Golden Oriole - Golden Oriole [Drid Machine 027]

What to do when a promo sheet just states 'abstract and minimal music' and provides no more info on a forthcoming record? Well, this is what happened with the promo version of Golden Oriole's self-titled debut on Drid Machine, a three track EP released in March 2k17. So listening is the only option we've got and whilst we witness "The Approaching Of The Disco Void" we're experiencing maybe the most alienated take on despair and mournfulness we've come across in experimental  music structures for ages before a clumsy, robotic Funk groove adds up more puzzling weirdness and, throughout the last third of the 10+ minutes spanning track, wild Tribal drums and distorted Rock improvisations fully take over. With "The Trilithon" we see a return of the projects trademark mourning strings paired with more wild, improv-like drums plus electric guitar ecstasy and "The Pyrite Wink" opens up with sirens that set our senses to a high alert status for a fraction of a minute, preparing us for the raw, experimental Funk hell that's about to break lose after the intro. Truly unique, this.

King Ayisoba - 1000 Can Die [Glitterbeat Promo]

Still on a mission to catch up on this springs massive pile of promos today we're taking a closer look at "1000 Can Die", the late March released nine track album by King Ayisoba which was put on the circuit via Glitterbeat. Known for his special tradition-bound yet contemporary-influenced take on Ghanaian Kologo music and other local styles like the clubbier Highlife King Ayisoba and his band bring in contributions from several guests like Zea, Lee "Scratch" Perry, M3nsa, Wanlov Da Kubolor and many others to cater a wideranged musical menu. From the fever'ish, politically charged opener "Africa Needs Africa" to the percussive, call-and-response heavy Kologo of "Wekana" to the captivating title track "1000 Can Die" or the very traditional a man and his lute efforts like "Grandfather Song", "Yalma Dage Wange" or "Ndeema" as well as the massive party tune "Anka Yen Tu Kwai" - this one is quite a powerful take on the fascination of Ghanaian music and therefore recommended to all those thinking beyond the European or even Western culturall borders musicwise.

Ekoplekz - Bioprodukt [Planet Mu 386 Promo]

Put on the circuit only a few days ago is "Bioprodukt", the latest, and fourth, longplayer crafted by Ekoplekz for Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu-imprint and, tbh, our expectations are not really set high as in the past none of the music the Bristolian Nick Edwards released was able to grab our attention - to be more clear: most of the times it just seemed off everything, chaotic, totally random and therefore not of any interest. That's the status quo we're coming from, entering the albums opener "Elevation" which comes across as a first surprise with its structured, slightly Reggae-/ Dub-infused Electronica approach followed up by "Consequences", a lo-fi take on Cosmic Techno reminiscent of the likes of Hieroglyphic Being whilst an "Expedition" redefines the term Braindance for 2k17, presenting a playful, friendly and heavily spaced out vision of advanced, dancefloor-friendly Electronica with a well captivating twist. In the realms of "Acrid Acid" things are based on a raw, slow 4/4 and tripping subaquatic modulations, the "Slipstream" gets us knee deep into warm Electronica Dub, "Calypzoid" is quite a unique, abstract, yet uplifting variation on outer space dance music and "Transcience" is going back to the straight 4/4, garnished with fever'ish percussion elements and mystical, atmospheric synths for an extra thrill. Furthermore the "Descent" amalgamates synth-heavy melancholia, melodic abstraction and ritualistic slo-mo Techno, "Low X-Over" weighs in epic, repetetive and hyperorganic Ambient structures with a few Dub elements and the final track "Denier Daze" is closing the journey that this album is in a super-friendly, calm and peaceful Electronica-based manner. Surprisingly good, this.

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 06/2017

Dr. NoiseM - The CDr A-B-C: X [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Another one to be released on June 22nd, 2k17 is "The CDr A-B-C: X", the next and one of the final sequels in Dr. NoiseM's 26 month spanning longplay series. With this 76 minute spanning one track album we see Dr. NoiseM return to the colder and more alienating side of his work found in this conceptual effort, re-introducing the ghostly, soulless, Vader'esque respiratory loops that functioned as foundation for many of these series parts, strips them down to the very core, presents them without any additional garnish which only reinforces their spooky and threatening nature, even when unheavenly, eerie and warped background choirs start to fill the empty space between breathing cycles and additional soundscapes start to emerge from the ever present main motif. For sure, this might the most minimalistic, reduced part of this series so far - and a worthwhile extention of any Dark Ambient / Cold Ambient  CDr collection for sure.

Sascha Müller - Queen EP [SMSM012]

To be released on June 22nd, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's "Queen EP", a digital four track single dealing with queens from various continents themewise. The "African Queen" is making a start with a wild and feverish Tribal ride on a well seductive raw House groove whilst the "Arabian Queen" is more on a TechHouse tip, garnished with loads of percussive elements, oriental string instruments and tense, crime scene Funk elements for an extra thrill on the dancefloor. Furthermore the "Asian Queen" brings us more of a polyrhythmic, yet slightly TechHouse approach for pumping late night floors featuring big, glitched out breakdowns and a Bollywood'esque vibe before the "Indian Queen" finally goes all in on an attempt to fuse TechHouse and what seem to be reprocessed Country / Desert Rock guitars for the daytime open air posse. 

Cakewalk - Ishihara [Hubro Music]

Released via the Norwegian Hubro Music-imprint on April 21st, 2k17 is "Ishihara", the third full length album by the trio known as Cakewalk which consists of Øystein Skar, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad and Stephan Meidell - a constellation with backgrounds in various fields of music which came together to explore unheard of sonic realms and cross- as well as beyond-genre pollution. The opening track delivers sonic havoc consisting of sirens, ill advised scratches, ProgRock-inspired drums, widescreen panorama layers and an overall Illbient-resembling attitude rolled out over a playtime of nearly nine minutes, "Shrooms" takes us into a world of 70s vintage synths, repetetive chords, flutes and mechanical drumming mixed up with a certain kind of robotic Funk, "Dome" weighs in heavy, doomed riffing that surprisingly leads to the most chill, spine-tingling, Downtempo-inspired variation on bluesy Desert Rock we've heard in ages before the "State" follows this example on a long stretched and more solemn, brooding level, garnished with bits and bops of ProgRock-influences. Furthermore "Apostrophe" seems to fuse elements of Krautrock with glittery synths and dreamy guitars before the final cut named "Rebound" is going to great lengths to redefine experimental epic for 2k17, providing a great, yet indescribable sonic soundscape that makes a great ending for this fascinating, well-varied longplay piece.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Chihei Hatekayama - Mirage [Room40 Promo]

Put on the circuit via the Australian Room40-imprint on June 9th, 2k17 is "Mirage", the latest longplay work created by Japan's Chichei Hatekayama who is inspired by the interaction between architectural spaces and the human voice, or music, for this album. This theme has been dealt with in one way or the other for a long time but became the focus of Hatekayama's work throughout a field trip to Turkey a few years ago. Influenced by this experience he started to work on this actual nine-track longplay piece which starts with "Sad Ocean", a beautiful piece of classical Ambient which defo paves the way for all tracks to follow. No matter if it's "Starlight And Black Echo", the guitar and Field Recordings sporting "Distant Steam Train Whistle" or "A Silence Of Day", each and every track lives by slowly moving harmonies, beautifully layered soft pads and a deep, organic warmth lieing within that makes us feel all comfy and cosy and defo makes clear why Chihei Hatekayama is referred to as an Ambient maestro by many. So if you love your Ambient music right from the heart "Mirage" is defo a wortwhile addition to your collection.

