Review: In line with the timely reappraisal of all things R&S related, the resurgent Apollo have seen the opportunity to bring one of their most celebrated records back for another round. Aphex Twin's ambient recordings mature magnificently with age, sounding ever richer and more emotive as the rest of electronic music continues to play catch up all around. From the gentle breakbeats of "Xtal" to the aquatic techno lure of "Tha", the airy rave of "Pulsewidth" to the heartwrenching composition of "Ageispolis", every track is a perennial example of how far ambient techno could reach even back then. It's just that no-one quite had the arm-span of Richard D. James.
Review: It's the album that redefined ambient music, not least for a generation of parasympathetic ravers. Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume II marked a stylistic shift away from the first edition in the infamous ambient LP 'series', Selected Ambient Works 85-92. Volume II differed substantially; this time, there would be no 'techno' addendum to 'ambient', and all tracks thereupon would lack the usual indulgence of beats, however easy-on-the-ears these had been beforehand. Known for its many numbered tracks - which on the original edition, rather than track names, denoted references to images of natural forms, textures and geologic readymades, all bathed in orange, and from which fans had to infer the written names - this expanded edition stays faithful to this origin. Even so, it adds two unreleased D Jamesian treats - provided you don't count the massive Soundcloud dump of 2015 as a release - 'th1 [evnslower]' and a reversed version of 'Rhubarb' - as well as a the previously vinyl only '#19'.
Review: Sound collage is a genre where ideas and sounds can get a blank canvas to express those ideas and not have any pressures to create full songs. The Gesua Plateau: Enslavement Of The Species pushes the boundaries of experimental and electronic music to an exciting place. This multi-sided album dives into ambient textures, unusual sonic landscapes and evocative soundscapes that feel alien and oddly familiar. Side-1 serves as an entry point, with five shorter tracks showcasing ambient and experimental ingenuity. Highlights include 'Track 2', where a blend of saxophone, electronics and effects evokes a chamber-like resonance and 'Track 4', featuring a dark, sequenced rhythm that feels futuristic and thrilling. 'Track 3' introduces nature sounds, adding an organic touch to the experimental palette, while 'Track 5' leans into spacey electronics that expand the album's ethereal tone. Side-2 delivers 'Track 6', a cavernous exploration of dissonance and sound processing that feels otherworldly. Side-3 offers 'Track 7', an industrial, mechanical piece that's haunting and deeply atmospheric. Finally, Side-4 ventures even further into the unknown, presenting soundscapes that feel unmoored from terrestrial reality. A profound journey into sonic experimentation. If you're interested in the avant garde, musique concrete or experimental sounds, this ambient album has all that and then some.
Review: Perila's latest double album is a mesmerising exploration of ambient soundscapes, field recordings and vocal manipulation. Spanning 21 tracks, the work unfolds like an immersive narrative, with each side offering its own thematic journey. Her voice drifts through vast, haunting spaces, weaving into ghostly chorals and spectral pulses, creating an eerie atmosphere that blends the intimate with the outer world. Tracks like 'Deza' and 'Sepula Purm' highlight her ability to transform simple vocal echoes into atmospheric wonders, while 'Nia' introduces faint low-end rumbles that evolve into hypnotic rhythms. As the album progresses, Perila delves deeper into industrial and experimental terrain, with tracks like 'Mola' offering a soft, meditative reprieve, before 'Supa Mi' strips everything back to raw, acapella fragments. The sound grows more intense as it moves forward, with 'Darbounouse Song' delivering a creative peak of crackling textures and resonant gong tones, and 'She Wonder' exploring rhythmic digital precipitation. Her use of field recordings, fragmented whispers, and organic sounds results in a deeply personal and atmospheric experience, making this her most cohesive and fully realized work to date. Fans of experimental, immersive sound will find much to admire here.
Review: Originally released in 1996, Aphex Twin's fifth album in as many years meant business from the very moment the wild and whimsical opener "4" scribbled it way through the speakers. With jaunty jams such as "Cornish Acid" and "Fingerbib" running amok mid-set, Richard D James Album acted as a fine mission statement to expect the unexpected and never anticipate formula or form. And it still carries that very same message today. Essential.
