Yang Chen - Longing For _ [People Places Records]

Put out on the circuit via the Canadian avantgarde imprint People Places records on November 11th, 2k22 is "Longing For _", the full on album debut by Toronto's percussionist Yang Chen who created this roughly 54 minutes spanning longplay piece in collaboration with contributing artists and composers like Andrew Noseworthy, Connie Li, Sarian Sankoh, Stephanie Orlando, Charles Lutvak and others which did not only provide compositions to tackle for this album but also actively participated in its creation as instrumentalists and x or vocalists. This being said, the ten pieces on "Longing For _" provide a sonic ark ranging from the deep, solemn and glistening Ambient x Deep Listening Music approach of "Euphoric" to the intense percussion meets electric guitar sequences playing a dominant role in "All Good Pieces Have Two Things" whereas "Through Intimate. Swims" dabbles in threatening, nocturnal DarkAmbient executions, the subsequent "Silt" brings forth spatial gongs and electronics beyond space and time accompanied by unprocessed, naturalistic flute lines whilst "Till The Dam Brakes" turns towards captivating Future R'n'B, "Crank / Set" seems to cover microtonal / electro-acoustic recordings of predominantly minimalist quality alongside sparse percussion sounds and the concluding "Nighttime Reneweals Towards More Friendship. More Love. Like Snowfall. I Want To Sing With You" even pairs brittle, decaying Contemporary Classical compositional techniques with eerie sound warpings and dry, percussive interruptions just to name a few cuts off of this widely varied, yet surprisingly coherent longplay experience. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Various Artists - ApocalyXmas Now [Camembert Electrique]

It is not a secret that we basically don't care about the digital download x streaming market at all but there's a few words to be said about the utter abomination of a compilation release that is "ApocalyXmas Now" which marks the end of the year for the French label Camembert Electrique, yet even more importantly makes a perfect example of what an abhorrent absurdity the so-called digital music market has become and how little some digital label owners seem to care about their artists, their audience and most importantly: the music. So what's the deal here? "ApocalyXmas Now" accumulates a total of 101 (sic!!!) tracks by artists like El Zombie Espacial, The D3VI7, Schallbehörde, N. Zckrmann, Fourthousandblackbirds and many many more as singular compilation album - or better: a mess - with individual track lengths ranging from a little over three minutes to a whopping 20 minutes per single track. Guesstimating an average track length of 6 minutes this totals as a minimum of 600 minutes - a.k.a. 10 hours! - of whatever is in here musically throughout a time of rapidly declining attention spans resulting in average daytime radio Pop song more often than not not exceeding the 02:30 minutes mark anymore, 29 minutes 10 track releases being considered to be full album projects instead of being referred to as interim mixtapes, mini-albums or EPs (remember those formats?) and 95+% of all tunes on platforms like Spotify not even reaching a total of 1000 lifetime plays ever. So adding a 10+ hours compilation release to the immense pile of music that basically remains unheard anyway, especially in an era in which no-one even bothers to sit through a proper full-length album anymore, is just irresponsible madness, utterly disrespectful and makes sure that artists sitting at the tail end of this one, which might come down to anywhere beyond the 30 minutes mark, will never get heard at all because there's basically zero people out there about to take ten hours out of their week to sit through all this and dedicate their precious time to a gazillion of artists they've probably never heard of anyway. And that's not taking into account that we're living through a time of increased inflation and rising consumer prices which results in a lot of ppl having to take on side hustles as well as second and third jobs to make ends meet anyway which incrementally takes away from everyone's spare time and room for venturing into uncharted sonic territories. So without having listened to any of this - and being massively in doubt I'll ever will - this one is dismissed as being one of the worst example of digital music release practices ever. Utter nonsense. Period.

Keda - Flow [Parentheses Records 018]

Put out on the circuit via the Belgium-based imprint Parentheses Records on December 6th, 2k22 is "Flow", the third album created for the label by the duo known as Keda - a shared artistic moniker for the combined works of E'joung-Ju and Mathias Delplanque which once again combine electronic sounds with the traditional Korean six-string instrument named geomungo. With a total of four, roughly 26 minutes spanning cuts the duo provides the commissioned sonic backdrop for the Swiss contemporary dance piece "Flow" performed by Compagnie Linga in 2018 which drew inspiration from synchronized movements found and seen in large groups of animals belonging to a wide variety of species, genuses and such, amalgamating carefully arranged and highly atmospheric Dark Ambient textures moving back and forth like the surf of a distant coast blown over from afar with tenderly plucked string tones, moving forward into the grey area in between dramatic (Neo)Cosmic, stripped down Contemporary Classical composition techniques and brooding, droning Deep Listening Music before even entering a realm of intimate, almost folksy geomungo improvisation and finally rocking advanced dancefloors with a captivating combination of electronic Future Tribal-grooves and meandering, ethereal World Music melodies for a closing. A well interesting piece which probably might be even more coherent when experienced in the intended context of the original dance performance.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Martin Bedard / Marie-Helene Breault - Lames De Fond [Empreintes Digitales]

