Philippe Lauzier - A Pond In My Living Room [Sofa Music]

Released in early April, 2k17 via the Norwegian imprint Sofa Music is "A Pond In My Living Room", the newest body of work created by the Montreal-based sound artist / composer Philippe Lauzier in which he uses multiple, oftentimes reprocessed bass clarinet recordings to create a four tracks exploration of deep, experimental music. The 15 minutes opening tune "Bleu Penombre" starts out with a slightly distorted hiss only to evolve and branch out into rich fields of slowly meandering Ambient created from obviously pitched down clarinet tones to an autumnal, inward looking effect whilst "Water Sprinkling" caters more of an Oval'esque approach towards Ambient vs. Clicks'n'Cuts if one takes into account Markus Popp's work in albums like "Systemisch" etc. . "On The Window Side" we see more of a contemplative, slightly even ritualistic vibe going on based on a single, ever repeating percussive sound, mesmerizingly interwoven harmonies and eerie noises resembling steam releasing valves before "Napping In A Neglected Garden" induces a psychedelic and dreamlike state due to its hypnotic, microchanging nature and blurred out arrangement of overtones. Lovely!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Little Hurricane - Same Sun Same Moon [Mascot Records Promo]

After we've already announced the forthcoming arrival of the new Little Hurricane album "Same Sun Same Moon" in early March it's about time to have a detailed look on the third longplay piece served by the Californian couple who've been making waves since even before their first ever body of work arrived in 2011. Starting off with the title track "Same Sun Same Moon" the duo delivers a kinda funky little number somehow evoking memories of Beck and an era in which College Rock used to be good, "Bad Business" stays on a similar track with a more bluesy, down-to-earth attitude and makes us think about drinking beer in a lonely desert valley, "OTL" is as good and captivating as a love song ever can get and "Isn't It Great" obviously takes Reggae- / Ska-influenced offbeat guitars and occasional FrenchHouse filters and amalgamates these elements with bits and bops of classic, positive Rock to provide a perfect tune for good days and roadtrips taking  you down the highway for hours on end. More melancholia strikes in "Take It Slow", the first tune on this album featuring the vocals of both Celest 'CC' Spina and Anthony 'Tone' Catalano, "Lake Tahoe Eyes" is another excellent Blues-infused effort with Tarantino'esque qualities, the "March Of The Living" is,well..., lively as fuck and caters a thrilling instrumental take on Rock'n'Roll for spy flics and movie scores whilst "Mt. Senorita" makes your head nod and your ass bump to its killer groove and "For Life" aims to please a more Pop driven audience looking for more of a romantic ballad and therefore doesn't meet our tastes for a reason. Going further into the last tunes on "Same Sun Same Moon" we see "You Remind Me" bringing back a laid-back, Reggae-infused vibe for daytime radio, "Slingshot" picks up on the quality College Rock-train again and the closing tune "Moon's Gone Cold" even touches ground on folksy, maybe even Country-informed territories for those who like their sound a little more contemplating and chary. Defo a nice one this.  

Album artwork on Instagram!

Baobinga & ID - Machine *Aquasky Remix - 18th August VIP Ambient Intro

A lost gem from the Aquasky archives just popped up on Soundcloud. Tunes like this are why we're missing the NuskoolBreaks era!

Sascha Müller - The House Bomb (Floppy Totaal Special) [Super Six Records]

Driven by his love for obscure vintage technologies and the aesthetic approach of the Low Bit scene the man known as Sascha Müller put out a series of 3,5" floppy disk releases recently which were exclusively available at the "Floppy Totaal v3.0" festival which took place in Rotterdam in early April 2k17. One of these is "The House Bomb (Floppy Totaal Special)" including three heavily compressed House tracks for all the Low Bit lovers out there. The Opener "Yo Body (Ibizia Summer Mix 2016)" brings us a sweet, hollow sounding DiscoHouse vibe with a metallic touch and dreamy pianos, "Head Out" weighs in more of a jackin' Chicago House approach and mixes raw dancefloor functionality with some tender DeepHouse pads whilst our trip to the "Boogie Bar" takes us straight to Chicago again when things peak on the floor and people lose their shit to classic short-cut vocal samples and Acid reminiscing modulations. Good stuff in here.