Review: Perhaps slightly better known for his dancefloor-enlivening electro productions, this is actually the third full length ambient album from UK producer Emile Facey under the Plant43 moniker. He's been writing and storing up atmospheric synthesiser experiments alongside his dancefloor oriented output since his last ambient LP The Countless Stones released in 2020, and the eight tracks here are meditative, ethereal affairs, Facey carving out a beautiful set of vivid emotions out of crystal clear pure sounds and arpeggios rolling like gentle waves lapping at a shore. Imagine classic Tangerine Dream combined with the balance and poise of Global Communication and you're getting close.
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Review: Bjork and Rosalia team up for the limited marble vinyl edition 12" double-sider, 'Oral', now coming packed with a stunning remix by Olof Dreijer from The Knife. The record is described by its releasers OLI as not just a single release but a "call to arms", with 100% of the profits being funnelled directly to AEGIS, the Icelandic charity dedicated to eradicating intensive fish farming in the country. 'Oral' itself is now a staple of the latest incarnation of Bjork's ever-mutant career, consummating her and Rosalia's recent rapport; a sabre-wielding, purblind aesthetic - befitting also of another of Bjork's collaborative contemporaries, Arca - fits seamlessly with the elegiac reggaeton of the song. Dreijer's remix is rabid and wonky by comparison, its draggy, morphemic rhythms belying Bjork and Rosalia's equally wetted vocals, producing a wacky litany of faunal electronics and whizzing FX.
Review: The makings of Murcof's new album Twin Colour were first germinated in 2020, shaped by the early days of the pandemic lockdowns. The first volume in a new multidisciplinary project between Fernando Corona (Murcof), his daughter Alina Corona, and his colleague Simon Geilfus, Twin Colour is born of less conception and more studio heuristics, though it draws many of its inspirations from some of the 80s material that Murcof had laid down at the start of his career. As such, an impressive combo of tape-hissed coldwave and modern, progressive ambient is heard here, straying from Murcof's trickier material for something much more roughshod, tawny and dramatic.
Review: Kelly Lee Owens' fourth studio album marks a significant shift in Owens' musical journey, embodying themes of freedom and escapism. Dream State emerges from a period of inner transformation following a break-up, and is a testament to collaboration, featuring producer-writer contributions from electronic music luminaries Bicep, Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and George Daniel of The 1975. The synergy between these artists infuses Dreamstate with a rich, dynamic sound that blends Owens' ethereal vocals with innovative electronic beats and lush production. A range of emotions and sonic landscapes, offering both introspective and liberating experiences.
Review: Secret Circuit's Eddie Ruscha and Rub N Tug's Thomas Bullock joined forces as Laughing Light Of Plenty for an EP back in 2008, and followed it up with an album on Whatever We Want Records in 2010 which largely got lost in a warehouse stock malfunction. Now Emotional Response are doing the right thing and giving the record a second airing under the duo's alternative alias The Naturals, and it's not hard to see why they wanted to do the reissue. Loose and funky, but also deliriously psychedelic and indebted to the 1970s golden era of songwriting, this is a quintessential Emotional record if ever we heard one.
Review: The best thing since Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", Denmark and Norway's Aqua, to '90s R&B, Trance and '00s Dubstep combined is Sophie's Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides. With more meta-references than you can poke a brain at, the album and its hyper-array of sounds is set to light up the couture cosmo of New York City as much as it is a teenager's bedroom south of the border. In effect, Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides is one of the most colourful excursions through music you can have, striking off a plethora of pop music iterations, to rave, deep ambient and the most experimental of dance music. A seriously defining album by one of modern day music's greatest minds. Roll out the red carpet.
Review: If you were judging Kieran Hebden's 11th Four Tet studio album merely on the way it's presented, you'd immediately think he'd spent the last two years immersed in early '90s ambient house albums. While it's unlikely he's done that, it's fair to say that New Energy does owe a debt to classic electronica sets from that period. For all the exotic instrumentation and subtle nods to post-dubstep "aquacrunk" experimentalism and chiming, head-in-the-clouds sunrise house, the album feels like a relic of a lost era. That's not meant as a criticism - New Energy is superb - but it is true that his choice of neo-classical strings, gentle new age melodies, sweeping synthesizer chords and disconnected vocal samples would not sound out of place on a Global Communication album.
