Beats News

Marta De Pascalis (b. 1987) is a musician from Rome, currently based in Berlin who works primarily with synthesizers and tape loops. "Anzar" and "Emerso" are two works composed using improvisation on a tape-loop system, in which patterns of repetition create a sense of a dense, dynamic and cathartic distance. Anzar's cover art is from a series of black ink paintings made by Marta's father in the 1970s.

"I see these pieces as tied in a cyclical motion with their sounds moving in different directions. In "Anzar", sounds are constantly "falling" from the source, landing gently and staying on the tape's surface until they fade out to be replaced by other sounds, finally reaching an austere resolution. In "Emerso", there's a different scenario: a persistent theme in the background with sounds that slowly emerge, interact and then dissolve, ending with an abrupt change of tone. Where is the centre of this cycle Where is the centre of this tape The centre is moving constantly, the centre is missing. Switch sides. Repeat." - Marta De Pascalis, Berlin, 19th August 2016.

Players:
Oren Ambarchi, Crys Cole, Mark Fell, Will Guthrie, Arto Lindsay, Jim O'Rourke, Konrad Sprenger, Joe Talia, Ricardo Villalobos, Keith Fullerton Whitman

Mastered & cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016

Photography by Estelle Hanania

Sculptures by Daniel Druet

Design by Stephen O'Malley

Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Ambarchi's Sagittarian Domain (2012) and Quixotism (2014). Where those records looked to Krautrock and techno for their starting points, the sidelong opening track here begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchi's love of Wang Chung's soundtrack to William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim O'Rourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fell's electronic percussion in its final section.

After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP. As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchi's own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions.

Francis Plagne

Players:
Oren Ambarchi, Crys Cole, Mark Fell, Will Guthrie, Arto Lindsay, Jim O'Rourke, Konrad Sprenger, Joe Talia, Ricardo Villalobos, Keith Fullerton Whitman

Mastered & cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin, April 2016

Photography by Estelle Hanania

Sculptures by Daniel Druet

Design by Stephen O'Malley

Hubris continues the exploration of relentless, driving rhythms heard on Ambarchi's Sagittarian Domain (2012) and Quixotism (2014). Where those records looked to Krautrock and techno for their starting points, the sidelong opening track here begins from the perhaps unlikely inspirations of disco and new wave, drawing particularly from Ambarchi's love of Wang Chung's soundtrack to William Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. Leaving behind the song-forms of these reference points, Ambarchi weaves a sustained and pulsating web of layered palm-muted guitars from which individual voices rise up and recede, eventually setting the stage for some lush guitar synth from Jim O'Rourke. Arnold Dreyblatt collaborator Konrad Sprenger contributes overtone-rich motorized guitar, pushing the piece into a satisfying intersection of shimmering minimalism and rhythmic drive that smoothly builds up until the entrance of Mark Fell's electronic percussion in its final section.

After a short second part, in which Ambarchi, O'Rourke and Crys Cole pay tribute to the skewed harmonic sense of Albert Marcoeur with a track built from layered bass guitar figures and abstracted speech, the long final piece pushes the concept of the first side into darker and denser areas. Joined by electronic rhythms from Ricardo Villalobos and the twin drums of Joe Talia and Will Guthrie, the layered guitars of the first piece are transformed into a raw and tumbling fusion-funk groove that calls to mind early Weather Report or even the first Golden Palominos LP. As this stellar rhythm section rides a single repeated chord change into oblivion, a series of spectacular events emerge in the foreground: first, aleatoric synthesizer burbles from Keith Fullerton Whitman, then slashing skronk guitar from Arto Lindsay, until finally Ambarchi's own fuzzed-out guitar harmonics take center stage as the piece builds to an ecstatic frenzy. Few artists could hope to include such an incredible variety of collaborators on one record and still hope for it to have a unique identity, but Ambarchi manages to do just that, crafting three pieces that emerge directly out of his previous work while also pushing ahead into new dimensions.

Francis Plagne

It's an honor for us to announce that our next album is by two of our favourite artists: Pye Corner Audio and Dalhous. After their participation in Lapsus Festival, both artists agreed to our request to make a split album and the result is "Run For The Shadows", an EP composed of four magnificent tracks, which includes some of the most impressive work from their respective discographies. The kinematics and bubbling sonic frequencies of "Stream Four" and the emotional techno low pulse of "The Simplest Equation" will be well appreciated by fans of Mr. Martin Jenkins aka Pye Corner Audio aka "the favorite artist of your favorite artist". Two extraordinary pieces of analogue electronic music whose slow-(e)motion dynamics adhere to the already mythical Black Mill Tapes. As for Dalhous, they have created two of their best songs to date. The beautiful and incredibly melancholic melodies of "The Essential Wander" are surrounded by an extraordinary rhythm section full of surprising twists. Secondly, the brief but amazingly intense (and painfully beautiful) "Another Witnessed By Resolution" closes one of the best chapters in the history of Dalhous, the magical musical project from Scotland which continues to open new ways in its increasingly personal world, far removed from popular trends. "Run For The Shadows" is, without doubt, the most outstanding album that Lapsus Records has released so far. An exceptional work by two unique artists. An stunning sensory journey.

