In rotation for the past several weeks/days, this multi-view reveals the latest sonic landscape from 15 talented musicians. Plenty of brittle, glitch, abstract, noisy, mechanical and bass-infused sounds with releases by Atiq & EnK, Cathode Ray Tube, EEDL, Gamma Intel, Istota, Oxynucid, PEAKS, Plaster, Proswell, Stellaria Nemorum, Swarm Intelligence, Theta, VF089, and Zero-K.
Atiq & EnK :: Paradigm EP (Mindtrick)
Yet another return to form, Atiq & Enk made waves in the IDM-industrial world with Fear of The Unknown (Mindtrick, 2013), and now Paradigm unfolds its parallel frequencies in exquisite form. Opening with the transcending “Within The Realm Of My Headlight,” Atiq & EnK show no signs of lost propulsion—alluring broken beats and phased melodies muddled in the mix allows for this piece to take a life of its own. “Moth Feat. Zinovia Arvanitidi” invites warm lyrics to fall carefully atop rhythmic and cerebral electronics. There’s also a dubbier slice revealed on the minimal tonal sunbursts of “Relativity” showcasing the duo’s unique ability to lighten the mood while maintaining a sense of dystopian foundations. The collaboration on “Redemption Feat. Tangent” is a real treat—a soundscape in and of itself, here we get to hear what might be mistaken for a Kattoo extract, the wind-angle percussion and emotional draw echoes like no other and is perhaps the highlight of the lot—an achievement of the highest order.
Cathode Ray Tube :: Dark Roads For The Young Magus (TruthTable)
Cathode Ray Tube is perhaps the most prolific and underrated musician of the past two decades, and we’ve covered quite a few of his releases—a complex assortment of braindance, modular noise, and experimental electronics with an industrial backbone. “Brittle Stars” does for these ears what I’ve come to expect—broken bass, beats, and synthesized tones and drones flickering in the background. The blips and bleeps of CRT’s machinery really come to life on “Death Group,” a foray through nostalgic melodies, tangled technoid bits, and elements of Orbital styled rhythms dancing about blissfully. The title track treads upon darker pathways, its subdued brittle electrical pulses and loose percussive treatment creates the soundtrack to a far away world. Not surprisingly, CRT has been on our radar for years and the expansion of his electronic structures maintain their vivid and futuristic tendencies. You’ll have to wait until mid-January 2020 for this release, and it’ll be well worth it.
EEDL :: Unstored (Lapsus)
Eight tracks of brisk, effervescent electronics from a master of the IDM genre—eedl returns with Unstored after 12 years since the sound saturation skills of Everse (spa.RK, 2007)—the duo of Miguel Ángel Martínez and Joan Duat haven’t lost their way. Tantalizing electronics and subtle glitch extracts (reference “Queic”), Unstored is an instant classic in terms of fractured electronic rhythms. A certain Berlin dub and bass is explored on “Aether Noise,” a blending of low end and deep end sound space and fuzzy breaks. “X Odd” dips into deconstructed acid/braindance structures, its sizzling blips, clicks, and tangled notes dither and dangle like a fine tuned machine. Unstored is doused in some kind of majestic IDM hue that takes us back to a simpler and nostalgic timeline where artists like Phonem, Arovane, and Proem opened our ears to a new world of abstract electronics with substance. Another welcomed return from a duo that keeps a stronghold on the genre.
Gamma Intel :: Automatic Illusion EP (brokntoys)
The third outing from Rotterdam-based producer Gamma Intel is chock full of raw machine music with a definitive pulse. Ultra-wide techno slabs are looped with modular breaks, bass, and acid draped over each of the tracks—”No Way Out” the highlight. Sheared electro busts forward on the highly contagious “Fata M,” a slow-motion 3:00 AM abandoned warehouse floor shaker that doesn’t let up. The title track is a classic electro-techno acid wash that elevates the dance floor with its darker edge. ‘Automatic Illusion’ is an extended player worth every minute for its low rumbling electronic groove.
