baze.djunkiii Charts 12/2020

01. Taylor Swift - Folklore *Meet Me Behind The Mall Edition [Republic Records]
Sometimes, on very very rare occasions, there's an album that leaves even me lost without words and Taylor Swift's is such one album, maybe the first one ever of its kind. Tender, most beautiful and poetic the multi-awarded singer has delivered an instant and timeless New Americana classic which, after less than a handful of listening sessions, already sits amongst the top ranks of my favorite albums ever and might be played on a daily for quite a long time from now on. Highly recommended.

02. Various Artists [HEARSE 003]
Electro from the dark side? Yes,please. The HEARSE label comes at us with its third release, a new four track compilation 12" comprised of tracks by Exzakt & Bfx, Kluentah, Amboss and long time Electro staple Luke Eargoggle. With all of them catering some of the coldest, sci fi-leaning Electro cuts to DJs and genre lovers alike, providing deep, yet deadly weapons for forthcoming robo wars of the future with Exzakt & Bfw's "Raw" being deadliest of them and Luke Eargoggle's "Olympia" weighing in a good portion of raw, unprocessed underground Acid for those in the know. Check out the killer silkscreen print artwork, too.

03. Various Artists - Rave Encounter Volume 1 [Rave Or Die]
This is brutal. The Rave Or Die imprint put together a selection of tracks crafted by the likes of 9999999999, Umwelt, Falhaber and Deep Dimension and combines them on a coloured 2x10" to provide nothing short of a weapon of dancefloor destruction. Filled to the brim with rave stabs and other 90s-leaning primetime elements this one weighs in a potent arsenal of highly compressed bassdrums, hints of Broken Techno and an undeniable love for Oldskool Gabba as well to cold kill ravers on the spot with each and every tune featured on here, especially when it comes to 9999999999's large scale anthem "Ich Glaube Ich Spinne" as well as Falhaber's "Kick It". The only downside of this is the super wacky and extremely floppy 10" plastic gatefold sleeve the records come in which is bound to break and tear easily.

04. Istari Lasterfahrer - Acid Skanking Vol 1 [Sozialistischer Plattenbau]
The Hamburg-based DarkJungle / Breakcore / DubCore label Sozialistischer Plattenbau is back with a new 7" release brought to us by the imprints head honcho Istari Lasterfahrer who is coming at us with two highly interesting cuts here. "Maximum Planck" on the A-side can be filed under the flag of haunted, 8bit-infused high speed Dub for heaving dancefloors whilst "Hypernism Planck" on the flip follows a similar path musically whilst adding bits and bops of a DarkJungle vibe as well as mad scratch action to the equation to make the tune resonate with a Teknival audience for a reason. Dope.

05. Basic Rhythm - Raw Basics Vol.1 [Raw Basics 0001]
Basic Rhythm is back to defy any genre drawers once again. With "Break It Down *VIP" we see the producer paying homage to the vibe and atmosphere of early UK Hardcore in the darkest, yet most minimalistic manner possible on 45rpm whilst the same tune played back on 33rpm provides an even eerier vibe whereas "Feel Me *Parris Remix" weighs in a Rave-informed take on slow, slightly clunky and minimalistic House music for a contrast.

06. Bushwacka! - All Night In Heaven EP [Plank Records 025]
It's been quite a while since we've seen the man Bushwacka! around and probably even longer since we've come across a proper new release dabbling in what used to be the highly popular Breaks / NuSkoolbreaks genre ages ago. In this new four track 12" vinyl release we've got all of this combined: bass-heavy, floating and surely Jungle-infused Breakbeats sporting ethereal vocals paired with more of a Progressive House touch - think: Distinctive Records / Distinctive Breaks back in the day -, complex ElectroBreaks rhythms for advanced dancefloors, brooding peaktime affairs like "Feng Shui" alongside classic Breaks vibes as well. Nice one.

07. DJ Space Heater - Solidarity Forever [PUSS 20204]
The bootleg-focused whitelabel PUSS is back with a surprise and with more of a novelty thing for their newest outing which comes, for the first time ever, as a stamped whitelabel 7" this time. For the A-side named "Bernie D'Agostino" we see DJ Space Heater going down a super cheesy, probably 8bit aesthetics informed 2Step road for the lulz whilst "Go With The Flow *HMT VIP" on the flip is on a well uplifting UK Funky / Funky House tip for a change and provides more dancefloor functionality as well as bright smiles on punters faces with this attitude.

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User68576685000 - Obsession EP [User Recordings 017]

Put on the circuit via digital imprint User Recordings on August 30th, 2k20 as the latest work of User68576685000 is the "Obsession EP". Opening with "Digital Obsession" we are facing a six - 6 !!! - seconds attack of warm, organic and well comforting feedback Noize before the super cryptic tune named "dsf3fdsf((dads5%5d" weighs in a slightly 90s-leaning take on icy, ever filtered Techno reminiscent of classic productions by Cisco Ferreira a.k.a. The Advent in his heydays and therefore is a proper DJ tool for those who know to work their decks right.

