Potter Natalizia Zen – Magari [ELP054]

September 12, 2020September 11, 2020 hipodromeabstract, album, alessio natalizia, ambient, colin potter, ecstatic recordings, experimental, guido zen, potter natalizia zen, synth waveLeave a comment

POTTER NATALIZIA ZEN - Magari

Master synthesists Colin Potter (NWW), Alessio Natalizia (Not Waving) and Guido Zen reprise their supergroup for Ecstatic with a seductively serpentine follow-up to their superb debut from a couple of years ago. PNZ’s pulsing, twanging, expansive ‘Magari’ was recorded between 2018-2020 in the slipstream of ’Shut Your Eyes On The Way Out’, which is surely one of the strongest new kosmiche-related albums of recent years. Where that album refreshed classic styles of European synth music for modern ears, ‘Magari’ – meaning “I Wish” in Italian – adapts their style to the unique Afro-Latin lilt of Brazilian music with central use of the Berimbau; a single-stringed percussion instrument commonly associated with the elegant martial art/dance of Capoeira, which the band’s Guido Zen brought home from his travels in South America. Combined with their juicy, almost fleshly arps and Guitar pedal-generated computer voice, the results are wonderfully wide-eyed, embracing bouts of motorik rhythm beside vertiginous noise wormholes and mystic tone poems that speak to a cumulative experience spanning decades spent hunting for life between the wires.
Like their first LP, much of the recording took place remotely or in pairs, and rarely with all three present, before the parts were mixed down at Colin’s studio in Leytonstone. In its journey between the intricate meters and perpendicular vectors of ‘Too Much Traffic’, and their mesh of curdled tones with their phone recordings of a manic preacher in Camberwell on ‘Saved’, they variously recall Craig Leon’s alien invocations of Dogon folk tales as much as the heady dissonance of Alessandro Cortini; producing outstanding pieces of tangibly haptic substance in ‘Sergio’ and infectiously tip-of-tongue Berimbau twang on ‘Gennaio’, and for good measure, something like Phil Collins gently losing the plot after healthy dose of Ayahuasca in ‘Fill’, while ‘Ancora’ sounds like Basic Channel scoring Herzog’s Aguirre.

VA – Uniformity of Nature EP [DET002]

February 9, 2020February 6, 2020 hipodromeabstract, db1, detach recordings, dyl, eduard costea, experimental, romanian, senkingLeave a comment

Uniformity of Nature, the second release on Prague based Detach Recordings, marks an exciting collaboration between Romanian producer DYL, Senking from Raster/Noton and DB1 from Hidden Hawaii. DYL pushes the bounderies of his sound beyond his 170 roots, with the powerful electronics of ‘Phrases’ and the electrifying team-up with Senking on ‘Destroyed City Lights’. Two tracks see DYL in the more familiar peripheries of D&B. The percussive ‘Words’, with its curious background atmospherics, and the driving, hypnotic collaboration with DB1 on the title track ‘Uniformity of Nature’. ‘Launch’ sees Senking slow the tempo down and delve into a more murky space, yet still highly-charged with razor-sharp sound design. DYL closes the EP with the abstract ‘Semantics’, a further excursion into experimental electronics.

VA – Elsewhere MCMXIII [ICI003]

October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 hipodromeabstract, bufiman, center of the universe, compilation, disco, dj sofa, ekstern, ici, krautrock, new wave, spongemagnet, tolouse low traxLeave a comment

Elsewhere MCMXIII is a 12 track journey of future retro oddities that navigates through different waves of electronic territories, all that with a taste for experimentation while being great to dance to. Put together carefully by DJ soFa for débruit’s ICI label, the track listing’s emotional depth balances between retro and modern, lo-fi and high end, warm and cold… make the listening experience an exciting, surprising journey. Genre-wise the music floats between borders of disco, new wave, synth-pop, kraut and trad elements.

Kane Ikin – Sensory Memory [EVR022]

November 5, 2016December 18, 2018 hipodromeabstract, ambient, echovolt records, electro, experimental, kane ikinLeave a comment

Sensory Memory’ marks the second installment on Echovolt’s brand new series of mini-albums that has opened them up to more experimental fare. Kane Ikin is an experimental musician from Melbourne. Drawing from an isolated upbringing on the south coast of Western Australia, he creates music influenced by science fiction, broken synthesizers and endless horizons. Equal parts narcotic and kinetic, “Sensory Memory’ is built as an exploration in the genres and sounds formative to Kane’s sound.