Review: There isn't a more hit-packed Kraftwerk album than The Man Machine. First released in 1978 and here reissued on red vinyl accompanied by a fresh booklet of vintage images, the album boasts some of the German band's best loved songs, including 'The Robots', cheery sing-along 'The Model', the staggeringly good 'Neon Lights', and the bubbly title track. It shows how good the album is that such gems as 'Metropolis' and the picturesque 'Spacelab' - cuts that most other bands would kill to be able to write - tend to be ignored or overlooked. If you love electronic music, you need a copy of The Man Machine in your collection.
The Horse He's Sick - "Projectile Fascination" (2:15)
M Nomized - "Nitsed" (4:20)
John J Lafia - "Life Is Short" (3:57)
Interaccion - "Newton" (3:16)
Die Mysteriosen - "Spurhund" (3:42)
Homage A Brinkmann - "Franzosisch" (4:05)
Solanaceae Tau - "Tekno Pop" (1:29)
Ob Ovo + Sha 261 - "The CIA, It Dances" (5:27)
Collectionism - "We Are All Children Of God" (4:20)
UPM - "Anstalt" (3:55)
Wolfgang Wiggers - "Slightly Mental" (3:56)
Review: "Rich-poor divide widens. Unemployment soars. The East and West eyeball each other on the brink. 2022 isn't too far off the 1980s. Contort Yourself know this." A second collection of distortion soaked didactics from across the globe, all created specifically and exclusively to express wanton abandonment; marginalisatioan and alientation via tiny tape runs, but lovingly rustled up into a 21 track gem of a compilation. Rusted guitar strings, cobbled drum machines and fire in the belly - a soundtrack of despondent despair, a lament of languid lechery, an anthem of what was then and still is now.
Review: Nine tracks of 'life-affirming downer music' by Swedish duo Charlott Malmenholt and Joakim Karlsson aka Treasury Of Puppies. Mitt Stora Nu is the Gothenburg-based duo's second album, following last year's titled Lollos Dagbok and their eponymous debut back in 2020. A collection of lo-fi and quirky indie-pop ditties, all said to have been influenced by Edgar Allan Poe as much as Britney Spears. Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi and pressed in an edition of 1000 copies. Comes with insert.
Review: Troekurovo Recordings is a production team made up of Toki Fuko, Vadim Basov and Evgeny Vorontsov and they have been hidden away deep in some enchanted Russian forests recording music. Now they are putting out the results on this superb double pack. This project started back in 2016 as a live experimental jam and is now an annual tradition made on loads of analogue gear on the banks of a canyon that was formed many years ago by a melting glacier. The locale provides inspiration - from the fresh country air to the meteor showers often visible overhead - for the music making which is strictly "no preparation, no pre-programming - hardware, friends and live improvisation only."
Review: The Udacha label might have been away for a while but is now back with a vengeance. First up for this return is a new long player by the mighty fine Kurvenschreiber quarter, which is made up of Sergey Komarov, Vlad Dobrovolski, Ilya Sadovski and Alexey Grachev. These sound artists have been excelling in their field for some 10 years now and use synths as well as found sound objects to create their work. Magnetic tape loops, various instruments, pre-recorded loops, shortwave radios, transformers and much more give rise to this unique record which mixes up Boolean jazz, kurventronika and post-rock.
Review: Klamm is the new label dedicated to the artistic output of Saele Valese. After "Ivic", a collection of old and new materials published on Alva Noto's label (NOTON) at the beginning of the year, Saele Valese releases now his first real album "A White, White Day". Written and recorded between 2018 and 2021 the material of this work was sliced, glued and recreated several times, just like a filmmaker in the editing process, before finding its final form. Inspired indeed by the most poetic cinema, 'A White, White Day' represents, in the form of a non-linear and enigmatic narrative, a personal and psychological reflection on time, memory and dreams. Mastered by Rashad Becker.
