Gabriella Smart - Inner Cities Composed By Alvin Curran [Room40 Promo]

Another fresh album released via Australian Ambient staple Room40 on October 2nd, 2k20 is "Inner Cities Composed By Alvin Curran", the latest muscial rendering brought to us by piano player Gabriella Smart who is presenting four unedited live recordings of her personal interpretation of parts of Alvin Curran's large scale composition "Inner Cities" all of which were captured live and direct at Studio 520 of ABC Classic FM in Adelaide back in 2013. Following not only the notation scheme as well as the specific instructions of how to play it we are experiencing Smart going from tender, beauteous, yet repetetive schemes in the nearly 25 minutes spanning "Inner Cities 1" to equally tender albeit slightly darker and melancholia-infused minimalisms in the subsequent "Inner Cities 2" whilst "Inner Cities 5" presents a livelier, well busy approach with its dense, dreamlike highspeed clusters and thundering rides and "Inner Cities 11 - Agilio, Oglio, Peperoncino Blues" leaves us with a warm, yet somewhat lonely winter night sadness, providing us with an intimate, very revealing personal take on pieces she had spend months, if not years, with on tour, introducing them to an audience on stage for many many nights on end. Defo recommended for friends and followers of Contemporary Classical unprocessed piano composition. A deep candlelight album, this.

Gintas K - Sound & Spaces [Powdered Hearts Records 036]

Coming in via mail all the way from Lithuania recently was "Sound & Spaces", the latest album outing created by Gintas Kraptavicius a.k.a. Gintas K for the US-based label Powdered Hearts Records. Released as a highly limited glitter cassette tape edition of 40 copies worldwide the seven tracks provided by the long-standing composer who has been on the experimental electronic music circuit since 1994 once again dive deep into the realm of hyper-abstract sound explorations, fusing a foundation of crisp, highly digital crackles, scrapes, crunches and feedback noises which make up the forefront foundation of basically all compositions on this album whilst the oftentimes intricate, in part slightly more harmonic, details and atmospheres are oftentimes hidden deep in the background of the mix, only revealing themselves to the most observant and attentive listener throughout the first listening session whilst others might need several takes to truly embrace every deep layer provided by Gintas K over the course of "Sounds & Spaces". A demanding longplay outing for true avantgarde connaisseurs.

Lucidvox - We Are [Glitterbeat Records 099]

Released on October 23rd, 2k20 via Glitterbeat Records is "We Are", the first international album release for Russian all-female band outift Lucidvox who've been on the local DIY Rock circuit for roughly a decade now. With their sound often described as a mixture of Psychedelic Rock infused by KrautRock and echoes of Russian Folk the band is drawing peripheral influences from acts like The Slits, Warpaint. Pixies and others, more in terms of DIY attitude and not so much in terms of actual musical expression, the opener "My Little Star" weighs in a large scale intro, dramatic, ever meandering structures and well captivating ethereal, multilayered vocals which will put the quartets native Russian language on the international Rock map for a reason whilst the thundering, ultra dense "Knife" causes serious moshpit action with its haunted - and hounded - attitude whereas "You Are" comes in with a shoegazing, dreamy take on late X-Mal Deutschland for those who know, "Body" is in for full on angelic Psychedelic PunkRock, "Sever" presents a whirling fire circle of hypnotic, enthralling intensity and the second to last  "Around" in part even evokes memories of action-laden anime soundtracks transferred into guitar-driven uptempo PsychRock realms just to name a few. Check.

CANCELLED: 24.12.2k20 Raven Gegen Santa @ Beat Boutique / Hamburg

Obvious things are obvious. Due to the recent and still unresolved COVID-19 situation the long-term planned and announced X-mas gathering aptly named "Raven Gegen Santa" is not going down at Hamburg's Beat Boutique / Hamburg in 2k20. We'll catch you on the dancefloor after all this craze is over even though this night was planned out as a final NuSkoolBreaks / ElectroBreaks allnighter In Hamburg for baze.djunkiii as label work and other commitments within the scene have become way more important and more rewarding than setting up and promoting events.

baze.djunkiii will remain active on the DJ and radio circuit though and is still available for shows on request. Watch this space for further announcements.

Oliver Coates - Skins N Slime [RVNG Intl. 068 Promo]

Released via the ever active imprint that is RVNG Intl. on October 16th, 2k20 is "Skins N Slime", the latest conceptual album piece created by British cellist and producer Oliver Coates. Creating the distinct sound of the album by employing certain automated looper techniques which transform, alter and process the instruments organic sounds in a somewhat uncanny and alienated manner, like observing (Neo)Classical composition techniques through the sonic equivalent of frosted glass or experiencing a futuristic, AI-generated and slightly faulty, grainy holographic presentation generated from a heavily weathered data set - think: Princess Leia's holographic cry for help played back by R2D2 - the entire longplay piece, especially with its super cohesive five-part composition "Caregiver" as the albums major body of work taking up roughly 50% of its playtime a.k.a. the first half of "Skins N Slime" presents a new, thrilling take on the field of Modern Classical / Contemporary Classical music which will also resonate with experimental electronic music and Noize connaisseurs as well as even Shoegaze / Doom- & Post Metal and Sludge headz due to the powerful harmonic distortion and drama provided in tunes like  "Caregiver Part 5 (Money)" or "Reunification 2018" whilst enchanting followers of Nordic Folk and its mythology with beautiful tunes like the "Philomela Mutation" taken off of the soundtrack for Marianna Simnett's short film 'The Bird Game'. Well intredasting and surely outerworldly.

Mesias Maiguashca - Oeldorf 8 [Karlrecords 081]

The next one to be released, or better: re-released, via Karlrecords on October 25th, 2k20 is "Oeldorf 8 - for magnetic tape and four", the 1976 debut album by Ecuadorian and at the time Oeldorf-based electroacoustic composer Mesias Maiguashca. Studying alongside and working with the famed Karlheinz Stockhausen throughout the late 60s and early 70s as well as being a member of the so-called Oeldorf Group his album debut, which as a piece was premiered two years prior to release at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, consists of ten pieces for a quartet of instrumentalists and magnetic tape with specific stage and performance instructions. Introduced by an extended Spoken Work section in which Mesias Maiguashca reflects on his work solo as well with and within the Oeldorf Group the ten pieces are presented as a continuous flow of sonic events, overlapping and interfering with eachother, slowly growing over the artists very own voice in various layers of swirls, bleeps and other well recognizable forms of early electroacoustic composition techniques before making way for enchanted sections and sequences of (Neo)Classical explorations providing room for violin, clarinet, violoncello and electronic organ to shine in a beautiful, oftentimes minimalist manner with corresponding phrases and harmonic interactions both lively as well as subtle and slow moving, go along with the underlying experimental baseline provided by the magnetic tape, culminate in a shrieking, droning crescendo shortly after minute 30+ before finally embracing the limited, yet highly thrilling and captivating possibilities of electronic sound creation of this era to create a fascinatingly (time)warped, still somewhat futuristic sonic realm screaming SCI-FI in - now retrofuturist, ofc - capitals before slowly, and calmly, fading out for a closing and - once again - Spoken Word credits. An essential piece of early electronic music history. Get.

Album artwork on Instagram!

