In rotation for the past several weeks, this multi-view reveals the latest sonic landscape from nine talented musicians. Plenty of brittle, glitch, abstract, noisy, mechanical and bass-infused sounds with releases by 96 Back, Flux & Bovaflux, Deef, Driftmachine, In The Branches & Bluetech, Liminal Drifter, and Pacific.
96 Back :: Provisional Electronics EP (Central Processing Unit)
Bleeps, blips, and bass from all angles, here we see Evan Majumdar-Swift eradicate preconceived notions of clear-cut electro. Offering bubbling IDM fissures around heavy basslines, there’s a finesse exuded on each track. “100” shines like a mid-90s sonic artifact, its to-the-point execution is modular bliss as “000” yields a mysterious pulse and eventual electro blast to the senses. “050” is perhaps the darkest of the lot, its chugging low-pitched echoes and vocal elements are tangible and motivating as “085” delivers Detroit-inspired streams of consciousness, its signal flares tangled inside a rhythm chamber. Provisional Electronics is an excellent manifest of shear electro from start to end, bright and to the point.
Bovaflux / Flux :: aux4411 Split EP (mindcolormusic)
It is a treat to hear Bovaflux (aka Eddie Symons) back in rotation, this time he splits an extended player with Flux (aka Shane Teal) for an 8-track on mindcolormusic. Where Bovaflux continues to blend exp-electronics with robotic rhythms and phasers blasting from all edges, Flux—in contrast—elicits mid-90s IDM flare with plinks and brittle melodics scattered around a myriad of AFX-like beatwork. An interesting split that exhibits quintessential bits, beats, breaks, and bytes that seemingly appear to be mirrors of each other. Bovaflux ventures deep into the crevasses of yesteryear, where Flux playfully delivers futurist video-game soundtracks that are disjointed yet colorful with a drill’n bass dosage to boot. Fans of early-era IDM such as Quinoline Yellow, Abfahrt Hinwil, Novel 23, Penfold Plum, Aphex Twin et al will easily want to add aux4411 to their collection.
Deef :: Opus Magneto (Self-Released)
Deef seemingly appeared out of nowhere and these 34-tracks featured on November 2017’s Opus Magneto are a myriad of sonic activity gravitating towards exploratory realms, ambient strains, and instrumental sub-structures. “Quite 1337” is such a piece with its detuned horns weaving into and out of focus, field-recordings from the outside world, and static blurring of the senses are wrapped around the listener. Elsewhere you’ll find raw clips, clicks, and cuts (ie. “Tanzen in the Mist”) taking on a sort of Stefan Betke (aka Pole) dynamic of subtle static pieces spread across brisk tones and drones. Guitars flicker and pulse across “Auto-Reomantix” as the birds sing a pretty song via the flickering textures of “Symphony of Emoticons.” Opus Magneto resides in the outer edges of the unknown—its auditory deformation is the glue keeping it afloat. Such is the case on “DUB-Retorte,” its 75-seconds of low-end bricolage is magnetized by strangely emotive keys. As a result, Opus Magneto is a collage of uniquely crafted bits and pieces that form an unusual whole—its abstract extracts blend world influences, field-recordings, leftfield ambient, and distant vocal layering for a cohesive and confounding psychedelic album.
Driftmachine :: Shunter EP (Umor Rex)
The Berlin-based duo return for another run with Umor Rex, this time Shunter takes us to a distant galaxy. Combining disjointed industrial ambient sheets, Driftmachine forms each element into textural clips and cuts which segue into far-reaching terrain. Morton Subotnic-influenced sound-scrapes abound on “Shift IV,” a disjointed, exploratory field of sonic activity as “Shift II” ventures into dub ventricles and dislocated bits and bobbles—the echoes drifting far away into areas unknown. And this is perhaps what Driftmachine do so well, being able to transport the listener via experimental audible fractures and detuned assemblages of obscure sounds. The eerie effects of “Congé” are enough to rattle anyones mind, the sporadic bleeps melt from all corners. In all, Shunter is an elusive foray into isolated atmospheric textures that are dark, complex and utterly baffling.
In The Branches/Bluetech :: Behind The Sky (Behind The Sky Music)
In The Branches’ Shane Cotee and Bluetech’s Evan Bartholomew collaborate on this ultra-fine 7-track collection of spiritual, light bending ambient release titled Behind The Sky. As a result, the pairing offers sublime, blissful, and cascading drone scapes that radiate from all sides of the audio spectrum. The title track delivers utter beauty, its ebb and flow an emotional vessel. Elsewhere, time stands still as sound flows in all directions. Not a muted sound to be found, Behind The Sky is a continuous, evolving, and cycling atmospheric retreat that blends instrumental elements with modular sheets, and doesn’t let go. A brilliant sojourn that is more a soundtrack to all that ever was, all that ever is, and all that ever will be.
Liminal Drifter :: The Dreams (Hidden Shoal)
The third album for Simon Order (aka Liminal Drifter), it’s easy to hear that the artist has had an extensive background in sonic sculpting and The Dreams is such a behemoth which follows 2015’s Troubled Mystic. “Beach Fair” is its own hypnotic electronic masterpiece, crisp percussive echoes venturing through fields of blissful guitars, melodic bubbles and lively instrumentation taking center stage. Perhaps better suited for the lounge, The Dreams drifts into distilled dub elements as evidenced on the effervescent “Phone Home” (and its eventual four-on-the-floor techno stream) and “Man is Part of Nature” that doesn’t let up on fluid bass. The title track an over-arching low-end infused beauty reminding one of 90s-era electronica from artists like The Orb, 808 State, and System 7—but with a relaxed vibration. Elsewhere you’ll find this album veering into downtempo corridors (ie. “Stranger Things”) to the closing vocal stream of consciousness that is “Time Lapse.” The Dreams is a beautifully choreographed snapshot of the artists’ knack for the surreal, fluid mechanics of mid-90s electronic music shaped with current-era finesse.
Pacific :: Rain City EP (Onset Audio)
Two tracks spanning through 10-minutes, Pacific alters all states of reality into mind-bending, bass-throttling, acrobatic rhythms, and dense production. On the title track, emotive melodies meander through stretched low-end, its halftime synths and drums shredded to no end. “The Shrine” takes on a chilled tone, sound design at center stage, a slow motion percussive punch wraps around brisk bass waffle and one can easily find the soul of bass-music buried deep in its soundscape. A powerful 2-track extended player from an artist we will definitely be watching out for.