Review: James Blake's debut album is undoubtedly one of 2011's most keenly awaited releases, and its arrival via his own (major label funded) Atlas imprint ensures their is no lull in momentum for a producer who enjoyed a watershed 2010 with releases on Hessle Audio and R&S. The results here differ wildly from his previous sonic excursions - gone are the shimmering R&B soaked melodies of "CMYK" and the sheer experimentalism of the Klavierwerke EP, which saw the young Londoner depart from the confines of the dancefloor and enter a realm where there was only a passing reference to rhythm-based music. Instead we are treated to Blake's own yearning, raw voice, delicate pianos and an underlying sense of melancholy. Ubiquitous single "Limit To Your love" and the crackly sonic terrain evoked on "The Wilhelm Scream" are among the most immediately pleasing moments, but there is much to explore here. It's a fascinating opus and surely the catalyst to a long and fruitful career at the top.
Review: Murcof's latest album offers a journey through soundscapes that feel both deeply personal and cinematic. Known for his pioneering approach to minimal electronic music, this new work explores a more layered, orchestral sensibility. The opening track unfolds slowly, a sparse but deliberate arrangement that evokes vast, uninhabited spaces. As the album progresses, rhythmic structures emerge, subtly guiding the listener into more dynamic territories. By its midpoint, the tone darkensidroning strings and fragmented melodies that intertwine, shaping a space of quiet introspection. The closing piece stretches its wings, expansive and evocative, a fitting resolution to an album that balances restraint with grandeur. Murcof's control of mood and texture remains unparalleled here, delivering a nuanced exploration of ambient and electronic fusion.
Review: Over the years, Sam Shepheard's work as Floating Points has become increasingly ambitious, moving further away from his dancefloor roots and closer to spiritual jazz, new age and neo-classical. Even so, it was still a surprise when Shepheard announced Promises, a 46-minute piece in 10 "movements" featuring the London Symphony Orchestra and legendary saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. It's an undeniably remarkable piece all told; a constantly evolving fusion of neo-classical ambience, spiritual jazz and starry, synthesizer-laden soundscapes notable not only for Sanders' sublime sax-playing and Shepheard's memorable melodic themes, but also the intricate, detailed nature of the musical arrangements. It's a stunningly beautiful and life-affirming piece all told, and one that deserves your full attention.
Review: Caribou shares his latest record, this time for City Slang, Honey. The timely follow-up to 2020's Suddenly, Honey comes preceded by the forerunning singles 'Broke My Heart', 'Volume' and 'Honey'. Caribou aka. Dan Snaith has more than proven his mettle as a multifarious artist, with the toweringly popular Odessa album only scratching the surface of what could otherwise be described as a much more experimental, tricky and salubriously varied discography. Honey plays up the pop-oriented capabilities of Snaith's many-tentacled sound, circling the intentionally mystified identity of the artist himself; 'Come Find Me' asks the listener to come find Snaith, while its corresponding music video features a childlike figure in a Brave New World-style jumpsuit, dancing to the song, as if to suggest a coquettish playfulness, poking through the swellingly progressive, end-of-summer house track. Adding to the pangram of bright and hopeful post-folktronica hits, Honey is sure to attract all the late-summer dance bees.
Review: You'll probably already be acquainted with the name Manuel Gottsching - and you should be - but just in case you aren't, he was a pillar of Ash Ra Tempel's golden years and, among other of his contemporaries, was a pioneer of the genre that is often dubbed 'new age'. E2-E4 was a 1984 solo album from the man, and is certainly up there with the likes of Steve Reich's best minimal material, although it has often gone relatively unnoticed. MG Art from Germany have done us the favour of reissuing this monumental release, and we're utterly awestruck by how contemporary and fresh this album still is. In fact, one could say that a tune like "31'38" is the basis for the sound championed by new labels like Mood Hut, where a significantly danceable beat is laid above placid, warm harmonics. Similarly, "23'00" is just as balearic and phased out but, once again, we just can't believe how great this music still sounds more than thirty years later. Warmly recommended.
