XOTOX - Die Geheimen Dokumente [Infacted Recordings Promo]

Released on the digital circuit via Infacted Recordings on March 20th, 2k26 is "Die Geheimen Dokumente" - a new quasi-EP / single hybrid by long standing producer XOTOX. Opening with the Blac Kolor Remix of "Was Hörst Du?" we're drawn straight to the heart of the late night dancefloor with by a melange of heavy drum grooves and rather melancholia-inducing synth string arrangements, a large scale breakdown and whispering, almost trance-inducing voices whereas "The Price We Pay For Happiness *Corvo Elettronico Remix" brings forth heavy distorted peak time brutalism suitable for both HardTechno and Industrial dancefloors with its grinding layers and overwhelming bassline attacks. Furthermore "Ich Funktioniere *Elektropop" caters an alternative and rather stripped down variation of a cut previously released on the 2023 album "Ich Bin Da / Ich Funktioniere", the "Untitled And Unreleased Demotrack From 2001" reveals the stomping and spaced out technoid vision XOTOX followed a quarter of a century ago before another unearthed cut from the archive named "Künstlicher Mensch *Unreleased Demotrack From 2001" follows suit in a similar, yet more Industrial / FreeTekno-leaning manner with popping, expertly sculpted sci-fi bassdrums, extended Rhythm Industrial sequences and an overall grinding and hypnotic attitude which we're defo in for. Good stuff.

Stinning / Long / Heinemann - Lines Of Flight [Aut Records 145]

Put out on the circuit via the ever active Italian Aut Records label on February 18th, 2k26 as a 43 minutes spanning five track vinyl album is "Lines OF Flight", the first ever collaborational longplayer conceived Swiss reed-player Sebastian Strinning, double bass player Jakob Heinemann and South Side Chicago-based electronic musician Norman Long. Influenced by Acoustic Ecology, a field especially Heinemann and Long have been actively engaged in for an extended period of time, the trio embarks on their musical journey with "Blattnarbe", a rather nervous, yet surprisingly detailed take on stripped down and minimalist Avantgarde Jazz with a playful and explorative, yet oftentimes also screeching and dissonant note, subsequently followed by the spiralling, free floating yet almost classic reed lines of "Locus" which are backed by what seem to be slightly processed elements of Field Recordings, traces of quasi-rhythms and a dense layer of subdued sonic events of unclear origin later leading into a certainly more broken, fractured, cut up and digitally mangled approach which might be sitting well with fans and followers of Electroacustic Composition before coming full circle for an, again, FreeJazz-informed closing rounding off a total playtime of 14 minutes on the records A-side for this piece alone. With "Demarcation" on the flip the attentive listener is drawn into a world of droning low frequency rumbles, dubbed out echoes and certainly muffled bubbling soundscapes mixed with futuristic sci-fi doom vibes and a claustrophic urgency evoking memories of electroacoustic experiments on the rather influential early 90s compilation "Abschied Aus Berne" which featured a selection of pieces from the experimental electronic scene of Hamburg / Germany at the time before finally drifting into a realm of nervous and off-kilter Avantgarde Jazz once again whereas "Fluchtpunkt" offers a brittle and oscillating perspective and nocturnal atmospheric movements with a surprisingly melancholic twist and the concluding "Retrace" weighs in a scraping, most likely fully digitally processed take on highly experimental electronic music for the most part closer to the works of artists like Tine Mariane Krogh Madsen than to most musics previously released on the Aut Records label before and, not only for being something different, be might our personal favorite on this well interesting longplay piece.

