Review: Van Boom shows a talent for blending dark, atmospheric tones with experimental soundscapes here while working with artists like whiterose, Safety Trance and Evita Manji on an album that explores themes of emotional vulnerability and transformation. The opening track 'Nuborne' sets the tone with its haunting, immersive sound, followed by 'Untethered' with the ethereal vocals of whiterose. 'Polished Wounds' and 'Object Mapping' delve deeper into intricate textures and layered compositions. It sounds great and looks good too on limited edition smokey clear vinyl.
Review: Nick Viola's new record marks a shift from his previous powernoise and industrial work with Fractured Transmission to a more techno-focused sound. in all there are seven tracks including remixes which bring field recordings, machinery sounds and personal travels to create a dystopian, uneasy atmosphere. The opening track 'A Ghost in Your World' sets a haunting tone followed by the pulsating 'It's Still Real.' Remixes from Kenny Campbell and Substencia add dynamic layers, while 'Negative Nancy' delivers an aggressive industrial techno assault. The album oscillates between discomfort and release and reflects a dystopian sonic journey fitting for today's uncertain world.
Review: Sasu Ripatti continues to plunge into techno abstraction through his Hide Behind The Silence series. It's but one outlet for the seemingly constant stream of innovative sound emerging from the Finnish pioneer's studio, and on this fourth 10" he's offering up more compelling studies in noise, texture, rhythm and space. 'Death Of A Bassdrum' seems to take aim at techno by burying a 4/4 kick under a twitchy, uncomfortable bed of scuffs and scrapes, while 'Post-Mortem' diverts into space-building sonics where found sounds and artful reverb create a vibrant, three-dimensional space to explore with your mind's eye.
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: What planet were you born on? To be honest, it never really matters with Light Sounds Dark. Sent off in search of intelligent sounds from across the universe, the label has been amassing but never pillaging a vast array of tones from various corners of the known and unknown cosmos for time now, although the exact hour and date is really dependent on your relationship with the continuum. LSD 046 makes this point clear as ever. Numbered tracks are all your getting in terms of being able to catalogue and make sense of what's here, adding to the idea that your lost in a realm that's neither there nor there. Tunes fizzle and gargle, slow strings refrain, lo fi Kraut shouts beneath the crackle of analogue, intergalactic organs ring out into silence. And then we run out of words to possibly describe what's on the record long before the last episode.
Palais Des Bauzards - "It's Disgusting" (remix) (4:31)
A Thunder Orchestra - "Shall I Do It?" (4:04)
M Bryo - "Let's Go To War" (4:18)
The Arch - "Ice In Your Eyes" (3:13)
Genetic Factor - "The Lizard King, Empty Highway" (4:55)
Elektronische Maschine - "Tanz 86" (4:07)
No Honey From These - "Dreams" (4:29)
Paschen's Law - "Magniying Transmitter" (6:17)
BeNe GeSSeRiT - "Les Aliens" (6:05)
Review: Walhalla Records reissues Underground Wave Volume 4 from its exciting series that helps collect and release minimal synth gems from the 1980. Belgian acts dominate this expertly curated edition, including M Bryo, Schicksal, Ratbau and Bene Gesserit, each contributing tracks that pulse with analogue nostalgia and DIY grit. Schicksal opens the record with 'Power Hate Destruction', an exclusive track that sets a dark and brooding tone. M Bryo's entry is particularly arresting with Mark Burghgraeve's knack for eerie atmospheres. The Arch delivers 'Ice In Your Eyes',, a swirling track said to be their live concert closer in 1988, oozing with gothic tension. Side-B has 'Genetic Factor', a haunting 1982 cut by Richard Zeilstra that evokes early Klinik. Elektronische Maschine adds a refreshing 90s synth pop twist, while 'No Honey From These' stuns with a raw, Suicide-like energy. Paschen's Law channels YMO and Logic with intricate programming, before Bene Gesserit closes things with the mesmerising 'Les Aliens, a track that fuses eerie piano with an Attrition-style evolution. This compilation is a passionate preservation of underground history, led by Walhalla's curator Lieven De Ridder's deep archival instincts and unmatched dedication.
Review: The most aptly-named record label in the world, Light Sounds Dark present another collection of wildly experimental bits and pieces cultivated in the lab of things that you simply don't hear in other places. Suitably christened 'Track 1', 'Track 2', and so on until 'Track 29', this is a huge point of entry for newcomers to the LSD realm and an excellent deep dive for veterans alike. Winds howl and thunder crashes before beautiful harmonies change the vibe from cold to warm, Gregorian chants echo in and out above dubby, stubby beats, and post punk guitars lunge forward beneath jerky, naive melodies. And that's just the first few parts here. A journey to the outer reaches of the musical universe, then back again, turning left at the industrial jazz and continuing through shoegaze, soundtrack, field and weirdo pop. Mind you don't get lost, now.
