Junius Meyvant - Across The Borders [Record Records]

To be released via Record Records on January 25th, 2k19 is "Across The Borders", the sophomore album by Icelandic artist Unnar Gisli Sigurmundsson, better known to fans of the islands thriving music scene under his artistic nom de guerre Junius Meyvant. Born and raised on the small 4000 people island of Heimaey his soulful 2016-released album "Floating Island" was praised and critically acclaimed all over the place and surely his new eleven song elaboration will strike a chord within both fans and critics as will. Rich, luscious orchestration, a touch of Soul, Junius Meyvant's smokey vocal performance  and - most importantly - a massive vintage vibe are bringing us back to golden 70s Californian sunsets, endless rides on American highways, a general feel of ease and unlimited possibilities and a glorious future to come with its soundtrack being tunes like "High Alert", the sweet late night jam that is "Holidays", the Yacht anthem "Let It Pass", the dancefloor filling Uptempo Soul killer "New Waves" or the Country-infused "Carry On With Me". Good stuff, this.

Alina Kalancea - The 5th Apple [Störung 013]

Put on the circuit as cat.no. 013 of the Störung-imprint on December 21st, 2k18 is "The 5th Apple",  the eight track album debut created by Romanian sound artist / producer Alina Kalancea who is setting out to fuse Spoken Word with rich electronic textures on her first longplay piece. And although the artists obvious accent and pronounciation alongside the reprocessing of her voice in itself make it quite hard to follow and embrace the deeper meaning of the vocal performance when one is not fully focused on the intertwined layers of vocals and music it is easy to get lost in Alina Kalancea's compositional work which is generally based on deep, steady, organic bass pulses as a basic structure, oftentimes accompanied by cold, buzzing, scientific drones of sorts, a general feeling of darkness and desolation albeit crossing over into Ambient territories every now and then or providing tense, fully instrumental cuts like the title track "The 5th Apple" which both evokes memories of early Senking productions or a beatless Crooklyn Dub vibe whilst stimulating our senses in a special way that makes it, alongside the hyperminimal, yet spine-tingling Dark Ambient tune "Fears", our favorite cut to be found on this album whereas the "Poisonous Girl" even touches on Morricone'esque score qualities, Opera and (Neo)Classical composition. Quite an interesting one, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

DJ. Flugvél Og Geimskip - Elsta Lag I Heimi (Official Video)

File under: Psychedelic Novelty Rave Music.

Silk Road Assassins - State Of Ruin [Planet Mu 402 Promo]

Scheduled for release on February 8th, 2k19 via Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu label is "State Of Ruin", the full length debut album brought to us by the trio known as Silk Road Assassins. Providing a 14 track journey within a runtime of 44 minutes with guest appearances by Kuedo and Wwwings featuring each on one tune we see the group paint a cold, clean and dystopian urban landscape both informed by emotionally touching, neon-lit arrangements which we've seen in the music of PostGrime producers like Ikonika, hark back to sparse futurisms we all loved in albums like Distance's 2007-released "My Demons", provide epic, ethereal synth arrangements in tunes like "Vessel" or bring on lively bangers for highly advanced dancefloors like "Familiar". Furthermore the Silk Road Assassins deal with floating Ambient arrangements in tunes like "Pulling The String", crystalline beauty in the hyperreduced "Bowman" or captivating sonic whirlwinds like "Taste Of Metal (Instrumental)" on this sonically fascinating debut which defo should be consumed on high end headphones rather than in a club environment or taken into consideration as a soundtrack by Hollywood producers for a next generation of forthcoming sci-fi eposes.

Building Instrument - Mangelen Min

The title track as a most beautiful outtake of the recent Building Instrument album which we've reviewed on these pages earlier this month.

W/V - W/V [Silken Tofu 060]

Put on the circuit via the experimental electronic music imprint Silken Tofu as their 60th release on December 14th, 2k18 is the new self-titled two track album crafted by W/V, a project consisting of Drone musician James Welburn and composer, vocalist and Opera singer - sic! - Juliana Venter. Released as a limited to 300 copies vinyl edition the A-side of this album brings us "Concave", a 14+ minutes excursion into a grinding wall of sound comprised of droning, nerve wrecking guitar feedbacks and Juliana Venters haunted, otherworldly vocal performance which makes this one a well uneasy soundtrack for your darkest, fear-inducing nightmares whereas "Moonunit" on the flip opens on a minimalistic, slightly Dub-infused ElectroAcoustic tip only to build up layer upon layer of calm, brooding drones and alarming feedbacks as a foundation for raspy, outlandish, alienated and slightly fractured vocals over the course of its 17+ minutes runtime, making this one our favorite tune on this well recommended longplay piece. One for the headstrong. Check.

