In rotation for the past several days/weeks/months, this multi-view column reveals the latest sonic landscape from several talented musicians. Plenty of brittle, glitch, abstract, noisy, mechanical and bass-infused sounds with releases/tracks by Ben Cox, Blackdown, BLAEN, Eusebeia, Atiq & Arlow, Jérôme Chassagnard, Kit Curse (with dreadmaul, lums, and Species), Matthias Grübel, Michael Valentine West, Nonima (with Qebo, Stormfield, exm, Krasius, Dialed, and Dekode), Nuanae, Vhsceral, and Witch Eyes.
Ben Cox :: Consciousness, and other tricks of the light (Spotted Peccary)
Blending analog, digital synthesis, and other instruments, this second album by Ben Cox is a buzzing assortment of musical activity. Tiny particles of ambient debris coalesce, its mesmerizing veil lightly coated with synthesizer blips and tangled nostalgia. With only six sonic miniatures spread over almost 40-minutes, this release stands out with its light flutter and carefully executed electronic strands. As if to hypnotize, Ben Cox delivers a slice of atmosphere, downtempo, instrumental, and synthesized worlds—delicate time capsules not to be missed. A puzzling assortment of curious analog segments and experimental flurries, the overall consensus is an uplifting and pleasant foray through gentle drones and tones. [Release page]
Blackdown :: Rollage Vol.4: The Hunger EP (Keysound)
Bass music with a punch, Blackdown (Keysound co-founder) is at the helm with a baffling, robust, and explosive EP—five tracks riddled with laser-blasts and dark robotic rhythms. Like a trip through late 90s breaks, bass, and electro/techno, Blackdown doubles down on the amount of sonic lava pouring from these five pieces. Running through darker ambient tropes as segues to a lost world, old-school techno rhymes and rhythms burst into hundreds of pieces almost connected to each other like distant cousins. Rollage Vol. 4: The Hunger EP is an energy-packed and mind-altering collection worth digging up today. [Release page]
BLAEN :: Strategy Of Desire (Concrete Collage)
We have been following BLAEN from their debut #1 and #2 albums for Welsh Modular Alliance, this mysterious moniker has kept busy this year with Strategy Of Desire—yet another debut, this time for the ever dependable Concrete Collage imprint. With this album BLAEN further develops classic glitch, breaks, electro, and encrusted acid layers with a 10-track trip through darker pathways. Each track echoing through canyons of sedimentary rock, “Beyond the Blackhole” takes us through its blanket of distorted electronic mayhem as it screeches along with industrial power. There are muddied melodies buried in the mix too, tracks like “June 19th” exhibit strange alien landscapes, its chugging detuned rhythm catchy and baffling. “Unit Moefas” breaks apart into breakcore debris, its hardened outer shell of acid twitching and fierce beats is annihilating. It’s when BLAEN chills out that I find this album really coming together. Tracks like “Obsolete Unit” flicker into view with delicate blips and bleeps—its analog machinery coming to life as the title track offers synthesizer grooves that bounce around nostalgic layers to soothe the soul. Overall, Strategy Of Desire expands on the artists’ ability to extract aggressive yet balanced electronics that stands firm on its own. [Bandcamp]
Eusebeia, Atiq & Arlow :: Transfiguration EP (Mindtrick)
The dub, breaks, beats, and low-end from the Mindtrick collective have unearthed a behemoth in this four track extended player. Mostly delving head-first into exploratory drum’n bass, each track is a bustling glide through deep, subconscious soundscapes, alien rhythms, emotion, and isolation. The drums playing an active roll start to end, this trio manage to excavate the heaviest of moods, each track its own audible being, and yet they play off each other like siblings in a playground. Rolling and acrobatic rhythms aplenty, Transfiguration is the perfect snapshot of dubby breaks, and bass with its DNA of soothing atmospheric moments start to end. [Bandcamp]
Jérôme Chassagnard :: Childhood EP (Hymen)
Just as the title suggests, Jérôme Chassagnard dips into childhood memories—memories of what once was, and now remains, a fleeting snapshot. A gift for his child, these four slices of life emit a depth and aural feast for the senses—ambient to their core, there are slight bits and bobbles, the unavoidable calm at our feet. Glimpsing through a lens, Chassagnard also brings a voice to these sincere drones (both literally and figuratively) as if to unearth an emotional response—which is certainly accomplished on this extended player for Hymen. Subtle, nuanced, and balanced start to end, each piece provides drifting glimpses of light balanced by relaxed textures. There aren’t too many beats on display except for “A Song for Children” when a mirage of light percussion bounces by to say hello. This EP balances itself as a dreamscape that welcomes entanglement, a place you do not want to escape, one that marries ambient and field recordings with a nostalgic hue. [Bandcamp]
Kit Curse :: Broken Dreams EP (Onset Audio)
Onset Audio always bring the goods—their focus on the hardened edges of drum’n bass are always on point, and with Kit Curse pulling Akinsa, dreadmaul, lums, and Species together for Broken Dreams, this is another blazing release. Turbulent, corrosive, and engaged, the title track says it all—heavy beats to bust through bass bins, eerily broken breaks and atmosphere cuts like a knife. Each track a bustling foray into charted (and uncharted) realms of broken beat terrain. These are erratic yet serene tracks that are fierce, distilled, and unrelenting to say the least. [Bandcamp]
Matthias Grübel :: Matters Of Stability EP (TruthTable)
