Afflicted - Tribe (Original Mix) [Northbeatz Digital Promo]

Put on the circuit recently via Northbeatz Digital, the successor of former HardTechno vinyl imprint Northbeatz Audio, is Afflicted's "Tribe (Original Mix)" - another fresh release for the German underground Techno duo. Coming at dancefloors with a fast paced, somewhat sharp and mid-range focused attitude paired with a stripped down, hypnotic, quality Trance resembling main motif and ultra-compressed bassdrums the project delivers a slightly tool'ish, yet timeless piece of modernistic Techno music that's about to stick around in DJs' digital crates for quite a while after release. Good stuff.

Ian William Craig - Red Sun Through Smoke [130701 / Fat Cat Records Promo]

Scheduled for release via the Fat Cat Records offspring 130701 on March 20th, 2k20 is "Red Sun Through Smoke", the new album by Vancouver's Ian William Craig which lends its title from things the artist experienced around the time of cataclysmic wildfires encircling the city of Kelowna, representing the starting point of a series of emotionally intense events in his life, including both love and death and things beyond. With lyrics kind of randomly drawn from his very own diary entries and the piano as main instrument accompanied by improvised tape loop devices oftentimes providing additional layers of crackling background noise we see Ian William Craig provide an intimate snapshot of the emotional state he was in and went through, revealing ultimate fragility and tenderness over the course of ten tracks and fourty minutes, with tracks like "Weight" or "Take" and many others catering to those loving slightly blurred out multilayered vocal harmonies from the very depths of their heart whilst pieces like "Condx QRN", by far our favorite cut on the album, explore an amalgamation of harmonics and extreme distortion levels to a certain extent whilst the "Last Of Lantern Oil" provides a playful, yet inward looking take on stripped down, decaying crystalline piano layerings for dreams experienced through one's inner prism of mental perception whereas "Open Like A Loss" even introduces surprisingly heavy and apocalyptic Doom Metal riffing to a well brooding, spine-tingling effect.

Check Test Check - Half Laboratory - Half Band [Umland Records 030]

Fresh on the Essen-based label Umland Records is "Half Laboratory- Half Band", the imprints latest collective multi-artist outing featuring many members of the group named The Dorf, one of the core projects within the polylayered Umland-universe. Sporting the subline '10 People From The Dorf Exploring Complex Compositions' on the back cover this is exactly what one goes in for with this roughly 47 minutes spanning album, be it in the ever repetetive, yet ever so slightly changing main motifs of the opener "Helmet", the thrilling, scenic Jazz Noir minimalisms of  "Pell-Mell" or even the deep funky FutureJazz bassline to be found in the albums main piece "Dark", all and ever fused and entangled with an approach of FreeJazz  / Experimental Jazz, Improv and explorative experimentation which is about to lead to bigger, better and even more complex things when The Dorf comes together for their next full on session. And there's more to explore than just these three examples so each and every Jazz fan out there needs to have this on this months personal checklist.
 
Album artwork on Instagram!

Muhal Richard Abrams - Celestial Birds [Karlrecords 070 Promo]

Released on February 21st, 2k20 via the ever active Karlrecords imprint is "Celestial Birds", a new four tracks and 42 minutes playtime spanning compilation album curated by Reinhold Friedl who went through the widely unrecognized electronic composition legacy of Jazz pianist Muhal Rochard Abrams, also renowned as the founding father of Chicago's AACM / Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians back in 1965. His electronic efforts, mostly hidden B-side gems in his actual catalogue, are represented by the 22+ minutes main piece "The Bird Song" as well as "Conversations With The Three Of Me", "Think All, Focus One" and "Spihumonesty" and showcase the work of an exploring Jazz musician overcoming multiple borders and obstacles of the time, including racial segregation and prejudice against electronic music within his own black community, fusing electronically altered and reprocessed Jazz / full on FreeJazz parts with what seems to be the result of early modular synthesis and Spoken Word sequences, shrieking cataclysmic poly-layered noise infernos on the brink of pure madness, beautifully executed piano romanticisms, minimal composition techniques, brooding, klaxon'esque bass drones and more, providing fascinating insights into almost forgotten musical history as well as one of our new favorite pieces in early electronic composition with the eerie, retrofuturist sci-fi outing that is "Spihumonesty".

Laurin Huber - Juncture [Hallow Ground Promo]

Scheduled for release via Hallow Ground on February 28th, 2k20 is "Juncture", the first solo album by Swiss artist Laurin Huber employing his actual real life name for musical adventures instead of hiding behind his musical solo nom de guerre R.E.R. or being involved in various sonic projects originating from his homeland. With four tracks stretched out over the course of roughly 34 minutes we see Huber entering a dreamlike, candy-coated state of repetetive, hazy and somewhat overlapping Ambient / ChillOut loop interaction, creating calming sonic interference patterns due to constant loop defferal in the albums title track whereas "Jatkiss" seems to be coming from a place of (Neo)Classical composition and distinct, inward looking piano etudes, pairing these with outerworldly background percussions and hefty, ever brooding bass drones. Furthermore the follow up that is "Hostage To History" provides tender fodder for out of this world dancefloors, providing a perfect amalgamation of (Neo)Cosmic and minimalistic, yet captivating Electronica that's meant to be used in stage plays solely focusing on the magic of sound and electronic music before "Globus III" waves goodbye in true classic Ambient fashion, catering nothing but an all and ever comforting flow of sonic soothing for die-hard fans and followers of the genre.

Michael Vallera - Deep Sleeping Exit

Beautifully floating Ambient / Deep Listening Music taken from Michael Vallera's forthcoming album "Window In" which is scheduled for release via Denovali on March 27th, 2k20.

