Sascha Müller [Super Six Records Extra 040]

And here we go again with Sascha Müller's fortieth - sic!!! - untitled album release on his own imprint Super Six Records Extra which brings us another twelve previously unreleased tunes from the vaults. Starting things with the stripped down, seductive, killer House grooves of "Diamond & Pearls Part I" the multiactive producer is able to step into the center of attention from the very first seconds onwards and progresses into distorted, uptempo TechTrance with the following tune "23" that brings back the early noughties and keeps punters buzzing for sure. With "Dumonde" we see Sascha Müller on a more tool-orientated machine music tip, serving uncompromising percussion works and slightly modulated stabs, "Euroman" caters stomping, compressed drums and a haunting, horror-score resembling main motif before "Fallin" starts to fuse floating, Trance-influenced string arrangements and distorted, yet not necessarily hard Drum'n'Bass beats. Besides that we see "Fastgraph" entering spiralling Rave realms, "Fetisch" pleasing all lovers of gummy, gooey Acid and mellow chords, "Ratsbee" meanders in between classic Electro and thrilling TechnoJazz in the vein of abstract Steve Stoll or Cari Lekebusch productions and "Geigerzähler" arranges scientific, Clicks'n'Cuts-reminiscing sounds in a rhythmic order for pretty advanced venues. Furthermore "Headphone Music" caters electroid structures, decent Acid lines and sweet, floating synth melodies for advanced late night dancefloors, "I Am A Machine" is a dry, scientific lesson in hard, pounding, yet stripped down Techno accompanied by occasional vocoder bits and the final tune "Lobotomie" brings back racing, breathless ToolTechno for those who love their heavy dancefloor workout right. Check.

Zara Paz - Tape 1 Original [Raketenbasis Haberlandstrasse Promo]

Also freshly released via Raketenbasis Haberlandstrasse is the first ever tape album of Zara Paz which is less of a musical output but the essence of what a madhouse would sound like. Highly distorted and warped fake interviews in slow motion, computer game sounds, ragged FreeJazz attempts, pure hubbub and dissociative clamour layered on top of the Pink Panther-theme, ghostly, echoing voices scurrying through dark chambers, drums scattered all over the place as well as piano sequences being blown over from afar - this is what the A-side has to offer whilst the flipside weighs in relatively quiet passages of a woman speaking Spanish and probably to herself, partly crying, which are followed by acroamatic, levitating synths and warped, formerly angelic vocals as well as rhythmic pulses of possibly modular origin, trippin echoes of Jazz and even hard electronic drums with a slightly ritualistic feel. This is kinda interesting on the one hand but too conceptual, artsy and way too leftfield on the other to really strike a chord for us and, therefore, defo not a must-have from the Raketenbasis Haberlandstrasse catalogue.   

Gulasch - Sexy Time In Augsburg [Raketenbasis Haberlandstrasse 069 Promo]

Coming in from the Munich-based tape imprint Raketenbasis Haberlandstrasse is Gulasch's "Sexy Time In Augsburg", a limited to 20 copies C5-cassette that might appeal to all lovers of Field Recordings, collage art... and porn. We don't have any clue if the smacking sounds are actually live recordings of goulash being stirred although the clatter of pots suggests this, but the moaning and groaning that's to be heard in the background is surely sampled from some oldskool erotica flic to be found in the producers private collection. Pure Dada.

Venetian Snares - Traditional Synthesizer Music [Timesig 005 Promo]

Scheduled for February 19th, 2k16 is "Traditional Synthesizer Music", the new and forthcoming album by Aaron Funk, better known under his Venetian Snares moniker to lovers of Breakcore, IDM and beyond. Following the idea of creating each tune live and from scratch on his massive rig of modular synthesizers the mighty Mr. Funk recorded various takes on each track, a process perfectly reflected in titles like "Anxattack Boss Level19 v3" which is not the angsty at all or "Slightly Bent Fork Tong v2", making slight changes in settings and patches which, due to the long effect chain, turned into pretty differentiating final results. But still, the overall theme of this album shall be described as dedicated to detailed and complex IDM drum structures, sometimes groovy, sometimes glitching and at times reminiscent of Drill'n'Bass, accompanied by iridescent cascades of crystalline synth beauty which sometimes even come across with a nice tongue-in-cheek twist like in "Can't Vote For Yourself" or easily set dancefloors on fire like the IDM Rave-anthem "You And Shayna v1". And btw - the gold medal for the funniest track title out of these twelve tunes goes to "She Married A Chess Computer In The End" which fuses the albums heaviest beats with tender, quirky synth melancholia. Defo a well recommended piece and one of the best Venetian Snare releases since "Doll Doll Doll" and "Making Orange Things".