23.06.2017 BETA-ZERFALL @ Komet (Basement) / Hamburg

file under: PostPunk / ElectroPunk /(No)Wave / Industrial / IndieElectro + more

decks:
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]
Herr Brandt [Sonnenbrandt / Damaged Goods]

doors: 10pm
admission: 5€ 

Komet (Basement)
Erichstrasse 11
20359 Hamburg
Germany

log in via Facebook!

Don't Call It Road Rap - A Noisey Film

Released only yesterday is this massive documentary on the UK Rap scene directed and narrated by Mike Skinner. A must watch for everyone into todays road music.

Astma / Meanza - Raw Volumes [Aut Records 035]

Coming in from the Aut Records label these days is the May 2k17-released album "Raw Volumes"  which is a Berlin-recorded collaborational effort of the free improv duo Astma, consisting of Alexei Borisov and Olga Nosova, and producer Michele Pedrazzi who's working here under his musical nom de guerre Bob Meanza. Together they're shaping an approx. 38 minutes long body of work of seven tracks, starting with "Tetragonal" which is a deeply scientific sonic effort incorporating  highly digital sounding elements reminiscent of Clicks'n'Cuts, (Neo)Cosmic-remembling swamp synths and a strangely seductive percussion groove accompanied by eardrum-wrecking high frequency Noize for experts before "Monoclinic" brings us quirky, yet playful Industrial Electronics, a highly catchy lo-fi bassline and loads of abstract, anti- to poly-rhythmic layering which comes down to a futuristic take on extraterrestrial FreeJazz. With "Rhombohedral" more Clicks'n'Cuts meet rhythmic chirping and tense, eerie scores from the outerworld until bass heavy chaos breaks loose and languishing vocal distortion adds up to the tunes atmosphere, "Hexagonal" starts out on a clumsy, yet funky percussion approach to fuse faded echoes of skeletal, instrumental PostPunk, a steady flow of mid-frequency Noize modulation and a overall feel of decay whilst "Orthorhombic" feels like a field recorded drum rehearsal of a postapocalyptic RoboJazz group for a reason. Finally there's "Cubic" a glitched out, IDM affair paired with elements of revolting, brutal HarshNoize, ecstatic African drumming and psychedelia induced electronics as well as the concluding cut entitled "Triclinic", probably the most haunting cut on this album with its Film Noir-like slow motion vibe and dense, dangerous DarkJazz atmosphere.  Intense! 

Tarab - An Incomplete Fixed Idea [Aposiopese 013 Promo]

Incoming from the experimental-focused Aposiopese-imprint is "An Incomplete Fixed Idea", the latest album effort created by the Australian composer Tarab, better known to his friends and parents as Eamon Sprod. Released as a limited to 300 copies 180g vinyl edition in mid-May, 2k17 the album is split in two parts of approx. 20 minutes length, exploring a musical range from static Noize to re-arranged, warped and processed birds tweeting, eerie dronings from what seem to be modular sources, everyday Field Recordings to industrial grinding and scraping, fluttering winds, rain, eerie low frequency bass sequences indicating lurking danger, clanging metal, electrostatics and much more, presenting an array of collected sonic events arranged in a seemingly non-linear, yet fascinating matter for all lovers of highly experimental music and, of course, Musique Concrete. If you think you've heard it all mark June 16th, 2k17 in your calendar as this is the date this album piece is about to be released. Check!

Chelsea Wolfe - 16 Psyche (Official Audio)

Feedback-heavy, Blues-fed walls of distorted guitars, down-to-earth Desert Rock and desparate, yet ethereal and PostPunk- / Goth-infused vocals is what "16 Psyche" brings us as a first teaser for Chelsea Wolfe's forthcoming album "Hiss Spun" which is due for release on September 22nd, 2k17 via Sargent House.

Ezekiel Honig - A Passage Of Concrete [Anticipate Recordings 013]

Released on March 17th, 2k17 via his very own imprint Anticipate Recordings is "A Passage Of Concrete"  by LA-based producer Ezekiel Honig who is making a return to the longplay circuit with this one after six years of silence. Using and abusing field recorded textures from his hometown New York we see Ezekiel Honig presenting  way more than an album of pure experimentalism, opening with a hissing take on tender Indietronica / Post-PostRock named "Apartment Workshop", continues to walk this path on a super slow 4/4 Ambient Techno tip in "Visiting A Recent Past" which features quite a present layer of NYC street sounds and digs deep into electronic melancholia with the follow-up "Forest Of  Refractions". These first three tracks pave the way for everything that's to come, be it the processed romanticisms of "Fuge State Part 1", the tender Armchair Techno of "Gravity", the beauteous piano-based Electronica to be found in a "Museum Cavern" or the short, advanced dancefloor smashing late night Phonk of "Transient Economics" which, due to its sparse, uptempo and super dry beat structure is defo our favorite tune on "A Passage Of Concrete", an album defo recommended for both audiophiles and those enjoying their intimate, undisturbed listening sessions on a quiet sunday afternoon, giving in to heart-felt melancholia and a glass of red wine. Or two.   

The Knob, The Finger & The It - Astro Camping [Makiphon 004 Promo]

What started out as a project to accompany extensive electroacoustic picnics in the field became a full-on band project and what started out as Ambient jam sessions became tracks. And eight of these became "Astro Camping", the first full on album release by The Knob, The Finger & The It which has been put on the circuit via Makiphon earlier this month. Opening on a krautsy Electronica tip with "Don't Snoozle While Hot", a track we've already featured on these pages videowise about a month ago, the follow up "Come To Ping As Ra" comes across as a dubbed out excursion into vintage sci-fi spheres, the "Eisenblechmen" fuse mechanical noises with spaced out, seductive rhythm structures and a playful, yet hypnotic overall vibe even incorporating oriental bits and bops here and there whilst the full-on live effort "F.F. Erde" captures the projects origins in more Ambient-orientated realms in a nice organic, yet experimental way. With the albums title track "Astro Camping" the trio provides a playful and friendly Tribal groove for hyperadvanced, minimalist dancefloors, the story of "When Pluto Was A Planet" takes us on a explorative journey to places - ... and alien swamps! - no man has ever been to before, where extraterrestial lifeforms start to check "Our Passports" with analogue machines communicating via soft pads, Deep Listening rhythm signatures and seemingly random percussions evoking memories of Mouse On Mars's classic tune "Papa, Antoine" before "Grasebene 3" provides more live recorded, electroacoustic jamming as a sweet conclusion for a this well-recommended longplay piece.  Good!