Stein Urheim - Downhill Uplift [Hubro Music]

Fresh on the ever active Norwegian imprint that is Hubro Music is "Downhill Uplift", the sixth full longplay effort for the label created by guitar player Stein Urheim, once again a solo effort realized with the help of fellow Nordic musicians. Rolled out over the course of seven tracks and a total of roughly 37 minutes playtime Urheim and his fellow musicians enter, not unlike to the albums predecessor "Utopian Tales", a dreamlike sonic state touching base both with hazy Americana, echoes of Jazz and a well-dosed portion of Easy Listening, led by twangy guitars, Stein Urheim's very own voice as well as obvious influences taken from 70s Psychedelia, hot vintage American summers, extended jam sessions and Country Music for highway adventures. Now, who's up for directing an actual road movie using "Downhill Uplift" as an exclusive soundtrack? We'd watch this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Jan Wagner - Kapitel [Quiet Love Records 009 Promo]

Scheduled for release via Quiet Love Records on March 20th, 2k20 is "Kapitel", Jan Wagner's forthcoming sophomore album which, once again, is following the artists specific and deliberate approach to strip and remove any kind of context from his music to a point that even the track titles are seemingly randomly numbered instead of following a stringent sequence to create a basis for a possible musical storyline. This said, the eight compositions on the 29 minutes spanning outing are somewhat innately decontextualizing in terms of creating a huge, comforting, time dissolving cloud of Ambient nothingness, with wide rivers built of ultraharmonic pads, partly sprinkled with soft, sometimes romantic piano melodies or even kinda dramatic chord repetitions atop of distinct, yet rhythmically calming Electronica / ChillOut structures whilst occasional PostFolk- or Indietronica-leaning guitars are evoking memories of endless undisturbed meadows and hazy shades of late summer afternoons under a cotton candy sky of light pink colour, covering the world and all feelings with a blanket through which even the slightly disturbing Spoken Word sequences of the fourth track sound like an all embracing lullaby of heartwarming friendliness and pure empathy. Can one die from an overdose of comfort?  

Elektronengehirn - The Big Crash

"The Big Crash", the new album by formerly Hamburg-based composer Malte Steiner a.k.a. Notstandskomitee a.k.a. Elektronengehirn provides art and sound for what the artist describes as the 'pending burst of the real estate bubble'. A fascinating journey into deeply experimental, ever shifting electronic sound creation.

Electric Sewer Age - Contemplating Nothingness [Hallow Ground Promo]

To be released via Hallow Ground on February 28th, 2k20 is "Contemplating Nothingness", the third full length album the project recorded for the label with Danny Hyde as the last remaining, and therefore solo working member. Being a prolific producer and remixer who's worked with the likes of Pop Will Eat Itself, Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia, Chris & Cosey, Depeche Mode and many more Hyde opens the new album with "Still Too Far To Go", a busy, dramatic ride on broken Electronica beats accompanied by intertwined large scale arrangements seemingly even infused by Classical arrangements for advanced dancefloors, continues the journey with "Whose Gonna Save My Soul" which dabbles with a highly melancholia-infused, inward looking Balearic / Apocalyptic Folk fusion of sorts before "Chebo" amalgamates deep floating Ambient music and Exoterrestrial Space Opera - think: Cosmic Baby's "Futura" in a way - to a great captivating effect. Furthermore "Surrender To The Crags" indulges deeply in twisted vocal collages, off-kilter violins, tribal'esque rhythm signatures and IDM / Electronica structures, the "Self Doubting Trip" leads us into cascading Ambient realms alongside spine-tingling, dancefloor bound beats and intense Spoken Word storytelling whereas the final cut named "Dekotur" waves goodbye on an uplifting, cascading and multi-melodic tip, making the term IDM / Intelligent Dance Music worthwhile again, providing what probably is the biggest hit on this highly recommended album. Excellent. Get

Aniyo Kore - 432 [Sweepland Records]

Scheduled for release via Sweepland Records on March 6th, 2k20 is "432", the latest vinyl outing by Dortmund's finest Aniyo Kore who've been ever evolving on their musical journey from TripHop to DesertBlues / PostRock references since their first album "Pieces Of Conversation" which they've put on the circuit back in 2k12. Now back for 2k20 with what the duo describes as '... 10 love songs for the universe...', following their true faith in 432Hz recording for a better world whilst employing an interesting, surely melancholia driven wall-of-sound production approach in the hefty, thundering opener that is "Muscle Memory" whereas the subsequent "New Seed" is somewhat harking back to the bands early, Portishead'esque aesthetics despite being less TripHop-leaning, obviously. "Magnets" comes at listeners with a smokey late night vibe and a well-balanced sense for drama, "Unslaved" transfers the bands sound into a slightly more innocent, sunset Folk-influenced context before "Hype" once again weighs in sweet memories of vintage dusted TripHop fused with yearning vocals and, ofc, raw PostRock-oriented guitar riffing.  On the flipside we see "Stay" provide score'esque qualities for a forthcoming movie by either the Cohen Brothers or the master that is Quentin Tarantino himself, "Plain" gets deep into stripped down melancholic late night vibes and therefore might be our favorite cut on "432" before "Overload" introduces even more floating LeftfieldPop minimalism atop what might be the most electronic foundation found on this album beatwise, "In Your Light" combines beautifully desolate guitars and echoes of echoes of influences of UK Bass / Global Beats and the concluding "Encore" brings forth a sweet, beauteous moment of contemplation for a closing. Defo a next evolutionary step for Aniyo Kore. Go check!

Thomas Köner - Motus [Mille Plateaux Promo]

Big news have it that the legendary 90s Electronica imprint Mille Plateaux is making a come back these days and even bigger news it is that Thomas Köner, one of the imprints original characters both solo and as a part of the duo known as Porter Ricks is aboard the ship again with a new album, "Motus", after the label has been dormant - or only sporadically active - since its original German distributor EFA went haywire and filed for bankcruptcy back in 2004. But here he is, serving an array of eight brand new tracks, closing the gap between his solo work and the subaquatic, ever shifting DubTechno references of Porter Ricks, immediately evoking memories of a time in which sonic research in electronic music actually did mean a journey into unheard, untouched musical terrain, the development and crossing of new borders in sound, the invention of unheard of timescales and structures, the steady, ever so slightly shift of sound mass, no matter if tender and light or visco-plastic and vantablack, the steady deterioration of time and space itself before transcending into a new, higher form of being and consciousness. All these approaches and angles are to be found in "Motus" which defo is one of the true Electronica / Intelligent Techno / IDM albums of our time, yet far removed from and quite singular in comparison to most other releases of what the genre is perceived as today. Therefore only time will tell if this original trueskool take on experimental electronic music will still be recognized and valued as such or if this form of sonic exploration is way beyond the understanding of what the electronic music scene has become in the past 20 years or so.