26.01.2019 baze.djunkiii presents: OUR HOUSE @ Beat Boutique / Hamburg

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]

file under: House Classics / DeepHouse / Chicago House

doors open: 9 pm

Beat Boutique
Max-Brauer-Allee 219
22765 Hamburg
Germany

Madrugada - Strange Colour Blue (Live Session Video)

This is the essence of Blues. Period.

Ellen Fullman & Okkyung Lee - The Air Around Her [1703 Skivbolaget]

Scheduled for release via the Swedish imprint 1703 Skivbolaget on January 18th, 2k19 is "The Air Around Her", the new two track album collaboration created by Ellen Fullman, inventor of the so-called long string instrument, and South Korean cellist Okkyung Lee. United in combining the individual love and sound of their preferred and beloved instrument the two artists create a slowly, yet steadily evolving sonic landscape of droning, beautiful nature, combining inward-looking Ambient-melancholia with a feel of nordic, naturalistic calmness, a widescreen panoramic timelessness and the soothing overall fascination of Deep Listening Music, providing a musical fest for both followers of Contemporary Classical music, Drone and Ambient alike. Get.   

Album artwork on Instagram!

Bewider - Full Panorama [Folk Wisdom 008]

To be released via the Folk Wisdom-imprint on February 1st, 2k19 is "Full Panorama", the latest full length album created by composer Piernicola Di Muro employing his project alias Bewider for this twelve track journey. Opening with "Panorama" we see Bewider paving the way for things to come, bringing forth a soft-padded, floating and beautiful take on what could be described as AmbientHouse for late night or early morning dancefloors whereas the follow up "We Must Dream As We Act" fully touches base with Ambient lovers only to provide a few rhythmic IDM structures and lively Synth / (Neo)Cosmic modulation works throughout the last two minutes. With "People Living Deeply" Piernicola Di Muro goes even deeper into Ambient territories, "Last One Night" provides a steady pulse for classic ChillOut floors and so does "Retina" before "Sartorius" brings forth a darker, faster muscial approach meandering in between spiralling Synth and beatless, experimental HardTrance / AcidTrance for those who know. Furthermore we see "The Episode" explore a widescreen, ethereal approach towards warm, all-embracing Ambient pads and harmonies, "Latitude" caters towards those loving hovering chord progressions and "No One Ever Became Wicked Suddenly" comes across in a brooding, atmospheric way that evokes memories of the likes of Vangelis or Tangerine Dream for those who've been digging deep into the history of electronic music. The follow up "Degree Of Unpredictability" takes us back to early 90s Ambient once provided by labels like Interference Records and other long gone imprints, "La Nascita" fully focuses on a nightly, introspect vibe and turns out to be the most melancholic cut on the album whereas "Everyone Else Is Already Taken" waves goodbye in a playful, frolicking and even dancefloor friendly IDM / Electronica manner. Great stuff for all Ambient headz out there.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sharon Van Etten - Seventeen (Official Video)

Another highly recommended video outtake from Sharon Van Etten's new album "Remind Me Tomorrow".

Ulrich Troyer - Dolomite Dub [4Bit Productions 008 Promo]

Scheduled for release via 4Bit Productions on February 8th, 2k19 is "Dolomite Dub", the new four tracks and 42 minutes spanning album project brought to us by the man that is Ulrich Troyer. Conceptually reflecting on a multi-days hike in the Dolomite mountains set at a constant given speed of 133.3 bpm we see Ulrich Troyer and the participating triumvirate consisting of Jürgen Berlakovich, Susanna Gartmeyer and Didi Kern develop a slow moving musical landscape based on dry bass figures, delicate, yet slightly dreamlike, fever'ish and tribalistic, in parts even live played percussions as well as occasional effects on all interwined tracks of the album which, from our perspective, is closer related to styles like Indietronica, (Post)PostRock, late 90s Viennese Future Jazz or Contemporary (Neo)Krautrock than to the original Dub genre although the given references and intersections between these genres are obvious on this album. Probably best experienced on a proper massive soundsystem rig rather than via headphones or on your home stereo speakers.

Júníus Meyvant - High Alert (Official Youtube Audio)

When an artist hailing from Iceland has got the Soul we're getting something like "High Alert" which is taken from the forthcoming Júníus Meyvant-album, scheduled for January 25th, 2k19 on Record Records.

