Xposed 4Heads - Urgency Squad [Internal Combustion]

Coming in from the states is the newest longplay vinyl release put on the circuit by our Milwaukee-based friends of the Xposed 4Heads, a limited to 200 copies ten track LP which comes with an exquisite artwork and also includes the banging "System Overload" which we've already featured on these pages earlier this month videowise. Released via the Internal Combustion label the musical joyride starts with "Push Me", a marching, UK-influenced amalgamation of straight forward Rock and Stadium Wave, goes into the praised "System Overload" before presenting the albums title track "Urgency Squad" which qualifies as a quite fascinating mixture of full throttle WavePunk, a bluesy touch and vintage synths providing captivating, The Munsters-like background scores whilst "Slack It" dabbles with a tongue-in-cheek 80s Miami Pop attitude on high speed mode musicwise, adds a bit of Dada'esque fun here and there whilst paying homage to classic Rock'n'Roll in its vocal presentation and "Humans Are OK" clearly indicates that they are not - at least this what the aliens think that were in invlvd in the songs most beautiful space string arrangements and catchy melody work underlining the tunes overall melancholia. Flipping the wax we are the "Fly In The Ointment" and turn every (No)Wave / UK Indie floor into a sweet riotous place, we "Light It Up!" with a muscular PostPunk / DiscoPunk / P-Funk attitude that brings fans of the B-52s as well as those following the late DC Recordings label to the dancefloor, surprising them with an epic breakdown sequence whereas "Our Number Is One" caters a similar, yet slightly more of a slick, radio friendly 80s feel for the sophisticated listener. Furthermore the "Next Thing" is a big one in terms of more Miami Synth melodies and big time panorama Pop with an edge and the concluding short instrumental sketch "For People, Not Consumers" evokes memories of corporate production music for a reason and therefore provides a nice addition to the albums overall presence of lyrical criticism of the modern hypercapitalist society. Good stuff, this.

Mike Cooper - Raft [Room 40 Promo]

Scheduled for release on July 7th, 2k17 via the Australian imprint Room 40 is "Raft", the latest album outing by longtime active composer, artist and musician Mike Cooper who has been on the musical circuit for nearly five decades. With the seven takes on this album Mike Cooper explores a sonic realms somewhat in between Ambient, Indietronica and Exotica-influences starting out with the beautifully arranged "Raft 21 - Guayaquil To Tully" which combines echoes of Post-PostRock with PopAmbient, twang guitars and a few waves of digital crackling seamlessly blending into "Raft 37 - Las Balsas", a 12+ minutes meditation on desert melancholia throughout a hot summers day. In the short interlude "Raft 28 - Vital Alsar" we see the twang melancholia being fused with somehow Drum'n'Bass-reminiscing background beat structures, "Raft 33 - Malama Honua (To Care For Our Earth)" is more of a tension-loaden, brooding affair based on raw, distorted droning, Field Recordings of voices and repetetive rhythmic patterns of ritual qualities and "Raft 29 - Honey Hunters" is a sparse, highly experimental affair featuring a cold, steady and highly sci-fi sounding tone, plucked guitar strings, gongs and various background recordings of unknown origin, all combined to a highly fascinating, spine-tingling effect. Furthermore "Raft 36 - Age Unlimited" brings in a slightly chaotic, multilayered feel including what seem to be backward recordings before the final cut "Raft 27 - Guayaquil To Ballina" provides deep, partially bluesy tranquility and makes up for a nice closing tune for this fascinating, well-recommended album affair.

Carlos Casas - Pyramid Of Skulls (Teaser Video 1)

An intense and haunting teaser for Carlos Casas' most recent album release on the Discrepant label.

Anthony Pateras / Erkki Veltheim - The Slow Creep Of Convenience (Excerpt)

A beautiful take on glacial droning and high frequency Ambient created by pipe organ and electric violin. Soon to be released via the Immediata imprint.

Sascha Müller - 808 Minimal Attack [SMSM013]

Due for release on July 1st, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's new longplay outing named "808 Minimal Attack" which, hence the title, fully focuses on an array of raw and stripped down drum machine patterns only.  Starting with a combination of "Drums & Snares" via "LowToms & MidToms", "HiCongas & OpenHiHats", "Claps & Claves" and many others more these dry, conceptual tracks are, at least in a full-on listening session, not necessarily the peak of musical innovation or the most interesting to groove along to under a pair of headphones but defo can provide additional fodder for multi-deck using digital DJs or be used as a solid foundation for soundscapes or further experimentation in modular systems. A specialists cut, this.

John Matthias & Jay Auborn - Race To Zero [Village Green Record 013 Promo]

Released in early June via Village Green Recording as the labels cat.no. 013 is "Race To Zero", the new collaborational album effort put on the circuit by fellow composers John Matthias and Jay Auborn. Based on a series of acoustic improvisations recorded in places as different as a 700 year old chapel in Devon as well as an Icelandic basement studio the pair led these recordings through a massive amount of digital DAW reverbs and other digital devices, maxing out processor capacities at will, creating error sequences and abusing these outcomes further until the nine tracks of the longplay piece finally had taken shape. The opener is "Actress", a surprisingly calm Ambient piece accompanied by steady, muffled drum hits and a beautiful, yet slightly out of tune acoustic topping as well as a panoramic string section, "Pretoria" caters a brooding, ritualistic and well mystic vibe for dark deep forest rituals, the "Caretaker" serves minor piano chords and a sizzling background atmosphere whilst the "Wax Heart" consists of rich cosmic influenced synth spirals, cinematic horn sections and heavy ProgRock-influenced drums - a combination that brings nothing but impressive grandiosity to the sonic table. With "Stone Face" John Matthias and Jay Auborn enter a realm of more fustian DarkJazz / TripHop mixed up with killer military snare rolls and multilayered instruments before coming to a sudden halt, the "Tilted Stage" is quite a turbulent place turning a tender piano intro upside down, adding highly emotional strings, harsh Industrial Electronics beatwise as well as terrifyingly dark, distorted and threatening synths before "Every Word Is A Mask" serves more scores'que and masterly arranged Downtempo vibes with an orchestral twist. Furthermore we've got "Soma Vapour", a quite loop-orientated piece with a mechanical attitude covered in layers and layers of hypersweet, kitsch-dripping melodies whereas the final "Songbird" maxes out melancholia levels over a 7 minutes stretch and makes up a perfect tune for a rainy November afternoon. Lovely.