VA – Alien Galaxy Builder [LSD016]

March 20, 2016February 12, 2019 hipodromeabstract, alesia cosmos, ambient, armando sciascia, compilation, downtempo, experimental, jazz, light sounds dark, unknown artistLeave a comment

Brand new triple LP pressing of rare and obscure oddities from Light Sounds Dark!

Tropic of Cancer – Stop Suffering [BLACKEST049]

November 13, 2015April 13, 2018 hipodromeabstract, ambient, blackest ever black, camella lobo, drone, joshua eustis, post punk, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

Blackest Ever Black have performed an interesting exercise in issuing this new 12″ from Tropic Of Cancer along with the Archive: The Downwards Singles collection; as it allows you to hear first-hand how Camella Lobo’s band has progressed musically in a few short years. This three track 12″ is her first new music since that excellent debut Tropic of Cancer LP, and finds Lobo working with Joshua Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv.

Tropic of Cancer – Archive: The Downwards Singles [BLACKEST041]

November 13, 2015December 11, 2018 hipodromeabstract, blackest ever black, camella lobo, downwards records, drone, juan mendez, post punk, silent servant, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

Blackest Ever Black serve up a double dose of Tropic Of Cancer goodness, with the fresh material from Camella Lobo complemented by this Archive: The Downwards Singles 12″. The smarter cookies out there will glean the content from the title, with Blackest Ever Black gathering together the earliest Tropic of Cancer material issued through the DO sublabel of Karl O’Connor’s Downwards label. These three tracks were recorded in Tropic Of Cancer’s original iteration of Lobo and Juan ‘Silent Servant’ Mendez, a time when the band was exploring a more explicitly bleaker, hazier sound. The motorik stomp and yelping Mendez vocals of closing track “Be Brave” remains a thrilling experience to sink into.

Red Light – Red Light [NAT014]

April 4, 2014December 16, 2019 hipodromeabstract, cold wave, electro, kerri lebon, nation records, rachel aiello, red light, synth waveLeave a comment

Nation starts off the year with brand new artists to the family from San Francisco from 2 ladies on a mission is to present the most emotional and artistic music that brings many moods and colors that equals timeless avant-garde paintings of sound. Abstract darkness from San Francisco. Red Light started as a pact between Kerri LeBon and Rachel Aiello in early 2013,though neither of them had any prior musical experience, they both were determined to dive head first into creating their first recordings…their music being generally angst and moody, the two girls sought to beautify their suffering through sound.

Abdulla Rashim – Aksum [ARR006]

December 10, 2013March 1, 2018 hipodromeabdulla rashim, abdulla rashim records, abstract, minimal technoLeave a comment

Journey through vivid sonic currents and states which might as well be regarded as Rashim’s magnum opus: the 006 release on ARR is a new height delivered as a mini-album. The more basic and primal spirit of this release encapsulates Rashim’s music in a way which makes total sense. Bound over six tracks, they all display a different perspective of this dramatic colossus.

Tropic of Cancer – Restless Idylls [BLACKESTLP005]

October 8, 2013December 5, 2019 hipodromeabstract, album, blackest ever black, camella lobo, cold wave, dark wave, post punk, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

Restless Idylls is the first full length album from Tropic of Cancer, the solo project of Los Angeles-based Camella Lobo. Lobo debuted in 2009 with ‘The Dull Age’/’Victims’, a 10” single on Downwards and the first of three collaborations with Juan Mendez (Silent Servant). Two years later came a second Downwards release (‘Be Brave’, remixed by Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard H. Kirk), followed soon after by The Sorrow Of Two Blooms on Blackest Ever Black – the label’s third release and one if its most cherished. Since then there have been 12” releases on Mannequin, Sleeperhold Publications, Ghostly International (a Part Times Punks Sessions live split with HTRK) and a limited edition compilation, The End of All Things, compiling singles and unreleased recordings. Restless Idylls marks ToC’s return to BEB and consists of eight new recordings written in Los Angeles, with additional production from Karl O’Connor (Regis) in New York and London. Its themes? The usual: romance, devotion, pain and helplessness. Mixed up mortals struggling against the brute mechanics of fate, and proving unequal to the task. A forced retreat into private, precious idylls of longing, faith, mystery, even misery. The urgent motorik of lead single ‘More Alone’ is perhaps a misleading foretaste of the full-length, which is more lush, languid and extravagantly despondent than previous TOC material. Troubled hymns from an empty room, in a drowned world. A sensual and sepulchral psychedelia.

