Dr. NoiseM - Derception [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Coming in fresh from the mighty mysterious man that is Dr.NoiseM is his latest cassette tape release which is hitting collectors shelves in a hyperlimited edition of 25 hand-numbered copies only. Surprisingly we see the doctor reveiling a more tender, beauteous side of his work with this one, focusing on weightlessly floating Ambient presenting slight hints and far away echoes of classic, oldskool'ish Electronica / ChillOut with this one instead of focusing on the Dark / Death Ambient or even Noize side of things. Deep into the A-side we'll even find traces of brooding, subaquatic Field Recordings of drexciyan origin whilst the flipside presents us with a monotonous flow of droning Deep Listening Music as well as heavily filtered Hardcore Phonk for those appreciating transmissions from the deepest underground of the electronic realm. Recommended.

Tape artwork on Instagram!

Fossil Aerosol Mining Project - August 53rd [The Helen Scarsdale Agency 043 Promo]

Released on February 23rd, 2k18 via the ever active imprint The Helen Scarsdale Agency is "August 53rd", the fresh and absurdly named album by the mysterious Fossil Aerosol Mining Project based somewhere in the mid-western territories of the US. Seemingly, and according to the albums release sheet, pre-dating their 2015 released album "The Day 1982 Contaminated 1972" the nine tracks on this longplay piece take us into realms of cold experimentation and collage, starting with the alienated Ambient of "July Melody" followed by the warped take on Psychedelia and Instrumental Country that is "The Failed Resurrection Of Easy Listening" and the cryptically named "V-Broadcast (Closed Circuit) 1986" which fuses warm pads, mysterious, echoing rhythm signatures and an omnipresent overall feeling of calmness that's occasionally interrupted by interfering cut up techniques. The "Monroeville Detrius" turns out to be a highly bent alien transmission of unknown origin, spreading a feel of lurking dangers and otherworldy tension, "Aestas Anatis 2016" deals with backwards guitars and a blurry Indietronica vibe which some might associate with early works of Senking or the dreamy Post-PostRock of Aosuke whereas "Retail Retrospect" seems to resemble Field Recordings from an industrial environment in a retrofuturist future past and the concluding "1991 from 2015" weighs in some more frosty Ambient vibes and intense mechanical movements found in a deep space, defo non-human manufacturing plant of sorts. Conceptual stuff for conceptual people.

Canine - Twin Shadow (Official Video)

Deep emotional Indie or highly sophisticated drama? You decide. But no matter what you're angle on this might be, you simply cannot deny that Canine are catering a touching masterpiece with their brand new single.

Yann Novak - The Future Is A Forward Escape Into The Past [Touch]

Put on the circuit via Touch on February 23rd, 2k18 is "The Future Is A Forward Escape Into The Past", the latest album effort by Los Angeles-based composer Yann Novak which also is his  second release on the label. Split into four pieces and stretched over an overall playtime of approx. 41 minutes this limited to 500 copies release, influenced by Terrence McKenna's "The Archaic Revival", caters a study in carefully crafted Ambient / Deep Listening Music, incorporating genre typical, slowly moving pads and shifting dynamics as well as tweeting birds and Field Recordings present in the opening tune "Radical Transparency" which seamlessly transfers into "The Inertia Of Time" which combines an underlying layer of uproar from either a faraway ocean wave breach or the very beginning of the universe with carefully layered strings, beautiful atmospheres of droning intensity and static crackles. "Casting Ourselves Back Into The Past" drifts away into a realm subfrequent movements, continuos crackles and icy winds before "Nothing Ever Transcends Its Immediate Environment" takes Ambient to a more vibrating, yet fragile and partly unsettling level, emitting oscillating frequencies that make glass jangle and cause thoughts to dissolve. Not necessarily a highly innovative release in terms of Deep Listening Music but still recommended for die-hard diggers or those looking for an entry point into their personal exploration of the genre.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Ken Karter - Plaisir (Official Video)

PLAISIR par Ken Karter (video edit) from Undogmatisch Berlin on Vimeo.

Intense, eerie, spooky... great!

Elio Martusciello - Incise [EM Music 001]

To be released as the first ever album outing on the new EM Music label is "Incise", the newest longplay release by Italian composer Elo Martusciello who conducts quite an experiment with this fifteen track spanning piece which is fusing Ambient, Deep Listening Music, Glitch and cinematic Electronica with electro-acoustic composition techniques and dramatic, Leftfield- and AvantgardePop vocal performances by Barbara De Dominicis, Nicoletta Batteli, Raffaella Iaccarino, Erica Sheri and another anonymous voice to an interesting, partly film noir'esque as well as dramatic effect. With all vocals being sung freely without having the singers adapt to any pre-composed structures or notation we see Elio Martusciello's arrangements and musical works walking the thin line between being collage'esque in terms of re-arranging and fusing the singers vocals with re-used, re-shaped bits of previously composed pieces as well as random newness and a focus of creating new melodic aspects by resculpting the voices. The result is defo a demanding, not easily consumed take on Avantgarde Pop for deep listeners, going well along a good portion of autumnal melancholia, late at night and accompanied by a bottle of port. Or two, maybe. If this sounds appealing to you, check this one out.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Moon Gangs - The Terminal

BEAK> keyboardist William Young redefines (Neo)Cosmic for 2k18 with this beautiful sounding Ambient excursion.