Aerie Trio - Water, Rock, Tree, Sky [Redshift Records]

Put out on the circuit via the Canadian Redshift Records imprint on February 20th, 2k26 is "Water, Rock, Tree, Sky", the first ever album release by the Diane Berry-led Aerie Trio which sees the Vancouver Island-based composer and flute player working in conjunction with fellow core members Nathan Jacklin and Kathryn Le Gros for a roughly 58 minutes lasting musical journey, occasionally accompanied by contributing guest artists like cellist Maria Wang and vocalist Marnie Setka-Mooney. Opening with the extended "Vancouver Island Suite" and its eight specific sub-movements the trio plus explores an ongoing dialogue between cello, flute and piano in a rather intimate and close-up setting presenting a fragile dynamic approach with its quietest moments bordering reverent near-silence, broken by carefully arranged piano cascades in "Prelude", followed by a still rural, yet defo frolicking and at times even jazzy angle in the subsequent "Beaches" before taking a rather dramatic and surely danger heralding surprise turn whereas "The Rainforest" provides calm, yet spine-tingling sonic tension paired with well hopeful, emotional, almost cinematic and certainly beautifully arranged harmonic string layers whilst "The Rose Garden" is more of a dreamy and elegic affair balancing on the edge of sweet autumnal Sunday afternoon melancholia. Furthermore the title-bearing "Water, Rock, Tree Sky" weighs in an enchanted combination of flute, clarinet and soprano vocals which combines elements of airy Classical and Contemporary Classical composition with echoes of Opera over the short course of just under six minutes, presenting genre aficionados with an unusual cliffhanger not often to be found within this musical real. Intredasting.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Gintas K - Merzmania [Gk Rec 008]

Put out on the circuit via his very own GK Rec. label is "Merzmania", the latest experimental album outing cooked up by Gintas Kraptavicius a.k.a. Gintas K.. Released on March 30th, 2k26 the Lithuanian porducer x sound artist caters a menu of thirteen new pieces rolled out over a total runtime of 75 minutes on this album, aiming for a fusion of Classical Music-infused techniques and the utter chaos and harsh, abrasive and oftentimes violent approach of Japanoise pioneer and forerunner Merzbow. In this fusion attempt we see Gintas K. bringing forth a combination of extremely fast, highly detailed synth keyboard work which seems to flood the attentive listeners brain with an almost granular flow of a gazillion sonic events per microsecond which are - live and in parallel - treated, transformed altered and further morphed by real time software manipulation with pieces like "Merzmania #2" resembling buzzing swarms of scintillating robotic insects from a sci-fi future accompanied by trembling sub-sonic bass attacks whilst the subsequent "Merzmania #3 Dreaming" caters minimalist digital scrapings and warm tectonic bass rumbles whereas "Merzmania #5 Slow" finally even vaguely resembles minimalist echoes of echoes of echoes of named Classical techniques, albeit in combination with further digital sweeps and scrapings. With pieces like "Merzmania #8 Spare" Gintas K. harks back to an overload of sonic events, yet in a more playful and somewhat unsettling, eerie and otherworldly manner, subsequently followed by "Merzmania #9 Turntable" with another serving of high speed modulated keyboard action before breaking down into glistening brittle and slightly off-kilter UnAmbient structures whereas the similarly named, yet different "Merzmania #11 Turbtxble" enters a realm of hyperactive digital chaos, densely layered piercing frequency shifts and intentional defragmentation just to lay out a few sonic concepts to be found on this highly limited album release. This is ultra Avantgarde music for those in the know.

Out Today: TG Mauss - Distanz (Sascha Müller & baze.djunkiii Particle Disorder Remix) [Hauch Records 047]

Released today via the Düsseldorf-based Hauch Records label is their new twelve track compilation album "Patronage V" which features this new remix crafted by long time friends and more recent studio partners baze.djunkiii and Sascha Müller taking on, tweaking, twisting and re-imagining the original track "Distanz" by TG Mauss. In their version the duo transforms the originally free floating Ambient x Pop Ambient x PostRock affair into a breezy, airy and - regarding their previous, more Bass Music driven collaborational work - quite unusual dancefloor cut inspired by dreamy MinimalHouse x TechHouse, echoes of Indietronica, PostRock and most importantly a signature Cologne Schaffel sound they had been talking about for a while in terms of taking a shot at. Out now on limited twelve track vinyl album with an initial print run of 200 hand-numbered copies.

Get your copy from:

- Quality [electronic] Music on Discogs
- Hauch Records on Bandcamp
- HHV Records / Germany
- Juno Records / UK
- Further Records / USA