Ricardo Donoso - Vesperum *Orphx Remix

Quite a monolithic excursion into gloomy Broken Techno realms this remix is. We approve of this!

The Thing - Shake [The Thing Records / Trost Records Promo]

Released back in October 2015 via their own label The Thing Records is The Thing's latest album named "Shake",  a seven track exploration of aggressive, angry and surely also Punk / PostPunk-influenced FreeJazz and Improv madness but also a journey into deeper, yet not meek or gentle spheres of the genres spectrum where hypercomplex drum structures meets sax workouts partly reminiscent of Detroit's legendary Tribe, albeit these are not necessarily that laid back as motor city's finest. Besides that The Thing obviously know how to get funky as "The Nail Will Burn" perfectly showcases, and so does the matured, double bass-led Jazz Noir affair "Sigill". The thirteen+ minutes of "Aim" are as looming yet yearning as things can get and therefore serving a well-fascinating contrast of tempers that evolves into something more cacophonic but not less thrilling or epic throughout the tunes full runtime whilst the swinging "Bota Fogo" evokes memories of twisted AfroFunk polyrhythms and the final cut "Fra Jord Er Du Kommet" seems to emulate sounds of broken church bells or ritualistic gongs covered with droney layers of baritone saxophones to a calming but not necessarily relaxing effect that might also apply to fans of the Star Wars epos for a reason we won't unveil here. Quite a fascinating ride, this is for sure.

Puts Marie - Masoch I - II [Two Gentlemen Promo]

Soon to be released on the Lausanne-based label Two Gentlemen is "Masoch I - II", the third album in fifteen years produced and recorded by Puts Marie, one of the most unusual band outfits Switzerland has to offer. Meandering between bluesy, plangent, inward-looking Rock accompanied by Max Usata's often high-pitched vocals and dirty, down-to-earth distortion excess with a well psychedelic Desert Rock attitude before gravitating towards HipHop-/Crossover-influenced Alternative or cool as fuck College Rock as served in "Obitiuaries". In the epic "All Yours Am I" we'll even find a hidden tribute to Metallica, "Tell Her To Come On Home" has a kinda The Doors-y feel and the "Horse Gone Far" is a captivating, yet desperate Blues vs. Psychedelia crossover that makes us wanna drink gallons of bourbon and feel the beloved, yet edacious weltschmerz whilst missing a kindred spirit or significant other - and this is what the whole album is made for, to be a companion in old and lonely winter nights. Great!

Driftmachine - Rungler Statik

Driftmachine are taking modular synthesizers into dubby, yet clean and scientific realms with their track "Rungler Statik". Pure tension!

Trondheim Jazz Orchestra / Christian Wallumrød - Untitled Arpeggios And Pulses [Hubro Music Promo]

Scheduled for January 29th, 2k16 via the Norwegian Hubro Music label is "Untitled Arpeggios And Pulses", a full longplay album piece commissioned by 1971-born composer Christian Wallumrød for and as a part of the fluctuating Trondheim Jazz Orchestra when the Kongsberg Jazz Festival celebrated its 50 years anniversary back in 2014. Consisting of four segments the album is based around the general theme of steady repetition in flux, with "Part 1" being built on a foundation of blitheful piano motifs layered and accompanied by oscillating tuba drones that lead into the nearly twentythree, more melancholic and ruminative minutes of "Part 2" in which the simple beauty of piano purism is joined by harpsichord and twang guitar as well as several layers of mechanical and technical sounds alongside haunting off kilter tones originating from abused instruments and extensive fingerpicking techniques. Going into "Part 3" we see abstract rhythms and digitally processed sounds take over whilst the acoustic part of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra tends to only accentuate the multilayered cacophonia of electronics and military snare rolls that evolves and mutates into the more festive, yet not solemn "Part 4" - an amalgamation that surely can be filed under the flag of repetition fueled Industrial Jazz for funerals, the ultimate climax of this album and an intense fest of a track in its own right which, taken as a single piece alone, makes this album worthwhile for a reason. 

