Here we see 18 tracks spanning almost an hour and a half, featuring upbeat, brokenbeat, and downbeat electronics from one end of the spectrum to the next—an unrelenting avalanche of music that doesn’t let up.
A braindance treasure trove of nuance, creativity, and exploratory music
Every once and a while we get the opportunity to discover and immerse our ears with some of the best experimental electronic music across the planet in the form of a compilation. In the case of 5YA CD, Evel have collected their digital releases titled DGTL | TOMO and released a limited CD with additional bonus (unreleased) tracks to commemorate their 5th year in operation.
What I take away from this varied collection is a braindance treasure trove of nuance, creativity, and exploratory music. 18 tracks spanning almost an hour and a half are featured on 5YA CD with a surplus of upbeat, brokenbeat, and downbeat electronics from one end of the spectrum to the next—an unrelenting sonic avalanche that simply doesn’t let up.
Sparks of light and dark flicker from each track
But where does one begin with such an influx of tracks spanning pretty much the entire abstract electronic gauntlet? Play this on shuffle is the key, at least for me. Let each track take its course, let them unfold and triangulate themselves. You’ll find sparks of light and dark flickering from each track, Velum Break and Human Behind Pluto take center stage with their robust and abstract electro sheen as Lee’s “Andromeda” takes a slice from Detroit’s early techno scene (think of Derrick May, Kenny Larkin et al). The glitchy parts that groove, twist, and burst into hundreds of pieces come from artists like Danny Playamaqui, Strange Antiquark, Bot1500, Retape, and Secret Kitchen. Elsewhere you’ll find next level Aphex Twin acid-squelched shenanigans taking shape on tracks by Colin Muir, Flx, Evo Ava, Nike Vomita, Tsev, and IKTS.
Evel have really set out to create something special here, each selection complimenting the other, the range of changing tempos blend together—and even the slower tracks grab us by the ears (reference the contributions from Love Horses, P1nkf1re, and Utopia Cloak) to the more techno oriented rhythms brought to us by Anothernonagon.
5YA CD just might be the imprints magnum opus, however, we’re confident they have much more in store for us in 2020. With their focus on growing the roster, they also involve themselves with analog mastering focused on electronic music and visual graphics to stir the brain if their release schedule wasn’t enough! Think of some of the earlier innovators that launched IDM’s appeal back in the day such as Skam, Neo Ouija, Toytronic, Merck, Planet Mu, Schematic (et al) and their goal of unleashing arcane machine music floating in the troposphere—Evel cultivates a similar trajectory worth taking note of, especially on 5YA CD.
Happy Anniversary Evel!
5YA CD is available on Evel.
