Reynols | Minecxio Emanations 1993-2018 Pica Disk (6xCD & DVD/DL) “Outstanding and far-out experimental exaggeration” Retrospective box sets are informative think-tanks! Lovely introductions or remembrance collections, bearing the task of showcasing the whereabouts of an artist, in an enlarged manner. Reynols, an Argentinian experimental band, hailing from Buenos Aires, formed in 1993 as Burt Reynols […]
Ranter’s Groove |俳句 Kaczynski Editions (CD/DL) “A low profile minimalism, adequate to express in full” Haiku (俳句) is a very short form of Japanese poetry in three phrases, typically characterized by three qualities. The essence of haiku is cutting (kiru). This is often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas and a kireji […]
Hüma Utku | GnosisKarlrecords (LP/DL) “Pilgrimage chronicles, transmuted into mesmerizing sounds” Hüma Utku is an electronic composer hailing from Istanbul, Turkey and currently based in Berlin, Germany. Her work involves exploring the possibilities of how sound textures and rhythm can be used to evoke a sense of ancient within abstract electronics. Having released material under […]
Ekin Fil | You, Only Vaknar (CS/DL) “Silence expressed with sound” Ekin Üzeltüzenci, aka Ekin Fil, is a lo-fi folk, ambient and electronica artist, hailing from Istanbul, Turkey. Upon arrival in You, Only, the listener is greeted by an adorable piano followed by jolly sweet, yet haunting female voice. Melancholic in every sense, personal, romantic, a homage […]
Various Artists | Veronica Moser Presents: Neurodiversity Fight Back! Ho.Gravi.Malattie (CS/DL) “A manifesto of neurodiversity fighting back” Any release bearing a thought-provoking title catches the attention and my interest automatically kicks in. Veronica Moser Presents: Neurodiversity Fight Back!, is a conceptually charged, researching attempt, where artists were invited to explore the concept with their distinctive […]
“Fragile, light feathered and naturally dirty with organic matter” øjeRum | Hendes BregneøjnePerfect Aesthetics (CS/DL) øjeRum is Paw Grabowski, hailing from Denmark. A prolific ambient/experimental musician with -so far- 30 albums and 15 EP’s, mainly on cassette; a sum that is quite an achievement. An artist that focuses on hand cut collage works. With his […]
ANMA | Osaka Syncopathic.Recordings (CS/DL) “Minimalist big” Here is another cassette orgasm! Andreas Mangweth, aka ANMA, is a composer, electronic music producer and double bass player, hailing from Austria. Well this generally drips minimalism. Straightforward minimalism with attached details, many of them, contradicting in various atmospheres. A solid looped base of sound, upon which, everything […]
Nula.cc | Fata Morgana Self release (DL) “Cinematography with sound” Field recording is the process of capturing or recording audio outside a recording studio, in an open or closed area or field. Nula.cc, hailing from Czech Republic, do exactly that. The project began in 2009 as a series of albums (filecasts in the project’s own […]
Crows Labyrinth| All Will Perish (CD/DL) “A cathartic feed of minimally monolithic ambient” Well, this is a very interesting case. Crows Labyrinth aka Theo Tol, hailing from the Netherlands, is making astonishing ambient music in a unique and personal way! Crows Labyrinth’s second full length ventures in the same path as his first. Tol creates […]
Leif Elggren | Motor For An Unknown Vehicle (Opening Of The Grave) Fragment Factory (LP/DL) “Sound sculpturing” Motor For An Unknown Vehicle (Opening Of The Grave), is a title that gives a hint about the heart (aka the motor) of a vehicle, unknown – so far – to us. Just from that, I had a […]
Park Jiha | Philos Tak:til and Glitterbeat (LP/CD/DL) “Fused aesthetic biculturalism, beautifully executed” Park Jiha is a contemporary/experimental musician, hailing from Seoul, South Korea. Her music is rooted in traditional Korean instruments, infused with a multitude of contemporary elements and structure. Philos, her second album, is more or less a crossroad, where eastern and western […]
High Aura’d & Josh Mason | Lower Yr Voice Whited Sepulchre Records (LP/DL) “A non stationary bouquet of ambient/drone experimentation” The title of an album such as Lower Yr Voice, brings with it a demand, something that you should enforce upon yourself. Is this something mandatory? A request? A pledge? High Aura’d hailing from Ohio, […]
SSSS | Walls, Corridors, Baffles Präsens Editionen (LP/DL) “Harshness, etherealness, rhythm” Samuel Savenberg is an electronic musician and producer hailing from Switzerland and this is his debut LP with the SSSS moniker. Walls, Corridors, Baffles is an electronic album above all. I am using this umbrella term on purpose. Moreover, it has its portion of […]
Karen Willems & Jean D.L. | Twee Lindebomen Aurora Borealis Recordings (CD/DL) “Top-notch dialogues, in a very sincere experimental language” It is afternoon and quite hot outside. Initial summer scorching is evident from the tiny island from where I am writing these lines. Quiet afternoons are a perfect match for what I am about to […]
Neunau | Il Ciclo Del Vuoto Boring Machines (LP/DL) “Industrial, drone, avant-garde cooked masterfully” Sound research is a never-ending endeavor, unpredictable in terms of researched material. Structured or maybe chaotic, apocalyptic and almost hallucinogenic in its process. Neunau is the sound art moniker of Sergio Maggioni, hailing from Italy. His sound research is combined with […]