Arrias / Davies / Ullen - Crystalline [Ausculto Fonogram 005]

Set to be released via the relatively fresh imprint Ausculto Fonogram on March 3rd, 2k20 is "Crystalline", the first ever full on collaboration album recorded and composed by Lisa Ullen, Johan Arrias and Angharad Davies. Whilst the two first mentioned artists had explored sonic realms as a duo occasionally before it is a firstling for the full set of three, with each of them taking on a role as both composer and musician within the six tracks rolled out over the course of 31 minutes. Opening with "Undercurrent", possibly the albums main piece, the trio reaches out into the realms of Score Noir and Jazz Noir, providing meandering and masterly executed lengthy improvisations on top of thundering minor scale piano chords before progressing into eerie, yearning high frequency siren songs of sorts which are seemingly making a tender return in the subsequent "Rydal Mount", this time accompanied by precisely hammered, yet friendly and playful piano lines as well as plucked violin strings The following double feature of "Rituals B" and "Rituals A" oozes off melancholia as well as a certain weltschmerz, "Etude" lives up to its name in terms of providing a call and response interplay between low and high pitch piano notes in front of a trepidant, super fragile backdrop of ambient'ish nature whilst the final cut "Coda" is harking back to inward looking Jazz / Folk Noir for about 150 seconds of caressing goodbyes. An interesting journey between many worlds, this.

Andrew Weatherall - Unknown Plunderer / End Times Sound

R.I.P. , Andrew Weatherall. That's quite a huge one for a last ever release.

Afflicted - Follow The White Rabbit [Bang Le Dex Records Promo]

The German Techno duo Afflicted is back with another recent digital single, this time put on the circuit via Bang Le Dex Records. Opening with "Confused *Jotaeseache Remix" the musical journey kicks off with an ever spiralling, tool-oriented take on Techno somewhat reminiscent of the infamous Knarz-style employed by labels like Wacescape in the late 90s / early 2000s, pairing this up with tender, carefully crafted trancey athmospheres whereas the "Confused *Mayhem Mix" brings forth a lively, somewhat uplifting variation on Techno meets HardHouse, relying on a seductive, well rolling low end groove, various micro-cut vocal samples and and overall harmonic, floating rave approach before "Confused *Original Mix" owns raw, hypnotic Acid minimalism for the darkest hours on the dancefloor. Furthermore "Follow The White Rabbit *El Atalaya Remix" is as heavy and spiralling as one might expect from the Santiago-based producer, "Follow The White Rabbit *Matt X Remix" weighs in a driving, hyperfunctional and tool'ish Tech approach before the title track "Follow The White Rabbit *Original Mix" finally takes a driving, ever pushing and Rave-infused route with its super sharp hi-hats and seductive lo-fi main motif.

Gri / Gutman / Mosconi - Uncoded Winds Below The Waves [Midira Records 068]

Put on the circuit via Midira Records on December 13th, 2k19 is "Uncoded Winds Below The Waves", the new four track collaborational album effort brought to life by Ambient musicians Francis Gri, David Gutman and Federico Mosconi. Based on and built around Field Recordings captured throughout two stormy nights on the island of Crete the trio starts the journey with slowly evolving, tender, yet melancholic Ambient spheres later disrupted - and complemented - by massively shifting noise and distortion tectonics in the opener "Grecale" whilst combining the soft Ambient pulses of "Scirocco" with an overall noisier, livelier and sometimes even slightly unsettling sonic route without giving up on the genres initial intentions. The subsequent "Libeccio" fully seems to represent the somewhat unburdened calmness after the storm instead whereas the closing tune "Maestrale" finally incorporates the - unprocessed - sound of of crashing waves and heavy winds at shore into a corpus of solemn ritualistic Dark Ambient and echoes of echoes of droning Apocalyptic Folk for a closing and therefore turns out to be our favorite cut on this 37 minutes spanning longplayer.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii - Death Of A Sample

Released in late 2015 on a limited to 20 copies and long time sold out cassette tape split single. Enjoy.

Test Card - Music For The Towers [Sound In Silence 071]

Another new release put on the circuit on January 9th, 2k20 via the ever active Greek imprint that is Sound In Silence is "Music For The Towers", the second album for the label created by Lee Nicholson employing his solo moniker Test Card. Spanning a runtime of roughly 45 minutes with a total of eight tracks sporting elaborate titles like "It Calmed The Hedges And Blurred The Buildings", "Let Single Sideband Loneliness Receivers Be Happy", "Horizontal Sweep Correction Lullaby" or "We Oscillated Like Sheep Grazing On Grassy Waveforms", the last mentioned being our personal favorite cut on the entire longplay piece, the music of Test Card is meandering in between beauteous and soft harmonic Ambient structures somewhat informed by classical composition techniques as well as elements of PopAmbient, Indietronica and - partly folksy - Post-PostRock for an ever calming, most relaxing listening experience. If this sounds appealing to you go check for a reason. You won't be disappointed.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Steve Piccolo - Domestic Exile [Mental Experience 029 Promo]

Scheduled to be re-issued as a remastered version via Mental Experience on March 12th, 2k20, actually 38 years after its initial release is "Domestic Exile", the debut solo album by The Lounge Lizards founding member Steve Piccolo. Recorded as a side project whilst splitting his life between a hard working Wall Street daylife and nights spent in the active NYC No Wave / Artschool / PostPunk underground the twelve songs on this roughly 40 minutes spanning longplayer present an intimate, yet captivating and somewhat desolate take on minimalist, somewhat Spoken Word-infused Artschool SynthPop and Leftfield Wave in several aspects reminiscent of the German, mostly Berlin-based, Ingenious Dilletantes-scene, focusing on raw, oftentimes collage'esque experimentalism and cut up rather than the contemporary dancefloors of the times albeit cuts like "Young And Ambitious" are defo moving bodies of certain creatures of the night for a reason whilst "Fast Life" presents a playful take on tempo shiftings caused by warbled, effed up cassette tape, the "Businessman's Lament" indulges in deepest, self-reflective melancholia and capitalist madness, "Superior Genes" result in a sensibility for stripped down, autumnal piano etitudes as well as raw Blues-infused guitar progressions alongside simple, yet beautiful songwriting whereas "I Don't Want To Join A Cult" brings forth a strange, quirky joyfulness in Industrial Daytime Radio Pop just to pick a few tunes out of this highly recommended album. Get.