Martin Merz - Prisma [Vordergrundmusik]

Released earlier this month is "Prisma", the longplay debut by Martin Merz who is catering a sweet menu of ten thought out tracks on this well-recommended vinyl release. Opening with footsteps and the glitched out Ambient Electronica of "Nocturnal Emissions" it becomes pretty obvious that we're not about to enter the spheres of a regular club album here, rather we're meant to explore deeper realms and a wide variety of sonic shades including the deep space Electro abstractions of "Kinetics", the masterly crafted, Detroit-infused Intelligent Techno of "Transalp" which could've easily found a home on any of the Clone-related labels or a more chromatic amalgamation of Acid bleeps, beautiful strings and muscular 4/4s to be found in "Pick Up Your Phone". Furthermore the "Algorithm" reprograms advanced dancefloors with sparse and spatial Techno deepness and dubbed out off-kilter chords, "Clubbin", a collaborational joint with Kosmo Kessler, combines tripping German vocals and spaced out Electro whereas "Drop Your Money" provides a more demanding approach in terms of straight floor-focused 4-2-the-floor, grinding synth modulations and filtered stabs as well as a overly compressed Disco claps for underground club sessions which find a proper continuation in "Strain And Budge". With "Drive" Mr. Martin Merz is going down the Ambient / Intelligent Techno route again, providing another fine array of his trademark strings, "Ether" crosses over into kitsch-dripping realms of the neon 80s arrangement-wise whilst bringing in warm organic basslines and hyperclean beats from the UK-based Future Garage realm for a grand finale. Good stuff, this. Check!

The Greatest Hoax - Expiration Compositions [Serein 012]

Released on the classy Serein-imprint only recently is the second full length album by the Washington, D.C.-based composer Taylor Jordan under his artistic moniker The Greatest Hoax. Entitled "Expiration Compositions" the album caters a menu of nine tracks, thematically dealing with - according to the press release - 'a soundtrack to a peaceful death' created by Jordan, accompanied by additional textures by a string quartet led by cellist Mark Bridges of Kranky Records. Starting with the opener "Senescence" we're led into almost heavenly, positives spheres of Ambient music, "Left You Behind" caters more of a solemn attitude combining electronic waves, simple piano tones and floating, melancholia-inducing (neo)classical elements whereas "As The Light Dims" presents itself as a rich take on Piano Ambient, living up to class with heavy reverbs and an all embracing, warm organic attitude. With "You Never Learned A Thing" mighty piano lines are brought to the forefront  and accompanied by grandiose as well as slightly kitschy strings, "It's OK" calms things down a little for a short while and comes across as tender, party even fragile miniature whilst "Just Passing Through" introduces a slow 4/4 foundation alongside dubbed out pianos being the first and only actual beat driven track on this album. Furthermore "Fading Away" starts with short distinct piano melody before expanding into a hopeful, widescreen sonic universe, "Not Coming Back" weighs in a short, off kilter tape loop layered with additional chords and emotional strings to a calming effect and "Pulling Up The Sheets" finally waves goodbye in a classic Ambient manner, melting down all its elements to a blurry, yet beautiful flow for calm, autumnal afternoons. If you love your Piano-driven Ambient, or movie scores, to the max this is defo a recommended album for your collection.

02.07.2017 baze.djunkiii @ Mojo Jazz Cafe / Hamburg

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]

file under: Dub / Downtempo / TripHop / Advanced HipHop / Freestyle

doors: 1 pm

daytime set - open air in case of good weather conditions.

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Mojo Jazz Cafe
Reeperbahn 1
Hamburg St. Pauli
Germany

Sascha Müller - Acid Porn Dog EP [Psychocandies 055]

Scheduled for 26th of June, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's newest outing - the "Acid Porn Dog EP" which is due for release on Psychocandies as their cat.no. 055. Consisting of four numbered tunes all named "Acid Porn Dogs" the first  of these caters hammering, overly compressed drums and percussions alongside a nerve-wrecking, spiralling Acid line whilst the second effort combines hard bassdrums with more of a floating, AcidTrance-reminiscing vibe for the wee hours. Furthermore we see "Acid Porn Dogs 3" explore sonic realms of hard and merciless Acid and screeching modulations before "Acid Porn Dogs 4"  finally crosses over into Hardcore-infused territories and provides proof for the theory that total destruction really is the only solution.

I'm Not A Band - Call The Light

The first single taken off the bands forthcoming album "Past Forward" - beautiful stuff, this!

