V/A :: Colonization: Empty Channels of Mars (Lagunamuch)

Colonization: Empty Channels of Mars is a beautifully diversified and cinematic sci-fi sounding album which admits intense synth psychscapes and haunting pulsating looped studies.

Colonization: Empty Channels of Mars is a new digital album signed by the very interesting and promising Russian micro-label Lagunamuch Records. This album is part of a trilogy—including Main Control Board & Deep Sea Shipping—and is said to be inspired by science-fiction / archeological topics most specifically based on H. Beam Piper’s imaginary writing style about Alien races. The musical motives and multi-textured sound forms approach in a soundtracky vein the leading thematics of Utopia, Nostalgia and genesis of the alien life.

I first discovered Lagunamuch’s musical catalog with the release of Noisyfilter’s Radiance that can be appreciated as a surprisingly beautiful effort in the field of expansive radial dronescapesColonization: Empty Channels of Mars is a compilation album which features the contribution of notorious and lesser known artists who are representative figures of the dark ambient / abstract cyber electronic genres. Most artists introduce the listener to a dense and alien-like universe of rhythmically propulsive, bodily ecstatic electronics and intriguing mechanical textures. In a few words, Colonization: Empty Channels of Mars is a beautifully diversified and cinematic sci-fi sounding album which admits intense synth psychscapes and haunting pulsating looped studies. Stableform opens the album with a super epic and pulsating-spacey ambience. I/DEX offers a menacing-neurotic piece. This track is followed by several ultra tripped-out electronic sci-fi minimal ambiences of Mlada Fronta, LPF12 (which delivers almost retro-ish cosmic chills). “Geocorona” by Skyscaper and “Forces of Light” by OID represent the most ethereal and blissed-out vein of this album—enveloping and dense synthesized chords. Riverz End develops a more experimental-cybernetic electronic facet, including a lot of rhythmical dynamics. “Electronic Evil” by Alexandroid delivers a furiously punchy 80’s EBM type of electronic music in a very intricate moving way. Cisfinitum who made a name in the typical dark ambient genre offers here an unusual and emotional droned-out piece covered by incredibly strong pulsating motifs—this piece formidably closes this collection of unique pieces. Essential listening for fans of IDM, dubstep electronica and darkly grooving beatscapes.

Colonization: Empty Channels of Mars is available on Lagunamuch. [Release page]