Dieter Von Deurne & The Politics - I'm On Trial (Official Video)

Psychedelia-infused Indie meets lo-fi greenscreen action on Morr Music - album to come on August 25th, 2k17.

Sascha Müller [Sascha Müller Music 1000021]

Out on the digital circuit since May 25th, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's latest two track single, bringing us the tracks "Penallity" and "Risetime" - both dug up from the artists seemingly endless archive of tunes. Whilst the first mentioned effort fuses metallic ClubTechno and spiralling, Trance-inducing Acid modulations for a well uplifting dancefloor experience we see the second tune being on darker and defo more gooey Techno tip in terms of slowly morphing low frequency synths which are accompanied by raw, unprocessed drums and a threatening Tribal feel somehow reminiscent of Fabrice Lig's 1994-released and limited to 500 copies "Interwaves E.P." which really was designed to destroy dancefloors back in those days. Quality!

1115 - Post-Europe [Alien Transistor]

Released via Alien Transistor on June 9th, 2k17 is "Post-Europe", the first full on album effort by the collaborational project 1115 consisting of the well established artists Fehler Kuti and Grey who are working on an unique and fascinating soundscape with this one. The opening tune "Gloom" combines elements of groovy MinimalTechno and Electronica Dub, "Camps & Jungles" rides on a similar wave albeit flirting with subaquatic Electro snares and highly experimental background nonvocalisms as well as quirky modulations similar to the works of artists like The Hieroglyphic Being, the "Imperial Luv" sees yearning, vocals crooning over a raw and fast-paced vision of Psychedelic Techno and "Boris Johnson Gave Me A Gun" comes down to a dry, lo-fi amalgamation of Electro, Illbient textures and highly drugged out robotic Soul. Furthermore "People Get Ready" takes raw, stripped down RoboPhonk to the next level whilst synthetic sirenas sing their songs of longing, indecipherable notes, "A Brown Baby Plan" includes Field Recordings, synth melancholia and more highly blurred Crooner Soul, "Calais 90210" is an epitome of kitsch-induced, electronic Bedroom Psychedelia and the tune named "Negerplastik" reveals raw, cinematic synth lines, mysterious vocal shiftings and a busy, rhythmic attitude for raves of a distant future. With "Ras The Destroyer" 1115 meet a buzzing entity consisting of highly active Ambient signals falling in place for being a perfect closing tune waving punters goodbye after a long night out, "...And I'm Not Scared To Use It" brings in quite a bit of muscular yet spaced out, IndieElectro-resembling, Industrial-heavy havoc on the dancefloor and going "Beyond Yr Black Ark" reveals the projects ambitions in romantic, analogue, vocal driven TechnoSoul. Interesting for sure, although this one might cater to a very specific audience looking for something completely unheard of after hearing it all in terms of electronic music.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Dr. NoiseM - Studio Works 22 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Recently released via his own Dr. NoiseM Tapes-imprint is Dr. NoiseM's latest, and twenty-second, sequel of his "Studio Works" series which brings us ten new journeys in experimental music from his endless studio vaults. Opening with the short intro cut "Dr. NoiseM" which is a brutal, yet partly even melodic slo-mo take on Rhythm & Noize whilst the following "Bad Santa Trip" takes us into bleepy glitches, ultraspeed Breakcore and sonic chaos. The next one is "Bantu", a 16 minutes journey into score'esque, brooding  Dark Ambient, "Born To Noise" fully lives up to the expectations evoked by its title, serving nearly 14 minutes of distortion- and feedback-heavy digital HarshNoize before the "Earth Sound Sequence" is as cold and eldritch as the lightyear wide emptiness of deep space far beyond our own galactic cluster. For a portion of "Extra Suffer" we see Dr. NoiseM go down an alley of rhythmic modular synthesis, walking the thin line between pure experimentation and Electronica for hyperadvanced dancefloors, his "Funkstar" is an excursion into deep, experimental Dub and the short interlude "I Have A Sampler" plays around with voice transformations, glitches and cut ups in a quite interesting way. Finally "In The Name Of Love" caters a 13+ minutes maelstrom of storming, grinding and scraping (White)Noize and the concluding cut named "Kapotte Muzik" deals with nearly inaudible, slowly shifting low frequency arrangements and therefore explores one of the more extreme variations of already extreme experimental electronic music.

Jade H - Levels (Freestyle)

One of our favorite female underground Rap / HipHop artists from the UK churns out a new freestyle bop before releasing her new single "Bad". Good stuff in here.

Jo Berger Myhre & Ólafur Björn Ólafsson - The Third Script [Hubro Music Promo]

Scheduled for release on June 16th, 2k17 via the Hubro Music-imprint is "The Third Script", a collaborational album effort crafted by the Norwegian artist Jo Berger Myhre and the Iceland-based Ólafur Björn Ólafsson, presenting a body of work consisting of the dark and quite intimidating, composed opening tune "1000%" which we already featured on these pages in mid-May and three improvisations that have been slightly overdubbed after the recording process. The first of these improvised musical works is the title track "The Third Script", stretching out over 14+ minutes to serve a feel of pure, naturalistic ambience and tender, mountain-induced melancholia followed by "Orifice" combining ritualistic, mesmerizing drum patterns with droning atmospheres and low freq double bass story telling to add another layer of spine-tingling musical mystery before the final cut named "Ravening" with its name actually being inspired by a flock of ravens starts out on a tip closer to medieval Folk than all of the other tunes on this album but works its way in a different direction from there on towards a lively, ever cumulating climax of unsettling string works, psychedelic distortions meandering and contrapuntal crystalline, sparkling keyboard tones - a combination surely growing in terms of fascination when experienced on infinite repeat.

I Heart Sharks - The Water (Official Video)

What starts out as a bit of a happy-go-lucky IndiePop song with well fitting vintage cinematography takes quite an apocalyptic turn towards the very end. Count us in for the plot twist.