Deko Deko are Lena Seik and Tristan Schulze, based in Leipzig, Germany. The duo creates their music by computer, synthesizer and vocals. Conventional song structures are fractured and deconstructed to be reconstructed and defragmented in the end. That might sound experimental but Deko Deko write hymns with orchestral parts and mad choirs, but always electronical too.
NEUSTADT is the first album of the band, to be released on O*RS in September 2016

The New Moon EP is the debut vinyl release from Next Phase Records. It follows in the same tradition as their previous CD and cassette compilations delivering diver- se break beat driven music supplied in bespoke hand crafted artwork.

New Moon consists of four alternate takes on the drum and bass artform unrestricted by BPM.

Perpetual Motion alternates between intricate drum- funk and distorted amens. Seamlessly switching from ambient fx to jungle sirens and classic drum stabs the end result is an unpredictable melting pot of contras- ting drum and bass styles.

Poor Man is a gloriously deep blend of traditional dub reggae and modern bass music. Double O disregards the traditional DnB BPM creating something that is unmistakably jungle whilst managing to sound nothing like it. Modern London fusion.

Shifted Feelings is a contemporary take on early nine- ties intelligent' drum and bass. Sophisticated drum edits, soul searching female vocals and a sublime Foul Play style transition combine to create the perfect track to overcome the stresses of daily life.

94 reflects on a time when Reinforced and Metalheadz were busy forging the cornerstones of jungle. The ul- tra-crisp breakbeats, sinister atmospherics and pitched down vocals reminiscent of that era are all present here constructing the perfect tribute to the forefathers of breakbeat music.

Als Die Antwoord vor rund zwei Jahren an den Arbeiten zum neuen Album begannen, war die Grundstimmung des Materials noch sehr roh, düster und tough. Die Band wollte das Album "Rats Rule" nennen, denn im Leben gäbe es nur Gewinner und Underdogs. Und für Die Antwoord fühle es sich so an, als seien sie noch ein Level unterhalb der Underdogs zu Hause "in this fucked up pop world". Aber die Südafrikaner seien sich sicher, dass ihre Zeit noch kommen werde. "And soon we gonna take over this whole bitch", so Ninja und Yo-Landi.

Daraufhin schrieben Die Antwoord weitere Songs. Der Kern des Albums blieb düster und "ratty", aber die Band konnte eine neue Ebene hinzufügen. Eine Ebene, die eher wahnwitzig, sexy und sehr spaßig wirkte. Also wollten Die Antwoord das neue Werk in "We Have Candy" umbenennen. Dann, beim letzten Feinschliff, kam eine weitere Ebene hinzu: "A giant supernatural mega aura". Und plötzlich kam ihnen ihr neues Werk so episch vor. Manchmal verletzlich, manchmal süß und romantisch, mutig und voller Rätsel. Schließlich sagte Yo-Landi: "Why don't we call the album 'Mount Ninji And Da Nice Time Kid". Der Legende nach antwortete Ninja lediglich mit einem, "you a fuckin' genius! I love you!".

The first solo album from Rod Modell (Deepchord) in nearly 10 years, following up 2007's "Incense & Blacklight" comes in lush form with, "Mediterranea". Clocking in at 72 minutes, this cerebral epic reveals a sense of timelessness and stillness, an exquisite portrayal of reflection that is sonically enriching and emotionally engaging. Opening with field recordings conducted while abroad in the islands of Spain, sculpts a sublime sense of nuance that creeps into fore as time passes, gradually enveloping and evolving into what sounds as an orchestra playing from the fathomless ends of the ocean. The quiet jazz induced snare percussion honors the melody hidden deep beneath the surface. Congas and tribal rhythms accentuate its colorful and vibrant dream-like melodies that slowly expose themselves into the mix. Haunting, alluding to the symphonic, its emotional depth shift gradually, revealing the underlying, subconscious tonal colors. The magic and lushness of the strings, the beautiful resonance of the violin and the love felt in each key stroke tugs right at the heart strings. To us here at Echospace, this may be the most Beautiful and inviting piece we've ever heard from Rod, absolutely stunning!

