Spazio Disponibile hits release number 13 in style with a collaborative effort between label co-founder Donato Dozzy and longtime friends Retina.it. It is a typically experimental release that features five weird and wonderful tracks, seeing the label taking yet another dip into the more leftfield areas of electronic music.
‘Flowers From The Ashes’ is the latest multi-artist project to bear the acclaimed Stroboscopic Artefacts imprimatur. There is a sensibility of decadence and corroded grandeur etched within its four album sides, reminding us that historically ‘decadent’ times have nonetheless resulted in some of the boldest acts of individual and collective creativity. Like the ‘floral’ theme that has remained a consistent feature of S.A.’s graphic presentation, the music here equally presents fragility and intensity in a way that really drives home this visual metaphor for good, while still holding out the promise that similar creations will be seeded in the near future. Though many of the artists involved have set of residence outside of their native Italy, all contribute here to make a captivating portrait of a shared spirit and cultural memory. Tracks from Silvia Kastel, Andrea Belfi, Marco Shuttle, Ninos Du Brasil, Alessandro Adriani, Chevel, Lucy, Lory D, Caterina Barbieri and Neel.
Immersive listening music from Vakula, created in the hidden depths of the Ukraine. ‘Metaphors’ is slightly different from some of his (admittedly eclectic) full-length excursions, focused as it is on the gently unfurling, head-in-the-clouds world of ambient music. Of course, much of the music is still gently rhythmic – check for example, the pulsating arpeggio lines and tumbling kalimba melodies of the strangely foreboding “Proem”, or the spaced-out, keyboard demo rhumba rhythms underpinning languid opener “Smooth Movement” – but the vibe remains thoroughly horizontal throughout. While the standard is high throughout, we’re particularly enjoying the two versions of “Tale of Eternal Thought”, with the weightless bliss of the “Different Version” standing out.
ASC are a perfect fit for Silent Season, favouring as they do greyscale melodic content and a cerebral approach to mutant techno. “Cerulean” is a fine opening gambit on this 12″, all crooked kick patterns and micro bleeps calling out into nothing, while “Dimension 1010” maintains the austere approach with a slow swell of melancholic ambience over a meditative rhythm. “Enchanted” is no less restrained, but there’s a subtle shard of light in the murmuring pad that lingers in the background. That’s well and truly dealt with on the bleak beatdown “Molniya”, which pings bleakest techno into a black hole of sound, which is of course a wonderful thing to behold.
Silent Season tap up Antenes for a rare 12″, building on the sizable impact her last and only release on L.I.E.S. had back in 2015. Here we get three trips into dark, evocative techno territory as you would expect to find on Silent Season, leading in with the doom-laden march of “Dream Uncreates The Land”. “Take Me To The Birds (For A)” ditches the drums and heads straight into the most delicate and stirring of ambient pieces, while “Metra Train Chicago 1000x” makes use of field recordings and processed static to make for an even more immersive listening experience. This is a daring release that eschews the need for functionality to take the listener somewhere else entirely.
Maciej Banasik has been releasing plenty of music as MB as well as Docetism since 2012, but this release on Silent Season marks the first time the prolific artist’s music has been committed to wax. In true Silent Season style the mood is consistently haunting, leading in with the foggy pulse of “Dentario Enneaphyllidis – Fagetum I” before the second part of the piece heads off into pure swelling drone. “Querco – Pinetum I” is a different kind of droning techno that comes loaded with cinematic poise, but it makes for a natural partner to the A side. The second part of that piece drifts into calming field recordings of birds and shapeless synth swells of a truly majestic nature.
OWL has previously been spotted on labels such as Anekoic, Circular Limited and Planet Rhythm, but he made quite an impression with the digital release of his Blackstone EP on Silent Season. Now the label have done the right thing and cut the release to vinyl, giving ambient belters such as “Fragment” the chance to sit beside none quieter gems like “Solar Wind” on wax. There are whispers of rhythm to be found tucked away in “Blowing The Light”, while “Innominate Horizon” imparts a little warmth with its tender chords, making this a record rich in variation as much as subtlety.
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