Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 267 Items

Fontaines DC, Massive Attack and Young Fathers have announced the pre-order release of an exclusive, limited edition vinyl record in support of Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (msf) emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

*The 12” vinyl only release, features material from Fontaines DC, and Massive Attack/Young Fathers, and a ceasefire sleeve design by 3D of Massive Attack. The initiative will also include a limited-edition/artist signed large-print sale of the sleeve artwork, available exclusively via: https://www.fire-sale.store/

The reverse sleeve of the 12” features words written on a hospital whiteboard in Gaza by Doctors Without Borders medic Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila – words which went viral on global social media - depicting the desperation of medical professionals and civilians in Gaza. Tragically, Dr Nujaila was killed in a strike a few weeks later.

"whoever Stays Until THE END Will Tell THE Story,

WE DID What WE Could. Remember US"

Despite repeated deadly attacks on its staff, medics, surgeons, and aid conveys, Doctors Without Borders volunteers continue to offer critical support to the civilians of Gaza.

Fontaines DC, Massive Attack and Young Fathers have donated their music in full support of the incredible Doctors Without Borders staff working in Gaza today, as a statement for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the West Bank, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people living under a brutal military occupation.

Fontaines DC, Massive Attack & Young Fathers will donate 100% of the profits from this promotional venture to Médecins Sans Frontières (UK - charity number: 1026588) emergency operations in Gaza and the West Bank. The total donation is expected to be in excess of £150,000.

3D (Massive Attack) said: "The hourly scenes of horror in Gaza, with hospitals and schools bombed to dust and innocent civilians, journalists and doctors killed in unspeakable numbers has been made so much worse by more than ten weeks of abject political failure. We're in awe of the Doctors Without Borders medics who place their lives on the line to help innocent civilians in Gaza. The ceasefire EP is a tribute to them, and their incredible ongoing work in truly indescribable circumstances. We stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine”

Fontaines DC said: “Fontaines DC join millions across the world in demanding an immediate ceasefire and a permanent end to Israel's brutal occupation of Palestine. Since October, Doctors Without Borders have been on the ground in Gaza, where every human is an IDF target, risking their lives to give vital care to the thousands injured by Israel's indiscriminate attacks on the starving and defenceless. We feel utterly helpless in what we can do at this point however we do hope our small contribution to this record can raise some desperately needed funds for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. Ceasefire Now. Free Palestine”

Natalie Roberts, MSF Executive Director said: “After more than two months of war, Israel’s unrelenting and indiscriminate strikes on Gaza have caused unprecedented and catastrophic levels of civilian harm. Nowhere is safe. Hospitals that are overflowing with the sick and wounded are coming under fire or being raided by Israeli forces, killing doctors, health workers, colleagues. Our teams continue to do what they can without even the basic guarantees of safety. We desperately want to do more, but for that we need an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Huge thanks to Massive Attack, Fontaines DC and Young Fathers for all their support.”

*Copies have been packed using different combinations of Colored Vinyl and sleeves. All orders are selected at random.

Limited to 500 copies.

Kiasmos - Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen – are returning, renewed and restored, with II. The triumphant follow-up to their universally acclaimed self-titled debut in 2014, which re-envisioned minimal techno with orchestral flourishes and weightless production. They’d made most of that album in just two weeks; this time it’s been 10 years. The making of II was a test of their friendship, but also testament to how great musical chemistry can always go the distance and be just the same as it ever was.

They worked on a lot of II during the lost year of 2020-2021, including a trip to Ólafur’s studio in Bali. “We spent a month there and wrote a few songs that ended up on the record,” says Janus. The pair sampled traditional Balinese percussion like the gamelan and incorporated Janus’s field recordings of their natural surroundings – the sound of birds, crickets and, on standout track ‘Dazed’, echoing the sunrise over the lush landscape.

Kiasmos have an enviable knack for conveying complex emotions and evocative visuals with instrumental music. But this time they’ve got more experience as producers to draw on. The album’s expansiveness can be linked to Ólafur’s intervening years as a Grammy-nominated composer and prominent soundtracker in film and TV. And they’ve subtly shifted from four-to-the-floor to the frenetic broken beats of UK dance music, experimenting more with BPMs, echoing Janus’s time spent DJing in major venues worldwide. There are still those aching melodies that fans know and love but they’re catchier too: tracks like ‘Laced’ and ‘Bound’ have an irresistible, elastic bounce beneath the ethereal palette.