Hieroglyphic Being – Imaginary Soundscapes #9 [MATHPLUS09CD]

March 13, 2013November 13, 2013 hipodromeabstract, album, chicago, experimental, hieroglyphic being, jamal moss, mathematics plus, mathematics recordingsLeave a comment

Long awaited album, “Imaginary Soundscapes”, from Jamal Moss brings nine breathtaking compositions of raw electronic goodness that only he can concoct. From soft atmospheric sound environments to banging warehouse beat tracks, this is pure sonic bliss.

Tuff Sherm – Pharmacy EP [TTT006]

November 28, 2012July 13, 2016 hipodromeabstract, dro carey, experimental, house, the trilogy tapes, tuff shermLeave a comment

Cover art - Tuff Sherm: Pharmacy EP

Dro Carey offers his second release under the dilapidated tech-house moniker Tuff Sherm with this forthcoming 12” on The Trilogy Tapes. Admittedly, the sonics of Tuff Sherm aren’t far from works under DC – the grooves are less broken, the rhythms more hypnotic, but the textures are very much in line with Dro Carey’s dusked, dystopian palette. ‘Pharmacy’ bounces with swirling, nauseated effects, piling hollow percussion atop a thick soundscape heavy-laden with impending grooves. The brief ‘Hydlide’ does a great job of launching into a distorted, earthy loop, before smothering it under a filter to allow for looped melancholic stab to take over. As the initial loop rises to the fore, sandpaper samples rise with it – cavorting with the minimal melody like a maniacal tour guide purposely misleading his group through an abandoned factory. ‘Leg Man’ recalls the playful darkside of Dro Carey’s material, with a thick sub anchoring the track as wickedly off-balance samples peek through the compression, enhancing the swung rhythm of the tune.

Hieroglyphic Being ‎– Le Jardin Des Chemins Bifurquants [AUDIOMER008LP]

November 28, 2012July 2, 2019 hipodromeabstract, audiomer music, chicago, experimental, hieroglyphic being, house, jamal moss, re-release, reissueLeave a comment

Le Jardin des Chemins Bifurquants is the first full length album of Chicago based electronic music artist, producer and DJ Jamal R. Moss.Gritty futuristic meltdown of House, Free Jazz, New Age and Noise. For this record, Jamal worked with the concept of plants having a religion, and the question of what their way of worship would look like. This resulted in a dark deep-space overture with raw synth stabs, extreme pitch-shifted textures and hypnotic tribal rhythms—somewhat reminiscent of Sun Ra’s interstellar electric keyboard explorations. Le Jardin des Chemins Bifurquants is an unclassifiable tour de force that is oozing with profound cosmic meaning. For those not lucky enough to lay their hands on the genuinely rare full length album of Chicago artist, producer and DJ Jamal R. Moss, here is another chance to obtain this rare artifact.

Tropic Of Cancer – I Feel Nothing [SHP#5.2]

November 19, 2012October 15, 2015 hipodromeabstract, camella lobo, dark wave, post punk, sleeperhold publications, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

This year has seen Tropic Of Cancer stealthily plot a successful course for total infiltration of our affections, with some well chosen releases laying down the foundations of expectation for the band’s much vaunted debut album, slated for release on Blackest Ever Black next year. This eminently collectable three track release for Belgian imprint Sleeperhold will no doubt jostle for first place with that wonderfully atmospheric 12″ on Mannequin and split HTRK release on Ghostly for best Tropic Of Cancer release of 2012. It’s “Children Of A Lesser God”, the final exquisite track that will floor most people, capturing Camella Lobo and company at their most powerful. Spartan drum machines and nerve tingling guitars form the backbone of this stunning seven minute track as Lobo’s undeniably plaintive delivery sinks ever deeper into the murky recesses.

Mika Vainio ‎– FE3O4 – Magnetite [TO86]

October 14, 2012April 14, 2017 hipodromeabstract, album, ambient, electronics, experimental, mika vainio, minimal, touchLeave a comment

This is his 5th album for Touch. FE3O4 – Magnetite was recorded in Berlin between 2011 and 2012. In contrast to the dark vistas of his most recent releases, FE3O4 – Magnetite oscillates between the two poles of silence and noise. Using his signature sources which range from radio signals to sine wave generators, Mika Vainio creates a unique emotional journey that moves from the serene to the unsettling, always challenging the listener’s comfort zone.