DJ Hank - U Wont None 17

Juke madness for those who know shit. Epic.

P.T.B.S. And Hammed Maliq - Borrooo [Psychocandies 065]

Coming straight from the depths of the German production underground is this new Psychocandies single, the first conjunctional project of P.T.B.S. and Hammed Maliq. Their track "Borrooo" remixed by Sascha Müller for his 'Sascha Müller Acid Bro Remix' is quite a funky, jacking House affair sporting spooky, outerworldly sweeps, classic 303-lines and a well positive Disco-touch whilst the original version of "Borrooo" is more on a stripped down, yet pushing tip when it comes to a fusion of TechHouse and Minimal Techno, catering echoing vocal samples, busy synth percussions and a multilayered array of claps bringing forth proper vibes and an ecstatic buzz for dancefloor crowds in motion.

Reinhold Friedl / Quatuor Diotima - 39:23:00' [Alamuse 008]

Released via Alamuse earlier this month is this collaborational album effort created by Zeitkratzer's Reinhold Friedl as a composer of string quartets and the French Quatuor Diotimo ensemble as executing and performing element. Together, they present an array of three compositions starting with "String Quartet 1", a piece of a well non-comforting, unpleasant, asymmetric and seemingly random, although composed, nature caused by a specific playing technique in which the instruments are only bowed in circles. The follow-up which is "String Quartet 3" lives up to the expectations of a classical string quartet whilst being slightly off-kilter and dissonant whereas the main, 20+ minutes spanning "String Quartet 2" is more of a ghostly, nervous and fretful piece for uneasy dreams and paranoid anxiety episodes. Not exactly our cup of tea but possibly good for die-hard followers of contemporary classical and conceptual art music.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Cyberchump - After

Beautiful Ambient and Post-PostRock from the States created by the highly recommended yet totally underrated band project that is Cyberchump.

01.03.2018 baze.djunkiii presents: OUR HOUSE @ Beat Boutique / Hamburg

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Liquid Sky Berlin]

file under: House / DeepHouse

doors open: 9 pm

Beat Boutique
Max-Brauer-Allee 219
22765 Hamburg
Germany

Sascha Müller [Super Six Records Extra 062]

Put on the circuit via Super Six Records only recently is Sascha Müller's latest ten track album, starting with "Bass Fetisch", a harsh Broken Techno / Electro hybrid kinda reminiscent of old Lassigue Bendthaus productions which is followed by "Untitled", a solemn, slightly distorted organ-emulating piece whereas the "Midnight Express" provides deep, spiralling Space Night Electro for well phonky nights on the dancefloor. Furthermore "Feed Jack" is, as one might guess from its title, a raw and swinging tribute to Chicago House, "Stuck Into Electronic" fuses harsh Electro and playful 8bit aesthetics, "Re-Feed Jack" introduces a little darker approach towards Chitown and "Funktionales Karma 1" presents hyper-reduced Electronica with an electroid twist for advanced future dancefloors. With "Metropolis Landing" we see Sascha Müller explore a dark, subsurface realm of threatening bassline modulations, seemingly a way of communication for humungous underground lifeforms that secretly survived a cataclysmic, far distant past whilst "The Cube 2" fuses soft trancey pads, warped and filtered pianos with an electroid take on Intelligent Techno to a great effect and the concluding "Braindamage" caters a good portion of spiralling, psychedelic and nerve wrecking AcidTrance for the darker hours of the night. Check.

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 02/2018

Mark Renner - Few Traces [RVNG Intl.]

Put on the circuit only recently via RVNG Intl. is "Few Traces", a compilation album gathering formerly released, partly rare and also some previously unreleased works created by the US-based producer and painter Mark Renner.  Being released after a thirty years hiatus following his latest album "Painter's Joy" in 1988 "Few Traces" is compiling material composed in the years 1982 to 1990, incorporating both Mark Renner's love for melancholia-infused songs as well as great, instrumental experimentation with a warm, Synth edge like in the fascinating title track "Few Traces", the most amazing Cosmic excursion "The Mirror At Saint Andrews" or the intense, spine-tingling Ambient meets poetry bit "The Sun Is In His Head, A Storm In His Heart". Influenced by the likes of Ultravox, Skids, Yellow Magic Orchestra and other 80s greats it's pretty obvious that not only a few traces of their sonic vision are to be found in most of the 21 tunes on this longplay piece, as well as songs referencing New Romantic heroes like The Cure. Songwise, the most outstanding and recommended bits on this one are the raw, demo'esque "The Wild House", the instrumental AltCountry-excursion "Autumn Calls You By Name" or the luscious SynthPop romanticism of "It Might Have Been". Defo recommended for diggers, Synth lovers and 80s completists alike.