User54466587890 - Voltmeter EP [User Recordings 012]

Fresh on the circuit via User Recordings is User54466587890's "Voltmeter EP", a new digital two track single in which the basically quasi-anonymous producer opens with "Untitled 1", a bleak and grinding, well feedback heavy take on greyscale Techno / Rhythm Industrial fully reminiscent of acts like Fred Bigot's Electronicat in its early stages as well as dark'ish distorted Pan Sonic / Panasonic outings whereas the subsequent title track "Voltmeter" brings forth a new level of Desolation Techno built off of hollow, ever monotonous drums alongside numbing off-rhythm loops and an intense, alarming and surely soul-eating synth motif later down the line. If concrete had a musical equivalent it'd be made off of the essence of these two tracks combined. Fascinatingly depressing.

Nick Storring - My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell [Orange Milk Records]

Coming in from Toronto / Canada only recently is "My Magic Dreams Have Lost Their Spell", the sixth full length solo album by acclaimed composer / producer / sound architect Nick Storring which was released via Orange Milk Records on March 27th, 2k20. Comprised of a total of six pieces rolled out over the course of 46 minutes in total, each built from a dense layering of a literally a gazillion of instruments like hammered dulcimer, toy gamelan, violin, singing bowls and many many more, both acoustic or treated electromechanically alongside several electronic devices Storring creates a dense, somewhat mystical, enchanted and naturalistic overall atmosphere bordering Ambient and Indietronica at times whilst crossing over into PostRock, Post-PostRock and PopAmbient at others, touching on score works and variations of echoes of Contemporary Classical composition - or even Jazz in the most complex "What A Made-Up Mind Can Do" - yet never fully settling on one of the mentioned genres alone but rather wafting in a realm, meandering back and forth in a hazy mythical mist like a friendly, yet intangible interdimensional entity visiting from the outer realms of being. Deep.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Afflicted - The Versus Series Vol. 01 [Afflicted In Techno 002 / Nuon Music ]

Once again coming in as a highly limited and hand-cut lathe cut 12" four tracker most DJs and record collectors won't even come close to ever see ever is "The Versus Series Vol. 01", the latest outing by prolific duo Afflicted who see their original cut "Cosmos" remixed by the likes of Sakin Bozkurt, Sven Laakenstyk and Alberto Santana on this one. Hence it being a lathe cut it's hard to determine which is the A- and which is the B-side here but the overall vibe of this release is heavily leaning towards a massive bigroom attitude, presenting a fusion of pumping muscular Techno and contemporary Mainstyle Trance which is about to resonate with large scale EDM festival crowds rather than the uber-cool black existentialist Berghain worshippers for a reason despite it's not unlikely that these cuts might find their way into sets of popular figures like Amelie Lens or Charlotte De Witte which do not shy away from a bit of a crossover into a realm that might be disregarded as 'too commercial' by die-hard Underground Techno headz.

Listen Again: DJ Blazik & baze.djunkiii Mix Session on Rave FM [S02E04] (23.10.2k20)

Enjoy baze.djunkiii's very first appearance on the pirate radio circuit of neighbouring country Poland with a 60 whipping minutes Drum'n'Bass guest mix embedded in DJ Blazik's "Mix Session" show on October 23rd, 2k20. Listen to the entire show or skip to minute 35 to head directly to the extended announcement of his guest mix.

CVSO - Basic Cuts EP [Cheezy Crust Records 004]

Basic cuts and basic information. Soon to be released via the Hamburg-based imprint Cheezy Crust Records is the debut 12" by their latest signing CVSO which is the "Basic Cuts EP". Employing a basic approach to track names, with each cut named after its exact position on the record - hence: A1, A2, B1, B2 - and a stamped whitelabel vibe their vinyl firstling weighs in a sweet, ever meandering and evolving journey of well timeless qualities, exploring a sonic realm best described with the term Intelligent Techno for all those who still hold Richie Hawtin & John Acquaviva's "X-Mix-3 - Enter: Digital Reality!" in high regards as one of the best electronic music mix compilations ever, providing and intricate interplay of highly detailed synth melodies whilst echoes of echoes of dubby elements move in and out the vast space of audible perception whereas more muscular tunes provide a taste of straight-forward Techno, Acid and (Tech)Trance, yet are still influenced by an inevitable DubTechno vibe present over the course of their extended playtimes stretched over 7 to 11 minutes for the individual cuts each. Good stuff.

Vinyl artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 10/2k20

Martin Taxt - First Room [Sofa Music]

Put out on the circuit via Norwegian experimental music staple Sofa Music on September 18th, 2k20 is "First Room", the latest album by artist / composer / instrumentalist Martin Taxt who is setting out on a journey to explore the relationship between architecture and music in a series of albums of which this is the first. Drawing inspiration from the Japanese tea room and the tatami mat and attributed with a schematic floor plan on the front cover which as well provides a foundation for a musical score Taxt , alongside fellow artist Inga Margrethe Aas, creates a 35+ minutes one track piece in which his microtonal approach to tuba playing in conjunction with careful, slow moving sinewave modulations corresponds with Aas' additions on viola de gamba and double bass to create a solemn, inward looking stream of Ambient, sometimes even Dark Ambient-bordering movements of partly ceremonial character which suits the idea and source of inspiration behind this conceptional album quite well. A sonic study for inner exploration cut in two parts by a surprising mid track break which separates the calm, harmonic first part of the recording from a somewhat haunted live recorded performance of the same piece in the second half. Deep.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Chucky Baby - Queen Of The Night *The Teknoist Remix

Technoist / The Teknoist · Chucky Baby - Queen Of The Night (The Teknoist Remix)

Is TranceCore a thing yet? If not it surely should be. This one is a quite beautiful take on uptempo dancefloor destruction. Go and listen.

Kasper Jonas Jensen - Plasma in DEX Garden [Clang 070 Promo]

Scheduled for release via the ever active Clang label on October 23rd, 2k20 is "Plasma In DEX Garden", the forthcoming nine track album by Danish artist / composer Kaspar Jonas Jensen. Inspired by complex blockchain technologies and their novel ways to produce real and imaginary value through processing data Jensen creates a dramatic and intense sound field from the first seconds of the UnAmbient opener "State Channels" onwards, a blurry state of spatial movements within the three-dimensional sonic field, with each track named after a certain technical term of block chain technology representing a state of sonic uncertainty and indifference, being a single individual, somewhat threatening and / or brooding mass of sound that just exists in a state of in-between, non-static yet non-moving or developing towards a certain identifiable goal or next evolutionary step, a droning non-drone, a cold, sci-fi leaning womb of warmth, a hovering cloud of outerworldly communication and signal processing when it comes to "Markle Trees", hazy ethereal harmonies in the "Main Network" as well as glacial developments detected in "Malicious Activity" as well as in the 11+ minutes spanning closing "Market Liquidity" just to name a few pieces here. Is DSA a thing yet? Read as: Data Stream Ambient.

Out Today: Combat Dubs - Combat Dubs II [Intrauterin Recordings 007]

bazedjunkiii · COMBAT DUBS - Combat Dubs II [Intrauterin Recordings 007] (Snippets)

Tracklist
A1: Crystals
B1: Crystals *Speed Mix


File under: UK Garage / Breakbeat / Speed Garage.

After their Grime / Dubstep leaning debut single in late 2018 Intrauterin Recordings mastermind baze.djunkiii and production partner Sascha Müller return with a new outing of their conjunctional COMBAT DUBS project. With „Crystals“ they're coming at us with a special twist, presenting a fascinating crossover of UK Garage and Breakbeat sporting overwhelming basslines and a crystalline, most beautiful and ever cascading synth motif whilst the flipside sees the pair of producers diving deep into raw SpeedGarage / BasslineHouse territories for maximum dancefloor pressure with the aptly titled „Crystals *Speed Mix“.