Promo artwork on Instagram!

The Bureau Of Atomic Tourism - Eden [Rat Records 042 / Werkplaats Walter 004]

Released as a conjunctional project of both Rat Records and Werkplaats Walter on November 29th, 2k19 is "Eden", the latest album outing by The Bureau Of Atomic Tourism and the groups first full length release after their 2015 album "Hapax Legomena". Still operating in a sextet mode with Teun Verbuggen in the leading position and Jozef Dumoulin being put in charge as the main writer and composer for the fourteen cuts featured on "Eden" the ensembles music is as dense and energetic as ever, with the multilayered, brooding and well thundering Avantgarde Jazz / FreeJazz opener "De Teun Van Eden" paving the way for things to come, pieces like the subsequent, more romantic and comforting "Love And Things 1", the deep, fragile and athmospheric vibes in the ever floating, grooving, yet beat abstraction driven "Two Part Oven In Thin Eleven" losing itself in various states of experimentalism over the course of a little more than eight minutes, "Search Ends When Sharing Starts" wandering in between dope beats and killer Desert Rock / PostRock attitude whilst the "B Minor Blues" is in for more laid back, Jazz-driven dopeness alongside ear-piercing midrange atmospheres and chaotic, shrieking, threatening breakdown sequences just to pick a few examples out of this intense 52 minute journey. As avantgarde as Contemporary Avantgarde / Experimental Jazz can be.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 02/2k20

Heisig / Klare [Umland Records 029]

Released via the Essen / Germany-based imprint Umland Records as the labels cat.no. 030 is this first ever collaborational album realized by Jan Klare and Wolfgang Heisig, combining their individual favorite instruments - saxophone and phonola - over the course of six tracks and a total of roughly 30 minutes runtime. With the phonola as the more unusual and supposedly widely unknown instrument here - a self-playing machine operating a piano via the use of musical information stored on a paper roll which functions essentially like an old-fashioned punch card in ancient computer technology, transferring information into mechanical action via a roll-to-piano converter - playing an essential role in laying the foundation of the conjunctional and compositional work in terms of providing a basic pre-programmed, sometimes mechanical, sometimes thundering and sometimes well swinging groove like in the "Study For Player Piano #3b" or in the hounded, over the top hectic "Prinzenrolle" to which Jan Klare adds an accompanying layer of oftentimes eruptive, FreeJazz-/ Improv-informed saxophone playing this might be the most conceptual album work released by Umland Records so far, catering to those connaisseur types who like to explore the more extreme edges of the genre whilst those  looking for more comforting and easy to grasp sounds might be gravitating towards other releases out of the labels catalogue.

Enemigos Del Silencio - Lost In Space [Gusstaff Records Promo]

Scheduled for release via the Polish label Gusstaff Records on February 28th, 2k20 is "Lost In Space", the new musical outing brought to us by Szczecin-based quartet Enemigos Del Silencio which are employing an arsenal of two guitars, bass and drums to embark on their unique musical journey. Spanning a total of seven tracks and 39 minutes runtime Enemigos Del Silencio are exploring a musical universe both informed by PostPunk, psychedelic (Neo)Kraut and KrautDisco - think Padded Cell here - as well as a heavy wall of sound production attitude and a hefty, well muscular dancefloor drive, all paired up with space-related, high octane Rock riffing and a raw, down to earth DesertRock attitude somewhat reminiscing of bands like the Swedish outfit The Skull Defekts, weighing in a well hypnotic, captivating attitude for those who know. Recommended, this - especially for the Punk'ish peaktime anthem "Wild Life" and the Crossover-leaning moshpit killer that's "Going In!".

Large Unit Fendika - Ethiobraz [PNL Records 049]

Released on December 13th, 2k19 via the ever active, highly experimental PNL Records label run by Paal Nilssen-Love is "Ethiobraz", the latest album outing created by Large Unit Fendika, a new mutation of the Large Unit-unit which is joined by no-one less than Terrie Ex for this longplayer, longtime standing music activist in his own right as well as expert and overall hub when it comes to the music scene of Ethiopia, and the Ethiopian dance / music ensemble Fendika. This knowledge in conjunction with Paal Nilssen-Love's love for the music of Brazil lays the foundation for this album, a multinational crossover attempt to fuse music from both countries within ten tracks played, performed and shaped by a total than more than 20 - sic!!! - contributing members of the ensemble in the live context of 2018's Molde Jazz Festival where the different influences merged perfectly and instantaneously, creating powerful Jazz-lead AfroBeat pieces like "Anbessa", hard hitting AfroFunk cuts like "Fluku" or high octane PowerJazz for well groovy dancefloors worldwide, best represented in the tongue-cheek over the top piece "Shellele" which could be easily used to accompany an action-laden chase and escape scene in a classy, long forgotten espionage flic of sorts and therefore turns out to be our favorite cut on "Ethiobraz" for a reason. Check!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Cannonball Fever [Urbangroove Records 021 Promo]

Fresh on the circuit via Urbangroove Records as the labels cat.no. 021 is the new single by German underground producer Sascha Müller, who's been an ever active staple in terms of quality electronic music for more than two decades now. The original version of "Cannonball Fever" caters roughly seven minutes of deep, floating Intelligent Techno / Ambient Trance for advanced late night rides and musically experienced dancefloors whilst the second cut, the "Cannonball Fever *Jalex (Italy) Remix", provides a more peaktime leaning feel presenting a muscular drum set, cold panoramic strings and obvious DubTechno references for a precisely cut journey into the depths of exoterrestrial space.   

