V/A :: 10 Years 2010—2020 (Abstrakt Reflections)

From broken ambient segues to articulated glitch manifests and sound design extrusions that chip away at its blips’n bleeps core, 10 Years is a far-reaching sonic foray.

A myriad of abstract electronic genres

10 years is quite an accomplishment, and for the Argentina-based Abstrakt Reflections net-label, they’ve churned out the goods and continue to chisel their way through a myriad of abstract electronic genres. From broken ambient segues to articulated glitch manifests and sound design extrusions that chip away at its blips’n bleeps core, 10 Years is a far-reaching sonic foray.

From Blockdata’s crunchy post-industrial dubstep to c0ma’s mysteriously dark broken beats and slithering bass, to Flint Kids’ relaxed ambient tones, drones, and crisp beatwork, there’s a lot to digest during these 73-minutes. Ivan Shopov maneuvers through downtempo glitch segments, Lokom disturbs the peace with chopped-up jazzy extrusions, and Valance Drakes dabbles in his signature subdued—almost transparent—electrical bits and bobbles. And this is really at the core of Abstrakt Reflections’ mission—to provide “abstract reflections” and to catalog the unique abilities of their highly skilled roster. Hypercube dives into next-level sound design layers that shuffle and slice their way through the proceedings, closeyoureyes offers a delectable lullaby, as Man From Sol breaks down skewed mechanical slabs until nothing is left in the landscape, and ZZY offers a blissful dabbling of glitch veils and melodic moments that can’t be ignored.

Not forgetting that Amotken, Broken Thoughts, Metalogue, Michael Valentine West, mōshonsensu, Vladimir Belayev, and Zeuge also offer their own unique spins on this varied celebration—it’s probably best to let the music speak for itself and create a little surprise for what’s tucked away deep in the recesses of Abstrakt Reflections’ 100th release. As this compilation is right in our wheelhouse, it also registered in our Best of 2020 releases and continues to spill into 2021.

10 Years is available on Abstrakt Reflections. [Bandcamp]