The album is advertised in The Wire January 2015.
* Traxman, the originating Footwork DJ and Producer, is now constantly touring Europe, Asia, and the States. Member of Teklife and mastermind of Tekk Djz, he is most famous for his classic Da Mind Of Traxman series on Planet Mu. Also lately he has released some Ghetto-House tracks, too. There is a feature on UK's Albion Records and just another 6 track EP has been released on Berlin's Dizzy Tunes.
* With Slash Time — The Album Traxman returns in full footwork battle glory, an extension or yet better an upgrade to the already highly acclaimed EP of the same name released in 2014 on Duck N' Cover. This is not - Da Mind Of Traxman Vol. 3', this is also not a follow up to - Tekliving', his great album on Lit City, this is Traxman's most personal and intimate album. Each of his releases so far has made people turn their heads, surprised and stunned at the same time, quality, soul, musicianship, and inspiration, this one is no different. Taking on a rough edge, this is an accurate time document of what it means to grow up, live, and DJ in the projects of Chicago. Beats and cuts sharp as a knife, snares and synths like gunfire. Five tracks feature his fellow Tekk Djz member and good friend, DJ Fred.















* featuring DJ Fred

!! Please note the LP version is 8 tracks and includes *** plus
The Confidence Man (The Emperor Machine Dub)
Ghosts Again (Scott Fraser Ghosts In The Piano Mix) !!


If 'Convenanza', released in February, was a distillation of all Andrew Weatherall's influences in one place then 'Consolamentum' takes that instinct a step further. Here he invites friends old and new to rework the tracks from Convenanza in their own style.

On board are redoubtable musical architects such as David Holmes (under his new 'Unloved' guise), Justin Robertson (wearing his 'Deadstock 33s' hat) and the legendary Bernard Fevre of Black Devil Disco Club notoriety.
Leading the charge by the new guard are Heretic, Red Axes, Solar Bears and Vox Low whose tracks have twisted into existence a quiet storm on ALFOS nights.

Wingbeats is the eagerly awaited new release from Hidden Orchestra on Tru Thoughts. On the 7-track EP, which illuminates the fascinating intricacy of Joe Acheson's work, the immersive lead track is accompanied by several of the original source compositions which fed into its creation. Rich in detail and character, field recordings intertwine with drums, percussion and eclectic instruments including piano, electro-harp, glockenspiel, Turkish mey and cello. I have found that what draws me to a piece can often be one small detail - a single characteristic or maybe a fleeting moment of beautiful sound or compelling rhythm', says Acheson. So, for a Hidden Orchestra composition I often create lots of individual source pieces and pick out bits to reinterpret as samples'. Although they were written to be source material for sampling, the source pieces included on the Wingbeats' EP stand on their own as individual compositions, with striking elements which can easily get lost in the full texture of the main track.Each source track tells a story: of birds fluttering in to feed on toast and cheese crumbs in a rural British garden, or flocking in a hedge in the snow in the French Alps, of an imaginary string orchestra, of an early-hours improvised piano jam, of a spot of instrument shopping while on tour in Istanbul, or an early-morning dawn chorus in a sleepy village, rounded off with church bells.His recordings, and the hundreds of live gigs that Hidden Orchestra have played across great swathes of the world, have earned praise from the likes of The Independent to XLR8R to BBC 6Music, this adds to Acheson's parallel career as an award-winning producer of radio programmes and soundtracks.

Hydrous, Mellifluous, Sub/Conscious

IOKOI's debut album «Liquefy» unfolds into the waving territories of #HYPERCYBEREALISM, where physical and virtual spaces interweave. The dancing «self» modulates trough reflections, creating floating and drifting instances of identity. IOKOI is a blur. She plays with the barriers of reality and unconsciousness, creating a surreal performance in which she negotiates her identity, and enters a dialogue with the audience. She confronts the usual with capricious textures, oblique sounds and a subliminal voice.

Written by IOKOI Co-produced and mixed by Bit-Tuner Final Mix & pre-master by Vaghe Stelle Mastered by Adi Flu¨ck @ Centraldubs Cover art by Mathieu Missiaen / Le Creative Sweatshop Graphic Design by Mathias Forbach / Fichtre

A collaboration between Aphex Twin (Richard D. James) and µ-Ziq (Mike Paradinas), Mike & Rich - 'Expert Knob Twiddlers' was made back in 1994. Richard edited the tracks into shape later in 1996 with his new Apple Mac computer and it was released later that year on Rephlex, the label he co-owned and which released the first two albums by µ-Ziq. This new reissued version has been carefully cleaned up, re-edited and remastered from the original DAT tapes, put into a more fitting order and, more excitingly, seven new bonus tracks and alternative versions have also been added. The album was recorded over a few days during the 1994 World Cup, back when Richard lived in a big shared flat in Stoke Newington. Richard had tried to collaborate with a few other likeminded artists but something clicked when Mike and Rich worked together and the sessions have a unique feel, playful and at times actually drunk. These are fun experiments in the spirit of lighthearted moog pop and ripe 70s British TV themes, standing out from the po-faced electronica of the time with a garish glee. The record was made on what is now seen as pretty primitive gear - an Atari, Roland MKS-80, Memorymoog, Roland R8 and a handful of samples on a Casio FZ-10M - but it's to their credit that it resonates well with the hardware workouts coming out today. There's a broadminded but sloppy funk to the record, even whistling, singing and harpsichord in 'Reg' and wonky beat pile-ons in 'Jelly Fish'. There's latin piano and wheezy drunken techno in 'Vodka', or the sleepy spaced out ambience of 'Bu Bu Bu Ba' with its barely contained laughter which seems to reflect the absurdity. The new versions and bonus tracks are an absolute delight - from a trancier version of 'Vodka' to the wonky bounce of 'Portamento Gosh', The 3/4 dub of 'Waltz,' the banging door bass of' Brivert and Muonds', the creepy seasick atmosphere of 'Clissold Bathroom' and finishing with the strangely graceful and serious 'Organ Plodder'. A generous and welcome return to the racks.

