Experimental Electronic Music
“Suumhow is what happens when two childhood friends who discovered electronic music together in their teens and then reunite 20 years later.” On the heels of their 5th album, appropriately titled 5ilth—available on n5MD October 25, 2024—Suumhow took some time out of their schedule to discuss the good old days of IDM, their backgrounds, processes, and beautifully choreographed sonic glitches.
Breath shines both as an ambient record and as a blend of both ambient and classical, not solely because of the instrumentation utilized, but also because of these really big powerful climaxes that make up for the record’s most engaging moments.
But it’s not all splatter. Soaring synths pierce the darkness with moments of light reminding me to look for that light, follow it down the tracks even as metallic crashes continue to cascade into crumbling piles of rust.
I am carried about on the circularly flowing strings within dim and transparent emerging elements and an odd mixture of electronic textures, granular and glitchy, and decorated with humorous abrupt collages.
The music of The Synthetic Form belies a humanity in its inception that gives it a timeless, powerful sound.
Katà Métron skillfully develops and reinforces the suggested objective of “living in harmony with oneself and nature,” a powerfully serene soundtrack we should all take notice of, and a surrounding sonic highlight for 2024.
After covering several hundred releases in 2023, 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.
Overall, a serene and captivating EP from a granular glitch’n IDM genre bender and highly recommended for fans of exm, Autechre, and Arovane.
