Experimental Electronic Music
Twenty years in the making, Lapsus celebrate with this really neat compilation of slick IDM. Not always do various artists compilations have much reason behind them, but they’re always more appreciated than “best hits” or “singles” compilations; VINT, in particular, happens to also have thought behind it, as it’s not just a series of random tracks put together.
And so we come to When Can, the strangely enigmatic and oft-overlooked collaboration between Kettel and the equally elusive Secede. I’ll admit to being as surprised as I was delighted when Lapsus announced its reissue as a deluxe vinyl edition because it’s an album I adore, so much so this is now the third time I’ve written about it.
This LP is as good as current “greatly inspired by classics” IDM gets, because Seph rebrands the dusty futuristic aesthetics of acts like The Black Dog or B12 to turn them into incredibly polished and smooth soundscapes, creating tunes that now sound like they come from 3024 just like the classics did when they came out thirty years ago.
Where there is no doubt is that Reflections was decades ahead of its time. This re-issue breathes new life into the tracks, reviving them to bring them back to their full glory, a glory that, thirty years later, continues to be absorbing, engaging and pioneering.
Baffling beatwork and blissed-out electrical mayhem make for an odd (yet essential) auditory couplet.
Carlos Martín aka Mynationshit is an artist of serious caliber. Based in Almería, this synth sorcerer has his own unique sound that combines a cold wave cleanness with more emotive elements.
Paradinas taps into some early memories for the basis of this new collection of tracks, and it somehow plays out like the score to a narrative born from these memories.
After covering several hundred releases in 2022, many notables—including links to their respective Igloo reviews or release pages—are cataloged here. As usual, there are no winners or runners-up as the lists are alphabetized by artist and selected tracks are featured on our Soundcloud playlist.