From Berlin, Matthias Grübel is a composer soundtracking theatre productions—his solo project, this time with TruthTable, is a multifaceted array of clinical techno strains and experimental electronic bits featured on Matters Of Stability. Creating upbeat, and sometimes vocalized tracks, this EP comes across as expressive and often detailed with a myriad of microscopic elements that artists like Clark and Apparat have traversed. Instrumental and digital trips through the back corridors of textured techno, these tracks segue to and from each other, tethered by some kind of mechanical backbone Matters Of Stability ultimately breathes life into IDM’s exploratory range focused on synthesizer mechanics and tangible melodies drifting in the upper layers. If “Electric Goodbye” doesn’t give you goosebumps, please check your pulse. [Bandcamp]
Michael Valentine West :: We Are All Fragile EP (CAMP Editions)
Here we see the other side of MVW, the air filled with delicate piano keys and feathers floating by, emotive to the core, the aptly titled extended player reveals the artists’ continual ambient traverse. Drone filled and with a beauty all in itself, this EP—conceived during six days in Aulus-les-Bains, France—provides lightly peppered granular synthesis, and is intended to be consumed in one sequence. The result is a transitory experience, one that is both uplifting and contemplative. As we’ve become used to MVW’s work with Kaer’Uiks, Bedroom Research, Daddy Tank, Section 27, and many others in the glitch/IDM vein, it’s a pleasant surprise, and a welcomed retreat, to fully absorb We Are All Fragile‘s calming ambient flutter. [Bandcamp]
Nonima :: COMP:ILED (Self Released)
A dozen tracks finally released for the world to consume—Nonima (aka the multi-talented Tam Ferrans) unveils “non-album” tracks and “alternative versions” of tracks that appeared on compilations from 2013-2019. The result is a smorgasbord of crunchy and delectable electronics in the truest sense of the word. With a “thanks” to some of the leaders of the experimental scene, artists like Qebo, Stormfield, exm, Krasius, Dialed, and Dekode are mentioned as you’ll either find Nonima remixing them on COMP:ILED or collaborating with. As the breadth of abstract beats, bass, and distortion abound on this 11-track release, it goes without saying that Nonima is on top of his game—his unique ability to extract explosive electronics that untangle and evolve are surreal, and there’s a lot to digest on COMP:ILED. An assortment of intertwined IDM sound-scraping from a skilled sonic sculpture with an impressive back catalog you should investigate further. [Bandcamp]
Nuanae :: Alix En Axtral (Kaer’Uiks)
We are not sure how this disc got buried in a stack of “need to listen to” releases. Suffice it to say that almost 9-months have elapsed, and even though the dust did settle on this limited edition CD—a gorgeous compact disc housed in custom KRX packaging by C-333 (K-Pak)—I’m glad it (finally) received the laser treatment on my stereo system. With the influx of music we consume daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly, I did not want this one to slip by without a review as it is an utterly fantastic album. Harking back to IDM of yesteryear, Nuanae exponentially opens a myriad of beautifully orchestrated electronics in the shape of breaks, bass, post-industrial, and emotive melodic rhythms that are both contagious and captivating. Each track a bustling dosage of drenched rhythms, its precision glitch, twitches, and atmospheric notes float on another level. And without mentioning even one of the tracks, it’s perhaps best to just play this album on random. The echoes that evolve, break down, and decompose have just the right amount of energy that it wouldn’t do justice to isolate any one piece. It’s probably best to simply let it open on its own. Again, I’m baffled that this disc sat in a pile just waiting to be opened and appreciated, and I really hope that with only (4) copies available at the time of writing this review, that it’ll be sold out and its digital version will be all that’s left. Fans of the Richard Devine, Bola, Dissolved, and Brothomstates should seriously take notice today. If I could go back in time, Alix En Axtral would make our Best of 2019 list. [Bandcamp]
Vhsceral :: Me Time EP (Renraku)
Like a true sonic craftsman, Vhsceral obliterates glitch beats for breakfast. Taking familiar sounds from his arsenal of machinery, Me Time exhibits a strain of abstract electronics that is fully exfoliated start to finish. The explosive and decomposing drums on display are full of extraterrestrial landscapes (ie. “Plosive”). Delicate and bursting at the seams, Vhsceral exudes parallel frequency shifts that Valance Drakes does so well, but with a little more robustness and bass juggling. Broken techno spheres are expelled on “Rekkaturvat” where the artist delves into coherent beat patterns only for a few minutes until “Upstairs” takes a minimal techno-glitch focus. The title track is perhaps the highlight of this EP, its slow-motion bass sludge breaks apart with subtle vocal blasts and clip-hop prowess from another planet. [Bandcamp]
Witch Eyes :: Escape Era (Component)
With its nostalgic, downtempo synthesizer grooves, Escape Era by Witch Eyes explores hidden rhythms buried deep in its core. A launching point from Treatment (Component, 2018) described as “a plethora of fluid instrumental tracks that slowly unravel buried sonic mysteries,” Escape Era veers slightly off the path, but continues to engage. The synthwave range of motion and emotion is thread carefully throughout—each piece diving head-first into darker strains of acid vibration and heavily drenched drums as it continues to break down. From one side of the spectrum you’ll find hard-punching rhythmic manifesto’s, while on the other side, flourishing ambient segues are eerily sincere. Instrumentation plays a key role on Escape Era, especially the (lovely) closing track “Lost Love”—a mixture of gauzy shoegaze melodies allows for a well-rounded EP. An unexpected and pleasant retreat from Witch Eyes’ prior audio works, and certainly an accomplishment to say the least. [Bandcamp]
