Ruhig debuts on Midgar with a deeply atmospheric EP. Crumbled beats, gloomy synths and meticulously crafted bass lines are the order of the day here, resulting in some incredible introspective techno! The Midgar imprint continues to explore the themes found in it’s first release whilst evolving to embrace a warmer, heated sound.
This latest record seems to mark Kobosil’s first self-released record. “Head” is an intriguing opener, eschewing rhythms for simmering modular pulses, which grow into the seasick metallic clutter of “1018818”. More conventional techno fare can be found on the finely tuned acid minimalism fo “A15” and the artificial marching sounds of “polyheme”, but even these are pleasingly strange in the manner we’ve come to expect from Kobosil.
Dave Huismans (A Made Up Sound) returns under his 2562 codename with the oneiric ambient/concrète dancefloor states of ‘The New Today’, his 4th solo album in this guise. Where its predecessor, ‘Air Jordan’, also for his When In Doubt label, took inspiration from the arid landscapes of the Middle East, ‘The New Today’ draws upon ideas sketched out whilst 2562 was in New York, late summer 2013, and was later finished at his home studio in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Rather than disco samples, as with his last LP ‘Fever’, he sources from and splices together an enviable library of European synth experiments, new age tapes, avant-garde, post punk, pop and long forgotten aces, offering an entirely different palette of textures and tones. Ambient is a keyword here, taking inspiration from the feeling of drift of utopian/dystopian novels, as much as the sublimation of electro-acoustic processes. Between the humid concrète drone sphere of ‘Arrival’ and the sweeping celestial space of closer ‘New Life’, there’s a keen sense of momentum through dreamy time and space, taking in the airborne melodies and syncopation of ‘Vibedoctor’ and ‘Utopia’ along with killer Afro-centric gyrations in ‘Terraforming’. Inarguably, it’s the the most diffuse yet cohesive and involving album in his celebrated cache.
Rich sounding dark techno from this swedisch duo delivering their second album. Despite their impenetrable name and previous releases, SHXCXCHCXSH’s second album is strangely accessible. It seems that the Swedish duo has learnt the value of subtlety, but without losing their edge. From the eerie ambience of “Entering The S-Cloud” through the distorted, noisy electro of “Elo-cution”, the atmospheric techno sounds of “The Roots” and the snapping percussion and repetitive machine riffs of “Drain the Lord”, Linear S Decoded is one of 2014’s best techno albums.
Mixing opposites is always an interesting project, and that brings us to the present release from Kontra-Musik. On the one hand, we have Swedish National Treasure Andreas Tilliander and his already classic TM404-album. On the other hand we have Svreca, the dark prince of Semantica Records and the heir to Oscar Mulero. We thought it would be most interesting to blend these clearly diverse elements together. We where right. There is a very clear and constant division through the entire release. On one hand you have the warm, fuzzy analogue dubbiness of TM404, on the other hand you have the focused, trimmed and piercing techno from Svreca. Where TM404 brings out beams of acid sunlight from his silver boxes, Svreca conjures up a starless night with his relentless beats. It’s a bit like Saruman was given the permission to remix a Gandalf record. TM404 + Svreca. A piece of modern Alchemy, brought to you by Kontra-Musik.
Here’s something to excite those of an experimental techno bent: a collaborative set from veteran producer Function and drone/industrial sort Vatican Shadow. Given the qualities’ of both producers, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Games Have Rules is rather good. Like any good collaboration, it tempers the more outlandish aspects of each producer’s work, delivering a set bristling with icy textures, bittersweet ambience, dreamy atmospherics and, perhaps most pleasing of all, sprawling techno (see the brilliant “Bejewelled Body”). Highlights are naturally plentiful, from the crystalline mood of “A Year Has Passed” (reminiscent of Selected Ambient Works era Aphex Twin) to the murky textures and spooky electronics of “The Nemesis Flower”.