Sascha Müller [Supersix Records Extra 078]

Fresh on the circuit via his very own Supersix Records-imprint is Sascha Müller's latest untitled album which brings us a whole bunch of twenty new and unreleased tracks from his archive. Opening with "8 Meter" we see Sascha Müller bringing forth a bouncy UK Techno-infused variation of ever moving AcidTrance modulations whilst the follow up "Fallende Elektronen" deals with a darker, stripped down, reverberating take on ElectroAcid for most hypnotic DJ-sets in large warehouse settings. Furthermore "Acinaut" provides a polyrhythmic approach to highly defined, yet clunky AcidTechno with an oldskool twist and well aggressive hi-hats, "M-king 4 (Sascha Müller Remixed Sascha Müller)" gets into deeper, damp Acid territories with raw unprocessed claps, snares and hi-hats alongside a swampy overall feel and "12345678 (Radio Edit)" combines FilterHouse-aesthetics with a marching straightforward high energy attitude. Following up is a series of 15 tracks subsequently named "The OS Tracks 01 - 15", exploring a musical range from unpolished, jumpy underground Electro to dry Techno minimalism reminiscent of cuts released on the former Ladomat 2000-imprint whilst others like "The OS Tracks 04" bring on a Hardcore-boardering attitude evoking memories of the Italian Acid- / Rave-scene in the early 1990s, explore bleepy, distorted 8bit Electro territories and further journeys into experimental Electro realms as well as marching, metallic drums as a foundation for twisted, surely uneasy Acid and slow-motion Hardcore that's defo not meant to be experienced by the faint-hearted out there. Great stuff.

Sascha Müller - Acid Acapella Vol. 3 [Psychocandies 075]

Forthcoming as cat.no. 075 of the Acid-focused Psychocandies-imprint on January 24th, 2k19 is Sascha Müller's latest collection of DJ tools for the advanced Acid jockey named "Acid Acapella Vol. 3".  As in the previous volumes we see a serving of seven tracks with this one, all comprised of pure Acid lines and modulations without any additional beats, percussions or sound fx, made to be enjoyed solo or layered on top of other tracks in the context of a DJ set. With the musical range presented in this collection and within the genre going from dry Chicago jack AcidHouse vibes in the opener "5  Min Acid Warning Part 02" to killer hypnotic high pitch movements in "Acid Delight Part 01", massive Trance-inducing build-ups in "5 Min Acid Warning Part 04" and deep Intelligent Acid structures from the ultraworld in "Acid Delight Part 02" just to pick a few. Intredasting.

Kuhzunft - Slotmachine [Gruenrekorder Promo]

And now to something completely conceptual, a new way of interactive composition technique introduced by Achim Zepezauer and his Kuhzunft project which results in this 10" to be released on the Gruenrekorder-imprint on February 1st, 2k19. All 30 - sic !!! - under one minute tracks on this one have been composed as a collage using a virtual slotmachine of sorts filled with 158 45 second recordings provided by a set of 13 different artists including the likes of Jaap Blonk, Jerome Noetinger, John Chantler, Zepezauer himself and many more which are then randomly layered with the program to create a full blown collage of three simultaneously played tunes. The results are, despite way too short to be characterized as tracks, a kind of slightly chaotic set of miniatures, in parts fully experimental and hardly comprehensible, of seemingly electroacoustic nature, resembling bits that could've emerged from early experimental music labs like the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, getting into PostRock, Future DarkJazz or pure feedback driven areas or even touch Ambient and Lo(west)-Fi Electronica realms at times, providing a demanding, yet defo fascinating listening experience for die-hard fans of full-on experimentalism and conceptual novelty music.

Sharon Van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow [Jagjaguwar Promo]