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 01/2016

Kode9 - Nothing [Hyperdub Promo]

Still catching up on reviews of late 2015 promos we're taking a closer look at Kode9's November 6th-released album "Nothing". "Nothing" is also KOde9's first longplay piece the created without his longtime partner- and poet-in-crime The Spaceape who passed away in 2014  - with the exception of the posthumously released track "Third Ear Transmission" this is which is to be found on here. Based around the theme of a fully automated luxury hotel which is about to play an essential part in forthcoming audiovisual performances set up alongside simulation artist Lawrence Lek we see the album revolving around a rather conceptual approach than focusing on dancefloor needs, bringing in rather clean and robotic aesthetics, futuristic sound design and even twisted, heavily morphed Easy Listening-references - see especially "Holo" for this - although there are quite a few tunes riding the uptempo train here. In particular "Zero Work", the techy, Footwork-resembling "Vacuum Packed" sporting various scientific synth patterns and beautiful, melodious breakdowns or the bouncy slow jam "Wu Wei" can be seen as the main tunes to work very advanced crowds right but the regular bass music punter and Dubstep head might be left unimpressed as even those tracks seem to be too abstract and complex for maximum dancefloor impact which sadly also goes for "9 Drones", a remix of Kode9s earliest releases on Hyperdub originally put on the circuit back in ca. 2006.  Not an album we'd refer to as essential in 2k16.   

Mary Ocher + Your Government - Man vs. Air (Official Video)

This is what we call a hypermodernistic approach to PostPunk and (No)Wave. Brilliant!

Bit-Tuner - Reality Tunnel

The first track taken from Bit-Tuner's forthcoming album "A Bit Of Light" which has been released on January 15th, 2k16 brings in some heavyweight killer bass for mid-session havoc and devastation.

Pablo Nouvelle - All I Need [Kontor Promo]

What happens when you actually like HipHop but then realize that the samples of people singing rather do it for you than the rapping? You become Pablo Nouvelle who has apparently gone through this and is now about to release his sophomore album "All I Need" via Armada Music on January 29th, 2k16, a serving of sixteen tracks that can be filed under the flag of Modern or Contemporary Soul with influences taken from several other genres like Future or Post Garage like in "We Ain't Dead Yet" featuring the amazing Norma Jean Martine on vocal duties, delivering a both powerful, fragile performance on the mic or gravitating towards decent, glitzy ClubPop with the uplifting "Hold On" featuring James Gruntz for a vocal performer. And there is the first hint of a problem popping up with this - although we see a trademark production value brought in by Mr. Pablo Nouvelle himself who creates what can be also described as a well proper showcase of worthwhile, contemporary Pop music with a touch of Soul the vast variety of vocal performers and singers alone which also includes the likes of Sam Wills, LIV, Kylan Road, Tom Cane, Gavin Turek, Rio and Lulu James evokes the feeling of listening to a high quality compilation rather than an artist album so we cannot see how people will recognize these songs as Pablo Nouvelle's own as for songs they'll always be focusing on the vocalists rather than on the music as the most recognizable part of it. But nonetheless there's some proper quality work delivered here which might and will appeal to a broad range of folks loving the sound of artists as diverse as James Blake, The XX, Sia, Kat Vinter, Disclosure and many others for a reason.

Aidan Knight - Each Other [Full Time Hobby Promo]

After we've already announced the news of a forthcoming Aidan Knight album on the great Full Time Hobby imprint in late October 2015 it is now time for a full on review as the release date is set for January 22nd, 2016. And it seems like his third full-lenght shot after his 2010 released debut "Versicolour" is quite a great effort, touching on folksy territories - well, otherwise it wouldn't be on Full Time Hobby , would it? -, flirting with jazzy snares and drums in general, bringing ethereal, shoegazing string layers in the opener "Each Other", adding some Psychedelia feel in "All Clear"  and strips down to the very essence throughout the fragile, yet epic Post-Indie trip entitled "The Funeral Singers". Listening to "What Light ( Never Goes Dim)" we're introduced to simple, captivating and slightly wobbly guitar repetitions and melancholia-inducing piano accompanying Mr. Knights muscular trademark snare catering rhythmic structure, the slightly more uptempo jam "The Arp" gets a little funky with twanging, space guitars and the acoustic "St. Christina" adds a little yearning campfire feel to round things off, before "You Are Not Here" takes us on a journey into the darker corners of Aidan Knights work, bringing in heavier aesthetics with quite a bluesy, still experimental attitude. Closing things with "Black Dream" we're finally entering charming, intimate home recording realms, evoking pictures of the artist sitting in his bedroom all on his own, playing his old guitar and just letting things flow whilst we're watching him... closely. Defo a sweet album for all Full Time Hobby fans and followers out there.