Joanne Pollock - Stranger [Timesig 007 Promo]

Recently put on the circuit via Venetian Snares' very own Timesig imprint is "Stranger", the album debut of the Canadian artist Joanne Pollock who has worked with the Breakcore-and-beyond genius in the past  under the artistic guise of Poemss. As a solo artist she caters a menu of ten tracks, opening with "Carnival" which paves the way for Joanne Pollock's enthralling vision of futuristic Pop fusing beautiful vocals with spatial, ever evolving Electronica structures. These structures, also evident in the more solemn, intimate follow up "Melt Myself", as well as the artists vocals seem to be more playful and relatable to the masses like those of fellow, or at least similar minded, female artists like Björk or Katie Gately,  present themselves in an epic, crystalline and IDM-informed way in the massive longing "You Know I Would Do Anything" whilst "Never Been You" starts out ethereal and vocally multilayered before the underlying beats start to get really busy and turn this tune into a beautifully crafted piece of Leftfield Pop from a far future. In "Expect Me" we see fountains of melodic synth tones sparkle, providing a sweet as candy foundation for the artists vocalisms, the title track "Stranger" gets ballad'esque in a quite melancholia-driven Future Folk'ish way, "Myself Apart" hovers through dimensions of otherworldly beauty whilst the tunes beats provide a clubbier, partly even dancefloor approach, "Scratching" features amazing, Piano-resembling lines and a captivating slo-mo structure, the "Jealous Mind" comes across a little more positive and lighthearted than most of the other songs on this album and the final "You're Gone" is a perfect conclusion for the great Leftfield Pop album that Joanne Pollock's debut is. Defo recommended this. 

Golden Oriole - Golden Oriole [Drid Machine 027]

What to do when a promo sheet just states 'abstract and minimal music' and provides no more info on a forthcoming record? Well, this is what happened with the promo version of Golden Oriole's self-titled debut on Drid Machine, a three track EP released in March 2k17. So listening is the only option we've got and whilst we witness "The Approaching Of The Disco Void" we're experiencing maybe the most alienated take on despair and mournfulness we've come across in experimental  music structures for ages before a clumsy, robotic Funk groove adds up more puzzling weirdness and, throughout the last third of the 10+ minutes spanning track, wild Tribal drums and distorted Rock improvisations fully take over. With "The Trilithon" we see a return of the projects trademark mourning strings paired with more wild, improv-like drums plus electric guitar ecstasy and "The Pyrite Wink" opens up with sirens that set our senses to a high alert status for a fraction of a minute, preparing us for the raw, experimental Funk hell that's about to break lose after the intro. Truly unique, this.

King Ayisoba - 1000 Can Die [Glitterbeat Promo]

Still on a mission to catch up on this springs massive pile of promos today we're taking a closer look at "1000 Can Die", the late March released nine track album by King Ayisoba which was put on the circuit via Glitterbeat. Known for his special tradition-bound yet contemporary-influenced take on Ghanaian Kologo music and other local styles like the clubbier Highlife King Ayisoba and his band bring in contributions from several guests like Zea, Lee "Scratch" Perry, M3nsa, Wanlov Da Kubolor and many others to cater a wideranged musical menu. From the fever'ish, politically charged opener "Africa Needs Africa" to the percussive, call-and-response heavy Kologo of "Wekana" to the captivating title track "1000 Can Die" or the very traditional a man and his lute efforts like "Grandfather Song", "Yalma Dage Wange" or "Ndeema" as well as the massive party tune "Anka Yen Tu Kwai" - this one is quite a powerful take on the fascination of Ghanaian music and therefore recommended to all those thinking beyond the European or even Western culturall borders musicwise.

Ekoplekz - Bioprodukt [Planet Mu 386 Promo]

Put on the circuit only a few days ago is "Bioprodukt", the latest, and fourth, longplayer crafted by Ekoplekz for Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu-imprint and, tbh, our expectations are not really set high as in the past none of the music the Bristolian Nick Edwards released was able to grab our attention - to be more clear: most of the times it just seemed off everything, chaotic, totally random and therefore not of any interest. That's the status quo we're coming from, entering the albums opener "Elevation" which comes across as a first surprise with its structured, slightly Reggae-/ Dub-infused Electronica approach followed up by "Consequences", a lo-fi take on Cosmic Techno reminiscent of the likes of Hieroglyphic Being whilst an "Expedition" redefines the term Braindance for 2k17, presenting a playful, friendly and heavily spaced out vision of advanced, dancefloor-friendly Electronica with a well captivating twist. In the realms of "Acrid Acid" things are based on a raw, slow 4/4 and tripping subaquatic modulations, the "Slipstream" gets us knee deep into warm Electronica Dub, "Calypzoid" is quite a unique, abstract, yet uplifting variation on outer space dance music and "Transcience" is going back to the straight 4/4, garnished with fever'ish percussion elements and mystical, atmospheric synths for an extra thrill. Furthermore the "Descent" amalgamates synth-heavy melancholia, melodic abstraction and ritualistic slo-mo Techno, "Low X-Over" weighs in epic, repetetive and hyperorganic Ambient structures with a few Dub elements and the final track "Denier Daze" is closing the journey that this album is in a super-friendly, calm and peaceful Electronica-based manner. Surprisingly good, this.

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 06/2017

Dr. NoiseM - The CDr A-B-C: X [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Another one to be released on June 22nd, 2k17 is "The CDr A-B-C: X", the next and one of the final sequels in Dr. NoiseM's 26 month spanning longplay series. With this 76 minute spanning one track album we see Dr. NoiseM return to the colder and more alienating side of his work found in this conceptual effort, re-introducing the ghostly, soulless, Vader'esque respiratory loops that functioned as foundation for many of these series parts, strips them down to the very core, presents them without any additional garnish which only reinforces their spooky and threatening nature, even when unheavenly, eerie and warped background choirs start to fill the empty space between breathing cycles and additional soundscapes start to emerge from the ever present main motif. For sure, this might the most minimalistic, reduced part of this series so far - and a worthwhile extention of any Dark Ambient / Cold Ambient  CDr collection for sure.

