Owain K - Pixeled Scenery

Our man Owain K. a.k.a. Owain Kimber brings back the 'deep' into DeepHouse. Most beautiful, this.

Mick Sussman - The Rosenberg Algorithmic Music Generator: Selected Works, Vol. 1 [The Sublunar Society 053]

Released via The Sublunar Society on May 11th, 2k18 is Mick Sussman's new longplay effort named "The Rosenberg Algorithmic Music Generator: Selected Works, Vol. 1" which sees the American avantgarde composer delivering an album fully created by Rosenberg, a software device created by Sussman himself which automatically and independently creates music based on a sequence of randomized processes which are in detail described in the albums booklet. In employing this algorithm for the composition of the album as a whole Sussman does not only touch on the philosophical question on the authorship of the 19 tracks presented and if he, as creator of the software, is also responsible for or owning of any of its creative output but also creates a new music in itself, fully artificial yet also wondrously relatable in its polyrhythmicity, an amalgamation of Glitch and Electronica coming together with what can be identified as Tribal patterns and elements of repetetive, ritual music from all over the world - an impression coming to mind after going through the first 15 minutes of the whole album, having experienced several compositional tempos and becoming accustomed to the unusual sonic landscape brought on by Rosenberg software which seems to rely on an acoustic midrange more than on the low end of the spectrum for a reason. Quite an interesting take on computerized music, computer music, art music for an audience obsessed with artificial intelligence and similar themes although also suitable for advanced, very open minded sound explorers beyond that specific target group.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Babymetal - Distortion (Official Video)

A massive, fast-paced fantasy dream .

Death In Paradise - Nuke Vol.1 [Nuke THE Planet 001]

Scheduled for lift off on June 1st, 2k18 is the new digital imprint Nuke The Planet which brings us "Nuke Vol. 1" by Death In Paradise as its very first musical offering. Put on the circuit as a straight forward one track single we see Death In Paradise aim at a no-nonsense audience with their tune, bordering Gabba and gravitating towards grinding in-your-face Hardcore with accelerating tempos, mad ass filters and a brutal attitude we've once found on labels like B.E.A.S.T. Records or Napalm Records when Hardcore as a scene was at its peak for sure. No fuckery invlvd here. Simple as that.

Distant Animals - Lines (Excerpt)

A dark, intense seven minutes excerpt from the new Distant Animals album we recently reviewed on these pages a few days prior to this post.

Johann Schwengel - Techno Love EP [Fresscode Records 003]

Announced for May 31st, 2k18 is Johann Schwengel's "Techno Love EP" which is gonna be the third release for the relatively new imprint Fresscode Records. Opening with "Love" we see the underground producer show a lot of exactly this for pounding bassdrums and repetetive vocal samples alongside wildly filtered and processed rave stabs for the high energy posse whereas "Solo Talent" gravitates more towards dry, tool'ish underground Techno and the final cut "Steppin Out" is just proper, raw massive cannon fodder for your next illegal Techno set to be played in some lost underground bombshelter in the countryside. Boom.

Samba Touré - Goy Boyro (Official Video)

Heartfelt African Blues music for those who know. We're loving this!

Bodega - Endless Scroll [What's Your Rupture? Promo]

To be released via What's You Rupture? on June 1st, 2k18 is the "Endless Scroll", the very first album outing by Brooklyn's so-called Art Rock outfit named Bodega. Catering 14 songs within 33 minutes we see the quintuple set of Ben Hozie, Nikki Belfiglio, Montana Simone, Madison Velding-Vandam and Heather Elle provide a whirlwind of an album that is unquestionably Rock'n'Roll in its very essence, yet incorporates elements of teen angst SkatePunk, UK Indie and bits of raw PostPunk, bringing on desolate anthems like "Bodega Birth", super seductive basslines, minimal instrumentation and an interesting shout'n'speak approach vocalwise in "Name Escape", angry street cred bits like "Can't Knock The Hustle" or raw Artschool Garage skits like "Warhol". An album to be loved by the teenagers of late capitalism for a reason.

µ-Ziq feat. Kazumi - Challenge Me Foolish

The title track of µ-Ziq's massive album smash of the same name. One cannot not love this.

Extra Large Unit - More Fun, Please! [PNL Records 040]

Put on the circuit only recently via Paal Nilssen-Love's PNL Records is "More Fun, Please!" by Extra Large Unit - an extended 27 musician including version of his already large scale FreeJazz band project Large Unit. Performed live at Oslo's Only Connect Festival back in 2k17 this album is a 33 minutes spanning one take recording of the ensembles show, a thrilling, spine-tingling, yet highly demanding tour de force through its musical abilities and technical versatility, catering stripped down elements of Future Jazz, thundering chaos and havoc, classic, yet experimental bits of Jazz Noir, hectic, score'esque interludes of epic qualities as well as references to the genres early greats, more down to earth Desert Rock- / Delta Blues-inspired bass sequences and much more, all written and conducted by Paal Nilssen-Love himself with additional on stage improvisation and intervention from the ensemble. A hard to grasp, yet intense ride for all those looking for something special and surely intellectually challenging that, at the same time, can be experienced by instinct only as well. We like. 

Album artwork on Instagram!

Kali Malone - Cast Of Mind

The well intense title track from Kali Malone's recently reviewed album of the same name - as deep and minimalistic as beautiful.

E Ruscha V - Who Are You [Beats In Space Promo]

Put on the circuit in early March, 2k18 via Beats In Space is "Who Are You", the latest musical outing by Eddie Ruscha using his artistic guise E Ruscha V for this longplay effort which is grouping a whole of nine tracks within a total running time of 35 minutes. Presenting a dreamy, ever floating musical vision the opening tune "The Hostess" fuses crystalline Ambient movements with a twangy, Hawaiian slide guitar twist whereas the albums title track "Who Are You" seems to reference a well thought out and highly fascinating take on Space Reggae / Space Dub before "Gravity Waves" redefines laid back, dreamlike, beach-focused Electronica Dub for 2k18 and "Lights Passing By" fully falls back into psychedelic pillows of wafting Ambient soundscapes. The following cut "In The Woods" caters a beautiful take on mellow, percussive Indietronica meets Future Jazz before we're "Carried Away" by floating, off-kilter Easy Listening, 80s drum kits and big time piano romanticism. Entering the lands of "Roots And Branches" we're greeted by an overall feel of ultra-organic loveliness, experiencing an "Endless Sunday" comes down to listening to highly touching, romantic and vocoder driven Exotica / Future Jazz freestyles - whilst discovering a future classic in its own right - before "All Of A Sudden" this album comes to an end too soon, waving goodbye on another dreamy Psychedelia tip to be appreciated by those in the know. Get this, quick!

baze.djunkiii - In These Swamps... Where Jedi Lurk

Possibly baze.djunkiii's most minimal take on Drone and Death Ambient so far - released via Dr. NoiseM Tapes as a limited to 14 copies floppy disk split back in 2k17. 

The Third Eye Foundation - Wake The Dead [Ici D'Ailleurs Promo]

Put on the circuit via Ici D'Ailleurs on March 30th, 2k18 is "Wake The Dead", the latest album outing by Matt Elliott under his legendary guise known as The Third Eye Foundation. Clinging to their intransigent, unapologetic attitude we see Elliott and his partners in crime David Chalmin, Raphael Seguinier and Gaspar Claus cater a full body of six tracks spanning 45 minutes, starting into their journey into darkness with the albums title track, a both bass heavy yet angelic affair clearly drawing inspiration from Illbient, Dub and other types of bass music albeit following a more abstract and ritualistic path before the "Procession For Eric" is fully caught in polyrhythmic, Tribal-infused Illbient, post-apocalyptic string phrases and sickening low end movements whereas the ruins of "The Blasted Tower" are shimmering through a heavy dust fallout, structures of interestingly cut up Downtempo beats, occasional scratch sequences all covered in droning atmospheres, more strings and mysteriously layered non-vocalisms from various, yet  unidentifiable sources. Following up is a "Controlled Demolition", opening with heavy distortions, more deadly, dubbed sub waves and lively, well interesting drum cycles for Illbient-lovers which are accompanied by thrilling vintage synth chords for an additional kick, "That's Why"  is on a sweet pingpong swing beatwise whilst sampling and deconstructing vocal bits straight from the ghetto, creating a massive dancefloor smash reminiscent of the long forgotten niche of Baltimore Bounce and the final cut recommends to "Do The Crawl", creeping up on you like a giant  Illbient Dub monster, stripped down to the very bone, yet dark, deadly and fascinating like a living fossil, humungous and unfazed by the fast movements of today's civilization and lifestyle. What a closing, this is!

