experimental

Marco Shuttle – Systhema [SPAZIO009]

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For its ninth release, Italian label Spazio Disponible looks to countryman Marco Shuttle for a first full length. ‘Systhema’ comes three years after his last album on his own Eerie label and finds him again focussing on an absorbing ambient techno style across eight enthralling cuts. Shuttle layers sound in subtle ways and has a meticulous attention to detail that results in a cinematic techno style that is cavernous and hypnotizing. Always operating in a region where ambient, techno and heady soundtracks become one, with this album Marco Shuttle once again confirms he is one of the finest sonic sculptors out there.

vinyl / CD

Marco Shuttle – Systhema [SPAZIO009]

Biosphere – The Petrified Forest [BIO30LP]

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Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen, a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his works on ambient techno and arctic themed pieces, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His 1997 album Substrata was voted by the users of the Hyperreal website in 2001 as the best all-time classic ambient album. The Petrified Forest mini-album is inspired by the movie of the same name, released in 1936 and directed by Archie Mayo.

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Biosphere – The Petrified Forest [BIO30LP]

Credit 00 – Recordings From Schonbrunn Strasse 2009 – 2012 [NYH081]

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Having established himself through a consistent stream of quality releases for Uncanny Valley and the immaculate collection of stomping dj tools for Rat Life, Credit 00 – real name Alexander Dorn – brings the heat on cassette for NYH81. These are recordings taken from his old apartment, and feature a heavy dose of reference to classic Gertronica. From Can to Kraftwerk to Neu! to (now) Munich’s Dopplereffect, this is some really nifty classic electro. From the 20 minute opening joint to the perfect pop song length closer ‘No Future Sound Of London’, these joint combine experimentation with spot on electro bangers. Audio perfection on cassette tape.

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Credit 00 – Recordings From Schonbrunn Strasse 2009 – 2012 [NYH081]

Danny Wolfers – Unfolding The Future With Amateur Space Jazz [NW014]

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What is Amateur Space Jazz One could call it a Lo-Fi Minimal Wavish version of Cosmic Space Jazz and anything closely related to it…from spiritual soul, G-FUNK, ethiopian jazz to ambient and everything in between…no knowledge of musical theory is required…Played with a D.I.Y punk approach on crappy digital synthesizers – preferably with dubious renditions of real instruments. Warmed up to the right temperature with some offbeat effectsbox. Multitracking is a technique widely used…to Create a “one person band with all its members oneself’s multidimensional copies in time.”…….Comes with a 24 page graphic novel written and drawn by Danny Wolfers himself and a Nightwind Amateur Space Jazz gummy domed sticker…….Let’s enter world of Amateur Space Jazz!!!

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Danny Wolfers – Unfolding The Future With Amateur Space Jazz [NW014]

Move D & Thomas Meinecke – On The Map [OMLP12]

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The long-standing partnership of Moufang and Meinecke hit album number five with On The Map. A conceptual piece comprising five tracks that explore and celebrate black music and cultural history in five neighbourhoods across America, we’re treated to an arresting blend of found sounds and motifs across the deliciously slo-mo soundscapes. From the coastal blues of “Norfolk” and the darker, paranoid twangs and unease of “Washington DC” and “Watts” to the strutting space bound “Houston” and jazz blasts of “East St Louis”, this could be M & M’s best trip to date.

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Move D & Thomas Meinecke – On The Map [OMLP12]

VA – Mono No Aware [PAN077]

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Mono No Aware is the first compilation to be released on PAN, collating unreleased ambient tracks from both new and existing PAN artists. Featuring Jeff Witscher, Helm, TCF, Yves Tumor, M.E.S.H., Pan Daijing, HVAD, Kareem Lotfy, ADR, Mya Gomez, Sky H1, James K, Oli XL, Bill Kouligas, Flora Yin-Wong, Malibu, and AYYA, the compilation moves through more traditional notions of what is called ‘ambient’, to incorporating wider variations that fall under the term. ‘Mono No Aware’, ‘the pathos of things’, also translates as ‘an empathy toward things’, or ‘a sensitivity to ephemera’. A term for the awareness of impermanence, or the transience of things. A meditation on mortality and life’s transience, ephemerality heightens the appreciation of beauty and sensitivity to their passing. In investigating the passing of time, the boundaries between memory and hallucination become blurred; between fiction and reality. The movement of time transforms into an eternal present..