P.T.B.S. & Sascha Müller - U Know Im Sayn [SMPTB 002]

"U Know Im Sayn" is the second digital single coming from the freshly formed collaborational project between the mysterious P.T.B.S. and the ever active producer Sascha Müller. With the 'Original Mix' of the tune the two studio wizzards serve a well-pumping menu of stripped down,  yet seductive uptempo TechHouse with a bit of a dubby twist whilst the 'Sascha Müller Tribal Remix' focuses on a fast-paced, tool'ish Techno vision garnished with razor-sharp hihats and a only a few tribal'esque percussion sets that are coming in for maximum effect.  Pure dancefloor fodder.

Xposed 4Heads - System Overload (Official Video)

A proper stateside underground banger for all those knee deep into PostPunk and related.

Mike City presents The Feel Good Agenda Vol. 1 [BBE Records Promo]

Scheduled for release on June 16th, 2k17 via BBE Records is Mike City's latest longplay effort "Mike City presents The Feel Good Agenda Vol. 1" on which the renowned artist and producer for big players like Brandy, Jamie Foxx or Rihanna serves a well balanced menu of 12 tunes for the more intimate and soulful hours on the dancefloor. Be it the heavy Funk-driven ultragroove of the opening tune "I Rock With U" featuring Dwele on vocal duties, the uptempo, Disco-infused "Everybody Loves A Winner" which sees Mike City taking over the mic by himself, showcasing impressive skills and vocal talent, the tender late night DeepHouse cut "Been Too Afraid" featuring the wonderful Teedra Moses or the blueprint of classic and soulful VocalHouse that is "More Of Me" featuring Crystal Johnson - whatever Mike City touches on this album turns into a fest for those who've grown up on a diet of House music from the early 90s onwards, loving their sweet late night jams and organic grooves to death. This said it is pretty obvious that this albums target audience is more of a grown-up kind, preferring intimate club settings and classy drinks over illegal underground raves whilst the younger generation of todays club kids might not too impressed by this take on House-fueled musicality and full on vocal approach.  But no matter what - this is good stuff! 

Album artwork on Instagram!

DJ Marcelle / Another Nice Mess - Too [Jahmoni Music]

This is news. DJ Marcelle / Another Nice Mess is making a return to Munich's mighty Jahmoni Music label with her new 12" single entitled "Too", bringing us a unique sound vision shaped by and perfectly complementing her praised approach to DJ'ing and advanced club rockin'. With the A-side track "Too Long" the Dutch artist introduces a raw, uncut and cowbell-heavy Breakbeat style one could refer to as Future Tribal and caters an unprocessed, DIY-sound aesthetic one would be likely to find in productions related to the French teknival and soundsystem culture somewhat in the era between approx. 1998 to 2003. And one that would surely blend in nicely to a mix of such records from the deepest underground as well. On the flipside the opener "Too Trumpety" takes the basic drum rhythm up a speedier alley to create a more Africa-reminiscing, short-looped tribal pattern accompanied by honking, reprocessed trumpet-melancholia and hissing white noise meandering through the stereo field whilst "Too Long *Too Short Dub" provides more of an abstract, partly even jazzy approach towards non-conformist drum sequencing and the final cut "Too Scratched" is surely about to please all lovers of early Electronica / Ambient Dub as once provided by Pole in his legendary albums "1" and "2" although this track is too short by far and could've easily been stretched to a massive 20 minutes version for sure without boring listeners to death. Unique stuff from the very leftfield side of the electronic music spectrum.

Sascha Müller - Dub-Gun (Floppy Totaal Special) [Super 6 Records]

The final one in a series of Sascha Müller floppy disk releases that were exclusively available at Rotterdam's Floppy Totaal Festival v3.0 in April 2k17 is "Dub-Gun (Floppy Totaal Special)" on which the Meppen-based artist transfers three of his excellent DubTechno / Ambient Techno visions to a 3.5" format and an amazing 9kbps data resolution, resulting in a sweet, spaced out and subaquatic feel for indefinite mindtrips, especially fueled by the driving, ever morphing "Dub-Gun 6" which defo is a deep late night banger for every dedicated DubTechno dancefloor.

Moshimoss & Stabilo - FIIElI [Sound In Silence 037]

Incoming from Greece these days is cat.no 037 of the Sound In Silence-imprint which is presenting a collaboration of two Japanese artists, Moshimoss and Stabilo, who both are contributing two tracks to their first collaborational album - the cryptically named "FIIElI". Starting into the limited to 150 hand-numbered copies journey with the albums title track is Moshimoss, presenting a beautiful take on blurred, organic Piano Ambient mixed with what seem to be extracts from Field Recordings before Stabilo takes over with "Haust" for an excursion into classic Ambient atmospheres based on slowly flowing harmonies and open air ambience due to the background use of tweeting birds. Recording his music at "3pm" we see Moshimoss create an ethereal flow of sonic events using stereo-panning, ever morphing strings and harmonies as well as obscured choir-reminiscing human voices whilst the final cut, Stabilo's "Diablo", presents a more fluttering and dark'ish approach towards seemingly slow moving LFO filters introducing a certain roughness and feel of vintage wear to otherwise masterly crafted Deep Listening Music for Ambient experts. Recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Charts 06/2017

01. Dragon Fly - The Libra EP [White House Records 017]
Being the Breakbeat and electronic music enthusiast I am I was pretty thrilled to see this 1993-released classic being repressed and re-issued for 2017, especially for the amazing A2-tune "As Fast As It Goes" which once was licensed to Force Inc. Music Works for their "Rauschen 5" CD compilation and has been one of my favorite tunes on this album ever since I bought it for its seductive bassline groove, great vocal sample abuse, nerve-wrecking Acid modulations, halftime breakdowns and of course for its absurdly reckless hyperspeed approach. But apart from this massive personal favorite the other three tunes on here bring in more goodness, fusing Oldskool Breakbeat with Acid and Rave elements to fuel deadly energies on every dedicated dancefloor. Great one. 

02. Moby - Go *Rex The Dog Remix [Black Lacquer 050]
Ok, let's be honest. I didn't buy this for the 'Rex The Dog Remix' although the UK-based producer provides a proper delivery in terms of turning this early 90s smash into an epic, well-functional TechHouse / (Neo)Trance tune that gives new- and oldskool ravers the feels for a reason and is able to work contemporary dancefloors right. But still both the 'Original Mix' and the more famous 'Woodtick Mix' were the two additions to my collection I was going for as I originally missed out on buying these tunes as a 13 year old back in 1991. And the wave of thrilling re-releases floating around these days sees me rather going for approved classics and distinct big time anthems of my early Techno and Rave days than for new tunes that don't seem that worthwile to me for many a reason.  