Released via the long-standing avantgarde imprint Empreintes Digitales on October 11th, 2k22 is "Lames De Fond", the extended collaboration album conceived by the joined forces of experimental composer Martin Bedard and Marie-Helene Breault. With four extended pieces composed and brought to life over a timespan of almost a decade rolled out over a total playtime of 61 minutes the opening piece Honey (Architectures From Silence No. 1)" caters a thundering, highly compressed and twisted maelstrom comprised of both Digital Noize, heavy duty Industrial war drums as well as splintered fragments of Contemporary Classical music; followed by the fascinating amalgamation of grinding, tectonic Noize movements and Marie-Helene Breault's enchanted, yet still highly dramatic flute performance to be found in "Extensio: Warm: Up" before the cut finally resolves in waves of calming Ambient music. Subsequently "Replica" provides sonic shockwaves of buzzing, whirling, fluttering electrical Noize later accompanied by layers upon layers of tense off-kilter strings shortly interrupted by surprisingly calm, yet somewhat eerie breakdown sequences whereas the concluding "Kissland" brings forth a set of movements ranging from braincell crushing Digital Noize sequences to dynamic outbursts of scraping Noize paired with short fever'ish, micro-fragmented Modern Classical strings on the brink of madness. Probably the most spine-tingling, intense and captivating Empreintes Digitales release we've reviewed so far. Excellent. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Lueenas - Lueenas [Barkhausen Recordings 004]

Released via Barkhausen Recordings as the labels cat.no. 004 on November 4th, 2k22 is the self-titled album by Danish duo Lueenas who are presenting us with a total of 10 brand new pieces spread out over the course of roughly 43 minutes on their firstling. Based on what is described as being an 'electrified string duo' in the accompanying press info the Copenhagen-based pair of artists, comprised of Maria Jagd and Ida Duelund, drew inspiration from ancient mythology and belief systems, sacred practices as well as paganism for an extended series of improvised sessions resulting in their debut which sees Lueenas span a sonic ark from brittle, fluttering ambience to warped, yearning, outerworldly and well siren'esque melodic layers and impending Dark Ambient drones, beautifully enchanted Modern Classical mysticism especially prevalent in pieces like "Nemera" which is followed by score'esque, hyperintense, nightmare-inducing Dark Ambient / Contemporary Classical of doom in "Nyx" whereas pieces like "Dark" provide a surprisingly calm and floating, yet somewhat eerie take on Ambient / (Neo)Cosmic, "Ether" enters IDM / ChillOut dancefloors with its stripped down, slightly dubbed out attitude whereas "Witches Brew" provides the most purist variation of (Neo)Classical composition techniques to be found on this album and the concluding cut that is "In The Search" even introduces the vocal talent of Emma Acs for a calm, melancholia-infused quasi Spoken Word finale. Quite a beautiful longplay piece, this.

Simon Shaheen - The Music Of Mohamed Abdel Wahab [Zehra 008 Promo]

Re-released via the imprint that is Zehra on october 21st, 2k22 as their cat. no 008 is Simon Shaheen's "The Music Of Mohamed Abdel Wahab". Originally put out on the circuit via Bill Laswell's very own Axiom label in 1990 with the labels head honcho also taking over the role of a producer we see the oud / viola player Simon Shaheen provide interpretations of pieces composed by Mohamed Abdel Wahab, a large scale influence and highly productive source of classic Arabic music as well as contemporary Egyptian songwriting who was regarded as musical treasure by several Arabic nations, even composing and re-arranging the national anthems of several states. With this most recent re-issue providing a selection of seven of Mohamed Abdel Wahab's works over the course of a 42 minutes runtime one can clearly recognize, or at least imagine, the composers roots in the film industry, especially introducing the 'musical film' genre to Arab cinema, in pieces like the lively, ever meandering "Al Hinna" or the epic vocal arrangement of "Sittel Hadayeb" whereas the extended "Hanil Widd" comes in on a deeper, slightly melancholia-infused angle and "Ibnil Balad" seems to embrace the uplifting and cheerful sounds of what might be a cliche of an Oriental celebration under the hot and burning desert sun. Furthermore "Theme & Variations" pairs large scale strings with mediterranean, probably Greek, influences, the intro sequence of "Bortugal" is an exercise in solo oud mastership before developing into a fully flegded song structure whereas the closing cut that is "Mudnaka" harks back to more cliche-laden melancholia for a finale. Defo one for avid collectors of contemporary Arab x Oriental music, this.

