Separately, two engulfing, flowing narratives. Perhaps Thomas’ is a shade darker, a bit nautical, while van Wey swoops over dry land through partly-cloudy skies. Presented together, Air Texture‘s tandem format provides the opportunity to compare the arrangement preferences of two distinct minds, but without any kind of crossover, overlap or explicit connection, only makes perfectly [...]
Category: "Reviews"
Ghostek :: Easy Changes EP (Shipwrec)
Using techniques such as warm synths, white noise, haunting and ghostly vocals, as well as a variety of bass/dubstep contrasts, a dark moody soundscape is beautifully created. Ghostek’s latest EP, Easy Changes, is a strong album with four tracks, each able to stand on its own as an individual piece of music yet come together [...]
Burial :: Kindred EP (Hyperdub)
Everything flows exactly as it should and, in an age dominated by throwaway digital singles, it’s pleasing to find out that there are still artists out there who really do think about the collective whole as a world unto itself. There’s always the worry that self-indulgence has taken over completely when you start seeing 12-minute [...]
Bruno Sanfilippo & Max Corbacho :: Bioma (ad21)
With the bell, bowl and chime buttons on their various Korg synthesizers, the duo replant the familiar Spanish countryside with even richer botany, humidifying the air and creating a colourful imaginarium under the leafy canopy. From the midst of a conference of birds taking place high among the tree tops falls a single, unremarkable feather [...]
Materia :: Komatiite EP (Slime)
Tight drums, deep bass, melodic and harmonic mastery wrapped up in intricate and evolving atmospheres and textures. Swedish born Bristol producer Materia has worn a lot of hats during his years producing music—which incidentally number quite a few now—from Drum and Bass to Tech House, and more recent forays into the steadily deepening black hole [...]
Kemek :: Ultimately Always Remixes (Architects + Heroes)
Five alterations retaining the original’s translucent dynamic leaves Kemek in a good space—quite literally—filled with crossing wires, microscopic shifting and breezy ambience. Referred to as UA2, Kemek receives remix treatments based on his 2011 EP of the same title. Five alterations retaining the original’s translucent dynamic leaves Kemek in a good space—quite literally—filled with crossing [...]
Tatsuro Kojima :: 16g (Audiobulb)
For 16g has sharp corners, razor-thin edges and taut wires that require some soft undergrowth. It spends much of its time slicing through the air at a relatively high frequency, though Kojima exercises keen restraint. Tatsuro Kojima has been preparing his debut album for over two years, during which time he has also been busy [...]
Scissors and Sellotape :: …For The Tired And Ill At Ease… (Fac-ture)
In the case of …For The Tired And Ill At Ease… it is the splicing and dicing of approximately one hour of material recorded in a three hour visit to St. Mary’s Church in Thornbury, Melbourne. Heidi Elva played piano (and apparently recognized none of her performance in the final work), as did McCaffrey, as [...]
Johnny Jitters :: Closure EP (Aud-Art)
Johnny Jitters and fellow cohorts take Closure into skewed directions—offering downtempo frequencies bridged across atmospheric rapids that are warm, sincere and heartfelt. Glitch has taken on its own lifeform—displaying slivers of exp-electronics, classical, bass, ambience and digital-to-analog manipulation just as time and creativity shifts the genre into new and interesting paths. Johnny Jitters and fellow [...]
Markus Mehr :: In (Hidden Shoal)
The German experimental ambient artist marshals the same array of computer, synthesizers, guitars and distortion pedals used on his 2010 debut, Lava, and opens with a muffled grumble that might well be churning magma deep in the volcano. Markus Mehr is certainly leading with his chin by announcing a full-blown trilogy with only one full-length [...]
First Human Ferro :: Stardust (Nitkie)
Stardust is a space opera that tells rather than romanticizes how the stars were reached. Olegh Kolyada hails from Zhytomyr in the Ukraine, birthplace of Sergei Korolyov, architect of the Soviet space program, the man who launched Sputnik, Laika and Gagarin into orbit and shot for the moon, Mars and beyond. In other words, the [...]
Hyboid :: Where Androids Come to Die (Astro Chicken)
The references that Astro Chicken pile into almost every release ensure that the majority of their output is most appreciated by those of a certain age and/or love of bedroom gaming nostalgia, and though Where Androids Come to Die has more serious overtones, the signature aesthetic is still there. The latest release on the German Astro [...]