Regular studio sparring partners October and Borai rekindle their ongoing partnership for hometown label Happy Skull, eschewing the conventions of club-ready house and techno in favour of two decidedly dark Industrial interpretations.2015 was a particularly big year for both producers. Borai hit the big time thanks to the two-fingered salute of revivalist rave anthem "Anybody From London" on Hotline Recordings, while October rightly received universal acclaim for his debut album on Skudge, Black Body Radiation.A-side "Necessary Force" echoes the jackin' throb of classic EBM, fusing titanium tuff percussion, aggressive analogue bass and a mind bending breakdown to create a hefty slab of hard wired funk. In comparison, flipside "Nine Tomorrows" is a more atmospheric excursion. Instinctively paranoid, it peppers a throbbing machine groove with cascading melodies and horror-influenced electronics to mesmerising effect.

"Stop Suffering is the new EP from Tropic of Cancer. It's the first music to emerge from Camella Lobo's project since the 2013 debut album, Restless Idylls, and features three new songs - 'Stop Suffering', 'I Woke Up And The Storm Was Over' and 'When The Dog Bites' - written and recorded by Lobo in LA, with additional production and mixing from Joshua Eustis (Sons of Magdalene, Telefon Tel Aviv). Lobo's deeply romantic, fatalistic music has always luxuriated in sadness, and that isn't about to change; but unlike TOC music of old, these new songs feel less about surrender: even if the title track does seem to address the S-M dynamic at the heart of any high-stakes relationship. This is not a record about loss, but about what comes after. Gone, or at least receding, is that decadent, fin-de-siècle preoccupation with decay, with the end. Stop Suffering is a new beginning. The towering, time-stopping title track is the culmination of Tropic of Cancer's work to date, at once intimate and immense. Eustis's bravura mixing wrings spine-melting effect out of each component, and the dubwise harnessing of space and bass pressure first showcased on Restless Idylls is now a defining feature of the band. The hypnotic, monochord intensity that characterised TOC's previous records gives way here to a more concrete song-narrative - which serves only to heighten the sensation of drowned-world psychedelia. Her divine alto still swims in reverb, but the words are clearer, there's a resolve to communicate through the aqueous haze. 'I Woke Up And The Storm Was Over', which appears here in a different mix to that which opens the US-only BEB comp I Can't Give You The Life You Want, is no less mesmerising, further highlighting Lobo's ever more sophisticated, painterly use of synth textures, and her plangent, otherworldly guitar work. The EP concludes with the elegiac, frozen-space ambience of 'When The Dog Bites'; Lobo's vocal is a radiant blur, consoling across a void of lonesome string-pads, vaporous noise and distant, tranquilized bass-drum detonations. 'I've searched all the world,' Lobo sings on 'I Woke Up...', 'And it turns out I want all the world.' With Tropic of Cancer it always comes back to longing: for the impossible, the irretrievable, the unrequitable.

Second release from French electronics label EIS HAUS ups the tempos, featuring tracks by YTAC (aka Rough Fields), VOYOU and Youryourholiholinessness. Ultra-percussive strobe tracks, broody house/noise and primetime acid anthems.