Phal:Angst - Whiteout [Noise Appeal Records 143]

Scheduled for release on January 13th, 2k23 on the Vienna-based imprint Noise Appeal Records is "Whiteout", the fifth full length album effort by the Austrian outfit Phal:Angst which has been on the circuit for a proper 16 years now. Providing a total of eight brand new cuts rolled out over the course of roughly 66 minutes total Phal:Angst explore a realm of deep and hovering, melancholia-infused piano melodies atop a nocturnal, almost romantic backdrop before heavy slow riffs and intense vocals turn the opening title track into a scenic precursor of doom, followed by the twangy, atmospheric and Industrial-leaning Gothic Blues drama of "Severance" whilst "Least Said, Soonest Mended" sees the band outfit opening up even more cinematic planes with psychedelic guitars, large scale synth backings and their trademark vocals buried deep with the mix before "What Rests Mute In Bright Corners" pairs heavy Electronica-beats, almost folksy, inward-looking guitars and Austrian Spoken Word poetry for a change. Furthermore "Unhinged" summons a slowly spiralling maelstrom of ominous darkness over all Industrial Metal dancefloors when played at midnight sharp, "What A Time To Be Alive" tackles more Spoken Word recordings alongside dreamy guitars and captivating synth build ups whereas the "Unhinged *Remix" rather could be described as an expertly crafted, extended and low end-heavy, slightly washed out Dub / Ambient Dub version than a full on remix and therefore turns out to be our favorite cut on this album before the concluding "A Tale Of Severance *Remix" fully drifts off into a PostRock-informed dream state for a closing. Good stuff this.

VÖ - The Sounds Of VÖ [Thanatosis Produktion 019]

Thanatosis Produktion are evidently ramping up their output schedule these days with their latest release, VÖ's "The Sounds Of VÖ", being put out on the circuit on December 16th, 2k22. With Eva Lindal, Anna Högberg, Johan Erthling, Leo Svensson, Alex Zethson and Greek guitar player Giannis Arapis forming the experimental, one-off improvisational sextet named VÖ for an instant recording session in which certain singular players took part for an hour only due to their super tight schedule the album captures a once in a lifetime occasion resulting in a total of 19 improvised pieces spread out over a 2CD set of roughly 80 minutes total playtime, presenting a deep, nocturnal and somewhat melancholia-oozing take on Nordic Music-infused, partially Folk-informed (Neo) Classical / Contemporary Classical music which reveals hints of mediterranean warmth towards the end of "Discordia Harmonia", enters realms of cozy, comforting minimalism in "Cyclosis" as well as icy, brittle drones and off-kilter harmonic layers in "Moebius" whereas shorter pieces like "Undercurrents" evoke memories of the long lost AcidFolk music produced by the likes of Carl Erdmann showcased on his recently re-released 'Bizarrophytes' album, "Natrix Natrix" enters a realms of pure atmosphere and sonic reduction whereas the subsequent "Primus Motor" emulates solemn, meditative ritual gong music from South East Asia vibewise, "Collected Limbs II" harks back to what could be described as nocturnal Avantgarde Jazz whilst working its way to a dissonant climax and the concluding cut that is "Automata" provides plenty of room for meandering, deeply intertwined plucked strings and bass notes to unfold just to name a few. One for the lovers of organic, actually hand-crafted Deep Listening Music, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

We Smile - Remixes [Couldn't Care More]

There's remixes. There's belated remixes. And there's remixes that absolutely no-one expected to happen, like, ever. The latter might be the case with this recently released remix 12" aptly named "Remixes" which is taking care of tunes originally released by the long-time defunct band outfit We Smile on their second - and last - album "Für Die Anderen" back in 1992. A mere three decades later we see JD Twitch taking on "Sack Voll Drogen" in the first relick of the A-side, presenting a dreamy, yet well distorted, almost shoegazing variation on noise-infused, heavily filtered, dancefloor devastating TechnoBreaks nicely contrasted by the bands original Lo-Fi Indiepop lyrics and longing strings whereas "31 24 42 *Tentenko Mixdown 1" turns out to be an overwhelming warm, slightly psychedelic and tripping Indietronica piece, heavily emphasizing on waves after waves after waves of comforting low end goodness. On the flipside we've got "Can't Resist (Popmusiker Sind Auch Künstler Version)" remixed by long-standing Hamburg-based artist Mense Reents who is taking the sound of We Smile into playful and curious Electro territories and therefore evoking memories of long gone labels like Doxa Records in their early 2000s infancy before the subsequent "31 24 42 *Tentenko Mixdown 2" provides a shorter, albeit slighty deeper and in parts noisier alternative Indietronica take and the final "Kind Und Kegel *Original Version" brings back the hazy and washed out IndiePop x Leftfield Pop sound of the bands sole 1992 album single. Unexpected, yet highly recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!

29.12.2022 baze.djunkiii presents Pure Garage & Silk Volume 2 @ Radio Flouka / Paris, France

And now – back to the classics. For his last show of the year Hamburg-based Radio Flouka-resident baze.djunkiii digs up the most uplifting of upliftung UK Garage anthems from his collection to provide every UKG head with nothing less than a 60 minutes spanning musical hype fest that's about to take you all the way back to the first golden age of the genre, yet not without including a few contemporary tunes in the mix. Rewind, selecta!

decks: baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Combat Dubs]

file under: UK Garage

transmission time: 22oo - 23oo GMT+1

get locked via Radio Flouka
Paris

Susana Santos Silva - All The Birds And A Telephone Ringing [Thanatosis Produktion 018]