Returning to Delsin after 2013’s What I Feel EP, Italian producer Herva aka Herve Atse Corti is now serving up a double EP offering, Instant Broadcast. Instant Broadcast, the 12 tracks to be released on 2 x vinyl, proves that in spades, combing as it does intricate electronic stylings with an off kilter sampling style, organic instrumentals and plenty of rough hewn charm. The album kicks off with ‘And The Crunch Goes On’, a fractured, sample heavy track with sensuous piano notes floating above barrelling techno drums. It evolves through many different forms across its 6-minute duration and from there the kaleidoscopic journey really begins. ‘Slam The Laptop’ is deep and lo fi techno, ‘Pitch Business’ is glistening IDM and ’01 (Edit)’ is scuzzy dystopian ambiance of the sort LIES has become famous for. Elsewhere there is blissful and heavenly ambiance, sketchy sound collages that put dusty old soul vocals next to trilling melodies and pounding broken beat that is awash with spring like rays of sunshine. Sometimes dark, sometimes beautiful, but always unpredictable, Instant Broadcast is a refreshingly original, sketchy album that shuns the usual Chicago and Detroit reference points and instead conjures up a truly idiosyncratic style that puts Herva in a class of his own.
Remarkably, it’s been 11 years since Leipzig-based minimal techno producer Marko Furstenberg released his debut album, Gesamtlaufzeit. While he’s been pottering away releasing singles ever since, Ghosts from the Past marks a welcome return to the full-length format. Like its’ predecessor, it delivers a range of smooth, warm, hypnotic and dub-influenced techno missives, high on tactile textures and low on crusty textures. The result is a set rippling with intoxicating grooves, soft-focus rhythms, fluttering chords and woozy late night electronics. Wisely, Furstenberg inserts a number of sublime downtempo interludes to break up the flow a little, with the beautiful “Piano” standing out.
Vosnos third release features Simone Gatto along with a remix from the dutch artist Orlando Voorn. On his Moss EP he opens up with The way of life a realy nice off beat dub techno track, which with its subtleness, brings a punch to any techno set be it a starter, mid session or end track. Moss gives you an opportunity to explore minimal house at its best. Simone invited Orlando Voorn to interpret The way of life and good on him for doing so! Orlando stays true to the original, which we praise here at Vosnos, and brings it that anthem feel without getting to obvious.
One of the most busy and consistently excellent producers in all of electronic music is Boris Bunnik, and now he is back under his most loved alias, Conforce, on his most regular home, Delsin. The Dutchman is best known for his serious deep and underwater tracks that are part dub, part ambient and part techno.
Icelandic producer Yagya release his fifth album, Sleepygirls, on Dutch label Delsin. It’s a deep, spacious and dubbed out affair that stays locked at a pleasingly sedentary tempo throughout. The album is a fine fusion of tropes from Yagya’s earlier albums, features jazz instrumentalists that improvise beautiful melodies over monotonic, almost drone-like, techno beats and also uses live recordings of Japanese vocals, saxophone and guitar to counter the repetitiveness of the rhythms. Right from the rolling bliss of the opener, you’re suspended in a womb like pillow of sound that is soft, warm and serenely beautiful. As tracks roll on, the pace stays the same but themes vary from upright and summery to more elongated and insular. This is natural, organic dub that is a delight and a pleasure to listen to.
“I wanted to create an album that’s atmospheric, repetitive, and easy to listen to over and over again. Something that works well in the background (e.g. when concentrating on work), as well as up close in a big sound system. I also wanted to learn how to make my music sound better than before, since I’m a huge sound-nerd, so that was a part of the goal for me personally.”
Astral Industries is a creative platform that challenges artists to experiment, collaborate and work outside of their comfort zones. For their first release, Rod Modell (a.k.a. Deepchord) presents ”Lanterns” – an epic journey through an evolving sonic landscape propelled by the churning momentum of reverb-soaked percussion.
read interview (english below)
Architectural returns with a very special album: Atmospheric, darkness, emotional, deep and organic. A musical piece with a soundtrack essence that transport to the darker and disturbing forests. The CD edition has a second CD with a previous tracks compilation released on Architectural recs.
