Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield Tape 413 Items

OKO DJ’s first mixtape, landing on Accidental Meetings. 90 minutes of head banging rock & metal, screwed up saxophone & weirdo dub.

Properly absorbing electronic enigmas from Zaheer Gulamhusein (Xvarr, Waswaas) and Justin Tripp (Georgia), following their noses down the rabbit hole into aether-chamber interzones adjacent to Coil, Conrad Schnitzler, Werkbund, and Jeff Mills’ deep space missions.

A strong case of two artists transcending the sum of their parts, String present an immersive exploration of the unknown, realising a “virtual vacation” from which they never returned. Their quest somehow made it into the mitts of Hamburg’s V I S, where it follows the label’s Ditterich von Eulberg-Donnersberg (Werkbund) album with uniquely engaging findings from the brink; eight tracks rendered in swirling sci-fi noir tones, siren-like chorales and plangent off-planet pads scried with a kosmiche twinkle in their 3rd eye. In other words: the sort stuff you may well have come to these pages for.

In its elusive fluidity and unfathomably spatialized scope, we find the duo fusing to project a sound that, without prior notice, would be difficult to attribute to either artist. There are no doubt traces of Zaheer’s new age toned work as Xvarr and the microtonal shimmer of Waswaas, and likewise Tripp's mutant sensibilities carried over from Georgia, but they’re distilled to a darker substance than anything we’d come to expect.

It’s not so much gothic dark, more dark as in full of negative space, with a richly meditative appeal that threads their hardware improvisations from the Millsian deep space intrigue of ‘Phase Transition’ thru the eldritch eeriness of ‘World Line’, to the illusive choral motifs of ‘Fringe’ and oceanic abstraction of ‘From the End to the Beginning’, with glimmers of a more lush, idealistic hope in ‘Plus Operator’ and the cinematic ‘Degrees of Freedom’ that beautifully moderate the journey.

Strawberries ripen in the spring. Or so they used to, in a more reliable world, one that seems to be rapidly receding in our collective rearview mirror. Presently, “spring” is a troubled concept — fraught with anxiety. Our seasons, if they are seasons at all, are paradoxical. Crops fail, or they ripen prematurely, all at once, and into a burst of rot. Impossibly, somehow, the supermarket shelves stay stocked (mostly, for now at least), and there are buckets of strawberries on every corner. But, of course, their nature is suspect. And they don’t taste like they used to. Or maybe that’s just ruinous nostalgia. But somewhere along the way we certainly lost something. Everybody knows. Strawberry Season responds tenderly to this sorry state of affairs, not with false comfort — nor escapism. Rather, the album conveys, often wordlessly, that there remains an abundance of sweetness amidst our increasing unease. While much of twentieth century American popular and folk music may have dwelt on the beauty and plenitude of the prairie, More Eaze applies a similar Romantic focus to the small bursts of fecundity that now hide in plain sight. Blending found sound, generative music, a knack for elegant, classically-informed melodic arrangement, and a sort of Liz-Fraser-by-way-of-hyperpop approach to vocals, Strawberry Season offers unique solace — providing an occasion for the kind of deep listening that our overstimulated and undernourished spirits require if there is to be any hope at all (and of course there must be hope). More Eaze (serving as composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and sound artist) guides us incrementally to this locus of attentiveness.

