Experimental Electronic Music
If you, like me, may have been struggling to keep up with all the labels and artists you follow throughout the year, then compilations like Past/Present may come as some sort of godsend. Highlighting just about anything that Past Inside the Present have been pumping out in 2024, this compilation spans a lengthy three hours and showcases all the various shades of ambience that PITP specialize in.
Texture is most certainly this album’s ambassador, but it’s not just experimentation with noise. There’s a lot of subtlety and continuity, both of which make […]
Rontronik’s taste for noisy textures and atmospheric shines on Zero Nine. Although in terms of composition, the album runs smoothly, its production is solid enough to demonstrate a good sense of timbre, and the sound palette he chooses to highlight is astounding.
It is, indeed, a record featuring collaborators from all around the world, from jazz musicians, to classical, to spoken poetry, there is a lot to explore, with each track also being an enjoyable experience—it’s not just variety for the sake of it, there’s a lot of effort everywhere here!
Upon listening to Bernhard Living’s output, the music is extremely minimalistic and doesn’t actively try to be challenging in some way; so with how little there is that’s happening, I immediately knew that this was coming from someone who knew what they were doing.
Almost fifty minutes of improvised spazzing noise and dizzying breaks, all mastered rather loudly, make RiotxNoise far more than exciting; if the premise wasn’t enthralling enough, there’s also vocals and a damn harpsichord on this LP; now that’s good business if you ask me.
It’s tough, it’s kinda loud, and it’s definitely an entertaining EP, so if you’re on the lookout for some aggressive dubstep, this may do it for ya!
All in all, the experience this mix offers is, indeed, really immersive. It’s a smooth ride all the way through, with certain standout moments and enough variety to keep itself engaging at all times.
Mosaic is yet another valid addition to Fennesz’s already spotless catalog. Among the many ambient records I’ve heard this year, Fennesz thankfully reminds us of what ambient music can be when it is done in an original way, rather than offering the usual pulp of clean synth pads with some string arrangements.
Before the halfway mark, you get some noise that sounds like it’s derived from scraping a metal sheet on the floor, which may sound astoundingly unpleasant when I frame it that way, but becomes much more fitting and digestible when it is so quiet in this piece.
An ethereal ambient record that incorporates live instrumentation as well, more notably in the form of orchestral accompaniments with guitar workouts splattered throughout—and some occasional vocals too.