'Which way to leave' is the latest record by Stockholm based musician John Chantler. The self-reflexive sequencing that tracks the sub-harmonic series in the opening blast of 'Falling Forward' positions the record as Chantler's most explicitly melodic. These melodies however do not exist in a mono-dimensional vacuum, rather they co-exist in a meshed framework of dynamic timbral layers.
The record's abrupt cuts, deft variations of density and unexpected diversions are happily explored with headlong dives into ravishing texture and extended stretches of surface stasis. The music draws on a domestic reimagining of the traditions of studio based electronic music/musique concrete and 20th century minimalism and delivers this with brash revitalized energy. Born out of his relocation to Stockholm, following an extended period in London, 'Which way to leave' bares the marks of senses attuned to new environments and spaces.
Recorded for the most part at Chantler's home studio, additional material was recorded at elektronmusikstudion EMS. It also features guest appearances by Carina Thorén (For Barry Ray) and cellist Okkyung Lee.
About John Chantler:
John Chantler is a musician and organiser living in Stockholm, Sweden. 'Still Light, Outside' his fourth LP released in 2015 was an extended suite that combines passages of stark minimalism centred at the bodily invasive extremes of the pipe organ's register with striking explosions of colour, massed chords shot through with heavy distortion and electronics that operate according to their own dream logic. It was described as 'strikingly beautiful' by The Guardian.
Chantler's three previous LPs were all released on ROOM40. Even Clean Hands Damage the Work
(2014) included the first output from his time at EMS. It followed The Luminous Ground - released in 2011 and included in The WIRE magazine's top releases of that year. The Luminous Ground was his first LP release focusing on the modular synthesizer system he first explored as part of the trio LP with Lawrence English and Tujiko Noriko - 2009's U.

Super limited 10' (400 only worldwide) of selected tracks taken from the recent Moby compilation Music From Porcelain', released in conjunction with Moby's new book Porcelain'.

The limited vinyl features 4 of Moby's biggest tracks from the Rave anthems Go' and Feeling So real' through to the Chilled beats of Porcelain' and Natural Blues' from his multi million selling album Play'.

By the time Bonobo plays London's legendary Alexandra Palace on 28th November 2014, the epic career-defining tour around his latest album The North Borders, the band will have travelled 180,000 miles, taken in 175 shows in 30 countries across 3 continents over 18 months in front of 2 million people. It's an exhaustive, beautifully captured record of the show. The audio and video were recorded and filmed at The Roundhouse in London and in the incredible Pula Arena, a genuine Roman Amphitheatre.

Interpretations of Arvo Pa¨rt, Aphex Twin, John Cage, Erik Satie and Philip Glass by Mexican ambient figurehead Murcof and multi award- winning French classical pianist Vanessa Wagner.
Recommended for fans of Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins, Max Richter and Boards Of Canada.InFine´ present a new masterpiece on the eve of their 10th anniversary. The album's title, 'Statea' is an old Italian reference to 'scales', a nod to the perfect balance between two units of measurement. Both musicians found the spaced-out compositions of Arvo Pa¨rt, Ligeti, John Cage, Erik Satie or Philip Glass a musical playground where they could express their own qualities, the selection permeated by a wide-ranging conception of minimalism, including illustrious and more obscure contemporary classical pieces barely disrupted by a short and decisive inclusion of an iconoclastic figure of electronic music, Aphex Twin. Alternately echoing and mirroring Wagner's piano in real time, Murcof's loops and textures reveal and multiply perspectives on genre, shifting from ambient to electro, giving a newfound depth of field and resonance.
Almost six years of crafting has enabled both artists to capture the essence of their captivating performances and share their evolving concert with audiences before formulating an original studio album. 'Statea' offers an equally ambitious and fascinating definition of the modern classical genre.
Whereas many crossover classical projects are all about capturing instrumental prowess, Murcof and Wagner delve deeper into the rich sonic texture of their co-production, artfully combining masterful technique with creative boundary pushing.
Double LP includes digital download code.

AS is a group of Xperienz Designers based in Berlin. TIPPED...

Zwischen Noise, Ambient und Minimal: Elektronische Musik, die in keine Schublade passt. Für die Werke des Kanadiers Tim Hecker, der als einer der wichtigsten Musiker in der E-Musik-Szene gilt, eine Schublade zu finden, gleicht einer Herausforderung. Er selbst nennt seine Ergebnisse "fake church music" oder "neo metal drone". Tatsächlich verbinden seine Sounds an der Schnittstelle von Melodie, Dissonanz und Lärm so ziemlich alles, was - vielleicht - nicht zusammengehört, aber dennoch gut klingt. Mal sind das Kirchenorgeln, mal Samples von Streichern, Pianos oder elektroakustischen Komponenten, die in eine rauschend-ozeanische Klangwelt ausufern: tiefgründig, majestätisch und eine Brücke zwischen Noise, Ambient und Minimal schlagend. "Love Streams" entstand Ende 2015, nachdem sich Hecker für längere Zeit nach Los Angeles bzw. zusammen mit Johan Johanssen und Ben Frost ins isländische Greenhouse Studio zurückgezogen hatte. Das Album ist das vielleicht ambitionierteste Werk in der mittlerweile fünfzehnjährigen Schaffenszeit Heckers sowie ein konsequente Weiterentwicklung seiner Schlüsselwerke "Radio Amor", "Harmony In Ultraviolet" und "Virgins", die in den Jahren ihrer Veröffentlichung sowohl von Kritikern wie auch Fans jeweils in allerlei Bestenlisten gewählt wurden.