Scheduled for release via Jagjaguwar on January 18th, 2k19 is "Remind Me Tomorrow", the latest album created by Sharon Van Etten, four years after releasing the predecessor "Are We There". Already announced on these pages in November 2k18 via the video for the massive "Come Back Kid" the album brings forth ten brand new songs, opening with "I Told You Everything" and its beautiful, spatial, yet intimate piano intro which leads into a touching, droning and Downbeat infused ballad of sorts whereas "No One's Easy To Love" brings forth a thrilling mixture of smoky seduction, Alternative and bits of midtempo funkiness whilst "Memorial Day" tampers with ethereal vocals and brooding, yet dreamy electronic darkness somehow reminiscent of Alt.Pop of the early to mid 90s. With "Jupiter 4" we see Sharon Van Etten employing beautiful organic vintage synth basslines as a backing for a longing, well intimate slow jam, "Seventeen" covers classic PowerPop realms alongside a highly catchy minor scale piano motif and "Malibu" provides a raspy, large scale 80s-flavored ballad never to leave the very core of our hearts again. Furthermore "You Shadow" is a massive bop sportings suprisingly heavy guitar / bass distortions, "Hands" provides an unsettling, narcotic soundtrack for Alternative nightmares and the final song that is "Stay" is an inward looking affair for lazy late summer afternoons for sure. Good stuff.

Promo artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 01/2019

Umber - This Earth To Another [Sound In Silence 059]

Also released via the Greek Sound In Silence-imprint on December 11th, 2k18 is "This Earth To Another", the first album ever created for the label by Leicestershire-based composer Alex Steward who employs his musical moniker Umber for this release. Following up to his solo debut of 2013 we see Umber create an eight track spanning longplay journey opened by "Altered Fragments", a blueprint of tenderly floating Ambient pads and all embracing harmonies followed by the albums title track which adds beautiful, intimate guitar works and a slow, clunky background rhythm signature to the mix. With "Harvest" we see Umber progress into tender, heavenly atmospheres and more super laid back guitar clouds, "It Just Fills The Hollow Spaces" brings on 140 seconds of crystalline, floating beauty and "Multnomah" brings forth an innocent, folksy, yet slightly off-kilter vibe in its dreamy guitar based harmonies. Furthermore "Harvest (Slow)" is a 12 minute meditation on carefully arranged harmonic shifts and more tender guitars with a PopAmbient twist whereas the following "Grape And Grain" is focusing on a spiralling, shifting, yet ever repeating main motif and warm Indietronica vibes before "Low Tide" provides a sweet closing for connaisseurs of harmonic perfection in conjunction with distinct, scraping rhythm elements, warm bass pulses and - once again - Umber's trademark guitar works. The definition of ChillOut.

Album artwork on Instagram!

The Gentleman Losers - Make We Here Our Camp Of Winter [Sound In Silence 058]

Released via the Greek Ambient staple Sound In Silence on December 11th, 2k18 is "Make We Here Our Camp Of Winter" by the Finnish pair of brothers Samu and Ville Kuukka under their artistic alias of The Gentleman Losers. With previous releases on labels like City Centre Offices under their belt the duo opens their eight track journey with "Shelter From The Rain", a twangy take on chill, inward looking guitar improvisations accompanied by grainy Ambient textures followed by the title track "Make We Here Our Camp Of Winter" which provides a solemn, autumnal approach to the genre accompanied by beautiful, melancholia inducing piano chords. "The Book Of Leaves" takes us to more dramatic levels, with a background atmosphere adumbrating a forthcoming storm whereas the steel guitar provides more of a kitsch-driven vibe for PopAmbient fans, "Always Crashing On The Same Wave" brings on clumsy beat structures built out of possibly field recorded sounds paired with a deep Post-PostRock atttitude and "Fish Roam In The Winter Water" goes down a full on naturalistic, partly even folksy route - possibly inspired by the untouched rural nature of the brothers' homeland and graced by beautiful Spoken Word poetry provided by Oliver Whitehead. Furthermore "Turning To Gold" pairs touching piano tones with raw, vintage synth harmonies and an overall feel of total peace, "Kingdom Of The Wind" tampers with glitches, heavy echoes and slightly out of tune steel guitars before turning into a full on blueprint of panoramic Ambient and the last cut that is "Bend Low, Sweet Branch, Bend Low" even brings on more beautiful, late night piano romanticisms for a sweet closing and defo provides a clue why a producer like Nils Frahm chose one earlier The Gentleman Losers track for his 'Late Night Tales' compilation in the past.

Sascha Müller - Traxxx Vol. 8 [SM Traxxx 31-2019]

To be released on January 17th, 2k19 is Sascha Müller's newest digital single "Traxxx Vol. 8", the next two track instalment on the SM Traxxx label. With the opener "Track 15" we see the Meppen-based artist being on a raw, hypnotic and fast paced AcidTechno trip whilst "Track 16" gets down with a metallic, functional Techno attitude paying homage to producers like early The Advent or hyperfunctional workouts by Steve Stoll or Cari Lekebusch. One for the tool-focused jocks out there.