Sascha Müller - The Feelin [SMSM004]

The man known as Sascha Müller is back with a new five track EP these days, turning his head towards the deeper and softer side of electronic music. The title track "The Feelin Is Deep" is somewhat of a DeepHouse meets DubTechno affair sporting warm, soft chords and various layers of surface noise rolled out over a fourteen minutes time span for epic late night sessions,  "Doooo" fuses softened stabs and quirky vocals snippets with playful TechHouse minimalisms that might stem from the 2003/4 catalogue whilst "Nudge" brings in contemporary TechHouse vibes with lively synth works and a thrilling athmosphere for those who know, garnished with filtered female samples. Furthermore we see "Reversed Informations" cater those longing for a pumping, tribalistic House beat and the sounds of corrupted data which can also be found in the concluding, more minimalistic effort "Sensual Feelin" which later evolves into a more floating affair, carried away by highly melodic strings and a (Neo)Trance resembling feel.

HexBeatz - Swamp Town

What a riddim. Cold floorin' gangsta business for life. We approve of this.

Merky Ace x MIK - Nuts

More fire from the man named Merky Ace... Grime is bubblin' folks.

Marc Carroll - Love Is All Or Love Is Not At All [One Little Indian Promo]

Put on the circuit a rough five weeks from now via One Little Indian was "Love Is All Or Love Is Not At All", the latest and seventh album of Marc Carroll on which the Irish singer/songwriter explores and fathoms the meaning and meanderings of love in all its varieties, the main thing that keeps humans and human relationships going forevermore. And despite the opener "No Hallelujah Here" coming across in a, well..., well-dated and dusted 70s manner announcing no good, the rest of the album caters the needs of the Folk and Indie / Alt Rock heads with both deep melancholia and uplifting dancefloor fillers, goes into ritual drummings and Spoken Word-driven Off Rock in the title song "Love Is All Or Love Is Not At All", a collaboration with Crass' collaborateur, author and philosopher Penny Rimbaud, opens vast imaginery wilderness when the 70s / 80s Rock strikes back in "A Child In Midstream" and comes across in an intimate and inward looking manner in "Your Ghost". "Catalina In The Distance" perfectly blends in with the progamming of boring / streamlined mainstream radio stations whilst perfectly emulating late 70s popular music and the final "Against All Odds" is a slightly kitschy, nearly 6 minutes spanning instrumental jam from the Library Music archives and luckily not a Phil Collins homage. Kind of a mixed bag of an album that defo has some highs but also quite a bunch of fillers. Thus, we're not sure about the target audience for this album - maybe anyone being a child of a so-called rock dad might know better ? 

Merky Ace - Relocate

Visionist on production. Mercy Ace on fire.

DJ Hank Man - Found Ur Phone

So Uber Juke is a thing now? We dig this.

Lars Graugaard / Thomas Hejlesen - Tears Of Dionysius [Clang]

It doesn't happen too often that we're bound to review a full piece of audiovisual art but as there's always an exception form the norm here is our verdict of  "Tears Of Dionysius", a collaborational DVD of Lars Graugaard and Thomas Hejlesen released on the Clang imprint in late October, 2k15 and realized with the help of the Icelandic contemporary music ensemble CAPUT. Exploring the history and nature of man's sexuality in 13 scenes somewhere along the lines of Friedrich Nietzsche's "Geburt Der Tragödie" - a piece not familiar to us - the spectator is taken on a curious observation of various sexual activities incl. lesbianism, foreplay and full-on intercourse close-ups displayed through snippets and scenes taken from anonymous black and white recordings of the 1920s - 1940s era that finally explode into a psychedelic kaleidoscope of structures, resembling an orgasmic climax. But still these scenes, accompanied by tales from Nietzsche's tale and a more classical than (neo)classical score approach by CAPUT, serve more of an aesthetic attraction to the blurry, diffuse visuals of the original silent film era and its sometime clunky reproduction of movements rather than an idea of true erotica, resemble the unpleasant joy of guilt-burden voyeurism in a fascinating way that for a reason has been supported by the Danish Composers' Society Production Pool and the KODA's Fund For Social And Cultural Purposes. Recommended not only for movie collectors and film freaks.