Daspo - Samenreis [Setola Di Maiale]

Put on the circuit via the Italian avant-garde record label Setola Di Maiale is "Samenreis", the first ever collaborational mini album installation created by Davide Palmentiero and Giuseppe Pisano. Consisting of five tracks recorded and produced in an anechoic chamber located in Utrecht, Netherlands the album spans a little more than a total of 20 minutes, with the opener "Overvecht" leading into a realm of pure sound, bringing forward a floating, time-defying Ambient attitude paired with highly digital crackles, rumbles and morphings as well elements related to genres like Clicks'n'Cuts whereas "Lorentzweg" is leaning into a solemn, yet partly brooding and somewhat ritualistic direction with its mystical atmosphere and gong-like intro sequence as well as surprisingly tender PostRock / Post-PostRock resembling guitars appearing around halfway through the tracks playtime. The subsequent "Hollandsche Rading" employs interesting and well hypnotizing reprocessed violin pulses for an intro and pairs them with structures reminiscent of both Tangerine Dream / Klaus Schulze and some more experimental Pink Floyd cuts, "Oudegracht" seemingly follows a more twangy, collage'esque pathway whilst playing around with dreamy guitars, Found Sounds, Field Recordings and certain influences taken from Musique Concrete before "Schiphol" weighs in the duos most intense, droning and fever'ish musical outing on this release, caterings a dark bass drone, intense outerworldly eruptions and ghostly noises as a spine-tingling amalgamation of kinda score'esque UnAmbient quality. File under: Deep Listening Music.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Afflicted - Santa Muerte [Basic Avenue Records Promo]

Fresh on the digital circuit via Basic Avenue Records is "Santa Muerte", the new single outing created by German underground Techno duo Afflicted. Opening with the title track "Santa Muerte" we see the two producers approach the genres dark side with sharp, highly sculpted percussions, ghostly sound bits and an overall low end attitude evoking memories of the paranoid, threatening vibe employed by producers like The Horrorist and the likes of on a regular whilst "Going", the second cut on this single, is in for a highly functional, driving Techno vibe somewhat reminiscent of classic The Advent productions - yes, we're talking pre-2000 here, whilst weighing super compressed, reverberating bassdrums and bits of atmospheric mysticism vibewise. Proper good.

2121 - Vol.2 [2121-02]

Incoming these days via the mysterious 2121-imprint is the second outing by the artist of the same name who, once again, releases a fresh, untitled one-sided 12" with "Vol.2" which will only be manufactured and hand-cut on demand for those ordering this piece via the labels Bandcamp page. This time on a pounding low-end Techno tip paired with a stripped down bleep melody, somewhat Trance-leaning vocals and soft, melodic string arrangements this one is more on the tool'ish side of things, well-functional to keep crowds moving in the wee hours after a long night of hefty raving.

Katariin Raska & Christian Meaas Svendsen - Finding Ourselves In All Things [Nakama Records 020]

Put on the circuit via Norway's Nakama Records imprint on December 13th, 2k19 is "Finding Ourselves In All Things", the first ever conjunctional album created by Katariin Raska and Christian Meaas Svendsen despite both having shared the stage in the same band, ÄIO, led-by Raska for years now. This cross-national collaboration between Estland-born Raska and Norwegian Nakama Records-manager Christian Meaas Svendsen results in two tracks stretched over the course of 33 minutes. "Melting With Butterflies" sees the duo on a shrieking, primordial and untamed tip into FreeJazz / Free Improv, bringing forth fever'ish background drums and an ever alarming feel of constant agitation whilst "The Way Mountains Make Love" is taking a totally different route, presenting a dark, fully organic low end Drone composition which is surely setting out to specially please all the Dark Ambient connaisseurs out there in terms of approaching the genre from a different angle whilst slowly progressing into slow, yet intense and slighty off-Jazz infused movements throughout the tracks' total runtime of a little more than 19 minutes.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Hopper - Hopper [Gusstaff Records Promo]

Put out on the circuit via the Polish imprint Gusstaff Records only recently is "Hopper", the debut album by the quartet of the same name - Hopper - which consists of the Wolow-based artists Marcin Loks, Tomasz Sztrekier, Konrad Fedorczak and Mateusz Skrzypicki which are catering a four track firstling spread over the course of roughly 44 minutes with this one. Opening with "Rydygiera" Hopper are paving the way for things to come with beautifully floating Ambient textures, an ever rolling PostRock vibe as well as yearning trumpet melancholia in a kind of of call and response dialogue with distinct, yet laid back electric guitars whereas "Ebbbing" goes down a similar alley but leans more towards a masterly sculpted variation of DesertRock / Desert Blues backed by screaming vocals interestingly appearing in the very back of the mix only. Furthermore we see "Kazu", our favorite cut on this album, coming at us in a brooding, thundering fashion presenting an overall feel of darkness and danger in disguise in combination with a captivating, ever progressing electric guitar motif announcing forthcoming cataclysms before the final cut "1285" is waving goodbye on a more positive, lively and playful note in terms of PostRock, weighing in a slightly Dub-related feel even whilst frolicking guitars and, once again, yearning trumpet tones resemble the overall feel of a hot, maybe a little too hot, and flickering summers day. Quality.

Boddhi Satva - Boddhi Satva 18 [BBE Music]

Scheduled for release via BBE Music on March 20, 2k20 is "Boddhi Satva 18", the forthcoming 2xCD anniversary album marking the eighteenth year in the business for the Central African Republic born DJ, producer, remixer, label head and overall whirlwind within the House music scene with a selection of 16 tracks, collaborations and remix works - many of them under the beloved Ancestral Soul moniker - reflecting on the current state of sound of the man himself. With House Music as the foundation for Boddhi Satva's sonic musings and, more specific DeepHouse being one of the pillars of his work ever since, tunes like the chill, hypnotic and somewhat balearic opener "Bria's Offering" set the tone for things to come with loose tribal rhythms, endless grooves and even a yearning electric guitar perfectly blending in to the mix whilst "Belma Belma", a collaboration with Maalem Hamman caters proper percussive peak time intensity to the sets of any advanced House Music selecta and connaisseur out there with driving rhythm stabs and captivating African chants whereas the "Big Theme" causes havoc on both TechHouse- and ElectroHouse-floors with its intense, siren'esque strings and distinctly crunched synth motif and the 'Ancestral Soul Mix' of DJ Pippi vs Danny Marquez feat. Marcel fuses deep Jamaican wisdom with anthemic, organic House Music for a massive win. On Disc 2 Boddhi Satva's collaboration with vocalist Yuba weighs in more peaktime Ragga House vibes for heaving dancefloors, his 'Ancestral Soul Mix' for Jay Tripwire's "Into The Shadows" is on a well spaced out, deep and dubby TechHouse tip whereas V's "Born Again (Boddhi Satva & Mr. V Retouch)" provides a perfect example of Mr. Satva's long standing work and business relationship with Mr. Louie Vega a.k.a. Mr. V - resulting in a super smooth, slick take on high quality DeepHouse for those in the know, just to name a few of our favorite cuts on this album. Check.