Yellow6 - Silent Streets And Empty Skies [Sound In Silence 076]

Put out on the circuit via the long standing Greek purveyors of Ambient music and beyond a.k.a. Sound In Silence is Yellow6's "Silent Streets And Empty Skies", the latest album conceived by Leicestershire-based producer Jon Attwood under this specific musical guise. Following the urge to create throughout the first COVID-19 induced lockdown period the nine tracks on this longplayer spanning a total of roughly 77 minutes indulge deeply in beautiful Post-PostRock infused Ambient spheres from the very first moments of the tender guitar-lead opener "Unbroken Sun (One)" onwards, a musical study and masterpiece which basically could run forever without getting boring at all whilst the subsequent "Safe" brings forth a slightly brooding take on DesertRock / DesertBlues with a distinct Americana-leaning feel whereas "V2", despite its rocket-fueled title, drifts off into a deep and peaceful PostRock dream state. The subsequent "Broadcast" is a transmission of more deep sleep inducing dream waves, "Unbroken Sun (Two)" brings forth the most tender, half-acoustic PostRock variation on this longplay outing and is therefore taking us back to Hamburg's Astrastube venue of yore for a reason and "Panam" adds a certain organic low end droning to the carefully struck strings and masterfully worked out melodic guitar meanderings building up towards an early first climax regarding the tunes entire runtime of approx. 19 minutes as an indicator. Furthermore "Doubled" pairs sparse guitar tones with glacial, icy Ambient droning before evolving into a deep, organic and comforting PostRock epos, "Silent Flight" weighs in a hot lazy sunday summer afternoon feel for those who know and the final variation named "Unbroken Sun (Three)" picks up on this feeling, yet presenting it with more of a shimmering, brighter, yet somewhat autumnal and more intimate twist for a closing. Deep.

Album artwork on Instagram!

EAU ROUGE - I Know That You Know (Official Video)

Now that's quite a surprise. Our long time mates of EAU ROUGE are on a proper funky ting now and they're coming in with quite a catchy banger. 100% support for this one. Vibes and all that!

Huntsville + Yuka Honda, Nels Cline, Darin Gray, Glenn Kotche - Bow Shoulder [Hubro Music]

Fresh on the ever active Norwegian label Hubro Music is "Bow Shoulder", the October 30th, 2k20 released album by Norwegian trio Huntsville alongside a bunch of high class musical guests joining in for the 58 minutes and four tracks spanning journey. Recorded in Chicago and without any musical preconceptions other than the improvisations should have that specific Huntsville vibe to them the entire album oozes, like the atmosphere depicted in the photography on the well suitable and well hazy album cover, a deep, somewhat blurred and misty vision of Ambient / Score music heavily influenced and infused by meandering PostRock and Post-PostRock, slowly building up alongside whirling low end transmissions in the dark'ish 21+ minutes spanning opener that is "Side Wind" whilst the subsequent "Higher" stays true to the rumbling aesthetics yet is leaning more towards being a love child of slightly twangy, hyperminimalist DesertBlues and Morricone'esque ItaloWestern vibes even when an ever hypnotic, repetetive guitar motif enters the dense layers to lighten up the scenery. Furthermore "Lower" provides access to a full on noise- and feedback fueled, somewhat mechanical and apocalyptic sounding intro sequence before exploring barren sonic landscapes poisoned by doom, desolation and thick layers of nuclear fallout whereas the final composition "The Unshot" evokes memories of classic greyscale pieces once produced by acts like Village Of Savoonga before turning towards a more Folk-leaning, harmonic closing. One album for repeated night-time listening sessions. Alone. In the dark.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Geins't Nait & L. Petitgand - Like This Maybe Or This [Ici D'Ailleurs]

Put on the circuit via French record label Ici D'Ailleurs on November 13th, 2k20 is "Like This Or Maybe This", the new collaborational album crafted by the last remaining member of Geins't Nait, an Industrial-rooted project that can be traced back at least to the mid-80s, and French actor, vocalist, musician Laurent Petitgand. Together, the two artists provide an intense electronic journey from the very first moments of the opener "Shape Of Stories" onwards, a tune fusing epic Industrial Electronics with emotional atmospheres and thought provoking Spoken Word poetry whereas the follow up that is "Naga" presents deeply touching single piano tones alongside Japanese vocal samples and a fully fledged, orchestral and score'esque string section, "Hac" brings forth brooding, threatening shadows and twisted Industrial Bass Music infused by DarkJungle / Industrial Drum'n'Bass of sorts whereas "Chut" indulges in Slowcore Illbient and a general feel of impending doom and creeping vantablack terror even though layers of seemingly positive piano harmonies try to mask the imminent horrors. The subsequent "22" opens with an epic, spine-tingling synth motif leading into an atmospheric take on subdued late night Industrial, "Guido 10" once again harks back to the title bearing vocal sample first found in the albums opener before turning into a spine-tingling, somewhat angelic piece of Industrial PostStep for highly advanced dancefloors and humungous subterranean caverns, "Bago" brings back busy cinematic strings and minor scale pianos to a great, thrilling effect even before unleashing heavy beats and more sonic drama whilst "Pecno" causes havoc in every DarkRave / DoomRave scenario imaginable. With the advent of "Dustil" we're getting a bit of a beautiful break of, once again score'esque, Ambient work, "Liber" brings forth more of a twisted, playful, chromatic and futuristic Electronica / PostDubstep vibe before "37" even explores classic Synth territories - think: a super dark variation on "Zoolook" - and the final cut "Aphro" waves goodbye presenting a good portion of heartfelt piano melancholia for a closing. Excellent. Essential. Recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!

User13133326659 - Deep Sea EP [User Recordings 016]

Put on the circuit via User Recordings as their cat.no. 016 is the latest digital two track single crafted by User13133326659 which is the "Deep Sea EP". Opening with "Untitled 11" the artist is exploring hounded, raw, untamed, two bar loop focused ElectroAcid territories well reminiscent of anarchic labels like Propulsion 285 and the likes of whilst the title track "Deep Sea" offers 9+ minutes of subaquatic DarkAmbient / DeathAmbient focusing on slowly grinding, ever shifting low end movements at the very end of the audible spectrum, providing more of an actual physical experience than a sonic one when listening to this cut on a proper large system.