Released via Thanatosis Produktion as the labels cat.no. 018 on November 25th, 2k22 is "All The Birds And A Telephone Ringing", the latest full length album effort created by Stockholm-based trumpet player and composer Susana Santos Silva. Originally at home and rooted in the realm of FreeJazz and related ventures the Portuguese artist presents a sonic journey rolled out over the course of six pieces and a total playtime of 36 minutes which takes her further away from her usual homestead than she's probably ever been, pairing Field Recordings incorporating birds - hence the title - with microtonal capturings of her instrument of choice, the subtle tones of strained and stressed hawsers with electronically generated background atmospheres, distant and yearning trumpet improvisations with rural soundscapes, subaquatic gargles and minimalist Future Tribal signatures whilst pieces like "All The Birds" bring forth dark and brooding, ever pulsing, yet mechanical sci-fi scores probably captured in haunted, fully robotic interplanetary deep space outposts of the future whereas the subsequent "And A Telephone Ringing" presents an almost enchanted and surprisingly melodic aspect of the work of Susana Santos Silva - and also introduces her personal take on what is listed as Irish flute within the arsenal of instruments used on this album. Defo an interesting one which surely requires more than one dedicated listening session to unravel all the subtle layers hidden within.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 12/2k22

Aviva Endean - Moths & Stars [Room40 Promo]

Another fresh album put out on the circuit on December 2nd, 2k22 via Room40 is "Moths & Stars", the sophomore longplay effort by Australian composer x clarinet player Aviva Endean. Rolled out over a total of six brand new pieces and a playtime of 36 minutes Aviva Endean deeply enters the microtonal spheres of her instrument, combining the wow and flutter of air flowing through the clarinet with what seem to be probably nocturnal Field Recordings of untouched nature and floating, all embracing textures of Ambient x Deep Listening Music as well as comforting waves of low end frequencies, scenic, hypercalm string layers and, occasionally though, haunting, reprocessed echoes of what once used to be original clarinet tones and melodies alongside composition techniques clearly drawing inspiration from Minimal Music which might be especially prevalent in the closing sequence named "Mirror Signals", all intertwined and woven together to create a calm and soothing non-stop journey which teleports every single listeners mind to a place of inner peace - probably a much needed feat in these trouble times. If this seems to be up your alley or if you are a dedicated follower of Ambient and ChillOut music in general this one is well worth a listen. Go check.

No Hay Banda - I Had A Dream About This Place [No Hay Discos 002]

Put out on the circuit via the artist- / group-run label No Hay Discos on November 4th, 2k22 is "I Had A Dream About This Place", the latest extended album release of No Hay Banda which are described as leaning towards experimental Contemporary Chamber Music in the accompanying press sheet yet refuse to operate within the confinements that traditional associations with the Chamber Music genre might bring. With four long-form compositions by the likes of Anthony Tan, Sabrina Schroeder, Andrea Young and Mauricio Pauly laid out over a roughly 100 minutes covering 2CD set No Hay Banda explore a fascinating sonic sphere of intense, droning, yet somewhat washed out Dark Ambient / Cold Ambient sounds paired with highly dramatic bursts, an overall sense of imminent doom and hint at the incomprehensible frostiness and hostility towards life one faces when entering the far reaches of our galaxy in the opening piece "An Overall Sense Of Well-Being" whereas the subsequent "Rubber Houses" starts from a point of scraping mechanical minimalism of almost electro-acoustic qualities and progresses into a threatening maelstrom of stripped down, warped Rhythm Industrial x amplified and fluttering microtonal Noize. Furthermore the second disc of the set brings on "A Moment Or Two Of Panic", an amalgamation of unsettling electronic textures, elegic, Contemporary Classical-leaning string layers and a levitating, well extraordinary and almost opera-like vocal performance laid down by Sarah Albu followed by "The Difference Is The Buildings Between Us" which, once again, explores the cross section of warm and stripped down, droning and low-end focused Dark Ambient occasionally paired with echoes of scraping digital surface noise as well as spine-tingling off-kilter strings and further experimental goodness for all fans and followers of top tier Deep Listening Music. Recommended.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Rotwax Radio - Episode X82 - BAZE.DJUNKIII

Rotwax Records · Rotwax Radio - Episode X82 - BAZE.DJUNKIII

ACM - ACM [Aut Records 086]

Released via Aut Records as the labels cat.no. 086 on November 15th, 2k22 is the new, first and self-titled album by ACM, an improvisational - and state-funded - full length album effort created by the trio comprised of Anna Kaluza, Celine Voccia and Matthias Bauer. Realized on an instrumental setting of alto sax, piano and double bass the three musicians embark on a 51+ minutes spanning nine part journey into the realms of playful, tentative and tender improvisation and FreeJazz of partially well enchanted and frolicking qualities ("Part 3"), partially entering territories of big time piano vs. sax drama and a certain take on intentionally atonal and disharmonic performance ("Part 4") whereas the brooding minimalism of "Part 6" seems to evoke memories of the iconic 'Jaws' score for a second prior to making its way to a proper FreeJazz climax whilst "Part 7" sports all buzzing liveliness and other characteristics associated with the genre without entering the more extreme territories which might make novices and other curious first time FreeJazz explorers shy away from it again after a brief encounter. If anything, this might be one well suitable album to start your personal exploration of improvised, free-floating Jazz music.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Cucina Povera - Tuhka [Infinite Greyscale 015]