Vladislav Delay - Raamat (2020 Remaster)

It's been 20 years since the initial release of Vladislav Delay's "Raamat" and the dubbed out Ambient Techno vibes are as captivating as ever - and will be available as a remastered 2xLP vinyl edition via Keplar Records from March 20th, 2k20 onwards.

Chantal Dumas - Oscillations Planetaires [Empreintes Digitales]

Another fresh one released via Montreal's Empreintes Digitales label is "Oscillation Planetaires", the first ever solo album by Chantal Dumas. Created as a commissioned work for German radio programme Deutschlandfunk Kultur we see Dumas tackle the topic of geology with this one, especially the topic of geologic and tectonic movements and vibrations happening in different, mostly irregular, time scales to be more precise. Facing this task the result is an oftentimes sparse and spatial, partially also large scale dramatic journey through Dark Ambient and Ambient, at times surely influenced by Cosmic and (Neo)Cosmic as well as misty ethereal, outerworldy harmonic shifts and movements, subsurface crackles, grinding mass movements, subaquatic modular noises, haunting sweeps and more, all in their entirety sonically depicting the steady geologic processes having shaped the face of our planet for eons and still continually, yet slowly shaping its face up to this day. Our favorite cut: "Maree Crustale". File under: conceptualism in full effect.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Pet Shop Boys - Hotspot [X2 Recordings]

After taking a closer look at their "Dreamland" single as a first outtake from their most recent longplayer in December, 2k19 it is now time for us to fully inspect "Hotspot", the new full length album created by SynthPop / ElectroPop staples that are the Pet Shop Boys. With their third album produced by Stuart Price the duo serves a ten track, 42 minute spanning menu of goodness and well... even 37 - !!! - years after their first self-titled demo cassette the UK's most famous and most successful duo is still on fire. Sticking true to their dramatic, dancefloor oriented trademark sound they've employed from day dot the duo of Chris Lowe and Neill Tennant deliver big time with killer singles like "Will-O-The-Wisp", the anthemicly uplifting "Happy People" or the heavily Disco-infused "Monkey Business" whilst beautiful love songs like "You Are The One", "Only The Dark" or the slightly dubbed out, captivating "Hoping For A Miracle" bring out the more romantic, ballad'esque and surely classy side of the Pet Shop Boys' musical universe once again, proving why they're still one of the worlds most beloved outfits of all time. Yet, apart from making slight adjustments in terms of production techniques to make their songs still suitable for today's dancefloor the album doesn't deliver anything groundbreakingly new or experimental but caters exactly what one would expect from the boys in 2k20 - no matter if you haven't been following all the way through since the 80s or haven't paid attention for a decade or more. 'Never change a winning team or a formula that's working well', they say and this is exactly true for what makes the Pet Shop Boys' career one of the most consistent and long lasting in Pop Music history ever. Jolly good. 

Stephane Roy - L'Inaudible [Empreintes Digitales]

Released only recently via the 1990-established imprint Empreintes Digitales is "L'Inaudible", the third full lenght album effort by Montreal-based composer Stephane Roy. Working on the acousmatic side of things we see Roy presenting a selection of seven pieces on this longplayer, all created within the past twelve years with some being finished in multiple sessions spread over several years. Opening with "Maelström" the first step of the musical journey is a twisted, whirling and grinding piece built from cold digital Noize eruptions regularly, yet irregularly bending, twisting and interrupting tender, and partly dramatic, Ambient atmospheres in a collage'esque manner whereas the "Train D'Enfer" brings tension in form of dark, brooding atmospheres and various scraping, clanging metal pieces before the subsequent triplet of "Section 1 - 3" provides a perfectly intense, nerve-wrecking score of sorts for your favorite underground psycho horror flic out of the 60s or 70s. "Les Aurores Pourpres" first sees Stephane Roy on a fragile, ethereal Deep Listening Music tip, slowly progressing from a minimalist approach into large scale drama with hefty sonic masses grinding and shifting within the stereo field before making way for spatial sparseness once again, "Les Territoires Secrets" caters cold, quivering and somewhat retrofuturist Ambient pulses which are evoking echoes of memories of very early Oval works and other intense, experimental Deep Listening adventures of the late 90s alongside various background rumblings, sounds of pouring liquids and short percussive eruptions before the final cut named "Voices Crepusculaires" ventures off into solemn Dark Ambient territories with a certain cut-up twist paired with (Neo)Classical influences to provide a closing for a well meandering, varied and close to indescribable journey into one of the most experimental spheres of the electronic music scene in terms of compositional approach.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Wako - Wako [Øra Fonogram]

Scheduled for release on February 21st, 2k20 via Øra Fonogram is "Wako", the fourth album by the quartet of the same name - Wako -, comprised of Martin Myhre Olsen, Kjetil Andre Mulelid, Bardur Reinert Paulsen and Simon Olderskog Albertsen. Following up to their 2018-released "Urolige Sinn" the new 13 track longplay piece aims to reflect on and upon the groups experiences as an ever touring quartet, delivering quite a few surprises like the somewhat super romantic, overwhelmingly kitschy score piece "For Those We Love" which functions as a large scale opener for the full on 56 minutes spanning musical journey which furthermore brings epic goodness in modernist Dancefloor Jazz cuts like "Wako Amok", a piece that easily cut've found a place on one of the first three editions of the legendary 'Future Sound Of Jazz' compilation series vibewise despite being completely non-electronic, whereas "Brain Drain" is a quite complex, multi-layered affair of 90 seconds total playtime,"Hele Verden Er En Boble" brings forth a classic, well-driving uptempo swing for jazzfloors on full on fire, the "Grown-Up Life" is a thrilling, piano-led whirlwind of playful, captivating joy and positivity whilst "When Starring Into The Light, We Think", one of the three bonus pieces on this album, even harks back to more formal and intimate slow dancing in an upper class cocktail setting just to name a few of our favorites here. Defo one to check out for all the Jazz lovers out there.