Gintas K - Message In A Bottle [Music Information Center Lithuania 087]

Well, honestly Lithuania is not necessarily the first country that comes to mind when discussing experimental electronic music but, as in every other country, a scene does exist and the ever active Gintas K, who has recently released his x-th album "Message In A Bottle" via the Music Information Center Lithuania label, seems to be one of the scene's main protagonists. Over the course of fourteen tracks rolled out on his most recent longplay piece which is a compilation-style overview of his sonic work created and put on the circuit throughout the years 2004 - 2015 plus two previously unreleased tracks - "5m" and "Message In A Bottle" - the man better known as Gintaras  Kraptavicius to his parents explores a spectrum from pure, highly digital sound modulations to dry, rhythmic Electronica influenced by Rhythm Industrial and interfered by beautiful piano sequences ("Excerpt From"), gets into calm, cinematic Glitch Ambient with "Reloaded Beauty" and even Oval'esque Clicks'n'Cuts in tunes like "Lovely Banalities".  The unreleased "5m" is meant to please those digging the art of chaotic digital synthesis, "Track #72" is more of a warm, embracing contrast compared to its predecessor although a slighty chaotic and random aspect can be found in its sizzling background noises which are layered on top of Ambient Electronics and breaking waves at the shore and the 492 seconds of "Blind Man Tale 2" elegantly combine polyrhythmical percussions and rasping Ambient distortions. More hyperglitched structures are to be found in "Nota Demo 3", "Love Is Love 7" brings us some heavy, multilayered Noise outbursts with an undeniable tonal aspect and the needs for scientific sounds of the digital age are catered by both versions of "pOpXEnA". As expected "Love Is Love 8" is more of a noisy affair again, focusing on harsh, eruptive outbursts instead of taking care of tonality and finally the title track "Message In A Bottle" amalgamates beautiful Ambient chords and buzzing digital activity within 12+ minutes. After listening to this album Lithuania has been put on our map for electronic experimentalisms for sure. Nice.

Lärmheim - Cent Soleils [Lärmheim]

Coming from the Swiss side of the Noize / Industrial spectrum is Henri Du Saussure a.k.a. Lärmheim who has recently self-released his debut longplay piece "Cent Soleils", a ten track album meandering in between highly digital Noize and freeform Breakcore with its opener "One Second Before The Most Blinding Light Of All", serves highly dystopian, futuristic soundscapes and eruptive distortion attacks interspersed by calm Ambient beauty and abstract rhythm signatures in "Deadeye" and goes into dead cold realms of off-kilter modulations and robotic screeches with the decaying aesthetics of "Trommelgraben" which are strangely contrasted by childs melodies and merciless, ultra-compressed drum explosions. "Werkstatt Cysp" caters more twisted and multilayered melody works interfered by distortion outbursts, processed field recordings and digital pulses on overdrive, "Streichgraben" is reprocessed percussive, yet organized chaos that is likely to appeal to both fans of modular synthesis as well as IDM / Glitch headz, "Faurmanter" twists distortions and modulations layered on top of heavy Rhythm Industrial-reminiscing structures, will be appreciated by those loving labels like Mirex, Hymen or Ad Noiseam for a reason and shall be played in underground venues at maximum volume levels whilst "Alctrines" introduces the cinematic, more Ambient side of Lärmheim's work. Mr.  De Saussure's "Video Game Soundtrack" is a thrilling, most melodic affair fusing strange, yet uplifting synth works and stuttering rhythms to an epic effect that can be described as brainchild of early synth masters and twisted IDM whilst "Werkstatt Fulx" is a trip into multi-voiced, sci-fi Space Ambient and the final 11 minutes of "Rumori Danza" are a maelstrom of highly digital bleeps, beams and stretches accompanied by distorted ship horns evolving into screaming synths and an ecstatic, repetetive drumkit excess that's later even joined by a positive, super synthetic bass motif. After a bit of additional silence we even are able to discover a crystalline hidden track serving unexpected piano beauty, a surprising yet pleasant move after a thrilling 60+ minutes of well-recommended heavy electronics. We're into this.