Initial pressing will be limited to 200 copies on white 7" vinyl.



Vinyl Distribution Worldwide:
- Word And Sound / Hamburg

Shops / Mailorder:
- Intrauterin Recordings Bandcamp
- deejay.de
- Juno Records / UK
- Lobster Records / London, UK
- Minor Mailorder / Leipzig
- No Way Merchandise / Berlin
- Otaku Records / Hamburg
- Redeye Records / Ipswich, UK
- Serendeepity / Milano, Italy

and many many more worldwide... - contact your local record shop or trusted mailorder for order options!

23.10.2k20 baze.djunkiii presents JDB. @ Rave FM 98.5 / Krakow, Poland

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Freebreakz.FWD]

file under: Drum'n'Bass

For the first time ever baze.djunkiii is about to enter the pirate radio realm of neighbouring country Poland with a commissioned guest DJ mix for Rave FM 98.5 - expect one hour of dark'ish, stripped down Drum'n'Bass!

transmission time: tba.
short term schedule will be posted at the stations facebook page!

Get locked to Rave FM 98.5 on your FM dial locally in Krakow / Poland!

Update:
Also tune in via 99.5FM in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz as well as via 108.0FM in Bielsko Biala.

Luciane Cardassi - Going North [Redshift Records]

Scheduled for release on October 30th, 2k20 via Redshift Records is "Going North", the forthcoming album by praised and awarded long-standing Brazilian-Canadian piano player Luciane Cardassi who's released her debut "Preludios Em Porto Alegre" back in 1998 and has been making waves on the classical and experimental music circuit ever since. On her new album she employs her natural combination of piano and vocals alongside additional electronic enhancements to present a total of eight compositions by both Canadian and Brazilian composers, amongst them the likes of Darren Miller, Emilie Lebel, Chantale Laplante and Terri Hron. Opening with a take on Hron's 12+ minutes spanning "Ahojahoj" the listener is immediately drawn in by a well haunted, dark intro sequence and soon starts to explore a well Noir combination of haunting electronic atmospheres, twisted vocals and samples with a more documentalist feel alongside spatial, yet minimalist piano manipulations going well beyond the use of keys, strings and hammers whilst the second piece "Dois Afrorismos Com Interludio" by Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann provides more of a playful, (Neo)Classical-leaning exercise in dramatic piano minimalism. Furthermore Emilie Lebel's "Wonder" sees Luciane Cardassi dive into a world of heavy chords, plucked, chiming strings, frolicking high notes and beautifully scenic Spoken Word poetry, Alexandre Espinheira's "Berimbau" focuses on a surprisingly tense and brooding, danger-heralding vibe inherent to its buzzing, fast changing sonic eruptions and multi-layered, echoing vocal repetetions whilst the stripped "Estudo De Um Piano" by Chantale Laplante amalgamates echoes of echoes of electroacoustic composition with a well Morricone'esque tension and therefore turns out to be our favorite cut on this longplayer. The subsequent "For Will Robbins" by Darren Miller presents a late night deep listening exercise in silence and response, "Converse", a collaborative composition by Lia Sfoggia, Guilherme Bertissolo and Luciane Cardassi herself, is a spatial, and slightly space-themed, ever spiralling flow of Contemporary Piano Classical and the concluding Fernando Mattos piece "The Boat Sings" waves goodbye in a well twisted and brooding manner with its sparse, nightly and inward looking, somewhat subdued minor tones and off-kilter string manipulations. A thrilling vision of Contemporary Classical Music, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

User27465657783 - Streets EP [User Recordings 011 Promo]

User27465657783 is the next in a series of quasi anonymous artists to provide a new digital single on User Recordings, the "Streets EP". Opening with a take on "The Streets Of Vilnius By Night" we're exploring a nine minutes study of an Electro / Electronica / ChillOut fusion paired with beautifully floating positive Acid(Trance) modulations for long SpaceNight sessions whilst "To Sander (Edit)" weighs in a well haunted intro and spooky atmospheres accompanying a fast, surely R.A.V.E.-oriented HardTrance banger for absolute peaktime sets with its galopping hi-speed basslines and dark'ish synth modulations. A killer cut, this last one.

NO MORE - The End Of The World [Rent A Dog]

Scheduled for release on October 24th, 2k20 - the final Record Store Day for this weird and twisted year - via their main label Rent A Dog is "The End Of The World", the latest and limited to 333 hand-numbered copies vinyl release by German PostPunk / (No)Wave legends NO MORE who've cooked up quite a special for this one. Pressed on beautiful transparent orange vinyl this six track EP is dedicated to the art of the cover song, opening with a dark and dreamy, yet well dramatic take on Lee Hazlewood's "Summer Wine" whereas the classic Lou Reed / Velvet Underground cut "Venus In Furs" meanders in between a certain desert feel and inward looking psychedelic shoegazing and Skeeter Davis' "The End Of The World" is a description of these apocalyptic days as soft and comforting as it gets. Furthermore NO MORE's treatment of Joy Division's "Ice Age" presents a vampire'esque and haunted way past midnight dancefloor anthem for all the buzzing creatures of the night, their cover of "Eisengrau" by Hamburg-legends X-Mal Deutschland turns into a full on homage to the meandering, hypnotic original vibe inherent to many a X-Mal D song and finally Marc Almond's 1984 song "My Death" becomes not only an excellent finale but a fragile, brittle and somewhat romantic reflection on one's very own mortality for a closing.

Arurmukha - 14.11.90: Ein Akustisches Psychogramm [Karlrecords 082 Promo]

A political concept album dealing with the parallel eviction of thirteen squatted houses in Berlin in 1990 produced by two well accomplished artists under a conjunctional one-off guise translating as "greedy demons"? That sounds like proper propaganda to us and even though it is a re-issue of an originally 1993-released album produced by Marc Weiser of Rechenzentrum-fame and Jürgen Hendlmeir now put on the circuit again by the Karlrecords label, an imprint we usually hold in high regards for its oftentimes excellent releases, after the original album has been out of print for 25 years we're pretty much in doubt that we're willing to back the openly anti-capitalist message and obviously heavily biased narrative and intention behind the original production uncommented because we don't roll this way and we clearly don't endorse it. And even with its Industrial-reminiscing collage-techniques, Plunderphonic-attitude, multi-tape layerings, repetetive pitch changes and a compositional approach clearly harking back to bands like Einstürzende Neubauten track titles like "Schwarzer Montag", "Tanz Auf Dem Vulkan" or "Radio Kalaschnikow" as well as oftentimes simplifying, slogan'esque and blatantly leftist, anti-capitalist and anti-establishment vocals / vocal cut-ups which make "14.11.90: Ein Akustisches Psychogramm" a document of its times probably worthwhile re-releasing for historical reasons only there's simply no workaround for the fact that this album most likely aims at an audience of political activists, squatters, leftwing communes, the so-called free radio scene, supporters of grassroot democracy and the likes of. And as we're not part of any one of the named groups both content, message and not necessarily outstanding technical execution are quite strenuous and hard to endure over the course of  16 tracks and 48 minutes. Some things are better left unearthed and forgotten and this album is one of those, not only for its obvious lack of subtlety and the misapprehension that just making a lot of noise equals political protest and implies that someone or a certain group of has a valuable point, or goals, or whatever.