Sascha Müller - Queen EP [SMSM012]

To be released on June 22nd, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's "Queen EP", a digital four track single dealing with queens from various continents themewise. The "African Queen" is making a start with a wild and feverish Tribal ride on a well seductive raw House groove whilst the "Arabian Queen" is more on a TechHouse tip, garnished with loads of percussive elements, oriental string instruments and tense, crime scene Funk elements for an extra thrill on the dancefloor. Furthermore the "Asian Queen" brings us more of a polyrhythmic, yet slightly TechHouse approach for pumping late night floors featuring big, glitched out breakdowns and a Bollywood'esque vibe before the "Indian Queen" finally goes all in on an attempt to fuse TechHouse and what seem to be reprocessed Country / Desert Rock guitars for the daytime open air posse. 

Cakewalk - Ishihara [Hubro Music]

Released via the Norwegian Hubro Music-imprint on April 21st, 2k17 is "Ishihara", the third full length album by the trio known as Cakewalk which consists of Øystein Skar, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad and Stephan Meidell - a constellation with backgrounds in various fields of music which came together to explore unheard of sonic realms and cross- as well as beyond-genre pollution. The opening track delivers sonic havoc consisting of sirens, ill advised scratches, ProgRock-inspired drums, widescreen panorama layers and an overall Illbient-resembling attitude rolled out over a playtime of nearly nine minutes, "Shrooms" takes us into a world of 70s vintage synths, repetetive chords, flutes and mechanical drumming mixed up with a certain kind of robotic Funk, "Dome" weighs in heavy, doomed riffing that surprisingly leads to the most chill, spine-tingling, Downtempo-inspired variation on bluesy Desert Rock we've heard in ages before the "State" follows this example on a long stretched and more solemn, brooding level, garnished with bits and bops of ProgRock-influences. Furthermore "Apostrophe" seems to fuse elements of Krautrock with glittery synths and dreamy guitars before the final cut named "Rebound" is going to great lengths to redefine experimental epic for 2k17, providing a great, yet indescribable sonic soundscape that makes a great ending for this fascinating, well-varied longplay piece.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Chihei Hatekayama - Mirage [Room40 Promo]

Put on the circuit via the Australian Room40-imprint on June 9th, 2k17 is "Mirage", the latest longplay work created by Japan's Chichei Hatekayama who is inspired by the interaction between architectural spaces and the human voice, or music, for this album. This theme has been dealt with in one way or the other for a long time but became the focus of Hatekayama's work throughout a field trip to Turkey a few years ago. Influenced by this experience he started to work on this actual nine-track longplay piece which starts with "Sad Ocean", a beautiful piece of classical Ambient which defo paves the way for all tracks to follow. No matter if it's "Starlight And Black Echo", the guitar and Field Recordings sporting "Distant Steam Train Whistle" or "A Silence Of Day", each and every track lives by slowly moving harmonies, beautifully layered soft pads and a deep, organic warmth lieing within that makes us feel all comfy and cosy and defo makes clear why Chihei Hatekayama is referred to as an Ambient maestro by many. So if you love your Ambient music right from the heart "Mirage" is defo a wortwhile addition to your collection.

23.06.2017 BETA-ZERFALL @ Komet (Basement) / Hamburg

file under: PostPunk / ElectroPunk /(No)Wave / Industrial / IndieElectro + more

decks:
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]
Herr Brandt [Sonnenbrandt / Damaged Goods]

doors: 10pm
admission: 5€ 

Komet (Basement)
Erichstrasse 11
20359 Hamburg
Germany

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Don't Call It Road Rap - A Noisey Film

Released only yesterday is this massive documentary on the UK Rap scene directed and narrated by Mike Skinner. A must watch for everyone into todays road music.

Astma / Meanza - Raw Volumes [Aut Records 035]

Coming in from the Aut Records label these days is the May 2k17-released album "Raw Volumes"  which is a Berlin-recorded collaborational effort of the free improv duo Astma, consisting of Alexei Borisov and Olga Nosova, and producer Michele Pedrazzi who's working here under his musical nom de guerre Bob Meanza. Together they're shaping an approx. 38 minutes long body of work of seven tracks, starting with "Tetragonal" which is a deeply scientific sonic effort incorporating  highly digital sounding elements reminiscent of Clicks'n'Cuts, (Neo)Cosmic-remembling swamp synths and a strangely seductive percussion groove accompanied by eardrum-wrecking high frequency Noize for experts before "Monoclinic" brings us quirky, yet playful Industrial Electronics, a highly catchy lo-fi bassline and loads of abstract, anti- to poly-rhythmic layering which comes down to a futuristic take on extraterrestrial FreeJazz. With "Rhombohedral" more Clicks'n'Cuts meet rhythmic chirping and tense, eerie scores from the outerworld until bass heavy chaos breaks loose and languishing vocal distortion adds up to the tunes atmosphere, "Hexagonal" starts out on a clumsy, yet funky percussion approach to fuse faded echoes of skeletal, instrumental PostPunk, a steady flow of mid-frequency Noize modulation and a overall feel of decay whilst "Orthorhombic" feels like a field recorded drum rehearsal of a postapocalyptic RoboJazz group for a reason. Finally there's "Cubic" a glitched out, IDM affair paired with elements of revolting, brutal HarshNoize, ecstatic African drumming and psychedelia induced electronics as well as the concluding cut entitled "Triclinic", probably the most haunting cut on this album with its Film Noir-like slow motion vibe and dense, dangerous DarkJazz atmosphere.  Intense! 

