Field Records presents the first complete vinyl edition of Monolake’s seminal excursion into experimental dub techno, Hongkong. Originally released on the now-classic Chain Reaction label in 1997, this collection of early singles by Robert Henke and Gerhard Behles has gone on to become a vital listening experience in its own right, a genre classic.
The Black Dog exploring the old ways… ”We pushed further by adopting old practices, working with one synth per person and limiting the use of our computers. We only stopped short of putting everything on beer crates. It seems like madness these days, but there is raw creativity within these confines.”
Gang Of Ducks welcomes back to the catalogue its co-founder Sabla, back to his spiritual home, with a collaborative EP alongside one of the most revered and transcendental artists out there, Donato Dozzy. In an era where information runs fast, and just one year ago feels like ages ago, the music inside this EP comfortably sits in a time bubble, absorbing old and new influences and melting them organically.
Eduard Costea aka DYL is a Romania-based (born in Deva & living in Cluj-Napoca) experimental producer. He lands on Nous’klaer with Fjord: a deep dive that starts out soothing and gets deceptively heavy and hypnotic as you swim further offshore – filled with immense echoes that can feel eerie and comforting all at once.
Futuristic electronics by Niels Luinenburg (Delta Funktionen) under his new guise Immediate Proximity – in collab with Diana Napirelly. Ambient, Bass, Electro and Techno are the main identifiers for their output. Deep and emotive is the mood, but at the same time the music is playful and has a robust and confident character. This distinct direction, which was laid-out on the pair’s debut LP ‘2334’, has now led to the start of their own label: IMPROX. On IMPROX, the duo experiments vivaciously with color, rhythm, space and tempo. Hi-tech, yet tribalistic rhythms are interlaced with elusive sci-fi themes. Big stage anthems are comfortably combined with cinematic ambient excursions. And through self engineered audio-gen modules, backed by a stark focus on sound design, the IMPROX series marks a powerful upgrade to Luinenburg’s production capabilities.
Following the Lake Haze’s last Shall Not Fade release – a worldbuilding album that paid tribute to video game aesthetics – Pure Movements EP proves yet again his versatility. Whilst Henosis LP dabbled in ambient, his latest sees this direction take full form. Contemplative ambience invites us to melt into it, with reverb-drenched acid melodies adding enough unease to keep us on our toes. Add in some deep, off-kilter bass throbs and this one is a real treat to the ears. Lock in and drift away.
Ultra Random Analog Orchestra is a new project by Brendon Moeller. Starting by sculpting an audio collage in realtime, using a eurorack modular system, Brendon Moeller keeps randomness at the front of his methodology. Whether inputting found samples or designing sounds from scratch using oscillators and/or noise sources, he begins haphazardly sequencing, filtering, modulating and arranging the randomness. A spirit of experimentation and spontaneity drives these productions.
”Metropolis Metropolis” album is an abbreviated version of the most recent electronic music soundtrack for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) by Jeff Mills. Unlike his first soundtrack version (released in 2011) where tracks addressed specific segments of the film in a track listing form, this version is more a symbiotic mix of compositions that proposes a nuanced representation of the plot and storyline. As an electronic symphonic music creation, Mills proposes a few interesting points in the schematics of this album. First, the positioning and role of the listener as the soundtrack is based on the environment of the scenes, rather than pure transcription and second, as a storyline that takes place in the year 2000, the choice of sound elements refer to some future commonality and foresight between the genres of Classical and Electronic music – between man and machine.
Third Ear presents a new Brendon Moeller project … Ultra Random Analog Orchestra. The project kicks off with 13 tracks released on vinyl over 3 individually released 12″ and a digital album with 16 tracks. The music ranges from deep, wide-screen Techno to Ambient and beatless, that pushes the limits of the sonic palette. Brendon says, “the ability to sculpt an audio collage in realtime employing techniques of randomness is one of my favorite pursuits using a Eurorack modular system.”
For Erika’s second album “Anevite Void”, she explores her live process as it permeates everything she does, including documenting the process of life in the elaborate sci fi mythology she created. Erika began performing live in Ectomorph in 1997 when she was gifted a TR-606 by BMG and asked to join the group. This grew to her building her own studio, performing solo as Erika, collaborating with people like Jay Ahern and Noncompliant, and performing as a member of Circle of Live. Her depth of thought and clarity of vision has led to her mentoring people on live performance through the In Bloom platform, where she has made a large impact on many up and coming musicians. “Anevite Void”, Erika’s new album, finds her organically writing songs for her live shows, allowing them to take shape through performance, and later recording them in the studio, making this the first album she has entirely written and produced on her own. Mixed by long time collaborator BMG, she finds this record as the launching point for a new process for her.