Limited 10 year anniversary repress with black/white artwork. In May 2014, Icelandic producer Yagya released his fifth album, Sleepygirls, across three slabs of vinyl on Dutch label Delsin. It's a deep, spacious and dubbed out affair that stays locked at a pleasingly sedentary tempo throughout. Since 2002 Yagya has been crafting lush electronic albums and always manages to find pure bliss and beauty and his simple, nature inspired soundscapes. "I wanted to create an album that's atmospheric, repetitive, and easy to listen to over and over again," says the man himself. "Something that works well in the background (e.g. when concentrating on work), as well as up close in a big sound system. I also wanted to learn how to make my music sound better than before, since I'm a huge sound-nerd, so that was a part of the goal for me personally." The album is a fine fusion of tropes from Yagya's earlier albums, features jazz instrumentalists that improvise beautiful melodies over monotonic, almost drone-like, techno beats and also uses live recordings of Japanese vocals, saxophone and guitar to counter the repetitiveness of the rhythms. Right from the rolling bliss of the opener, you're suspended in a womb like pillow of sound that is soft, warm and serenely beautiful. As tracks roll on, the pace stays the same but themes vary from upright and summery to more elongated and insular. This is natural, organic dub that is a delight and a pleasure to listen to. The vinyl versions of each track have been specially mixed with random LFOs, sonic quirks and unique fingerprints making them the subtly different to the CD version, but overall this is a brain soothing and mind melting album that can soundtrack lazy days, long summer afternoons and warm winter evenings in equal style.

Nonkeen, the avant-garde musical collective comprising Nils Frahm, Frederic Gmeiner, and Sebastian Singwald, is gearing up for their long-awaited return with the upcoming album “All good?”. Renowned for their boundary-pushing soundscapes, Nonkeen captured global attention with their critically acclaimed 2016 albums, “The Gamble” and “Oddments of the Gamble”. The releases showcased their ability to seamlessly blend electronic, ambient, and experimental elements into a mesmerizing auditory experience. The trio has been celebrated for their intricate compositions, intense live shows and a sonic palette that defies conventional genres. “All good?” promises to build on their established legacy, offering listeners another immersive journey into the uncharted realms of musical expression.

Acclaimed Canadian electronic producer Francis Latreille, known as Priori, unveils his new singles "Learn To Fly" and “Segue” today, marking the first releases from his upcoming third album, This But More. "Learn To Fly" offers a taste of the album's lush, dubby techno soundscapes, while "Segue" showcases the album's ambient side. Arriving May 24th via Naff, This But More marks a sonic departure for the artist, exploring a richly textured landscape of electroacoustic compositions inspired by literature, cinema, and the transformative power of nature.

Priori delved into This But More from September 2023 to March 2024, drawing upon archival recordings and fresh ideas. "This album is about healing," Priori explains. "Not necessarily 'music that heals', but about the process in its ups and downs, its beauty and uncertainty." Themes of protection, healing, sleep, and decay naturally emerged during the creative journey.

To craft this immersive world, Priori collaborated extensively. Writer and musician Devon Hansen penned a series of "Suggested Stories" to accompany the album, adding depth to its lore. Musically, Priori teamed up with James K, Ben Bondy, Sabola, Adam Feingold, and Jesse Osborne-Lanthier, infusing the album with diverse instrumentation, including violin, guitar, software instruments, and field recordings.

This collaborative spirit extends to the album's striking visuals. Jesse Orsborne Lanthier designed the main and single artworks, while Ulysse De Lezenne crafted a unique jewel, both pieces seamlessly connected to the album's narrative.

The intricate world-building sets This But More apart. "It's the biggest collaborative project I have tackled so far," Priori notes. This spirit of exploration extends to the second single, “Wake”, featuring Priori's first vocal collaboration with close friend Jamie Krasner (James K).

Priori's artistic process is grounded in self-awareness and intuition, asking vital questions about how each element serves the greater purpose of the music. Swimming sessions between studio work provided clarity and focus throughout the album's creation. These meditative moments reflect in the music, inviting listeners into a contemplative, dreamlike state.

Beyond music, Priori draws inspiration from the literary worlds of Gene Wolfe, Ursula K LeGuin, China Mieville, Brian Caitlin, the evocative games of Hidetaka Miyazaki and Yoko Taro, as well as the ever-evolving beauty of myths and nature.

Kiasmos - Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen – are returning, renewed and restored, with II. The triumphant follow-up to their universally acclaimed self-titled debut in 2014, which re-envisioned minimal techno with orchestral flourishes and weightless production. They’d made most of that album in just two weeks; this time it’s been 10 years. The making of II was a test of their friendship, but also testament to how great musical chemistry can always go the distance and be just the same as it ever was.

They worked on a lot of II during the lost year of 2020-2021, including a trip to Ólafur’s studio in Bali. “We spent a month there and wrote a few songs that ended up on the record,” says Janus. The pair sampled traditional Balinese percussion like the gamelan and incorporated Janus’s field recordings of their natural surroundings – the sound of birds, crickets and, on standout track ‘Dazed’, echoing the sunrise over the lush landscape.

