Experimental Electronic Music
Archive 97–99 is a snapshot of someone absorbing that ethos in real time, two decades ago, and the recordings still hold up. Not because they’re groundbreaking, but because they’re honest documents of a producer learning their craft during one of electronic music’s most fertile periods.
rust/wave, his latest, takes a different approach. The Hamilton, Ontario-based artist has compiled a beautiful piece of ambient work, and rather than introducing itself as some ambient drone or sounding like that, it’s actually really melodic and beautiful. A peaceful listen.
The dubbed-out vocals, the melodic fills, the use of unusual time signatures, these aren’t just technical tricks, they’re emotional tools. The album feels exploratory without getting lost, complex without being exhausting. For fans of drumfunk and the kind of brain-melting beat science that Planet Mu championed in the late 90s and early 2000s, Tessares is essential.
This overall limited run of the acid genre is another success on the label for those who are in love with the genre. Furthur Electronix—and a warm welcome Shakesphere, their sub-label—has been carving out a niche for itself over the past few years, releasing music that feels both nostalgic and necessary. It’s a love letter to a sound that defined an era, and for fans of classic acid and braindance, it’s essential.
Gridlock’s Trace returns, and this is a classic industrial IDM release. As a reissue, there’s nothing here that’s reinventing the wheel in regards to production, it was released at a time where this type of sound was innovative and thriving.
Mastered and recorded at Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm between 2024 and 2026, I Det Vassa Ljuset is based on close-miking of organic materials such as wood, metal, stone, and glass. These recordings have then been processed and transformed into software instruments that can be played live. Released on her own label Istid Records, I Det Vassa Ljuset is available digitally and on cassette.
Rasmussen incorporates his own vocals more than ever, weaving them seamlessly into intricate electronic textures as he expands his sound into new territory while retaining the subtle restraint that has defined his work.
Markarian has a unique process here and MemLoss conveys a unique ambience that is centered on leaving you in a daze. This isn’t abstract sound art for its own sake, it’s documentation of confusion, of forgetting, of grasping for something that’s no longer there. MemLoss doesn’t need to justify itself. It just is.
There’s no dancefloor here, no need to lock into a groove or deliver a drop. Instead, Paap is chasing sound for sound’s sake, pushing stereo dynamics, distorting drum loops until they fray, stretching reverbs until they fill entire rooms.
Exploraciones Al Vacio works because it refuses to play nice. The field recordings, the layered textures, the deliberate pacing, it all adds up to something that feels purposeful rather than indulgent.
What makes Chambers work is that it doesn’t feel like an experiment for the sake of it. The processing serves the music, not the other way around. It’s the kind of release that sneaks up on you, not flashy, but it sticks. By the time it’s over, you realize there’s more going on than you initially thought. This is a strong showing from Ruben, and for a limited run of 30 cassettes, it punches well above its weight.