Finally. Infinite Greyscale is back with its cat.no. 015 and with it comes the return of one-sided, beautifully silk-screened art vinyl which provides the first release by Glasgow-based Finnish musician Maria Rossi for the label. Using her sonic moniker Cucina Povera for this two track release Rossi opens with "Kärpässieni", a caressing amalgamation of soft lo-fi synth tones and ever repeating tape-loop non-vocalisms accompanied by enchanted, crystal-clear melodies of innocent, somewhat medieval qualities whereas "Varisevalehti" is based on a foundation of a looped, ever repeating, rhythmic and more clearly recognizable syllabic snippet on top of which a solemn, ecclasiastical and ceremonial vocal performance unfolds, obviously contrasted by an additional background layer of mumbles and rearranged, further processed vocal snippets taken off an old 'learn Italian' record plunderphonic-style. Quite a beautiful and calm Ambient experience this one is.

Listen Again: baze.djunkiii presents Beyond TechHouse Volume 13 Radio Flouka / Paris (01.12.2022)

Radio Flouka راديو فلوكة · baze.djunkiii presents Beyond TechHouse Volume 13 - 01/12/2022

Paal Nilssen-Love Circus - Pairs Of Three [PNL Records 053]

Put out on the Avantgarde x FreeJazz x Free Improv circuit via the artist run label PNL Records on November 4th, 2k22 is "Pairs Of Three", the first ever full length album effort by the Paal Nilssen-Love led multi artist collective that is the Paal Nilssen-Love Circus. With contributing artists like Kalle Moberg, Christian Meaas Svendsen and Signe Emmeluth amongst others, all of them well established names in the Norwegian x Scandinavian scene and well beyond, the album was recorded over the astounding course of a four days period in the summer of 2021 and sees the Paal Nilssen-Love Circus setting out to explore an Avantgarde x Improv x FreeJazz infused take on Brazilian and South American music over the course of roughly an hour divided into seven cuts, driven by partially subdued Samba drums, oftentimes layered with improvisations evoking memories of New Orleans-infused Voodoo Jazz as well as extended, somewhat Psychedelic Rock- and AfroBeat-informed electric guitar solos ("Bota Fago"), with Juliana Venter providing intense, yet also cut up, dada'esque lyric fragments and Spoken Words in German as well as in English (...and probably Italian?) on cuts like the albums title track "Pairs Of Three" which evolves into full-on madness and hysteria further down the line whereas cuts like "Round About Lapa" bring forth a stripped down, atmospheric take on DarkJazz whilst the foundation of the concluding "Hummingbird" is rooted surprisingly deep in brooding and nocturnal Ambient x DarkAmbient minimalisms, providing a base and backdrop for Juliana Venter's highest, and probably classically trained, register which makes this specific cut a worthwhile listening experience for lovers of Ambient and Opera alike and might even resonate with fans and followers of enchanted Instrumental Folk for a reason. A deep and unexpected closing for an otherwise well intense Avantgarde album.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Great Waitress - Back, Before [Splitrec. 030]

Put out on the circuit on September 16th, 2k22 as cat.no. 030 of the Australian imprint Splitrec. is "Back, Before", the fourth full length album effort created by the trio that is Great Waitress - and their second for the label after their 2011 debut "Lucid". Recorded pre-pandemic and taking four years to finalize the two extended pieces aptly named "Back" and "Before" see Magda Mayas, Monica Brooks and Laura Altman provide a deeply spiritual take of what could be described as naturalistic Ambient / Listening Music created by an ethereal, tender and carefully layered combination of piano, accordion, clarinet and feedbacks which elevates these instruments to new and previously unexperienced levels which might be closer to a score accompanying a trip into the realm of ancient dreamtime than to actual western composition. This being said, this evaluation is probably even more true for the 25+ minutes stretching "Before" which seems to amalgamate both Minimal Ambient and DarkJazz in a well time defying and dreamlike manner which will also speak to fans and followers of electroacoustic composition and microtonal recording approaches. If these terms happen to be a fixture in your musical vocabulary "Back, Before" might be one album up your alley. Go check.

RKeT - Bring You 10 Evergreens In Stereo [Umland Records 056]

Released via the ever active Essen-based imprint that is Umland Records on November 20th, 2k22 is "Bring You 10 Evergreens In Stereo", the latest ten tracks and 43 minutes spanning album outing by RKet, a trio comprised of Jan Klare, Luc Ex and Onno Govaert. Starting from a point of raw, driving and smokey, well muscular and dancefloor-suitable Jazz - not: Dancefloor Jazz in a sense that might refer to what the original Mojo Club in Hamburg pioneered in its heydays - with "Am Misbehavin" the limited to 50 copies CD edition progresses into deep tension and thundering drumroll madness with "I'm An Old Coward Out To Lunch", brings forth buzzing, jazzed out funkiness with "Ornette Hawkins", gets down dirty with the nocturnal grooves of "In The Mud", enters fully fledged FreeJazz territories whilst walking the "Clear Bridge Over Troubled Water" before the "House Of The Dying Sun" shifts gears towards high speed settings and introduces what could be described as a heavy, almost Metal / Punk-infused drum excesses to otherwise well melodic and captivating Jazz vibes whilst the subsequent cut that is "What A Wonderful Word" deals with brooding, somewhat yearning and unsettling Jazz drones for a closing just to mention a few favorites here. One to get of you're an avid collector of rare, somewhat leftfield and exploratory Contemporary Jazz editions for a reason.