Kiasmos have an enviable knack for conveying complex emotions and evocative visuals with instrumental music. But this time they’ve got more experience as producers to draw on. The album’s expansiveness can be linked to Ólafur’s intervening years as a Grammy-nominated composer and prominent soundtracker in film and TV. And they’ve subtly shifted from four-to-the-floor to the frenetic broken beats of UK dance music, experimenting more with BPMs, echoing Janus’s time spent DJing in major venues worldwide. There are still those aching melodies that fans know and love but they’re catchier too: tracks like ‘Laced’ and ‘Bound’ have an irresistible, elastic bounce beneath the ethereal palette.

2LP Gatefold release of the celebrated Amapiano Now compilation from NTS. Showcasing some of the most notable South African artists from the centre of the scene, from DBN Gogo to Vigro Deep, Mr JazziQ to Kamo Mphela. Whether lengthy hypnotic instrumentals with jazz indebted key solos or rugged township productions, Amapiano Now is a celebration of this essential sound and a document of the evolution of post-apartheid club sonics. Curated by Shannen SP & Joe Cotch, with NTS.

Sure, plenty of modern drum & bass has a "heavenly" sound to it, but how many artists dare to follow the sonic logic of "heavenliness" to its conclusive ends? Illuvia (Ludvig Cimbrelius) is here to demonstrate, ironically, how few artists there out there are who have done just that - while also proving that he is one of said few, who have, indeed, gone and done it. This is his third full-length album for ASIP; surprisingly, they regard this record as a comedown from the "stratospheric heights" of 2021's Iridescence Of Clouds, and while we cannot claim to know what that one sounded like, we wouldn't hesitate to call Earth Prism stratospheric either. An unusually charged insight from the artist likewise bolsters its theme: "According to my lifelong research, Earth appears to be a modulation of light. It is said that what the eyes receive are rays emitted by a star, whose flow of photons is invisible to the human eye until they are reflected and modulated by matter." With that comes a miraculously ego-shredding collection of eight tracks, where in which every sound sacrifices its need to "stand out" in favour of being shot through what sounds to be the same ethereal effects chain, producing a mind-bendingly complex but yet, dialectically, simple ambient jungle record.

Kiasmos - Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds and Faroese musician Janus Rasmussen – are returning, renewed and restored, with II. The triumphant follow-up to their universally acclaimed self-titled debut in 2014, which re-envisioned minimal techno with orchestral flourishes and weightless production. They’d made most of that album in just two weeks; this time it’s been 10 years. The making of II was a test of their friendship, but also testament to how great musical chemistry can always go the distance and be just the same as it ever was.

They worked on a lot of II during the lost year of 2020-2021, including a trip to Ólafur’s studio in Bali. “We spent a month there and wrote a few songs that ended up on the record,” says Janus. The pair sampled traditional Balinese percussion like the gamelan and incorporated Janus’s field recordings of their natural surroundings – the sound of birds, crickets and, on standout track ‘Dazed’, echoing the sunrise over the lush landscape.

Kiasmos have an enviable knack for conveying complex emotions and evocative visuals with instrumental music. But this time they’ve got more experience as producers to draw on. The album’s expansiveness can be linked to Ólafur’s intervening years as a Grammy-nominated composer and prominent soundtracker in film and TV. And they’ve subtly shifted from four-to-the-floor to the frenetic broken beats of UK dance music, experimenting more with BPMs, echoing Janus’s time spent DJing in major venues worldwide. There are still those aching melodies that fans know and love but they’re catchier too: tracks like ‘Laced’ and ‘Bound’ have an irresistible, elastic bounce beneath the ethereal palette.

NO OBI VERSION

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; Mfm053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history. The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan. Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres. Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs. The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world. This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment. Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

For an aesthetic of (dis)obedience. The impressions Richard Siegal and his company Ballet of Difference gathered on a trip to Japan in September 2022 now find their way into a full-length dance evening. Siegal and his team had set off for Tokyo to learn the practice of Shuudan Koudou, also known as "Japanese Precision Walking". The strictly synchronised group choreographies are astonishing in their radical stringency and have become a secret YouTube hit, not least because of their peculiar subtle humour. Siegal recognises in the extreme disciplining of the bodies an analogy to the training practice of classical ballet. In the mutual exchange of these movement cultures, questions are raised about individual and collective thinking, about personal decision-making power and social responsibility. For this extraordinary project, Richard Siegal has invited a special guest: Nazareth Panadero, long-time companion of Pina Bausch, who has long since become an icon of Wuppertal dance theatre and will be on stage with the BoD ensemble.