03. DJ Marky - Influences Vol.2 [BBE Records]
See review for details...

04. Bigga Bush - Melody & Electronics EP [Jahmoni Music]
See review for details...

05. Dr. NoiseM - Black Noise 01 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]
See review for details...

06. Mystic Bill - presents Mystic Files 1989-95 [Trax Records]
Call me a backwards completist or someone who's stuck in the past musically but for me at this very point in time the musical longevity and timelessness of many of today's re-issues and represses of tracks released in an era spanning from the late 80s up to the 90s outweighs the relevance of many contemporary releases by far. A fact, that has also been proven by my recent sets in Munich and Bad Kötzting which went back to the days of early Chicago House and even late 70s Disco played alongside modern TechHouse and House tunes. This said, it should be quite obvious why these seven classic Mystic Bill tunes from his only longplay release are complementing my recent selection and overall record collection perfectly with their unagitated yet full on dancefloor functionaliry and raw vibe.  

07. Zeitkratzer - Performs Songs From The Albums "Kraftwerk" and "Kraftwerk 2" [Zeitkratzer Productions]
See review for details...

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09. -

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Notstandskomitee - Exhaust (Official Video)

Sci-fi electronics for hyperfuturist dancefloors. Taken from the new Notstandskomitee album "The Golden Times".

Nu:Logic feat. Thomas Oliver - Side By Side (Official Video)

A nice Drum'n'Bass vocal roller evoking memories of the good old Reprazent days for a reason. We're in for this. 

Lali Puna - Deep Dream (Official Video)

When unsettling lyrics, melancholia induced Pop affairs and seductive MinimalHouse grooves meet we are getting a first note of what to expect from Lali Puna's forthcoming album named "Two Windows" which is scheduled for release in early September via Morr Music.

Aquasky - Your Love / I Like The Way

Great news have it that our mates of Aquasky are back on the Drum'n'Bass circuit these days, releasing new material via Technique Recordings.

P.B.T.S. & Sascha Müller - Family Business EP [SMPTB 001]

Another new one coming in these days is the "Family Business EP", a first collaborational effort crafted by the ever busy Sascha Müller and the mysterious P.B.T.S. who are going straight to business with the 'Original Mix' of a tune named "African Soul" which comes across as a beautifully arranged TechHouse / (Neo)Trance crossover for all those loving melodic pads accompanied by morphing vocals bits floating atop of driving beats for sunset set closings whilst the following 'Sascha Müller Heart Of Africa Mix' takes the tune to an epic 10+ minutes playtime, focuses on the deep Trance-inducing beauty inherent to the tunes original mix and adds some decent Tribal percussion grooves complementing the deep vibes in a perfect way. The second cut on this digital single release is "Dedicated2Berlin (Original Mix)" which fuses dry, monotonous Electro and straightforward MinimalTechno garnished with fragile, hovering synths and a goosebump triggering breakdown for highly emotional moments shared on the dancefloor. Finally the 'Sascha Müller Remix' of "Dedicated2Berlin" takes things to a more playful level atop of a super funky House groove with a sexy swing for all those amongst you who've been dancing their ass off to proper House music since 1994. Nice.

Sascha Müller - Hardcore Will Never Die (Floppy Totaal Special) [Supersix Records]

"Hardcore Will Never Die" - this is a title we can relate to and we also can relate to the 3.5" floppy disk format of this little gem that was only available on the occasion of the Floppy Totaal Festival in Rotterdam in April 2k17. Proving that he's dead serious about the EP's name is Sascha Müller with three tracks here, the uncompromisingly banging underwater Gabba effort "Fusion" with its oldskool approach, classic stabs and cheesy melody whilst "Raggamuffin", a collaboration with Sven Wuesting, kills dancefloors with a Happy Hardcore on hyperspeed attitude - tilting piano breakdowns and rave signals included. Finally there's "So Hard As Happy Can Be *Remix", another one on the Happy Hardcore end of the spectrum and, not only because of it's absurd vocal abuse, defo our favorite tune on this 16kbps underground release.

Tube & Berger - We Are All Stars [Kittball Records / Embassy One]

It's been about two weeks since we featured the most recent Tube & Berger video for their track "ICMF (International Corporate Motherfuckers)" taken from their newest album effort "We Are All Stars" that has been released via Kittball Records / Embassy One these days. With their second full length piece since the duo first appeared on the production circuit back in 2003 the partners in crime are going to great lengths to incorporate a well-varied selection of twelve tunes in here to reflect on their wide-ranged production spectrum. From the softer, slightly cinematic and defo radio friendly opener "Burning Road featuring Kingdom" and the discoid title track "We Are All Stars" to the tense Indieelectro vs. TechHouse-fusion "Dust Feel" featuring Richard Judge on vocal duties whilst sporting a massive, Trance-influenced drop as well as the epic vocoder anthem "In The Name Of" with its crystalline melodies, panorama strings, bluesy guitar bits and Downtempo intro the journey goes, showcasing the unquestioned studio talent of Tube & Berger which by no means are covering up their fascination for big screen moments and Pop ambitions at any given point. Instead, as showcased by the following White Lies collaboration "Quiet Time (Shadow Of Myself)", they're emphasizing on their love for quality Pop, 80s aware arrangements and, of course, the club dancefloor - and they're serious about fusing all these aspects to the absolute max without giving a shit about the so called underground. With the fluttering vocals and brittle synths of "Fetzen" they're redefining crooning ElectroDisco for 2k17, "Automatic People feat. RBBTS" goes deep into kitsch dripping, slightly Post-Dubstep inspired territories and is a little too over the top in terms of being hypermelodic for us although we cannot deny that it is a quite catchy tune anyway and "ICMF" is the one tune that might make it on more underground-flavored floors due its rolling progressive bassline flow and dark'ish, pumping TechHouse vs. BigRoom attitude. Following up are two more collaborations with Richard Judge, "Rock N Roll Until We Die" and "Ruckus", the first mentioned heavily flirting with Indie / IndieElectro whilst the latter fuses classic song structures and Dusty Road Rock with more of a DiscoHouse vibe before the "Lucky Shot" brings back more 80s Miami vocoder action and the final cut "Loyando" brings more of an ethnocentric vibe as well as hippie'esque guitars to the table, mixed and mangled with Downtempo sequences, toddler sounds and other slightly quirky elements which makes this one the drug-infused, jam-session like oddball of the album which doesn't lead nowhere and therefore seems to be more of a filler than a really thought out tune. But besides that, if you like electronic music, Pop, some good fun and the dancefloor this might be an album for you - although your Berghain-attending hipster friends might not agree with your musical choice for several reasons.

DJ Marcelle / Another Nice Mess - Too Long (Official Video)

Haunting, mysterious images and a 12+ minutes Future Tribal overdose is what DJ Marcelle / Another Nice Mess brings us with her new video and a forthcoming release on Jahmoni Music.