Istota :: Odd Location EP (Mindtrick)
Yes, you read correctly, Mindtrick is back with a vengeance, sort of. Poznań, Poland’s Istota displays a darker energy, one of utter electronic decomposition, and the Odd Location EP reveals all the grit and grime of a sonic craftsman. Busted up and coherent, dub extracts smolder as broken beats and bass are exposed. “What’s Wrong” is a tangled track that defines the darker, fractured breaks noted above. “Infected” trickles down a cavernous void, its industrial slant and growling bass notes a cause for concern. In all, Istota delivers a harsh trajectory of sonic forces built from heavy percussion and a rugged outer shell. Scrumptious to say the least.
Oxynucid :: Truffles EP (Concrete Collage)
Seven tracks of uplifting experimental electronic music by Oxynucid, the Truffles extended player is brimful of techno spheres—brisk, to the point, and punchy. Oxynucid isn’t new to the scene and has crafted a playful assortment of tracks that aren’t tangled in a maze effects—instead, each track exhibits a whimsical downtempo hue (reference the title track). “pHoton” displays machine-like dubby acidic tones tucked between slow motion breakcore and flickering IDM—this track alone is worth the price of admission.
PEAKS :: Topographic (High Grade Media)
The artist formerly known as citizenGreen makes a return to his PEAKS moniker. Chris Amell, label operator, and PEAKS sound sculptor, has crafted a smorgasbord of downtempo ambient electronics and a fluid mixture of hovering rhythms and textures that are honed-in on Topographic, two years in the making. The opening piece, “A Dense Fog Rolled In” is an aptly-titled track that displays an effervescent flow of percussion and drifting BOC-esque melodies lost in time. “Big Sky” casts a lighter shadow, its signature bass and sizzling glitch is uplifting if not contagious as it bubbles and bounces around. An air of ambience and emotive Higher Intelligence Agency flow transpires on “Remember These Nights,” 5-minutes of serene electronic layers. What PEAKS does so well is buried somewhere between the notes and difficult to pin down. There’s a cascading warmth surrounding each piece, especially evidenced on the epic 10-minute closer (“Are You Awake or Just Dreaming ?”)—a highlight. PEAKS lays it all out in this sun-soaked blips and bleeps slice of life which comes to life in an organic form reminiscent of classics like Plastikman (ref. “Are friends Electrik?”) and Legion of Green Men (ref. “Extended Shadows.”) Topographic quite literally maps PEAKS’ ability to dive head-first into sublime electronics with an emotively organic stream of subconscious—a top release for 2019, and a highly anticipated return.
Plaster :: Recall EP (Kvitnu)
Back on duty are the hypnotic rhythms of Plaster and the Recall two track EP. A brief jaunt into muddy corridors, both tracks reveal a flare for industrial breaks and dark-ambient fluids (ref. “Harden”) and subterranean beats (ref. “Mongrel”). Minimal abstract structures begin to rip apart within each piece, somehow displaying both form and function in the midst of a seamingly crumpled outer shell. The overall composure of this release is baffling—even for just two tracks on display—that allows Plaster to propel harsh sounds into outer space with ease and utter control.
Proswell :: GAIN (Inpuj/Schematic Music Co.)
Yes, you read correctly, Proswell (aka Joseph Misra and Merck Records’ alumni) releases GAIN for Schematic and his Inpuj imprint—described as his most personal and major work. One can easily hear the depth and textured aural heartbeat each track exudes. Take “Dry Gain I” as the album opener—its tangled electrical complexity is unmatched and the evolving melodic brush strokes are a surreal treat. Elsewhere you’ll find IDM symphonies like “Dry Grain II” ebb and flow with mesmerizing beats and bass sizzling in the foreground. Then we have the “Wet Gain” versions where iteration “II” delivers darker trudging notes as an almost dark-ambient sheen persists and fades away. Proswell firmly maintains a sense of style and function, “Ffffuuuu” delves through pitter-patter beats drifting into ethereal regions as “Cccccccc” jumps full-speed into machined abstract noises and technoid fissures. Excavating extraterrestrial roots—tracks like “TMF XXII” merge glitch shadows and time-stretched broken beats as GAIN reveals a blistering glance through a storyboard of IDM, bass, beats, acid, glitch, techno, and braindance all drenched in an uncompromising electrical soup from a true craftsman of the old-school scene.