Denis Frajerman - Macau Peplum [Klanggalerie]

French experimental composer Denis Frajerman should be a well known name to regular readers of these pages who had his last appearance reviewwise on here with his latest Klanggalerie album "Wastelands / Lawrence Of Arabia" back in May 2019. Now Frajerman is coming back with "Macau Peplum", a 62 minutes spanning longplay outing which in fact is a re-issue, marking the 20th anniversary of the release of this album which was originally put on the circuit via long time defunct imprint Noise Museum back in 2000. Split in two parts with the actual "Macau Peplum" composition consisting of seven tracks the album opens with a raw, somewhat fever'ish sequence of tunes amalgamating elements of Industrial / Ritual Electronics and cold, sci-fi athmospheres with sharp sounding, somewhat metallic and polylayered drums of an untamed, ancient and tribalistic nature, oftentimes paired with twangy, plucked strings and expressive vocals as well as echoes of DarkJazz and Modern Opera whilst pieces like "Romulus Vulvus" even feature Jazz Noir-leaning sequences, "Zöl Forceps (Spartacus)" indulges in deep, nightly Ambient scoreworks for a change before making way for more fever'ish drum ecstasy and intense chants whilst "Krui Ta Race" perfectly depicts, if intentionally or not is unclear, the steady flow and passing of time due to its stripped down and repetetive, yet ever so slightly changing nature just to pick three tracks for a detailed negotiation here. Furthermore the additional second half "Le Voyeur" spreads out over the course of roughly 20 minutes as one extended single piece, exploring more experimental, tense and well score'esque musical territories, evoking memories of bizarre low budget, short format art films whilst standing out as the way more interesting and fascinating part of the album even though the raw production and sound design don't leave a doubt about this being a piece composed very early within the artists career.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Chris Abrahams - Appearance [Room40 Promo]

Put out on the circuit via the ever active Australian imprint Room40 on November 20th, 2k20 is "Appearance", the latest album release by pianist and experimental composer Chris Abrahams who presents his first solo piano longplayer with this one after heavily focusing on the electro-acoustic side of things previously. With the two pieces featured on the album "As A Vehicle, A Dream" and "Surface Level" both coming close to or exceeding the 20 minutes mark - not counting in the boiled down additional 6 minutes excerpt of "As A Vehicle, A Dream" as a distinguished body of work in its own right - Abrahams caters a touching, emotional journey into the beauty of Ambient-leaning piano performance, introducing a world of slowly cascading, yet slightly varying motif repetitions of mostly solemn, comforting nature, probably slightly influenced by ruminative ancient sonic aesthetics and minimalism oftentimes found in the Asian realm, especially traditional Japanese and Chinese music whilst providing a beautiful, and well romantic, backdrop for intimate candle light dinners with a beloved soul as well as ear candy for those seeking for soothing comfort and warmth in these trouble times. Timeless.

William Basinski - Lamentations [Temporary Residence Promo]

Released via the Temporary Residence imprint on November 13th, 2k20 is "Lamentations", the new album by LA resident William Basinski and the follow up to his latest longplayer "On Time Out Of Time" which was put out on the circuit by the same label last year. Based on his vast  archive of tape loop studies reaching back as far as 1979 Basinski is - as usual, one might be tempted to state - diving deep into the dark'ish, oftentimes sad or saddening realm of Dark Ambient music from the very first seconds of the glacial opener "For Whom The Bell Tolls" which paves the way for things to come - not only due to its track title referencing grief and mourning as do many others on this nearly hour long album. With "The Wheel Of Fortune" we're drawn closer to broken ecclesiastical harmonies, "Paradise Lost" offers indecipherable vocal morphings alongside more innate yearning and sadness whilst "Tear Vial" brings forth slightly decaying piano studies for most lonely hours. With "O, My Daughter, O, My Sorrow" Basinski explores angelic, ethereal Dark Ambient transmissions coming down from greyscale skies mixed with most disturbing - and well annoying - Field Recordings of playing / shouting kids buried deep within the mix, "Passio" caters an imaginery crossbreed of Christoph De Babalon's excursions in Isolationist Ambient with the likes of Kallabris whereas "Punch And Judy" enters a leaden twilight zone of growling, brooding low end movements alongside warped, manipulated choirs and nightmare-inducing off-kilter harmonies whilst the "Silent Spring" adds atmospheres for a barren, post-apocalyptic landscape to the overall equation. Furthermore "Transfiguration" employs a more comforting, all embracing take on the Dark Ambient genre, the 11+ minutes spanning "All These Too, I, I Love" is the unquestioned climax of the "Lamentations" amalgamating shimmery, brittle looped harmonies alongside elements of classical Opera to finally provide a silver lining of hope at the horizon, "Please. This Shit Has To Stop" seemingly makes use of crackly vinyl loops taken off the same, yet differently cut, Opera recording sample source and the aptly titled "Fin" weighs in 97 seconds of skipping / stuck needles on a record for a closing. Deep Listening Music. Nuff said.

Namna - Namna [A Ena A Andra Promo]

Coming in via mail recently is "Namna", the first and self-titled album debut by Swedish duo Namna comprised of Jazz-harpist Stina Hellberg Agback alongside cellist Leo Svensson Sander who is also responsible for operating occasional synthesizers here. Put on the circuit via the new label A Ena A Andra on October 23rd, 2k20 the ten tracks on the duos firstling provide a roughly 38 minutes spanning glimpse into the sonic world the two artists are focusing on within their work, starting with the beautiful and heartfelt Nordic melancholia of the opener "Snäckvävar" and progressing into the pure, naturalistic elegies of the subsequent "My Och Vinden" which comes across as familiar and comforting as old ancient folk tales of sorts whereas pieces like "Amöbia" present a fascinatingly spiralling aesthetic which, in a way, emulates the swirling, ever cascading sonic sculptures created by early pioneers of large scale Synth composition, "Natten" dabbles with a deeply harmonic, crystalline Ambient x Electronica fusion, the stumbling, off kilter and off rhythm harp loops of "Göra Mönster" evoke pictures of a stuttering, glitched out formal folk dance of sorts whilst the final cut named "Till Den Lilla Räven" waves goodbye in a most peaceful and calming manner whilst even featuring the only appearance of human non-vocalisms way in the back of the compositions over all mix on this longplay piece just to pick a few tunes to provide a rough outline of what "Namna" by Namna is all about - being an album as tender and intimate as it gets.

