Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 24 Items

Takuma Matsunaga, a musician based in Tokyo, grew up exposed to a wide variety of music, from classical and black music to ambient and electronic music, and began his professional career in 2021. His latest album, "Epoch," produced by Miru Shinoda, also known as a member of Japanese band "yahyel", took about a year and a half to create and is now being released by P-vine in physical format for the first time. The sounds on the album were recorded through real-time manipulation using both analog and digital synthesizers, resulting in a unique and pure work that blends ambient and electronic music with elements of hip-hop.

The Greek origin of the word "epoch," "epokhe," means "to suspend judgment, to hold on (epi) and to have (ekhein)." "Epoch" seeks to suspend ecstasy and intoxication within the everyday. It is both ordinary and extraordinary, real and dreamlike, or perhaps neither. "Epoch" embodies all of these states, suspended, reflecting the acoustic journey of Takuma Matsunaga as he navigates through them.

Taeha's first full project with NRW is finally here! :) Presenting "City Lights", a mini album comprising of 4 original singles, including the hits "Dive in Love", and "Satellite" as well as elite remixes from Miami Nights 1984, Wolfclub, woob, Stilz and Shadowrunner. Listen and enjoy.

Wolfclub delivers again! "Canyons" is album that showcases the best and dreampop and alternative synth feels. Wolfclub have mastered thier craft. A must for all synth lovers.

Wolfclub delivers again! "Canyons" is album that showcases the best and dreampop and alternative synth feels. Wolfclub have mastered thier craft. A must for all synth lovers.

A massive "Welcome Back" to The G!!! After a span of 3 years plus, the master is finally back with another stellar synth packed album! A must listen for all synth lovers.

The time is now. The Endearing joins the NRW Roster and delivers a fantastic Neon-Drenched album. A must for all synth lovers. This album is guaranteed to lift the spirits. :)

‣ It's Official....SEXY Red, Blue w purple swirl in limited 100 copies.
‣ Printed on 1 180g RED, BLUE w PURPLE SWIRL vinyl with sleek finishing.
‣ Audio mastered for vinyl.

Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist who started out in the fertile Milan avant-garde scene of the 1970s, which included Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Lino Capra Vaccina, Francesco Messina, among others. After studying at the conservatory, he worked at RAI's Studio of Musical Phonology – an electronic music laboratory similar to Ndr/wdr in Germany, Grm/ircam in France or BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Originally released in 1979, Sei Note In Logica (Six Notes In Logic) is Cacciapaglia's second album. While his debut, Sonanze, offers a series of ambient mini-soundtracks, Sei Note presents a singular, sinuous piece. The composition is based on a finite set of musical notes, yet this limitation is the point of departure for a grand tour of possible combinations and enthralling timbres (marimbas, strings, reeds and human voice).

Like Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians, the joyous experiment of Sei Note is grounded in constant variation. Often doubled by multiple instruments, non-repeating patterns are exquisitely layered, while electro-acoustic signals transform and further refract through visceral effects. Within this conceptual framework, Cacciapaglia does not so much juxtapose rigid dichotomies – acoustic vs. electronic, melodic vs. dissonant, simple vs. complex – as fuse them into an expansive whole.

What started as an inspired study in Minimalism becomes a bold feat of 20th century music. Sei Note In Logica is deeply sincere and, at the same time, quite playful. With one foot firmly planted in the past and the other steeped in technology, Cacciapaglia's influence can be heard in the work of Jim O'Rourke, Fennesz and Ben Vida.

Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist who started out in the fertile Milan avant-garde scene of the 1970s, which included Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Lino Capra Vaccina, Francesco Messina, among others. After studying at the conservatory, he worked at RAI's Studio of Musical Phonology – an electronic music laboratory similar to Ndr/wdr in Germany, Grm/ircam in France or BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Sonanze (Sonatas) is Cacciapaglia's debut album, a monumental work that was recorded over a two-year period and released in 1975 via seminal German label Die Kosmischen Kuriere (Ohr). While a "sonata" is traditionally performed by easily distinguishable instrumentalists (often soloist and accompaniment) and with repeated structural themes, Cacciapaglia flips this hierarchical form on its head – blending harpsichord, strings, brass and analog synths to create ambient mini-soundtracks.

As the composer writes in the original sleeve notes, "I am aware, unfortunately, that I am a few millennia late in how I would like music to be understood, which today I find diluted in its primary powers, in an era that is destructive of essential values. Precisely for this reason, I want to search for it in depth and not on the surface, perhaps alternating the knob of a synthesizer with a marranzano (mouth harp)."

Mixed in quadrophonic surround-sound under the auspices of Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (celebrated producer of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel), Sonanze remains on the fringe of Kosmische realms. Each movement explores hypnotic rhythms, intuitive arrangements, musique concrète techniques and a pure psychedelic awakening.

With Ascend, Alan Abrahams (Portable, Bodycode) presents his first album under his own name on Italic Recordings. Ascend opens the field wide towards pop. A very mature form of pop music, one could call it ethereal sophisticated pop. He was already no stranger to vocals in his more club-orientated productions, and he has often demonstrated his songwriting skills. Here they take centre stage.

Takuma Matsunaga, a musician based in Tokyo, grew up exposed to a wide variety of music, from classical and black music to ambient and electronic music, and began his professional career in 2021. His latest album, "Epoch," produced by Miru Shinoda, also known as a member of Japanese band "yahyel", took about a year and a half to create and is now being released by P-vine in physical format for the first time. The sounds on the album were recorded through real-time manipulation using both analog and digital synthesizers, resulting in a unique and pure work that blends ambient and electronic music with elements of hip-hop.

The Greek origin of the word "epoch," "epokhe," means "to suspend judgment, to hold on (epi) and to have (ekhein)." "Epoch" seeks to suspend ecstasy and intoxication within the everyday. It is both ordinary and extraordinary, real and dreamlike, or perhaps neither. "Epoch" embodies all of these states, suspended, reflecting the acoustic journey of Takuma Matsunaga as he navigates through them.

The time is now. The Endearing joins the NRW Roster and delivers a fantastic Neon-Drenched album. A must for all synth lovers. This album is guaranteed to lift the spirits. :)

Wolfclub delivers again! "Canyons" is album that showcases the best and dreampop and alternative synth feels. Wolfclub have mastered thier craft. A must for all synth lovers.

A massive "Welcome Back" to The G!!! After a span of 3 years plus, the master is finally back with another stellar synth packed album! A must listen for all synth lovers.

Wolfclub delivers again! "Canyons" is album that showcases the best and dreampop and alternative synth feels. Wolfclub have mastered thier craft. A must for all synth lovers.