Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 304 Items

“Accosting Form, Pure Intent” - Nathaniel Young’s new album for Mysteries of the Deep - is a contradiction that makes sense. At once raw and elegant, it emerges from a place of constraint and desire. Its individual tracks reflect this paradox as the album unlocks itself like a koan: a riddle that, once solved, dawns on the listener like an epiphany.

Following her debut album on Aus in 2020, Berlin's Cinthie marks another milestone in her career delivering the latest installment of the esteemed DJ-Kicks compilation series for !K7 Records. Berlin-based producer, DJ, record store owner and head honcho of numerous labels, Cinthie, has long been a key figure in the House scene. Her career in the industry dates back decades, working behind the desk of a record store in Saarbrücken near Frankfurt and as a resident DJ at several clubs in the city. Now in 2022 the highly acclaimed artist has well and truly cemented herself as a driving force for the contemporary house scene, releasing material on the likes of her own 803 Crystal Grooves, Aus, Shall Not Fade, Key Vinyl and taking crates from Tokyo to Paris, London, Amsterdam and beyond with her DJ sets as well as regular appearances on her home turf and clubbing mecca, Berlin.

Some sonic communities grow even in isolation, in the lonely obsessive moments in the studio as time melts away. Deep inside the Detroit Underground nests a Berlin underground, chasing those resonant shared sounds. DU Berlin draws together some of that love felt through music in the German capital. It’s not the wild city of reunification or *Berlin Calling* or tourist-style movies or the easyJet set. This is the side of the city that endlessly romances machines for the sheer joy of it, as The Allegorist titles her track, “until dawn.” And with some big names and emerging, ranging from mainstays to veteran agitators, the Berlin DU crew have telegraphed each other through productions and mutual inspiration. The results vibrate and rumble with sympathetic frequencies, but never limited to grayscale or dithered palettes.

Design: Neubau Berlin.

T.Raumschiere, Akkamiau, Yaporigami, Andre Uhl, The Allergorist,Lars Fenin, Peter Kirn, Jessica Kert, Brayan Valenzuela, Nitta aka Dinamite

Spread across 4-tracks, the producer offers fanciful instrumentation and production while conveying a narrative of preservation for mother nature. The theme of Mother Land is inspired by one of Nohan’s main interests: nature. In response to ongoing climate change and global environmental degradation, he opted to craft a project that captured the planet's beauty - with a message of sustainability.

The EP is a faithful representation of Nohan the producer - packed with his love for the piano, ipnothic synths, and suspended ambient compositions. The project opens with the title track - kickstarting the subtle, yet palpable production rooted in tangible instrumentation. “The world’s on fire… It’s calling out for you and me” are the opening lines from the vocalist, reminding listeners that earth’s fate revolves around us.

“Heavenly Sing” presents a more upstart offering, with loose shakers and scintillating keys leading. This more tropical take provides optimism in sound, serving as prose for uplifting introspection in headphones as well as the Adid dancefloor. “The Sun in December” reflects its title - somber piano leads the way through a serene, melancholy soundscape. The EP also includes an ambient take on “Mother Land,” which strips its electronic backing in the intro to draw focus to the words and theme of the project.

Noahn makes a perfect fit with this emblematic imprint.

Möbius is an aerial ballet created by Cie XY in collaboration with the choreographer Rachid Ouramdane, and composers Jonathan Fitoussi & Clemens Hourrière. One of the most sensitive sets of ears in Paris, GRM affiliate Jonathan Fitoussi meets Clemens Hourrière for a beautiful 3rd album called "Möbius". After their acclaimed "Five Steps" [2015] & "Espace Timbrés" [2018] on Versatile records, Fitoussi & Hourrière tethered again to the classic Buchla modular synthesiser, but this time for composed the soundtrack of an amazing aerial ballet in collaboration with Cie XY and famous choregrapher Rachid Ouramdane; Widescreen results "For Möbius we have teamed up with two composers, Jonathan Fitoussi and Clemens Hourrière; for several years now they have shared a common passion for electronic instruments with their unique incredible sound. We soon found there was a lot of common ground between our own acrobatic research and the way they create music : their sounds meeting, colliding or clustering together in a slow and finely nuanced progression, requiring the same continuous adjustment as our own process. This constantly evolving music with its expansive percussion will leave the door wide open to flights of the imagination, transporting us to strange atmospheres, at times disturbing, at others invigorating..." Cie XY