The Ex - Soon All Cities (Official Video)

Quite a catchy little tune from The Ex' most  recent album "27 Passports".

Sascha Müller - Too Late [SMSM 019]

Scheduled for May 27th, 2k18 is the release of Sascha Müller's new digital single "Too Late" which sees the Meppen-based producer delivering a crystalline take on highly melodic TechHouse / (Neo)Trance for a floating, young audience of neon ravers who can take a massive EuroDance-infused breakdown that doesn't go that smoothly in the so-called 'Vocal Mix' version whereas the 'Instrumental Cut', obviously leaving out the vocals for a reason, provides the better choice, setting punters adrift throughout this years festival season for sure.

Pest Modern - Rock'n'Roll Station [Meidosem Records / Cleopatra Records Promo]

To be released on June 14th, 2k18 as a conjunctional split effort between Meidosem Records and Cleopatra Records is "Rock'n'Roll Station", a collaborational album created by visual artist Joel Haubaut and his musician son Emmanuel Haubaut employing their shared nom de guerre Pest Modern for this longplayer. Based on the idea of covering the 1970s song of the same name as the album, a tune admittedly unbeknownst to us, the two artists did not only create the cover they've intended, featuring as title number five on here but a whole body of work consisting of nine original tracks which are accompanied by ten - !!! - additional remixes by artists like Mimetic, Grandchaos, Dear Deer, Ober Panizza and many more. With their original creations we see Pest Modern create a very unique, French meets German vocal take on Wave meets Rock'n'Roll meets ElectrClash meets PunkRock meets Industrial Surf / Road Movie that could well accompany some of Tarantino's movies soundwise whereas the remixes catered provide a musical range from slow moving, meandering Industrial Rave Techno, more harsh ElectroClash cut-ups, experimental Ambient fusion or even proper, fast-paced Future Trance for spikey hair ravers and cybergoths. Quite a trip, this package is.

Christopher Chaplin - Paradise Lost (Official Album Video)

A quite intense, yet highly mysterious and unrevealing album teaser for the new Fabrique Records release.

Distant Animals - Lines [Hallow Ground Promo]

Put on the circuit via the experimental music outfit Hallow Ground on May 15th, 2k18 is "Lines", the most recent album by UK-based artist Daniel Alexander Hignell who's using his artistic moniker Distant Animals for this two track longplay release. Following a well-intricate concept based on Hignell's work in the field of social studies and theory his musical result comes out as the A-side track "Pure Drone" which indeed is a slowly moving, minimalist bass drone affair turning into more of a pulsating entity which exists purely on its own, a confined sonic realm which, as part of the albums magic as well as conceptual approach, can be imputed to several sources one might recognize from his or her everyday life. On the flip we find "Line Made By Walking", the second tune on this album which follows a more eerie and dystopian path, weighing in a desolate ColdAmbient transmission from a faraway future, interrupted by swampy echoes, unexplicable clicks and various, highly distorted electrial buzzes, flickering like broken street lights in a dead end alley whilst the last functional robotic devices emit the occasional bleeps and beeps before fading into the brooding, everlasting silence that is eternity. Intense!

Carlo Domenico Valyum - Cronovisione Italiana [Undogmatisch Promo]

Put on the circuit back in late February, 2k18 via Undogmatisch is "Cronovisione Italiana" by the mysterious Italian artist and composer Carlo Domenico Valyum, a blurry, hard  to get hold of figure in the history of electronic music and experimentation who, supposedly, was able to intercept anomalies in audio and video-based electromagnetic wave transmissions and therefore recorded programs from the future, exceeding the boundaries of space time in his work. Curated by Mirco Magnani and Valentina Bardazzi we see "Cronovisione Italiana" showcasing nine pieces of Valyum's work, opening with the blurry, yet dramatic (Neo)Classicisms of "Eurovision" which will surely be loved by followers of the GAS project albeit being driven by Electronica-infused rhythm signatures whereas "Check Up" touches borders of Isolationist Ambient whilst adding echoes of field recordings, intense drones and lonely pianos to the picture before the outerworldly "Estrazioni Del Lotto", a take we've featured on these pages before, unfolds in a haunting, spine-tingling manner giving us the chills for a reason. Bringing forth "Oretredici" we see Carlo Domenico Valyum dig deeper in the field of solemn Dark Ambient with an eerie, partially even sacred twist, "Almanacco", albeit atmosphieric in its own right, adumbrates forthcoming horror and bloodshed in a quite unsettling way whilst "Fantagerundio" combines doomed sub movements with angelic, non-vocal background choirs, clean, scientific click patterns and what seems to be bits of distorted radiotraffic from another dimension or reality. Furthermore "Carosello" takes things to a way more conciliatory level Ambient-wise, "Oggi Al Parlamento" brings on ancient transmissions from the deepest subsurface vaults imaginable and "Bumper 77" is on a peaceful tip, amalgamating an ebb-and-flow of soft, moving pads with clicking background Electronica rhythms to a slightly psychedelic, dreamlike and sleep inducing effect. Whether or not these are transmissions from the future - this album is one to check out for sure.

Park Jiha - Communion [Glitterbeat / Tak:Til Promo]

Released in early March, 2k18 via the Glitterbeat Records sister label Tak:Til is "Communion", the latest album by Korean musician Park Jiha who is fusing the magic of Korean Folk and its traditional instruments like piri, saenghwang and yanggeum with Western influences and instrumentation in her music. Catering a menu of seven tracks within the albums 48 minutes playtime she, alongside fellow musicians Kim Oki, John Bell and Kang Tekhyun on the Western side of the instrument spectrum, creates a musical fairytale which surely incorporates both worlds musically, yet turning this amalgamation into something new and unique, opening with the timeless, ancient romanticism of "Throughout The Night", bringing on an innocent, folksy vibe with the "Accumulation Of Time" which builds up to a multilayered crescendo over time before falling back to pure yanggeum minimalism whilst the title track "Communion" is weighing in loads of obvious, spiralling Jazz influences and the following "Sounds Heard From The Moon" brings forth hammering vibraphone of varied dynamics and intensity accompanied by various crackles, faraway winds and a seemingly minor scale yanggeum motif for a calmer, solemn addition that transforms into another intense climax around minute five approx.. Furthermore "The Longing Of The Yawning Divide" tells tales of untouched meadows and ancient, folkloristic lifestyles of sorts in its overall Ambient-reminiscing structure, "All Souls Day" lives of an ever repeating harmonic pattern of meandering beauty and tenderness as well as its FreeJazz tendencies and the sax-infused final cut "The First Time I Sat Across From You" combines both the straightforward vibraphone approach as well as a calm, in parts even romantic yanggeum motif for a sweet closure. This is way beyond what one probably might refer to as World Music due to Park Jiha's provenance.

Frode Haltli - Avant Folk [Hubro Music]

Scheduled for release via Norway's Hubro Music on June 15th, 2k18 is "Avant Folk", the new five track album effort by the 1975 born Norwegian composer Frode Haltli and his accompanying band. Opening with "Hug" we see Frode Haltli gravitating towards a dancey, Hardanger fiddle- and accordion-led approach with a theatrical twist, mixing up a naturalistic overall feel with a modernist Jazz vibe, "Trio" seems to thrive of mediterranean melancholia of sorts and the nearly 11 minutes spanning "Kingo" keeps on a melancholia-infused tip, yet serves fever'ish, ritualistic drums and an intense midrange drone heralding forthcoming dangers and a battle to be fought in the future whilst a twangy electric guitar provides us with an extraordinary solo swing. Furthermore, with "Gratar'n" the band is exploring a darker, brooding and way more experimental approach towards composition which is most fitting for score works from our point of view whilst being the most interesting and demanding tune on "Avant Folk" before the closing tune "Neid" unfolds over 13+ minutes and indulges deeply in what can be described as ultra-maritime Seafarer's Blues, a feeling familiar only to those who've been growing up at the ocean shores of the western world. Well interesting and another musical extension for the musical spectrum of the Hubro Music label for sure.