Hi-RYZE - Bitter Pill [Yozmaz Productions 010]

Coming in from straight from Ipswich / UK these days is the "Bitter Pill" EP which is the latest sonic recipe cooked up by long standing Techno producer Dave Campbell for his Hi-RYZE alias, once again released via Yozmaz Productions which is the main outlet for his music under several guises these days. Opening with "I Need (People)" we see Campbell fusing playful and well friendly bleep melodies, seductive vocal samples and complex, intertwining string / pad sections to create a pumping piece of well uplifting Intelligent Techno / UK Techno crossover on A1 whilst the subsequent title track "Bitter Pill" weighs in more of a jacking, Chicago-leaning and track'ish attitude for heaving late night crowds, presumably best fitting for semi-legal underground basement parties of sorts. Flipping the wax to "Incantation" provides dark'ish, stumbling low-end clonks as well as a powerful stomping drum foundation for a filtered, minimal and 'troity main synth motif unfolding before "Track N Trace" rounds things off with an exploration of 808-heavy slo-mo Electro realms whilst crossing over into IDM territories with beautifully sculpted melodic bass movements and more detailed melodic interminglings for advanced ChillOut floors. Proper good, this.

TMUX - State Of Exception [False Industries 031 Promo]

Released via Berlin-based label False Industries as their cat.no. 031 in the imprints 10th year on the circuit is "State Of Exception", the debut album for TMUX which is the latest brainchild and musical guise employed by False Industries-mastermind Yair Etziony. Heavily influenced by the still ongoing COVID-19 situation and quarantine whilst drawing inspiration from his former DJ career which started in the 90s on a diet of bass heavy Breakbeat-infused music and beyond the nine track album starts with a great, well familiar vocal sample leading into the opener "Hand Disinfection" which amalgamates Deadbeat-like Dubstep beats with brooding basslines and a slow motion Future Jungle attitude before "Dead Skin" gives way to overwhelming, slightly breathing Dark Ambient structures and "Lockdown" is in for a dark, atmospheric take on apocalyptic Breakbeat Phonk whilst evoking memories of the complexity of Drum'n'Bass productions catered by the likes of Photek, Source Direct or the No U-Turn crew back in the golden 90s. The follow up "Stay Safe" sees Etziony exploring an intense, cold and futuristic Ambient realm, "Metropolis" is as lively, chromatic and buzzing as a big city should be 24/7/365 and "A Place Where There Is No Darkness" presents a skeletal, pitched down version of what was once known as Dark Garage with its ever morphing bass lines, extended breakdowns and spine-tingling vocal samples. Furthermore "The New Normal" immediately sets future dancefloors in motion with a combination of stripped down swing beats, beautiful atmospheric layerings and overwhelming, all embracing raw vintage basslines, "State Of Exception" is a blueprint for yearning, cinematic Ambient Noir with a late night twist and the final cut that is "Umwelt" amalgamates Industrial Bass riddim madness with deep, more Electronica-leaning melodic elements to a great effect whilst also rocking advanced club settings throughout the wee hours. Recommended.

Snowdrops - Volutes [Injazero Records 013 Promo]

Released via Injazero Records on October 16th, 2k20 is "Volutes", the seven track sophomore album by Snowdrops, the Chamber Music-leaning duo comprised by Mathieu Gabry and Christine Ott who've been performing under this conjunctional guise since 2015. Based on strings, piano and the electronic instrument named Ondes Martenot alongside other minor instrumental additions the pair opens their musical journey with "Comma (Variation 1)", a somewhat yearning, melancholia-infused and surely desolate piece of score'esque (Neo)Classical music drawing part of its fascination from the distinct sonic influence of the space it's been recorded in whereas "Trapezian Fields" explores deep and dreamlike piano elegies alongside complimenting, slightly kitschy electronic atmospheres which are taking us back to the 80s in some form or another whilst "Ultraviolet" is as innocent and naturalistic as dew-covered meadows sparkling in (very...) early morning sunlight. The subsequent "Eloge De L'Errance" is an exercise in cascading crystalline piano romanticisms, "Inception" provides more deeply touching string and pad arrangements for inward looking rainy afternoons accompanied by a soft, yet dynamic piano motif before "Odysseus" finally weighs in some long awaited darkness and droning drama before the softer, light-hearted and hyper-harmonic side of the duo takes over again, leading the way towards "Comma (Variation 2)" which finally closes the circle on a peaceful and soothing end theme vibe which provides beauty and hope and a vision of a silver lining at the horizon for all those shaken by these trouble times. Quite a sugar-coated one, this, and therefore maybe a little too much for both lovers of score and (Neo)Classical music even though we're sure there surely is an audience for exactly this kind of super comforting musical vision out there.

Edith Lettner & Dafna Naphtali - We Q [Clang 069 Promo]

Released via the ever active Clang label on September 25th, 2k20 is "We Q", the most recent collaborational album on the imprint crafted and carved out by Edith Lettner and Dafna Naphtali who originally met for the first time in New York back in 2k17. Combining their artistic approaches to explore a shared sonic realm with Lettner on saxophone and duduk and Naphtali taking care of both electro-acoustic composition and electronic live processing of incoming signals the hour long album weighs in a quite eclectic, expressive and partially well dramatic combination of these elements, drawing influences from Jazz and Free Improv with vocals driven by Dada-, (Hypermodern) Opera- and borderline madness, partly electronically reprocessed, partly accompanied by dry electronics and all its warps, glitches and texures which make up the trademark sound for experimental Max/MSP-based programming and sonic sculpting to create a demanding, for some even nerve-wrecking, listening experience speaking to highly experienced connaisseurs and followers of advanced (electronic) art music. An album for the well adventurous listener.

Michalis Moschoutis - Classical Mechanics [Room40 Promo]

Released via the Australian imprint Room40 on October 2nd, 2k20 is "Classical Mechanics", the most recent four track album composed by Athens / Greece-based artist Michalis Moschoutis who - inspired by classical principles of physics and pre-physics as well as action and reaction as an inseperable pair of conjoined, intertwined terms - recorded and captured simple sonic observations, glued together without the intent of leaving any hint for interpretation except for the listeners very own experience. In "Archery" this results in a combination of dramatic, single minor scale piano chords in conjunction with intricate cracklings and what seem to be by supersubdued reed instruments whereas the title track "Classical Mechanics" reveals close-up movements of clanging metal strings and wires which, together with warm, all embracing Ambient textures and echoes of highly digital Electronica, have a dreamlike, slighty psychedelic and well comforting effect on us, especially in headphone listening sessions. Furthermore "Soft Tissue" introduces beautifully droning, well scenic atmospheres and vibratos building up towards a noisy, intimidating crescendo as a backdrop for carefully plucked strings and tender vintage clicks and crackles before the final cut that is "Sounio" fuses tender piano notes, the calming sound of moving water on a perfect summers day alongside fading percussion events of accelerating speed and nervous respiratory sounds to form a well harmonic and beautiful closing for this longplay piece.