Empty Chalice | Mother Destruction Toten Schwan Records (CD/DL) “Astonishing streams of crawling ambient with hints of light” Empty Chalice is the dark ambient moniker of Antonine A., hailing from Italy and Mother Destruction is his projects latest installment, an emotionally conceptual sequel of the previous album Emerging Is Submerging. Color grey. My experience […]
Danielle de Picciotto, a nomad soul and a prolific visual artist, film maker, author and musician. Born in the army base of Ft Lewis in Tacoma, Washington, USA, where a life joyride begins. Keep reading, an almost cinematic life will unfold. Karl Grümpe/Toneshift: Danielle, thank you very much for your time and this interview. I […]
Mnemonic45 is an ambient/drone project, hailing from Bitola, North Macedonia. Traveling and music is beautifully merged within the realm of calmness and abstraction. I had an extensive chat with Goce Gligurovski, the man behind the project and a dear friend. Here’s what he had to say, so let our voyage commence! Karl Grümpe/Toneshift: As an […]
Martyria is a rather new dark/ritual ambient duo formed in 2015 and hailing from Greece. They use ritualistic instruments and their chants are based on eschatological texts, these two are the primary elements that define their music. Martyria is a path of studying the origin, nature and destiny of the human psyche. Want to know […]
Wabi Experience | Wabi Experience Mikroton (CD/DL) “Seminal touch of electronic music, traditionally rooted” Wabi Experience is the result of the collaboration between Tomislav Federsel (Tomáš Procházka), Czech sound artist and actor, who had the idea for Wabi Experience and Jára Tarnovski, Czech experimental musician from the band Gurun Gurun, who came in creative support […]
Harry Pussy | Riding A DovePalilalia Records (LP) “Honesty in musical destruction” Harry Pussy, was a noise (rock) band hailing from Miami, Florida, USA, active from 1992 to 1997. In their ranks were guitarist/vocalist Bill Orcutt, drummer and vocalist Adris Hoyos with occasional support by accordionist Ian Steinberg and guitarists Mark Feehan (who appears on […]
Merzbow | YahatahachimanOther Voices Records (CD/DL) “Five mantras of noise absolution” Merzbow, is always a highly anticipated noise project hailing from Japan (since 1979) and also recognized as one of the earliest projects in what we now call “Japanoise“! A legendary and highly prolific figure, Masami Akita, the mastermind behind Merzbow, has created 333 […]
Denis Frajerman | Wastelands / Lawrence Of ArabiaKlanggalerie (CD/DL) “A masterful bi/polar album in its very nature” Denis Frajerman is a musician and composer hailing from France. Initially known for his participation in the experimental band Palo Alto, he regularly collaborates with storytellers and writers for radio sessions, oratorios, or records. This album is his […]
T. Gowdy | Pachira AquaticaShimmering Moods Records (CD/DL) “An predominate (holistic) bouquet of bright electronic sounds” Hailing from Montreal, Canada, T. Gowdy is an electronic music producer, audio/visual performer and musician who began his career as a professional choral singer at the age of eleven! There is this sweet looking CD that needs to be […]
Luca Forcucci | B(l)(e)(e)(n)dingsLFO Records (LP/DL) “Wonderful electro-traditional experimental music” An album that sounds like an electronic locomotive at its beginning, I must write about it. Luca Forcucci’s B(l)(e)(e)(n)dings is the outcome of the collaborative work between Swiss researcher, composer and artist Forcucci, Cara Stacey – a pianist, ethnomusicologist and player of several South African […]
Phew + Oren Ambarchi + Jim O’Rourke | Patience Soup Black Truffle Records (LP) “Completely irradiated experimental earmark” Whenever I stumble upon an album bearing heavy names, things are self-explanatory. I’m delighted to give a […]
Sutekh Hexen | S/T Sentient Ruin Laboratories + Cyclic Law (2xCS/2xLP/DL) “Hermetic infrastructure of introvert brutality” A locomotive from hell, smearing by-passers with absolute static filth and wonderful monolithic exaggeration! People, this is Sutekh Hexen hailing from USA, one of the most profound projects in the contemporary extreme scene; deconstructing black metal since 2012 […]
The Star Pillow | Music For Sad HeadbangersAidan Baker + Karen Willems | AwelAidan Baker + N | DoppelliveScatterwound | MNThissquietarmy + Dirk Serries + Tom Malmendier | Hell “A multiverse of ambient/drone” from Midira Records A handful of drone/ambient cookies in CD format, to be collectively reviewed. Albums that have connections one with another. […]
MZ. 412 | Svartmyrkr Cold Spring Records (LP/CD/DL) + Cloister Recordings US (CS) “An exclamation of marching shadows” MZ. 412 is the project of Henrik Nordvargr Björkk (aka Kremator or simply Nordvargr), a very prolific electronic musician, hailing from Sweden. The beginning can be tracked back to 1988 as Maschinenzimmer 412, with Björkk being the […]
Nimh| Beyond The Crying Era Winter-Light (CD/DL) “Rich and full sonic soil” Giuseppe Verticchio is an experimental multi-instrumentalist and computer programmer hailing from Italy and in fact, he is quite productive, with a discography in excess of twenty albums with his main project Nimh since its beginning in 2001! Notable too, are his collaborations […]
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