Album artwork on Instagram!

The International Nothing - In Doubt We Trust [Ftarri]

The Berlin-based psycho acoustic clarinet duo that is The International Nothing, still consisting of its founding members Michale Thieke and Kai Fagaschinski, is back with a new album on the Ftarri-imprint which has been their home from early on. Consisting of one monolithic track of approx. 38 minutes length "In Doubt We Trust" caters an absolutely fascinating interplay of the two musicians creating an a timeless, slowly moving outerdimensional stream of sonic events that lets one easily forget about its origin, about being created by real instruments, only by its calm, ever flowing nature alone, its deep, agravic and subaquatic feel that sees The International Nothing carving out a very own and unique niche within the realm of intense Ambient and Deep Listening Music for sure. Absolutely stunning and truly time dissolving for a reason.

The Nightcrawlers - Luv-Li-Musik

A beautiful excursion into Cosmic synth realms for those in the know. Originally released on cassette tape back in 1982.

Ueno Takashi - Smoke Under The Water [Room40 Promo]

Put on the circuit via the Australian Room40-imprint in November 2k17 is "Smoke Under The Water", the latest longplay work by Japanese guitarist Ueno Takashi who presents a body of work consisting of seven untitled tracks on this one which is released roughly a decade after his label debut "Sui-Gin". Within this a little more than an hour spanning outing the artist explores realms of crystalline, busy and multilayered Ambient seemingly based on altered, repetetive guitar pickings, influenced by Classical dances of baroque origins and hints of ritualistic Japanese music. This combination seems a little off and irritating in the first place but develops a undeniable fascination and hypnotic suction over the albums course, drifting off into dreamy, highly Psychedelia-infused territories with the well outstanding tune "Three" whilst "Five" evokes, for some strange reason that is, memories of more abstract Church Music and "Six" gravitates towards a totally derailed, out-of-tune Country vision of sorts. Intredasting.

Aaron Spectre - They Don't Know We

One heavy DarkJungle-banger taken of Aaron Spectre's most recent "Roots We Seek EP".

Sextile feat. Sienna - Current Affair (Official Lyric Video)

PostPunk is still alive and well. Have you ever been in doubt about this?

Creta - Babe In The Egg Of Blue

Beautiful Deep Listening / Click Ambient taken from the Creta debut album on Karlrecords which is scheduled for early March, 2k18.

Palais Ideal - No Signal [Dark Vinyl Records 078]

Within a few days only Palais Ideal's debut album "No Signal" is the second longplayer in our pile of albums to review that involves Richard Van Kruysdijk, this time in cooperation with John Edwards and exploring totally different territories compared to his solo effort as Cut Worms. And although the press release sheet causes a bit of skepticism as it lists a whole lot of bands under a 'for fans of...' headline, a marketing move we're not really fond of at all and thought this had ended for good, we're curious if references like The Sisters Of Mercy, New Order, Ultravox, Editors, Trentemøller, Lebanon Hanover and many more really come into play on this album. And, well they do, kind of. The opening song "Crossfade / Dissolve" paves the way for things to come, merging contemporary production values with a clear vision of the 80s which is surely informed by SynthPop and New Wave, yet more gravitating towards the eras daytime radio Rock than to the big hair, all dressed in black creatures of the night that have left a mark on dressing up and going out up to this day. With "Deity", maybe the albums most remarkable tune and a potential single, we're dealing with a precise drum machine swing and a distinct, slightly Ska-influenced offbeat feel evolving into an epic, slightly over the top showcase towards its end, "Remains" full merges Indie and New Wave melancholia, "Funtime" amalgamates a bluesy, Sisters Of Mercy-reminiscing darkness with a massive contrasting sing-a-long chorus whilst "The Book Of Lies" is about to please fans of Trentemøller's dreamier output musicwise indeed whilst dabbling with SynthPop romanticisms on a close to kitsch level. Furthermore "Seen Missing" is borderline 80s daytime radio, "A Black Noise" gets back to a Sisters-feel in its verses (and vocals...) whilst the chorus once again is on a more way more uplifting tip and "Resistance" causes proper dancefloor mayhem with its upbeat and uptempo, flogging Indie feel. The "Invisible Eye" could be another, more radio friendly, yet slightly rebellious single take and the final title track weighs in quite a bit of a ballad'esque feel towards the end. Overall this album is not as dark as we expected it to be and might not be everyone's cup of tea, even amongst die-hard genre aficionados, due to John Edwards quite unique special vocal style but still one to check out if you've got a thing for the darker side of the 80s and are keen to add a bonus chapter to a book that has all been written.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Dr. NoiseM - Studio Works 24 [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]