Xotox - UFO [Infacted Recordings Promo]

Shortly after signing a deal with his new label Infacted Recordings we see Andreas Davids a.k.a. Xotox coming at us with a brand new single - "UFO". Featuring the original version plus a whole bunch of six additional remixes plus the bonus instrumental of "Wir Haben Die Wirklichkeit Zerstört" the German EBM / Industrial / HardTechno producer is catering to his fans big time, delivering a highly compressed, dystopian take on stomping, mechanical Industrial Techno as intense and threatening as being surrounded by barrage fire on a modern battlefield - and even fuses this already overwhelming sonic experience with recorded snippets from the twilight zone of UFO conspiracy documentaries to even intensify the feel of sheer brutality and unfiltered, soul-piercing angst. Using and abusing this as a foundation for their own interpretation we see remixers like ES23, Wesenberg, MS Gentur, Probe, Pete Crane and Laermpegel take "UFO" into a whole range of different directions from muscular, Rave-focused ElectroTechno - yes, think the likes of Empirion here... - merged with uplifting CyberTrance / CyberGoth elements to hard hitting, distorted, distortion-ridden and ultracompressed Broken IndustrialTechno as well as storming, Trance-infused bigroom madness and even stripped down, masterly crafted Drum'n'Bass pressure whereas the additional bonus cut presents a return to Xotox's trademark musical ultraviolence and pure vantablack darkness. Check.

Promo artwork on Instagram!

P.T.B.S. & Sascha Müller - Deep Flow [Technocracy Records]

Out on the digital circuit via Technocracy Records is "Deep Flow", the most recent collaborational effort by both Uelsen-based producers P.T.B.S. and Sascha Müller. Whilst the title track sees the two Techno veterans going for a mechanical, spiralling yet somewhat tool'ish version of dark, braincell shredding late night Techno based on a single basic, ever modulated main motif leading into a more ethereal Trance vibe over the course of the tracks playtime the second cut named "Bees" is in for an even heavier take on the genre, evoking memories of legendary tunes like The Horrorist's "One Night In N.Y.C." or "Mission Ecstasy 2003" with its growling, threatening and well paranoid low end, eerie atmospheres and distinct, ever moving Techno stabs. One for the darkest hours of a night out.

Afflicted - Hass & Liebe [Klinik:Room Recordings]

Put out on the digital circuit only recently via Klinik:Room Recordings is "Hass & Liebe", a new single outing crafted by the German production team Afflicted. With "Hass" the two producers are creating a brutal and dark'ish, somewhat muffled take on spatial contemporary Techno surely infused by echoes of echoes of Hardcore whilst driving tripped out punters mad with eerie, highly processed vocal samples and a brain-drilling Acid line whereas "Liebe" follows a more uplifting, Rave-focused approach in terms of fusing muscular Bigroom Techno and high quality Trance vibes whilst providing a super massive Breakbeat / Chemical Breaks breakdown sequence for maximum dancefloor madness. Killer sounds.

Olivia Louvel - SculptOr (Hepworth Resounds) [Cat Werk Imprint 014]

Scheduled for release via Cat Werk Imprint on February 7th, 2k20 as the labels cat.no. 014 is "SculptOr (Hepworth Resounds)", a new conceptual album piece by long standing experimental sound artist Olivia Louvel who is re-imagining original sound / voice recordings of sculptor Barbara Hepworth in this piece. With the voice recordings being captured nearly six decades ago by Hepworth herself in her 1961 studio and re-sculpted by Louvel for this 34 minutes spanning longplay piece we see the opening track "Use Your Own Body" pave the way for things to come, a very physical alteration of the voice, with fragments taken out of context and being re-arranged within a very present, sometimes even physically felt sonic environment, partly using and abusing techniques taken from Plunderphonics and tape manipulation or layered with Louvel's own vocal interpretation and intonation, sometimes with original vocals stretched and pitched to a haunting effect very much amalgamating with the overall feel of eerie atmospheric density and ghostly presence, like otherwordly sounds and transmissions weeping through a leaking space-time-matrix, crossing over into our reality from an alternate, yet somewhat similar but different dimension, a twilight zone of interference providing a thrilling, highly fascinating listening experience over the course of nine tracks in total whilst intersecting with Olivia Louvel's very own and unique approach to multilayered vocal arrangements in terms of highly thought out advanced Leftfield Pop for those in the know. Great stuff.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller [Supersix Records Extra 094]

To be put on the circuit via his very own Supersix Records label soon is Sascha Müller's 94th - sic! - untitled album on the imprint, another 12 track journey into the world of high quality club and dance music. Opening up with "The Matix" Sascha Müller leads us straight to the heart of the dancefloor with a stripped down, bouncy and seductively grooving take on Electro-infused MinimalTechno rolled out over 11+ minutes, providing endless dancefloor hypnosis with a few offbeat shots and slight Trance references whereas "TOC" goes down a darker, somewhat gooey path of strangely shuffled minimalism, off-center grooves and twisted, unusual dynamics. The "Transmission" gets down in a dynamic, highly captivating Techno manner, bringing forth a complex synth motif and a subaquatic motor city feel, "Trap The System" combines dry, relentless Techno bassdrums and reverberating mechanoises to create a threatening, suffocating feel of dystopian paranoia before "Traumphase" goes deep into dreamy, acidic Electro territories and "Travelbox" harks back to the artists very 2005-released 7" debut for the Hamburg-based label Intrauterin Recordings. With "Triebkraft" we are propelled through a hollow, somewhat desolate and monotonous black and white Techno tunnel, "UKW *Original Mix" weighs in brutalist, highly compressed marching Techno on the brink of Hardcore despite sporting a bleepy, somewhat tongue-in-cheek main motif as well as a large scale Rave / HardTrance breakdown whereas the subsequent "UKW *Smash The Radio Mix" pays homage to raw unprocessed jumpy Italian AcidRave of the early 90s to a great effect. Furthermore "Unidentified Objects" transmit minimalist, subaquatic signals for buzzing dancefloors, the "Vorlauffunktion" provides more slightly monotonous, yet ever evolving technoid HypnoTrance for those exploring the very depths of their inner mind before the concluding cut "Wellenbereich" explores experimental, well psychedelic Ambient Noize in combination with distorted, heavily altered and modulated radio and TV recordings for an interesting collage evoking memories of great 90s ChillOut acts entering and abusing the realm of human communication techniques - think Scanner or The Future Sound Of London here.

baze.djunkiii Charts 02/2020

01. 2121 - Vol.1 [2121-01]
See review for details...