Keda - Hwal [Parantheses Records 006 Promo]

Scheduled for February 1st, 2016 via Parantheses Records is the debut album of Keda, a collaborational project of the French, Ougadougou-born electronic music composer Mathias Delplanque and the Korean Geomungo player E'Joung-Ju. Within the seven tracks to be found on "Hwal", as the album is called, they're exploring several approaches to fuse modernist electronic techniques and the millenia-old tradition of the Korean instrument. On the opener "Dali" this approach is a pulsing, fever'ish and ritualistic one directly speaking to the human subconscious, goes into droney territorities accompanied by traditional geomungo sequences in "Encore" and even reminisces Psychedelia-influenced Dub in "Eobu Nolae". Furthermore the title track "Hwal" is a scenic episode for some reason reminding us of African sunsets and haunted jungle nights rather than of the Asian heritage of the instrument and "La Lune De Coree" is another journey in heavyweight Dub that's way closer to the original genre than "Eobu Nolae" and this for will resonate with all true bass headz out there. With the second to last tune "Swordfish" we find clanging percussions resembling both Musique Concrete and Post-PostRock whilst the geomungo brings in a bluesy Americana vibe and E'Joung-Ju's solo version of "La Lune De Coree" finally showcases the beautiful potential of her instrument for all those being not familiar with the sound of the geomungo at all. Check!

baze.djunkiii Charts 01/2016

01. DJ Spinn - Off That Loud [Hyperdub 092]
Once again the Juke does it and Chicago's Teklife crew comes up with plenty of musical greatness. "Throw It Back" serves deep and thrilling gangster vibes whilst "The Future Is Now" brings on cold, quirky lo-fi bleeps combined with breakneck speed. Flipping the wax the title track "Off That Loud" gets a little psychedelic which also goes for the Dada-influenced video and finally "Dubby", a collaboration between DJ Spinn and the sadly passed DJ Rashad brings back oldskool Jungle vibes, combining these with Juke / Footwork to a great result. Excellent.

02. Markus Oehlen - Wanne 4 [Infinite Greyscale 008 Promo]
See review for details... 

03. Steril - Thermonuclear EP [Schamoni Musik]
Going back to the year 2014 with this massive Steril release on the Munich-based imprint Schamoni Musik which caters the needs of each and every Electro head. Four militant killer tunes for robotic wars and thermonuclear havoc on the dancefloor which are way too good to not play now and forever. Top notch!

04. Ivar Grydeland - Stop Freeze Wait Eat [Hubro Music Promo]
See review for details...

05. Renegades Of Jazz - Theme From 45/7 Vinyl Club  [45/7 Vinyl Club 001]
With this sweet little, sample-based 7" whitelabel release we see Renegades Of Jazz paying homage to the most loveable vinyl format of all times and presents a dope instrumental cut for all lovers of Jazz-influenced Downbeat and classic TripHop, functioning as theme for the well-honorable 45/7 Vinyl Club mix series on Soundcloud. On the flip we'll find a sweet intro sequence and a few sample cuts for advanced DJ abuse... Nice one.

06. Fabio Crivellaro - A-B-Normal 01 [Kaspar House Studio]
See review for details...

07. Belp - Elephants [Schamoni Musik Promo]
See review for details...

08. Duality Micro - The Blue Tape [Evadum]
See review for details... 

09. Various Artists - House Of Ages: Classic, Rare & Unreleased Dance Music Selected By Jeremy Newall [BBE Music]
See review for details...
 
10. G. Rag & Die Landlergschwister - Der Räuber Und Der Prinz [Jahmoni Music / Gutfeeling]
This is something for the lovers of the bizarre and extrordinary. Originally written by the legendary DAF / Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft consisting of Robert Görl and Gabi Delgado back in the 80s "Der Räuber Und Der Prinz" is transformed into a kind of Humpa- / German Volksmusik- / Ska-crossover to a fascinating effect whilst the live version of "Der Liquidator" gives the Humpa-touch to Dub in an original Bierzelt-flava.