Recently released via Dr. NoiseM Tapes is "Studio Works 24", the latest in an ongoing series of albums which presents us with ten brand new tracks the ever active producer cooked up in his lab. Opening with "Dead Filters" we're confronted by a nine+ minutes excess of scraping Noize accompanied by a set of cold, alienating strings, "Dead Kapitalism" caters heavy pulses of low-end HarshNoize and an overall atmosphere comparable to his 'The CDr A-B-C'-series whilst the "Death Of A Chinese Clown" is more of a solemn, partly even scientific affair in terms of Cold - or better: Death - Ambient, literally. "Freedom" means another powerful, electrical HarshNoize buzz mixed with highly distorted text-to-speech fragments, "Plasticine" seems to depict the process of decay itself through an ever changing intensity and a wide range of dynamics whereas "Radio Freedom" pierces ones ear with loads of, well, amplified radio static, high pitched frequencies and fragments of what might be recognized as distant fragments of Classical music whilst the "Teenage Mutant Noise Turtle" lives of a most brutal curtain fire of highly compressed sonic events per second and "The Scottish Highlanders On Dope" serve a surprisingly melodic, yet totally absurd, vary-speed and vary-tuned, glitched interpretation of a single, fully obscured musical motif. Finally "TRIQ_WQ" is an excellent blueprint for Dark Ambient and "Untitled For Harry" once again is going back to the trademark aesthetics of 'The CDr A-B-C' for a full 17+ minutes. Good stuff for die-hard fans of the artists ever growing body of work.

Lucrecia Dalt - Tar (Official Video)

Cold, unsettling Future Tribal taken from Lucrecia Dalt's forthcoming album "Anticlines" which is about to be released via RVNG Intl. in early May, 2k18.

Nakama - Worst Generation [Nakama Records 013]

Incoming via the Norwegian label Nakama Records is "Worst Generation", the latest - and November 2k17-released album created by the five piece Improv super group Nakama, consisting of Agnes Hvizdalek, Adrian Løseth Waade, Ayumi Tanaka, Andreas Wildhagen and Christian Meaas Svendsen. Based on the idea of Socrates' complaints about the younger generation in ancient Greece the group dedicates this fully improvised album to the five historically distinguishable generations alive today, starting with the "Lucky Few" defined by eerie atmospheres, ghostly non-vocalisms and  carefully plucked violin strings alongside rattling percussion sequences whereas the "Baby Boomers" are starting on a minimalist level, work their way up to a short, dark'ish and intense climax before the "Gen X" seems to be a way more buzzing, hectic and hyperactive generation according to their partly FreeJazz-like interpretation. Dealing with the so-called "Millenials" the group that is Nakama serves improvisational works on a deeper, slightly more relaxed tip before ending up in chaotic mayhem whilst the "Plurals" mix multilayered improv percussions with warped bass tones, alienated pianos  and plucked strings to a soothing, yet unsettling effect.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - To The Love Of Re-Birth RB-338 [Psychocandies]

Just released on the ever active Psychocandies-imprint as a limited to 20 copies box set is Sascha Müller's latest outing, a tribute to the former music production software Propellerheads Re-Birth RB-339 v2.01 which contains a bunch of 50 - !!! - tracks with total runtime of more than six - !!! - hours on a floppy disk which can only be played back through the software named. The result is an epic excursion into the realm of Acid, AcidHouse, Gabber, raw Electro, Techno, AcidTechno and floating AcidTrance which is, considering the albums total runtime, much to take in but also a musical fest for all genre lovers and oldskool ravers alike who are well likely to recognize many of the sounds and modulation patterns used over the course of this ultra-extended and highly collectible, hand-numbered longplay effort for sure. Get!