Promo artwork on Instagram!

Ben Chatwin - The Hum [Village Green Recordings 058]

Released via Village Green Recordings on November 6th, 2k20 is "The Hum", the sixth album for Scotland-based experimental electronic artist Ben Chatwin under his real name. Inspired and captivated by the natural 50Hz hum the electric wiring of his 19th century home produced steadily we see the composer catering a menu of eight tracks stretched out over a total of 38 minutes with a focus on what the accompanying press sheet refers to as 'ghost frequencies' - a.k.a. signals that surround us every day but are too faint, too low or too high up in the frequency spectrum to be appreciated or recognized by the everyday person unless one is explicitly looking for them. And the journey is quite a fascinating one, opening with the haunted ColdAmbient swells of "Transmission" which are backed by subdued, muffled and slightly tribal'esque low frequency rumbles whereas "Transistor" seems to be a dramatic, Industrial-infused call to arms in a future war yet to come. With "Creep Strain" we're entering score'esque, slightly postapocalyptic UnAmbient territories, "Snow Crash" seems to reflect on the eerie, tragic silence hovering above misty battlefields when the early morning sun breaks through the clouds and "War Of The Ants" evokes echoes of echoes of memories of church bells going off in a far distance whilst tender rhythmic backings do reference hyperminimalist PostRock / Indietronica vibes and elusive string layers provide a beautifully solemn atmosphere for a tune that could go on forever - and ever. Examining the "Interference" we're coming across more solemn, melancholic Ambient / Score vibes, the albums title track "The Hum" reveals brooding, highly dramatic Synth / Cosmic references and finally a "Ghost In The Machine" waves goodbye in a friendly, hopeful and slowly cascading Ambient manner to provide a well peaceful closing for this highly interesting longplay piece.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Jac Berrocal / David Fenech / Vincent Epplay - Exterior Lux [Klanggalerie]

Recently released via the long standing imprint Klanggalerie is "Exterior Lux", the latest album by Avantgarde Jazz staple and - amongst many other achievements - collaborateur of Steve Stapleton's Nurse With Wound, Jaki Liebezeit and Pascal Comelade Jac Berrocal who is teaming up with experimental electronic sound artists David Fenech and Vincent Epplay for this eleven tracks and 38 minutes spanning exploration within the sonic realm. Opening with the distinct, stripped down and expertly produced Electronica vs. (No)Wave / Ingenious Dilletantes / Coldwave banger "Going Nowhere" we're drawn straight to the center of neon-lit concrete dancefloors populated by the most freaky amongst the creatures of the night whereas the albums title track "Exterior Lux" provides a deeply haunted Jazz Noir / Future Jazz vibe in the most abstract and electronic of all senses. The subsequent "Walkabout" gravitates towards Industrial-informed experimental NuBeat, the "Wakhan Corridor" leads to a stripped down version of haunted late night Future Jazz and "Chiroptera" dabbles with Oriental PostPunk Dub vibes in a way slightly reminiscent of groups like the infamous C Cat Trance. Following up is "Vetiver", a well hypnotic ebb and flow led by ever swelling guitars and a haunted, avantgardistic vocal performance, "Officer" introduces a minimalistic, Tribal-informed and Dub-infused variation of PostPunk once again and "Fuis Le Feu" amalgamates Spoken Word abstractions, intense DesertBlues guitar variations and a digital Dub riddim well suitable for dark'ish Illbient sets to form a fascinating sonic melange. Furthermore "Legere Dentelle" introduces brittle female vocals to the late night DarkJazz / SpunkJazz equation, "No Guitar Today" even crosses over into - ofc - Jazz-infused and slightly off-kilter DubTechno realms for highly advanced dancefloors and the final cut "Je Me Suis Endormi" waves goodbye in a spine-tingling, post-apocalyptic Spoken Word manner for those who know. Highly recommended, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Panoptique Electrical - Five Pianos [Sound In Silence 077]

Released via long-standing Greek Ambient and (Post)PostRock staple Sound In Silence on September 28th, 2k20 is the latest, and third, album created by Jason Sweeney for the label under his musical guise that is Panoptique Electrical. Covering a total of roughly 38 minutes playtime over course of five compositions we see Sweeney a.k.a. Panoptique Electrical cater a collection of pieces written for theater and installation works, all focusing on the sound the (prepared) piano. Opening with the tender, stripped down and dreamlike "Spiral Song" one gets lost easily in the dynamic ebb and flow of one single repetetive piano motif and its ever changing dynamics accompanied by what seems to be a reprocessed swell of the ocean and other, more mechanical sounding background electronics whilst "It Rains Tonite" brings on more subdued, single minor tones alongside steady AM-radio static and crackles. Looking for "The Lighthouse" Sweeney manages to infuse somewhat of a bluesy, late night Desert (Post)PostRock vibe into his work and therefore creates a touching large scale cinematic, noir'esque atmosphere in what turns out to be our favorite cut on the album, "Doors Leading Where" provides a solemn take on autumnal late night melancholia and the final "Night Dance" puts us to sleep like a blanket and a lullaby crafted from a fabric of deeply felt innate sadness, probably driven by the acknowledgement of the finite nature of human existence, especially present after one enters a certain age.