Angelo Bello - GENDYN Suite [Elli Records 008]

So we're taking another view on full on computer generated, artificially composed music with Angelo Bello's "GENDYN Suite" mini album / EP which is about to be released via Elli Records on January 15th, 2k19. Using Iannis Xenakis' GENDYN algorithm as a base we see Angelo Bello provide a set of four tracks here created with the functions nonstandard sound synthesis techniques, resulting in seemingly random, yet structured compositions which resemble a shattered, glitched and decaying take on (Neo)Classical music in "Invention" whereas its follow up "Fugue 2" caters to an audience looking for the more extreme, gravitating heavily to highly digital Noize / HarshNoize from a cold, dystopian future. With "Fugue 1" we see more harmonic, yet buzzing digital data streams moving and glitching through optical fibres, providing a hefty, yet calming dose of information overload before the concluding "Ricercar" takes over, driving down a road of brooding, droning DarkAmbient combined with screeching textures and digital blips for a soundtrack for entering a hell'ish vortex or the funnel leading down to a semi-liquid vantablack maelstrom of grinding slag and sullage. Fascinating. Check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Charts 01/2019

01. Lemzly Dale - Catty EP [Sector 7 Sounds 008]
Grime, Grime, Grime. And a little bit of Skweee- / Downbeat-influences as well. Four untitled tracks on this sweet little 12" with especially the B1 tune sticking out due to its raw, unpolished and vocal driven street attitude that made the genre one of our favorites in its early stages.

02. Various Artists - Gradients Volume 2 [Astrophonica]
What a massive compilation this. I first discovered the 3xLP fourteen track vinyl pack when Alley Cat of Kokeshi- and former Skunkrock-fame dropped Sully's "Qualla" as one of the outstanding tunes in one of her podcasts prior to the release, drawing me into a world that exceeds the regular  boundaries of Drum'n'Bass and Jungle by far with a quality selection of tracks by Fracture & Neptune, Luke Vibert, BSN Posse, Proc Fiskal, Dream Continuum and many more. Essential bass. Get.

03. DJ Madd - Dub Champion / Ghetto Sound [Dub-Stuy Records 010]
It's a great time for bass music these days and DJ Madd proves this with two uptempo bangers well exceeding Dubstep tempo realms and gravitating towards halftime Drum'n'Bass whilst employing Reggae-infused vocals and offbeat licks for a vibe and dark'ish, slightly threatening background sounds for a haunting, gangster athmosphere. Big.

04. Ansome / Umwelt [Rave Or Die 011]
And there is darkness. A beautifully marbled petrol blue 10" release from the Rave Or Die-camp brings us muscular, mechanical underground Techno for industrial basement sessions as well as a killer variation on brutalist Electro for the headstrong. A must have, this.

05. P.T.B.S. & Sascha Müller - Split E.P. [Psychocandies]
See review for details...

06. Smith & Mighty - Ashley Road Sessions 88 - 94 [Tectonic Recordings / Punch Drunk Records]
We're all up for a proper flashback, aren't we? Dub, Jungle and Breakbeat legends that are Smith & Mighty are taking us back to their early years as a celebration of the groups 30th anniversary, bringing on all the goodness we've loved about them ever since. Sparse production, deep ass organic bass waves, DubHouse-greatness and sweet takes on Breakbeat- / Jungle-based arrangements which still are timeless classics despite screaming 90s for all those who've been there from early. This is essential Bristol and defo stuff youngsters should be schooled with and by in terms of where all of today's bass music variety originates from. 

07. Kiljoy - Bad Man / Air Raid [Function Records 046]
It's the time of classic labels again. Established back in 1999 we see Kiljoy harking back to heavy, rave-induced Drum'n'Bass spirit that ruled dancefloors from around 2001 to 2004, bringing on stabs inspired by Belgian Techno of the early 90s as well as UK Hardcore alongside a distinct no bullshit-attitude that turns this into a menacing weapon in every DJ's hands.

08. Vectorvision - The Star Dwellers EP [Lone Romantic 008]
Electro has always been our jam and this is good stuff indeed. Three tracks covering the whole spectrum of electroid goodness with a range from dreamy, slightly 80s-infused lo-fi vibes to spaced out futurism and fast-paced primetime workouts for highly advanced dancefloors. Check.

09. David Goldberg - Emo Serialism [Molten Moods 005]
Is this the future of bass music? David Goldberg is meandering in between booming Breakbeat, Broken Beat, Future Garage, echoes of stripped down BigBeat and dreamlike, beauteous Detroit-influenced string arrangements on this highly recommended release. An underrated gem which be referred to as Future Classic in a few months time, not only for the touching, emotional vocal performance on the title track.