Jim Denley - Cut Air [Sofa Music]

This has to be a world record of some kind. After being a flute player since 1969 and at least being involved in recording music since the very early 1980s it took Jim Henley nearly five decades to come up with his first ever solo recording album on flute, "Cut Air", which has been put on the circuit via the Norwegian Sofa Music imprint in late April 2k17. Drawing inspiration from various flute techniques common in Europe, Asia and all over the world as well as the work of Celina Rokona on a flute / percussion instrument named sukute to whom he dedicates the second half of this album he lays down two captivating meditations on his prepared bass flute of a little less than 20 minutes length each, providing a naturalistic, yet minimalist tension that includes both droney as well as ritualistic moments, seemingly accompanied by free improvisations in which the artist drifts away in a flute-induced trance, closely bonding with his instrument, coming back to find peace in more intimate parts to just incorporate sequences of experimental flute (ab)use shortly thereafter. A truly unusual album this that will make up for a great addition to a lot of already advanced music collections for sure.  

Album artwork on Instagram!

Dr. NoiseM - The CDr A-B-C: W [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Another fresh one from the mighty Dr. NoiseM is "W", the newest sequel to his ongoing  'The CDr A-B-C'-series in which he has been exploring the fascination of Noize- / Death Ambient-focused one track albums for 22 consecutive months up to this point. For this part of the series Dr. NoiseM once again opens in a more balanced, ambient'ish vein with darker aspects being present yet being outweighed by blurred melodic pads and slow moving harmonies which are present throughout the whole course of the album although seemingly subdued by waves of noisy buildups and a growling, deep bass drone pulse from approx. minute 20 onwards for a while but finally are reappearing like a blurred glow from afar, like a pale sun behind fast moving clouds whilst one senses nothing but ultimate emptiness and greyscale desparation lurking behind what to us is the thin line of the horizon obscured by wafting fog.   

R U Dead 42 - Bassmorpher EP [Psychocandies 054]

Recently released via the Psychocandies-imprint is another digital two track single crafted by the mysterious project R U Dead 42. Opening things with the title track "Bassmorpher" the folks behind R U Dead 42 are aiming straight at the underground dancefloors of the world with gooey midrange synthesizers and psychic background modulations atop of stomping drums whilst the "Waveform Download" relies on a more dry variation of underground Acid, presenting a weird shuffle in its initial modulation sequence before a well-repetetive one note signal takes over and adds quite a bit of extra drive to the tune.

AlgoRythmiK - Haunted Groove

Does anyone else think 'James Bond' here or is it just us being weird?

Janek Schaefer - Glitter In My Tears [Room 40 Promo]

Scheduled for release on June 2nd, 2k17 via the Australian Room40 imprint is Janek Schaefer's new album "Glitter In My Tears" which btw is the thirtieth longplayer in his twenty year spanning career as recording artist. On this album, to which half of the accompanying release information got lost somehow in between our massive piles of an archive, he caters a vast array of 26 oftentime very short tracks and sketches within a total playtime of 58 minutes, relying on found sounds as a basic source of operation and transferring, morphing and processing these until they become rich, slowly floating streams of sad, melancholic Ambient like the opening tune "Sparkles Into The Light Of Night", tender and score'esque swells of soft pads resembling (Neo)Classical beauty like "If Only" or "Lagoon" or even piano-based miniatures like in "Looking For Love". With "Low Points" Janek Schaefer caters some droney klaxon'esque variations in brooding, cinematic Dark Ambient, "Coming To" evokes memories of Kostnice's "Finsterfelden" album for a reason and so does "Reflection Waves" whilst "Dawn Draws" draws inspiration from once again highly melancholia-induced Future Jazz / Jazz Noir and "Missing Moment" comes out as a crackly, repetetive study in looped Ambient minimalism. Furthermore bits like "Hells Bells" could be taken from the underlying score of a horror flic, "Forgetting The Way Forward" takes a dubbed out, warped step back to the Ragtime of the 30s and 40s whilst the "Tale Of Two Angels" fuse melodies, electrostatic buzz, field recorded-voices as well as unidentifiable weeps to a tense, spine-tingling effect. But these are only a few examples of an extremely varied body of work that requires repeated and focused listening sessions to embrace it in all its detail and beauty.

Official Flyer: 02.06.2017 baze.djunkiii @ Unter Deck / Munich

Yes, it's going down! Another lovely session with my m8 Belp from the Jahmoni Music camp. Glad it didn't take me another 10+ years to return to Munich again!

If you don't know about the venue, check out the Unter Deck on Facebook!

Dr. NoiseM - Black Noise 01 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Fresh on the circuit is Dr. NoiseM's hyperlimited new musicla outing named "Black Noise 01" , a first in a series of releases that will be issued as limited to 10 copies, hand-cut vinyl records with hand-painted cover art created by the artist himself to accompany the musical mood of the record. With two tracks covering both one side of the record and which are, unfortunately and maybe due to the process of hand-cutting, significantly quieter than your usual, plant-manufactured vinyl record Dr. NoiseM explores the realms of Dark Ambient, with the untitled engraved side featuring single chords crossing over from the spheres of DubTechno whilst being accompanied by eerie atmospheres before the plain flip side gets more into a calmer, floaty and classic Ambient resembling vibe for true lovers and die hard collectors of the genre who've got the freedom to crank up their home equipment to resonable levels.

[aniYo kore] - Broken Science Tango (Official Video)

The Dortmund-based band outfit [aniYo kore] goes to great lengths to continue to strip down their already sparse and reduced trademark sound to the very core.

04.06.2017 baze.djunkiii @ Favorit Bar / Munich

decks:
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Jahmoni Music]
D.FL8 (a.k.a. BELP) [Jahmoni Music]

file under: House / DeepHouse / TechHouse

Favorit Bar
Damenstiftstrasse 12
80331 Munich
Germany

Stephan Meidell - Metrics [Hubro Music]

Fresh from the Norwegian label Hubro Music comes "Metrics", the second full length solo album released by guitarist Stephan Meidell who is dealing with a totally different musical level on this one, piling up a variety of metric and tonal layers to create a unique musical language that sometimes seems chaotic but provides a thrill to those on the outlook for the unexpected. Based on a foundation of guitars, drum machine, no-input mixer, tape machine and synths and the help of fellow musicians like Magda Mays, Erlend Apneseth or Stefan Lindvall and others providing assistance on Hardanger fiddle, baroque violin, prepared piano and more tracks like the opening "Baroque I" are bridging between clearly recognizable early noughties Electronica and a more mystic, medieval atmopshere whilst the successing "Baroque II" fuses ritualistic, percussion-resembling aspects with heavy subs and a feel of nature-bound peace and calm. The three subsequent takes "State I / II / III" take us from sci-fi robo dancefloors and hyperprecise Industrial Electronica to a more scenic, blurred and multilayered middle part before things get surprisingly organic in a deep, stripped down and beautiful take on PostRock and Indietronics. With "Biotop" the 12+ minutes spanning main track of "Metrics" starts out on a Clicks'n'Cuts resembling tip with an arrangement of individually and digitally shaped percussive bits, later accompanied by lonely guitar strikes and a slow, clockwork-like 4/4 bassdrum as well as dithering clarinets to alter our perception of space and time and totally dissolve the n-dimensioned reality our senses usually provide whilst "Tauchgang", the final cut on this album, combines a brooding, slo-mo beat structure, short distorted Noize-eruptions and a score'esque eerieness that surely is able to provide nightmares for the mentally instable. Nice one.