Tarab - An Incomplete Fixed Idea [Aposiopese 013 Promo]

Incoming from the experimental-focused Aposiopese-imprint is "An Incomplete Fixed Idea", the latest album effort created by the Australian composer Tarab, better known to his friends and parents as Eamon Sprod. Released as a limited to 300 copies 180g vinyl edition in mid-May, 2k17 the album is split in two parts of approx. 20 minutes length, exploring a musical range from static Noize to re-arranged, warped and processed birds tweeting, eerie dronings from what seem to be modular sources, everyday Field Recordings to industrial grinding and scraping, fluttering winds, rain, eerie low frequency bass sequences indicating lurking danger, clanging metal, electrostatics and much more, presenting an array of collected sonic events arranged in a seemingly non-linear, yet fascinating matter for all lovers of highly experimental music and, of course, Musique Concrete. If you think you've heard it all mark June 16th, 2k17 in your calendar as this is the date this album piece is about to be released. Check!

Chelsea Wolfe - 16 Psyche (Official Audio)

Feedback-heavy, Blues-fed walls of distorted guitars, down-to-earth Desert Rock and desparate, yet ethereal and PostPunk- / Goth-infused vocals is what "16 Psyche" brings us as a first teaser for Chelsea Wolfe's forthcoming album "Hiss Spun" which is due for release on September 22nd, 2k17 via Sargent House.

Ezekiel Honig - A Passage Of Concrete [Anticipate Recordings 013]

Released on March 17th, 2k17 via his very own imprint Anticipate Recordings is "A Passage Of Concrete"  by LA-based producer Ezekiel Honig who is making a return to the longplay circuit with this one after six years of silence. Using and abusing field recorded textures from his hometown New York we see Ezekiel Honig presenting  way more than an album of pure experimentalism, opening with a hissing take on tender Indietronica / Post-PostRock named "Apartment Workshop", continues to walk this path on a super slow 4/4 Ambient Techno tip in "Visiting A Recent Past" which features quite a present layer of NYC street sounds and digs deep into electronic melancholia with the follow-up "Forest Of  Refractions". These first three tracks pave the way for everything that's to come, be it the processed romanticisms of "Fuge State Part 1", the tender Armchair Techno of "Gravity", the beauteous piano-based Electronica to be found in a "Museum Cavern" or the short, advanced dancefloor smashing late night Phonk of "Transient Economics" which, due to its sparse, uptempo and super dry beat structure is defo our favorite tune on "A Passage Of Concrete", an album defo recommended for both audiophiles and those enjoying their intimate, undisturbed listening sessions on a quiet sunday afternoon, giving in to heart-felt melancholia and a glass of red wine. Or two.   

The Knob, The Finger & The It - Astro Camping [Makiphon 004 Promo]

What started out as a project to accompany extensive electroacoustic picnics in the field became a full-on band project and what started out as Ambient jam sessions became tracks. And eight of these became "Astro Camping", the first full on album release by The Knob, The Finger & The It which has been put on the circuit via Makiphon earlier this month. Opening on a krautsy Electronica tip with "Don't Snoozle While Hot", a track we've already featured on these pages videowise about a month ago, the follow up "Come To Ping As Ra" comes across as a dubbed out excursion into vintage sci-fi spheres, the "Eisenblechmen" fuse mechanical noises with spaced out, seductive rhythm structures and a playful, yet hypnotic overall vibe even incorporating oriental bits and bops here and there whilst the full-on live effort "F.F. Erde" captures the projects origins in more Ambient-orientated realms in a nice organic, yet experimental way. With the albums title track "Astro Camping" the trio provides a playful and friendly Tribal groove for hyperadvanced, minimalist dancefloors, the story of "When Pluto Was A Planet" takes us on a explorative journey to places - ... and alien swamps! - no man has ever been to before, where extraterrestial lifeforms start to check "Our Passports" with analogue machines communicating via soft pads, Deep Listening rhythm signatures and seemingly random percussions evoking memories of Mouse On Mars's classic tune "Papa, Antoine" before "Grasebene 3" provides more live recorded, electroacoustic jamming as a sweet conclusion for a this well-recommended longplay piece.  Good!

Dieter Von Deurne & The Politics - I'm On Trial (Official Video)

Psychedelia-infused Indie meets lo-fi greenscreen action on Morr Music - album to come on August 25th, 2k17.

Sascha Müller [Sascha Müller Music 1000021]

Out on the digital circuit since May 25th, 2k17 is Sascha Müller's latest two track single, bringing us the tracks "Penallity" and "Risetime" - both dug up from the artists seemingly endless archive of tunes. Whilst the first mentioned effort fuses metallic ClubTechno and spiralling, Trance-inducing Acid modulations for a well uplifting dancefloor experience we see the second tune being on darker and defo more gooey Techno tip in terms of slowly morphing low frequency synths which are accompanied by raw, unprocessed drums and a threatening Tribal feel somehow reminiscent of Fabrice Lig's 1994-released and limited to 500 copies "Interwaves E.P." which really was designed to destroy dancefloors back in those days. Quality!

1115 - Post-Europe [Alien Transistor]