Stunning liturgical shoegaze from Kranky’s Melissa Guion aka MJ Guider, originally released a couple of years back on a limited tape and now available once again in a new edition for 2023. Fuelled by pulsing drum machines, bells and an exceptionally expressive voice, it hits so many buttons for us all at once so as to feel like we’ve known it a lifetime, reminding us of sections of Cocteau Twins, Seefeel, Tropic of Cancer, Preisner’s ‘No End’ score, Cranes - but still in possession of its own unquantifiable spirit. Recorded as a music score to ‘Known Mass. No. 3: St. Maurice’, a collaboration with friend and choreographer Ann Glaviano, ‘Temporary Requiem’ makes use of the traditional Latin requiem mass across 6 movements designed to help transport “the congregation” to the dreamworld. The 10 minute opener ‘Kyrie: The Stained Glass Windows in Their Original Order’ opens from choral drones into a sort of rumbling dreampop reminding us of AFX’s reworking of Seefeel’s ‘Time To Find Me’, the melodic lead supplied by a padded bassline wrapped around countless layers of texture and sweeping, filtered hi hats. ‘Gloria: Small Dance of Gratitude’ re-purposes the thudding kickdrum opening Cocteau Twins’ ‘When mama was moth’, but swerves through a vocal keychange into something else entirely, all detached vocal yearning somewhere between love song and lament. Guion’s vocals have always been impressive but feel especially devastating here, leaving enough space for each sound to respire; ducking around slow-motion beatbox cycles and queasy electronics. She binds her biographical litany of inspirations into a coherent blast of pseudo- plainsong and ethereal post-punk, her voice tripping from morose low-registers into layered choral cascades that genuinely made this listener bottle up in a gulp. When we reach ‘Sanctus’ - the album’s shortest piece, a tape-rotted chant dissolves into an angelic aria. It’s an apt preface for ‘Benedictus’, the moment we’re shifted into gnarly droning landscapes of distended drone and saturated distortion. Somehow the tenor adjustment works, deepening Guion’s narrative and drawing parallels between vastly different forms of post-Catholic musical expression - there’s truly no light without darkness. On the finale ‘Agnus-Dei’, she bolts together both strains of expression, singing over walls of harmonic guitar fuzz and a drum machine that sounds like machinery pushing through sandstone blocks. The noise abates before the track dims to a flicker, as Guion’s operatic wails spiral deep into the pious abyss...

A mixtape pulling together extracts from soundsystem tapes out of Manchester's storied street soul scene of the late 1980s to mid-1990s. Featuring DIY cassette recordings of sounds such as Broadway, Stereo Dan & Soul Control playing live at dances and blues parties in south & central Manchester from 1988 through to 1996.

теплота is the London-based duo of Grundik Kasyansky & Tom Wheatley. Their work interrogates the haptic, social and liberating relationships with technologies old and new; using feedback synthesizer and computer-acoustic bass, they fuse a spontaneous interplay orthogonally over cyclical structures, with techno as perpetual fulcrum.

Following their debut Heat/work on Cafe Oto’s TakuRoku label and the monthly ЭС research series, Skynned will be landing on Accidental Meetings. A match made in heaven with the forward-thinking label a perfect fit, adding to their already esteemed catalogue. Half techno, half free jazz, the music is both hypnotic and open-ended, relentless and ephemeral.

There’s nothing stopping us from automating something. Nothing is stopping us from being automated.

Form does not differ from emptiness, emptiness itself form. Sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness are also like this.

All beings & time are marked by emptiness; they neither arise nor cease, are neither defiled nor pure, neither increase nor decrease. Therefore, given emptiness, there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no formation, no consciousness, no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no light, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch, no object of mind. Far beyond all inverted views, there is neither ignorance nor extinction of ignorance. There is nothing stopping us from automating something. Monocvltvremmxxii —- MonoCulture is a nomadic, shape-shifting act of retribution against the confinements of social enslavement. This ambient, improvisational variety of jazz-minded techno is a new project by John Swing of LiveJam Records & Gaia Tones. All tracks have been written, recorded and produced with the highest quality analogue equipment; mastered & cut by Simon Davey @ The Exchange, aiming to provide the best possible definition of sound for both the listener and the deejay. “Last” will only be available on vinyl and is exclusive to this 12” EP.

Recorded in London, UK, 2020. Limited to 500 copies.

LA’s Taylor E. Burch ov DVA Damas and Tropic of Cancer drops a cache of nuggets for Downwards, posing a killer mix of droll post-punk vocals and stripped dub/R&B/art-pop somewhere between Lolina, Gwen Stefani and The Slits. Mad original, bass-heavy ohrwurm fire!

