Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 255 Items

Sealed copy!

2022 repress

Hot as lava! Broken English Club delivers the 4th chapter of Jealous God! Comes as usual with a Mix CD.

HHV and Too Good are happy to present this exclusive color run of 1000 red copies of Tommy Guerreros 2014 album "No Mans Land". Back in print for the first time. Only at HHV. As a special treat you can pick up the poster with the artwork of this album in our bonus section.

For nearly a decade, Tycho has been known as the musical alias of Scott Hansen, but with the release of Awake - his second LP for Ghostly International - the solo project has evolved into a three-piece band. Relating closer to post-rock than ambient soundscapes, the record is situated in the present, sounding more like Hansen than drawing from his in?uences. "This is, in many ways, the first true Tycho record." Following 2011's "Dive" LP, the San Francisco-based designer toured extensively, and with a full band on stage, his sound coalesced into a percussive, organic whole. Zac Brown (guitars, bass) rejoined Scott on the road for this tour, but it was the particular addition of Rory O'Connor's live drumming that ultimately sent Hansen back to the studio with a more precise vision. "After the tour, I decided that I wanted to capture the more energetic, driven sound of the live show on the next album," Hansen recalls. Bringing musicians into Tycho's creative process was a step towards expanding his own songwriting and advancing the project beyond its current sound. In a cabin near Tahoe last winter, Zac and Scott began ?eshing out the structure of the new record, but it wasn't until they set up shop in the hills of Santa Cruz with Rory that it all fell into place. "It crystallized the vision of how the drums would come to the forefront on this record," says Hansen. The sound was much more stripped-down and concise with more organic instruments in the fold. Songs like "Montana" and "Awake" are a departure from Tycho's previous material - unique to the group e!ort poured into the songs on the new record - while "See" and "Dye" echo ideas from previous works, bridging a middle ground between the old and new. Working with Count Eldridge, who also engineered Dive, the team could ?xate on the pulses that Tycho might previously layer under synthesizers and exhume them with distinct bass and guitar patterns. Also known for his design work as Iso50, Hansen's visual and sonic e!orts have dovetailed throughout the course of his career. "This is the ?rst time in my life I've dropped everything to focus on one artistic pursuit," notes Hansen. Previous Tycho releases came to fruition when an amalgam of songs were nearing completion, but "Awake" is where music becomes the focus and true expression becomes the result.

2020 repress.

One of the most beautiful albums of this decade gets a re-issue on 2-vinyl – in 2014 the Swedish duo Gidge released their debut: Autumn Bells. “The very beginning of I Fell in Love are the most passionate and emotional couple of notes i have heard.” “An incredibly organic listen from start to finish, ‘Autumn Bells’ is the season’s distilled feeling put in song. Gidge successfully captures microscopic moments of decay and beauty within the framework of pop and ambient-inflected techno.“ “An utterly captivating piece of work. Each new listen only enriches the songs.” “One of the finest, most enjoyable electronic albums I have heard in recent times. Every sound is so well thought out and sculpted, some seriously head-tingling music.“

Barcelona's Ciudad Lineal finally deliver the follow up to their fantastic demo from 2013. A full length album of dark minimal wave heavily influenced by El Aviador Dro y Sus Obreros Especializados, The Normal or Cabaret Voltaire. Armed with a bass guitar, drum pad, a keyboard and two synths Ciudad Lineal manage to create a conceptual piece around the idea of progress and industry as opossing forces. 'El Nuevo Hombre' is divided in two parts each one comprising one side of the album. The A side being 'The Splendor' and the B side 'The Fall' joined by a speech symbolizing mankind's awakening. While the Ciudad Lineal sound is certainly rooted in the early 80's synth explosion the band remains fresh due to their lyric approach as well as their DIY ethos.

Kraut & Electronica Pioneer from Romania!

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be." A modern-day revenge tragedy in four parts. Symmetrical, finespun, almost courtly; but quick-tempered with it, and far from blood-shy. A picture emerges: domestic disturbance, pissing on the compost heap, noise complaints from hateful neighbours. Sulking, pouting, goading. Cold leaves and Christmas. Body-clocks betrayed, seasonal adjustment disorders. Collecting bottles to smash in the carpark across the road. Marijuana and make-believe. A flaming bower of unbliss.

Carlos Cipa is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who shared the stage with like-minded musicians like Hauschka, Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds and Valgeir Sigurdsson. “All Your Life You Walk” is his 2nd solo album. Carlos Cipa created unique contemporary compositions fraught with beauty, tension and emotional intensity, clearly presenting the unique voice of a composer, who is fascinated by classical and contemporary composers ranging from Mozart, Debussy or Ravel to Steve Reich and David Lang, but is also inspired by modern bands like The National or Mogwai.

Schlammpeitziger's album yields even more fruit. Six weeks after the release of his longplayer "What's Fruit" Pingipung releases this 12inch EP with remixes from Candie Hank (Patric Catani), Andreas Dorau, Springintgut, Mouse On Mars, Thomas Mahmoud Zahl and Dub-Master hey (one half of Hey-Ø-Hansen).

Stip plays a piano interpretation of his debut album Sigh released last February on Other People. One-sided 10"

Before New Age hit terra firms at the dawn of the 1980s, the classically-trained Bay Area composer Jordan De La Sierra's consciousness soared with cosmic concepts. With cues and lessons from the great minimalists La Monte Young,Terry Riley, Pandit Pran Nath, and help from the venerable public radio program Hearts of Space, De La Sierra embarked on a journey in alternate tunings and resounding reverberations, transporting entranced listeners from the Golden Gates to the intergalactic. Take an interstellar ride on the sensory engulfing space piano with this lovingly recreated double LP set, complete with De La Sierra's India-inspired visual artwork and musings on the tableau of space.

