fizzing synths and whirring machine noises. 'Flip' then gets busy with a nimble rhythm and bright, pixelated synth sequences and spangled percussion. 'Givven' strips things back a little to a more deep and dubbed-out but still vital groove while 'Sunray' is a mind-melting deep space trip. Unique as always, this one.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.