Album artwork on Instagram!

20.05.2018 Le Wünderwelt @ Beat Boutique / Hamburg

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]

file under: long lost, rare and / or obscure music.

doors open: 9 pm

Beat Boutique
Max-Brauer-Allee 219
22765 Hamburg
Germany

Oker - Husene Vare Er Museer [Sofa Music]

Released on April 20th, 2k18 via the Norwegian Sofa Music label is Oker's debut album "Husene Vare Er Museer", the first ever musical outing crafted and recorded by the improv-focused quartet consisting of Adrian Fiskum Myhr, Jan Martin Gismervik, Torstein Lavik Larsen and Fredrik Rasten. With an instrumentation set of bass, drums, trumpet and guitar the four musicians approach their sound off the experience of collective music making and unfold their palette over the course of seven fully acoustic tracks, opening with "Drivved", a thundering, nervous and mostly percussive affair meandering in between the borders of chaos and a fairly avantgarde take on FreeJazz before suddenly turning into an intimate, minimalist Folk tune, "Furer" explores a spine-tingling set of polyrhythmic pulses whereas "Kortbølge" amalgamates the innocence of naturalistic, folksy guitar works with a more freaky attitude brought on by various scrapings and strange respiratory sounds functioning as interrupting, irritating and obscuring element ever present through both parts of this composition which is more fever'ish, dreamlike and well psychedelic in its second half. With "Nesler" we see the quartet cater a more innocent and positive, yet abstract musical vision, "Utsyn" provides a peaceful take on Future Jazz Noir for rainy Sunday afternoons, "Soldugg" lets full on natural melancholia unfold and the final "Ekvator" fuses klaxon'esque trumpet sounds with busy background percussions, resembling a score for a timelapse of a well futuristic beehive in terms of depicting both a natural flow and life circle as well as fast-paced, antsy activity at the same time. Check!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Ketan Bhatti - Nodding Terms [Col Legno]

How to fuse New Contemporary Music with a groove and proper club references? This fusion is exactly what Ketan Bhatti aimed to create on his new album, employing both the German-Icelandic Ensemble Adapter as well as Paul Frick and Jan Brauer from the famed Brandt Brauer Frick-outfit for this journey which resulted in "Nodding Terms", a full on 13 track album released via Col Legno on May 18th, 2k18. The result of this collaborational attempt to transfer Ketan Bhatti's vision into sound brings us Jazz / Future Jazz-infused slow grooves like the opener "Insel Vor Tounisbuurg", the lively, uptempo and danger-annunciating attitude of "Modul 5" which defo would be a great contribution to the score of a spy flic noir which as well should be a proper dancefloor smash for advanced Dancefloor Jazz audiences, the demanding, yet hypnotic Future Jazz of the 9+ minutes spanning super thrill that is "Laughter Leading" or the calmer, noir'esque, tongue-in-cheek experimentalisms of "Ferntendenz" which also has been remixed by Paul Frick in a well respectful, borderline Ambient House meets NuJazz manner reminiscent of remix works by the likes of Bugge Wesseltoft throughout his 'New Conceptions Of Jazz'-phase in the early noughties. Furthermore we see the title track "Nodding Terms" emulate creepy, tense Electronica in a fascinating, yet slightly unsettling, spine-tingling manner, "Umziehaktion" gets down on a percussive tip with hammering pianos and seductive brass going polyrhythmic whilst the so-called 'Brauers Rumpelkammer Remix' take on the same tune gives us more of a Matthew Herbert-resembling feel and is the only tune on this whole album we can really imagine to be fully functional at least on advanced electronic club floors. Anyway, an interesting approach for sure and defo one of the better organic adaptations of electronic music in general.

Album artwork on Instagram!

The Pitch & Splitter Orchester - Frozen Orchestra (Splitter) [Mikroton Recordings 061]

Released only recently via Mikroton Recordings is "Frozen Orchestra (Splitter)" the first ever album fusion by the 24-piece Splitter Orchester teaming up with The Pitch, a quartet consisting of three quarters Splitter Orchester members as well. Together, both groups create an exactly 60 minutes spanning one track album focusing on slowly shifting harmonic relationships between musicians, amalgamating electroacoustics and real instruments within a preassigned field of conceptual parameters. Under the regime of these parameters an intense, touching yet also well calming droning structure or flow unfolds which easily dissolves the listeners space-time perception whilst single, minor scale piano chords alongside sweet vintage surface crackles on top of this ever changing Drone field add up a deep, beautiful melancholia only tender souls might feel on a lazy, rainy late October afternoon, staring out of steamy windows into a diffuse, all ensheathing cloud of mist that supposedly is about to stay... forever. Great stuff. Highly recommended not only for die-hard Ambient lovers.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Dreamer [SMSM 020]

In the pipe for release on May 17th, 2k18 is Sascha Müller's new digital single named "Dreamer" which features two fresh tracks from his archives. With "Take Your Dreams" we see the Meppen-based artist explore a proper oldskool'ish take on multilayered Jungle breaks accompanied by a nice, seemingly organically played bassline and lovely crystalline, dreamy and floating synths for the Future Jungle / 160 posse whereas his "City Lights" provide joy on a harsh, dry and heavily distorted ElectroPhonk note which is paired with sweet hovering modulations which would've been well fitting for a release on the longtime defunct Anodyne imprint in the past or to be played as a follow up to Chick With Dick's legendary tune "Wurst" back in the days. Check!

Sami Baha - Free For All [Planet Mu 398 Promo]

Scheduled for release on June 1st, 2k18 on the long time running and ever creative Planet Mu imprint is the first longplay outing of the London-based Turkish producer Sami Baha who made a musical world debut on the same label with his "Mavericks EP" back in 2k16. Coming from a background of HipHop, especially being a rapper he moved onto production and surely made a step beyond his original realms with this musical outing, opening with "Cash Rain" which fuses crystalline melodies with elements of PostTrap and a general take on urban (bass) music, employs UK Drill vocalist Dimzy for a heavy gangsta stint with "Discreet", hunts down "Aliens" with a sparse, spaced out and dreamy musical composition and brings on a very playful, uplifting "Gambit" which will cause some havoc on both Trap and Grime floors for sure. "Thugs" is featuring the legendary DJ Nate on vocal duties, a collabo resulting in a massive Trap banger, the title track "Free For All" fuses heavy 808 works and seductive bassline waves with SinoGrime / Oriental influences for all the wave gods out there, "NAH" is fusing epic string layers, a sweet, tender main motif and slo-mo HipHop / Grime beats to a great late night effect whereas Yung Lean's vocal performance on "When The Sun's Gone" brings on a big smile to everyone's faces, transforming the tune into a big time party anthem for those who know. Furthermore we see a "Path Riot" cause dancefloor havoc with distorted horror basslines and twisted elements of Phonk, "Glory", a collab with Kufura, is a love space smash for the 140 ravers whilst "Ahl El M8na" featuring Dawsha and Abanob caters a quite dope Oriental / Arab HipHop vibe that one doesn't come across on a regular. Finally "Limbo" weighs in quite a bit of dope ass darkness before the closing "Cold Pursuit" caters a well surprising, slightly Tarantino'esque western / road movie attitude for those travelling long and dusty roads... alone.