Kings Of Edelgran - Kings Of Edelgran [self-released]

Coming in from Belgium a few weeks ago was this, obviously self-titled and self-released, album by a band outfit going by the name of Kings Of Edelgran which have been active on the local circuit since 2013 and seemingly seem to put their music into a drawer labelled with Polar Indie Rock. Curious what the heck this might be coming down to we're starting the approx. 47 minutes a.k.a. ten tracks journey with a tune named "Volcano", opening with soft pads, a syncopated downtempo beat and blurry, yet ethereal vocals to pave the way for things to come, finding its continuation in "Tephra", a soft, yet drumroll-driven excursion into the bands very own sonic realm surely evoking memories of if not the arctic at least Scandinavia for several reasons. "Fire And Gold" brings in a livelier vibe for what one might be describe as advanced Indie dancefloors, "Walking, WI" is more of a Blues-informed, near acoustic affair with an inward looking twist and surprising change of focus throughout its second half, "The Gate" gives us more of the bands trademark multi-layered vocal style and the nice contrast of contemplative atmosphere, slightly distorted guitars and a hard hitting drum foundation "Up North" turns out to be best accompanied by a glass of smokey bourbon or rye whiskey. Furthermore "Fillan" presents an epic, even cinematic take on Indie music and surely is the secret hidden gem of this album with its fragile intro sequence and well muscular, electronic sounding beats, "Kor Isen" weighs in a little more than two minutes of pure instrumental beauty for  romantic dreamers, "Askja" stays on a romantic tip although gravitating towards an overwhelming, masterly produced wall of sound attitude on top of uptempo drums and  the final cut "Lone (Barbeit)" closes the longplay piece on a a cosy and calm, all embracing vibe. So let me know - why aren't these guys signed to a label yet?

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 04/2017

Egidija Medeksaite - Tekstile | Textile [Music Information Centre Lithuania]

Recently released via the Music Information Centre Lithuania-imprint is "Tekstile | Textile", the first ever album output by Lithuanian composer Egidija Medeksaite who's dedicated her compositional work to translating geometric textile patterns into sound art. Based on the process of mapping those patterns onto musical parameters of a determined kind and following up with several other composition techniques Egidija Medeksaite intends to write her pieces for various arrangements, e.g. the albums title track "Textile" for two pianos as a beautiful, neoclassical suite which is ear-pleasing yet ever changing at the same time. Following up is "Oscillum", a twelve minutes piece for cello which presents itself dark and growling like a threat from ancient times slowly moving and grunting miles below the earths surface whilst "Akasha" touches the borders of eerie Dark Ambient and Drone with additional bits of a haunted orchestra shining through here and there. Furthermore we've got "Pratiksha", a piece of serial qualities performed by a well recognizable, yet well out of tune string section and piano to a nerve-wrecking effect, "Textile 2" is more of a solemn affair written for multi-layered choir and "Sandhi Prakash" tells tales of imminent danger in a world of post-apocalyptic ruins whilst the final cut "Scintilla" pleases all those loving their classical,slightly kitsch-heavy Ambient music to the max. Defo a recommended and well-varied debut album, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Frog Bitch - Frog Bitch EP [Psychocandies 053]

Scheduled for April 27th, 2k17 is the first release of the new and still mysterious Psychocandies-signing going by the name of Frog Bitch who's coming up with a digital three track release here. The title track "Frog Bitch" opens with a heavy, hypnotic Rave sequence and hypercompressed, hard-hitting drum set to crush a bunch of skulls before a distorted wildpitch-reminiscing Acid sequence causes havoc on every warehouse dancefloor. Following up is "Gamble 303", a tune riding on a similar wave but weighing in additional strings for a deeper, darker and slightly psyched out Trance-inducing atmosphere whilst the final cut named "Las Vegas" presents a rather minimalistic, technoid approach with its steadily filtered drum foundation and warped, 'troity main motif in full on repetition mode. This is good stuff.