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VA – Mono No Aware [PAN077]

Biosphere – Black Mesa [BIO029]

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Black Mesa is the first single from Biosphere´s forthcoming album The Petrified Forest. Biosphere is the main recording name of Geir Jenssen (born 30 May 1962), a Norwegian musician who has released a notable catalogue of ambient electronic music. He is well known for his works on ambient techno and arctic themed pieces, his use of music loops, and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources. His 1997 album Substrata was voted by the users of the Hyperreal website in 2001 as the best all-time classic ambient album.

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Biosphere – Black Mesa [BIO029]

John Heckle – Tone To Voice [TABR038]

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‘Tone To Voice’ is John Heckle’s fourth long player, and second on Tabernacle. Science fiction tracks of the highest order demonstrating a subtle development of John’s already widely recognised sound.

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John Heckle – Tone To Voice [TABR038]

Orphx – Archive 1993-1994 [MNQ089]

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There are less than a handful of bands that can honestly say they were equally involved in the early 90’s noise scene, the mid 2000’s dark ambient scene, and what simultaneously emerged as the power noise movement in Europe. Orphx is one of these pioneers and have gracefully interwoven their tortured electronic architecture among the various subcultures of fringe electronics, while seamlessly continuing on to remain a vital part of the contemporary wave of industrial techno hysteria. Mannequin Records presents an archival collection from the what could be considered the genesis of Orphx’s unique sound. Inspired by early industrial music and new waves of noise from Japan and Europe, the compilation is gathers together some of the best material from their first two cassette releases along with previously unreleased tracks recovered from the original 4 track tapes.

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Orphx – Archive 1993-1994 [MNQ089]

Tolouse Low Trax – Decade Vol.3/3 [ATN030-03]

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The thrid an final installment of archive material. Tolouse Low Trax just needs an MPC, a small Synthesizer set up and some effects to create subliminal hypnotic music trips, driven by dark synthlines and drunken shuffled patterns. ”The primitiveness in my music is linked to something simple, and that don’t have to be obligatory minimal. For me it is enough to dance rough around the core. Music you don’t shape till the end contains of a moment of beauty. A veil of secrecy. I work very simply. I rather reduce my possibilities in ompass. Limitations offer lots of liberties.”

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Tolouse Low Trax – Decade Vol.3/3 [ATN030-03]

Xosar – Xymeria [FREE DOWNLOAD]

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The year is 2051. The human race has split into two groups. One maintained their basic human state, while the other transformed by tapping into their psychospiritual lifeforce potential. The second group created a higher dimensional civilization. They called it Xymeria.

Xosar – Xymeria [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Peter Westheimer – Cool Change LP [LER1008]

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WESTHEIMER, Peter - Cool Change

If you walk into a record store you might discover Peter’s recordings filed under the usual headings: Electronic, Ambient, Experimental or New Age. Peter has long loved blending sounds from around the globe, with both Asian and European classical influences often finding comfortable spaces beside his synth pop sensibilities within his soundscapes. In the record stores of our minds you might also file some of Peter Westheimer tracks like ’Walking On The Edge’ or ‘Elastic Smiles’ under Mutant Disco or Divergent Dance Music.

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Peter Westheimer – Cool Change LP [LER1008]

Denis Mpunga & Paul K – Criola [MFM019]

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MPUNGA, Denis/PAUL K - Criola

The last Music From Memory is a mini LP of works by Denis Mpunga and Paul K. Combining elements of traditional African music with experimental electronics, the Belgian/Congolese duo released only a handful of tracks, scattered across a few rare LP and cassette compilations that were put out in the mid eighties by obscure european labels . This release also includes a few previously unreleased songs that were found on the original master tapes.

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Denis Mpunga & Paul K – Criola [MFM019]

Alek Lee – Sfarot EP [ATN034]

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In a very “fourth world” manner, Alek Lee brings together middle-eastern influences in his music with ease and without ever having it sounding cliché: on Harabait and Sfarot (and its dub version), his friends and him play the violin, the bass clarinet and the accordion in a way which reminds of Klezmer music, putting the three songs on the EP in line with both his musical education and his cultural background.

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Alek Lee – Sfarot EP [ATN034]

As Longitude – Blauer Part EP [KH007]

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As Longitude is the illuminated brainchild of Eva Geist and Laura ODL. Together they explore sonic waves in an exiting world full of spatial drum machine rhythms and sequenced riffs. Some of those trips feel like earth bound rituals, while others seem to be nothing less than ceremonies of stratospheric magnitude.