Studyman :: Minimal Action (Decabaret)
Studyman is cutting his teeth on the French label with the Minimal Action EP. There have already been some web comparisons to Robert Hood and some bygone Detroit sounds, but does Studyman live up to these high claims? Decabaret Records returns with a new release and a new artist. Studyman is cutting his teeth on [...]
Damian Valles :: Skeleton Taxa (Drifting Falling)
Valles expands the drone to orchestral proportions, as his field recordings, small bells, piano and guitar are all swept up into a string section, with a violin swirling out of the mass to solo half-way through before receding. The entire piece is far from destructive, but is rich in drama. Musician, artist and greengrocer Damian [...]
James Murray :: Floods (Slowcraft)
There is a scarlet thread that runs through Floods, a kind of cicada sibilation in air so clear it’s Andean. And honestly this music makes me think of air and all that it carries—pollen, seeds, birds, bees, raindrops, maybe Welsh water sprites—rather than rushing water. [Release page] Still in thrall to the force of nature [...]
Northerner :: I Am On Your Side (Home Assembly)
I Am On Your Side is good, in an extremely chilled out way, with very endearing atmospheres, nice ambiences and sounds pinned together with washes of guitar. [Release page] Any release that has the word mellifluous within the body of its promotional material has to be, at the very least, worth a listen. Northerner’s latest [...]
Velapene Screen :: What if they can’t trust you? (The Centrifuge)
The syncopated percussive breaks, acidic tones, busted rhythms, tweaked synth-distortions and overall flare for oblique maneuvers further exemplifies Velapene Screen’s honed skill-set. [Release page] Velapene Screen (aka Chris Ghiraldi) has been in creative mode for the past decade (plus or minus a few years). Having developed a glitch-laden propulsion with labels like Frozen Empire Media [...]
Neud Photo :: Simulations (Pylon)
Neud Photo makes Simulations seem effortless; the tracks ebb and flow masking the intricacies of Nightingale’s vintage synthesizer arsenal. Neud Photo, aka Nico Nightingale, is an artist who seems to be releasing back to front. The young New Yorker has been serving up his own brand of minimal synth infused electro on labels like Living [...]
Plastic Frog :: Review batch
Over of spread of EP’s and albums, Plastic Frog have explored—and released—some excellent synth, electro pop and EBM. It can be quite a mission to find labels promoting quality synth wave and minimal analogue; it’s tricky to find such quality. The world of electronic music has always been an underground affair. The scene thrives on [...]
Seth Chrisman :: Aetherdrift, Do You Copy? (Flaming Pines)
Lazy ambient drifts into stylus static, the sea washing up the shore insinuates itself into the conversation inside someone’s busy kitchen. This is not New Mexico native Seth Chrisman’s debut recording but it is the first under his given name. Behind the misleadingly retro-futuristic title and cover art (which is still terrific, like all Flaming [...]
Scanone :: Gangsta Riddim EP (Outside)
Slabs of robotic electro slide across the grooves of this record as it illustrates subdued fury in a 20-minute escape through time. Hype; while in most cases is focused on overly saturating the market with ploys to sway its audience comes across as aggressive or ill-conceived most of the time. In the case of Scanone’s [...]
Kossak :: You Forgot To Kick It (Record Label Records)
Projecting outward from the likes of Gescom and/or Shadowhuntaz (Skam), Kossak’s focus on layering percussion and tumbling bass is refined and delves into broken slabs of funk, mechanical spillways, distorted tweaks as well as uplifting anthems that are discovered in the ashes. Kossak (also known as Lucas Patzek) joins a new breed of musicians unlike [...]
Mr 76ix :: Experiment Four (Skam)
Not always propelled in a straight shot to the ears, Experiment Four digs a little further and dissects busted rhythms, technoid superstructures and acidic undertones with fine-tuned precision among a myriad of effects. Scorched basslines, twisted melodic notes, rattling beats and a frenzy of analog-electronic activity has Mr. 76ix at the top of his game [...]
CELER :: 3View (Con-V, and/OAR, Analog Path)
Since Danielle Baquet’s passing, her talented partner (Will Long), now residing in Tokyo, has continued to release previously unheard material recorded by the duo and oversee reissues of out-of-print and early, handmade self-releases; at the time of writing, Celer’s list of CD, CDR, cassette tape, vinyl and digital releases has climbed well beyond seventy. [February—2012] [...]