"Sintetizzatrice" is the first recorded document of the newly founded collaboration between Spectrum Spools veteran Donato Dozzy and female vocalist Anna Caragnano.

Though his solo work, and in his collaboration with Giuseppe Tilleci as Voices from the Lake, Dozzy has achieved some of the most remarkable vistas contemporary electronic music has seen in the last decade. By removing himself from his areas of mastery to shift his focus on the voice, he has achieved a new peak. "Sintetizzatrice" is the first work on Spectrum Spools featuring Anna Caragnano, a vocalist based in Rome.

Over two stunning sides of vinyl, Dozzy works exclusively with the voice of Caragnano, with no other instruments. Heavy layering and effects processes are used to display an astoundingly versatile voice-centric vocabulary. Rarely can a record morph through different styles from R&B to Kosmische, through traditional Italian folk music to Fluxus styles and traditional Chamber Choir with no additional instrumentation. Just a singular, beautiful, voice. The results are simply phenomenal.

With the opening, "Introduzione", an immeasurable cosmic weight arrives and remains through the duration of the album. "Star Cloud" ascends the album with melancholy extended drones that evaporate concepts like "time" and "being", rendering basic human perceptions void all the way through the sides closing "Parallelo". The flipside opener "Parola", dances around the stereo field with dazing rhythms and melodies, while "Festa (A Mottola) is an homage to the traditional music found in the rural region where concidentally, both Dozzy's mother and Caragnano were born and raised. The albums closing pieces "Love Without Sound" and "Conclusione" hit hard in a way where words do no justice. By fearlessly entering uncharted territories, both Dozzy and Caragnano have respectively made a collaboration which is truly experimental.

"Sintetizzatrice" is a grand debut for Anna Caragnano, and a fantastic twist for those following the work of Donato Dozzy.

Based on the original score for the film "I Am Here" (2014), written and directed by Anders Morgenthaler, starring Kim Basinger, Jordan Prentice and Sebastian Schipper Written and Produced by Jóhann Jóhannsson and BJ Nilsen This is the first collaboration between Jóhann Jóhannsson and BJ Nilsen...; very much a mix between their two worlds, you can hear both their signatures, and with the help of additional musicians, including Hildur Guðnadóttir on cello and the remarkable voices of Elfa Margret Ingvadóttir and Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson, they together create a world of great beauty and mystery. Recording information: Cello: Hildur Guðnadóttir Violin and viola: Daniella Strasfogel Vocals: Elfa Margret Ingvadóttir and Guðmundur Vignir Karlsson Piano, guitar and electronics: Jóhann Jóhannsson Electronics: BJNilsen Recorded and mixed by Jóhann Jóhannsson and BJNilsen in Berlin, December 2013 - January 2014 Mastered and cut by Jason at Transition 20th August 2014

REPRESSED !!

The Contort Yourself tradition of electronics pioneers, modern masters and new names continues into CY003. Enrique comes under that latter banner. The Hot Releases alumnus introduces the EP with the piston pounded belligerence of Dissociate. L.I.E.S. and Nation veteran Beau Wanzer continues this stroll into aggression. Weasels is an upturned work of techno. Nuts, bolts and the grisly inner workings are on show for this fast paced floor mangler. Spain's industrial stalwarts Esplendor Geometrico open the flip. From 1988 the grit of the factory floor is carried into Rotor. A touch of the mystical is injected, chants looped through the hypnotic rhythms in this simmering classic. Broken English Club is on hand to rework Rotor into a guttering piece of Electro tainted machine music. If you're hoping for some respite, think again. Prostitutes (Diagonal) closes with the cruel pummelling percussion of Cuyahoga Frankenstein. A brutal, beefy and brilliant 12.

A slightly fresher direction with this EP - No, We're Not A Couple is a funked up rolling thing with jungle subs, dubby hats and percussion, shifting textures and film score strings.
Cortisol is a stressful warehouse jam in 7/8, filtered every which way then taken to church. Pacy but doesn't really sound it.
White Mice is an afterhours, dubbed-out, drum machine samba workout for smoky basements. Slow but doesn't really sound it. Hope you enjoy em! Respect, Mosca
Early support from Ben UFO, Kowton, Pearson Sound