New Kid on the DN/Downwards label roster on Clear white vinyl, printed sleeve.

Concept: On this new album for Ghost Box Records, The Advisory Circle (aka Jon Brooks) explores darker territory than on 2012’s more pastoral As The Crow Flies. This time Brooks hints at a Wyndham-esque science fiction story, where bucolic English scenery is being manipulated and maybe even artificially generated by bizarre multi-dimensional computer technology.

Sound: Brooks’ strong sense of melody and composition is still evident as are his renowned sound design and production skills. Consequently the album is a rich and rewarding experience that subtly showcases a wealth of musical experience. The usual analogue synth sound palette is augmented with found-sound from antique tape reels and Brooks’ ever growing tangle of home built electronics.

500 copies on black vinyl & download link for digital edition.

Heidi Lord Wife of Rephlex/WeMe artist Jodey Kendrick 3 of Heidi's tracks are featured on the famous "EDM" Compilation Albums This is the Debut album from Heidi Using a unique pallet of sounds from MRI machines to modular synthersizers to conversations in a super market to her own processed voice Co produced by her Husband "I could describe what the album means to me, But i would much rather leave it to listener to experience and feel and to interpret how they see fit".

Inludes two bonus trakcs.

Received a 7.6 rating from Pitchfork.

Stateless is the sixth full-length release from Dirty Beaches, the artistic identity of 33-year-old Taiwanese-Canadian artist Alex Zhang Hungtai.

On the four-song album, Zhang Hungtai further explores the instrumental side of his identity that has been present since his first release in 2007 on Montreal label Fixture Records. Of course, since then the artist crafted 2011’s breakout record, Badlands, and its critically lauded followup double-LP, Drifters / Love Is The Devil. He has also found the time to compose film scores for Evan Prosofsky’s eerie Waterpark short and Jeremy Lynch’s The Hippo.

Stateless is a reflection on Zhang Hungtai’s upbringing in various locales (Taipei / Honolulu / Montreal) and the past two years of living and drifting in Europe. The title reflects several years of reflection on associated ideas like Diaspora, borders and hybridism. A somber meditation on memories from an exiled man on a never-ending search for an imaginary homeland, Stateless puts the finishing touches on a chapter of artistic activity that began when the Badlands LP captured the imaginations of listeners the world over.

Piano meets minimal electronics.

Tomorrow Was the Golden Age is an album length composition by minimalist ensemble Bing & Ruth. Written and conducted by pianist David Moore, Tomorrow Was the Golden Age is a halcyonic journey to a neverending place, where music waxes, wanes and drifts imperceptibly from silence to grand, glowing sound.

‘Block Boundaries’ is the new album from minimalist composer Ryan Teague building on his previous releases for Type, Sonic Pieces and current label Village Green. Inspired by the theme of Psychogeography, the record fuses acoustic instrumentation with electronic and processed material, taking the listener on a hallucinogenic Ballardian journey through from the thrumming urban activity of New York, Amsterdam and London.

Analog Archives is a collection of recordings from the early to mid eighties. Armed with his Moog Sonic Six, Sequential Prophet 600, EDP Wasp & Spider and other legendary electronic weapons Mark Jenkins delivers envolving electronic textures that could be filed along those of artists like Klaus Schulze or Ash Ra Tempel. These recordings are issued in vinyl format for the first time ever, in a limited edition of 500 copies only.

Received a 7.3 rating from Pitchfork.

After releasing a first glimpse in the form of the ‘Atomos VII’ EP earlier this year, A Winged Victory For The Sullen finally reveal their second full-length album entitled ‘Atomos’, which besides familiar piano, string and drone sounds also sees the duo introduce flurries of electronics, harp and modular synthesisers.

Wayne McGregor, founder of Random Dance Company and resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet, chose to play the album repeatedly during practices with his core group of dancers. After noticing the group's reaction with the music, he contacted Adam and Dustin to see if they could write the score for his new oeuvre. The duo were given complete artistic freedom and they treated the score with the same care and attention as their debut album. They recorded more than sixty minutes of music over a four-month period during the summer of 2013 across studios in Brussels, Berlin and Reykjavik, with the help of their long time collaborative sound engineer Francesco Donadello. During the recording process they realised, that this would become their official second studio album. McGregor provided them with the inspiration to expand their sound palette into more electronic territory, whilst keeping their signature chamber sound, resulting in a very unique record.

The Roughness!

With his new album "What's Fruit", Schlammpeitziger touches the dancefloor more than ever before in his 22-year long career. Yet his dancefloor is a playful one. The Cologne based composer's sounds electrify with their multi-layered melodic structures. He weaves countless details in perfection, to a high density of musical activity, always focusing on the slow, driving beats which hold everything together. Each of the eight tracks represents shades of the unique humour we love about Schlammpeitziger.

Received a 7.3 rating from Pitchfork.

After releasing a first glimpse in the form of the ‘Atomos VII’ EP earlier this year, A Winged Victory For The Sullen finally reveal their second full-length album entitled ‘Atomos’, which besides familiar piano, string and drone sounds also sees the duo introduce flurries of electronics, harp and modular synthesisers.

Our Love is formed around a mixture of digital pop production, hip hop inspired beats, muted house basslines and a love of shuffling garage that can be traced all the way back to the time of Start Breaking My Heart which are, of course, all filtered through Dan's own unique perspective. The warm analogue sounds of classic soul should not be overlooked either, for they weave themselves most intensely into the records DNA. In fact, Our Love is probably Caribou's most soulful record to date, chock-full of heartfelt lyrics and organic nature which cuts through bubbling synths and blissful euphoria of their synthetic constructions. It's not all downbeat of course, whilst some thoughts linger on mortality, loss and letting go, there is always an element of celebration.