Stellaria Nemorum :: Night Rider (Detroit Underground)
To quote the release page, “Night Rider is raw with a dark eerie feel to it accompanied by heavy intricate edgy beats, deep bass sounds and melodic soundscapes.” We couldn’t agree more with this assessment as it perfectly captures the essence of Stellaria Nemorum’s album for Detroit Underground—an utterly robust collection of tracks that eclipses the sun with a strange yet binding energy (ref. “In Dreams We Meet”). Elsewhere you’ll find an entangled maze of instrumental electronic deflections as evidenced on the strangely hypnotic “Into The Electric Fields,” a clinical bass-beat rhythm that would be enough to fuel a large rocket. Taking on dark ambient substructures on “Renewal,” Stellaria Nemorum eradicates any preconceived notions of IDM—the broken downtempo flow on this track alone has an otherworldly charm and mechanical composition worth noting. Perhaps a distant cousin to Richard Devine’s arcane post-industrial electronics, “We’re Not Broken” and the title track are baffling if not explosive highlights that ultimately reveal the artist’s ability to create life-like modular structures that are very much alive and punctuated.
Swarm Intelligence :: Ultraware EP (VOITAX)
Swarm Intelligence unveils Ultraware, a no holds barred sonic manifest that busts through heavy breaks, bass, and beats in the form of corrosive electro and low-end DSP foundations. There’s a deft sense of control as erratic jungle extracts get sandblasted by frenetic rhythms at 100 mph (ref. “Cybernetic”). The high-octane electro featured on “Rise Of The Machines” stands on its own as an aggressive onslaught of head nodding, mind-numbing beats easily obliterate large bass bins. Swarm Intelligence have honed-in their signature rugged groove and are on track to take over tectonic sound space.
Theta :: Reclaimed Structures EP (Acroplane)
Belfast-based Acroplane returns with a new release by way of Tromso, Norway and the four track dark-ambient EP by Theta (with beats by Dreadcore). Here we are invited to a dystopian landscape, one of tumultuous electronics, and yet somehow controlled and forward moving. “Kink” defines the mood, its sonic tapestry drenched in turbulent waters while “Kraken” and “Paramedic” demonstrate Theta’s ability of restraint as it sounds miles and miles away. The myriad of detuned background sounds are left to smolder and somehow evolve into a surreal sonic displacement where broken beats recall early Witchman recordings of the mid/late 90s (have a listen to Explorimenting Beats—Deviant, 1997). Perhaps the most explosive of the lot, “Vermin” is a sandblasted behemoth of encrusted percussion and low-end tossed in a blender of fluctuating drones and mechanical debris. Reclaimed Structures is an onslaught of coherent noises that exposes its roughened textures and blackened beats and bass.
VF089 :: Drunk Bot EP (Evel)
A lively burst of electronic music and organic, instrumental bliss—VF089 is new to these ears, however, it’s worth noting that the “melancholic computer funk,” as described on the release page, is on point. The serene melodies and gritty clicks, glitch, and acidic blips of “Krglog.Mns130” take me back to IDM of yesteryear, the sweet electronic notes on this piece alone is worth the price of admission. Elsewhere you’ll find braindance transmissions and broken rhythmic chatter on “Drk.Bot.Rx2.” VF089 develops curious and baffling sound sculptures on this half-dozen collection. Aphex Twin inspired frequency bursts evolve on the frenetic pace of “FmelancolX.rm [170],” a mind-numbing venture through outer realms. Closing with a slower trajectory, “Pnst.Dxd95” dabbles with glitchy beats and downtempo bass—a welcomed ending to an otherwise high-energy EP of extraterrestrial robots coming to life.
Zero-K :: Volume 3: Exosphere (Self-Released)
The talented André Nascimento operates under the Zero-K alias and he closes out a trilogy of releases with Exosphere—a traverse across a distant sun and a soundtrack composed of hundreds of electrical bits and pieces sometimes hypnotic and sometimes dark. Nine tracks of otherworldly components, Zero-K defies gravitation, a myriad of sonic structures are allowed to decompose and seemingly reanimate. Soaring many miles above the atmosphere, Exosphere is an aptly-titled album that transcends time and space—its outer musical shell reveals an ambient aura, a vivid glimpse of electrons bouncing off classic The Orb-like environments. Surreal and mysterious, Zero-K glides through multiple layers of experimental electronics and unleashes a powerful musical manifest.