Rome's Egisto Sopor has been making little waves with his releases for quite a while now. As Polysik, he’s put out music on Legowelt’s Strange Life Records, on 100% Silk label, and on Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu. As ‘TheAwayTeam’ he’s released a DVD ‘Relax & Sleep’ and a cd ‘Star Kinship’ on Japanese label Moamoo, and he's also one half of the low key video unit Aavv (whose work has graced many of the important releases of new lofi electronic movement). This time around he delivers another fine instalment to the Edizioni Mondo's kaleidoscopic catalogue. If you've been following Egisto Sopor's productions over the years, chances are you're already familiar with the visual, highly cinematic, quality of his works – it's music that don't evoke just emotions, it suggests landscapes, painting vivid pictures as it builds up. In the same way, Flora e Fauna tells the story of an extemporaneous, surreal walk in Rome. The 8-track album, organically navigates through imaginary urban and maritime scenarios, with an expansive sound palette that draws on deep and shimmering atmospheres, occasionally drifting from blissful textures and sub-aquatic, swirling moods to eerily quiet, suspended moments, often perfused by subtle field recordings of city life, wild animals and distant shores. Take a deep breath and soak away.

Polish composer Olga Wojciechowska and veteran electronic producer Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner, combine on A Strangely Isolated Place to revisit a beloved Strie album - Olga's more electronic and experimental alias. With previous releases on Serein and Time Released Sound as Strie, Olga Wojciechowska's 'Struktura' was released in 2015 to a limited audience due to its physical-only format. As Olga's work becomes increasingly more coveted, through her more recent releases on A Strangely Isolated Place (Unseen Traces & Infinite Distances), and with Struktura praised as one of her finest albums to date, the discussion to breathe new life into the album resulted in a unique pairing with Scanner, an electronic music producer and multimedia artist responsible for some of the most defining works of the genre since the early 1990s. Blurring the line between harmony and dissonance, Struktura's original recordings paint an eerie, haunting and beautiful picture, conceptualized around abstract art, with intricacies and mystery abound. Here, Strie's original recordings remain untouched, albeit lovingly remastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, and it is left to Scanner to provide further interpretations of Olga's original recordings. Scanner productions can typically traverse a myriad of styles, but here, Robin took a primarily live-hardware approach to the remixes, allowing the rawness of his recordings to add story and depth. Recorded in one take, with no overdubs, the reinterpretations strip the melodies and textures to their original essence, bringing an entirely analog element to Olga's intrinsically detailed originals. Featuring artwork by Rep Ringel and mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri, Struktura Revisited will be available on Gatefold 2LP in a black/grey half-and-half vinyl, with 6x6" soft-touch heavy art card.

Pensaments Sònics is a new label born from the necessity to release albums from a sonic perspective. The label's inaugural release is by Torino- based artist and Gang Of Ducks co-founder Sabla. 'Music for Melted Floors' is a record about changes, perceptions and illusions.

clear deluxe double vinyl (140g) including 4 art prints and download code.

Bonobo will release his new album ‘Fragments' via Ninja Tune on January 14th, 2022. Fragments is the most emotionally intense record that he - aka Simon Green - has ever had to make. It’s no surprise that it’s also his masterpiece. The album features Jamila Woods, Joji, Kadhja Bonet, Jordan Rakei, O’Flynn and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson. Born first out of fragments of ideas and experimentation, the album ultimately was fused together in a burst of creativity fuelled by both collaboration and Green’s escape into the wild. The artwork for ‘Fragments" is by Neil Krug who returns after creating the art for 2017’s 'Migration’. Krug has also made a visualiser for ’Rosewood”.

One of the biggest names in dance music, Green’s career includes 3 Grammy nominations and playing to over 2 million people for the tour supporting his 2017 album Migration. Migration was a top ten album in multiple countries, top five at home in the UK and a Billboard dance album number one in the US. He’s also a favourite mainstage performer at the world’s greatest music festivals. As part of the tour announced today Bonobo will play three dates at the legendary Royal Albert Hall in London in addition to dates in Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham.

Fragments is a series of 12 sonic affirmations, featuring some of the hardest and most hip-shaking grooves that Green has ever created. The ballads are perfectly placed throughout; they capture a world in flux and glow with hope. Coaxing the ideas out initially took some hard work. The constantly-touring Green creates best while on the move; the global shutdown forced him to stand still.