Hüma Utku - Dissolution Of I (Official Video)

Brooding, hyper intense electronic soundscapes and visuals coming straight out of a fever dream. The music video for this track taken off of Hüma Utku's latest album "The Psychologist" is not for the faint-hearted.

Various Artists - Mischpoke #1: Remix 12" [Hauch Records 023]

Coming in from Düsseldorf-based label Hauch Records these days is "Mischpoke #1: Remix 12"" , the imprints latest vinyl outing which presents a selection of four tracks produced by the likes of Johenson, Ai, Rhein and Antonia D. Luca which are remixed by BKDG Audio, Gras, Sonae and Lucrecia Dalt respectively. Put out on the circuit on December 2nd, 2k22 as a limited edition of 333 copies the musical journey leads us from the drifting, washed out and somewhat EDM- x (Neo)Trance-infused Bigroom TechHouse for daytime festival floors of "Timekiller" to the deep and dubbed out, well multilayered IDM x Electronica vibes of "Archaic Iftar" whereas "Takes", which might be our favorite cut on this release, provides the most spine-tingling take on stripped down, minimalist Ambient we've heard in a while, taking us back to the age of tunes like Scanner's "Mass Observation" series or even further down the line when it comes to early experimentation in Minimal Music perpetrated by the likes of Steve Reich etc all before "For Morton Feldman" pairs off-kilter Industrial Ambient loops, low frequency background drones and tender, intimate and inward looking Contemporary Classical piano etudes for a calm, yet most beautiful closing. Quite an intriguing release, this one is. Go check.

16.12.2022 BETA-ZERFALL @ Schaubude / Kiel

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

decks:
baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / El Caballo Semental / The Absence Of Light]

Herr Brandt [Sonnenbrandt / Damaged Goods / The Convent]

doors: 11 P.M.
RSVP: Facebook event

The ZERFALL continues.

Wieder sind alle Turntables besetzt – es geht los, Leute! Während da draussen die Welt und der Wahnsinn frei dreht sorgt sorgt das BETA-ZERFALL DJ-Team zum vorgezogenen quasi-Jahresabschluss noch einmal für gemütlich thermonukleare Wärme und durchgeschwitzte Tanzkörper in der Schaubude.

Statt „Last Christmas“ haben baze.djunkiii & Herr Brandt einen wie gewohnt eklektischen Cocktail aus PostPunk, (No)Wave, ElectroPunk, SynthPop, Industrial, IndieElectro und vielerlei artverwandtem Sound in ihren frisch polierten Plattenkisten, gespickt mit legendären Underground-Favorites, Alltime-Klassikern und allerlei raren, seltsamen oder auch pressfrisch veröffentlichten Vinylscheiben, die jenseits des BETA-ZERFALL nur sehr vereinzelt den Weg auf die Plattenteller einschlägiger deutscher Clubs finden.

Denn BETA-ZERFALL ist seit mehr als zehn Jahren das Synonym für einen in dieser Form fast einzigarten Crossover zwischen Indie- / PostPunk- / Goth-Disco und der technisch versierten Mixkunst der elektronischen Clubkultur, die Zusammenkunft von Track-Ansatz und Songstruktur und vor allen Dingen die Essenz aus mehr als 50 Jahren DJ-Erfahrung, die unsere beiden Resident DJ's und langjährigen Musikmultiaktivisten baze.djunkiii & Herr Brandt in ihren jeweiligen Szenen zusammen auf die Waage bringen.

Let the winter games begin!

Schaubude
Legienstrasse 40
24103 Kiel
Germany

Elephant Dials - Binary Blues [Gusstaff Records]

Coming in from the pioneering Polish label Gusstaff Records is "Binary Blues", the November 25th, 2k22 released debut album by Elephant Dials, a duo consisting of John J. Donatowicz a.k.a. Human Elephant and Mateusz Rosinski a.k.a. Wrong Dials which joined studio and songwriting forces as a result of a shared extended history of mutual DJ gigs. The result, a seven tracks and roughly 30 minutes spanning album, sees the two artists taking a shot at what might be filed under the flag of highly electronically-infused Industrial Leftfield Blues, combining classic Blues-themes with demanding, imperative 4/4 rhythm sequences in the fascinating opening cut that is "Bury Me Not In The Lone Prairie" whereas "Listen To My Song" sports hard hitting dystopian darkness and echoes of creeping bass music sonically and "For The Good Of The Hive" seems to flirt with both Spoken Word and Blues-infused Illbient to an intense, well nightmare-inducing effect. Furthermore the "Song For Pluto" probably represents a deep, well electronic version of floating, (Neo)Cosmic-infused Minimal Delta Blues - and yes: probably think Depeche Mode here - , "Hier Steht Der Stein" offers hard hitting Dope Beats and trippy distortion alongside ethereal melodies of probably imagined Asian decent and dramatic Spoken Words for those who loved creepy Leftfield Pop cuts like Garbage's "Paranoid", Babylon Zoo's "Spaceman" or anything by early Tricky throughout the 90s before "Old Ones Into New" presents slightly washed out and Psychedelia-infused PopAmbient vibes and spaced out advertisements and the final cut that is "Twenty-Five Seconds" ends on what probably is a modular synthesis inspired and well experimental Noize tip. If this album defines Blues for 2k22 we're all in.