The production BALLET OF (DIS)OBEDIENCE is sponsored by Goethe Institut, with the kind support of Sissel GmbH.
CHOREOGRAPHY & STAGE: RICHARD SIEGAL
COSTUME: FLORA MIRANDA
LIGHT & VIDEO: MATTHIAS SINGER
MUSIC: ALVA NOTO
DRAMATURGY: TOBIAS STAAB

more info to: Shuudan koudou

'Shuudan koudou' Shuudan Koudou Is the Japanese #art of Synchronized Precision ...YouTube · Boson TV: Tech Marvels & Cool Discoveries22 Dec 2022

Kottke.org https://kottke.org › shuudan-koud...Shuudan Koudou Is the Japanese Art of Synchronized Precision Walking

On the other hand, hybrid 3 is inspired by Noh Play - Japanese performances and deals with the refusal of rules musically, hybrid three continues the two previous albums and weaves both rhythmic and beatless musical pieces into a holistic work.
The idea for me has always been that these albums are not only perceived as individual tracks, but as a whole piece, which is why I find the possibility of experiencing and listening to these albums in the right order and as a whole particularly important. For me, the pieces are not only closely related to the ballet that was created for them, but also function as individual pieces as pure, musical pieces and mark a new quality for me, which is very strongly focussed on producing electronic sounds and structures in such a way that they can develop a sculptural quality.

Virginia’s Stimulator Jones channels all things jungle on ‘Valley Center’ for his debut album on Craigie Knowes. Sam Lunsford is multi-talented genre-spanning artist; from song writing to singing, programming drum machines to drumming, performing live to DJing. ‘Valley Center’ showcases Lunsford’s seamless genre-hopping skills with the outcome an LP packed with tracks that wouldn’t sound out of place on LTJ Bukem’s ‘Logical Progressions’ series or in the Metalheadz archives.

We’ve always been careful not to call Balmat an ambient label, because we like having the freedom to move, to drift, to morph. But with our 11th release, we turn our ears—proudly, blissfully—to a strain of ambient at its most timeless. The appropriately titled Dreams & Whispers comes from Warsaw’s Bartosz Kruczyński, who has recorded under a number of guises, Earth Trax, as well as his own name. Over the years, he’s touched upon deep house, breakbeats, acid, techno, electro, IDM, and more; often, the throughline running through a given album is simply the refusal to remain in any one place for long—well, that, and his unusually nuanced ear for harmony and texture.

Those qualities come to the fore on Dreams & Whispers, which might be the most focused encapsulation of Kruczyński’s atmospheric sensibilities to date.. Across 14 stripped-down tracks for shimmer and pulse, Kruczyński evokes overlapping styles in ambient—warm vibraphones, taut arps, massing strings, lonesome delay chains —but always with his own twist. Fitting the album’s title, the album is loosely divided into two distinct moods: The A-side, “Dreams,” is charged with subtle movement, rhythms spreading out like rings around skipped stones, while the B-side, “Whispers,” plunges into a zone of shadows and hush. The two complementary moods flow into one another like the faces of a Moebius strip, yielding an album that’s intuitively shaped and rich in emotion.

Founder of Ozadya collective, Pekodjinn has made himself one of the most influential producers in the Geneva subculture scene. Injecting his Tunisian heritage into the rap culture he grew in being a graffiti artist, he’s delivering a futuristic mix where darbukas meet trap influences, traditional chants melt in batida and percussions are distorted by dub effects.

Dharba, the first solo album of the beat maker, is built in two parts. First one is an ode to Tunisian youths who fight a revolution against oligarchic power in 2011 and are still struggling to achieve what they started. Chokri is for example dedicated to Chokri Bellaid a syndicalist assassinated in 2013. Second part is about imagining the future of Maghrebi, African, and Arab music. A unique sound where the youth of the continent and the youth of diaspora liberate themselves of colonialism, imperialism, and exoticism to build up a conscious sound to fight back the Western influences.

If you want to know how’s the guy sounds live, just check his latest DJ Set for Boiler Room, heavy tunes, heavy vibe... a newcomer to keep an eye on !

A Huge moment for NRW. Presenting the debut album from Pylot. Axiom is a power-packed project that harnesses many facets of synth and delivers them with glorious, well rounded execution. Boasting encapsulating melodies and rhythms, Axiom is an album that all synth enthusiasts and Audiophiles will enjoy. Pre-Order Today!

Mannequin Records is proud to present the official reissue of Caroline K's outstanding 1985 album, "Now Wait For Last Year."

This haunting, wistful work of post-industrial synthesizer music sees the late Nocturnal Emissions co-founder only solo record, which has accrued a fervent cult following over the past 40 years, and copies of the original pressing are today extremely rare and sought-after. The music on "Now Wait For Last Year" seems to exist firmly outside of it. Tags like industrial, minimal synth or proto-techno can't really do justice to the richly cinematic sound-world that Caroline K describes: from the sustained ambient tension of sidelong opener "The Happening World" to the future-primitive rhythms and stately piano flourishes "Animal Lattice", and the melancholic, deep-frozen synth sequences of "Cheart".