Adulkt Life - Book Of Curses [What's Your Rupture? Promo]

Put on the circuit via What's Your Rupture? on November 6th, 2k20 is "Book Of Curses", the ten tracks and 25 minutes spanning debut album by the freshly formed quartet named Adulkt Life - and yes, this ain't a typo. Comprised of members of former band outfits Huggy Bear and Male Bonding we see the group provide a contemporary, yet well angsty and certainly tense as well as claustrophic take on wall-of-sound driven PunkRock infused by PostHardcore x PostGrunge with a dark greyscale attitude well comparable to what Tristesse Contemporaine did to PostPunk with their self-titled album on Dirty / Pschent back in 2012. A most remarkable standout tune on this one is the ultraviolent 144 seconds long "Stevie K" which also might resonate with fans of out-of-control SkateMetal whilst the subsequent "Room Context" seems to slighty gravitate towards to a crossbreed of overtly mad (No)Wave and highly complex, superapocalyptic MathGoth just to pick out two favorites here. Intense.

Listen Again: baze.djunkiii presents Ethereal Dope Vol. 2 @ CuttersChoiceRadio / London, UK (08.11.2020)

User22647388499 - Fever EP [User Recordings 015 Promo]

Next up on the weekly release circuit imposed by the digital imprint User Recordings is the "Fever EP", a new two track single crafted by User22647388499. Whilst the first cut that is "Welcome To The Fever" sees the relatively anonymous artist exploring gritty, dirty and ultimately well noisy ElectroPhonk with an ever grinding brutal acidic twist for moments of apocalyptic dancefloor destruction the follow up cut "Cornelius" weighs in a super dry, fast-paced crossbreed of Broken Techno and clean cut Acid with the aesthetics introduced by artists like The Advent or Steve Stoll back in the golden 90s. Great  stuff.

Christer Bothen - Ambrosia [Thanatosis Produktion Promo]

Scheduled for release via Swedish label Thanatosis Produktion on November 20th, 2k20 is "Ambrosia", the new and well massive 3CD box set album composed and created by Gothenburg-born artist Christer Bothen who is focusing on his love for the sounds of bass and contrass clarinet on this large scale longplayer. Comprised of four relatively shorter pieces on CD1 as well as the long form pieces "Zon" and "Ambrosia" exceeding the 35 and 20 minutes marks respectively, each placed on a separate sound carrier, we are experiencing Bothen, alongside fellow musicians in "Zon" but otherwise acting as a soloist, diving deep into what could be filed under the general flag of organic Deep Listening Music with a melancholia-infused Dark Ambient twist, providing large scale bass pulses alongside close up recordings of the inevitable air flow through the instruments body and tubes, fully embracing the physical and mechanical aspects tied to the action of playing, exploring a wide dynamic range from near silence to tender, partly also expressive swells alongside echoes of DarkJazz in "Seismology", weighing in tense, highly dramatic - and reverse? - air flows in "Nothing" before bordering on oftentimes shrieking FreeJazz in "It", the busiest and most intense composition to be found in part 1. Furthermore the multi-instrumentalist piece "Zon" opens with haunting ASMR whispers, layers hard, partly dissonant piano chords on top of droning clarinets, drifts off into, and out of, eerie brooding late night sequences and / or piercing high frequency musings whilst unfolding its innate complexity before the final "Ambrosia" weighs in large, ever shifting and mostly klaxon'esque sonic masses for a deeply moving, yet somewhat glacial and monumental closing and therefore turns out to be our personal favorite on this album for a reason.

Domenique Dumont - People On Sunday [The Leaf Label Promo]

Put on the circuit via the long-standing imprint The Leaf Label on November 13th, 2k20 is Domenique Dumont's "People On Sunday", the elusive groups 40 minutes spanning take on creating a soundtrack for the 1930-shot silent film of the same title which was shot in Germany in a short peaceful in-between wars period. Created as a commissioned work for the French Les Arcs Film Festival 2019 we see the project embark on a journey into playful, cascading Ambient-leaning structures from the first moments of the crystalline, rich, yet stripped down opener "Arrival" onwards which fuses an approach immanent to (Neo)Classical miniatures with a timeless, hovering feel one oftentimes experienced in the nowadays well missed ChillOut rooms of early 90s raves and multi-floor club events. Following this train of compositional thought tunes like "Gone For A Wonder" provide 100% of genuinely innate friendliness, a piece like "We Almost Got Lost" gets deep into slightly organic and tender Tribal-infused ChillOut territories - think: TV Victor for those who know -  and so does the subsequent "Falling Asleep Under Pine Trees", the title track "People On Sundays" caters beautiful little etudes and the second to last cut "Back To Everyday Life" introduces a well suitable Synth motif alongside slightly Asian-influenced percussion for deep ruminant meditations just to name a few. An intricate little album, this. Go check.

Erik Griswold - Wallpaper Music IV [Room40 Promo]

After three subsequently released parts of his "Wallpaper Music"-series back in 2007 we see Erik Griswold making a return to his alteration and further exploration of the sound of the piano with "Wallpaper Music IV", his latest album which is released via the Australian Room40 imprint on November 13th, 2k20. Using a technique known as 'bowed piano' Griswold presents his "Wallpaper Music IV" in two variations, the original roughly 30 minutes spanning composition and a boiled down, so-called 'Radio Edit' which clocks in at about 6 minutes total playtime. Treating the instrument with 11 bows or bow resemblances created from strands of fishing line and therefore focusing on it working more like a classical string instrument he creates a multilayered pattern of mostly high-frequency pulses that is everything but a relaxing wallpaper of music as the title might suggest it to be. Instead, the result gravitates towards an eerie, off-kilter dissonance which sends strange shivers down our spine like chalk on a blackboard caused by an intimate, yet otherworldy yearning and longing seeping through from another dimension. Whilst most likely being regarded as an highly interesting, ever cycling piece by fans of Minimal Music and the avantgarde side of Contemporary Classical composition we're pretty sure that those longing for tonal harmonies and elegic, calming beauty will refer to this album as unbearable and rather unnerving without much of a middle ground found in between these two polar opposite opinions. Polarizing.