Kali Malone - Cast Of Mind [Hallow Ground Promo]

Set for release on May 15th, 2k18 via the Hallow Ground-imprint is "Cast Of Mind", the sophomore album release of the America-born and Stockholm-based artist Kali Malone who is combining acoustic woodwind and brass instruments with the modular magic of a Buchla 200 synthesizer for her second longplay outing. Opening the album with its nearly 13 minutes spanning title track and a massive klaxon-like brass section we see tension build from the very first note, sending tingles down your spine when the high pitch of the Buchla tunes in with the every present, hypnotic low end of the brass set in its entirety whereas the following "Bondage To Formula" keeps on to progress on a similar path when it comes to its hypnotic pulses yet gravitates towards a softer, more Ambient-bound tonal attitude. With "Arched In Hysteria" Kali Malone gets deep under our skin with brooding, intense pulses of sawtooth synth bass accompanied by droning signals from the acoustic section before "Empty The Belief" finally provides a more buzzing, scientific and electrical take on the Ambient genre whilst at the same adding a hint of restlessness to its overall feel, mostly caused by thrilling, meandering tonal shifts in the tunes background. Quality stuff, this.

Grabek - Day One [Gustaff Records Promo]

Scheduled for release on May 18th, 2k18 via the Polish imprint Gustaff Records is "Day One", the third solo album put on the circuit by Wojtek Grabek. Presenting a bunch of nine tracks which are described by the producer as his most personal music he ever created he is digging deep into genres like (Neo)Classical and Ambient music, starting his journey with "Dawn", a scenic fusion of Synth-heavy, soft Ambient structures and nervous, experimental violin outings, followed by "Gravity" which brings on the most tender, romantic take on Piano Ambient meets stripped down rhythm signatures we've heard in a while before "Rain" is wandering even further into heartfelt romanticism and "Hide" is fusing (Neo)Classical arrangements with more floating synth figures and an intimate, yet longing vocal performance able to not only cross over between multiple audiences but also heal broken to smashed hearts and heavy heartache over the course of nearly 6 minutes. Roaming "Earth" we see Grabek discover a lively, yet minor chord piano motif of repetetive nature which pairs up nicely with an interesting Electronica background and synths of a crystalline, retrofuturist kind, "Heat" weighs in more of an intense, once again piano and violin driven vibe surely not lacking of melancholia before a more glitchy approach comes into play beatwise as well whereas "Run" provides more of a plangent touch, "Wave" seems to be on a dancier, yet complex and multilayered twist with a tongue-in-cheek note in terms of its well positive sub-structures and the final "Dusk" waves goodbye on a stripped down, inward looking tip like a stunning sunset at the shores of the vast oceans. You need this album in your life!

Eau Rouge - Jupiter Drive *Live (Marble Hall Session - 4k Video)

Simply marvellous, this. And an amazing location to shoot a live video for sure.

Lybes Dimem - Syncleft Chronem [SVS Records 012 Promo]

Released on April 27th, 2k18 via Munich's SVS Records is "Syncleft Chronem", the first album by visual artist / musician Lukas Rehm using his artistic moniker of Lybes Dimem. Following an intricate conceptual pattern we see Rehm create a complex, highly digital body of sonic work incorporating elements of glitch heavy Noize patterns, grinding Electronica, Illbient and even Rhythm Industrial, exploring realms of pitch black darkness, subfrequency unrest and post-apocalyptic warfare inhabited by those yearning for more musical output by artists like Scorn, Mathhead, Techno Animal, The Bug or Vex'd as well as the likes of Alec Empire in his 'Iceland Sessions'-phase or followers of labels like Mille Plateaux, Hymen, Ant-Zen or Ad Noiseam, bringing on a highly recommended, masterly crafted soundtrack for a cold, dystopian future - on earth and in war-ridden outer space. Check!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 05/2018

Venetian Snares X Daniel Lanois [Timesig 008 Promo]

Fresh on Venetian Snares' very own Timesig label is his same titled collaborational album effort with Daniel Lanois which caters a whole of eight new tunes the two artists produced together, starting with "Mag11 P82" which is fusing plangent vintage synthesizer romanticism with glitching Breakcore, with the two elements following totally different time signatures whereas the follow up "HPSHK5050 P127" weighs in elements of a twangy Space Western sound, "United P92" is going down a similar path, amalgamating the large scale romanticism of a huge red sundown with minimalist Glitch structures over the course of 9+ minutes, although this fusion never fully works out - a fact that goes for most of the albums tracks - before "Bernard Revisit P81" is more on a score'esque, retrofuturist sci-fi tip soundwise, providing the most interesting sonic landscape of this shortplay album. With "Best P54" there's more twangy Glitchtronica, "Mothors Pressroll P131" presents hyperactive Melodic Breakcore for lovers, "Night MXCMPV1 P74" gets back into the romantic, hawaiian twang vibe and "Ophelius 1STP118" explores psychedelic Exotica-ridden soft Ambient /  Easy Listening vibes for those who like to chill out in kinda weird spots. A weird album this is.

Fred Lonberg-Holm / Simon Camatta - Crazy Notions [Umland Records 017]

Coming in from the label offices of Essen's Umland Records is "Crazy Notions", the latest collaborational album effort by label head Simon Camatta and Chicago's Fred Lonberg-Holm. Recorded after a short tour allover Germany we see Camatta on drums and Lonberg-Holm on cello cater a six track, one hour journey into their very own universe of Jazz-infused improvisation, starting with "Night Is Here" sporting super loose, abstract drum signatures from which structures slowly emerge, evoking memories of thundering Candomble rituals at times whilst the cello performs slightly fever'ish stunts to pave the way for things to come over the course of this longplayer, "Again, Baby" sees the two musicians provide more of a longing, siren'esque soundscape which, for some unknown and well quirky reasons, projects scenes of buzzing, timelapsed Italian streets and kitchen scenes in the 1930s or 40s onto the screen of our inner minds cinema, "Stretched Out Of My Bed" rather focuses on the cello's string treatment - plucking included - whilst the abstract percussion works of Simon Camatta provide only a bit of an additional thunder and squeak every now and then before the albums main piece, the 21+ minutes spanning "Seeing All Kinds Of Crazy Notions", explores the most fever'ish, wild and untamed (non)musical visions one could ever think of, again bringing up ritualistic notions for the headstrong, providing spine-tingling sequences of unsettling calmness only to get lost in a hefty, flickering climax of tilt mode madness again after a few more minutes. Furthermore the two artists are "Running Around", chasing a creaky sonic vision of an abstract kind one might associate with ancient, mechanical Field Recordings whilst the concluding journey "Through My Head" is a calm and relaxing one, relying mostly on the magic of plucked strings and rattling, yet tender metallic sounds progressing into more nervous, thundering sequences from Camatta's drum kit. Quite a lot to take in for unexperienced listeners, demanding even for those in the know, but defo a rewarding one for those indulging deep in genres like FreeJazz and FreeImprov.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Mamas Gun - Golden Days [Legere Recordings Promo]

Put on the circuit via Hamburg's Legere Recordings in late February, 2k18 is "Golden Days", the fourth album by the praised 21st Century Soul outing Mamas Gun who've been scoring top charts positions all over the globe, kicked Madonna off the #1 airplay position in Japan and played festivals and acclaimed shows all around. With their latest longplay piece we see Mamas Gun cater a slick and polished, multi-harmonic longplay piece, presenting a modernist, albeit 70s-infused vibe for intimate moments in cosy, reddish nightclubs and velvet bedrooms, getting ppl in the mood for things to go down and we're defo down for that, especially when listening to great musical outings like "Diamond In The Bell Jar" or the more uptempo dancefloor Soul smash "London Girls" as well as the tender, yet dope jam that is "We", a perfect tune for the late, romantic hours out there on the dancefloor. Check.

Joana Gama / Luis Fernandes - At The Still Point Of The Turning World [Room40 Promo]

Released via the Australian imprint Room40 on April 5th, 2k18 is "At The Still Point Of The Turning World", the first ever collaborational album effort by Joana Gama and Luis Fernandes. Created in a period of mutual loss the two artists came up with a six track-spanning longplayer that starts with the abstract and muffled slo-mo rhythms of "Neither Flesh Nor Fleshless" which are the dry, alienated foundation for a set of intense, haunting synth waves whilst the "Perpetual Possibility" is characterized by plucked guitar string abstractions, vibrating violins of (Neo)Classical origin, a deeply melancholic three tone piano motif and large scale atmospheric build-ups whereas "The Pattern Is Movement" caters to the needs of a cold, sci-fi Drone audience although elements of Synth and (Neo)Cosmic are defo present in this tune as well, adding a bit of light and mystique to the slowly meandering soundscape which dissolves into heavenly beauty throughout its course. The hyperintense next tune "Through The Vibrant Air" has been featured on these pages a few weeks ago and can be listened to in its entirety on this blog, "Lucid Stillness" relies on piercing single piano tones, highly digital clicks and a minimalistic, steady background atmosphere to create a most hypnotic sonic vision that suddenly shifts into (Neo)Classical experimentalism and the final cut "Shaft Of Sunlight" sticks with the plangent piano but gravitates towards a calmer overall note musically.