Crossroads explores the mysterious terrains of contemporary deep minimal techno with the Feral’s distinct and inimitable tribal sound.
Konduku returns to the Delsin Mantis series with an exciting double pack which dives deeper into his remarkable fractured rhythms and light-touch synthesis. Over the course of nine tracks Ruben Üvez straddles the space between introspective headphone trips and hypnotising dancefloor elegance, operating in a liminal zone of fluid tempos, submerged atmospheres and pointillist beats. It’s an open-ended but clear-sighted approach that aligns perfectly with the direction of the Mantis series.
Unmistakably Cio D’Or, Polar Q’s eight tracks explore ambient and cinematic techno, before dissolving into broken-beat, aquatic compositions from the outer reaches.
With Narration, Toki Fuko returns to Affin after a long break. The EP contains 4 stylistically diverse tracks (some of them overlong), which are captivating in their perfection and document the musical versatility of the musician, who skilfully moves between dubby, hypnotic, in-depth techno here.
On “Decades On Divided Stars” Brock Van Wey, aka bvdub, presents his first album on Affin, each of its tracks spanning his trademark Odyssean length, with a sonic and emotional density second to none. You are lost… losing your sense of time… of self. Yet finding your inner existence in its inwardly-folding galaxies. Your thoughts and emotions revolve, as planets caught in gravitational pull, before you suddenly awake, as if from a dream, unaware of how much time has passed. Only the stars will tell…
Detroit legend Jeff Mills’ returns with an exciting new LP, and as always, there’s a deep concept behind it. Mind Power Mind Control explores various techniques used for mind control, the deceptive techniques devised for such purposes and its power over people. Similarly, the music on offer here is incredibly hypnotic – this is a Mills album after all – with each track’s complex sonic tapestry sure to entrance you. All of The Wizard’s idiosyncrasies are on offer: immaculately programmed 909 rhythms underpin majestic strings and sublime tones, all delivered with his trademark style of futurist minimalism. While less dancefloor oriented than some of this revered DJ’s previous releases, it’s awe-inspiring nonetheless. Essential listening.
Luck of Access, Andrey Pushkarev’s tastemaking label, is back from a year’s hiatus with a new release from an iconic name. No stranger to the world of the finest dub-techno, a Mancunian producer about whom we still don’t know much, J.S. Zeiter delivers three elegant tracks that connect the dots between Detroit-dub and ambient. On the A-side, you’ll find “Scatter” — a rolling and intriguing journey through melancholic and enigmatic dub techno that’s enhanced by drifting delays, gentle forthright drums and crisp percussion. Over on side B, you’ll meet an impressive duo. “Silent Running” is the epitome of surreal broken beats and could become a perfect set-closing track. “Absence” reveals epic and immersive soundscapes that give you a glimpse of what a dystopian future may sound like.
Transpac’s new album could be his best work to date. All sounds, sequences and beats are created with heavy analog machinery, including the classic EMS AKS. Highly addictive album! ”Ezzential Electro” is the biggest project Electro Records has done so far. It consists of 36 vinyl records produced by artists they consider essential for the current underground electro movement. The first six parts of the series come in beautiful white silkscreen printed sleeves on recycled cardboard and include a real puzzle piece on the front cover, indicating which part of the series you have in your hands.
On Electro Records’ ”Sci Fi Electro” series, each artist has created a 15 minute track for each side of the record, taking you from pure electro tracks to very experimental compositions, sounds and atmospheres. Each side is divided in ”movements” in a continuous morphing process without any pause between different tracks. The series is a collection of seven releases inspired by the following films created in the 20th century: THX 1138, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Thing, Akira, Terminator and Tron. Cool colored vinyl pressing with silkscreened sleeves.
Titrate is a platform for the publication of experimental sonic pieces, set out on a path of continual research and exploration. Spread across five tracks, the release transits a number of spaces – from the post-inertia stirrings of “Chaotic Affair”, to the cutting and more austere drone layout of “One”. Cosmic tech broadcast “Beautiful weekend with friends” is a fizzing metamorphosis that melts and mutates itself into “Switching Gears”, a darker and more liquid environment. The final track “Stain” concludes the release with a musique concrète touch. With an overall meditative albeit experimental tone, this package is replete with rich textural qualities luring the listener into auditory immersion.
The Hipodrome Of Music 