mpala garoo | Vaya AdelanteShimmering Mood Records (CD/DL) Dark aural movements comprise Vaya Adelante by mpala garoo. Compliments a la Shimmering Moods Records, the trio delivers an album whose titular meaning is drawn from a letter of William S. Burroughs to Ginsberg. Apparently, the beats were facing the identity crashing effects of mortality and Ayahuasca. […]
loscil | lifelikeFrond (CD/DL) Full of tenderly keyed minimalist melodies, the softly phrased tracks that fill Lifelike by Loscil explore flora, fauna, humanity and earthen structures. The similes evoke various contemplations, primarily of material subjects. From the onset, sweeping synths wash out understated electronic rhythms. There’s just enough beat to hinge the ambiences with subdued […]
Laurisilva by Laura Agnusdei and Mare di Dirac’s Ophite Diagram were both recently released. This pair of Italo acoustic-electronic releases offer strategic sound art which incorporates wind instruments, mixed with electronic processing. Agnusdei collaborates with several contributing artists who play traditional instruments. Mare di Dirac employs the use of handmade instruments. While the theme of […]
Still und Dunkel | AbandonedHallow Ground (LP/CD/DL) From the opening seconds of searing harsh noise rasp like a contact mic applied to a sheet of metal unto cat-claw-on-a-chalkboard effect, through electronic swells and resting in a spell of quick-clicking, Abandoned (English, ‘quiet and dark’) by Still und Dunkel rips through dynamic (d)evolutionary spaces. I should […]
Funeral Souvenir | La Noche del AnhídridoVerlag System (LP/DL) This re-issue of an original 1987 six track quintessential Spanish industrial noise tape is further fueled with a peppering of other re-issues. Totaling ten tracks, the additional tracks are taken from compilation releases from 2009-2011. With cover art re-contextualizing Ed Clark’s original photo of Graham W. Jackson […]
A duo of November releases show the strong and distinct presence by two interesting women who bring something new to the international experimental music circuit. The contributions herein addressed a diverse range from white-noise to trance-ambient and favor longer form tracks. Their spectrum runs from linear to repetitious in noteworthy serenity; electronic and highly processed […]
OCA | AgingMétron Records (CS/DL) Aging is the latest from Berlin-based producer duo OCA (Yo van Lenz and Florian T M Zeisig). This one is for ambient lovers who like their sounds gentle, mystical, bright, and melodic. It goes down real smooth. Oh, it’s nothing like smooth jazz or even new age, but veering into […]
Åyusp | Åyuspself-released (CD) The Sheffield (UK) duo isn’t shy about their shared kosmische influence. They (Graham McElearney and Paul Mills) have put together a cosmic joy-ride of uniquely blended stylings with the self-titled album, Åyusp [“Oy-usp”]. An overall concept isn’t readily exoteric. However, the October 7th release is made-up of five heady tracks which cumulatively […]
Here are two space-oriented experimental electro-ambient albums released in October. One follows in November. While each graft rhythmic beats and melodic undulations, the three conceptualize space very differently. Nonlin by Steve Hauschildt (released October 25) conveys a vacuum-effect at odds with nature’s patterned regenerations. Released October 13th, Collecting Space by QST (Frans de Waard) presents […]
Void Hands | Split Shapes & Divisive ModelsFractal Meat Cuts (CS/DL) Rhythmic oscillations and electro-click generate the ‘unforeseen order’ that Richard Knight (with Jürgen Ehrmann) concoct via Void Hands’ Split Shapes & Divisive Models. Ironic as the artist namesake is, the handling of audio mixers is nob-crankingly lacking of vacuity. The sour no-input calculations drip […]
Giona Vinti | OrcElli Records (DL) Hold on for a vicious ride in these brute four ‘layers’ conjured by Milanese composer Giona Vinti in Orc. All four tracks consist of arrhythmic chaotic effect layering. They are numbered simply one through four. This is how I hear it: Layer 1: With video game like blips interface […]
Just as the temperatures begin to cool some, the ears begin to warm to what’s coming next. Four phenomenal experimental electronic albums from around the globe all release on Friday October 25th, 2019, oh – that’s today! Giulio Aldinucci | No Eye Has an Equal99 Chants (CS/DL) No Eye Has an Equal by Giolio […]
PYUR | Oratorio For the UnderworldSubtext Recordings (CD/DL) Enter the PYUR (Sophie Schnell’s) ‘upside-down’ in Oratorio For the Underworld. If it seems pretentious to summon the ‘oratorio’ title (joining the most popular: Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and Haydn’s The Creation) there may be, for the listener, an apprehension of grandiose expectations. However, listeners are in for a contemporary dark-electro […]
Telefon Tel Aviv | Dreams Are Not EnoughGhostly International (DL/LP/CD) ‘Defiantly spaced-out post-wave…’ ‘Gravelly loops/samples.’ ‘Hydra; downtempo aesthetic.’ ‘Velvety and ghastly vox…’ etc. are some of my notes in reflection from listening to Dreams Are Not Enough. Even prior to the full-length release, the leader single track a younger version of myself has 22K+ streams […]
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 […]
Pierre Bastien | Tinkle Twang ‘n Tootle Marionette (LP/DL) French composer Pierre Bastien has been recording since the late 80’s, solo as well as in ensembles and other collaborations. I’ve only been exposed his his work scantly over the years, and listening to this I wonder why I haven’t dug in much deeper. His sound […]
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 […]
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