Review: At this point in his career, it seems that classically trained pianist come electronica visionary Jon Hopkins can do no wrong. Whether we're thinking of his unmistakable all-time great LP Immunity, or his more recent inward-bound journeys into a trippy serial panacea, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, the musician, in Domino's own words, is an established auteur, capable of casting a whole range of dark sonorous arts perhaps only the most storied audio wizards can cast. His latest record, Ritual, is the latest utterance to escape the Hopkins grimoire; staying true to the adage that a real magician simply does not reveal their secrets, Hopkins is deliberately cryptic about the meaning of Ritual, except for the fact that his music-making process is itself a ritual. Humbly, he insists "I have no idea what I'm doing when I'm composing". Well, from the various sublime, epiphanic, master-warlock's evocations heard across this record, it sure doesn't sound like it!
Review: Marking the start of an exciting new collaborative project, Wolf + Lamb proudly share the debut release of The Waves & Us. Formed out of
a creative meeting of minds between Maayan Nidam, Markus Nikolaus and Louis McGuire, theirs is a sound that strengthens the storied
approach of a live band with the experimental thrust of analogue electronics. Pop and rock fundamentals lend an earthly hook to the
tracks, but these are anything but straight-forward songs.
Maayan has already forged a formidable career in electronic music, both under her own name and as part of Mara Trax, scoring releases
on such celebrated labels as Perlon. Markus performs his own solo project Cunt Cunt Chanel, while Louis is part of Ballet School, a band
releasing on noted indie label Bella Union. The whirlwind of creativity that has whipped up around the trio has yielded an album which will
follow this single, made up of one-take recordings that capture the energy and adventure that powers The Waves & Us.
Maayan's electronics provide the atmospheric backdrop to the songs, running modular synthesisers and drum machines through detailed
chains of processing and effects with an emphasis on a warm, charmingly rough finish. Markus' guitar undergoes a similar fuzzy treatment
while his voice calls out introspective, abstract lyrics to set the mind racing. Louis' bass underpins the music with a dubby sensibility,
bringing a necessary balance to the frequency range.
Making the most of their in-the-room recording approach, the singles will feature alternative takes of the songs that will appear on the
album, providing a little insight into the flutters and fluctuations that shape the development of this project. With their eyes fixed on live
performances and an arresting sound already formed, this is a vital time for all three artists and the people that listen to them.
Review: There is a great selection of reissues of Future Sound of London's back catalogue going on right now. It goes all the way back to 1988 when they first started chaining the game with their forward facing electronics and mix of rave, breaks, hardcore and ambient into something utterly fresh. It still resonates today, hence these reissues, and this one is a 25th Anniversary edition of Accelerator. This one was, at the time, seen as the group's most "commercially-minded" album but that takes nothing way from its visionary sonics and immersive sonic landscapes.
Review: "The foundations of some of these pieces were laid almost a decade ago, others more recently. All of them came into being as sketches intended as Komodo Kolektif tracks to develop but for various reasons this didn't happen. The Seven Heavenly Elements was first presented to the group in 2019 but partly through personal differences in musical taste as well as COVID throwing a spanner in the works it was put aside and never worked on collectively." Gamma Knife calls on the power of instruments including djembe, Berber square drum, Moroccan metal castanets, shaker, tambourine, bongos, maracas, rattle, Javanese gong ageng, Javanese kempul, Javanese saron, Balinese gong ageng, Balinese kempul, Roland R8 Mk II, DSI Mopho, Roland Jupiter-8, Roland SH-101, Sequential Circuits Pro One, Behringer TD-3, Moog Voyager, Moog Minitaur and jaw harp for a staggering journey into ritualistic futurism and space-age ceremony. Very special indeed.
Lord Of The Isles - "Meet Me At The Portal" (3:04)
Review: Secrets Of Sound sold out their first release in quick fashion and now they return with a second instalment in the Exotic Origins series, designed to take you a million light years away from your current reality and deep into the far depths of space with eight superbly cosmic explorations of ambient and downtempo magic. Italians Do It Better man Johnny Jewel kicks off with some sultry sax-laced sounds, David Lynch's musical partner Dean Hurley crushes on shimmering pads and Pye Corner Audio bring a little intergalactic tension. Elsewhere there are sugary synths from Legowelt, suspensory pads from TM Solver and plenty more to help you escape to another dimension. Add to that the fact it arrives on a random variety of different vinyl colours and comes with a download code, and you've got rather a nice package.