For fans of Throbbing Gristle, Chris Carter, Nocturnal Emissions and even early Detroit techno lovers should pay special attention to it.

All selections composed, arranged and played by Caroline K Recorded and produced by Caroline K

Photograph by Jake Kirkwood Original design by Nigel Ayers

The first five tracks of Now Wait For Last Year were originally released as a vinyl LP by Earthly Delights in 1987.

A beautiful and distorted dream of drum samples, jazz, swing, noise and bliss by Harsh Noise giant, Masami Akita (Merzbow), remastered for the first time since its original release in 2002. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this incredible albu we are doing a limited second edition, gatefold, vinyl pressing on white/ pink colored vinyl limited to 300 copies worldwide. It includes updated artwork by the artist. Consider by many a landmark album and a turning point in Merzbow’s discography, Merzbeat serves as a powerful introduction to the world of experimental music.

Ryuichi Sakamoto's first world release, released in 1987 and reissued in analog format.

This solo album, Sakamoto's seventh in total, was co-produced with Bill Laswell for worldwide release and features top musicians from different genres, including Sly Dunbar and Bootsy Collins. Based on an electronic sound, but fusing organic and ethnic musical elements such as Okinawan and Balinese traditional music, the album was recorded in Tokyo and New York, and released in more than 20 countries around the world, making it a milestone in his solo career.

A Huge moment for NRW. Presenting the debut album from Pylot. Axiom is a power-packed project that harnesses many facets of synth and delivers them with glorious, well rounded execution. Boasting encapsulating melodies and rhythms, Axiom is an album that all synth enthusiasts and Audiophiles will enjoy. Pre-Order Today!

A new album is finally on Drivecom. A 2xLp full of new tracks recovered and rearrenged around 2022-23. No doubt the legacy of the past works are represented. Some arpeggios and melody lines will remember us to sonic landscapes from the “La Hora de las Máquinas” or “The Source” albums by Boris Divider but with a new and refreshed production sound, for sure this will be a must item for all the electro community and fans of the label.



The album opens with the intro track “The Way You Feel Me” a mix between electro and synthwave with a moog bass and arpegio reminiscent of some Arpanet’s “Wireless Internet” tracks. Then followed for the “Letters From A Sleeper” theme. As the track’s name reflects, it's a clear tribute to the synth era of David Harrow/Anne Clarke’s “Sleeper in Metropolis” just like a reply from a postnuclear future, with a big role carried out by the initial synthline. Then the first slow bpm track is for “Distante” where synthlines a la Tangerine Dream are crossed and mixed with vintage digital rhythm machine sounds and the pattern seems to be taken from those Dire Straits’ “Money for nothing” intro drum arrange in an infinite and repetitive way.



In the B Side “You Know What I Know” track is again showing an Arpanet-ish intro synthline followed by a sequential prophet's arpeggio which bring us back to the old “La hora de las máquinas” sound. Closing the first 12 inch is “Sin Mirar Atrás”. One of the most important tracks of the album for the author. A big dimensional and introspective track full of vintage synthlines and reverb. Time for “Your Light” track is again here. This song was already presented with its own reference on Drivecom. A future pure Electro classic which was announcing the album months before.



In the same side, we find another slow tempo theme called “Recursos Infinitos” an instrumental track which implements several synthlines that interlink themselves into an infnite Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack that serves as a little break to the power and darkness of “Cenital”. Electro rhythm patterns and dark arpeggio synthlines in the vibe of Vangelis’ Blade Runner are mixed in this cold dystopian agressive dancefloor track. Later we find the theme that gives name to the album: “ Memories From The Dust” a slower track which mixes sounds and melodies between “La Hora de las Máquinas“ and other 80's digital keyboard sounds. The last track is just an outro theme called “Out of Sync”. Its name is a clear statement of its own musical arrangement, synthlines are full out of timing and synchro, it was recorded in realtime from a modular synth to a digital device in one take.

New album by the imaginary German quartet via Denovali. Although the title "Systeme" suggests a perhaps rather distant-cool album, it is the most personal and concentrated soundtrack so far created by Thomas Bücker from Münster in his "E-Smog-Playground" studio. In 2008, the quartet still flirted with cyrillic-mysterious melancholy and red wine-swilling trakl melancholy. 15 years and four albums later, it seems almost cynical to simply continue at this point. Because: late modernity delivers its very own complex tragedies - in real time.

This feeling of "Something's not right here" runs like a thread through the entire new album. While it still sounds popularly symphonic here and there, there are also many soundscapes that have an observing, almost unmasking effect. Microtonal shifts, polyrhythmic structures, tempo fluctuations and sound aesthetics torn out of context create a fragile, unpredictable foundation - as if Talk Talk, TIM Hecker and Skrillex were making music together and challenging our tolerance for ambiguity.