Black Truffle is pleased to present Speak To Me, the sixth full-length release from 3/4HadBeenEliminated, the Italian trio of Stefano Pilia, Claudio Rocchetti and Valerio Tricoli. Based on source material recorded in Bologna and Berlin over the course of several years, the album is made up of two side-long pieces meticulously constructed in post-production by Tricoli in his singularly dense and unpredictable style. Although their live performances have always been entirely improvised, in their recorded work the group focuses on using improvised recordings as source material for compositions built up through layering, editing and analogue manipulation, extending the practices of Teo Macero, Faust and This Heat. Melancholic instrumental ruminations sit alongside cracked electronics, concrete sounds and Tricoli's whispered vocals, drawn together into dense assemblages animated by gradual transformations and sudden jump cuts.
Beginning from the abstractions of their self-titled debut release in 2004, the group embarked on a trajectory that saw them move toward near-song structures, Tricoli's voice becoming a dominant element amid an increasingly dense and layered production style. On Speak To Me, however, the listener feels confronted by the ghost of music, sonic memories echoing across a psychedelic expanse. Evacuated of any clear structure, the music becomes a reverb-saturated morass, from which crystalline details momentarily emerge: shimmering echoed guitar, bowed double bass, tactile hand percussion, skittering electronics. Suffused with a darkly pensive atmosphere, Speak To Me is an elegant summation of the distinctive blend of electroacoustic techniques, instrumental improvisation and contemporary psychedelia pioneered by 3/4HadBeenEliminated over the last decade.

Mark Nieto has tangled with the Los Angeles underground for the better part of the last decade, appearing regularly on local radio, playing parties and fine-tuning an aesthetic that fits comfortable at the intersection of instrumental guitar music and experimental electronic structures. It's as COMBAT! that Nieto's various projects and influences meet though and this Fall the native Angeleno will release his debut self-titled album on Friends of Friends. 'COMBAT!' is comprised of 13 songs that fall at various points along the intersection of experimental guitar music and an array of electronic sounds, ranging from house on one end of the spectrum and ambient on the other. With the thought of crafting optimal music for emotional drives around Los Angeles, COMBAT! recorded the 'COMBAT!' LP while traveling around the globe, garnering wisdom from an array of locales while always keeping his indomitable Southern California heritage in peripheral focus.

With past relationships, growing pains and an unavoidable sense of place (and displacement) forming the emotional crux of the album, tracks like Days of Dust' and Heavy Accent' are deeply evocative efforts, full of harmonically complex guitar bits, organic rhythms and a deeply understood sense of atmosphere. The album is entirely instrumental, but with energetic highs like Jacaranda' and Open And Close The Globe', you'd be hard-pressed to not be completely enveloped in COMBAT!'s world as his self-titled debut hits peaks and valleys rarely found on a debut release. And while this is COMBAT!'s official debut, real Los Angeles heads will know him from past projects and a long-running KXLU show, all components of his greater musical history.

- Heavy Accent' premiered via Noisey, Jacaranda' premiered via Self-Titled
- Limited vinyl run of 250.
- Instrumentation on album performed by members of The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.
- Long time DJ at KXLU.
- For fans of: Battles, Dawn of Midi, and Tycho.
- From the label that brought Daedalus, Shlohmo, Jerome LOL, and Anenon.

New Yorker Produzent Motion Graphics legt ein Debüt vor, das Yellow Magic Orchestra und Kraftwerk reflektiert!

Motion Graphics ist das selbstbetitelte Debutalbum von Joe Williams, einem in New York lebenden Musiker, der bereits seit vielen Jahren unter verschiedenen Pseudonymen und in wechselnden Kollaborationen aktiv produziert, mit Motion Graphics jetzt aber ganz sicher den bestmöglichen Weg eingeschlagen hat.

Motion Graphics ist ein Techno-Pop Album in der Art, wie es Künstler wie Ryuichi Sakamoto's Yellow Magic Orchestra oder Kraftwerk in ihrer Zeit produziert haben. Genau wie diese Bands reflektiert Williams dabei aber die technologischen Möglichkeiten seiner Zeit. Wo für YMO das Aufkommen von Nintendo und Sony Walkman wichtig waren, wo Kraftwerk die Geburt des Computers reflektiert, sind für Williams Twitter, Smartphones und die immer öfter eingesetzen Dronen relevant.

2016 Reissue of "Mutations" - the second work of The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble from 2009. Not existing anymore since 2012 The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble now finally makes all long-time sold out releases available again on all formats (cd | vinyl | digital). The series of reissues starts with their genre-determining second output "Mutations". An act combining profound musical sensibilities, deeply emotional harmonies and an acute ear for genre inter-breeding, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble placed itself and the confluent of dusty, gritty jazz and low-end doom-laden drones, and came up with a sound which is at the same time warm and dark, brooding and misty, cinematic and dynamic.

