Review: You could say that Kodiak Bachine is Brazil's greatest ever Brazilian electronic producer. That would not be an overstatement, it's just a simple fact. It was 1982 when he first released this EP, and it's been a classic, and a favourite of ours, ever since. In fact, "Electricidade" is so powerful because it sounds like it could have been made today; its tenebrous synths filling the airwaves from every angle, giving the track a strange sensation of lust and wonder. The flip, "Espirito Das Maquinas", is another enchanting ride through broken electric cables and abandoned power plants, a place where Bachine clearly thrives and surpasses all expectations. Highly recommend reissue!
Review: If you were to take one hundred imaginary Daft Punk fans, blindfolded them and played them 'Daaaaaali !' - a charming instrumental, founded on several simple, interwoven and decidedly acoustic guitar figures - you'd reckon none of them would be able identify that Thomas Bangalter was the man (behind the robot) behind the music. And they probably wouldn;t fare much better with the B-side of this 10" single, 'Age Reel'; a curious choice for inclusion, as it's essentially an elongated version of the same theme. Our fictitious friends might have surmised that 'Daaaaaali !' was related to the surrealist artist Salvador Dali; the title track from Quentin 'Mr Oizo' Dupieux' 2023 "real fake biopic" comedy.
Review: Second time around for Julianna Barwick and Rafael Anton Irisarri's lauded contribution to the THESIS label's series of collaborative 10-inch singles. The 2017 set has been in high demand since it first appeared in stores, and with a limited number available outside the US for the first time we're expecting it to sell out in double-quick time. Musically, it's one of the most picturesque things that Irissari has been involved in. The untitled opener delivers a near perfect fusion of layered improvised vocals and wispy ambient electronics, while the track that follows brilliantly builds to a crescendo of Tangerine Dream style arpeggio melodies, densely layered textures and acid-esque motifs. The flipside opener is a more softly spun, deep ambient soundscape, while the EP's closing cut is sparkling, spacey and hugely alluring.
Review: Tucked away in his Peak District hideaway, Jack Lever has been laying down sumptuous fusions of dusty ambience and lo-fi electronica for some time now. He first rose to prominence via a fine 12" on Apollo in 2013, before heading back to Derbyshire to self-release music from the archives on cassette and download. This return to wax is well worth a listen, if only for the drowsy, 6AM ambience of "Convair", which wraps shortwave radio crackle and yearning chord progressions around gentle acoustic guitars. "Torches" is a blissful and dusty outsider house shuffler, while lead cut "Roads" is a terrific, dancefloor-tempo trip-hop head-nodder rich in distorted guitars, cascading instrument solos and beefy dub disco bass.
Review: A special release from Minimal Wave here as the uber rare Irene & Mavis EP from UK synth poppers Blancmange is granted a reissue! Those with a pub quiz winning level of knowledge of UK synth pop will no doubt be familiar with the 80s hits of Blancmange duo Neil Arthur & Stephen Luscombe, yet this debut EP dating back to 1980 will still sound revelatory. The self released Irene & Mavis EP marked Arthur and Luscombe to be fully willing to experiment with DIY electronics, impressing Mute founder Daniel Miller sufficiently to proclaim them "maiden aunts of electronic music," and thus more than suited as a subject of focus from the Minimal Wave label. There are definite similarities between this nascent stage of Blancmange and the output of Cabaret Voltaire from the same era, particularly in the masked and disembodied nature of the vocals, whilst "Holiday Camp" and "Just Another Spectre" are wonderful examples of instrumental synth music. Despite originally being released in 7" format, the six newly remastered tracks are presented here in 10" format by Minimal Wave with the distinctive artwork retained!
Review: Brother May and Micachu met in 2006 in an internet cafe and now, 14 years later, they are behind this exclusive record store day release. It's a long time since people used to upload songs to MySpace, but that's just what this pair did in their early days and they have continued to work together ever since. This album is a showcase of improvised freestyles and beat making from Brother May and Micachu, all of which was made on a DIY set up in kitchens and bedrooms. That homemade aesthetic characterises the album and make it a mini-modern day classic.
Swesor Bhrater - "You Have Nothing To Do But To Live" (4:47)
Swesor Bhrater - "Carnaval" (2:30)
Swesor Bhrater - "Twist In The Blaze" (4:05)
Review: The legendary Beta Evers kickstarted her Bodyvolt imprint back up again in 2015 and has been bringing back the darkness with her Black Spider Clan project, Black Pond (with Jeff Gallea) as well as a great various artists compilation last year. Two of the guests on the comp were Bruta Non Calculant and Swesor Bhrater - two aliases of legendary French producer Alexandre Gand (Le Syndicat Electronique) that make a return on this split EP. As Bruta Non Calculant, Gand explores rusty and guttural industrial/EBM mutations on the A side - the slow burning nightstalker antics of "Gazoline" and the snarling basement groove of "Distant Memory" standing out. On the flip, he explores the same frontiers as legendary New York legends Suicide on attitude driven synth-punk of "Twist In The Blaze" as Swesor Bhrater.
Review: Naturally, there's been plenty of hype surrounding this new Hyperdub 10", which features Burial indulging his often-discussed ambient influences. It's a typically creepy and ghostly affair, with the lack of beats - if not rhythmic elements - only serving to amplify the shadowy producer's impeccable sound design and brilliant use of manipulated field recordings. A-side "Subtemple" is particularly paranoid in tone, featuring as it does chilling melody loops, curious vocal samples, looped vinyl crackle and all manner of layered background noise. Flipside "Beachfires" is, if anything, even more dystopian, with Burial basing the action around the kind of pulsing chords that gust back and forth like an autumnal breeze.
Review: The interesting cross pollination of sounds and ideas currently gestating around the Avian and Mira camps throws up its most intriguing proposition yet in Burma Camp. This is the newly adopted alias of Nicholas Wood, frontman of The KVB, a duo recently referred to as "the son and daughter of reverb" and one of this year's breakthrough acts. Wood has previous form with Mira, having collaborated with Ventress on his recent turn as Worn, and Repulsion finds him sinking deep into the realm of droning industrial delay across three experimental excursions. The influence of Downward boss Regis is apparent throughout, with the vicious, industrial techno grot of "Isa" standing out.
Review: The excellent No Fi label returns with this killer plate from noise music's very own boy wonder C Spencer Yeh, working as Burning Star Core. "White Swords In A Black Castle" is the second 10" in a six part series and in our opinion one of the strongest things we've heard from the Spencer, fusing punk rock with abrasive noise like nobody else can.
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