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As Longitude – Blauer Part EP [KH007]

Petre Inspirescu – Vîntul Prin Salcii [MULEMUSIQ211]

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Petre Inspirescu delivers ‘Vîntul Prin Salcii’ – another longplayer enlarged with seven, up to epic twelve minutes long arrangements. They all listen to the name ‘Miroslav’ and only differ numerically in their title. You can call them ambient. You can call them minimal music in the sense of classic compositions by Steve Reich or Terry Riley. They groove – sometimes more, sometimes less. and they spread the sounds of flutes or saxophones, delicate piano figures, organic jazz drumming, arpeggiated analogue synth-lines, mesmerizing strings, choral singing, alienated looped vocals and spaced out new aged spheres. What unites them all is the way, the melodies dance upon and in each single tune. Their beautiful tex-tures ensnare and they are continuously engaged with experimentation. A mystical album full of evolutionary music to which each listener is able to paint his very own emotional picture. Moody, dark and at the same time light-flooded shape-shifting compositions – made for those who love to surrender them-selves to a gentle dance between experimentation and attractiveness.

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Petre Inspirescu – Vîntul Prin Salcii [MULEMUSIQ211]

Helena Hauff – A Tape [DE149]

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Dark Entries present ‘A Tape’, a double LP of early work by Helena Hauff. ‘A Tape’ is a compilation of Helena’s earliest recordings from 2011 and 2014, originally released on limited cassette by Handmade Birds in 2015. Clocking in at over 50 minutes, this collection spans Hauff’s musical universe, from jacking acid-techno to krautish zone-outs and scuzzy feedback interludes. It’s tempting to consider it Helena’s debut album, but she views these tracks as mostly forgotten sketches left on the cutting room floor. It a gripping collection of deep, sinister analog synth sequences, industrial dissonance, and heavy percussion. Her equipment set up was a Roland Alpha Juno 2, Juno 60, TB-303, TR-707 and TR-808. Both of the discs end with Hauff stepping outside of the intentionally stiff, robotic rhythms, instead showing her skill at crafting less conventional electronic sounds.

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Helena Hauff – A Tape [DE149]

Dillon Wendel – Pulse [TTT057]

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Far out trip as collaborative effort from Beatrice Dillon and Kassem Mosse. Dillon Wendel is a place for the two respected artists to explore soundscapes, aesthetics and synthesis in pastures aeons away from the dancefloors they’re most familiar with. Both compositions weighing in over 15 minutes, they’re experiences which challenge form and convention; “Pulse” ripples with its namesake, a texture that buzzes and drones in endless waves while “High” mutates a warmer, grainer tone with dizzying effect.

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Dillon Wendel – Pulse [TTT057]

Din A Testbild – Programm 4 [MNQ093]

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‘Programm 4′ is their fourth album. Mixed and auto-produced by Mark Eins near the Wall in West/Berlin in 1983, the album was rejected at the time by Innovative Communication, considered too much synth/punk/techno’, while the new label managers were looking more into new age stuff. In fact Schulze eventually sold the label in 1983, which started to release a plethora of acts loosely grouped around the NAM genre.

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Din A Testbild – Programm 4 [MNQ093]

VA – Dreamy Harbor [TRESOR291]

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When Tresor founder Dimitri Hegemann stumbled into a former bank vault in East Berlin on March 13th 1991, he had little idea that the space he had unlocked would fast become one of Berlin’s most influential and enduring techno clubs. As Tresor celebrates its 25th anniversary with this work of artists from the US, Germany, China, France, Austria, Italy and the UK, it is worth dwelling on how the cultural conditions that birthed Detroit techno – economic neglect and broken industry – were mirrored by the disused bunkers and impromptu parties of post-unification East Berlin, where techno found new, vigorous expression. This record marks the spirit of those 25 years of creativity, a paean to the psychedelic music of Dimitri’s youth. From the signature magnetic soundscapes of Vainqueur to the dark textures of upcoming Beijing producer Shao; from Jon Hassell’s slow epicurean volutes, to the ritual auras of Marcelus and Claudia Anderson’s contributions; from the dub-infused pioneering programming of Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald, to Mønic’s enthralling cadences, it represents some of the old and new names that continually epitomise Tresor’s perennial spirit of ingenuity.

CD / vinyl

VA – Dreamy Harbor [TRESOR291]