Mr. Mitch - Devout [Planet Mu 381 Promo]

Released on April 21st, 2k17 via the infamous Planet Mu imprint is "Devout", the second official full length album by Miles Mitchell a.k.a. Mr. Mitch who has come a long way to present us with another alternative take on Grime-influenced music, stepping away from the genres angry roots and channeling things a little differently. Whilst the short intro sequence even includes the vocals of Mitchell's young son Oscar we see "Priority", the second tune on this album, feature one of Grime's most potent forces - P Money - who intensely spits over a foundation more reminiscent of deep, dreamy Electronica than of Grime. Following up is "Lost Touch", a collaboration with Duval Timothy on the playful and positive side of Electronica, "Fate" featuring Denai Moore comes across as a dramatic, beautiful take on Future Soul, "If I Wanted" goes even deeper and presents a slow, 4/4-based take on Ambient / ChillOut whilst "VPN" gets a little livelier and presents an R'n'B / Bashment informed vision of late night urban music that works ladies booties nicely in more intimate situations. With "My Life" Mr. Mitch goes deeper into electronic romanticisms with a twisted, mediterrenean touch, "Pleasure" featuring Py amalgamates minimalistic, yet harmonic structures and catchy, soulful and captivating vocals to a great effect, the "Honor Oak" turns out to be another tender affair gravitating towards Ambient sounds slightly evoking memories of Fatima Al Qadiri's "Asiatisch" album and "Our Love" gets back into late night Bashment again, sporting Mr. Mitch's very own vocals. Finally "Black Tide" rocks advanced dancefloors with a fusion of uplifting melodies and epic bass synths before the closing tune "Oscar"crosses over between lean-infused autotune R'n'B and echoes of CloudRap for a reason. Urban modernism, this is.

Sascha Müller - BDRS / Raidjahh [Sascha Müller Music 100020]

To be released on his own Sascha Müller Music imprint on April 26th, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's newest digital singles featuring the two tracks "BDRS" and "Raidjahhh". Whilst the first mentioned tune starts out on an epic, Trance-reminiscing string arrangement and gravitates towards raw, stomping, Acid-infused oldskool Techno with a floating twist throughout the course of its 344 seconds runtime we see the second production effort fully entering Trance realms, predominantly pleasing all those who discovered the genre back in the years 1993 / 1994 before the cheesy, commercial attitude in Trance took over. If you've been a raver from day dot, this one's for you!

T2 - We Do VIP

An epic VIP rework of one of the greatest Niche /  Bassline House classics of all time. Don't miss out on this for a reason!

Candellila - Camping [Trocadero / ZickZack]

Recently released via Trocadero Records in collaboration with ZickZack is "Camping", the third full-length album effort by the German band outfit known as Candellila which we've already announced as forthcoming a few weeks prior to this review. Starting the approx. 30 minutes longplay journey with "Augen" we're sucked in to a highly dramatic, instrumental maelstrom informed by the legendary wall of sound aesthetics and an agitated, aggressive drive before "Hand" provides more of a crestfallen, greyscale, cold war, working class vibe and "Trocken Und Staubig" mixes up PostPunk, rich pianos and a lyrical flow surely influenced by one of Germany's pioneering ElectroPunk groups to a great effect. Furthermore "Intimität" plays with distorted stereo field pannings, a Punk'ish attitude, large scale build-ups and more of a harsh, cut-up attitude far beyond the implied intimacy lyricwise, "Transformer" takes all international Indie floors by storm with its upbeat vibe and dreamy, ethereal vocals and "Ruhig Draussen" weighs in a dubbed out, down to earth and even slightly blues-y attitude with a special twist - a song providing the ultimate, psychopathic plot twist for buzzing dancefloors. Following up is "Atmen", channeling the warped, nerve-wrecking aggression of a lost generation in less than 3 minutes, "Tier" is more of a hounded sequel to its predecessor on high speed overdrive whilst "Pool" comes across as a sweet, hypercondensed apocalyptic (un)love story  and the final cut  "Wüste" gets into the groove with a more minimalistic, dubbed out and Sherwood'esque production approach as well as a hint of ultimate despair. Defo a thrilling album, this, provided by what seems to be one of the most interesting bands coming straight out of Germany these days.

Album artwork on Instagram!

The Crystal Apes - Rise

Epic arrangements are epic. A perfect description for the new song outing floating in from the studio vaults of our Hamburg-based friends The Crystal Apes.