02. Ceephax Acid Crew presents Acid Cask III: Mind Wharf [WeMe Records 053]
Ceephax Acid Crew have been the purveyors of relentless Acid madness ever since so this release comes as in a kind of a sweet surprise. Not necessarily following the path of the most uncompromisng brainfuck ever with the five tracks featured on this 12" we see them providing a dreamy, captivating and most beautiful update of the long lost AcidTrance genre for 2k20, bringing pure delight to all oldskool ravers without sounding dated at all. Let the rave begin!

03. Kelvin Larkin - Tell Me / The Force [Art Of Dance]
After more than a decade of radio silence Kenny Larkin relaunched his legendary imprint Art Of Dance in 2k19 with a 12" release of his son Kelvin Larkin who's bringing on two dedicated Bigroom House bangers which might come as a surprise for longtime fans and followers of the label. With "Tell Me" Kelvin Larkin even sort of harks back to the era of anthemic, soulful VocalHouse in terms of abusing a classic, well beloved sample whilst "The Force" turns out to be a muscular powertool for ecstatic peaktime sets. Killer.

04. Various Artists - Innate 003 [Innate 003]
The Bristol-based Innate-crew are back with their third 12" vinyl in their third year since they launched the label, coming at us with hand-picked tracks by the likes of Perseus Traxx, Ewan Janssen, Reedale Rinse and label head honcho Owain K. With influences taken from the deeper, melodic side of Motor City all four tracks are meandering in the sonic realm between Electro, Armchair- and Intelligent Techno, providing the depth and complexity needed to move and please crowds on intimate, musically well educated and experienced dancefloors. Quality cuts.

05. Cop Envy - Cotton EP [Hypercolour 078]
For an avid collector and music explorer listening to DJ-mixes is both the horror and a fest at the same time. The horror because one's wantlist grows bigger and bigger with every quality mix, a fest because one usually discovers artists that weren't on one's radar before. This is very true for this release as I discovered Cop Envy through Changsie's contribution to the Resident Advisor podcast series and was immediately captivated by the sparse, stripped down take on UK Garage as well as the hefty low end the tune provides. Besides this, the complex, yet minimalist Jungle / Sublow fusion of "Rat Break" as well as other cuts on this four track EP are well timeless and will sit in my box for ages for a reason.

06. DJ T-1000 - I Told 'Em I Was From Detroit [Suspected 018]
Alan Oldham a.k.a. DJ T-1000 has been a staple in Techno culture for decades now and his most recent 12", released on green vinyl, provides proof why his storming, captivating approach incorporating both a stripped down, yet highly functional attitude as well as, once again, a killer vocal sample is well timeless and never grows old. Both the original mix as well as Scan 7's rework on the flip are massive tools for any Techno-driven DJ out there whilst the DJ Stingray rework on B2 is nothing but pure disappointment, not necessarily musically but because the cutting / mastering quality of this specific remix is beyond poor so it won't do anything for anyone, no matter if it's in a home listening session, on the radio or on the dancefloor and therefore is nothing but a waste of space.

07. Grauzone - Raum [WRWTFWW Records 043]
The epicly named imprint We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records comes at us with the second re-issue of a tune by German New Wave band Grauzone, most famous for their major hit "Eisbär" as well as the ProtoTechno cut "Film 2". With "Raum", a tune only sitting in my collection as a NuSkoolBreaks bootleg of questionable origin, the label gets closer to the raw, uncut core of the NDW / German New Wave movement and brings back a well harmonic, but also melancholia-infused and PostPunk-influenced anthem for all creatures of the night, accompanied by a muscular ElectroTechno / IndieElectro rework built by Naum Gabo as well as a so-called 'Extended Mix' which is actually more like a classic edit brought to us by Frankfurt's long standing hero Ata Macias a.k.a. Ata. 

08. Manu Louis - Coltan Major Harmonics: Music For Escif's Magic Piano [IGC 037]
See review for details...

09. The KLF - Chill Out [KLF Communications]
Most likely an unofficial repress but who cares at this point? "Chill Out" possibly is the most praised and widely recognized early collage Ambient / Chill Out album of all times and surely the one that put the genre on the map for a large scale audience. And it is still a trip so this re-issue on translucent vinyl was a must have for me, not only for historical reasons but because I had been looking for a copy for ages. Actually since it was first released back in 1990.

10. The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu - Shag Times [KLF Communications]
Born in 1978 and infected by electronic music from early on it is more than obvious that The KLF and their various incarnations like The Jamms a.k.a. The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu or The Timelords defo played a role in my musical upbringing. Therefore it was quite a no-brainer to pick up this - most likely unofficial - repress of "Shag Times", a compilation album collecting a heapload of early material produced by Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. Musically oftentimes closer to the sample-heavy approach of the Beastie Boys HipHop-madness at the times than to the chart breaking Stadium House of "3 a.m. Eternal" or "Last Train To Trancentral" this is quite a trip into the anarchism of early electronic dance music in which cuts like "Whitney Joins The Jams" or "Downtown" were still possible and not the cause of major lawsuits like they'd be today.

Susanne Skog - Siberia / Sirens [Fylkingen Records]

Released on November 18th, 2k19 via Stockholm's Fylkingen Records is "Siberia / Sirens", the latest two track album piece created by Swedish sound artist Susanne Skog. Mainly based on and built around Field Recordings from her various journeys all over the world we see Susanne Skog focusing on recordings from a 9288km train trip from Moscow to Vladivostok in September 2015 with the first piece "Siberia" which is a hypnotic, time defying variation of ultraminimalist Ambient textures and ever droning background atmospheres perfectly capturing the isolationist bubble and disconnectedness from the outside world oftentimes associated with long distance train travels. "Sirens", the second composition on this album, uses - well... - sirens recorded in many places around the world within the time frame from 2013 to 2017 to turn them into a fragile, icy Cold Ambient drone, once again in conjunction with deep space-related Isolationist Ambient atmospheres and a slowly moving low frequency pulse to provide a certain kind of eerieness which makes this nearly 20 minutes spanning track an ideal candidate to sonically accompany an apocalyptic or dystopian sci-fi story of sorts. Recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!