Typical of the Bersarin Quartet: sparks of optimism shimmer through everything. However, sitting back and enjoying doesn't really want to work - necessarily. Because that makes it exciting without freezing in escapism - fortunately.

First time vinyl issue of a killer, impossibly rare document from NYC no wave pioneers Don King, the short-lived mid-'80s post-Mars band from Mark Cunningham, featuring Arto and Duncan Lindsay, Lucy Hamilton and John Erskine in their all-star lineup, on a hyper-sensual and humid, screwed Jazz tip.

Centred around two members of Mars - Lucy Hamilton and Mark Cunningham - renowned for featuring on Brian Eno’s legendary ‘No New York’ (1978) survey, as well as affiliates of Sonic Youth and Swans; Don King were a lesser known vehicle for the no wave rogues to follow their nose into the weirdo recesses of art-rock/free jazz that followed the rudimentary, DIY tenets of the original no wavers. The skronk quota is high on this one, but their performances are so much more sensual, humid and slower than the no wave bracket would suggest, revealing the band like some loose echo of Sun Ra or a spangled Arthur Russell jam with Peter Zummo in their performances surrendered from shows in Geneva, Lausanne, Toulouse, Barcelona, Padova and Parma, and first issued by Barcelona’s 4 Sellos label in 1987, in the years after their s/t debut and a 1985 single for Cabaret Voltaire’s Double Vision label.

The 10 pieces, room recorded in all locations, are replete with audience chatter in the air hovering through a brassy rabble in operation. Led by the twin trumpet and bass clarinet bleat of Mars’ Mark Cunningham and Lucy Hamilton, Sonic Youth producer John Erskine provides taped percussion tracks with backing from the Lindsays, and Toni Nogueira, as they roll out from the minimalist reps of ‘Fern Gully’ to a sonorous industrial tango, and Hamilton’s operatic wail on ‘Obsolescence’, taking in a skew of jazz standard ’Summertime’, fraying into proper no wave shred and racket on ‘Mediterrain’, and like a punk Sun Ra in ‘Don Rey’, reminding us of Alex Zhang Hungtai’s recent foray into voice-note recorded spiritual, concrète jazz.

Mondkopf, the brainchild of Paul Regimbeau, returns to Hands in the Dark with ‘Waves’, five years after his label-debut ‘How Deep is our Love?’. The French producer’s 9th album features two time-stretched, profound analog-textured pieces based on the physical and emotional swaying motion suggested by its title and recorded during some concerts played in the summer of 2019.

The first track was performed at a secret gig in the Vincennes woods in Paris, accompanying a group of Sufi dancers lead by Rana Gorgani, as part of a video project curated and filmed by Vincent Moon. It offers some powerful harmonic drones, subtly building up and flourishing with intensity, accompanying the dancers as they push themselves to their limits.

The second piece, which extends the cosmic and lofty encounter, was played as the live soundtrack for a short documentary 'Volcano: What Does a Lake Dream?' by filmmaker Diana Vidrascu, as part of the Walk & Talk festival in Ponta Delgada, Azores. Mondkopf's composition serves here as an adventurous and reliable guide through three parts, perfectly complementing the vibrant imagery of the sea and volcanoes found in the Portuguese archipelago.

James Clements (asc) has been one of the most highly regarded artists in ambient, ambient techno and IDM scene since his evolution into the sound about 15 years ago. His ability to create deep soundscapes over lush beats and atmospheres come from his liquid drum n bass background prior to working with more cinematic tracks. ASC is back with a new release and it finds a home at the Past Inside the Present stable where he had put out a few EPs on the last couple years. This haunting and beautiful release Loss, explores various moods and atmospheres to great success. Tracks like the amazing and spacious 'Sensory Disintegration' to the poignant 'What More Can Be Said' which adds a lush airspace to a stunning piano piece. Some soundscapes are majestic and triumphant while others are minimal and then foreboding. New age and ambient fans will rejoice after hearing this magical album. Available in limited quantities so act quickly! Comes with download code inside.

We are proud to announce a new edition of Door Open at 8 AM, Masami Akita's powerful masterpiece of melted jazz/noise, on red colored vinyl. This will be a limited edition of 300 copies Worldwide. Regarded as one of Masami’s best work, Door Open at 8 AM combines the harsh noise world into a jazz sample driven world, creating a blueprint of what experimental compositions could achieve.