Jaap Blonk & Terrie Ex - Thirsty Ears [Terp Records]

Recently released on the Dutch, Terrie Ex-founded imprint Terp Records is "Thirsty Ears", a collaborational effort by the labels' founder on electric guitar and harmonium whilst the long-term composer and producer Jaap Blonk contributes his voice and additional layers of electronics to the nine tracks of the album. Fully based on an improvisational approach we see the duo exploring both worlds of intense Spoken Word poetry accompanied by distinct, atmospheric, yet dark'ish sound spheres as to be found in the opener "Sound" as well as minimalist, tongue-in-cheek outings like "Cratchy" or the off-kilter loops and playful bleeps catered in "Gilded Flurries" which provide a hyper-psychedelic soundtrack for a journey into one's inner self, an exploration of the subconscious led and guided by retrofuturist microbots. With "Some Hubbub" we see guttural vocal explosions of utter madness, scat and Dada-influences meet with sparse, improv guitars, "Let's Go Out" evokes a feel of imminent danger paired with a feel of psyched out romanticism noir, "Netherbends" takes us back to a Blues-infused lunatic asylum of sorts and "Who's Knocking?" fuses improvised guitar strumming with buzzing electrical noises to a great, isolationist Post-DesertRock effect, evolving into a recording of Donald Duck on acid throughout the tunes final minutes. Furthermore we've got "Amicable Plops", a funky affair providing more full-on madness in terms of its vocal side before the final "Fog Hunt" digs deep intro retrofuturist, electrical noises created by alien apparatuses of unknown scientific use and scraping percussions as well as hardly defined guitar-related tones. Excellent, yet very leftfield stuff for those in the know!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Visible Cloaks - Lex [RVNG Intl.]

Put on the circuit via the great RVNG Intl.-imprint on December 8th, 2k17 is "Lex", the latest EP release by the Portland-based duo known as Visible Cloaks, loved and appreciated for their unique, dreamlike and cyberreal approach to their work which we showcased in the feature of their EP track "Keys" a while ago. With six tracks - or seven in the Japanese edition - their latest outing proposes the existance of a utopian dream language, starting with the multi-layered Ambient-outing "Wheel", going deeper into realms of playful, slightly Vaporwave-infused Electronica bits in "Frame" whilst exploring communication strategies of the future with the beauteous, yet outerworldly vocoder piece that is "Transient". The title track weighs in a strange yet soothing approach to warped, ever shifting synth sounds and soft, atmospheric layers, the 14 minutes main piece that is the "World" beams us inito heavenly, softly lit Ambient gardens reminiscent of nothing less but the main concept known to believers as 'paradise' before the Japanese bonus cut "Permutate Lex" provides a way extended, alternative take on the albums title track for all those loving their tunes exceeding the 10+ minutes mark for a reason.

Wu-Tang - Lesson Learn'd ft. Redman, Inspectah Deck (Official Video)

Real HipHop is the realest - and the Wu is still the illest.

Cut Worms - Cable Mounds [Opa Loka Records]

Richard Van Kruysdijk is back on Opa Loka Records. Based on a circuit-bent Omnichord, a monophonic synth and some guitar works we see the Dutch artist provide an array of seven tracks on "Cable Mounds", his sophomore album released under the artistic moniker Cut Worms. Opening with the 15 minutes effort "Witch Brogues" Cut Worms delivers a perfect introduction to the albums musical pathways which are, for a full hour that is, meandering in between surprisingly warm and welcoming Dark Ambient, time-bending Deep Listening Music, beautifully floating organic Ambient structures as to be found in "Iron Dingbat" and all embracing vintage synth drones accompanied by carefully arranged pads as presented in "Ape Digger". With "Frog Skirt" we're entering more solemn, inward looking territories, the "Parasite Lug" presents quite a cold, futuristic and sci-fi friendly approach with its warped subfrequencies, atmospheric clicks and mechanical movements reminiscent of giant machines whereas "Acute Beater" follows a similar direction whilst providing an even darker, colder and defo more threatening feel of total fear and alienation before the final cut "Senor Tofu" caters beauteous, heart-warming vintage chord movements and hints of Post-PostRock for a lovely conclusion of a highly recommended longplay piece.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Aaron Spectre - Roots We Seek EP [Jahmoni Music]

Here it is! The US-based Jungle / DarkJungle / Breakcore wizard that is Aaron Spectre returns to Munich's famous and infamous Jahmoni Music imprint with a second four tracker and once again he's on fire for sure. Whilst the title track presents a sweet and uplifting fusion of positive, Reggae-infused vibes and hefty, chopped DarkJungle we see "They Don't Know" start out with an intro sequence reminiscent of classic Missy Elliott-beats soon evolving into one of the most brutal DarkJungle massacres we've come across in a while - this tune is a war! On the flip the "Three O'Clock Rock" starts as a distinct stepper and soon turns into a full on amen inferno that would've be well suitable for a release on labels like Rewind Records or Omeko in the past whereas "Hey Natty Dreadlocks" takes care of quite a bunch of of beloved, well familiar Reggae- and Jungle-samples only to give them a raw and fast paced update Drum'n'Bass-wise. But this wouldn't be an Aaron Spectre tune if there wasn't some space reserved for proper amen mayhem as well. Good stuff.