Album artwork on Instagram!

alt-J - 3WW (Official Short Film Video)

Dark Americana and tense cinematography for a hot Saturday afternoon. We're in for this.

Sascha Müller [Supersix Records Extra 054]

Another fresh release by the production force that  is Meppen's Sascha Müller is his fiftyfourth consecutively untitled album on his self-owned and -run Supersix Records Extra-imprint. Once again weighing in twelve brand new tracks we start into the albums journey with "All Fucked Up", a heavily distorted HardTechno tune for the darkest hours of underground raving whilst "Bianca" takes on a more stripped down, subquatic approach towards Techno and presents some soft morphing scuba stabs in combination with a slightly clumsy antigroove for audiences lost in the realms of electronic sound creation. The "Caterpillar" brings forth a Techno vision which is dry, funky and ultrafunctional like the best late 90s productions by Cisco Ferreira a.k.a. The Advent, "Chain Reaction" continues on this path whilst catering a busy main motif to the tool-loving  jocks out there, "Come Get It" gets deep into muscular Tribal- / LatinHouse territories for high octane-fueled nightclubs in NYC and the "Crackle Box I" introduces psyched out distortion waves to dry Techno minimalisms... and well weird mechanical hihat programming on top of a clean, futuristic overall feel. Furthermore "Der Schieber" is a hard banging and merciless peak time Techno affair for the headstrong, "Droid 01" introduces straight up RoboTech from a dystopian future, "Energetic" redefines MinimalTrance and super sweet 8bit melodies for 2k17 and our  "First Contact" takes our mind into a state of hypnotic, grinding MonoAcid ecstasy. Towards the end of this album "Freedom" caters a hyperseductive late night groove that touches the borders of DubTechno before "Funky Fresh" provides more of a relaxed, laid back Downbeat vibe with a muscular touch for all those liking their shit dope as fuck. Good stuff.

DJ Marky - Influences Vol. 2: A Selection Of Drum'n'Bass, House, Brazilian And Disco [BBE Records]

It's been nine years since the Brazilian DJ and national icon DJ Marky who was - and still is - internationally recognized for his massive Drum'n'Bass smash "LK" taking the UK Top 20 Single Charts by storm released the first episode of his "Influences"-series back in 2008 and now he's back with a second take, once again providing proof that he and his wide-ranged musical taste is so much more than what he's best known for a.k.a. setting Drum'n'Bass raves on fire. Coming in on 2CD format including an eclectic eighteen tracks DJ mix and a twelve track unmixed CD his selection starts out on a Soul tip with Wiliam Devaughn's "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" to go into Funk and Acid Jazz with The Pasito Allstars' "Cosa Nostra", early 90s Hacienda House when we see the master Joey Negro remixing The Brand New Heavies feat. N'Dea Davenport and catering the Disco headz amongs us with the sweet vibes of "Switch (Instrumental Version)" by Benelux & Nancy Dee. From more discoid vibes his master mix soon progresses into anthemic HipHouse / PianoHouse with Phortune's "String  Free", a remix version of Maurice's all time favorite "This Is Acid" and Hardhouse's "Check This Out" before introducing one of Detroit great influential musical disguises known as Galaxy 2 Galaxy with "Timeline", getting back into Brazilian vibes later on only return to the anthems with the signature melody of "Found Love" provided by Double Dee feat. Dany. Making a surprising yet seductive transition into uptempo Brazil and Manfredo Fest's "Jungle Kitten" from there DJ Marky paves the way for the closing Drum'n'Bass section of this selection starting with Skanna's "Find Me" and another alltime classic that is Origin Unknown's "Truly One (Remix Pt. 1)" whilst providing some true hardsteppin Bristol flavor with so called 'DJ Die Gnarly Mix' of the Reprazent uberhit "Watching Windows" only to conclude the journey with the uplifting, soulfull feel of Influx Datum's "Meant Love". As additional bonus quite a bunch of these tracks are featured as full-length versions on the second part of this album pack like the superdope Soul of Esther Williams' "Last Night Changed It All", the sweet Freestyle Funk of The Armed Gang asking "Are You Ready" and of course the dry ChicagoAcid approach of "Clap Me" by Jack Frost And The Circle Jerks. More exclusive goodness is served with the stripped down, yet pumping House groove of Cultural Vibes "Ma Foom Bey" whilst Laurentius' "Karate Samba" provides pleasure for those knee deep into Latin / Brazilian-flavored House music before Dave Angel's seminal "Rotation", btw the very first release of his very own label of the same name back in 1993, proves how timelessness and a will to experiment can go hand in hand and are still well valid after nearly 25 years. A well eclectic and at the same time well thought out compilation that oozes with DJ Marky's deep knowledge and understanding of the (electronic) music scene as a whole that should standout as a great example for all young and aspiring DJ's and producers starting out these days. Excellent.

THDN - Force Feed Happiness

The new Hamburg masters of Chemical Beats are back with a new demo track and they surely are on fire with this one.

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 05/2017

03.06.2017 baze.djunkiii @ Bahnhof Kötzting / Bad Kötzting

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

file under: House / DeepHouse / TechHouse


Facebook event here!

Bahnhof Kötzting
Bahnhofstrasse 19
93444 Bad Kötzting
Germany

Zeitkratzer - performs songs from the albums "Kraftwerk" and "Kraftwerk 2" [Zeitkratzer Productions]

This is news! The ever active ensemble named Zeitkratzer, conducted, directed and founded by Reinhold Friedl is continuing their re-interpretations of classic albums with a special take on songs taken of the pair of very first, and never repressed, Kraftwerk albums "Kraftwerk" and "Kraftwerk 2" which showcased the krautsiest work ever provided by the band about to become praised Electro pioneers later on. And this time we see the ensemble, that's btw celebrating its amazing twentieth anniversary this year, provide interpretations pretty close to the original as the opening tune "Ruckzuck" immediately weighs in its seductive groove and very special, yet kinda klumsy Funk that brings all of us music nerds back to an era in which the development of a new musical language was an absolute necessity whilst "Spule 4" caters a kind of ProtoAmbient meets Score meets fascinating Future Jazz vibe that's both spine-tingling and masterly crafted. With "Strom" we're introduced to mysterious, yet unsettling scraping sounds and muscular, repetetive trombones slowly shifting towards an easier, more jazzy feel before being interrupted by dreamy at first, than ever climaxing guitars of a ruminant intensity, "Atem" a.k.a. 'breath' brings us an array of ColdAmbient antedating respiratory sounds before "KlingKlang", the 17+ minutes spanning main tune, is in for a spiritual meditation about everything good that has ever happened Krautrock-wise, especially when it comes to easy feel good grooves, meandering tempos and a sort of a Bossa'esque swing. Finally we're down with the "Megaherz", entering a hellish, agitated vortex of brooding tension and imminent danger soon making way for a more relaxed, natural and calming atmosphere providing a sweet conclusion to a highly recommended assortment of re-interpretations.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Jakaszek - Kwiaty [Ghostly International]