Reinhold Friedl - Krafft [Zeitkratzer Productions 027]

Released via Zeitkratzer Productions as the labels cat.no. 027 on October 23rd, 2k20 is "Krafft", the latest album outing composed by Reinhold Friedl who sees his work being brought to life by the oftentimes avantgarde-focused Zeitkratzer ensemble alongside Paris-based chamber music group Ensemble 2E2M. Originally composed in 2016 and conducted by Pierre Roullier the roughly 33 minutes spanning piece is comprised of four untitled, yet interlocked parts / sets in which all instruments and their players follow a distinct rhythmic pattern in unison, introducing changes solely and slowly by the ever changing intensity of their performance and subtle variations in tone and combination of instruments within each individual rhythmic swell, coming at the listener like an overwhelming, unstoppable and glacially slow moving sonic avalanche, an unsettling, eerie blob of sound, a sentient powerful force of its own creeping up to and into the deepest levels of our consciousness like strange unnamed entities introduced in b- or c-list horror flics from decades ago. "Krafft" is too heavy and intense to be filed under the flag of Minimal Music, yet its compositional roots in Friedl's computer-based TTM / Textural Transformation Machine program do suggest that this album is set to be well received by genre enthusiasts as well as connaisseurs of avantgarde scores and similarly dark'ish, well spine-tingling musical works. Recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Susanna Gartmayer & Christof Kurzmann - Smaller Sad [Klanggalerie]

Released only recently via the 1997 launched label Klanggalerie is "Smaller Sad", the very first collaborational album outing crafted and created by the two Austrian artists Susanna Gartmayer and Christof Kurzmann. Comprised of four tracks spread out over the course of 38 minutes we see Gartmayer combine the sound of her instrument of choice, the bass clarinet whose sound and sonic implications she has extensively explored throughout her career, with Kurzmann's take on rubber band playing and vocal techniques, opening with "Smaller Sad" which opens up the journey into a highly avantgardistic world with a short, Experimental Jazz-leaning intro followed by droning low end pulses in combination with bleeping computational signals and sparse, stripped down harmonic improvisations that could be best described as influenced by Jazz Noir with a deep melancholic late night twist. Following up is "Little Rage", a tune as yearning and seductive as the sirens in Greek mythology, pairing innate sadness with Kurzmann's well experimental take on multilayered, processed vocal performance and a heartbeat resembling pulse whilst "Dip" weighs in tender, somewhat subaquatic and minimalist Tribal percussions alongside, again, deep droning bass tones at the very end of the audible spectrum and looped, yearning background harmonies whereas the concluding, 16+ minutes long "Novi Sad" finally provides the nightliest, most Ambient-leaning intro sequence on this album, later on introducing busy, somewhat swampy and bubbling electronic background movements and elements of intense disharmonic off-kilter Avantgarde Jazz over the course of its playtime before turning into a highly intimate variation on Experimental Singer/Songwriter x PostFolk music. We're in for this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 11/2k20

User1196070004 - Science EP [User Recordings 014 Promo]

Next up in a series of singles unleashed on a weekly schedule via digital imprint User Recordings is their cat.no. 014 which is the "Science EP" crafted and created by User1196070004. Opening with "Dead Science" we're drawn into a well atmospheric, eerie world of outerworldly horrors by a looped little melody before a relentless, perfectly scultped Techno drum kicks in only to cold floor crowds with its evil, masterly sculpted powers of straightforward doom whilst "Vega Runner", the second cut on this one, provides more of a raw, unprocessed take on stripped down Intelligent Techno led by a hyperminimal background synth motif for long extended late night sessions.

Listen Again: baze.djunkiii presents Megachill @ Radio Flouka / Paris, France (05.11.2k20)

Radio Flouka راديو فلوكة · BAZE DJUNKIII Megachill | Radio Flouka 05/11/2020

Javier Hernando - Jardin Naufrago [La Olla Express 031]

Put out on the circuit via the Spanish label La Olla Express is "Jardin Naufrago", the latest full length album by long standing electronic music pioneer Javier Hernando who first stepped on the scene as a contributing member to outfits like Xeerox or Melodinamika Sensor back in the late 70s and early 80s. With this long history under his belt and a vast number of releases to his name Hernando caters a sonic menu comprised of eight new tracks stretched out over the course of 41 minutes, opening with the deeply psychedelic, spaced out and somewhat swampy Ambient / Synth tones of "Exorama" which are both paying homage to the original Cosmic genre in a (Neo)Cosmic fashion whilst paving the way for the subsequent "Port Radium" which turns out to be a way darker, brooding and post-apocalyptic piece of Electronica meets Industrial Space Synth for those who're able to take in a tense vibe these days. Furthermore "Entre Veredas" presents crystalline, slightly 80s production music leaning Ambient cascades, "Novilunar" sticks to the genre with beautifully polychromatic, yet slighty off-kilter and ever layered Ambient loops harking back to the genres early 90s heydays and "Vista Rasante" provides a dark, solemn contrast with its deeply felt melancholia and sadness, processed heli-sounds and overall feel of isolation later accompanied by plucked detuned strings as well as Aube'esque sound processing techniques. The follow up "Verdemar" will be sitting well with both lovers of PopAmbient as well as Japanese minimalism, "Noctiluca" turns out to be more of a subaquatic DarkAmbient experience and the end title "Octo Tornasolado" perfectly depicts and / or forecasts future Field Recordings captured on a strange alien planect once to found be found far into what is now known as deep space. Highly recommended, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

08.11.2020 baze.djunkiii presents Ethereal Dope Vol. 2 @ CuttersChoiceRadio / London, UK (2315 GMT+1)

Once again baze.djunkiii is making a broadcasting return with a contribution to the program of London-based webradio CuttersChoiceRadio, providing a sequel to his last guest mix with 'Ethereal Dope Vol. 2' which is picking up vibewise where 'Ethereal Dope Vol. 1' stopped, starting from a point of eclectic Dope Beats and Advanced HipHop only to progress towards complex Juke x Footwork tunes throughout a 60 minutes Freestyle selection.