10. Freddy Fresh - Moving Forward [Spaziotempo 001]
Freddy Fresh doesn't need any introduction. The Minneapolis-based producer, DJ, remixer and American allstar of electronic music comes back with four more tracks on the new Italian label Spaziotempo, covering a musical spectrum from stripped down, well hypnotic Techno to sparse ElectroPhonk for moody, spaced out late night sessions on this 12".

Building Instrument - Mangelen Min [Hubro Music]

Scheduled for release via the Norwegian Hubro Music-imprint on January 18th, 2k19 is "Mangelin Min", the new album created by Bergen's trio Building Instrument and the third since their 2k14 debut on the label. Together thee three musicians involved create a sonic universe of twelve tracks, built upon a foundation of perfectly balanced improvisation that puts many fully worked out compositions to shame whilst exploring a musical realm in between electronic textures and their concomitant rhythm signatures in amalgamation with Mari Kvien Brunvoll's ethereal vocal- and zither performance, oftentimes incorporating imaginative elements of Ethno- / Worldmusic alongside bits and pieces of ChillOut and TripHop, tender friendliness and touching harmonies especially prevalent in tunes like "Rygge Rygge La La", the tribal-driven "Ta Regnet" or the cutely named, stripped down interlude that is "Klokkespillsymfonien" that make "Mangelen Min" an excellent companion for Balearic sunset sets and extended terrace sessions. Good stuff. Get.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Xposed 4Heads - I'm Not Social (Official Video)

What a great song to share straight at the beginning of a new year. As intense, haunting and paranoid as things can get.

Sascha Müller [Supersix Records Extra 077]

The next new album project by Uelsen's Sascha Müller has been released via Supersix Records these days, bringing on a new collection of fourteen tracks for all lovers of electronic music, opening with "Reaktorzwischenfall", a quite experimental workout combining geiger counter signatures with noisy outbursts and and twisted synth harmonies whereas "My Clean Bigger 808" provides dancefloors with a dry, and obviously clean, take on MinimalTechno before "Zerebrale Nervenstimulation" goes down the same, even more stripped down musical alley. Following up is a sequence of tracks entitled "M-king 1" to "M-king 4", all dealing with proper hypnotic Acid-infused ClubTechno for heaving bigroom crowds whereas the next subsequent series "1 Meter" to "7 Meter" goes deep into the realms of lively, partly Chicago-influenced Acid and AcidHouse vibes for real headz whilst also providing bits of super catchy AcidPhonk with "3 Meter" or exploring gooey, spiralling Acid territories with "6 Meter".

Cuts - A Gradual Decline [Village Green Recordings 048]

Put on the circuit via Village Green Recordings on November 30th, 2k18 is "A Gradual Decline", the latest album outing created by composer and filmmaker Anthony Tombling Jr. under his artistic nom de guerre of Cuts. Opening with the title track "A Gradual Decline" we see Tombling Jr. paving the way for things to come with yearning Ambient soundscapes, off-kilter synths and pounding, organic Electronica / IDM structures whilst "Shattering Through" brings on beautiful synth melancholia, "Polar" polar employs pulses of crackly distortion atop warm, organic IDM / ChillOut before epic, uplifting, trance-inducing arpeggios and hovering pads take over whereas "From Here To Nowhere" drifts off into tender, emotional Piano Ambient territories accompanied by fragile dreamy, dreamlike female vocals from planet ballad. Realizing that "Time Is Not Your Friend" Cuts is drawn into a floating world of cascading synth chords and heavenly background beauty with certain Balearic qualities, "Pollen" are a bit on the romantic, score'esque and cliche side of the Ambient genre with their plangent string arrangements, "Beauty Collapsing" brings forth elements of Clicks'n'Cuts and highly digital Phonk as a foundation for playful melodic structures for advanced dancefloors before "Keynel Panic" leads us only deeper into a highly abstract, yet totally enjoyable variations on string-driven dancefloor Phonk slightly reminiscent of early releases on labels like Skam or by producers like Marco Passarani beatwise being the albums main hit from our perspective and angle. Experiencing "Gravitational Loss" we're floating alongside streams of soft Ambient clouds once again, "Maboroshi" weighs in timeless Electronica / IDM vibes bringing back memories of the softer side of labels like Dyslexic Response paired up with elements of (Neo)Cosmic and the final cut "Fear Of Everything" fully indulges in widescreen, panoramic Ambient for a calm and solemn closing with a bit of a (Neo)Classical twist.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Gudrun Gut - Moment [Monika Enterprise 093]