Denis Frajerman - Rivieres De La Nuit [Douzieme Lune]

Put on the circuit as cat.no. 001 of the new label Douzieme Lune is "Rivieres De La Nuit", the most recent album by Denis Frajerman who has been active as a solo producer since 1995 and left his mark on the scene as a member of groups like Palo Alto or Le Chiendent as well. With his latest album the French artist, alongside an army of guest musicians, kinda leaves his experimental roots behind and feasts in a deep, and obviously red wine-infused, rainy afternoon melancholia, starting with the 8+ minutes Jazz Noir / Pop Noir piece "The Lifts" with its beautiful vocals and folksy, hand-picked guitars meandering through the stereo field whilst the title track provides an exotic yet hypnotic, slightly Krautrock-influenced traction and "Noverem" pairs Exotica, Latin elements and Opera-influenced vocal exercises to a unique and thrilling effect. With "Cello Solo" we find a darkish, approx. 2 minutes long skit which is exactly what its title promises, "Lambeaux De Ciel" comes across as a vernal, innocent and pure take on what modernist, instrumental Folk can be these days whilst "La Poupee De Fil Doree" is a multilayered exercise in ever repeating motifs in Jazz and "Requiem For Elja" brings on a somehow Future Jazz-related, dancey feel whilst introducing both widescreen panorama arrangements and Spoken Word poetry to the listener. The nearly eleven minutes spanning "Une Aurore De Lune" evokes, without being Rock-related at all, memories of a beloved Rock classic whose name escapes us right now and the final cut "Glassnost" provides quite a bit of (Neo)Classical drama and sonic expressionism for those who know. Defo one of a kind, this album is.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Charts 02/2018

01. Hi5Ghost - No Sleep [Hotline Recordings]
Albeit being a follower and fan of Grime from day dot there's hardly any riddim instrumentals on the vinyl circuit that have been grabbing my attention throughout the past few years as the genre has obviously shifted towards a more polished, less grimey way of production. With "No Sleep" we see Hi5Ghost bringing back the gritty feel, the imminent darkness and the crimescene vibe I loved about the genre from early on whilst Peder Mannerfelt's rework on the flip effortlessly transfers this atmosphere into a thrilling Broken Techno-context to smash the worlds underground floors to bits within second. Highly recommended!

02. Mike Dunn - My House From All Angles [Moreaboutmusic]
One of the House music greats is back to deliver, and he delivers with a boom. On the circuit for about 30 years now there's no doubt that Mike Dunn surely knows his "...House From All Angles" and his recent eleven track longplay production lives up to this title for sure. From raw, trackstyle pieces to dark, jacking Chicago House, hypnotic Acid bits and the occasional uplifting Vocal House anthem this one is top notch and defo a timeless and worthwhile addition to every collection as well as an essential center piece for many many DJ-sets of an everlasting, soon to come future. Classic!

03. Hardrive - Deep Inside [Strictly Rhythm]
These days are great days for all those loving their classic House Music to the max and therefore this repress of Hardrive's seminal 1993 anthem is a must have addition for anyone's collection. Uplifting, soulful, ecstatic and still great after all these years!

04. Goldie & Skepta - Upstart (Roadtrip) [Metalheadz]
Leaving alone the fact that the seminal Drum'n'Bass-imprint has been providing quite a chaotic string of catalogue numbers and sub-series throughout the past years, including this 12", we're provided with quite an usual collaboration / crossover with the Boy Better Know camp here. Goldie & Skepta's conjunctional effort "Upstart (Roadtrip)" is neither Drum'n'Bass nor Grime but might sit well amongst many BigBeat-classics tempo- and vibewise whilst "Poisonous Darts" crafted by Goldie & Fraims with the legend that is DRS on vocal duties evokes a feel of imminent danger and adds a complex, yet sparse beat programming to eclectic, advanced 140 sets.

05. Acid Jesus - Flashbacks 1992 - 1998 [Alter Ego Recordings 030]
We're suckers for electronic music history and therefore this massive triple pack including the complete anthology of Roman Flügel and Jörg Elling Wuttke's discography and all their complete output under their legendary Acid Jesus nom de guerre is a must. 16 tracks of complex, stripped down, masterly crafted and captivating Techno with hints of Acid and the upcoming Minimal Techno movement, bits of Electro and influences from the UK scene - all to be found on a triple vinyl pack. Tracks to check: "Move My Body", "Fairchild", the hyperseductive anthem named "Jesus", the bubbly, yet deep uptempo banger that is "Odyssey" as well as the mind-bending HypnoAcid stomp named "Gamma Ray" and the uplifting, happy tune which is the "Black Knight".