Christine Abdelnour & Andy Moor - Unprotected Sleep [Unsounds 074]

Released via Unsounds Records as their cat.no. 074 on November 1st, 2k22 is "Unprotected Sleep", the latest album collaboration cooked up by Christine Abdelnour and Andy Moor. The album, a nine track journey rolled out over roughly 40 minutes playtime, combines improvisation pieces recorded both in 2011, which could be referred to as a starting point for this future longplay then to come, and 2021, conceptually dealing with the vulnerable and fragile state of hypnagogia, sonically depicting this transcendent, oftentimes intermediate state through calm, yet somewhat unsettling hyperminimalist Post-PostRock structures solely provided by guitar and saxophone movements slowly meandering back and forth atop a foundation of droning, DarkAmbient-leaning atmospheres, partially building up towards buzzing, yet also disturbing and nightmare'ish crescendos one cannot escape from like the hypnagogic sleeper might not escape from hallucinatory sensations or even sleep paralysis if experienced. This being said "Unprotected Sleep" might be a well recommended Deep Listening Music album for those aware of groups like the seminal Village Of Savoonga or living off of a diet of Dark Ambient anyway, yet might not be administered to children or those of faint hearted nature for a reason, especially when it comes to the hypnotic, braincell-draining repetitions of "Telephone", the twisted, ever morphing sonic aesthetics of "Compartment 5", the icy, exoplanetary atmospheres of "Building On Top Of Ourselves" or the ever buzzing, fever'ish and nocturnal ritualisms of the concluding "Cool, Cruel And Everything In Between" which provides a vibe of lost ancient magik for those in the know. Go check!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Giulio Aldinucci - Real [Karlrecords 096 Promo]

Put out on the circuit via Karlrecords as the labels cat.no. 096 on October 14th, 2k22 is "Real", the fourth album composed and recorded for the imprint by Italian producer x sound artist Giulio Aldinucci. Presenting a total of eight new pieces over the course of approx. 42 minutes the Siena-based producer pairs glacial, time-defying Ambient movements with brittle and washed out atmospheres, additionally sprinkles lone and lost piano tones as well as what seem to be ethereal, angelic and somewhat processed choirs and non-vocalisms onto this foundation whilst adding majestic widescreen cinematic movements and almost sacred, enlightening cascades of sounds to the mix in pieces like the festive "Come In Un Respiro", drifts off into brooding, yet scintillating Dark Ambient territories with the subsequent cut "As The Horizon Disappears" whereas the "Mythological Void" turns out to be as ecclesiastical as an all embracing, yet slightly decaying Ambient piece can be before "Every Word, In Summer" introduces even more flutter and decay to large scale, almost (Neo)Classical- x score-leaning sound sculptures and "Hyperobject A" gets down as futuristic as its title sounds and brings on a fascinating take on buzzing, robo-industrial leaning sci-fi Electronica and therefore turns out to be our favorite piece on this longplay effort just to name a few. Recommended.

baze.djunkiii & The D3VI7 present Diurnal Tides: First Wave [Carsharing Tapes 001] (Youtube Teaser)

Get your copy on Bandcamp!

R. Pinhas / Merzbow - Coda [Bam Balam Records 095]

Released in CD format via the long standing French imprint Bam Balam Records on October 8th, 2k22 with a vinyl edition to follow up in April of 2k23 supposedly is "Coda", the latest collaborational album effort by Heldon-founder and experimental music pioneer Richard Pinhas and Masami Akita a.k.a. Merzbow, the undisputed leading figure of the Japanoize movement. Over the course of two extended cuts, "Coda" and the subsequent "PostCoda", and a total playtime of roughly 42 minutes the duo, backed by sonic contributions from artists like Oren Ambarchi, Florian Tatard and Senza Testa, sets out to explore an extremely dramatic, yet astoundingly harmonic variation of Noize, shaped by glistening, widescreen cinematic Cosmic x Synth harmonies which bring to mind overpowering, superhuman light installations once envisioned by Albert Speer or the tense, dystopian futurism of movies like Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' in all its alienating glory whilst they're unfolding atop a maelstrom of amorphous, yet ever changing, twisting and re-modulating Noize to provide a well suitable and most epic soundtrack to the endgame of civilization we're facing right now whereas the second half of this longplayer provides an astoundingly innocent, almost Post-Folk-leaning and naturalistic take on Ambient Noize which one could easily imagine being in use as in-ear soundtrack for avid bird spotters and the likes of and therefore might be our favorite pick out of the two pieces to be found on this release. Highly recommended, this.