Thembi Soddel - Love Songs [Room40 Promo]

Another new one on Australia's Room40, released on April 12th, 2k18, is "Love Songs" by the Australian sound artist and electroacoustic producer Thembi Soddell, well-known and appreciated for representing the darker edge of the lands electronic music scene. To those unfamiliar with her work the 'why' becomes clear with the opening title that is "Object (Im)Permanence" slowly emerging from an intro of near silence, building up buzzing electrical tension until becoming a grinding maelstrom of overwhelming mid-frequency static and noise, eradicating braincells like an icey storm of alien, metallic bees whereas the follow up "Erasure" caters deadly DeathAmbient disturbed by one surprising, highly dynamic eruption of digital HarshNoize lasting for only a fraction of a second and "Repetition Compulsion" returns to the illusion of one being attacked by swarming alien insects once again. With "Who Is To Blame?" Thembi Soddell starts on an extremely low volume level, serving some abstract, possibly field recorded scraping and bubbling whilst treating our ears badly with harsh dynamic changes into sudden eruptions of Noize before the final "Epilogue" goes from a minute+ of silence into an immense block of mid-frequency Noize without any warning and therefore shall not be consumed using headphones for a reason. Interesting stuff, yet hard to take in due to the hefty dynamic changes.

Mean Teeth Ft. Kerizma - Gutterfunk *Krispy Remix

A huge, stripped down Drum'n'Bass cut  for all the real headz out there. Tunage detected!

Sascha Müller [Super Six Records Extra 066]

Coming straight at us with another fourteen track album on his very own Super Six Records-imprint is Germany's underground production machine that is Sascha Müller, inviting us into a new journey into his world with the intro tune "Gong 05", presenting more fragile, ritualistic Gong Ambient before "My Mother" leads straight towards the centre of the dancefloor, using pounding, Rave-infused Techno magic and a gooey, bass synth as a weapon of mass seduction whilst "Played Dead" stays on a similar path, crossing borders towards early Hardcore territories with its foundation of overly compressed bassdrums, flogging claps and raw, hoover'esque signals. The "Telecaster" is the next one, weighing in a deep, hypnotic Tech attitude, a wafting sub line and razor sharp percussion bits alongside a screaming, distinct yet minimalist main motif that might perfectly be mixed with classic likes Laurent Garnier's "Astral Dreams" and others, "773" caters some rhythmic, sci-fi transmissions and dubbed out chords from the IDM side of the spectrum, "Ambient 2" provides a sweet, playful and Plaid'esque take on the genre, "High Wire" returns to dry, fast-paced and clap-heavy Techno and "774" gravitates towards deepest, bass-induced Illbient Dub when one thinks of classics like Alec Empire's "Low On Ice" or the WordSound-label here. Furthermore "Ambient 3" continues on the beaten path of playfulness, seemingly influenced by (Neo)Classical structures, "Daddy Rip It Up" sets underground dancefloors on fire with a super stripped down MonoAcid approach, "775" fuses abstract Jungle beats and morphing, dubbed out basslines in super slow motion to a great, mind-boggling effect whilst "Ambient 4" brings forth memories of courtly dances in its polyrhythmicity. Finally the "Analog Snake Part 01" winds up to more bubbly, dry Acid madness and "776" provides exactly 100 seconds of experimental, bass-heavy Sci-Fi Ambient for a futuristic closing. Highly recommended.

Handsome Couple - Handsome Couple [Umland Records 016]

Another one put on the circuit via Essen's Umland Records is the same-titled album by Handsome Couple which is the collaborational force of label head Simon Carmatta on drums and St. Kirchhoff on banjo. Whilst working on instrumental HipHop cuts for a theatre play in Bremen the pair of musicians started to develop their stage skits into real tracks, building a dope foundation for any rapper to jump on in terms of proper freestyles. With the exceptional "Afterhour" we see the Handsome Couple provide a super solid, slightly TexMex-infused organic banger for all fans of the classic BoomBap sound, "Noon" is a haunting uptempo anthem for the b-boys, b-girls and body lockers out there, "Goetheplatz" is more of a chill affair for those who can also relate to genres like TripHop / Downbeat and "Ein Paar" experiments with  Reggae / Dub-influences and characteristic off-beat vibes as well as bowed strings for a change. "WG" once again is an intense b-boy skit for all them breakers, seamlessly progressing into "Espresso", another captivating, dangerous uptempo cut incorporating elements of Dancehall, Moombahton as well as BigBeat, a perfect combination for a potential spy flic score at some point in the future. Following up is "Intercity", a great, complex and slightly Tarantino'esque excursion which will also be well appreciated by fans of Cypress Hill, "Ladidadi" harks back to the raw and very early days of HipHop rhythmwise and the "Easy Way Out" fully lives up to its title, weighing in an easy, laid back vibe for a sweet closure. Proper good stuff, this.

baze.djunkiii Charts 05/2018

01. µ-Ziq - Challenge Me Foolish [Planet Mu 400]
See review for details...

02. Robert Görl - The Paris Tapes [Grönland]
DAF's Robert Görl on a solo tip on the only relevant release that came out on Record Store Day 2k18. Built exclusively on an ESQ-1 synthesizer these instrumental, yet beautiful skits were crafted as a musical outlet for Robert Görl after the DAF split in 1986 when he moved to Paris to deal with his faith, pain and sorrow. Whilst the melodic, and highly melancholic, aspects of these nine tunes generally gravitate towards SynthPop there's evident influences of ProtoElectro and possibly echoes of NuBeat in here that make these raw and unfinished skeletal drafts both seductive as well as fascinating in their own right.

03. Posthuman - Metrojak One EP [Chiwax]
Raw, oldskool-reminiscing stuff from Posthuman on Chiwax. Providing anything from jackin' underground Techno to banging Acid and spiralling modulation sequences these tracks are made to keep dancefloors in motion, now and forever.

04. Various Artists - Appendix Double Mixpack E.P. [Fiedel II]
Techno for purists. Eight minimalistic Techno tunes by the likes of Noncompliant, Fiedel, Ron Albrecht, Ausgang and more sum up the essence of the genre in a tool'ish, in parts 'troity, stripped down manner, with each track carvin out its individual character and niche, bringing back what seemed to be a raw, long lost, yet fascinating aspect of Techno as a genre. Highly recommended stuff.

05. DJ Technician / DJ Overdose [Rotterhague Records 001]
Electro for those in the know. Raw, storming and unpolished tunes, two of them provided by DJ Technician, two by DJ Overdose on this relatively fresh label which is bringing back a melodic, abstract and well Phonk-infused take on the subaquatic side of the genre and therefore come together in one of the best Electro records we've come across in quite a while.

06. Trou - Nebelsturm [Depressive Illusions Records]
See review for details...

07. Trou - To The Death [Hallucination Tapes]
See review for details...

08. Evelien Van Den Broek - False Memories [EVDB 001]
See review for details...

09. -

10. -

House Of Blondes - Time Trip [Alrealon Musique 083 Promo]

Released via the statewise experimental imprint Alrealon Musique on April 20th, 2k18 and sitting in our postbox without any further information only recently was "Time Trip" which is the latest longplay effort by House Of Blondes. Going into this journey with "Discovery #1" we see House Of Blondes provides a positive, playful approach on vintage synth driven Electronica / ChillOut with a beautiful (Neo)Cosmic twist, continues with a beautifully floating slow-motion Electro- / Ambient Trance-fusion named "Time Trip (Main Theme)" followed by the calm, relaxing pads of "Modern Clock" and the droning, dark'ish multilayered Cosmic Synth of "Mean Solar Time" which is evoking memories of acts like Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze for a reason. With "The Rise Of The Equal Hour" the project is digging deeper into calm Piano Ambient territories, "Why It Happened In The West" combines kitsch-dripping pads with lively Future Tribal rhythms for balearic sunset sets and "Intimate Seconds" provides some brooding futurism paired with melodic beauty, a thing that has been done to great effect by projects like Future Sound Of London in the very past and therefore might appeal to fans of them as well. Furthermore we see "The Tilted Earth" once again indulging in sugary synthesizer overdose before the final cut "Slow Games" provides an approximately three minutes stretch of piano-led beauty for lovers. We're loving this!

