Juan Mendez goes solo for the third release on the Jealous God label. Classy Techno trip w/ dubbed out vintage synth feel.
experimental
Ron Morelli – Spit [HOS407LP]
Given his stated role as curator at the head of the ‘non-stop’ LIES, it makes perfect sense that Ron Morelli would look elsewhere to issue his debut album. Gravitating towards the Hospital Productions label run by Dominick ‘Vatican Shadow’ Fernow makes equal sense given their shared appreciation of noise, ambient and industrial music. Apparently the first of three planned releases on Hospital from Morelli, it’s no little surprise that Spit arrives with much expectation. Spend some time with the eight tracks that make up the LP and you’ll begin to understand why Morelli has used such words as pressure, monotony and stress to describe the motivating emotions behind Spit. The corrugated growl of “Modern Paranoia” and the broken metallic rhythms of “Crack Microbes” are considered highlights!
Kerridge – A Fallen Empire [DNKLP001]
First surfacing with an impressive debut EP for the Horizontal Ground label, it makes perfect sense that Berlin-based Samuel Kerridge should then gravitate towards Downwards to further expand on his own brand of industrial techno. You get feeling that the knowing sense of humour apparent in many of the titles to Kerridge productions appeals to someone like Downwards label boss Karl O’Connor. After several EPs for Downwards, Kerridge unveils his debut album A Fallen Empire which comes brandishing “7 pieces of sonic warfare” that lodge the producer ever deeper into the crawlspace between jagged industrial techno and white noise laden experimental sounds. B side behemoth “Death Is Upon Us” is a morbid highlight.
Emptyset – Demiurge [SUB010]
James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas are getting crustier and more experimental with every passing year. Recur, their fourth full-length excursion, is decidedly fuzzy and discordant. Seemingly intent on pushing experimental electronics to its limits, the formerly Bristol-based duo serve up a challenging but rewarding set based almost entirely around half-rhythms, white noises, drones, feedback and hissing atmospherics. It’s spooky, intense stuff, all told, occasionally enlivened by sparse, pared-down concoctions that sound like a smacked out take on Autechre. But for all the bleak, out-there sounds, Recur is strangely involving, due in no small part to its immersive nature.
Esplendor Geometrico – Ultraphoon [GR2130CD]
Recorded in Madrid and Rome during 2013, this is the new album by the influential electronic duo ranked as industrial music pioneers. Ultraphoon is a leap ahead as for production and sound quality, with a stunning and brutal outcome, richly detailed nonetheless. Rhythms, noises and processed voices from different sources come together in hypnotic –bordering on trance– soundscapes along the lines of previous releases such as Pulsión (2009) and Desarrollos Geométricos (2011). Most of the meticulous mastering process has been carried out by Francisco López, internationally renowned as one of the top sound art and experimental music personalities, giving a new twist to the usual Esplendor Geometrico sound.
John Heckle – Desolate Figures [TABR022]
Two years after his last full-length titled ‘Second Son’, which was out on Jamal Moss‘s Mathematics label, John Heckle has returned with his second album ‘Desolate Figures’ for Tabernacle Records. ‘Desolate Figures’ revolves around vintage-tinged Detroit techno, gritty Chicago house and experimental hybrids of the aforementioned genres, with the overall result sounding deliciously and uncompromisingly nasty. The album opens with a wonderfully warped slab of Detroitish techno in the form of ‘Blindman’s Bluff’, a track deeply rooted in spacey synth and string structures that gradually transforms into a superb dancefloor track. From that point on, Heckle continues to present his broad view on house and techno across a set of track that seem to stray away from pre-fabricated song patterns, instead drawing on more abstract and less rigid textures. This ethos gives the LP as a whole a very personal and organic touch, as if it were recorded in a single take while creativity and intuition were peaking. Tracks such as the emotive ‘Inhuman Nature’, ‘Something For Your Distorted Mind’, and the acid-driven, Legowelt-esque ‘Never With You’ are all examples of Heckle’s signature blend of flowing melodics and raspy rhythms, while the industrial and very minimal ‘Love-Lies’ and the nervously rattling ‘Crazy Metal’ add a dash of experimental flavors to the LP. Its diverse content and overall DIY-attitude turn ‘Desolate Figures’ in a somewhat unorthodox package, but if you don’t shy away from experimental house and techno (or if you’re just a fan of the Crème Organization and Tabernacle labels in general), then you simply can’t afford to miss out on this one.
Conforce – Kinetic Image [102DSR]
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.
Shadowlust – Trust In Pain [LIES035]
A collaborative effort between Marquis Cooper (Svengalisghost) and Lili Schulder (51717), this project was born in the winter of 2013. What can best be described as non-stop electronic erotic cabaret, the duo played a series of improvised performances which served as a structural backbone prior to the recording of this album. Finished in merely two weeks, this 8 song double LP acts as a complete listening experience, engrossed in the down beat primitive electronics of the past whilst pushing further into the self-created anti-beat world of today. Pulsing tones, off beat drums, melancholic vocals, and overall dark vibes characterize, but do not solely define what it is to truly trust in pain.
Charles Cohen – Music For Dance And Theater [DOSER021LP]
Final part in the Charles Cohen trilogy on Morphine Records. Featuring various works made for Dance & Theatre productions between 1976 & 1988. Eleven tracks in total – lovingly spread over double LP and featuring some of the most beautiful material of the series. Another essential purchase.