New Hermitage - Unearth [self-released]

Once again put out on the circuit independently and without the additional help of a label is "Unearth", the fifth and latest full length album release by Halifax / Montreal based band outfit New Hermitage. Released on September 17th, 2k20 the eleven tracks and roughly 36 minutes spanning longplayer sees the 2017-founded four piece project led by reed play Andrew MacKelvie on an explorative journey in sound, bringing on an entirely acoustic, improv-informed take on stripped down, highly intimate contemporary Chamber Music of sorts which is aware of the most tender of musical interactions as showcased best in the melancholic, slightly droning late night piece that is "Moss | Rust" with its slow melodic movements and carefully plucked strings which also play a multi-layered, corresponding role in the follow up studies "Skeletons" as well as "Pine Bottle Skylight", both being surely infused by most minimal Post-PostRock / Ambient PostRock out there, whereas the second to last cut named "Desertification" does not only sport our favorite track title on this album but also fuses most caressing guitar and harp interactions with beauteous autumnal atmospheres just to pick a few recommended cuts for those who want to dig deeper into the sound of New Hermitage. One for candle lit late night listening sessions.

Album artwork on Instagram!

User33337758001 - Mutant EP [User Recordings 010 Promo]

The next one to be released in a series of weekly digital singles issued via the thriving imprint User Recordings is the so-called "Mutant  EP", this time crafted by User33337758001. Opening with the only two minutes long "Space Mutant Waschtrommel" we're experiencing a sequence of crackling and chirping experimental Noize transmissions of possibly modular origin whilst the similarly cryptic "Sreottrzeuvtree" caters a dry and pretty much unprocessed, yet jacking take on raw underground and oldskool Chicago-leaning Acid(House) with an electroid twist for all you real track headz out there.

Ustad Saami - Pakistan Is For The Peaceful [Glitterbeat Records 097]

Released by the ever active Glitterbeat imprint on October 9th, 2k20 is "Pakistan Is For The Peaceful", the sophomore album outing for Pakistani Surti master Ustad Saami who is considered to be the last living purveyor of his craft and art which is a kind of Islamic devotional music even pre-dating the ancient Qawwali style. Recorded live in his Karachi-based rooftop home the entire album features a total of three tracks with two of them stretched out to or even breaking the 20 minutes playtime barrier his second longplayer sees the now 76 years old artist being accompanied by his quartet of sons as (response) vocalists and on traditional instruments like tambura and tabla whilst providing a beautiful, captivating and ever droning journey lead by microtonal vocal modulations practised and refined over an entire lifespan, emotionally touching and fascinating even for non-religious listeners, telling sonic tales of deep devotion as well as of century- or even millenia-old traditions and a hot desert sun burning down relentlessly on ever dust covered settlements, dry lands and their hard-working, ever struggling inhabitants leading a simple life of hard, physically demanding work and unchanging, deeply rooted religious beliefs. A fascinating document of a soon to be extinct artform. Not only recommended to those interested in Ethnic Music / World Music research but also to those loving their Ambient / Ritual Ambient / Deep Listening Music for a reason. Get.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Meat. Karaoke. Quality. Time. - Futura Bold [Umland Record 035]

Another more recent album released via Essen-based label Umland Records is "Futura Bold", the first musical outing by the trio cryptically named Meat. Karaoke. Quality. Time.. Comprised of Jan Klare, Florian Walter and Karl-F. Degenhardt and employing a plethora of synthesizers including the Moog Mother 32 and Akai EWI 4000S the group sets out for a well explorative journey over the course of 17 tracks and more than 70 minutes total playtime which results in the most electronic and Electronica-leaning longplay piece on the label so far, fleshing out brooding and surely unsettling IDM cuts like "Salt / Ecstasty / Floss" with its subdued, electroid aesthetics and a hint of subaquatic crimescene Skweee whereas "Light Blue / Immersive / Fresh Concrete / [...]" weighs in a cold, collage'esque sci-fi atmosphere mixed with an intense opening dialogue and various real life sample sources , "Slow Strobes (Associative Disorder)" reveals a sequence of, sometimes well tongue-in-cheek, modular bleeps and squeezes only to work its way towards a short series of alarming, heavy, reverberating vantablack Electronica beats, caters an ecstatic,fever'ish Synth Industrial jam session with the mental, yet surprisingly dancefloor-suitable "A Clearing, Ritual Dances, Soil, Prospect" whilst the second-to-last "Nucleus And Cupid" brings on a solemn take on Marine Synth Ambient/ (Neo)Cosmic with its yearning improvisations and touching, klaxon'esque vintage signals just to name a few. Highly intredasting, this.

Usssy - Po Krugu [Koolarrow Records 044 Promo]

Fresh on the circuit via Koolarrow Records since September 25th, 2k20 is "Po Krugu", the latest sonic outing created by Moscow-based Psychedelic Rock / Noise Rock outfit Usssy. Fusing named styles with influences of (Desert) Blues as well as Black Metal and, most importantly, an ever growing significance of elements taken from Eastern / Middle Eastern music the entirety of nine songs on this roughly 40 minutes spanning album, which is the second after the bands resurgence in 2018, provide a hypnotic, fascinating ride into what might be filed under the flag of Desert Psychedelia of mostly instrumental nature and cater a very down-to-earth Americana-leaning feel with ever spiralling, emotionally touching Eastern influences telling tales of deserts and dust, assassins of yore, sheiks and their harems, projecting a plethora of pictures into one's innermost consciousness, balancing familiarity and unacquaintedness within each single moment of this stirring, intoxicating musical maelstrom. This is a trip - at least up to halfway down Track 4 for us as the CDr promo copy we've received turned out to be strangely damaged and unplayable right after this point. Which is a sad thing.

Summer Of Seventeen - Summer Of Seventeen [Karlrecords 081 Promo]

One realizes that one lives in troublesome times when bands and projects refer to catastrophic events as a major influence for their most recent album outings. With this in mind we'd say the forthcoming self-titled longplay debut of the American band outfit Summer Of Seventeen is at least the third, if not fourth, album we've reviewed over the course of the last months which draws inspiration from major devastating wildfires occuring throughout their production, oftentimes in close proximity to their place of recording. Set for release via Karlrecords on October 23rd, 2k20 the eight tracks and 41 minutes spanning firstling is harking back to the wildfire events in Washington state in the summer of 2k17 - hence the name Summer Of Seventeen - and sees the five piece band including Drone / Dark Ambient composer Daniel Menche alongside other well known names set out for an apocalyptic journey in sound, a dense, droning and ever alarming maelstrom of Dark Ambient textures accompanied by slo-mo feedback sequences, clanging metal pieces of well unsettling nature, desolate Post-PostRock / Desert Blues guitars, distorted, demonic Grindcore screamings, outerworldly, yet warped ecclesiastical choirs, subdued Rhythm Industrial, whipping electrical short circuits, barely audible whispers and a feel of immanent doom and horror which is not to be force fed to the faint hearted for a reason. This is the beautifully dark soundtrack for traumatic nightmares.

Listen Again: baze.djunkiii - Wunderbar Together: A Tribute Mix @ Radio Flouka / Paris, France (08.10.2k20)

Radio Flouka راديو فلوكة · BAZE DJUNKIII WUNDERBAR TOGETHER - A Tribute Mix | Radio Flouka 08/10/2020

Schmo - Spring Story [Flau 082 Promo]

Put on the circuit via Japanese imprint Flau on September 18th, 2k20 is "Spring Story", the latest album release by Perth / Australia-based composer Harry Hohnen a.k.a. Schmo who is covering loads of experimental ground with 15 new tracks rolled out over the course of roughly 50 minutes total playtime. Describing his working process with words like 'practical' and 'tinkering' each tune featured on this album is a result of honest musical craftmanship and versatility, be it the beautiful Ambient pads meet Tribal rhythm signatures in the opening cut "Bring Flowers", the tender, folksy and full on naturalistic Indietronica flow of the subsequent "Overflow" or the Old Time Jazz-looping loop collage of "Gambit", the large scale cinematic Score Ambient of "Pears" and the sad and mourning Jazz Noir vibes found in "Black Rook In Rainy Weather" just to name a few. A most playful and friendly collection of musical works which is fully cohesive even though we feel all these tracks are the result of single, unrelated sonic tinkerings and weren't composed with an entire album in mind.

