Experimental Electronic Music
The songs flow right into each other and are only composed of what seems to be a few layers each, but there is a fond fuzziness to them, that glistens like the light reflected off the water. There is a slight melancholy tinge to the music, but it’s not overpowering.
Despite a multiplicity of aggregated elements and cascading effects, the general mood of Sculptures in Time remains cohesive and mysteriously flowing, with deeply transportive sequences working as an evocative mind trip.
Sprung from a blend of improvisation and composition based on minimalism and depth of (sound)field, his latest, Juxtaposed, is the fourth in a recently inaugurated series of audio works on DƎЯRDE—more experimental, electro-acoustic and cross-genre side-label of Dronarivm and Fonodroom.
In these two deeply moving releases, Yann Novak and David Vélez transform personal grief into acts of listening, remembrance, and meaning-making.
Marconi Union seems to have removed weight from everything, allowing only the emotional core of the materials to filter through: soft drones, slowly shifting harmonies, reverbs opening like irises, barely hinted pulses, melodic glimmers that surface and dissolve within the same breath.
A decade and a half hiatus since his last (Awash, 2012) brings new skin for the old ceremony with True Bypass on familiar ground yet with a sense of refresh.
Like Manual, Billow Observatory purveys work of delicacy and poise, and Resina is never less than engaging, frequently compelling.
Empusae and Maris Anguis have crafted a fantastic album that rewards repeated listening and offers a welcome step toward a more spiritual and cultural focus for their label Cryo Chamber.
Frisson is proof that Collingburn’s years in the club scene weren’t wasted. He knows how to build tension, how to pace a track, how to let moments breathe. But he also knows when to pull back, when to let the ambient drift take over. For an artist who’s spent nearly two decades navigating the underground dance world and another stretch exploring pure ambient, Frisson feels like the convergence of both.
Petites Constellations develops shifting and subtle soundscapes with a retro-ish feeling, emerging from analog keyboards and vintage electronic equipment. However, it also stands as a thoroughly modern album, filled with kinetic grooves and bold compositional ingredients.
Five tracks of somewhat dark atmospheric exposures, ranging from just over five minutes to almost eleven minutes in duration. Most of the action is perhaps within the realm of atmospheric drone arts but there are some shocking incidents that give an enlightening bump to the constant listener.
Cicadas does a beautiful job using an experimental musical lens to help focus our attention on an often overlooked yet fascinating creature who lives in a world completely different from ours, yet that is also exactly the same (a beautiful expression of German phenomenological biologist Jakob von Uexküll’s concept of the Umwelt or life-world that is specific to the sensory perceptions of each kind of animal).