JStar feat. Dark Angel - Warrior

Massive vibes for slayin' dancefloor murderation from our man JStar!

Canine [Polydor / Universal Music France]

Coming in from mysterious sources via mail only recently is this untitled four track EP by Canine which are seemingly coming out with new stuff on Polydor / Universal Music France these days. With their opening tune "Saturday" we see the band provide ethereal Indie vibes atop of blurry, slightly glitch-infused beat structures that might be well resonating with fans of James Blake and the likes of, bringing on a vernal, positive vibe whilst "Twin Shadow" and its high pitched vocal aim more at an audience keen of hypermodernistic Funk, big time drama and Indie (Not Indie) for urban audiences. Furthermore their song "Temps" drifts into romantic spheres, being the French ballad it is before surprisingly taking a u-turn towards electronic uptempo dancefloors accompanied by dramatic string sections fans of I'm Not A Band will love for sure and the concluding "Could We" waves goodbye on a solemn, beautiful and nightly Pop tip for lovers whilst firing up late night dancefloors with AfroWave influences beatwise every now and then. Sweet stuff.

Traxman - Twist Da Party Out (Official Video)

Hardcore Ghetto House for those in the know. Instant classic. Full on anthem mode. Large up.

Sascha Müller [Sascha Müller Music 1000027]

Scheduled for May 3rd, 2k18 is this one, Sascha Müller's latest digital two track single on his very own Sascha Müller Music-imprint. With the opener "Deliver" the Meppen-based producer brings on a playful, 'troity and slightly B12-influenced vibe when it comes to top notch, Phonk-infused ElectroTechno whilst "Opossum", the second take on this single weighs in a deeper take on dancefloor functional, hi-hat ridden Intelligent Techno that takes us back to the genres heydays and provides a well hypnotic, floating dancefloor experience for advanced underground crowds. Great stuff!

Arovane & Porya Hatami - Organism_evolution [Karlrecords Promo]

Put on the circuit via Karlrecords in April 2k18 is "Organism_evolution", the new collaborational album effort created by Berlin's Uwe Zahn a.k.a. Arovane and the Iranian underground artist Porya Hatami. Churning out 23 tracks in only 55 minutes playtime, many of them under the mark of two minutes, they're providing a next evolutionary step in the aesthetics of last years "Organism" album, focus on techniques of granular and/or modular synthesis, spectral processing and others to create a spatial, clean, futuristic and sci-fi sound field that is surely fascinating in terms of its highly developed production value and, in parts, a re-evolution of the Clicks'n'Cuts genre e.g. in tracks like "Creature_015", yet fail to deliver a coherent theme or at least a few outstanding trademark tunes throughout the whole album which, due to this lack of structural coherency, seems to be like a study in sound design in 23 parts rather than an unmitigated body of work and therefore leaves us with a bit of a hollow, unsatisfied feel after an extended listening session.

Axel Dörner / Torben Snekkestad / Flavio Zanuttini / Florian Walter - Bruit 4 [Umland Records 014]

Coming in with a letter from the Essen / Germany-based label that is Umland Records was "Bruit 4", the most recent, 2017-released album created by a crew of musicians consisting of Axel Dörner, Torben Snekkestad, Flavio Zanuttini and Florian Walter. With all  of them being dedicated and internationally acclaimed trumpet players the quartet came together with the intention to present and fuse four different variations of the trumpet - firebird trumpet, trumpet, reed trumpet and hechtyphone - as well as different approaches towards tonal executions on the instrument within eight untitled tracks. What sounds like a very niche approach accessible only for specialists and highly, as well as theoretically, trained listeners results in longing, minimalist and almost modular sounding experimentalisms in the opening cut which seemingly comes up with a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek twist halfway through which is followed by a klaxon'esque, deeply melancholic cut of late night Future Jazz whereas cut three presents an ultraminimalist feel well relatable to for followers of ElectroAcoustics or Clicks'n'Cuts and similar genres. Part four of this eight tracker sees the four musicians exploring a multilayered, more tonal take on regular sonic emissions from their instruments, following a certain rhythm throughout the tracks approx. 9 minutes runtime, part five leads into territories of highly experimental Free Jazz and Improv whilst bringing on most fascinating bass wobbles and part six takes us towards more aggressive Free Jazz eruptions throughout its total runtime of 134 seconds. Furthermore we see part seven gravitate towards more melancholia embedded in Future Jazz experimentalisms before the closing part eight gets back into a mixture of total improvisation and hefty, harsh and noisy attacks for those in the know. Demanding stuff.

Sascha Müller [Super Six Records Extra 065]

With his next album on his very own Super Six Records-imprint we see Meppen's Sascha Müller serving another menu of quality electronic music consisting of twelve tracks. He is opening with "Dirty Harry Spoke To Hell", a sweet and hypnotic take on AcidTrance for those who know before serving to more minutes of solemn Gong Ambient with "Gong 02", followed by a bubbly, dry and uplifting uptempo ElectroAcidTech affair named "Pure Analog Part 06" and "Tiefenrausch" is giving us a grinding string of slightly distorted low end pulses whilst referring to genres like Illbient and Rhythm Industrial at the same time, evolving into more of a experimental take on noisy DubTechno over time. With "Ambient 1" we see Sascha Müller explore an ultra calm, spatial and stripped down take on the genre, "Down To Earth And Back" weighs in playful, Plaid'esque IDM for advanced dancefloors, "Follow Me Into The Twilight Zone" gets back into Ambient territories although this danger-inducing, approx. 12 minutes work out causes more inner unrest than providing calm relaxation which is later on served by the following Gong Ambient vision of "Gong 03" before "Tantra" brings on dry, stripped down Minimal Techno in its original, 'troity sense and therefore is a stunning club tool for all DJ's out there. Furthermore "Gong 04" proceeds on the path beaten by its predecessors, "Temple TROB" kills braincells with a hard hitting, merciless Techno attitude and the final "Timeshift" explores glitchy, filtered Electronica / Phonk abstractions for a minimalist, yet fascinating and well melodic closure. An excellent selection, this.

Krumble - Ultrash Talking *Re-Edit 2018 (Free Download)

The remake of a classic - Drum'n'Bass and DarkJungle violence for total dancefloor destruction. Get!

Dead Cat In A Bag - Sad Dolls And Furious Flowers [Gustaff Records Promo]

Scheduled for release on the Polish label Gustaff Records on May 18th, 2k18 is "Sad Dolls And Furious Flowers", the fresh album brought to us by Dead Cat In A Bag, the multi-membered band / ensemble which features not less than 21 musicians on the bill for this longplayer. Opening with the brooding PostPunk meets Wave meets Spoken Word effort "Sad Tolls" Dead Cat In A Bag set the bars high for things to come, continues greatly with "Promises In The Evening Breeze", a dramatic Tango-esque DesertRock Noir effort, followed by the dark Americana bit that is "Thirsty" which brings on even more drama before "Not A Promise" is more on an inward looking tip, led by beautiful piano lines, soft acoustic guitars and longing TexMex-infused brass parts for a dusty western flic and "Muneca" caters one minute of pure guitar beauty. With "The Voice" things get intense, raw male vocals mix up with heavy distortions and seemingly electronic beats for a dark, Metal (Not Metal) feel, "The Place You Shouldn't Go" presents more of a bluesy vibe, "Waste" is based on a foundation of (Neo)Classial violins and deep atmospheres before breaking out into a Hillbilly Country attack in tilt mode and "Le Vent" is more of a longing, Film Noir'esque affair. Covering Lou Reed's legendary "Venus In Furs" we see Dead Cat In A Bag deliver their most Pop-focused, yet far from mainstream take on this longplayer, the Shakespeare-inspired "The Clouds" gets deeper into heart-felt melancholia, "Mexican Skeletons" are dancing a slow dance whilst '...riding horses in the sand' and "Furious Flowers" weighs in the cutest childs voice intro we've heard in quite a while before providing a sweet musical theme for the end of a hot summers day, somewhere... in the desert.