Sissi Rada is a wonderfully ambiguous personality and one of the best harpists for contemporary classical music in Europe and at the same time producer of beautiful abstract electronica songs. Her album "Nanodiamond" comes out on new Berlin label Kryptox with guest vocals by Lena Platonos, co-production by Brian Eno on 81948 (2000 Om69) and Andi Toma of Mouse on Mars on Maps and Blueblack Tomb. A futuristic body of work that combines the sweet melancholy of the classical harp with subtle electronic soundscapes and Sissi Rada's magical voice.

Multicast Dynamics returns to Astral Industries for Ai-26, this time collaborating with Sid Hille, the German born, Finland based instrumentalist and composer. ‘Metamorphosis’ transmutes both artists’ unique styles into a synergistic blend of transportive storytelling, a delicate dance of light and dark. Divided into two parts, ’Metamorphosis’ originates from a live performance recorded at Temppeliaukio church in Helsinki on March 2nd, 2019. The material was then edited, where Hille’s soothing keyboard work and haunting passages on the theremin, combine with processed textures and desolate sonic backdrops from Dijk. In this voyage beyond space and time, the subtle dialogue reveals new and perhaps unexpected dimensions in their creative arsenal, finding fresh new boundaries and enriching the palette of both performers. Encounters of sweet fleeting moments of lyricism emerge amidst the chilling outback, in which we're given some final consolation between the long lines of cavernous rifts and deep space tundra.

re:discovery records is proud to announce the reissue of 1993's 'Synaesthetic' by A Positive Life. This seminal release is revered and beloved by fans and followers of early 90's electronic, IDM, techno, dub and chill out music. Key tracks include the Orb-esque 'The Calling', the magnificent 'Pleidean Communication' and the chill out dub classic 'Aquasonic' among others. This new reissue also adds the track 'Warehouse 5am' which was orginally only releases on the American cd version and not the original vinyl. Spread across 2 vinyl with new updated artwork by Grid Pattern and insert input from the label and the artist themselves, this will surely be the reissue highlight of 2021.

Subaerial is the latest and most sophisticated transmission from the long musical partnership of cellist Lucy Railton and keyboardist Kit Downes.Subaerial marks the first time that the duo have used recorded improvisations as the core material for a release.The cello and organ, beautifully recorded by Alex Bonney at Skáholt Cathedral, blend in richly striated harmonies, with phrases and cadences that stretch back centuries while sounding unerringly contemporary. The seven pieces were culled from one three-hour session with only edits breaking up bigger chunks of improvisation
The pair first crossed paths whilst studying in London and spent the following decade collaborating in various groups whilst cutting their own distinct paths. By the time they rendezvoused in Iceland in the fall of 2017 to create Subaerial, Railton had moved to Berlin, where her embrace of electronics was leading her in new directions, exploring microtonality, psychoacoustics, and synthesis, an evolution captured on shape-shifting albums released by experimental imprints like Editions Mego, PAN,and Takuroku. Her debut solo album Paradise 94 released on Modern Love features Downes on organ. Around the same time, Downes had been signed to ECM and was directing much of his focus on the organ—his original instrument—on the two recordings he's made for the imprint, including the 2019 album Dreamlife of Debris, which features the cellist.

Beautiful soundscapes and deep techno previously only released on cassette, 'Outlines (Repurposed) 2013-2019' is a compendium of Anthony Linell's sketches and supports from a seven-year period. Capturing an incongruous assignment together, these liminal works frame moments of transport between process and material that are otherwise private and archived.