HTRK / Tropic of Cancer – Part Time Punks Radio Sessions [GI168]

October 11, 2012September 24, 2018 hipodromeabstract, camella lobo, dark wave, ghostly international, hate rock, htrk, post punk, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

The Part Time Punks Radio Sessions 12″ by HTRK and Tropic of Cancer holds six sublime songs of desire. Comparable to a fly-on-a-wall Peel Sessions, the critically acclaimed Part Time Punks radio show is the sound of the LA underground, run by local icon Michael Stock. The limited split captures both bands live at the radio headquarters during HTRK’s first 2011 tour of the USA, accompanied by comrades in minimalism and melancholia, Tropic of Cancer. Flipping this vinyl sounds like two sides of the same cursed coin, and mirrors a high school dance playing an endless lustful waltz. BPMs bumped down to a psychic stalk. It’s a broken and beautiful memento.

Silent Harbour – Silent Harbour [ECHOCORDCD012]

September 16, 2012May 21, 2019 hipodromeabstract, album, ambient, boris bunnik, deep techno, echocord, silent harbourLeave a comment

Dutchman Boris Bunnik already crafts deeper house and techno than most. Forever keen to experiment and push the boundaries, though, the man best known as Conforce has recently started a new moniker, Silent Harbour. To explain the roots of the project it’s best to go right inside the mind of Bunnik, where he himself has been lost recently, exploring notions of isolation, deep-sea submersion, aquatic environments and all the abstract ambiance such places entail. Silent Harbour is about exploring the deep unknown, about slowing tempos without losing focus on details, about sound tracking the everyday movie that plays out at the bottom of the deepest darkest oceans of which we know so little. Listening the ten tracks that make up the debut album on Echocord and the concept shines through immediately: right from the opening sound you’re lowered below the sea’s surface as all sorts of little sonic plankton float by. Sunrays occasionally beam down from above; sometimes you’re in warm water, other times it’s colder, but always is there a gentle lull back and forth like the most soothing deep-sea swell. Somehow Bunik even manages to soundtrack what seem like underwater wrecks… rusting metal, tinkling glass and swarms of predatory fish looking for a feed. There are even sections which speak of danger and peril, as if a storm is brewing miles above or as if a shark is on his way… on the other hand, though, there are also passages alive with a Spring-like optimism, where coral grows, aquatic plants flower and new ocean life is born. So evocative is this album you’ll hardly notice that it has very few beats, instead you’re mind is busy painting the pictures to go with the sounds.

Dominik von Senger – Only Love Can Take Us Home [CHANNEL023]

June 3, 2012June 1, 2013 hipodromeabstract, dominik von senger, dvs, golf channel recordings, krautrock, thomas bullockLeave a comment

Spicy krautrock-like melodramatics by DVS, introcately refining the genre. Especially the beatless version on the flip illustrates some special beauty and nuance. Ably assisted by Thomas Bullock, this compellingly motorik, spaced out song punctuated by heavily effected blasts of guitar, sounds like a lost classic. The B side features Mix 2, a beatless version that lays the vocal and guitar elements bar.

Tropic Of Cancer – Permissions Of Love [MNQ023]

May 18, 2012July 17, 2019 hipodromeabstract, camella lobo, cold wave, dark wave, mannequin records, minimal synth, post punk, tropic of cancerLeave a comment

Brand new 12” from Tropic of Cancer, one the most important realities in the modern post-punk and darkwave scene. The band consists of Camella Lobo and John Juan Mendez. Though Tropic Of Cancer’s sound has been called gothic, cold wave and drone pop, the band’s take on their influences is anything but nostalgic. Lobo and Mendez have managed to imbue their own elusive gaze and craft a strangely beautiful and intoxicating sound in the wake of their predecessors. The three tracks on this new 12” take us gently by the hand into a slowed-down opium dream – it’s like watching the desert from the same stark corners where Lyciastood many years ago. This EP gathers the primal thrust of their bleak Post-Punk (think about Cultural Decay shaking hands with Section 25 in their psychedelic/buddhist years) and Minimal Wave aesthetics with this entirely new dimension in the music of TOC – heartfelt and deep. Cold waves have never been so warm.

Tropic Of Cancer – The End Of All Things [TOCCD001]

November 3, 2011December 11, 2018 hipodromeabstract, album, camella lobo, downwards records, juan mendez, post punk, tropic of cancer5 Comments

Tropic Of Cancer wrap up their time on Downwards (before their full time move to Blackest Ever Black) with a retrospective of their Downwards EPs and a collection of early demos. ‘The End Of All Things’ is Tropic Of Cancer’s tender farewell note to Downwards, collecting their two 10″s for the label together with a cover of Soft Cell’s ‘L.O.V.E. Feelings’ and new, unreleased material – seven tracks in total.

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