Empirion - Ciao Remix (Official Video)

Raw, high energy Rave music. Empirion is back.

Locust Fudge - Oscillation [Play Loud! Productions Promo]

Longevity is a thing. For a band to be around for roughly 25 years is a big thing. To come back with a new album after a two decades gap without having ever fully disbanded in a sense that the musicians involved stopped talking or working with eachother on other projects is an effort. But still: this is what Locust Fudge have achieved with "Oscillation", their latest outing put on the circuit via Play Loud! Productions on April 13th, 2k18. Bringing forth a uptempo, lively Indie meets Grunge attitude that's big in the 11+ minutes opener the duo turned live trio provides a ten track body of work that'll surely align with their old fans as introduces them to a whole new generation with melancholia-infused, introvert tunes like the deep "Come On In", easier vibes on "Hormones" or the roadtrip adventure anthem on tilt mode that is "No Defense" we see the band cater quite a solid, yet a little dusted album comeback that has derived from unfinished studio sessions, occasional meetings and songwriting efforts all put into one, creating tunes like the rhythmically complex "Relativity Check" or indulge in romantic love songs like the classic "Mine Be Thy Love". With "Something's Wrong" Locust Fudge are bringing back teen angst and distorted Grunge guitars, "We Shall Be Released" is another lovely uptempo jam for underground venues familiar with the occasional Wave or Punk show on the bill as well whilst "Do Not Go Gentle" comes up with an Americana-esque, folksy feel and the title song "Oscillation" gravitates more towards a straight up daytime radio Rock vibe for a reason. Not a bad thing though, although nothing new, unheard of or musically super thrilling is happening around here. Solid.

05.05.2018 Maschine Brennt @ Fabrique - Gängeviertel / Hamburg

decks:
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Liquid Sky Berlin
Niik [Maschine Brennt]
Vik Whatever [Moloch / Gay In Die Gänge]

file under: Techno

doors: 11pm - 08 am

Log in via Facebook!

Fabrique
Gängeviertel
Hamburg
Germany

Shuttle358 - Field [12k Promo]

Put on the circuit via 12k on February 2nd, 2k18 is the latest lomgplay effort by Dan Abrams a.k.a. Shuttle358 who's been emitting acclaimed Ambient albums ever since the year 2000. With his newest longplay piece we see Abrams harking back to his early explorations and sound aesthetics, opening the album with the clicking sci-fi experimentalism of "Star" before digging deep into abstract IDM rhythms on "Caudex", catering a 46 second spanning playful, yet melancholic Ambient soundscape skit with "Rossii" and reminiscing of hazy, Oval'esque Clicks'n'Cuts classics on "Edule". Crossing the "Field" Shuttle358 finds more crackling Ambient classicisms, his sonic depiction of the "Sea" is as beautiful as the ocean in itself, "Dilate" is mostly comprised of mechanical and highly digital warps, shifts, shivers and clicks underneath a misty layer of warm pads whereas the "Waves" follow a similar, vibration-led path down unexplored shores, partly disrupted by unexpected, yet well-placed glitches. Examining the big "Divide" we find more highly defined crackles on a pad-ridden surface, "Blue" is a thundering storm, touching hostile DeathAmbient lands amidst alien swamps before taking the route towards glitchy Deep Listening Electronics and the final cut "Farming" goes into solemn glitch melancholia for a grand finale. Recommended!

Sascha Müller [Super Six Records Extra 064]

Sascha Müller is back with another untitled album, number 064 in this ongoing series of longplay efforts on Super Six Records, sporting another set of 14 tracks from his studio vaults. Starting into this album on the "Intergalactic Highway" we're flying on streets build from electroid influences and proper raw ClubTechno, "AKS Imagination" weighs in swampy, clicking Ambient emitted by alien swamps, "Modern Primitive Evil (Part 3)" presents less than two minutes of Melodic Noize and heavy distortion attacks before the "Needle Drama" unfolds in a way that redefines the term MicroHouse for 2k18 whilst adding a little dubby twist to its highly defined and masterly crafted structures. With "Pure Analog Part 03" the Meppen-based producer explores hollow, polyrhythmic percussion Techno reminiscent of Plastikman's 'Spastik'-phase soundwise whilst adding an additional layer of strangely warped and filtered midrange synths, "Zebrabeat III" weighs in gooey Acid modulations atop a stripped down TechFunk foundation, the "Beat Manager" dances to floating, acidic ProtoTrance fusion sounds, "Pure Analog Part 04" deals with slo-mo Electro abstractions and raw, organic, heartwarming basslines created by vintage synths whereas "The AKS Dimensions" take us on a journey with beatless, yet Trance-inducing, spiralling modulations and fluttering noise gates. Furthermore "Zebrabeat IV" caters high class AcidTrance for lovers of the genre, "707 + 101 = MS20" makes up an interesting raw equation for stripped down, yet ravey Techno whilst "Drop Out" produces a proper seductive MinimalHouse bounce for very late night dancefloors. Finally we see "Gong Part 01" catering, well, Gong Ambient-vibes for solemn mediation before the concluding cut "Pure Analog Part 05" goes up the ElectroAcid on hyperspeed alley for dancefloors - and DJ's !!! - in full tilt mode. File under: Error Music.

Dr. NoiseM - Studio Works 26 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Coming straight from the studios of Meppen's mysterious Dr. NoiseM is "Studio Works 26", the latest album effort of the highly productive Noize and DeathAmbient artist which is catering a new selection of nine previously unreleased tunes on this one. Starting into the album with the 26 seconds Digital HarshNoize / Breakcore eruption that is "Black Hawk" things progress with "Clip", a desolate Cold Ambient piece bringing on desparate, yet beautiful string drones alongside the Dr.'s trademark respiratory sounds whereas "Dead In Space" follows a way more minimalistic path, exclusively consisting of spatial recordings of static atmospheres alongside highly fragile echoes of strings whilst the "Emergency Setup" is built upon a foundation of a lonely alien two-tone signal, sci-fi laboratory recordings and an overall feel of a postapocalyptic wasteland. Progressing into "High Resolution" we're presented a solemn fusion of Cold Ambient and Deep Listening Music, "Jolly Rancher" serves approx. two minutes of spaced out, filtered Digital Noize and "Monster" caters 4+ minutes of pure silence. The albums main piece "Planet Gong" which is spread out over a total runtime of 31 - sic! - minutes weighs in a continuous flow of wobbly, slightly off-kilter Ambient modulations reminiscent of  Dr. NoiseM's 'The CDr A-B-C'-series before the final "Planetensolimuster" waves goodbye with a calm, isolationist take on brooding Dark Ambient. Proper good!

Rito - Rito [Gustaff Records Promo]

Soon to be released via the Polish imprint Gustaff Records is Rito's self-titled album "Rito in which the collective's four core members Piotr Pawlak, Michal Gos, Jacek Stromski and Kuba Staruszkiewicz present a bunch of five brand new tunes spanning a playtime of roughly 45 minutes. Relying on and referring to trance-inducing structures we see the band creating their unique sound with an array of three drum kits plus prepared guitar, samples and computational devices, starting with "Ni Ne Scias" , a fascinating tune opening with a short intro sequence reminiscing of late 90s releases on the legendary Heimelektro Ulm Tonquellen-label, before evolving into a full on, guitar-led Latin swinger with a bit of a Cocktail / Easy Listening / Tropicalia-infused approach and bringing forth a surprising, plot-twisting and heavily dubbed out breakdown after roughly 4 minutes in whereas the follow up "Gos" seemingly aims at an audience well familiar with bleepy Ambient and Post-PostRock structures whilst "Urbo" caters more of a brooding, isolationist DesertRock-attitude and therefore can be referred to as the most outstanding tune on this album. Furthermore "Blua" caters a menu of carefully layered Ambient-/ Deep Listening-strings and solemn, yet tribalistic percussion bits and several Field Recordings and found sounds to a calming effect before the final cut "Fino" not only comes close to the 15 minutes mark but continues on an unsettling, ever culminating DesertRock tip, announcing the arrival of evil forces and subsurface hordes of unseen powers, ready to rampage and devastate earth until the only remains of a former civilized world are turned to dust. Powerful, this!