Charles Cohen – The Middle Distance [DOSER019LP]
Morphosis’ Morphine records boldly step into the archives of one of Philadelphia’s best kept underground secrets: synth composer, Charles Cohen. This excellent release beholds seven key tracks (recorded between 1979 & 1988) that go into uncharted polyrhythmic / ambient / cosmic territory. The label say ” First chapter in the trilogy of Charles Cohen retrospective works, featuring some of his early works from the Philadelphia’s “No Man’s Land” Art Installment, the “University Of Texas in El Paso” and “The Painted Bride” Art Center performances. This release also features the track, Dance Of The Spiritcatchers, which previously appeared on the Music From No Man’s Land EP by Ghostwriters, a split record with Jeff Cain, originally issued in 1980 on Zero Records.”
Barbiturates – Shades 10″ [LRR007]
Lost Race Records presents Shades 10” the new album from Barbiturates, featuring 8 synth-pop & new wave tracks.
VA – Halha (20 Years Of Downwards) [DN02020]
Downwards Records present a full circle label showcase featuring the noisier, leftfield end of Techno.
Mika Vainio – Kilo [PTYT076LP]
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
Massprod & Herva – Technology Fail As A Birth Control For Unnecessary Recordings [KMWL006]
“As a label manager a lot of music reaches you ears. Some you get especially attached to. This release is one of those. The two Italian producers Massprod and Herva has together produced some music that feels very unique and different. The EP that goes under the wonderful title Technology Fail as a Birth Control for Unnecessary Recordings, contains a set of songs that blend distorted funk, lo-fi tape recordings, noise and ultra minimal electronica. Titles like ‘Mike vs Speak and Overdub as a Weapon Against Modern Laptop Wanking’ and ‘Fourth Dimension Opens Up to Show Invisible Boogie Maze’ might even open up for new horizons for our label, the label with no set goals. We hope you like this one. We do.”
Helm – Silencer [PAN043]
Helm’s Impossible Symmetry was one of PAN’s most far-out musical transmissions of 2012 – something that was no mean feat – and on Silencer, Luke Younger continues his exploration of sound’s darker corners with four equally as nuanced productions. The title track seems to tap into the similar rhythmic zone as Demdike Stare’s recent Testpressing releases, combining noisy textures with clattering rhythms, while “Mirrored Palms” creates something more meditative altogether, as a drawn out drone creates images of a scorched wasteland, and “Bergamo” and “The Haze” comes across as more elegiac in their approach, despite their lumbering Emptyset-style rhythms.
Marcel Dettmann – Dettmann II [OSTGUTTONCD028]
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.
Donato Dozzy – Plays Bee Mask [SP029BLACK]
The prospect of Donato Dozzy reworking Bee Mask for the Spectrum Spool label is a mouth watering one and this double LP collection, entitled straightforwardly enough Donato Dozzy Plays Bee Mask more than lives up to it’s billing. Originally commissioned to turn in a remix of Bee Mask’s “Vaporware” track from last year’s LP for Room 40, Dozzy apparently felt the track’s inherent beauty merited more than just the one and sent over seven! This decision has resulted in a superb collection of reimaginations from the Voices Of The Lake producer, ranging from calming moments of serenity to bleepish, deep techno explorations.
Marcos Cabral – False Memories [LIES025]
A huge departure from his known works, Marcos Cabral appears on L.I.E.S. with his most dynamic and experimental work to date. Compiled from various cassette tape recordings spanning the years of 1998-2000, here we have the early experiments from an accomplished producer, which showcase the unharnessed energy of youth when it crashes head on with the technology of the day. The songs created by Cabral reflect his attempts of the music of the time falling somewhere in between techno, dub techno, IDM, and even noise. An engaging and timeless listen the whole way through.
“I recently found about three hours of my unreleased tracks from 1998-2000 on old cassette tapes. The collection that I set aside for LIES is pretty much all from 1998. During that time, I lived in upstate New York in a 3000 square foot loft with just one other friend. Both being DJ’s we would use our loft for fairly large parties… Cajmere from Chicago definitely being a highlight. I knew nothing about ‘making’ music at this time and was using this fairly primitive wav. looping program called Acid. I just started recording my crappy Roland MC-303 into my computer and would just mash loops together over and over. Listening to these tracks now, I have a really vague memory of making them, and feel that their naive nature and the happy accidents that happened here are pretty exciting to listen to.”
Metasplice – Infratracts [DOSER017LP]
Rabih Beaini’s Morphine imprint has undergone something of a renaissance in the past year to become one of contemporary techno’s most vital labels thanks to the recent material from Hieroglyphic Being, Container, Upperground Orchestra and Philadelphia duo Metasplice, whose two EPs for the label have provided some of the most alien sounding techno to emerge in recent years. Their debut album Infratracts appeared this week with no prior fanfare; it’s as exciting a journey into the duo’s uniquely desolate sound world as you could imagine; combining skull-shattering rhythms with brain-warping textures, the whole things recalls a seasick version of Container’s noise techno being transmitted via SETI’s long-range radio telescope. Essential wares for lovers of adventurous electronics…
Rabih Beaini – Albidaya [END07]
Exploratory Lebanese imprint Annihaya presents a stunning debut album opus by Rabih Beaini aka Morphosis under his birth name. As Rabih was born in Lebanon it is fitting he shares ‘Albidaya’ – meaning “The Beginning” in Arabic – with a label from his home country, who provide acute context for its mixture of electronics, psych rock, folk and jazz. Impressively it was mostly recorded over the course of one day in 2012, wrangling myriad rhythms, tones and shapes from Rabih’s famous collection of vintage analog synthesizers and sequencers meshed with Eko Tiger Duo organ and guitar, and some assistance from Tommaso Cappellato on drums and Piero Bittolo Bon on woodwind and electronics (with additional credits to both Mike Huckaby and Donato Dozzy), and post-production done in Berlin and Rome.
The Hipodrome Of Music 