Concrescence - Diaphragma [Anna Macht Urlaub]

Released lately via the Gutenstetten-based imprint Anna Macht Urlaub is "Diaphragma", the latest and limited album effort by Concrescence which is the musical moniker of the author and writer Ales Pickar. Put on the circuit as a limited to 30 copies cassette tape edition and featuring an overall count of seven tracks we see the album pursue a very classical, natural approach towards Ambient music in terms of slow musical progressions, calmly pulsing structures and naturalistic, sometimes even light-hearted spring-like vibes like the ones to be found in the albums second tune "Aquamarine", followed by the more solemn - and titlewise Munich-reminiscing - "Isarauen" which might be a musical meditation on the artists Munich-years. The last tune on the A-side of the tape is "Nadir", a 10+ minutes tune fusing Ambient and (Neo)Cosmic whilst entering the "Troposphere" on side B caters a fascinating, dreamlike journey into an ever transforming sonic bubble formed of a steady subfrequent synth drone and fragile background atmospheres. "Cloud Drift" goes down a little darker and noisier route in the tracks beginning albeit incorporating epic strings constructions, playful background beats and tender piano notes later before the final cut and title track "Diaphragma" amalgamates thundering drums, dramatic clarions and the tense atmosphere of ancient alien swamps to a spine tingling end sequence for all those loving their underground Deep Listening Music for a reason. Check!

Cassette artwork on Instagram!

Lawrence English - Cruel Optimism [Room 40 Promo]

Released via the Australian label Room 40 on February 17th, 2k17 was "Cruel Optimism" by the composer Lawrence English who has been as staple in the experimental electronic music scene ever since his first release in 2002 and who is also the man and mastermind behind the label himself. With this set of ten new works, a lot of them collaborations with musicians like Werner Dafeldecker, Norman Westberg, Mary Rapp and many others at their initial stage, Lawrence English is wrapping his head around the desolate state our planet is in, a general feel of disillusionment and many other aspects of our broken global society. Although being a fully instrumental as well as beatless record which makes the outlining of what could be a, well..., kinda political or general statement through revolutionary beats or the use of vocal lines more of a difficult thing this meta-topic shines through in terms of bringing us both a kinda bleak and faded version of Ambient as well as highly dramatic, climaxing build-ups like in the 96 seconds of "Hammering A Screw" - a quite apocalyptic call to the last judgement followed by the noisy roars of a hellish ascent towards heavens in the "Requiem For A Reaper" before entering paradisiac realms and ultimate calm in "Pillar Of A Cloud". The "Exquisite Human Microphone" has more of a brooding, dangerous and dramatic touch, presenting dark clarions of swelling intensity, the "Object Of Projection" is the soundtrack to mining, enslaved creatures of the light suffering deep beyond the earths surface in ultimate despair, the "Somnambulist" follows the dark call of doom-announcing clarions again, this time accompanied by additional swells of distorted, fluttering ambience to reach "Moribund Territories" and finally wave goodbye with a calm, yet melancholia-infuced attitude. Good stuff.

Schlachthofbronx - Haul & Pull Up [Rave And Romance 001]

Coming from the brand new Munich-based Rave And Romance label and heavily supported by the Bavarian capital's staples Disko B and Jahmoni Music is "Haul & Pull Up", the newest four track EP effort by the group known as Schlachthofbronx. Taking on Bass Music on different levels with this one the opener "Copper And Lead" featuring Riko Dan on vocals fuses elements of Grime, vantablack darkness and sub-led ultraviolence in a brutal style kinda reminiscent of Kevin Martin's musical work as The Bug whilst "Blurred Vision" focuses on straight up, 4/4-based Dub meditation for real bass headz. Going into the B-side we see the legendary Warrior Queen providing vocals for "Killer", a quite suprising amalgamation of Electro- / Breakdance- / B-boy-informed beats and a relatively laid back vocal delivery by the queen herself before the "Siren Riddim" causes havoc on Grime and Bashment floors with a sharp, electroid and highly compressed approach, an alarming synth tone sequence as well as a temporary turn towards a straight four-to-the-floor bassdrum foundation throughout the tunes' middle part. Surely a riddim that'll make a selecta "Haul & Pull Up" for a reason.