Over a decade since her debut 10” with DVA Damas, and following a superb stint on Pessimist’s Stigma project in ’21, ‘The Best of Taylor E. Burch’ (though none of this matereial has even been released before) reveals her prowling swag from unexpected angles across nine distinctively succinct bullets bolstered by Elon Katz’s vocal production. Laid-back but tightly coiled, they slant from the clear echoes of Inga Copeland/Lolina on its intro, to cattier art-pop minimalism on ‘I’ve Never Felt Better In My Life’, her vocals layered and sparingly pronged with compelling effects around her wiry guitars and flashes of the gnash and bump that made her work with main vehicle DVA Damas (beside Joe Cocherell) so vital.

The lilting, purring punky dubs of ‘I Wanna Be Your Girl’ and ‘Time Differences’ illuminate a softer side delivered with a wry swagger, from the eyrie, clipped dembow Tears For Fears cover ‘Head over Heels’ to potent highlight ‘F*ck You Up’, while ‘We’re All The X’ and ‘’Time Is On My Side’ make us think of a slanted Juliana Hatfield, and we can’t help but recall that ace Fay record (‘Din’, Time No Place, 2012) in the brittle but heavy af ‘Na Na Na Na Na (Reprise).’

One of the most enjoyable, rinsable tapes of the year, full marks, plus.

mari maurice aka more eaze returns to Ecstatic with a tenderly gorgeous solo side after her standout claire rousay collaboration last year for the same label - a big recommendation if yr into Elysia Crampton, Mica Levi, MBV, Vegyn, Organ Tapes, Grouper, Dntel, Nozomu Matsumoto, Rainy Miller.

Nestling in the space between ambient, indie-/synth-, and what’s now termed hyper-pop, more eaze specialises in lower case songcraft that effortlessly gets under the skin. Featuring notable guest input by Spivak, Dialect, and Pam3, ‘The Joker’ is perhaps more eaze’s most significant long player, forming a filigree distillation of soft-touch, emo-core pop styles wreathed in fractal electronics and blessed by a gentle sensitivity that feels like micro-dosing with mates on a sunny day.

’The Joker’ was inspired by more eaze’s experiences travelling extensively during 2021-22, absorbing and transmuting time spent meeting new people, seeing new places, and watching established relationships change. Like regular spar claire rousay, ‘The Joker’ finds micro-insights crystallised to odd-pop imperfection, merging ohrwurm hooks with field recordings and traces of electronica, R&B, reggaeton, and classic indie-rock chops to divine a personal truth that should resonate with lovers of low key ambient as much as hi-key poptimism.

Through nine subtly effected snapshots of daily life, mari somehow encapsulates the feeling of trying to endear yourself to someone new, the tactility of another’s touch, chuckling at misfired jokes. Beginning with fractured toytronics and autotune vox in ‘yours’, melodies spill over from the Dntel-like licks of ‘fall apart’, to the mutant shoegaze bliss of ‘vindictive’ (it properly sounds like an autotuned version of MBV’s ‘to here knows when’), plus E+E-via-Palmistry reggaeton of ‘hablar contagion', with Spivak lending featherlight vox to ‘a chat’, while ‘comedy’ dials up a sense of outsider irony with a wry shrug.

Liverpool-via-Brooklyn’s Dialect helps seal the deal with the burbling touch of ‘eyeliner’, a fittingly hypnagogic ending to a dreamlike album whose effect lingers like latent fractals of a therapeutic psilocybin session.