03.05.2018 baze.djunkiii presents: OUR HOUSE @ Beat Boutique / Hamburg

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Liquid Sky Berlin]

file under: DeepHouse / House /

doors open: 9 pm

Beat Boutique
Max-Brauer-Allee 219
22765 Hamburg
Germany

Oliver Coates - Charlev (Official Video)

8+ minutes of hypnotic, crystalline music accompanied by tripping video art created by director Leah Walker.

Lucrecia Dalt - Anticlines [RVNG Intl.]

In the pipe for release on May 4th, 2k18 via the great RVNG Intl.-imprint is "Anticlines", the latest longplay offering from Berlin-based former geotechnical engineer Lucrecia Dalt which has been announced on these pages in mid-February as we featured the video for the Spoken Word- / Future Tribal-fusion that is "Tar". With an overall body of work that spans 14 tracks over the course of roughly 36 minutes we see Lucrecia Dalt follow this unique and individual path, carving out her own niche of Spoken Word-ridden electronics, delivering her calm, yet unsettling poetry atop of skeletal, slowly shifting structures to be found in the goosebump-inducing opener "Edge", weighing in dark, alarming and bass-heavy skits like "Altra", digging into fragile amalgamations of tender Ambient structures and abstract re-interpretations of courtly dances with "Atmospheres Touch" before delivering repetetive, machine-like rhythm signatures and clanging metal sounds throughout the course of "Errors Of Skin". Climbing "Analogue Mountains" we see her creating an intense, bleepy sci-fi soundtrack for alien rituals and dances,  "Axis Excess" brings solemn Ambient abstractions to the table whilst the "Indifferent Universe" is a playful, positive arrangement of bubbly, slightly  swampy experimentations with a tongue-in-cheek twist, sort of, and "Concentric Nothings" deal with broken, semi-tonal poetry of the deepest kind, bringing forth the most outstanding vibe on the whole "Anticlines" album for a reason."Helio Tanz" rides a similar wave, relying on more Deep Listening Music-structures and Future Sound Of London-resembling, metallic rhythms, the "Glass Brain" emits droning buzzes and more minimalistic, metallo-electroid beat abstractions for advanced dancefloors before "Liminalidad" explores (Neo)Cosmic territories, the "Eclipsed Object" caters space vocoders and super soft synth pads as a background and the final "Antiform" once again brings forth swampy minimalisms, this time accompanied by an ebb-and-flow of click clusters, evoking memories of Ambient goodness brought to us by Berlin's great Interference Records which was an Ambient staple for all the oldskoolers amongst us in the 90s. Check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Driftmachine - Shift IV

A new bass-heavy transmission from the Umor Rex-camp.

Splashgirl - Sixth Sense [Hubro Music]

Making a return to the Hubro Music circuit are Splashgirl, the trio consisting of Andreas Stensland Lowe, Jo Berger Myhre and Andreas Lonmo Knudsrod which was responsible for the first ever release on the label back in 2009. With their sixth album, engineered by Seattle's Randall Dunn, the group presents a seven title spanning body of work which opens with "Carrier", an intense, brooding PostRock meets PostPunk meets Synth arrangement presenting a few ProgRock influences as well whilst the follow up "Broken" comes across as a loose, Jazz-infused arrangement of highly calm and tender nature evolving into a 4/4-driven storm before "Sixth Sense", the albums title track, presents a thundering drum foundation accompanied by a captivating Synth and string arrangement of cineastic quality and "Monsoon" reveals a noisier, grinding and slightly dissonant and Obscure Americana-infused element in Splashgirls work. Furthermore we see "Half Self" going up the mystical, folksy and naturalistic Ambient alley, "Taal Caldera" wanders plateaus once explored by classic Synth masters like Tangerine Dream and / or Klaus Schulze whilst serving a wonderful menu of piano melancholia and the final cut named "Sedna" caters more sparse piano beauty and a nervous buzz coming from multiple layers of bass-heavy synthesizers alongside loose and abstract drum arrangements for those who love their Deep Listening Music to the max.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Schräge Träume [SMSM 018]

Released only recently is "Schräge Träume", the latest digital single outing by Meppen's most productive producer - Sascha Müller. With the title we see the artist explore a very unique take on Electro- /TechHouse sporting off kilter synths, distorted stabs reminiscent of DJ Enrique's works on the long gone Ladomat 2000 imprint and a bouncy melody that would've set floors on fire in the early 2000s whilst his "Bubblebath" is a pounding, raw, uptempoTechno banger built around a thrilling Disco bassline, killing crowds with razor sharp hi-hats, busy Rave signals and magnificent functionality. Tune.

Mark Hand - Lessons

A great first glimpse on what's to come for a debut on the freshly launched Innate imprint. Intelligent Techno at its very best!

TechnoBotts - TechnoBrett EP [Fresscode Records 002]

For its sophomore release the recently launched imprint that is Fresscode Records comes up with the "TechnoBrett EP" by a new project named TechnoBotts which is opening this three-track single with "Dampframme", a cold and sci-fi sounding, deadly Techno weapon of a kind able to send pounding underground crowds to heaven with its repetetive, precise and machine-like attitude whilst "In Motion" revives the long missed groove of a beloved style we all used to know under the name of HardHouse / Hardbag House in the 90s to a great effect and "Solism" provides a great  example of what ultra-compressed HardTek should sound like in 2k18.

Ayuune Sule - We Have One Destiny [Makkum Records / Rebel Up Records]

Put on the circuit as a collaborational effort between Makkum Records and the freshly founded Rebel Up Records is "We Have One Destiny", the first officially signed album by Kologo artist Ayuune Sule which, amongst a whole of eleven tracks, includes a new and updated, fully studio produced version of his first significant hit "What A Man Can Do A Woman Can Do More Better". Opening with the conscious and surprisingly calm "Two Wrongs Don't Make A Right" we see Ayuune Sule pave a unique path, fusing classic Kologo vibes with soulful call-and-response chorus sequences and clear HipHop / Rap influences whilst "Eye Vim" brings forth a broader, electronically infused AfroPop / Worldmusic vibe in which one might also recognize hints of so-called Shangaan Electro, "Say Yime Ma" marks a return to the intense, raw and grassroots variation of the genre, focusing only on a man and his instrument as well as reponding choirs before "Asibi" featuring Atimbila and Chikicheke leans towards a summery, laid back 4/4 approach for a WorldPop audience and "How To Get There" switches back to classic Kologo once again and therefore is one of our favorite tracks on this album, besides adressing actual educational problems in Ghana in a simple, yet direct way. "Keleke" featuring Linda Yinimi on vocal duties defines a modern, complex take on this Ghanaian style, bringing mid-tempo havoc to highly advanced dancefloors whilst "Pongse" gets into more soulful, yet stripped down territories, "Parimame" seems to reflect some echoes of Americana in a way whilst being another classic Kologo bomb, "Senyaane" weighs in a slightly grinding, deep and campfire'esque aspect and the concluding tune "Beele Yere" waves goodbye on a tender tip, revealing the most beautiful and loving side of the Kologo genre. Good stuff.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Pakistan Techno Force - Fergus EP [Fresscode Records 001]

Launched on March 15, 2k18 is a new label named Fresscode Records which makes its debut with a single produced by the mysterious Pakistan Techno Force. Providing a digital three-tracker for an introduction the PTF opens with "Creed", a raw and solid Techno tool for fast mixing DJ's, wanders the thin line between banging HardTek and Hardcore with the minimalist, yet super effective Rave shot named "DropBall" before the final cut "Katakombs" provides grinding, Zhark'esque Techno brutality for subterranean zombie raves. Hard!