Review: The Avidya label arrives with a bold new concept that sees it push itself to "step out of comfort zones to release a series of EPs of broad, challenging and deep music." The first affair is a fine one from four artists, the first of which is Lyon based procure A Strange Wedding from the Worst label. His slow trance locks you in and then Gothenburg trio Datasal come through with a prog rock and post funk and dance fusion. 84PC's contribution is peak time gold and Barcelona's Iro Aka arrive with another debut to round out this fine offering.
Review: It's quite shocking it's been six years since the last Caribou album, 2014's knockout "Our Love". Dan Snaith has never felt the need to rush his music out, and there was an interim Daphni album in 2017 to be fair to the guy, but here we are with a new set that sees Snaith returning to a little of the delicate songwriting and winsome electronica he forged his reputation on in the early days. There's a lot going on in here, from smooth as silk yacht rock-isms to deliriously modernist cut ups and more than a few wild pitch shifts to keep listeners on their toes. It's playful and heartfelt, and rarely lingers in one place for too long while still retaining a sense of calm. It may be not at all what you expected from Caribou's return, but we'd wager it's even better than you hoped.
Review: Canadian composer Mort Garson enjoyed an eclectic career, though in electronic music circles he's most celebrated for a string of experimental electronic albums he produced using early Moog synthesizers. "Mother Earth's Plantasia" is a bizarre but brilliant beast: a 1976 set that was designed to be played to plants to help them grow (really) and was given away free at a Los Angeles garden store. As this first ever reissue proves it remains a dizzyingly far-sighted set. Sometimes symphonic, occasionally spacey and always intoxicating, much of the material is far quirkier than contemporaneous synthesizer-fired sets. Highlights include the pulsing ambient spaciousness of "Ode To An African Violet", the twinkling, cascading beauty of "Rhapsody In Green" and the jaunty cheeriness of "You Don't Have To Walk a Begonia".
Review: Pieter Kock shows us how it's done with The End II, a fantastic new experimental beats LP manifested on the Macadam Mambo label, in a move that has been described as "quite unexpected". A doyen of post-10s German kraut-tronics, Kock first found his savvy as a releaser of retrofutural cassette tapes for various outlets - the likes of RIO, Meakusma and Moonwalk X - all of which assumed album form (to date, Kock has not released a single single or EP). Macadam Mambo offer a suggestion as to why this is: "all the demos that he sent were so good that there was no question about doing something." If by "doing something" you mean releasing over 16 strident club-churners in the style of far leftfield dub, synthpunk and krauty Krankenschaften, you've made no mistake. Dive into any one of these exotic exo-treats, and your eyes will just as surely turn helical.
Review: It's been seven years since Holden's debut album The Idiots Are Winning was released on his own Border Community imprint, and in that time new material has been scarce to say the least. Thankfully, The Inheritors was well worth the wait; produced with a combination of Holden's extensive analogue modular system and his own self-coded software, the album takes in influences as wide as The KLF, Elgar, ceilidh music, pentatonic folk scales and ancient pagan rituals, with each track recorded in one take with no overdubs. Border Community cohort Luke Abbott's Holkham Drones album would be the closest comparison, but even that superb record doesn't come close to the sprawling marvel that is The Inheritors, with highlights like the jazz sax of "The Caterpillar's Intervention" and twisting analogue techno of "Gone Feral" coming thick and fast.
Review: Cherrystones returns with the second of the "Aged" EPs for Emotional Response. Time propels and so does sound, thus orbiting nuances and motion leads us here, to present whatever maybe or interpreted as. Since the acclaimed Aged Of Bronze EP a symbiotic progress of craft arrives in the aptly titled Aged Of Silver. Again each track is like a coded syntax, unlocking the puzzle to aid a listeners journey and experience, building blocks to a utopian scape in form without form notes and pictures living and residing in the dimensions.