Chris Abrahams - Follower [Room40 Promo]

Another fresh album release put out on the circuit via the ever busy Australian imprint Room40 is "Follower", the latest longplay effort cooked up by Sydney-based composer x piano player Chris Abrahams which hit stores on December 3rd, 2k22. Sporting four brand new pieces rolled out over the course of 37 minutes Chris Abrahams once again focuses on intimate solo piano works, opening with the chiming, ethereal tones and glacial background atmospheres of "Costume" which are accompanied by solemn, lower register late night meditations subsequently followed by cinematic strings, harsh tonal shifts and tense, highly unsettling, rattling glassy or metalling sounds causing major unease in "New Kind Of Border". Furthermore "Sleep Sees Her Opportunity" provides more spine-tingling tension for psycho horror movies evoked by minimal, meandering Ambient drones, cavernous spatiality provided by various background movements of unrevealed origin as well as sparse, seemingly lost piano repetitions and a dry, somewhat fast-paced four-to-the-floor rhythm emerging out of and disappearing into nowhere before the "Glassy Tenseness Of Everything" fuses stripped down, sci-fi-leaning Electronica / Rhythm Industrial structures with computational background bleeps and more processed, dreamy piano tones. One album for chill, yet well focused listening sessions this is.

Ludvig Cimbrelius - Love Letters From The Sky [Sound In Silence 095]

With the label rapidly approaching the three digit realm the Greek Sound In Silence imprint saw the return of Swedish musician Ludvig Cimbrelius to its roster on September 26th, 2k22 - this time using his real name instead of his musical disguise Eternell for a new, fully fledged longplay project. With a total of eight brand new tracks rolled out over the course of 54 minutes, sporting track titles as poetic as "Stjärnhimmel" or "Fleetin Moonlight" Cimbrelius presents a singular body of work merely focusing on dreamy, tender, intimate Piano Ambient etudes partly accompanied by etheral synth pads and electronic textures especially prevalent in tunes like "Molnblomma", inspired and sparked by incoming love letters which isn't surprising at all considering the albums overall caressing and innocent nature as well as its devoted, soft and emotional execution. If love, not falling in but deeply being in, had one singular sonic representation that would speak to both Ambient heads and fans of Contemporary Classical / (Neo)Classical music alike "Love Letters From The Sky" would be a strong candidate to be exactly that.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Charts 12/2k22

01. baze.djunkiii & The D3VI7 - present Diurnal Tides: First Wave [Carsharing Tapes 001]
See announcement post for details...

02. Time Modem - The Time Of The Gathering [Boy Records]
Welcome to 1990. Welcome to the future. The seminal Bad Kreuznach-based label is back with a remastered classic which perfectly showcases the intersecting set of early Techno, echoes of NuBeat and Agreppo - a genre term almost forgotten and only rarely used nowadays but nonetheless an important factor on dancefloors throughout those formative days of today's electronic music movement. Stripped down, yet tense, dark'ish and well atmospheric "The Time Of The Gathering / Zeit Der Zusammenkunft", basically variations of the same tune using more or less the same samples from an English / German version of a movie respectively, are still able to send shivers down your spine on a strobe-lit basement dancefloor for a reason whilst "DJ's Nightmare" is a precursor of ecstatic rave days to come according to its uplifting multi-layered melodies and pumping, muscular drive. Essential classic.

03. Roland Schappert - Route 2 [R-ecords]
See review for details...

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Etceteral - Rhizome [Glitterbeat Records / Tak:til]

Released via the Glitterbeat Records offshoot Tak:til on November 11th, 2k22 is "Rhizome", the sophomore full length album effort created, cooked up and recorded by the Slovenian trio that is Etceteral after their 2k20 longplay debut "Ama-gi". Rolled out over the course of 10 brand new tracks and a total of 41.41 minutes the group takes on a meandering, ultimately non-linear approach to a fusion - or better: amalgamation - of mainly uplifting, positive and well Psychedelia-infused jazzed out jam vibes, free-floating electronic textures and classic Electronica- / Indietronica-influences which lead to most beautiful, crackly minimal abstractions like "UY Scuti", the rhythmically complex advanced space dancefloor smash that is the subsequent "Brasshopper" and the hyper dense FreeImprov approach of "Rome Burns" which interestingly switches into straight-forward, albeit slightly krautsy and Future Tribal-leaning electronic club mode for a while halfway down the line whereas pieces like "Dunno" present an attitude of tentative future late night Jazz classics to be, "Ton 618" drifts into ominous, detailed, spatial and nightmare'ish territories when it comes to subaquatic Indietronica sounds for delirious fever dreams whilst the second to last cut that is "Ave" makes us think of vintage Mouse On Mars in Jazz for a reason before "Idler Idol" redefines drifting, ever hypnotizing DreamOut music for late 2k22 just to name a few. One to check out for both fans of Contemporary Jazz and fans of meandering electronic music structures alike.

Album artwork on Instagram!