Released in mid-March via the lomg time running Ghostly International is "Kwiaty", the latest longplay effort created by Michal Jacaszek a.k.a. Jakaszek, a Polish composer who had been inspired by an English anthology of metaphysical poetry from the 17th century for this album. Drawing inspiration both from the formal as well as the obviously beautiful simplicity of the poems featured in this book Jakaszek merged those with sketches, ideas and half-finished tracks sitting on his harddisk waiting for a final polish, further processing or even release to create a highly consistent body of work consisting of eleven tracks, catering a most mysterious, sometimes even mystical atmosphere through their brittle, oftentimes slightly distorted vocal nature spread over a backdrop of blurred hisses, gentle beats, fragile guitar loops paired with bits of PostFolk and echoes of echoes of Singer / Songwriter'esque Pop, sometimes well melancholic and sometimes a little bit more uplifting and dancey like in songs like "Soft Music" or "To Meadows", with the last one being a little more thunderous and shattered like trapped radio transmissions from a long forgotten past whilst the dreamy "Eternity" weighs in loads of captivating, ethereal fascination for a reason. Defo a proper compagnon for rainy autumn days, this album is.       

DJ Skull Vomit - Dead Sea

When your days are doomed you need to wake up to a brutal mixture of Breakcore and Metal to get into the right mood for everyday warfare.

02.06.2017 baze.djunkiii @ Unter Deck / Munich

decks:
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Jahmoni Music]
D.FL8 (a.k.a. BELP) [Jahmoni Music]

file under: House / DeepHouse / TechHouse

free admission

Unter Deck
Oberanger 26
80331 Munich
Germany

Repeat Eater - VVestAciid *Stazma Origamix

This one goes out to all the IDM and Drill'n'Bass heads out there. Appreciate the madness!

Thomas Wynn And The Believers - Wade Waist Deep [Mascot Record Promo]

Put on  the circuit via Mascot Records last week is "Wade Waist Deep", the latest full length album effort created by Thomas Wynn And The Believers. Starting into this twelve song affair, which btw is their third longplay piece overall, with the muscular and captivating Desert Rock affair "Man Out Of Time" the band gives away their strongest tune straight away before going into timeless, yet a little dusted and 70s flavored RockPop for daytime radio play that we've heard a thousand times before with the albums title track, goes down the ballad'esque "Heartbreak Alley" with a glass of bourbon their hand and admits that "My Eyes Won't Be Open" in a quite pathetic, formulaic way that'll well fit into the soundtrack of any imaginery  80s road or teenage rebel movie for a reason. The story about some kind of "Thin Love" is a swinging, more upbeat affair touched by Country, kitsch and some twanging guitars which are built around an Indie'esque chorus, "I Don't  Regret" gets overly dramatic in terms of Rock'n'Roll ballads, "You Can't Hurt Me" finally grabs our attention again whilst picking up on a path the album left after the opening tune, providing some heavy solos and quite a rough, whiskey-soaked attitude and walking through the "Mountain Fog", listening to mysterious background choirs  reveals more of a folksy surprise paired with super solid Rock to which we can fully relate. Letting the listener "Burn As One" we're catered with quite a bunch of proper 80s cliches which totally work, unearthing memories of 'Mad Max' and the smell of cheap gasoline, "Feel The Good" is frolicking in the meadows, bringing back the kitsch aspect again, "We Could All Die Screaming" would make up for a great Rock'n'Roll soundtrack for an adventurous roadtrip into the desert (... or war ?) and the final song "Turn It Into Gold" leaves us thinking about our life decisions whilst sitting on a dusty road, dirty and watching the sun go down in the most epic way before providing  a grand HardRock finale that takes everyone by surprise. Quite a mixed bag of an album, this one, which probably would've turned out better if it had been cut down to a proper six track EP for a reason.      

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Acid Monster (Floppy Totaal Special) [Supersix Records]

Keeping up with Sascha Müller's special floppy disk releases that were only available at Rotterdam's Floppy Totaal v3.0 Festival in early April we're now taking a closer look at "Acid Monster (Floppy Totaal Special)" a three single that's, guess what, focusing on Low Bit Acid from the dark side of the spectrum. The opening tune named "Acid Constructor" operates straight on the border to wildstyle Hardcore and weighs in hard banging drums on hyperspeed as well brain-melting MonoAcid modulations, "Work My 303" is more on a deep, spiralling and Trance-inducing tip and the final "Untitled" cut evokes memories of deep, highly spaced out AcidTrance for those who've been deep into this style throughout the mid 90s. Recommended fodder for all them acidheadz out there.

Anthene - Orchid [Sound In Silence 036]

Incoming from the Greece-based imprint Sound In Silence is "Orchid", the newest album effort by Athene, a solo moniker of Toronto's Brad Deschamps who has been active under this name since 2015 and released music on various imprints including his very own Polar Seas Recordings. For his second, limited to 150 hand-numbered copies album on Sound In Silence Mr. Deschamps unearthes a bunch of seven unreleased tracks from his studio vaults, opening with a sweet fusion of scientific bleeps from the airwaves, similar to what Kraftwerk caters in the intro sequence of "Radio-Activity", and overwhelmingly soft Ambient structures in "Fauna", continues on a similar, yet a little darker path in "Reflected Light" whereas "Flora" keeps things as Ambient as Ambient can be, moving slowly and elegantly like a glacier in the late evening sun, representing the beauty of the genre in the best possible way. Following a beatless "Frozen Path" melodies and pads become more fragile and crystalline, the title track "Orchid" caters 582 seconds of meandering strings and calm, blurred atmospheres for ultimate, autumnal relaxation whilst  "The Laughing Heart" is more of a lecture in heartfelt melancholia garnished with (neo)classical elements than a study in uplifting soundscapes. Finally "Trace" is waving goodbye in a more solemn and grave manner, rounding off an album nicely that's surely meant to please all die-hard Ambient lovers for a reason.

Manga Saint Hilare x Lewi B - Outbursts From The Outskirts

That's some darn good Grime stuff in here. Shit's on definite fire.