06. Dr. NoiseM - Black Noise 02 (Suicide) [Dr. NoiseM Tapes]
See review for details...

07. Pauline Anna Strom - Trans-Millenia Music [RVNG Intl.]
See review for details...

08. Various Artists - Children Of Harsh [Gerpfast Raw Tape Division]
See review for details...

09. Doms & Deykers - Dedicated To Those Who Feel [3024]
Quite a surprise, this one. Somehow I missed out on this 12" collaboration by Doms & Deykers, also known as Steffi and Martyn to followers of contemporary Techno and bass music, which was originally released back in 2k16. Together they're about to rock all Future Garage floors with the anthemic, catchy A-side track "It's You That I See" whilst the B1 tune "Bafff" is taking us back to the glorious days of ProtoTrance when tunes like "Stella" ruled each and every dancefloor around. Epic!

10. Freddy Fresh - Comacid EP [Forced Nostalgia]
Another flashback to the 90s, this is. Featuring four mid-90s tracks from Freddy Fresh's massive back catalogue we see the Belgium-based imprint Forced Nostalgia cater a nice menu of spiralling underground Techno, Acid and bits of deep Electro from the vaults of the Minneapolis' legend. A great trip, this is!  

Levelz - Front Face *Dub Phizix Remix

Dub Phizix did it again. Drum'n'Grime on fire!

Atamina - Sycophantic Friends [Makkum Records 021]

Having featured a small share of African music on these pages throughout the past years it's now about time to examine the latest release on the Dutch label Makkum Records which has been one of the go-to places when it comes to releases of the Ghanaan Kologo sound and continues to be with its latest album, Atamina's "Sycophantic Friends". Hailing from a town near the border to Burkina Faso we see Atamina, or Professor Atamina as he's likely to be called at times, present a well modernistic, uptempo and dancefloor friendly take on Kologo, a trademark sound that unfolds with the catchy opener which is the title track, presenting a driving sonic vision which seemingly draws influences from the tradtitional Ga music rhythmwise as well and therefore might be working well in combination with tunes created by the Ghanaan Ga / House wizzard DJ Katapila in a DJ-set. With this tune he lays the foundation for things to come, e.g. the well-remarkable smash hit that is "Enjoy Yourself", the more traditional, raw and story-telling Kologo tune "When Two Elephants Fight" or the surprisingly uplifting and positive "No One Wants To Die". With "Rubber Song" Atamina seemingly revives unprocessed, drum machine rhythms of the 80s, "Guhumenga" is once again going back to the Kologo roots and so is the intense, captivating "Bakolko" whereas "Yine Nbise Mam" dabbles with fast paced call-and-response structures and the final song "Tizigra Seem N Tayange" is a blueprint for the spiritual, deep felt side of Kologo for sure. Highly recommended. We'd love to see a vinyl release of this CD only album as well!     

Album artwork on Instagram!

Blaney - The Severance [Yerrrr Productions]

Released on November 10th, 2k17 via Yerrrr Productions is "The Severance", the latest album outing by Ed Blaney a.k.a. Blaney, a Manchester staple who has been sharing the stage with the recently passed Mark E. Smith in The Fall as well as being active in the one-off project Trigger Happy in the mid-90s. Starting into his ten track outing with the anthemic "Happy Return" which combines Wave / Indie-elements partly reminiscent of NO MORE in its slow sections whilst incorporating Alternative / Alt Rock and even Police'esque bits to a great effect we see the follow up "Feel The Rain" drawing influences from raw Garage Rock, "Bin Liner" brings quite a bit of Ska to the table and the albums title track "The Severance" gets us straight by the balls with its bluesy, yet anthemic Rock'n'Roll feel. With "Thinking Of You" we're getting more Ska-/Reggae-infused offbeat action paired with rocket-fueled high energy sections, "11007 Days Old" brings on a classic Blues ballad for thoughtful sunset moments on a lonely American beach, "Tessa" picks up on a similar vibe yet turns towards being a heartfelt love song indulging in epic harmonies and dramatic arrangements before "The 11th Man" revives a rebellious teenage (Skate)Punk feel that's reminiscent of the genres early days for sure. Finally being in "Blackpool" is a quite desperate and lost BluesRock affair that picks up speed dramatically and the final cut announcing "The Arrival" is more of an uplifting and positive take on Ska towards the end that will go well in a UK Reggae-dance as well. Check!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Kenmodo EP [Psychocandies 064]

To be put on the circuit via Psychocandies as the labels cat.no. 064 on February 22nd, 2k18 is Sascha Müller's "Kenmodo EP", the latest digital outing  by the Meppen-based underground producer. With the title track "Kenmodo" we see Sascha Müller entering a spiralling, highly thrilling world of Acid / AcidTrance which will be praised by those still loving Emmanuel Top's classics like "Acid Phase" and "Turkish Bazar" whilst "Acid Slimback 1" is more on an groovy, Acid-driven House tip sporting positive modulations, raw snares and a catchy, sawtooth-based midrange synth motif for deep ass late night sessions. Proper!