“There is a German satellite falling to earth!” a woman’s voice urgently announces. “She says, what if it hits me? Welcome to anxiety group.” A dense cloud on the horizon heralds a fresh onslaught from that infamous swarm of free jazz killer bees, a new project from self-described “conceptual kleptomaniac post digital free jazz outfit” Drone Operatør. Riding hard along the line between experimental electronics, blockbuster sound design and the loosest jazz improvisation, this rogue’s gallery of players, headed up by art world provocateurs Paul Barsch and Tilman Horning, take the fevered pulse of the relentlessly flattened now and note down four key observations which presented together make up Welcøme TO Anxiety Group. Coaxing lively theatricality from a continually provoked altercation between acoustic instrumentation and synthetic sound, each of the project’s four tracks provides a new perspective on what it means to improvise through technological mediation. “Here we are now,” write Drone Operatør. “22 after 2k. mp4 flex to 32bit float. The sax - the heart. The quadcopter - the brain. Duo d'Allemagne not wasting a life time learning jazz standards.” To open proceedings, our faithful operatør whips up exquisite dissonance with ‘Bot Møther’, smashing together squalls of saxophone and ripples of percussion with the sounds of sci-fi artillery, like an amphetamine-fuelled, midnight jam hammered out oblivious to an ongoing alien invasion. Slowing to a furtive creep for ‘German Satellite’, picking out keenly felt anxiety in suggestive plucks, stuttering clacks and strained wails, their cosmic warning signalling a neurotic climax before settling back into a post-coital skitter, flourishes of keys, both digital and analogue, harmonising with Drone Operatør’s weary welcome to the group. Eschewing the electronic completely for the cacophonous gallop of ‘Røhrstøck’, we’re invited to hold on for dear life during a mad scramble towards the ‘The Vessel,’ a staggering sequence of tumbling synthetic chimes, embellished with peals of ornate sax that flare up and out to illuminate the track’s irregularity, alternately submerged and retrieved through a subtle manipulation of filters. It’s a session that has to be heard to be believed, crammed with as much difficulty and as much revelation as any good therapy should. As Drone Operatør describe: “From iconic spamming to intellectual nonsense. Always never predictable, never not cheesy. Battery life cycles full of joy. You say you like free jazz. We don’t believe you.” Welcøme to Anxiety Group will be released on July 29th, 2021 by Participant, on limited edition clear red vinyl, and digital download via the Participant Bandcamp. The release will be accompanied by a series of films by Drone Operatør, featuring editing, FX, and CGI by digital artist Darío Alva. Text by: Henry Bruce Jones Participant is a record label and creative studio run by filmmaker William Markarian-Martin and conceptual artist Richie Culver

Trjj, Trjj & Trjj again - we can't get enough of this artist's stuff here. TIP!

Since 2019, Amsterdam-based curator Pieter Jansen has used his yeyeh label as a vehicle for carefully considered (and sometimes unlikely) ‘first time’ collaborations between different experimental and avant-garde artists including Eversines, Carolina Eyck, Greetje Bijma and Oceanic. After pairing saxophonist/composer/producer Jerzy Maczyński with fellow Polish experimentalist Waclaw Zimpel on 2021 collaborative release Sariani (which was credited to Jerry&ThePelicanSystem in a nod to the former’s earlier album for Warner Music’s Polish Free Jazz series), yeyeh founder Pieter Jansen had an idea. That simple idea – getting Maczyński in the studio with Chicagoan DJ/producer Hieroglyphic Being – was the genesis of this record, the debut album by Universal Harmonies & Frequencies. In June 2022, Hieroglyphic Being flew to Amsterdam to spend five days improvising with Maczyński in a rented studio beneath Volkshotel, under the watchful eye of recording and mix engineer Rein De Sauvage Nolting, better known in electronic music circles for his work as RDS. During those sessions, 26 long, improvised compositions were recorded, with Maczyński contributing saxophones and electronic tools, and Hieroglyphic Being laying down synthesizer parts and vocals. These sessions were captured on film by VLF (Katarzyna Debska), who later created the artwork and visual language for this record release. Some days after the recording sessions, Sauvage Nolting – who had delivered artistic input during the improvisations – sat down with Jansen to select 13 pieces to put forward for the album and a loose conceptual framework. It was then that the hard work began. While a decision was taken to present some improvisations in full, most of what you will hear on Tune IN, as the album is titled, is based on fragments of improvisation. The resultant pieces were reconfigured, re-worked and re-produced by Maczyński and Sauvage Nolting over many months, and in discussion with Hieroglyphic Being. Maczyński added more layers of instrumentation, creating a “whole digital band of reed instruments” – a method he previously utilized on Sariani. What you hear when you play the record defies categorization. It is rooted in a specific moment in time and the spontaneity of musical improvisation – both Maczyński and Hieroglyphic Being are experienced improvisers, albeit with different musical instruments and tools – but also the product of extensive post-production and reflective re-shaping. It is not free-jazz, ambient, electronica, rhythmic cubism (as Hieroglyphic Being’s distinctive sound has previously been called), or avant-garde experimentalism, but something that combines all these musical approaches and more, with a sprinkling of far-sighted futurism mixed in. It is a magical and mystical meeting of musical minds that will pass the test of time in decades to come.