It’s 2013 in Tokyo. The second worst heatwave in Japan’s history blazes across the land of the rising sun, the Democratic Party of Japan have lost control of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly to the Liberals and somewhere on the subway Nic (Pleasure Cruiser) and George (Smoke Thief) are meeting for the first time. Nic (Chinese-Irish producer with releases on High Hoops, Step Recordings and a participant of Red Bull Music Academy) and George (Tokyo based soundtrack producer and saxophonist with an MA in musical performance) brushed shoulders on the Tozai Subway line, got to talking and have been best friends ever since. The pair created the production duo of Personas – an ambient, soundtrack-leaning moniker – and have been quietly working on their debut album – Zen Koans for Subway Commuters, which features a special collaboration with Japanese electronic composer Soichi Terada under his Omodaka alias – an album that very much does what it says on the tin. Zen Koans for Subway Commuters plays out like the listener's own personal cinematic experience. It’s easy to draw comparisons with the lonerism scores of Tokyo based films such as the Scarlott Johanson and Bill Murray starring Lost in Translation (2003). There’s an isolated aesthetic to the album. It captures the melancholy and freedom that comes with a commute; catching the meditative relief of travel and channelling it into an inner-main character episode as we hurtle to and fro. Floating from the beatless, contemplative pads of ‘Elevation’ to the live-sax of ‘Northside Hibiya Sen’ and the heavily field-recorded experimentation of Ayako and Omodaka’s collaborative ‘Shuuten’, Zen Koans for Subway Commuters maintains it’s interest throughout thanks to it’s variety of ambient sonics and real-life manifestation. Footsteps from heeled shoes clip-clop across sterile white tiles, trains rattle as they pull into the station, voices call out in greeting to friends and loved ones. It’s a trip in every sense of the word, a form of meditative therapy designed to think about nothing or think about everything. Featuring live recordings from the pair's ventures throughout Tokyo, Personas have crafted a mesmerising debut album that pulls on the heartstrings whilst maintaining a complete sense of freedom. Getting on the train to go anywhere is exciting, not just because of the destination, but because of the liberation that comes with sitting down, reading a book or listening to music and knowing you can't do anything else apart from that for a few hours. Intimate, subtle and cinematic, it’s the perfect soundtrack to get lost to.

C76 cassette, ltd to 120 copies. „In Macrospace“. The monolithic album debut by Hamburg-based DJ x producer x electronic music activist baze.djunkiii, the essence of 25+ years on the scene and continuous research in sonic fields reaching far beyond your regular club music. A dark and threatening journey through the realms of brooding DeathAmbient, cold, hostile sci-fi atmospheres and an innate feel of darkness, doom, desolation and industrial wastelands covered in toxic fumes and the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse. Generated solely and exclusively by a process of extensive vocal synthesis the ten tracks on „In Macrospace“ represent a sonic manifestation of vantablack dystopia and mind threatening, braincell eroding claustrophobia, an ode to both minimalist sound structures as well as a maximized psycho-acoustic impact that might overwhelm even those used to stare into and listen to their innermost void for extended periods of time. Not for the faint-hearted. Listener discretion is advised.

"Meth.O.Tapes' catalogue opens up on a programmatic framework in the form of Gil.Barte's first LP. Developped as an experimental exploration rather than a narrative, this object called « R.S.F » is a recollection of intriguing sonic pictures. Tracks neither really start nor they finish, pieces of an apparently unreasolvable puzzle like pages of a fantastic bestiary long forgotten.

Full of dreamy textures and languid melodies, Xoomin is a soundtrack for drifting off into the abyss, but in the hands of Alloy Sea (a.k.a. Mor Elian), that journey feels downright playful. Although the Berlin-based producer is best known for her dancefloor-focused creations, 2020’s Petrichor (a 50-minute composition that officially debuted the Alloy Sea project) showcased an unexpected talent for abstract soundscapes and arrhythmic jitters, hinting at ambient techno but ultimately offering something much more adventurous.

Xoomin—an album that was specifically written for Paralaxe Editions after label founder Dania Shihab reached out to Elian about working together on a new Alloy Sea release—ventures into similarly ethereal waters as Petrichor, but it’s also brighter and more colorful than its predecessor, its gleaming FM synth improvisations flanked by scuttling rhythmic bursts and the occasional wonky bassline, not to mention celestial snippets of Elian’s own voice. It’s not pop, but it’s not quite ambient either, floating instead in a nebulous (and sneakily fun) zone that borrows from new age, IDM and the weirder corners of bass music.