Sascha Müller - Traxxx Vol. 29 [SM Traxxx 52-2020]

Scheduled for release on October 22nd, 2k20 is "Traxxx Vol. 29", Sascha Müller's next outing in a neverending sequence of monthly singles he's been churning out for the SM Traxxx-imprint for years now. With "Track 57" the Uelsen-based artist fuses his ever spiralling trademark take on braincell twisting AcidTechno with scattered, electroid background beats and polylayered modulations to a great effect whilst "Track 58" weighs in a raw, unprocessed and somewhat Tribal-reminiscent beat foundation as a fascinating backdrop for razor sharp hi-hats as well as surpressed, muted but still well nervous modulation fragments bringing forth 100% spine-tingling peak time thrills. Great stuff.

Babymetal - BxMxC (Official Video)

Babymetal are going in hard again with an epic Industrial-/ Rap-crossover tune. Pure fire.

Tomoko Sauvage - Fischgeist [Bohemian Drips 013 Promo]

To be released on October 16th, 2k20 via Bohemian Drips is "Fischgeist", the latest album by Paris-based Japanese experimental sound artist Tomoko Sauvage who recorded her new five tracks and 36 minutes spanning sonic exploration in a former multi-chambered water tank in Berlin which provided not only a physically chill environment but also massive on-location reverb for her self-built sound objects and self-invented natural synthesizers. With these instruments - water-filled bowls, porous terracotta pieces and the likes of... - and their partially hydrophonic feedbacks Tomoko Sauvage creates a dark, eerie and ever droning landscape of Cold Ambient meets hyperexperimental Electronica qualities, a crackling and shifting mass of drones, hisses and self-interfering echoes for the lovers of Desolation Ambient, hyperfragmented early Pole works, Bunker Illbient and the haunted, barren post-apocalyptic battlefields of a non-existing sci-fi future alongside stripped down, melancholia-infused pieces of beautifully solemn and reverberating Dark Ambient. Intriguing and well recommended.

Machinedrum feat. Rochelle Jordan - The Relic

Machinedrum · The Relic (feat. Rochelle Jordan)

160 sickness with a cinematic attitude and longing Future R'n'B vocals for a change. We're in. 100.

Various Artists - BRÜSK: A Compilation Of Harsh Noises [Grubenwehr Freiburg]

Coming in via mail this week is "BRÜSK: A Compilation Of Harsh Noises" released as an 11 track cassette tape compilation via German underground imprint Grubenwehr Freiburg. Presenting a beautiful black and white DIY attitude in its artwork and therefore evoking memories of the 80s Industrial tape scene as well as many cassette-based (East) German Breakcore / Hardcore / Noize operations of the late 90s and early 2000s we see a wide range of eleven international artists taking on (Harsh)Noize from different angles with the ever active Dr. NoiseM and Flutwacht being the best known of the pack, operating alongside acts like Jugendwerkhof, Der Smogwürger, Bresthaft and many more, grinding, shredding and torturing away over the course of approximately an hour, focusing on ear piercing high frequency feedbacks alongside an ever morphing, twisting and warping maelstrom of most brutal midrange Noize attacks separated by an array of short - and well funny! - dialogue snippets taken from unknown sources, presumably underground movies and home videos, which turn the entire listening experience into your favorite mixtape of the month if you are into braincell crushing underground Noize for not so obvious reasons. Heavy.

Hugo Race And The True Spirit - Star Birth [Gusstaff Records Promo]

Scheduled for release via Polish imprint Gusstaff Records on October 17th, 2k20 is "Starbirth", the latest a.k.a. fifteenth full length album by Melbourne-born Rock Music staple Hugo Race who is joined by his band The True Spirit for this outing which is released as a limited lathe-cut edition of 66 copies, 2xCD and digital download - for the last mentioned as a twin album variation named "Starbirth / Stardeath". Written and conceived throughout the period of catastrophic Australian bushfires in 2019 and mixed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2k20 the twelve songs on "Star  Birth" weigh in a proper crossover between spaced out Rock, electronics and a tripping, psychedelic element prevalent from the first moments of the opener "Can't Make This Up" onwards to the smokey, touching sunset-ballad "Darkside", the ever spiralling (Neo)Cosmic / (Neo)Kraut resembling vibes of "Embryo" as well as the Pink Floyd'esque "Heavenly Bodies", the fascinating groove monster that is "Holy Ghost" and the beautiful, cinematic elegies accompanying the tender Spoken Words to be found in "United" just to name a few. Imagine a love child of Babylon Zoo, Beck, the deepest, trippiest outings of the Stereo MC's in their 'Connected'-era mixed in with the haunted souls of early The Crystal Method and the spirit of Tricky in his absolute heydays as well as good portion of dusty, classic and down-to-earth (Desert)Rock to get an idea what this all about. Essential goodness.

Hanna Schörken / Rieko Okuda - Pink Citrons [Umland Records 037]

Fresh on the circuit via Essen's Umland Records label as their cat.no. 037 is "Pink Citrons" - the first ever collaborational album effort by Hanna Schörken and Rieko Okuda, a pair of artists which first met only three years ago and have been working and touring as a duo ever since. Based on a combination of piano, voice and synthesizer the ten compositions on their longplay debut explore a quite avantgarde leaning, oftentimes improvisation-based sonic realm meandering in between Experimental Jazz, dramatic and hammering piano explosions, tender electronic textures and abstract vocal (ab)use swinging back and forth from a lyrical, emotional start to intense (non)vocal utterings on the edge of madness, from tender, accessible pieces like "She Knows" or the beautifully stripped down, intimate and somewhat folksy title cut "Pink Citrons" to cacophonic, demanding outings like "Ich  Verschwieg", the 94 seconds spanning "O Sit" as well as "In His Sleep". An album about to scare the living shit out of a faint-hearted audience but as well one to provide rewards to experienced, adventurous and probably academically trained listeners willing to invest their precious time in multiple highly focused listening sessions.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Stephan Mathieu & Ekkehard Ehlers - Herz *Thomas Brinkmann's Apple⌥rmx

Keplar · Stephan Mathieu & Ekkehard Ehlers - Herz (Thomas Brinkmann's Apple⌥rmx)

Is it really true that 19 years have passed since the collaborational album named "Heroin" by Stephan Mathieu & Ekkehard Ehlers has been released on CD? And why did the Orthlorng Musork vinyl re-release did not include all commissioned remixes back in 2003? So many questions but the definitive answer is given via the efforts of the Keplar label which is in for a complete vinyl re-issue in late October, 2k20 which does include the remix piece on display here. A wonderful deep and dubbed out Electronica journey with a well organic twist.