Released via Alien Transistor on June 9th, 2k17 is "Post-Europe", the first full on album effort by the collaborational project 1115 consisting of the well established artists Fehler Kuti and Grey who are working on an unique and fascinating soundscape with this one. The opening tune "Gloom" combines elements of groovy MinimalTechno and Electronica Dub, "Camps & Jungles" rides on a similar wave albeit flirting with subaquatic Electro snares and highly experimental background nonvocalisms as well as quirky modulations similar to the works of artists like The Hieroglyphic Being, the "Imperial Luv" sees yearning, vocals crooning over a raw and fast-paced vision of Psychedelic Techno and "Boris Johnson Gave Me A Gun" comes down to a dry, lo-fi amalgamation of Electro, Illbient textures and highly drugged out robotic Soul. Furthermore "People Get Ready" takes raw, stripped down RoboPhonk to the next level whilst synthetic sirenas sing their songs of longing, indecipherable notes, "A Brown Baby Plan" includes Field Recordings, synth melancholia and more highly blurred Crooner Soul, "Calais 90210" is an epitome of kitsch-induced, electronic Bedroom Psychedelia and the tune named "Negerplastik" reveals raw, cinematic synth lines, mysterious vocal shiftings and a busy, rhythmic attitude for raves of a distant future. With "Ras The Destroyer" 1115 meet a buzzing entity consisting of highly active Ambient signals falling in place for being a perfect closing tune waving punters goodbye after a long night out, "...And I'm Not Scared To Use It" brings in quite a bit of muscular yet spaced out, IndieElectro-resembling, Industrial-heavy havoc on the dancefloor and going "Beyond Yr Black Ark" reveals the projects ambitions in romantic, analogue, vocal driven TechnoSoul. Interesting for sure, although this one might cater to a very specific audience looking for something completely unheard of after hearing it all in terms of electronic music.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Dr. NoiseM - Studio Works 22 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Recently released via his own Dr. NoiseM Tapes-imprint is Dr. NoiseM's latest, and twenty-second, sequel of his "Studio Works" series which brings us ten new journeys in experimental music from his endless studio vaults. Opening with the short intro cut "Dr. NoiseM" which is a brutal, yet partly even melodic slo-mo take on Rhythm & Noize whilst the following "Bad Santa Trip" takes us into bleepy glitches, ultraspeed Breakcore and sonic chaos. The next one is "Bantu", a 16 minutes journey into score'esque, brooding  Dark Ambient, "Born To Noise" fully lives up to the expectations evoked by its title, serving nearly 14 minutes of distortion- and feedback-heavy digital HarshNoize before the "Earth Sound Sequence" is as cold and eldritch as the lightyear wide emptiness of deep space far beyond our own galactic cluster. For a portion of "Extra Suffer" we see Dr. NoiseM go down an alley of rhythmic modular synthesis, walking the thin line between pure experimentation and Electronica for hyperadvanced dancefloors, his "Funkstar" is an excursion into deep, experimental Dub and the short interlude "I Have A Sampler" plays around with voice transformations, glitches and cut ups in a quite interesting way. Finally "In The Name Of Love" caters a 13+ minutes maelstrom of storming, grinding and scraping (White)Noize and the concluding cut named "Kapotte Muzik" deals with nearly inaudible, slowly shifting low frequency arrangements and therefore explores one of the more extreme variations of already extreme experimental electronic music.

Jade H - Levels (Freestyle)

One of our favorite female underground Rap / HipHop artists from the UK churns out a new freestyle bop before releasing her new single "Bad". Good stuff in here.

Jo Berger Myhre & Ólafur Björn Ólafsson - The Third Script [Hubro Music Promo]

Scheduled for release on June 16th, 2k17 via the Hubro Music-imprint is "The Third Script", a collaborational album effort crafted by the Norwegian artist Jo Berger Myhre and the Iceland-based Ólafur Björn Ólafsson, presenting a body of work consisting of the dark and quite intimidating, composed opening tune "1000%" which we already featured on these pages in mid-May and three improvisations that have been slightly overdubbed after the recording process. The first of these improvised musical works is the title track "The Third Script", stretching out over 14+ minutes to serve a feel of pure, naturalistic ambience and tender, mountain-induced melancholia followed by "Orifice" combining ritualistic, mesmerizing drum patterns with droning atmospheres and low freq double bass story telling to add another layer of spine-tingling musical mystery before the final cut named "Ravening" with its name actually being inspired by a flock of ravens starts out on a tip closer to medieval Folk than all of the other tunes on this album but works its way in a different direction from there on towards a lively, ever cumulating climax of unsettling string works, psychedelic distortions meandering and contrapuntal crystalline, sparkling keyboard tones - a combination surely growing in terms of fascination when experienced on infinite repeat.

I Heart Sharks - The Water (Official Video)

What starts out as a bit of a happy-go-lucky IndiePop song with well fitting vintage cinematography takes quite an apocalyptic turn towards the very end. Count us in for the plot twist.

P.T.B.S. & Sascha Müller - U Know Im Sayn [SMPTB 002]

"U Know Im Sayn" is the second digital single coming from the freshly formed collaborational project between the mysterious P.T.B.S. and the ever active producer Sascha Müller. With the 'Original Mix' of the tune the two studio wizzards serve a well-pumping menu of stripped down,  yet seductive uptempo TechHouse with a bit of a dubby twist whilst the 'Sascha Müller Tribal Remix' focuses on a fast-paced, tool'ish Techno vision garnished with razor-sharp hihats and a only a few tribal'esque percussion sets that are coming in for maximum effect.  Pure dancefloor fodder.

Xposed 4Heads - System Overload (Official Video)

A proper stateside underground banger for all those knee deep into PostPunk and related.

Mike City presents The Feel Good Agenda Vol. 1 [BBE Records Promo]

Scheduled for release on June 16th, 2k17 via BBE Records is Mike City's latest longplay effort "Mike City presents The Feel Good Agenda Vol. 1" on which the renowned artist and producer for big players like Brandy, Jamie Foxx or Rihanna serves a well balanced menu of 12 tunes for the more intimate and soulful hours on the dancefloor. Be it the heavy Funk-driven ultragroove of the opening tune "I Rock With U" featuring Dwele on vocal duties, the uptempo, Disco-infused "Everybody Loves A Winner" which sees Mike City taking over the mic by himself, showcasing impressive skills and vocal talent, the tender late night DeepHouse cut "Been Too Afraid" featuring the wonderful Teedra Moses or the blueprint of classic and soulful VocalHouse that is "More Of Me" featuring Crystal Johnson - whatever Mike City touches on this album turns into a fest for those who've grown up on a diet of House music from the early 90s onwards, loving their sweet late night jams and organic grooves to death. This said it is pretty obvious that this albums target audience is more of a grown-up kind, preferring intimate club settings and classy drinks over illegal underground raves whilst the younger generation of todays club kids might not too impressed by this take on House-fueled musicality and full on vocal approach.  But no matter what - this is good stuff! 