GhostChant - Sincerity [BBE Records]

A relatively fresh face on the UK Bass circuit is Joe Cornwell a.k.a. GhostChant who has seen the release of his fourteen track debut album "Sincerity" on BBE Records in late September 2015. Influenced by the likes of Bonobo, Burial and UK Garage / 2Step leading figure MJ Cole explores sonic territories of wistful Future Garage with the albums cinematic title song "Sincerity", creates an exciting 4/4 meets swingin' stop-and-go Garage hybrid based on warm, all embracing bass waves with "Feel Nothing" and enters more mainstream compatible realms with the romantic vocal approach of "Laid To Rest" sporting spiralling synth and echoes of rave horns blown over from the other side. "Oceans Between" featuring Fifi Rong on vocal duties is more on a Downbeat-y / Post Garage tip, "4th City" fuses Future Garage and a strangely fascinating MC abuse for maximum dancefloor impact whilst "Habituary" kinda reminisces of the melancholia-infused darkness once introduced to the world by artists like Tricky and the "Sirens Song" is more on a Pop vs. Bass tip for loungier moments in life. "Stay Gold" featuring Ragz on the mic is a proper Future Soul slow jam best rinsed when things are about to get down between lovers and so is the sweet, yet still bass heavy "Reasons" which kinda reminds us of the artistic approach of Raffertie's Ninja Tune-release "Sleep Of Reason". More slomo goodness is to be found in "In Secret" which might be referred to as perfect closing tune after a long Dubstep night out, waving punters goodbye with sweetest melodies, "Nights Like These" featuring Sarah Zad once again covers the Lounge / Downbeat side of things and the picked guitar on "Enigmatic" brings in a little kitsch-loaden feel of Balearic terrace sounds before GhostChant is finally "Coming Home" with a little surprise - a take on Balearic House which is a bit over the top for our tastes. But despite these two last tracks there's absolutely nothing wrong with GhostChant's quite diverse debut at all and we're pretty sure that this piece will be well appreciated by fans of bass music all over the place.

Various Artists - Hits Agogo One [Agogo Records Promo]

Scheduled for release on January 22nd, 2k16 via the Hanover-based imprint Agogo Records is "Hits Agogo One", a thirteen track compilation piece summing up the labels past two years as well as presenting a bunch of exclusive tracks and remixes to round things off nicely. One of these exclusives is the opening tune which is Funk Busters' "Celestial Blues" featuring Greg Blackman on vocal duties, a sweet example of the labels overall freestyle approach that well fits in in BrokenHouse, Funk and other contexts, Da Lata's "Going Underground" represents the more brazil'esque, Easy Listening ClubPop side of the spectrum and the Grant Phabao Remix of Mop Mop's "Run Around" featuring Fred Wesley & Anthony Joseph keeps dancefloors buzzing with uptempo and slightly filtered Reggae-reminiscing vibes. Mo'Horizons "Junge Affair" as 'The Soul Sessions Remix' slowly evolves into a fever'ish, fascinating take on Jazz-influenced House music, Onom Agemo & The Disco Jumpers "Rar" in its 'Spiritual South Rar'est Remix' version is a swinging affair somewhat in between BrokenHouse and Phusion that might also fuel BigBeat crowds to the max and Renegades Of Jazz delivers an AfroFunk-influenced exclusive with "Tempo Tempo" that possibly can be seen as first glimpse of what's to expect from his forthcoming album due somewhen in 2k16. Furthermore we see the WDR Big Band & GT's "Now I Can" remixed by Mop Mop being a proper and well sexy Funk Noir vs. Future Jazz affair, Hidden Jazz Quartett's "Luvlite" reworked by The Soul Sessions turns out to be a deep and intimate late night Soul tune for lovers, Lack Of Afro turns The Hi-Fly Orchestra's "I Got Hope" into a dope yet laid back and seductive HipHop affair and finally Stephan Abel's "Olhos De Gato" waves goodbye with a good portion of nicely crafted Future Jazz in slow motion. That's what we'd call a proper start into a new year for the freestyle scene. Check this out.  

Rougge - Monochrome [Rougge Production 002]

Put on the circuit via his own label Rougge Production is Rougge's new longplay piece entitled "Monochrome", his sophomore album and follow up to the 2007  debut "Fragments". Consisting of ten tracks, all referred to as numbered 'Fragments' and focusing on pure and romantic piano works and high pitched, wordless vocal efforts "Monochrome" surely refers to Piano Pop and over the top romanticism, defo crosses the borderline to kitsch on a regular basis but still has a certain edginess or at least novelty flavour to it, mostly due to the anomalous use of the artists voice that might set the album apart from other contemporary piano romanticisms. This said, we're still not impressed by this approach and can rather imagine Rougge's music being used as score for C-tier erotica and art porn flics than for proper homelistening sessions as "Monochrome" doesn't strike a chord for us.

Lewi B - 96 Bars Of Shell

We fully embrace what is happening here. Another massive instrumental Grime cut from the vaults of our man Lewi B.