Most pieces consist of a repeating chord progression, where the real change happens at a spectral/dynamic level, as opposed to the harmonic/chordal one. I believe that the former are just as effective as the latter, in the sense that the sonic presentation (distortion , filtering, wave shaping, etc) are just as expressive as a chord change or chord type, and often reinforce said chord progressions.
Tar Hallow is a new label based in Rotterdam devoted in electronic music. First release on the label is from Super Unknown, producer Dimitris Damaskos (Damcase) from Thessaloniki and currently based in Rotterdam. The EP comes with four tracks of distorted techno in a no control journey where there is no need for so many mid and high frequencies.
Don’t Be Afraid have released the latest album from US based artist Eecee(a.k.a. Doubt), called Cosmic Trigger. The album has been released as a cassette and free download via Don’t Be Afraid’s Bandcamp page and as expected, it’s an experimental leaning affair and a beautiful, mostly ambient journey through mesmerising textures and atmospheres.
Sophomore album from Jonas Ronnberg aka Varg with icey electronics live recorded. Ursviken is, unsurprisingly, a largely icy and atmospheric affair, with occasional bursts of throbbing, techno-influenced intensity (see the relentless loops and murky textures of “Vitberge”, and industrial freakiness of “Guldstaten”) punctuating the otherwise downbeat, largely ambient mood. As usual, there’s much to admire, from the bleak, dubbed-out oddness of “Raggarsvin” and overwhelmingly dreamy “Ohn”, to the understated grooves and spaced-out chords of “Skaeliptom”.
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.
Spellbinding new side project from Sigha. Following his latest Avian release, James Shaw now unveils his Faugust project with a 10” title on the Avian sublabel Mira. Emotive and highly personal, Devotions (1984 – 2006) shows a side of Shaw’s sound that has been largely buried since 2004, combining his experience as a guitarist with many of the sonic approaches that characterise his best known music today. Over the course of four tracks it layers pulsating bass and synth lines with melodic flourishes and a pop sensibility not seen in his other work.
Infrastructure presents the debut record from Campbell Irvine, the 23 year-old outsider talent who hails from Australia and has recently re-located to Berlin. Part industrial mantra, part musique concrète, this immersive and captivating debut continues Infrastructure’s re-launch, bringing genuine new talent to the table.
Excellent techno gear on Bunker New York. Voices From The Lake are Donato Dozzy and Neel, a duo that has redefined techno in both the live arena and the album format. In July of 2012, Voices From The Lake came from Rome to Brooklyn to present a special night of music at The Bunker in the back room of Public Assembly. This was one of the greatest nights of music in the history of The Bunker. Their tremendous sixhour set consisted of two separate live sets, and back-to-back DJ sets. None of the music from the either of the hour-long live sets had been released, so the label immediately got on them about their plans for the tracks. They agreed on their favorite segments, and they produced live studio tracks based on those excerpts. A few Voices From The Lake tracks have come out since the album, but this is their first full release since 2012.
Perception Through Dissonance features a collaboration project from Giorgio Gigli and Obtane. Each production is filled with deep philosophical undertones creating a very nostalgic experience. This release also features a remix from the illusive stateside artist Rrose. This three cut journey starts with “Industrial Assaults” showcases a circadian rhythm style production reminiscent of an old John Carpenter film filled with scattered decaying elements, unearthly soundscapes and brutal baselines. Next in line is Rrose’s interpretation of “Industrial Assaults” which highlights deconstructed elements, warping aquatic molecules and erratic eccentric builds. Ending our journey is an experimental tool that embraces the feeling of solitariness in some alien landscape playing true to the name “Ambient Drama”.
Finnish experimentalist Mika Vainio always continues to surprise and amaze with each new release, managing to always re-invent hi sound and go beyond his peers. Kilo comes courtesy of Blast First Petite and goes through ten tracks of Vainio’s finest drone manipulations via way of complex beat-driven machinics. Everything from the opener “Cargo” to tracks like “Cranes” or “Sub-Atlantic” and even “Wreck” display a a more aggressive side of Vainio that harks back to his classic work with Pan Sonic, albeit with a more explicit industrial techno fury
Mute presents Carsten Nicolai & Olaf Bender producing some crispy, abstract Electro & Techno cuts under Diamond Version project.
Effective, hard stomping, noisy droning Techno EP coming from Henning Baer & Milton Bradley under their K209 collaboration.
The Essentials of Techno! It’s been twelve years since the first and last Mike Parker album called “Dispatches”. 12 years later, Prologue is very excited to host the second album from Mike and this time it’s all about techno performed as a kind of ritual. Let us open the secrets of Mike Parker’s “Lustrations”. The title has multiple meanings and stands also for clarity. Clarity is in general the attitude of Mike’s tracks. He has the massive aptitude to bring techno back to the essentials. Mike’s music has clarity in sound structures, bass lines, drums and arrangements. Everything is lead by puristic sound engineering and exactly this kind of unique and authentic Techno can be discovered on “Lustrations”. 12 hypnotic driven tracks designed to be timeless, produced to be played in techno temples in order to set the audience in hypnotism and to clear the mind.
In 2011, we begin to think about doing a record label. We had been following Somaticae for some time and at this moment he was playing some art and punk gigs with a furious live of electronic improv, on the edge between hypnosis and noise. But Somaticae had already moved forward, and in a matter of a few weeks, he was sending us what quickly and easily took shape as Catharsis, a ten track piece which is to be the first album release on In Paradisum.
Traversable Wormhole returns to CLR after a huge success in the techno scene with the digital releases and remixes of volumes 1 – 5. The present offering on CLR contains all songs from volumes 6 – 10, originally released on 12“ vinyl only.
A Luminous Veil is the debut release by Alexander Lewis. Six tracks of heartsore modern industrial and S-M techno created using synth, microphone and pedals. Recorded in one take with minimal computer processing or post-production.
Prologue with a double pack delivering 6 tracks of deep trippy dark techno. German duo Cassegrain take the name for their latest release Tiamat from the Babylonian chaos monster. If anything, though, this six-track EP is the embodiment of their take on dub-techno after Hüseyin Evirgen and Alex Tsiridis have buffered out the edges of a heretofore scabrous discography — chaos has very little to do with it.
The second part of Shifted’s The Cold Light series maintains a frozen and mechanical approach.
The Hipodrome Of Music 