Album artwork on Instagram!

DJ Marcelle / Another Nice Mess - Too [Jahmoni Music]

This is news. DJ Marcelle / Another Nice Mess is making a return to Munich's mighty Jahmoni Music label with her new 12" single entitled "Too", bringing us a unique sound vision shaped by and perfectly complementing her praised approach to DJ'ing and advanced club rockin'. With the A-side track "Too Long" the Dutch artist introduces a raw, uncut and cowbell-heavy Breakbeat style one could refer to as Future Tribal and caters an unprocessed, DIY-sound aesthetic one would be likely to find in productions related to the French teknival and soundsystem culture somewhat in the era between approx. 1998 to 2003. And one that would surely blend in nicely to a mix of such records from the deepest underground as well. On the flipside the opener "Too Trumpety" takes the basic drum rhythm up a speedier alley to create a more Africa-reminiscing, short-looped tribal pattern accompanied by honking, reprocessed trumpet-melancholia and hissing white noise meandering through the stereo field whilst "Too Long *Too Short Dub" provides more of an abstract, partly even jazzy approach towards non-conformist drum sequencing and the final cut "Too Scratched" is surely about to please all lovers of early Electronica / Ambient Dub as once provided by Pole in his legendary albums "1" and "2" although this track is too short by far and could've easily been stretched to a massive 20 minutes version for sure without boring listeners to death. Unique stuff from the very leftfield side of the electronic music spectrum.

Sascha Müller - Dub-Gun (Floppy Totaal Special) [Super 6 Records]

The final one in a series of Sascha Müller floppy disk releases that were exclusively available at Rotterdam's Floppy Totaal Festival v3.0 in April 2k17 is "Dub-Gun (Floppy Totaal Special)" on which the Meppen-based artist transfers three of his excellent DubTechno / Ambient Techno visions to a 3.5" format and an amazing 9kbps data resolution, resulting in a sweet, spaced out and subaquatic feel for indefinite mindtrips, especially fueled by the driving, ever morphing "Dub-Gun 6" which defo is a deep late night banger for every dedicated DubTechno dancefloor.

Moshimoss & Stabilo - FIIElI [Sound In Silence 037]

Incoming from Greece these days is cat.no 037 of the Sound In Silence-imprint which is presenting a collaboration of two Japanese artists, Moshimoss and Stabilo, who both are contributing two tracks to their first collaborational album - the cryptically named "FIIElI". Starting into the limited to 150 hand-numbered copies journey with the albums title track is Moshimoss, presenting a beautiful take on blurred, organic Piano Ambient mixed with what seem to be extracts from Field Recordings before Stabilo takes over with "Haust" for an excursion into classic Ambient atmospheres based on slowly flowing harmonies and open air ambience due to the background use of tweeting birds. Recording his music at "3pm" we see Moshimoss create an ethereal flow of sonic events using stereo-panning, ever morphing strings and harmonies as well as obscured choir-reminiscing human voices whilst the final cut, Stabilo's "Diablo", presents a more fluttering and dark'ish approach towards seemingly slow moving LFO filters introducing a certain roughness and feel of vintage wear to otherwise masterly crafted Deep Listening Music for Ambient experts. Recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Charts 06/2017

01. Dragon Fly - The Libra EP [White House Records 017]
Being the Breakbeat and electronic music enthusiast I am I was pretty thrilled to see this 1993-released classic being repressed and re-issued for 2017, especially for the amazing A2-tune "As Fast As It Goes" which once was licensed to Force Inc. Music Works for their "Rauschen 5" CD compilation and has been one of my favorite tunes on this album ever since I bought it for its seductive bassline groove, great vocal sample abuse, nerve-wrecking Acid modulations, halftime breakdowns and of course for its absurdly reckless hyperspeed approach. But apart from this massive personal favorite the other three tunes on here bring in more goodness, fusing Oldskool Breakbeat with Acid and Rave elements to fuel deadly energies on every dedicated dancefloor. Great one. 

02. Moby - Go *Rex The Dog Remix [Black Lacquer 050]
Ok, let's be honest. I didn't buy this for the 'Rex The Dog Remix' although the UK-based producer provides a proper delivery in terms of turning this early 90s smash into an epic, well-functional TechHouse / (Neo)Trance tune that gives new- and oldskool ravers the feels for a reason and is able to work contemporary dancefloors right. But still both the 'Original Mix' and the more famous 'Woodtick Mix' were the two additions to my collection I was going for as I originally missed out on buying these tunes as a 13 year old back in 1991. And the wave of thrilling re-releases floating around these days sees me rather going for approved classics and distinct big time anthems of my early Techno and Rave days than for new tunes that don't seem that worthwile to me for many a reason.  

03. DJ Marky - Influences Vol.2 [BBE Records]
See review for details...

04. Bigga Bush - Melody & Electronics EP [Jahmoni Music]
See review for details...

05. Dr. NoiseM - Black Noise 01 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]
See review for details...

06. Mystic Bill - presents Mystic Files 1989-95 [Trax Records]
Call me a backwards completist or someone who's stuck in the past musically but for me at this very point in time the musical longevity and timelessness of many of today's re-issues and represses of tracks released in an era spanning from the late 80s up to the 90s outweighs the relevance of many contemporary releases by far. A fact, that has also been proven by my recent sets in Munich and Bad Kötzting which went back to the days of early Chicago House and even late 70s Disco played alongside modern TechHouse and House tunes. This said, it should be quite obvious why these seven classic Mystic Bill tunes from his only longplay release are complementing my recent selection and overall record collection perfectly with their unagitated yet full on dancefloor functionaliry and raw vibe.  