Released on December 7th, 2k18 via the long term label staple Monika Enterprise is "Moment" , the new album by Berlin's electronic music pioneer Gudrun Gut who's been, as we all know, around since the Industrial and Ingenious Dilettantes era launched in the early 80s. Opening the fourteen track journey with "Startup Loch" we see the producer fusing elements of catchy German SynthPop with epic synth arrrangements and massive Breakbeats reminiscent of the clunkier side of the NuSkoolBreaks genre whereas "Musik" branches out into mysterious, dark'ish 4/4 based Wave territories and "Shuttle Service" meanders somewhat in between MicroHouse and MinimalWave for 72 seconds. The super short interlude "Seltene Erde" brings on dark, jarring synthesizer experiments, "Baby, I Can Drive My Car" aims straight at shuffling late night dancefloors with a love for SynthPop, Indieelectro and ElectroClash, "Boys Keep Swimming" caters smokey, big bass driven ElectroPop with quite a seductive attitude whilst "FMP" comes across as a spine-tingling  amalgamation of electronics and a reprocessed drumset that would well be suitable for the score of a forthcoming espionage thriller for a reason. With "Schienenersatzverkehr" which might by a reference to Berlin's desolate public transport system Gudrun Gut once again employs 4/4 drums and Wave / Minimal Wave-oriented synth melodies for the darker creatures of the night, "Lover" harks back to the mechanical, muffled, hypnotic speed-changing rhythms of the Ingenious Dilletantes-years, "Glieder" indulges in romantic high grade melancholia and SpokenWord poetry and "Biste Schon Weg" introduces the most abstract rhythm signatures and harshest sounds on this album albeit sporting a deeply romantic, hand-played organic bass figure as a main motif. Furthermore we see "Are You Hungry?" implementing dark, fever'ish FutureTribal rhythms of minimal nature into the albums' score, "Sein" gets down on a raw, lively MinimalWave-tip for hyperadvanced dancefloors longing for killer underground hits and the final cut "Backup" dives deeps into the realms of crackly, alarming electronics for an intense, yet highly experimental closing. Good stuff, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi & Deaf Society - The Velocity Of Velocities [Opa Loka Records]

Released via the ever active label Opa Loka Records on November 24th, 2k18 is "The Velocity Of Velocities", a conjunctional effort in which the rewritings of texts originally put down to paper by classic figures Teresa Of Avila and Mina Loy by Antonella Eye Porcelluzzi are paired with the music of Deaf Society to form a five part, 22 minutes long mini album. Musically this combination comes down to Spoken Word poetry as an integral part of the albums concept paired up with intense Dark / Ritual Ambient in "Part 1" as well as floating, playful and fully instrumental early 90s Ambient / ChillOut in "Part 2" whilst "Part 3" brings on dark, intense droning and unrest as a foundation for Porcelluzi's partly horrifying vocal morphings. Furthermore "Part 4" is exploring crackly, buzzing, spaced out territories and hoarse non-vocalisms before the final "Part 5" fully indulges in multi-layered vocals and brooding ambience for rituals going way beyond what religion would allow ever to happen. Praise the dark lord whilst listening to this last cut.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Lena Hessels - Billow [Terp Records]

Another one released on November 9th, 2k18, this time via the Dutch Terp Records label, is "Billow", the debut mini album of 17 year old Lena Hessels who brings us eight songs on this 21 minutes EP. With her first ever official release Lena, happening to be the daughter of The Ex's drummer Terrie and Terp Records manager Emma, explores the smokier, inward looking realms of Indie / Singer-Songwriter music, embeds elements of raw Garage production, bits of PostPunk melancholia and a good portion of Blues into her musical world, accompanied by sparse, haunted electronic backdrops occasionally, adding even more matureness, deep emotionality and spine-tingling intensity to an album that goes beyond everything one might expect from a teenage debut these days. This is beyond great for more than one reason.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Various Artists - Teklife VIP 2019

A massive 31 tracks free download compilation release from the one and only Teklife crew for all Juke / Footwork connaisseurs out there.