Never pandering to trends, his art based on immediacy and the moment, no disposable sub genres that fade as fast as they emerge, transposing and emitting heard and unheard a way to communicate with himself and those that identify.
A capsule of touched emotions bearing gifts for those in the present and wishing to be present, a key with keys analogue for Silver Tongues and Brass monkeys living in the shadow of a Scorpian's Tail.
Massonix - "Just A Little Bit More" (Electro instrumental mix)
Elsi Curry - "U Make Me Feel" (Running Water aka Workhouse mix)
Soul Family Sensation - "I Don't Even Know If I Should Call You Baby" (Marshall Jefferson Symphony mix)
BBG - "Snappiness" (7" edit)
The Aloof - "Never Get Out The Boat" (The Flying mix)
Moodswings - "Spiritual High" (The Moodfood Megamix)
Review: Ace Records continue their series of compilations from Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, tapping into unique niches of British music culture under titles like English Weather and The Tears Of Technology to arrive at this latest joint, Fell From The Sun. This is a specific trip into the downtempo, after hours sounds prevalent in 1990-1991, as the acid house wave broke and Balearic selector ethics seeped into studio practice. The selections are absolutely on point, from The Orb's majestic remix of Primal Scream's 'Higher Than The Sun' to Saint Etienne's own moody roller, 'Speedwell'. It's bouncy and boundlessly optimistic as well as being supremely chill, absolutely of its time but still ringing with an eternal charm that feels ready for a revival. Let this compilation be your guide.
(Intro) Dreamdave - Korea Town Acid Shout Out (feat Imani) (1:45)
Curtain Call (2:39)
Bloom (feat Desiire) (3:16)
Dazed (feat LJ The Alien) (3:01)
Eclipse (feat PNSB) (2:57)
Bounce (feat Pianwooo) (2:57)
Thiis World Is Sick (3:18)
Law Of Attraction (2:32)
Into The Future (3:00)
There's No Turning Back (2:58)
Review: South Korean-born and Toronto-based musician Jessica Chao aka Korea Town Acid spans the divide between disparate musical cultures with her new record Metamorphosis. It is a collaborative work with DESIIRE from Toronto, Korean pianist and rapper Pianwooo, as well as Seoul rapper PNSB, LA producer Dreamdave and New Jersey MC, L.J The Alien. Glitch, home, jungle, boom bap and trap are all distilled into the 10 tracks, with sultry grooves next to more dark and stark instrumentals, often with carefully deployed raps and whispers elevating each tune above mere ear chewing gum status.
Review: RECOMMENDED
Dean Blunt is nothing short of an enigma. Whether you're reading one of his interviews of few words, listening to the records that seem to both celebrate the avant-garde and obsess over it, or watching him descend into strange, otherworldly cacophonies on stage, usually shrouded in smoke, he's never really been an easy guy to pin down. And that's exactly what he's always been going for.
It's something of a surprise, then, to learn that Black Metal 2, the long-awaited, seven years in the making sequel to his critically acclaimed Black Metal, is actually pretty straight forward. In a Dean Blunt kind of way. Opening on the compressed strings and near-spoken word of 'Vigil', the record takes us into the deep dark depths of strange, hook-fuelled guitar poetry, and we never want to find our way back.
Review: School Daze is a killer compilation put together by the Dark Entries label and the Honey Soundsystem crew, collating some of the early recordings produced by Patrick Cowley in the years between 1973-81 and were later used as soundtrack material in two gay porn films. You will probably know Cowley for his Hi-NRG output or 'that' Donna Summer remix or his behind the buttons work on Sylvester tracks. Be prepared for a surprise (well quite a few as the 'explicit content' warning on the cover lives up to its billing) as this collection presents Cowley as a producer capable of many styles and moods. The closest School Daze comes to the sound Cowley is most identified is opening track "Zygote" and from here the collection runs through primitive electronics, short bursts of wave and more with a few extended gems that highlight Cowley's talent for arrangement. One of the compilations of the year!
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