Various Artists - Jigsore 010 (Preview)

Heavy Jungle, DarkJungle and Hardcore for those who can well take a trip to the darkside. Epic!

v1984 - Aria Of Dawn

What the heck is this - Dream Rave? No matter what you gonna call it, this first outtake from the forthcoming v1984 12"on Knives is defo a killer cut.

Proc Fiscal - Skulka

Highly detailed Instrumental Grime due for release via the highly praised Hyperdub label on May 5th, 2k17. Thrilling stuff!

Golden Diskó Ship - Abandoned Chinese Fishing Village (Music Video)

A tune as unsettling yet as fascinating as its well-fitting title. A recommended listen, this!

OUT NOW: Dr. NoiseM & baze.djunkiii - BassFlop [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

A little, limited to 14 copies fun release on classic floppy disc for all lovers of Noize, Drone and Low Bit aesthetics - available via Bandcamp! 

Tracklist:

1. Dr. NoiseM - Zeitrauschen
2. baze.djunkiii - In These Swamps Where Jedi Lurk

baze.djunkiii presents Transmissions From The Underground Vol.1 (Jahmoni Music Mixtape Snippet)

OUT NOW - order here!

Release party - April 7th, 2k17 @ Unter Deck / Munich - click here for details!

baze.djunkiii Charts 04/2017

01. Depeche Mode - Where's The Revolution *Musikexpress Exclusive Vinyl [Mute Records / Columbia Records]
What a massive gem, this is. Not only is "Where's The Revolution" a great first single taken from the new Depeche Mode album "Spirit" and a massive hit in its own right. This special 7" version is an exclusive collectors edition that came along with the March issue of German Musikexpress magazine featuring an epic November 2013 live recording of "Should Be Higher", a tune that was found on the bands last longplay piece "Delta Machine".

Watch video here!

02. Modulator - Acid Bangin' [Analog Records USA 043]
See review for details!

03. Various Artists - World Of Rubber 3 [Rubber]
Massive limited white vinyl compilation release put on the circuit only recently via the quite mysterious Rubber imprint. Featuring the likes of Group A, Interstellar Funk, Leuk En Ko and Overdose we're taken on a journey into the deepest depths of the musical underground, touching base with hypnotic, yet depressive (No)Wave vs. PostPunk crossovers, tripping, seductive Acid modulations, a novelty approach to MinimalWave with Dutch (!!!) vocals and nerve-wrecking underground Techno, represented by tunes all fascinating and dancefloor working for reasons apparent. Recommended!

04. Amboss - Vision [Praxis 053]
Going back to the year 2014 with this brutal banger released on Berlin's Praxis label. Crossing over between Breakcore, superviolent Drumstep and devastating DarkJungle as well as incorporating a sparse, cold Industrial Dubstep excursion and a banging, uncompromising Hardcore attack, the four tracks on this 12" leave traces of blood on the dancefloor whenever hammered on a proper rig. This is a hard one!

05. Electric Kettle - News From Berlin [Praxis 050]
Released back in 2012 I discovered this four track Breakcore gem only recently, a piece created by Electric Kettle whom I personally hold in high regards since the release of his 2003 debut "Faster Ceremony And Ultra Discipline" and who's defo able to keep up with high expectation levels on this 12". Extremely detailed production, splintered beats, a certain amount of structured, anthemic sonic ultraviolence and - of course - tons of darkness bring in loads of destructive pleasure for every fans of hard-edged electronic music.

06. The Convent - 1986 - 2016 [Sireena Records]
What's to say about a band that's been around for 30 years without breaking up officially despite going on a long lasting hiatus after their last - and 2002 released - album? Celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2016 and playing shows again the Wave- and PostPunk-informed IndiePop outfit The Convent is back on track with a massive, limited to 500 hand-numbered copies retrospective compilation compiled by fans, friends and band members including songs from the bands previous albums and early single releases as well as previously unreleased gems, alternative versions and remixes. A massive collectors package this is, especially for those who love their melancholia-inducing guitars to the max. And well, Jojo Brandt, one of the bands founding members is an old friend of mine... so it's needless to say that this one is highly recommended for a reason.  
 