The Slits - "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" (5:52)
This Heat - "24-Track Loop" (5:55)
Throbbing Gristle - "20 Jazz Funk Greats" (2:44)
A Certain Ratio - "Knife Slits Water" (9:41)
Cabaret Voltaire - "Sluggin For Jesus" (5:03)
The Pop Group - "She Is Beyond Good And Evil" (3:23)
23 Skidoo - "Vegas El Bandito" (2:56)
Review: You could probably buy every Soul Jazz compilation known to humankind and come out on top of most other people's record collections. As a label, the crew's ability to track down, rediscover, unearth, and reappraise archive music, and package things up as part of a spellbinding collection of like sounds, is remarkable, and the imprint must be up there with the best curated on the planet. The output is so good, in fact, that here we are pushing a reissue of the 2002 compilation, In The Beginning There Was Rhythm. Pieced together by Stuart Baker and Adrian Self, it's a wonderful trip into the deceptively varied world of UK post punk during its nascent, formative years. Informed by dub, psychedelia, punk, synth, samples and more, it's a celebration of a genre that proves you could spend all day listening and not really hear the same type of tune twice.
Front Line Assembly & Tiffany - "New Year's Day" (4:57)
Dead Or Alive - "Even Better Than The Real Thing" (4:25)
Spahn Ranch - "I Will Follow" (3:37)
The Mission UK - "All I Want Is You" (4:45)
The Electric Hellfire Club - "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (4:26)
Rosetta Stone - "October" (4:31)
Die Krupps - "Numb" (4:19)
Silverbeam - "Where The Streets Have No Name" (feat Ann Louise) (3:22)
Review: On this unique compilation, various artists pay homage to the iconic Irish rock band U2, reimagining their timeless classics and turning them into their own., from the dreamy ethereal sounds of Heaven 17's 'With or Without You' to the pulsating electronica industrialism of Front Line Assembly. The Mission UK's haunting rendition of 'All I Want Is You' evokes a profound sense of longing and despair, while The Electric Hellfire Club's industrial-infused 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' captures the raw energy and political urgency of the original. Rosetta Stone's ethereal 'October' provides a meditative interlude, and Die Krupps' throbbing dance interpretation of 'Numb' adds a sinister edge to U2's dance track. The album culminates with Silverbeam's soaring anthem 'Where The Streets Have No Name' featuring Ann Louise, a fitting tribute to the band's enduring impact on the global music scene. Tribute albums rarely shine as bright as this one does.
Review: 80s Techno Tracks is an essential compilation series for those looking to complete their collections of retro classics. The third vinyl edition of this series of ZYX is another doozy that contains 12 carefully selected gems from the earliest days of techno and despite the fact these are around 40 years old they still do damage on the dancefloor. The likes of Bigod 20, Song, Robotiko Rejekto, Scarecrow, technic and Aircrash Bureau all feature with authentic old-school tracks that wear their hardware aesthetics on their sleeves and cannot fail to make a mark.
DJ Plant Texture - "Treat The Music With Respect" (6:08)
Buttechno - "Ghost Yunost" (5:22)
DJ Loser - "Faith Over Fear" (3:21)
Marceldune - "Violet Aisle" (5:44)
Strahinja Arbutina - "Digital Hoarder" (5:10)
Review: The REPITCH label started back in 2011 with a 12" split three ways between its co-founders, Pasquale Ascione (Ascion), Davide Carbone (D. Carbone) and Nino Pedone (Shapednoise).
Some 11 years on, and the trio are still very much at the heart of the label's activities, celebrated here with the Dys Functional Electronic Music X compilation, highlighting not only their label's scope but also, they say, pointing a way forward for its future intentions. This collection pushes at the edges of the experimental techno genre, whether that be through speed and heaviness (see Buttechno's pummelling 'Ghost Yunost'), smashed up arrangements like opening tune 'Mastice Riddim (VIP Mix)' from Shapednoise and Gabber Eleganza or reconnection with the ruffneck breakbeats that were once an integral part of rave culture (Ascion's 'Plugged' (Heavy-Rotation Mix) and DJ Plant Texture's 'Threat The Music With Respect')
Black Rain & Collin Gorman Weiland - "Just Before Oakdale" (6:13)
Boris Barksdale - "Fractal Haze" (7:04)
Champagne Mirrors - "All Faces On" (5:19)
Collin Gorman Weiland - "I Can't Memorize One More Thing" (1:30)
Halv Drom - "111" (3:45)
Crepuscular - "Second" (3:54)
Cube - "Tenet Version" (3:42)
Skuury - "No Compass" (4:27)
Bead - "Noxiozone" (4:42)
Review: Since setting their stall out in 2017, the experimentalists behind Minnesota's Eyemyth label have offered up a range of releases from artists whose music challenges as much as it entertains. "Delicacy Spectrum" - the label's first compilation -takes a similar sonic approach. Flitting between abstract, dystopian soundscapes, growling post-EBM club cuts, lo-fi industrial workouts, ear-bleeding noise compositions and dark, otherworldly sonic explorations, the set bleeds distorted, in-your-face excellence from start to finish. Highlights include - but are in no way limited to - the dubbed-out hypnotism of Bead's "Noxiozone", the pulsating trip that is Cube's "Tenet Version", the wild and apocalyptic horror of Crepuscular's "Second" and the muscular aggression of "Fractal Haze" by Boris Barksdale.
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