When the Aquaplano records were first released in 2008 and 2009 they were distinctly out of step with the way techno appeared to be heading. The minimal detour was reaching its logical endpoint, and producers were returning to the 1990s for inspiration, with Berghain and Sandwell District at the vanguard of a new techno movement. What the Aquaplano sessions shared in common were slower BPMs and finding inspiration in the 1990s, but there they parted ways. The influences these Italians were drawing on were rather different, returning to tribal rhythms and ambient textures to sketch out a much more heady, psychedelic form of techno. The results were a perfect balance of hypnotic beats and swirling atmosphere geared for a broken-in dancefloor or the hazy afterhours. Across these two records Dozzy and Nuel would go a long way towards creating the template for a brand of deep, atmospheric techno that has become much more prominent in the years since. And while many have sought to imitate this sound, few – if any – have matched what first emerged from the Aquaplano sessions. After only being available in a very limited run, it is fitting that the sonic blueprints provided by Dozzy and Nuel are now available again – and much more widely – at a time when their influence is as strong as it has ever been.
Boris Bunnik has finished his third full-length album as Conforce. Entitled ‘Kinetic Image’, the ten-track album is the sound of Conforce producing without the dancefloor in mind. It’s the sound of him moving away from the past and into the present. The album has very much been designed to be heard in one sitting, as a complete experience that moves away from regimented 4/4 beats and into slower, more surreptitious tempos. The result is an all consuming sonic journey of intriguing and inspiring sounds that range from full on cerebral excursions into vast open spaces that throb invitingly (Scientific Trajectory) to underwater daydreams that suspend you deep in an ocean as various mycobacterial details float by. There’s also more industrial sounding fair that depicts a desolate warehouse in perennial decay (Semantic Field) and mysterious echo chambers that spread out all around you as celestial light beams and haunting melodic ripples gently float by as per the excellent Temporary Reversals.
The shadowy UK techno artist, A Sagittariun, releases his debut album this November, to coincide with the Sagittarius zodiac period. “Dream Ritual” comes off the back of a steady stream of well received EPs from ‘The Archer’ on his own Elastic Dreams label, releases that have captured the imaginations of the electronic community for their depth and diversity, where old techno breaks collide with Detroit techno aesthetics, ambient dub sits alongside industrially charged electro, and many more sound palettes inbetween. “Dream Ritual” continues this journey through moods and tempos, each track sprinkled with this stargazing quality. Opening track “Sundial” sets the tone, the percussive elements teasing in and out of a melodious, thick analogue cloud. “Dream Ritual” represents the versatility of A Sagittariun, and presents a collection of music for the listening experience as opposed to a dancefloor record, hopefully following the lineage of some of the classic techno and electronic albums that have paved the way and most definitely influenced A Sagittariun on this record.
On “Colonial Patterns”, Brian Leeds (Huerco S) treats his Kansas City region as a universe worthy of its own electronic music. To that end, Leeds deconstructs Midwestern techno and house tropes. The pieces are corrugated, rough, and decompositional. Working cheaply, Leeds conscientiously uses low-end software, synths and cassettes so as to subvert the gloss of so much urban dance music, giving tracks an impressionistic, emotive feel.
Tabernacle Records present the first part of Paul Mitchell’s Dichotomy series is a set of mind-expanding light and dark synth pieces.
Marcel Dettmann releases his second full length album on Ostgut Ton. Following the 2010 self-titled debut, Dettmann II combines techno with ambient, experimental and even house influences on an expertly paced album with a carefully rising narrative and wide scope. Also features a collaboration with Emika amongst contributions from other kindred artists and hints at new directions in the Dettmann sound.