Transmission will start at 2215 London time which makes it 2315 GMT+1 for the rest of continental Europe. baze.djunkiii will be locked on to Twitter throughout the mix broadcast so feel free to send tweets and conversations his way!


decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]

file under: Ecletic Freestyle / Dope Beats / Advanced HipHip / Juke / Footwork

transmission time: 2315 - 0015 GMT+1

get locked via CuttersChoiceRadio

UK + the global internet

check the radio event page here!

THE D3VI7 - THE D3VI7s Mantra [Psychocandies 094]

Scheduled for release via the ever active Psychocandies label on November 26th, 2k20 is "THE D3VI7's Mantra", the new and forthcoming digital three track EP by rising and ever praised satanic Techno phenomenon known as THE D3VI7. Opening with "Mantra" we're quickly teleported into the strobe-lit heart of high energy uptempo Rave x HardTrance dancefloors where the hypnotic bassline action, spine-tingling hi-hats and quirky, amusing, yet totally alien vocal samples unfold their magic to the fullest whereas the subsequent "Randale" focuses on most brutal, distorted and hammering bassdrums alongside shrieking, psychoacoustic synth works to build a suitable tool for total mechanical, Gabba-bordering dancefloor destruction before the final cut "Sub Zero" weighs in another hefty portion of brutal militant Warcore Techno for a not-so-peaceful closing. Demonic. Evil. Dark.

Gianmaria Aprile - Rain, Ghosts, One Dog And Empty Woodland [We Insist! Records]

Released via We Insist! Records on October 23rd, 2k20 is the epically titled, 32 minutes spanning album "Rain, Ghosts, One Dog And Emtpy Woodland", the very first solo longplay outing for Italian composer Gianmaria Aprile whose excursion into the sonic world of guitar and the traditional Chinese string instrument named guqin in combination with electronic effects is split in eight subsequently named parts, spanning from eerie, slightly off-kilter (Un)Ambient atmospheres in conjunction with slow, deep organic bass tones in the opening cut that is "Part I", progressing further towards a twangy, somewhat drunk and ever so slowly shifting take on Post-DesertBlues in "Part III" whilst "Part IV" offers the deepest, most embracing sonic interpretation of blurred vastness and an inner state of desolation that hasn't turned into madness yet albeit being on the brink, close to a turning point from which there is not return. Furthermore "Part V" experiments with electric buzzes and what seems to be re-edited radio static and feedbacks on top of a foundation of droning subs, operating alongside beautiful hazy harmonies evoking memories of long gone projects like Aosuke whilst "Part VI" harks back to thrilling retrofuturism in sci-fi soundscapes with a darker twist, "Part VII" indulges in tense, siren'esque feedbacks and carefully plucked strings and the closing cut aptly named "Part VIII" waves goodbye in a peaceful and calming, more PopAmbient leaning manner. Defo one debut recommended for fans of the named genre alongside connaisseurs of deepest Post-PostRock and slightly twangy ChillOut for a reason. Check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Traxxx Vol. 30 [SM Traxxx 53-2020]

Scheduled for release via SM Traxxx on November 19th, 2k20 is "Traxxx Vol. 30", the next digital single outing brought to us by Uelsen's finest Sascha Müller. Opening with "Track 59" we see the German producer on a beautifully deep and uplifting AcidTrance tip with a well tender early 90s touch whereas the subsequent "Track 60" provides more of a banging, distorted and well brutalist oldskool Techno / storming Acid approach for underground dancefloors hit by massive strobe batteries on hyperspeed, leading ravers to an ultimate climax embedded within an intense night out. Check.

Ways + Simon Toldam - Fortunes [Lorna Records 012]

Put on the circuit via Canadian-imprint Lorna Records on May 8th, 2k20 is "Fortunes", the latest collaborational album outing brought to life by Toronto-based duo Ways in conjunction with Danish piano player Simon Toldam. Combining the duos distinct and stripped down musical style based on alto sax and drums with Toldam's approach towards his instrument the triumvirate creates a half-improvised, somewhat meandering and defo loop x repetetion-based hybrid roughly relating to genres like experimental, explorative PostRock and Post Jazz from the first notes of the albums opener "Fame" onwards, keeps close to this angle in the way deeper, dreamstate-like and slighty fever'ish subsequent follow-up "Love" which, in a way, also touches bases with DarkJazz minimalism whilst the subdued, intricate and corresponding Minimal Jazz tones of "Luck" provide a playful, yearning and most of all intimate variation for all Jazz lovers hit by an inevitable late night big city blues. Furthermore "Money II" is buzzing, whizzing and whirling like a tornado of a gazillion spooked little critters, "Passion" sets out for a deep exploration of monochromatic Jazz Noir / Future Jazz realms and the final, 13+ minutes spanning "Health" wanders through a complex, sparkling and well deep sonic biome built from both extremely shy and tender sections which, over the course of the cuts entire playtime, make way to a most lively and playful sonic fauna for a closing just to pick a few cuts from the album for a rough descriptive layout. A most intimate piece, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

User03364546789 - Sreottrze EP [User Recordings 013 Promo]

Released as one of the weekly singles out on the circuit digitally via User Recordings is the labels cat.no. 013, the cryptically named "Sreottrze EP" crafted by User03364546789. Whilst the opening cut "Sreottrze" provides a raw and vastly unprocessed take on stripped down MinimalTechno / MinimalHouse with a lo-fi approach we see "Tra" weighing in a most beautiful and atmospheric take on yearning isolationist ColdAmbient as a second tune on this one and therefore turns out to be our favorite cut on this single for a reason.