07. Agnes Hvizdalek - Index [Nakama Records 009 Promo]
See review for details!

08. Dans Les Arbres - Phosphorescence [Hubro Music Promo]
See review for details!
 
09. -
 
10. -

Candelilla - Trocken Und Staubig (Official Video)

The first video taken off Candelilla's recently released longplay debut "Camping" is quite an interesting one. And it seems like they're about  to become the thrilling, female-led, PostPunk / Indie-driven successor of Germany's infamous band outfit Frittenbude which has been rocking venues and festival stages for about a decade now.

Tegh - Downfall III

A wonderful piece of intense, hypnotizing Ambient / Noize music about to be released via Midira Records on May 5th, 2k17.

Selffish - He She Them Us [Serein 011 Promo]

To be released via the Welsh Serein-imprint as their cat.no. 011 is an album named "He She Them Us" crafted by the Riga-based artist Andrejs Eigus under his well puzzling moniker Selffish. Within eight tracks we see the producer, who already released two albums as Selffish on the now defunct netlabel Thinner in the second half of the noughties, re-enter the world of music production riding the soft, organic Ambient pads of the opener "Prologue" whilst the "Willing Suspension Of Disbelief" fuses clicking, ultraminimalist, yet floor friendly Electronica with sparse piano tones and a certain presence of Jazz-infused Phonk which is one of the highlights of this longplay piece for sure. The "Restless Dog" caters more warm Electronica sounds garnished by organic bass and a dreamy, ever repeating main motif evoking memories of early 2000s Indietronics, "As The Leaves Fall" brings in a sweet sense of melancholia, "Treijas" fuses clanging metallic pulse repetitions and carefully layered string constructs to a super calming effect and a "Biting Grief" is defined by a background of what seems to be softly pouring rain and an ebb and flow of soft, solemn sonic waves providing a scenic feel of beauty. Furthermore "I Came To Leave" weighs in a little bit of a lighter FutureJazz vibe before the final cut "Epilogue" provides more of a beauteous, slightly balearic Ambient feel for fans of Deep Listening Music and therefore rounds off the longplay piece nicely. Defo one to check out for a reason.        

Album artwork on Instagram!

Teengirl Fantasy - 8 a.m. [Planet µ 377 Promo]

Recently released via Mike Paradinas' Planet µ-label is Teengirl Fantasy's "8 a.m." album, the duo's third one within a seven years timespan. The twelve tracks journey starts with "Glare", setting the tone for a descent into deep, blurred out and surely neon coloured dreams continued in "Crash Soft", a tune that might be best described as a dancier, more modernistic take on Vaporwave whilst the following "Telepaths" stay on a dreamy tip but gravitates more towards dubbed out elements and PostStep musically. "We Out" combines classic IDM with Trap, Vaporwave and misty non-vocalisms for a tumblr generation on acid, "It Was Already Light Out" weighs in heavy, hyper-compressed bassdrums as a contrast to layers of harmonic sonic striations, "Where I Went" is a short, comforting journey into the ambiance of a digital mothers womb and "All Of The Time" seems to be the first tune aiming at the dancefloors of trippy underwater raves sporting driving pulses and busy layers of trance-inducing, cascading melodies rolled out atop of colourful atmospheres and Dubstep-influenced beat structures emerging after two thirds of the tunes runtime. More epic, fascinating cascades are to be found in "Star-rise", a tune defo made to set highly advanced dancefloors in motion, whilst "Don't" pleases followers of more Downtempo-orientated tunes without giving in to any cliche related to this genre at all. Furthermore "Seeds", the only vocal tune on here featuring Khalif Jones on microphone duties, turns out to be a little kitsch-driven bedroom bass tune on a super soft, yet late night floor suitable tip, "En Route" brings us a quite unexpected Electronica hit tune for IDM raves and the concluding "Wet Eyes And Exhilaration" goes down on a quite mysterious, tense and spine-tingling alley, twisting its seductive main motif and killing sound systems with tripping glitches, masterly crafted Breakbeats and heavy waves of organic bass for those in the know. This is different. This is good.   

Superior Cornrows & Phatworld feat. Forca - 007 Hillz (Sika Clash Spesh)

A sick war dub abusing a classic 'James Bond' theme for the cause of total destruction.