User18463005594 - Plug EP [User Recordings 009 Promo]

The next release on the ever thriving digital imprint User Recordings is the "Plug EP" - a new two track single piece created by User18463005594. Opening with "Plug 01" the quite anonymous artist is exploring swinging, unprocessed slow motion Electro beat structures alongside bass modulations in manual overdrive mode accompanied by a surprising and well chopped up eruption of white noise pulses throughout the tunes last third whereas the follow up "Rechteckwellen" presents a hard and pounding, yet expertly sculpted take on Trance-inducing, clap heavy Techno for peak time raves in full effect and therefore turns out to be our favorite cut on this one for a reason. Bang.

Pinkcourtesyphone - Leaving Everything To Be Desired [Room40 Promo]

Put on the circuit by the Australian imprint Room40 on September 25, 2k20 is "Leaving Everything To Be Desired" as the latest nine track album by Richard Chartier's project Pinkcourtesyphone is dubbed. Hitting us with a bunch of phrases as song titles - e.g. "A Moth Seems A Monster (For E. Kitt)", "Another Interior" or "Elaborate Patio Dining" - we see Pinkcourtesyphone's new longplayer explore a deep, blurred and hazy amalgamation of dubbed out Ambient harmonies and dramatic, partially klaxon'esque and brooding DarkAmbient pulses of well cinematic qualities, brittle and otherworldly reprocessed rhythmic swells of unknown origin, intense, vitreous deep space music for exoterrestrial dinner parties, surprisingly intimate and beautiful piano elegies, solemn melancholia as well as a driving, ever spiralling maelstrom of midrange swirls like the one to be found in our favorite album cut "How To Abolish Romance". This is what we'd call a dedicated late fall album for a reason.

Jordan Nobles - Chiaroscuro [Redshift Records]

Coming in from Toronto / Canada only recently is "Chiaroscuro", the latest - and ninth - full length album put on the circuit by Vancouver-based composer Jordan Nobles. Released via Redshift Records on July 1st, 2k20 the album features two tracks - the 2k20-revisited and originally 2014-composed "Chiaroscuro" and the 1998 piece "Pulses". Opening with the 30 minutes spanning title cut which, alike the follow up, is brought to life with the help of a nearly orchestra-sized plethora of performers and vocalists the listener is immediately drawn into a slightly hazy, chiming, time dissolving and retrofuturist sonic cloud of sorts, hovering and floating two feet above the ground like the manifestation of an interdimensional being, a nebula of consciousness which somehow takes us back to the very early days of science-fiction on screen - think: the acclaimed German series 'Raumpatrouille Orion' or the very first season of 'Star Trek' - whilst providing a deep listening experience for both lovers of score as well as rich, slowly moving, yet ever evolving Ambient music despite being of Modern Classical / Contemporary Classical nature and featuring no synthesizers or computational devices. Furthermore "Pulses" weighs in a livelier, more rhythmic and most of all spiralling, highly dynamic approach presenting a steady, playful ebb and flow not only moving in sonic density and intensity but seemingly approaching and retreating from the listener in an imaginery / psychoacoustic 3D realm to a well fascinating effect adding an additional element to the beauty of the intriguing (Neo)Classical composition itself. Recommended.

INRA - I Super Liked You By Mistake [Self-Released 003]

Put on the circuit as a self-released limited to 50 hand-numbered copies cassette tape single edition by the Berlin-based duo INRA is their latest musical outing dubbed "I Super Liked You By Mistake", a four track EP which hit the shelves - and probably: Bandcamp - on September 28th, 2k20. Most likely to be understood as a sonic commentary on the crooked and well obscure state of Tinder-dating in our modern digital society the four cuts on this soon to be sought after release explore a hollow, muffled and highly experimental realm seemingly influenced by collage'esque techniques, multi-layered (Post)-PostRock arrangements, echoes of echoes of Dub, Illbient, SpunkJazz and Electronica - all mixed and mingled in a slightly fever'ish, dreamlike and well psychedelic lo-fi fashion somewhat reminiscent of the Bavarian project H at times, at others more tense, brooding and claustrophobic and therefore well suitable as a soundtrack for these trouble times.

Cassette artwork on Instagram!

08.10.2k20 baze.djunkiii In The Mix @ Radio Flouka / Paris, France (2100 GMT+1)

„WUNDERBAR TOGETHER“ – a tribute mix to a celebration of German-American friendship. A year has passed since baze.djunkiii was invited by German Goethe Institut to participate in the Portland, Oregon tour stop of their „Wunderbar Together Pop-Up Tour“ in October 2k19 - a part of a total of 13 months spanning celebration of German-American friendship filled to the brim with a vast array of cultural events, lectures and cultural exchange. As a representative of German electronic music culture baze.djunkiii played a series of vinyl DJ-sets in this context, exclusively focusing on records and tracks produced by German producers and / or released by German labels. This mix is an excerpt and celebration of the music played in Portland, an essence of and a glimpse on underground electronic music that came straight outta Germany over the course of the past 20+ years.

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]

file under: Armchair Techno / TechHouse / German Electronics

transmission time: 21oo - 22oo GMT+1

get locked via Radio Flouka
Paris
France

Notstandskomitee - SKU (Official Video)

Malte Steiner a.k.a. Notstandskomitee brings us a fascinating take on detailed, clean and hypermodernist (Electro)Phonk with the first video taken off of his most recent album "The Quarantine Report".

Vilde & Inga - How Forests Think [Sofa Music]

Forthcoming on the Norwegian label Sofa Music and scheduled for release on October 16th, 2k20 is Vilde & Inga's "How Forests Think", the second longplay piece composed by the violin / double bass duo for the imprint. Bringing on an entire 15 tracks spanning extended 2CD album we see the two extraordinary musicians weighing in their experience as a ten years standing improvisational duo to fully explore the relationship between their music and their actual recording environment - both indoors and outdoors, in this case four different spaces for this specific album including a proper studio, a mausoleum, even the Oslo harbour as well as a lake in the forest. And even though the single recordings, all captured by French sound artist Benjamin Maumus, do not reveal their actual place of origin in particular one clearly does recognize a slight, or even bigger, shift in environmental acoustics and atmosphere both in processed and unprocessed parts of the recordings, especially in more experimental pieces which exceed the regular playing techniques of the instruments and provide a welcome addition to the calm, oftentimes inward looking solemn (Neo)Classical / Contemporary vibe the music of Vilde & Inga provides even though their improvisational approach does not follow standard notations or sheet scripts. One for focused, devout and repeated late night listening sessions, this. And highly recommended to Drone / Ambient lovers as well due to the even deeper, brittle, intimate and more Field Recordings-oriented second half of "How Forests Think" which actually reconnects anyone listener to nature, especially when consumed through headphones.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Various Artists - Psycho Kidzzz Vol. 7 [Psychocandies 093]

Put on the circuit via the ever active Psychocandies imprint is their latest compilation named "Psycho Kidzzz Vol. 7", once again providing an extended overview of what happened in the context of the labels catalogue within the last year or so. And it was a lot. With a range spanning from psyched out HardAcid madness coming straight out of THE D3VI7's studio to Afflicted's raw, high octane peak time Techno exercises, 3CloneB's relentlessly stomping raw Acid Techno layouts as well as Sascha Müller's extended, ever spiralling AmbientTrance elegies to Acid hyperbrutalisms catered by RU DEAD 42 and way beyond this is well powerful ten track ride.

baze.djunkiii Charts 10/2k20

01. Purple Disco Machine & Sophie And The Giants - Hypnotized [Sweat It Out 009]
This is a bang0r. Even though we're not the biggest fans of vocal-driven Romantic House / NuDisco or whatever one drawer one might file this tune in this one cut took our hearts by storm due to its super catchy vocal hookline and well seductive SynthPop meets IndieElectro attitude. A big hit which would be on daytime Pop radio rotation in a better world.