East Man - Red, White & Zero [Planet Mu Promo]

Scheduled for release on February 16th, 2k18 via the ever active Planet Mu-imprint is "Red, White & Zero" - the new, and first ever, album by Anthoney Hart a.k.a. Basic Rhythm under his freshly introduced artistic moniker East Man. Focusing on and influenced by the sparse, raw and skeletal nature of early Grime productions we see Hart presenting a menu of twelve tunes, twelve collaborations with a wide array of mc's from the London underground including Darkos Strife, whose lyrics atop "Cruisin'" are amongst the highlights of this longplay piece, Killa P, Kwam, Lyrical Strally and others all spitting their bars on a foundation that's way closer to a sonic aesthetic once pioneered by the likes of Vex'd, Ruff Sqwad, Virus Syndicate or Plastician - then: Plasticman - than to the more polished, oftentimes mass market-reaching Grime productions of more recent days, even crossing over into Speedhall / Industrial Dancehall territories with "War", an East Man / Irah collab, whilst the eerie, intense "Drapesing" opens the window into the thoughts of and happenings in rough inner city areas and housing projects in a quite unusual, yet touching way. If you've been into Grime since early on, this one album will be of interest for sure. 

Le Millipede - A Somewhat Stuffy Non-fiction Writer (Official Video)

Wonderful playful melancholia taken from the forthcoming Le Millipede album "The Sun Has No Money" which will be released via Alien Transistor in early March, 2k18.

Various Artists - H5N1 [Toxic Industries 041]

Another blast from the past that reached our offices only recently although this massive compilation to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Italian label Toxic Industries has already been put out back in March 2014. And well, there's a lot to take in with this limited to 50 copies only release which holds a bunch of four - sic!!! - spray-painted CDr albums containing a total of 47 tracks, a so-called 'self-infection kit' and a t-shirt all packed in a small white cotton bag. With such a massive release it's nearly impossible to review the entirety of all tracks but our favorites on the 'H'-album , the first out of four combined giving us the name / type of an influenza virus which is "H5N1", are "Distortaco" by vent aitcH plus, a perfect example of Post-PostRock- and Drone-driven minimalist Instrumental Desert Rock, Ass-OIO's "Black Eyes Mamba" which as well provides us with a damp, fever'ish and dense isolationist Post-PostRock / Noize fusion from the dark side whereas Ezcaton's "Torture Medioevali" fuses ultra brutal HarshNoize with highly digital clicks to an effect that makes your ears bleed and your brain melt and Halalnihil serves a maelstrom of harsh, violent, vocal driven GrindNoize in his track "Csiklokitepes". On the '5'-album we see, amongst many others, Deviated Sister TV bring us claustrophic whispers and super cold Dark / Death Ambient with "Dall'Altra Parte Del Branco", RBMK's bleak, yet threatening Dark Ambient-outing "Psikhushka Mon Amour" reminds us of Kostnice's "Finsterfelden"-album for a reason, Dona Ferentes "Yellow, Exhausted And Stinking Of Iodine" brings on an apocalyptic soundtrack for a future dystopia and Xerxes The Dark unearthes "Quasicrystals" which are emitting an unexpected, yet fascinating transmission of Intelligent Techno / DeepTechno for outer space dancefloors. The 'N'-album opens with Corazzata Valdemone's "Poesia, Onore & Nitroglicerina III", a dark'ish excursion into gooey alien swamps in which the purified incarnation of evil lurks for sure, Cadlag's "Legionella Erratus" introduces us to what might be referred to as Symphonic Noize in future times, Dissociative Disorder's "Scar" caters a destructive maelstrom of brutalist, warped HarshNoize and Sascha Müller's "Gas Panet" weighs in a good portion of isolationist Cold Ambient accompanied by fast-paced clicks to take our minds to well desolate places. Finally entering the '1'-album we see Negative Climax and their "Vritasura -Unplugged- (The End Version)" which is a tense, atmospheric collage comprised of guttural vocalisms, Dark Ambient, ethereal voices and minor chord pianos to accompany one's way down endless stairs to a hell'ish void of nightmares whilst Trou walks down the "Suicide Allee" only to find a HarshNoize wall hitting hard and without any form of mercy, Uv Ursa Spr + The Austrasian Goat bring on a deep, mythical Ambient vibe in their contribution named "Circumbulation" which is interspersed with crackling, ever moving Noize fragments before the Chamber Of Tapeworms presents "The White Garden Of Deformed Bodies... Emitting Lymphatic Pollens", another soul grinding Noize transmission from humungous subsurface voids and Hulduefni's "Mysteries Of The Night" comes across as a deep, ultraminimalist and beautifully executed piece of Post-PostRock for those in the know, just to name a few tracks off of this massive pack. Recommended, if you're still able to find a copy.