L/f/d/m, aka Richard Smith, makes his debut on Osàre, exploring the more delicate side of his intoxicatingly abrasive sound. Gold Like Glass is razor-sharp and elemental, with each track cast from long passages of synth dissected into heavy edits. According to Smith, this composition process is akin to printmaking, where the ink on a series of images deviates from the original stencil, becoming looser, softer and increasingly ghostly. ‘After Whitney’ is haunted by peak time rave energy; the drums are disembowelled, leaving a rolling climatic melody, utterly euphoric and disorientating. The track is followed by ‘Blood Byze Leech,’ a thunderously jagged affair, and ‘Delicate Push’ that fizzles like an electrified spinning-top, its frozen melodies accompanied by a lolloping beat. Turning over to the B-side, ‘Plute’ winds its way into dark psychedelia while ‘m-two nine’ descends into the realm of mutant de-accelerated bleep techno. Combing the ciphers of hardcore, its cruxes and suspense, with the serrated edge of minimal synth EBM, Gold Like Glass presents an
alchemical fusion of deeply danceable and cerebral noise.

All Else Fails is a stimulating odyssey to anyone listening. Harmonically dense, arcadian glistens seep throughout the ten tracks, each complementary to the next. Bask in the wistful iridescence and you won't be disappointed. Also featured remixes by John Beltran, Heathered Pearls and more.

Corroded Spiral is Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura, Petbrick) Dwid Hellion (Integrity, Psywarfare) and Cardopusher (boyznoise, Arca). Two legends of metal and hardcore come together with one of electronic music's most highly regarded collaborators, and the results are suitably dense, textured, brooding and gnarly. There are (good) hints in the project name and sound, to more binary industrial cues such as Coil or Nine Inch Nails, but actually, this music is more akin to thumping body music of Nitzer Ebb, acid techno, and the monolithic power electronics of Whitehouse or Merzbow. A really killer debut EP! Vital new supergroup Corroded Spiral - comprised of Sepultura co-founder Iggor Cavalera, Venezuelan electronic producer Cardopusher, and Dwid Hellion, founder of early hardcore trailblazers Integrity - announce punishing debut EP Ancient Nocturnal Summoning.

Corroded Spiral’s debut release crosses the boundaries of black metal, hardcore, new wave, industrial and EBM, a sum of decades of experience and powerful musicality from bona fide giants of their respective fields. Its three members contribute not just stylistic influence but three unique voices and a boundless ocean of abilities.

Ancient Nocturnal Summoning captures the intensity, horror and supernatural dread of its title. Its darkness is more creative and more demanding than distorted riffs or blastbeats; but instead is raw, spiritual, apocalyptic, and occasionally illuminated with sparks of melody that shimmer within a suffocating blackness. A seething tension that excavates deep, dark fissures of the soul.

Color of Time is a long distance, ambient and drone project featuring Kevin Sery (From Overseas) and Nick Turner (Tyresta). Created with guitar, synthesizers, Mellotron and effects, their music focuses on themes of impermanence, loss and the impact that humans have on each other and the planet.

In Late 2023, Om Unit and Marta Pang were invited to perform a special performance at the Caixaforum in Barcelona. The invitees being ‘Lapsus’ who brought the pair together for a performance of 'Acid Dub : Redux’ as part of their Dnit series of events.

This cassette is a complete recording of the 45 minute session which consists largely of ‘ambient takes’ on some of tracks currently released from Om Units ‘Acid Dub Studies’ series, as well as some new material specially prepared for the show which featured live visuals by Marta Pang. Some clips of the visuals can be found in the 6-Panel full-colour J-Card booklet which accompanies the cassette.

‘Acid Dub : Redux’ is an unexpected tangent of Om Unit’s ongoing exploration of the 303-in-dub and features a more minimalist approach to the concept, using more of a sense of space to accompany the visual elements.

We hope you enjoy the recording as much we enjoyed performing it!