“Great Doubt” is the third full length LP by Danish composer Astrid Sonne. Throughout her acclaimed discography, Astrid Sonne has been carefully crafting different moods through electronic and acoustic instrumental endeavours. On “Great Doubt” this skill is refined, now with the distinct addition of the composer's own vocal in front. The tone of each track is unmistakably Sonne’s, structured around contrasts through an impeccable sense of timing. Lyrics on the album are sparse, merely highlighting different scenes or emotional states of being, leaving the music to fill in the blanks. Yet they also form a pattern of ambiguity, consolidated through the album title, searching for answers through looking at how and what you are asking, questions for the world, questions of love.

The viola, a trusted companion since Astrid Sonne’s youth, appears effortlessly throughout the album, fully integrated into the sonic universe; through a pizzicato driven arrangement in the poignant track “Almost” or along with booms and claps in mutated cinematic stabs during “Give my all”, paraphrasing Mariah Carey's 1997 ballad. Yet the string section also gives way to explorations of woodwinds, counterbalancing the bowed movements with digital brass and airy flutes. Finally, beats and detuned piano are fresh additions to the soundscape, cementing how Sonne’s practice is always evolving into new territories.

Lana Del Rabies' breakthrough album 'Shadow World' is finally coming to vinyl! Originally released just as a cassette, this is one of the most requested upgrades among Lana Del Rabies fans and Deathbomb Arc is thrilled to offer it finally! Lana Del Rabies sculpts her hazy sounds from darkness and melody. Dense synths and vocals from another world do as much to confound as reveal. "...a sensorial passion for modern horror soundtracks, to construct a terrifying collection of sonic hauntings." - The Wire

Based in the South Moravian city of Brno, Finnish multi-instrumentalist Simo Hakalisto aka Shakali crafts surreal terrariums of strings, synthetics, wood, and wind, teeming with bio-electronic synchronicities. Rihmastossa further finesses the project’s eclectic lexicon of electro-acoustic world-building, utilizing a gallery of instruments both ancient and advanced: solar-powered sine wave generators, singing bowls, metallophones, microtonal synths wired into tree slabs, lap harps, amplified found objects, percussion filters, flutes.

This is world music in the most naturalistic sense – subtle spatial ecosystems of climate, vibration, landscape, and species, as alluded to in the track titles about fungal colonies, extinct birds, rare worms, and pine forests. Hakalisto’s work in various exploratory duos (Gnäw, Lunar Horns, Thistle) has honed his instincts for atmospheric improvisation, but when alone he embeds even deeper into the terrain, acting as conduit as much as creator. Across seven free-flowing fugue states of texture and resonance, his touch simmers beneath the surface, guided by shifting light and hidden hands.

2024 Reissue of the classic Bersarin Quartett debut album.

“It's rare that I'm able to give an album my fullest recommendation without trepidation. (...) Bersarin Quartett is one such album. There's nary a misstep, every potential danger has been avoided and smoothed out to present the optimal audio experience for your dollar. (...) Something this good can't possibly be real." The Silent Ballet (8.5/10)

So yes, references to Stars Of The Lid, Ulver's Perdition City, Bohren & Der Club Of Gore and Cinematic Orchestra are fully justified. (...) An excellent debut album, great for nocturnal couch consumption, closing your eyes and dreaming away. (...) Slickly produced without becoming becoming empty chillout fastfood, Bersarin Quartett does what it promises and does it well and a recommendation for everyone into the bands I mentioned earlier. Musique Machine (5/5)

This music could be written on a lonely island or onboard of a spaceship looking on our planet. Time becomes a new unit and feelings become more weight. This is a real great album that owns a special atmosphere and a nonesuch orchestral sound. Wonderful tracks with wonderful titles that leave the listener with a feeling of freedom and contentment. A wonderful perfect 10. Cuemix (10/ 10)

Make no mistake, Bersarin Quartett is an incredible release in the electronica world, but one that fans of many other genres will enjoy. Sputnikmusic (4,5/5)

The start of something remarkable... Broken Videos is here to make his mark. A must listen to all classic synth lovers. :)

The much-coveted project Soul State Jazz, where every record is highly sought after and prized on Discogs, has just unveiled their latest album. Act quickly to secure your copy before they become increasingly rare!

Soulstatejazz's 'sol 3' on Chapelle XIV is a genre-blending double LP led by Tom Ellis, merging jazz, electronic, and house music from studios in Hartlepool and Wales. With virtuosity and diverse instruments, it delivers a transformative, boundary-breaking experience.