02. Footsie - Favours [Studio 55]
Heavyweight tings are gwaning. Footsie presents a full on 14 track album on his freshly launched imprint Studio 55, invites a plethora of big man dons for features including the ones like JME, Jammer, D Double E, P Money and others and caters nothing but an essential manifesto in Grime for 2k20, bringing back the darkness, grittiness and original crimescene vibe innate to the genre from its early days. No more words needed. This is a big ting including big hits like "Pepper And Stew", dark anthems like "Finesse" or "My Own Wave" as well as heavy tear out tunes like "Music Money" and many more. Get.

03. Shan - Tanzstuecke [Running Back]
Seems like we've disregarded Running Back as a label for way too long but this is gotta change as they've been providing some well exciting, and uplifting, cuts recently. The four tracks cooked up by Shan for this 12" release are somewhat meandering in between TechHouse, echoes of ElectroClash and ecstatic, high energy House whilst weighing in the ultimate joy and oftentimes over the top cheesyness associated with genres like ItaloDisco. In doing so they're surely getting the balance right and are able to put a smile on every punters face when played out over the course of a massive peak time set.

04. тпсб [Whities 031]
The last ever release by the Whities-label operating under the Whities name before they've changed their brand to AD 93 for at least debatable if not questionable reasons sees the cryptically named artist тпсб provide one of the most exciting IDM / Electronica / Intelligent Techno crossover 12"es in ages, drawing influences from Ambient, Breakbeats, (Future)Jungle and ChillOut alike to create a sonic realm worthy to be compared to early B12, Plaid or Future Sound Of London productions which still stand out by todays standards due to their unique, universal aesthetics and take on sonic story-telling without even tyring to fit into anyone's genre drawer. Beautifully organic, yet highly futuristic at the same time.

05. The Grid - Floatation *Special Request Remix [Chemical Alley]
So this is a surpise. Out of all Dance-oriented projects of the early 90s we'd never have thought of of The Grid resurfacing in 2k20 with a special remix crafted by Paul Woolford a.k.a. Special Request but this is exactly what happened with this special clear 12" vinyl which is limited to 1000 copies. Meandering in between Balearic, Ambient, ChillOut, additional layers of Field Recordings and truly 90s sounding Dope Beats this one provides a beautiful flashback to a time in which the electronic music scene and production still was innocent and operating on a free-floating level not bound to genre drawers and structural limitations. Lovely.

06. Unknown Artist [PUSS 20203]
So the mysterious PUSS imprint is back with another 10" outing and it seems they're a well reliable source for underground bootleg editions these days. Focusing on a raw, analog and slightly oldskool-leaning take on DeepHouse paired with a spiralling hint of (Neo)Cosmic as well as a well famous vocal snippet that has been making the rounds on the House Music circuit since day dot this one is a reliable companion for heaving late night sessions in more intimate club settings of the future.

07. Afflicted vs. THE D3VI7 - The Sound Of The New Season EP [Afflicted In Techno]
See review for details...

08. Dee-Cypher - Back To Your Love EP [Fresh Milk Records 001]
UK Garage is back and it's back big time. Yet, even more important to us is the fact that classic SpeedGarage is making a return, too, and therefore it is a delight to see Dee-Cypher taking on the original pumping sound of the past to provide a timeless and well classy blueprint for a bright, ecstatic future with all four tracks featured on this EP release. Tool'ish but hella exciting, this one.

09. Robag Wruhme - Speicher 115 [Kompakt Extra 115]
Y'all already know what's going on with this one. With "Calma Calma" we see Roba Wruhme cater a contemporary TechHouse / deep (Neo)Trance piece using and abusing the beloved vocals of the C'hantal classic "The Realm" and this is exactly what we're in for on this 12" for a reason.

10. Alasdair Roberts - Fretted And Indebted [Infinite Greyscale 014]
See review for details...

RRRitalin - Ravin Cru

RRRitalin · Ravincru [160bpm] Preview

Serious NeoHardcore fire, this. Whistle crew turn up.

Ulrich Troyer - Nok 2020 [4Bit Productions 009]

Scheduled for release - or better: a kind of re-release - via 4Bit Productions on October 16th, 2k20 is Ulrich Troyer's "Nok 2020", a remastered and extended take on his first ever EP release "Nok" which was put out on the circuit as a 3" Mini CD via the influential MEGO imprint back in 2000. Now available on vinyl for the first time we see the original six tracks 'soundtrack for an imaginery cartoon' once again provide crisp, super clean and modernist Clicks'n'Cuts alongside swampy, probably Max/MSP-triggered, morphings versus a stripped down to the very core hyperdigital Dub approach in all its remastered glory even though this specific Electronica sound has fallen out of fashion and can be traced back immediately to the enthusiasms, thrills and explorative, adventurous nature of the dot.com-years and the fast forward evolution of broadband internet connections and therefore a new era of new global communication whilst "Nok 7" and "Nok 8", both previously unreleased and recovered from original DAT sources, provide a welcome and well fascinating addition to Ulrich Troyer's acclaimed firstling with their slightly gooey, yet  partly even tongue-in-cheek approach to a newly opened sonic realm. Furthermore we see Christian Fennesz catering a characteristic, guitar-driven, hazy, shoegazing Ambient / Post-PostRock rework for panoramic sunsets, the "Nok 10 (Nemeth Remix)" weighs in a harsher, more Industrial-leaning take on vantablack digital darkness whilst the concluding "Nok 11 (Nok 1 Skeleton Mix)" introduces original Subaquatic Swamp Dub to highly advanced dancefloors and is bound to become a proper hit in experimental club settings for a reason. How have two decades even passed since this was released in its original form?

Lukas Lauermann - I N [Col Legno]

Released via the experimental-leaning Col Legno imprint on September 18th, 2k20 is "I N", the second full length solo album ever created by cellist and composer Lukas Lauermann who's name might be familiar to some of our readers via collaborations with acts like Soap & Skin or Tocotronic amongst others. Naturally based on and built around the cello as his chosen instrument Lauermann presents a total of 21 pieces subsumed in several corresponding groups on this longplay piece, exceeding its natural range through electronic alterations and reprocessing, building a fascinating, yet melodic and accessible bridge between electronics and Modern Classical / Contemporary Classical composition which results in intriguing pieces like the highly dynamic, cascading and light-hearted (Neo)Classical "Finite Distinct", inward-looking tender melancholia shared between cello and piano in "Lusion / Existence" and "Here", calmly floating Ambient structures in "Dividuality / To Be", moving elegies in "Press / Consequence" as well as charming chiming micro-melodies in "Nocent" which, located towards the very end, seemingly turns out to be our most favorite piece on this well beautiful body of work. Check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

User44496970032 - My Brother EP [User Recordings 008 Promo]

Another new release on the ever active digital imprint that is User Recordings is User44496970032's "My Brother EP", once again put out as a two track single. Opening with "Computerrider" we're immediately drawn back to the dawn of TripHop / Future Jazz in the mid-90s by heavy, yet calming Acid Downbeat action reminiscent of Fauna Flash's epic 'Please...May I Sniff Your Klompen Kloqquen' whilst the title track "My Brother" combines deep, dreamlike Ambient floations with an Intelligent Techno-leaning ever so slightly morphing synth motif for fans and followers of Deep Acid. Recommended.