Sascha Müller - Auf Den Punkt: Punkt 0 [Sascha Müller Music]

Forthcoming as a limited, hand-numbered DVDr edition of 13 copies worldwide is Sascha Müller's epic new compilation album "Auf Den Punkt: Punkt 0" which goes beyond any reasonable thought in terms of total runtime and / or amount of tracks featured. Comprised of all 100 - !!! - digital two-track singles released in his still ongoing weekly 'Auf Den Punkt'-series the total amount of tracks featured on here sums up to 200 with an estimated total runtime of somewhat between 16 and 17 hours, covering a musical spectrum ranging from hypnotic TechTrance to Techno, Trance, Acid, futuristic TribalTechno, Detroit Techno, even some experimental Breakbeat-infused workouts and beyond, bringing forth quite an overload of good stuff which, qualitywise, puts the output of many other contemporary Techno labels to shame for a reason. Check!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Public Memory - Demolition [Felte 055]

Released via the Felte-imprint on November 9th, 2k18 is "Demolition", the new album outing by Robert Toher's musical project Public Memory. Opening with "The Line" the artist immediatly captures our attention with dark, yet melodic large scale basslines and Dope Beats bordering both TripHop and Illbient in combination with Toher's distinct voice harking back to great longing SynthPop ballads of the 80s to a great effect whilst "Red Rainbow" fully gravitates towards the haunted side of the SynthPop genre and so does "Mercy" with its touching strings and calm, floating feel atop a lively, tribalistic drum foundation. With "Falsetto" we see Public Memory explore cute, touching melodies and emotional drama, "Aegis" follows on a similar path whilst adding more ethereal vibes, echoes of Jungle and jarring low frequency synths to the mix before the "Redeemer" once again provides deeply touching melodies and a poising Goth approach for lovers of the genre. Finally we see "Doorstep" rocking every late night underground SynthWave / MinimalWave dancefloor for a reason before the final cut "Trick Of The Light" is closing the circle with more TripHop / Illbient references and ethereal SynthPop references as to be found in the albums opener as well. Good stuff. Check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Refree - La Otra Mitad [Glitterbeat / Tak:til]

Put out on the circuit via the Glitterbeat sister imprint Tak:til on December 7th, 2k18 is "La Otra Motad", the new album outing by Spanish producer Refree, known for his involvement in the so-called 'New Flamenco' movement happening both in his homeland as well as in certain hotspots around the world these days. Although admittedly biased by this information as Latin music never has done much for us musically in the past we're diving into the fifteen track album with an open mind, exploring the full 37 minutes of runtime throughout which most of the tunes don't even hit the two-minutes mark. Over the course of the album we're experiencing short, acoustic and seemingly direct recorded experimental Flamenco pieces as well as dreamlike, psychedelic pieces of Ambient infused with typical Flamenco guitar motifs in the background as well as non-vocal singing alongside acoustic, stripped down balearic romanticisms for intimate sunset moments with a loved one. And it is these tunes, the acoustic, instrumental miniatures that work best for us due to their obvious unobtrusive Easy Listening-vibe although the other compositions might be well functional when experienced in the full context of the score of Isaki Lacuesta's film "Entre Dos Aguas" for which they were originally written and commissioned.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Hanno Leichtmann - Nouvelle Aventure [Karlrecords 049 Promo]

Released via Karlrecords on November 30th, 2k18 is Hanno Leichtmann's most recent album outing named "Nouvelle Aventure" , a conceptual 16 track piece in which the artist distills and reworks recordings from the 70 years spanning history of the legendary 'Darmstadt Summer Courses Of New Music' in which experimental music greats like Xenakis and Stockhausen participated alongside many others over the years. Laid out as a 46 minutes six-channel sound installation and mixed down to stereo we experience Hanno Leichtmann creating a dark, tense multilayered atmosphere from the unsettling, demonic opener "Versuch Einer Übersicht" onwards, drifting into collage'esque sci-fi realms with the follow up "Kristallische Bindung", touches on Fluxus, Dada and Plunderphonics with "Selbstbespiegelung", presents haunting, off-kilter vocal layerings and intense, piercing Ambient signals with "Merkwürdige Klänge (Zwölftonspiel)", goes down on Noize vs. loop techniques in "Geschmack und Funktion" whilst exploring musical lectures vs. Ambient and Field Recordings in "Einheit Von Mass Und Zahl" or "Anmerkungen Zur Situation" just to pick a selection of tunes from this longplay piece to build a conceptual reference base of what the remixing, rearranging, relayering and compositional work on "Nouvelle Aventure" is all about.  Defo one of the most experimental, yet most fascinating and demanding albums released in late 2k18.