05.11.2k20 baze.djunkiii In The Mix @ Radio Flouka / Paris, France (2100 GMT+1)

„Megachill“ - soothing sounds for trouble times.
Whilst the world is getting darker and more apocalyptic these days Hamburg-based Radio Flouka resident baze.djunkiii pulls off a calming and mostly beatless selection of ever floating, most comforting electronic music, covering grounds from recently released goodness to personal 90s Ambient / ChillOut classics and way beyond.

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings]

file under: Ambient / Chillout

transmission time: 21oo - 22oo GMT+1

get locked via Radio Flouka
Paris
France

Martin Küchen - Det Försvunnas Namn [Thanatosis Produktion Promo]

Released via Thanatosis Produktion on October 23rd, 2k20 is "Det Försvunnas Namn", the latest full length album outing carved out by Swedish artist / composer Martin Küchen which also serves as the final piece of an ongoing album trilogy also including his longplayer "Lieber Heiland, Lass Uns Sterben" which we've reviewed on these pages in late 2017. Conceptually following a meta scheme of various historical references of usually unnamed nature Küchen once again approaches his instrument of choice, the saxophone, from a variety of angles, not only in terms of playing in different but going as far as physically altering or manipulating the instrument in itself which finally results in a ten track menu of mostly improvised cuts spread out over the course of roughly 40 minutes. Opening with the highly marine melancholia infused "I" Martin Küchen sets a well Ambient-leaning, yet also Future Jazz-informed and surely somewhat misleading tone for the journey to come which includes pressed microtonal recordings of air passing through the (partly submerged ?) instruments body in pieces like the subsequent "Sheer Life Asleep", the elegic title track "Det  Försvunnas Namn" in which the artists solo performance is enhanced by an underlying deep layer of classical Classical Music from speakers built into his instrument whilst "Hippopotami Mit Mensch" oozes pure brutal violence and utter nightmare inducing horror whereas "Lilla Atem Choir" makes heavy use of the stereo field in terms of sending amplified respiratory noises into the consumers ears from various angles, causing a well unsettling effect especially in headphone listening sessions just to name a few. This is a dark one.

baze.djunkiii Charts 11/2k20

01. Combat Dubs - Combat Dubs II [Intrauterin Recordings 007]
Check announcement post for details and soundfiles...

02. Freddy Fresh - Analog EP [Assemble Music 024]
Fred Schmid a.k.a. Frederick Schmid a.k.a. Freddy Fresh is one of the ever active yet widely unsung heroes of the electronic music scene despite having achieved even chart success alongside Fatboy Slim and a well impressive catalogue of releases built over the past 25+ years on the circuit. With his latest 12", the "Analog EP", Mr. Schmid unearthes more excellent gems from his archive and brings forth two timeless and jacking analog Acid jams backed by two more driving Electro cuts for peak time robo dancefloors, all of which have been produced in the 90s but are still as fresh and relevant as ever. Class.

03. Doris Norton - Chagrin Et Plaisir: 25th Anniversary Edition Part_1 [No Pizza Rave 012]
This is brutal. Originally released back in 1995 via Musik Research these four tracks showcase the wide musical variety of long-standing Italian experimental music researcher and Hardcore producer Doris Norton to a deep and braincell crushing level that's hardly reached by any of today's Hardcore releases. From psychotic, rave-oriented Acid madness to deadly BrokenTechno, Gabba excursions with tongue-in-cheek sample abuse and violent, apocalytic filter works as well as Experimental Hardcore these cuts have been unearthed at exactly the right time to provide a well suitable soundtrack for the ongoing and quickly progressing decay of the human civilization. Beware: will kill and mentally destroy the faint-hearted.

04. Master Plan - Electric Baile / Pushin' Too Hard *Gerd Janson & Enzo Elia Edits [Running Back Super Sound Singles 005]
Seductive grooves are seductive, even more if they're unearthed from the very early days of electronic club music. Originally released in the mid-80s both "Electric Baile" and "Pushin' Too Hard" are sitting well within the (Proto)House drawer musically, yet are slightly influenced by a genre once known and referred to as Latin Freestyle. Carefully edited and modified for today's dancefloor needs whilst staying close and respectful to the original vibe this is quite an essential 12" for true lovers of uplifting and well sexy dancefloor goodness.

05. Alan Dixon - Piano Drop EP [Running Back Records 092]
ItaloHouse! Pianos! Cheese! Goodness and echoes of 80s AcidHouse as well! These are the, partly well over the top, ingredients to be found in Alan Dixon's latest vinyl outing for the Running Back label which is, by far, the most uplifting and positive 12"es released recently. A true peak time piece for future dancefloors.

06. Hi-RYZE - Bitter Pill [Yozmaz Productions 010]
See review for details...

07. Scott Grooves - Over You [Modified Suede Recordings 008]
Sought after by many for a long time this epicly long and beautiful VocalHouse edit by Scott Grooves finally popped up in record stores on a one-sided whitelabel 12" a while ago and weighs in everything connaisseurs of classic GarageHouse do love for a reason: deep emotional strings, lovely piano lines and soulful, dramatic vocals spread all over the tunes entire playtime. This is timeless and yet even more 90s than the 90s ever have been.

08. Shadowdrum - Matin Bleu [Mountain People 016]
Do you remember Minimal Funk? The style and term once invented and pursued by Steve Bug and like-minded DJ's / producers for their take on stripped down, minimalistic House music? Well, whilst the originators have long moved on we see the Swiss imprint Mountain People working hard on a resurgence of this specific style these days, with their new 12" produced by Shadowdrum providing a triplet of tunes exactly fitting the Minimal Funk drawer whilst providing decent fodder for all those looking for timeless late night DeepHouse cuts as well.

09. CSVO - Basic Cuts EP [Cheezy Crust Records 004]
See review for details...

10. NO MORE - The End Of The World [Rent A Dog]
See review for details...