07. Zeitkratzer - Performs Songs From The Albums "Kraftwerk" and "Kraftwerk 2" [Zeitkratzer Productions]
See review for details...

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Notstandskomitee - Exhaust (Official Video)

Sci-fi electronics for hyperfuturist dancefloors. Taken from the new Notstandskomitee album "The Golden Times".

Nu:Logic feat. Thomas Oliver - Side By Side (Official Video)

A nice Drum'n'Bass vocal roller evoking memories of the good old Reprazent days for a reason. We're in for this. 

Lali Puna - Deep Dream (Official Video)

When unsettling lyrics, melancholia induced Pop affairs and seductive MinimalHouse grooves meet we are getting a first note of what to expect from Lali Puna's forthcoming album named "Two Windows" which is scheduled for release in early September via Morr Music.

Aquasky - Your Love / I Like The Way

Great news have it that our mates of Aquasky are back on the Drum'n'Bass circuit these days, releasing new material via Technique Recordings.

P.B.T.S. & Sascha Müller - Family Business EP [SMPTB 001]

Another new one coming in these days is the "Family Business EP", a first collaborational effort crafted by the ever busy Sascha Müller and the mysterious P.B.T.S. who are going straight to business with the 'Original Mix' of a tune named "African Soul" which comes across as a beautifully arranged TechHouse / (Neo)Trance crossover for all those loving melodic pads accompanied by morphing vocals bits floating atop of driving beats for sunset set closings whilst the following 'Sascha Müller Heart Of Africa Mix' takes the tune to an epic 10+ minutes playtime, focuses on the deep Trance-inducing beauty inherent to the tunes original mix and adds some decent Tribal percussion grooves complementing the deep vibes in a perfect way. The second cut on this digital single release is "Dedicated2Berlin (Original Mix)" which fuses dry, monotonous Electro and straightforward MinimalTechno garnished with fragile, hovering synths and a goosebump triggering breakdown for highly emotional moments shared on the dancefloor. Finally the 'Sascha Müller Remix' of "Dedicated2Berlin" takes things to a more playful level atop of a super funky House groove with a sexy swing for all those amongst you who've been dancing their ass off to proper House music since 1994. Nice.

Sascha Müller - Hardcore Will Never Die (Floppy Totaal Special) [Supersix Records]

"Hardcore Will Never Die" - this is a title we can relate to and we also can relate to the 3.5" floppy disk format of this little gem that was only available on the occasion of the Floppy Totaal Festival in Rotterdam in April 2k17. Proving that he's dead serious about the EP's name is Sascha Müller with three tracks here, the uncompromisingly banging underwater Gabba effort "Fusion" with its oldskool approach, classic stabs and cheesy melody whilst "Raggamuffin", a collaboration with Sven Wuesting, kills dancefloors with a Happy Hardcore on hyperspeed attitude - tilting piano breakdowns and rave signals included. Finally there's "So Hard As Happy Can Be *Remix", another one on the Happy Hardcore end of the spectrum and, not only because of it's absurd vocal abuse, defo our favorite tune on this 16kbps underground release.

Tube & Berger - We Are All Stars [Kittball Records / Embassy One]

It's been about two weeks since we featured the most recent Tube & Berger video for their track "ICMF (International Corporate Motherfuckers)" taken from their newest album effort "We Are All Stars" that has been released via Kittball Records / Embassy One these days. With their second full length piece since the duo first appeared on the production circuit back in 2003 the partners in crime are going to great lengths to incorporate a well-varied selection of twelve tunes in here to reflect on their wide-ranged production spectrum. From the softer, slightly cinematic and defo radio friendly opener "Burning Road featuring Kingdom" and the discoid title track "We Are All Stars" to the tense Indieelectro vs. TechHouse-fusion "Dust Feel" featuring Richard Judge on vocal duties whilst sporting a massive, Trance-influenced drop as well as the epic vocoder anthem "In The Name Of" with its crystalline melodies, panorama strings, bluesy guitar bits and Downtempo intro the journey goes, showcasing the unquestioned studio talent of Tube & Berger which by no means are covering up their fascination for big screen moments and Pop ambitions at any given point. Instead, as showcased by the following White Lies collaboration "Quiet Time (Shadow Of Myself)", they're emphasizing on their love for quality Pop, 80s aware arrangements and, of course, the club dancefloor - and they're serious about fusing all these aspects to the absolute max without giving a shit about the so called underground. With the fluttering vocals and brittle synths of "Fetzen" they're redefining crooning ElectroDisco for 2k17, "Automatic People feat. RBBTS" goes deep into kitsch dripping, slightly Post-Dubstep inspired territories and is a little too over the top in terms of being hypermelodic for us although we cannot deny that it is a quite catchy tune anyway and "ICMF" is the one tune that might make it on more underground-flavored floors due its rolling progressive bassline flow and dark'ish, pumping TechHouse vs. BigRoom attitude. Following up are two more collaborations with Richard Judge, "Rock N Roll Until We Die" and "Ruckus", the first mentioned heavily flirting with Indie / IndieElectro whilst the latter fuses classic song structures and Dusty Road Rock with more of a DiscoHouse vibe before the "Lucky Shot" brings back more 80s Miami vocoder action and the final cut "Loyando" brings more of an ethnocentric vibe as well as hippie'esque guitars to the table, mixed and mangled with Downtempo sequences, toddler sounds and other slightly quirky elements which makes this one the drug-infused, jam-session like oddball of the album which doesn't lead nowhere and therefore seems to be more of a filler than a really thought out tune. But besides that, if you like electronic music, Pop, some good fun and the dancefloor this might be an album for you - although your Berghain-attending hipster friends might not agree with your musical choice for several reasons.