"The ensemble's music - mournful, mercurial and thoroughly spooked - has the lingering impact of the silent movies (Metropolis, Nosferatu) that served as their initial inspiration." (The Wire)

"The production is that much more spooky, rich, and atmospheric, and the song structure that much more purposeful and realized. It seems they have struck a perfect symmetry in the studio as a group, feeding off one another and performing cohesively. There is not a wasted moment to be heard. Mutations will slide its greasy fingers up your spine and linger there until you like it." (Pop Matters)

Currently founding member Jason Kohnen is paving the way with his new dark jazz project "The Thing With Five Eyes", continuing the mystical and occult universes people got to love from the "Here Be Dragons" period. His debut album is set to appear in 2017. In a parallel corner - founding member Gideon Kiers and trombonist Hilary Jeffery are conjuring up a twenty first vision of spiritism with Inconsolable Ghost, working together with artists such as the cellist Anthea Caddy, the viola player Zsolt Sorés Ahad and the filmmaker Makino Takashi. Vocalist Charlotte Cegarra recently started the Psychedelic-Pop duo Charlotte&Magon.

Together with "Bohren und der Club of Gore" and "The Dale Cooper Quartet", The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble through the years have succeeded in creating a brand new genre of music. The 8 pieces (40 minutes) of "Mutations" are the perfect connecting link between the ensemble's s/t debut album from 2006 and their second full length "Here Be Dragons" (2009). Time to get absorbed again by this unique and fresh sound.

Hazel is the 5th record from this group of eclectic travelers, who bring their considerable pedigrees together in unexpected and original ways. Looking at the people involved, it would be reasonable to expect a massive blowout of sound, but everyone plays with remarkable and effective restraint. The music is atmospheric and layered, with bits and pieces of identifiable rock moves peeking out from under a thick blanket of hard-to-identify drift.

Based on live recordings made on a lengthy tour of Italy in 2010, the recordings have been extensively edited and supplemented, but without losing the elemental sound of a group playing live together. While there's plenty of weird ambient sound to be heard, this isn't a sound-effects/'pedalboard' record. Like the preceding 'En Form for Bla' album, Noble's drums anchor the music. The drumming is spare and considered, sometimes lashing out with abstract punctuation, and other times laying out a Can-like groove. O'Malley's guitar is also restrained, providing a bed for O'Sullivan's constantly morphing Rhodes, synths and electronic effects. Kristoffer Rygg contributes a rousing vocal incantation to 'Ermanna' and peppers the mix with ghostly modular details. Like their other records, this is not really like anything else out there right now. Sleeve designed by Stephen O'Malley.

CD is in card folio printed by Stumptown Printers. LP is in Stoughton Tip-On Jacket, pressed at RTI, and includes download card.

The 10th Anniversary edition of this classic album from the master of drone and Kosmiche Musik was originally released on CDr by Kill Shaman in 2006. Sonic Meditations presents a first time vinyl and cassette edition, newly mastered after being out of print since 2009.

"Gorgeous drifting ethereal krautrocky ambience is what Expo '70 is all about, and eyes closed, you'd be hard pressed to not think this was some Ash Ra Tempel disc or some long lost A.R. and The Machines lp. Crafted entirely from guitars, sitar and Moog, each track here is some sort of lengthy, mesmerizingingly blissed out minimal drone jam. Guitar figures are looped into hypnotic cycles, over shimmery whirls of fuzzy sound and distant drones, the looped riffs slowly shifting and gently changing shape. It's almost like some sort of new age space rock Steve Reich." - Aquarius Records couldn't have summed up the etherial mystique around Wright's developing project better.

The 10th Anniversary edition of this classic album from the master of drone and Kosmiche Musik was originally released on CDr by Kill Shaman in 2006. Sonic Meditations presents a first time vinyl and cassette edition, newly mastered after being out of print since 2009.

"Gorgeous drifting ethereal krautrocky ambience is what Expo '70 is all about, and eyes closed, you'd be hard pressed to not think this was some Ash Ra Tempel disc or some long lost A.R. and The Machines lp. Crafted entirely from guitars, sitar and Moog, each track here is some sort of lengthy, mesmerizingingly blissed out minimal drone jam. Guitar figures are looped into hypnotic cycles, over shimmery whirls of fuzzy sound and distant drones, the looped riffs slowly shifting and gently changing shape. It's almost like some sort of new age space rock Steve Reich." - Aquarius Records couldn't have summed up the etherial mystique around Wright's developing project better.

REPRESSED !!

After a strong first release Contort Yourself returns with "Events at the Fatal Party" which comes over more as a description than a title, brimming with a bubbling sense of tension and fear. Hamburg duo Fallbeil kick things off in impressive style with a crunchy acid monster which twists and turns followed by two killer proto-techno cuts from legendary French industrial band Die Form from their 1985 tape Hurt. Here we find ourselves in a unsettling scenario with metallic voices scowling over clanging machines and guitar feedback in an unhinged way. The mysterious Slugbug (L.I.E.S./Russian Torrent Versions) starts the flip with "GOBACK", a creeping acidic beast moving unstoppably forward as a reverberating voice ripples throughout. Any calm is then shattered by IBM a.k.a. Jamal Moss whose remix of Die Form hammers home a tough seven minutes of mangled synths, bubbling acid and thundering drums. A highly recommended, intense journey.