Downwards descend on Mute’s legendary producer/engineer Paul Kendall, serving as the label’s in-house producer thru the 1980s and ‘90s, working with Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Nitzer Ebb and Wire - for a new album of surgically precise and invasively curious post-industrial thrills and murky intrigue that comes highly recommended if yr into anything from Mika Vainio to Masami Akita, Recoil to Bruce Gilbert. Kendall’s oeuvre has paralleled the alternative history of post-punk and industrial music for over 40 years; after crossing paths with Karl O’Connor (aka Regis) in 2018, Kendall now takes his solo bow, proper, on Downwards with the fiercely uncompromising and absorbing results of experiments executed during the pits of lockdown in 2020. They arguably resemble a form of disembodied industrial techno searching for a fleshly new host to inhabit, all amorphous and bristling malforms untethered from percussion and sent to rabidly gnaw the senses via various strategies of blizzarding attack, textural attrition, and structural abstraction which can be heard as a side effect of Paul’s ongoing hearing loss from too many loud studio sessions. It’s not hard to clock why Regis was smitten with the material as the pair clearly share a lust for gristly scuzz and tempered, concentrated emotion. However Kendall’s music is more obtuse and comes from a warped perspective inspired by his fascinations with macro photography (magnifying minutiae), with his famously keen ear for detail leading the album into stranger spaces between the wires and noises. Effectively hashing the limen of perception, he invokes a spectra of ghostly, hallucinatory tones by combining recordings of his voice and a Leaf Audio “Microphonic Soundbox”, an experimental wooden instrument with metal springs, rods, sand paper and a kalimba, and then funnels them through processors and FX.

Listeners of Bryn Jones’ work as Muslimgauze know that he was prolific in both his work and in the way he sent out his work to labels and other interested parties (it’s one of the reasons some of that body of work is still being sorted through and released 20+ years after his passing). This compilation as with most of his work was submitted without comment, so it can be asked, was it intended to be a compilation? Had he at some point decided he preferred these tracks in this arrangement rather than on their other tapes? One thing we don’t have to question is the quality of the tracks here, regardless of familiarity. The new juxtapositions can be quite striking.

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Yann Tiersen is back with his new album Kerber. With Kerber,a new chapter in Yann Tiersen's career opens. True to his nuanced and subtle sound approach, the composer offers us here a beautifully textured, highly immersive and carefully constructed world in which he invites us to enter. In this new album, the piano is the source, but electronics is the environment in which it exists: "The piano was a precursor to create something around which electronics could work." After spending the spring writing the piano parts, he spent the summer creating a bank of sound samples inspired by these parts and playing them on instruments such as the piano, mellotron and harpsichord. Stunningly beautiful, Yann Tiersen mixes classical influences with more contemporary influences on Kerber. An atmospheric and cinematic result captivating.

The First-Ever Vinyl Reissue Of This Epic Collaboration Between Icelanders Reptilicus And The Hafler Triothe First-Ever Vinyl Reissue Of This Epic Collaboration Between Industrial Experimentalists From Iceland, Reptilicus, And The Hafler Trio. Designer Time Was Originally Released 1994 On Staalplaat As A Cd Release. This New Version Is Remastered And Pressed On White Vinyl.

For its 10th release and 7th vinyl edition, Subject To Restrictions Discs presents another musical journey from Angelo Repetto. He has dived deep and resurfaced with these four heavy, emotional compositions. Together with wonder drummer Nicolas Stocker, Repetto turned his story into music. On the A-side, ‘Panther’ and ‘CP Verletzung’ let us drive through the night, perhaps with the last drop of the enthusiastic feeling of the last dance. Right on the other side, we experience the ‘Sundown Explosion’, hard-hitting all the emotions we have left. ‘No Access’ points the way to our next, as yet unknown, journey.

After several collaborative releases, German drummer Simon Popp is back on Squama with his second solo album ‘Devi’. While his phenomenal debut ‘Laya’ was a percussive take on ambient and third stream minimalism, ‘Devi’ features eight tracks of bold organic grooves, uplifting and hopeful in one moment, sinister and dark in the next. This dualism is reflective of the ups and downs in Simon’s own life, making the album a brutally honest and deeply personal record. Over the past two years Popp has steadily refined his skills both as a player and an engineer: There are virtuoso drumming parts, revealing his passion for polyrhythm and complex structures and recording techniques such as heavy limiting, using gated reverb and pitch-shifting give the record a modern 90s vibe. ‘Devi’ is a forceful statement of what contemporary drum music can sound like today.

Edition of 200, printed sleeve. This album started as a laying-to-rest of the old Mxlx sound, all the big synths and noises. Wanted to move on. What happened in reality was something else. i just started recording the vocals and we got burgled, they took my laptop, with all the music on it. I was devastated. I found it by googling my phone, and along with some help, away from the dirty dirty cops, I managed to get it back. Finishing the thing was revenge enough. It's a big one for me. I sincerely hope it hits you as hard as it all hit me. Peace. Mxlx xx xx