Leslie Uyeda - The Sex Lives Of Vegetables [Redshift Records]

Released via the ever active Canadian label named Redshift Records on July 26th, 2k24 is "The Sex Lives Of Vegetables", the first full length album recording conceived by Vancouver's Leslie Uyeda - acclaimed composer, conductor and pianist who is joined on her journey by author and poet Lorna Crozier as well as soprano vocalist Heather Pawsey and AK Coope and Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa on clarinet and piano as their respective instruments. The result of this joint venture is a 62 minutes spanning journey split into three main pieces - "The First Woman", "Hahawo Shinobite" and "The Sex Lives Of Vegetables" - of which two are devided into several subsections is a showcase of Uyeda's compositional versatility, pairing somewhat Jazz-infused pianos with clear references to Opera, both classical and contemporary, an extreme and extremely expressive dynamic range, echoes of echoes of vintage movie scores from the era of monochromatic cinema, playful and humor'esque episodes like "Carrots", the tense and ethereal drama of "Lettuce", the uplifting, in parts even dancey movements of "Watermelons" as well as the deep romantic melancholia of "Cabbages" just to name a few outstanding pieces on this longplayer. One for the Avantgarde-informed fan and follower of Modern and Contemporary Classical composition.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Catharine Cary - Air Cake And Other Summery Occupations [Orchard Of Pomegranates]

This is a special one. Released on June 21st, 2k24 via Orchard Of Pomegranates is "Air Cake And Other Summery Occupations", the latest album by Canadian writer x author and painter, performance artist Catharine Cary who sets out to fuse her self-written children's stories with a backdrop of improvised music performed on cornet, bass clarinet, toys and drums by Eric Lewis and Ivan Bamford. With this conceptual and yet spontaneity driven approach Cary and her sonic contributors deliver a roughly 45 minutes long journey through nine chapters, opening a window into the artists creativity which, in its intense lively vocal performance, evokes faint memories of lyricists like Lydia Lunch - despite dealing with less intense topics, ofc - or Irene Lavic and takes us on a journey into raw, almost fever'ish and Tribal-infused drum backings, late night quasi-Viennese Future Jazz, intricate philosophical iterations and thought processes and highly imaginative storytelling which even manages to captivate the non-native English speaking listener due to the sole dynamic and liveliness of Cary's expressive voice alone . An in between album which is at home both in the world of music and, at the same time, in the realm of literature x audio books yet neither claims, tries to be or fully occupies one or the other. Fascinating.

Amy Brandon - Lysis [New Focus Recordings]

Released via the Canadian label New Focus Recordings on August 16th, 2k24 is "Lysis" which marks the sophomore longplay effort for composer x artist Amy Brandon which sees a set of eight of her compositional pieces executed and interpreted by the likes of Quatuor Bozzini, India Gailey, Chartreuse Trio, Alkali Collective and others over the course of 51 minutes with her actually being invlvd in two of them as a performing artist, contributing electronics to the 2023 piece "Caduceus" as well as to 2017s "Intermountainous". Drawing inspiration from a rich and widely varied experience as a composer as well as her initial musical training as a jazz guitar player Brandon's approach to this album reflects exactly that, starting from a fascinating angle of solo flute treatments oftentimes rather related to electroacoustic experimentation than to anything approximately Jazz- or Modern Classical-infused, moving forward into unsettling score works and wildly intense string explosions beyond any traditional tonal boundaries performed by a corresponding triple setting of viola, violin and cello before pairing intricate, sparkling yet spars 10-string guitar movements with sparse atmospheric electronic backings in "Intermountainous", a piece which suddenly, yet not out of nowhere, completely changes its dynamic range after almost five minutes of total playing time. Furthermore pieces like "Tsiyr" combine hammered single piano chords with periods of near silence and x or off-kilter string responses to an intriguing effect whilst flirting with echoes of eerie Minimal Music with the eerie- and otherworldliness bleeding over into the haunting Contemporary Classical piece that is "Affine" whilst the concluding title cut "Lysis" brings forth a series of electronically enhanced, warped and surely otherworldly sounding string swells just to name a few. This is more than just another showcase in Modern Composition. This a trip worth taking for a reason, even if one is not familiar with the intricacies of Contemporary Classical music or whatever the term Avantgarde might mean these days. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - 50 Years, Still Banging It Hard EP [Psychocandies]

Put out on the vinyl circuit today on the occasion of Sascha Müller's 50th birthday is the "50 Years, Still Banging It Hard EP" by named long standing purveyor of quality electronic music, providing a set of three original tracks by Mr. Müller himself as well as three additional remixes on highly limited heavyweight splatter vinyl. With the opening cut named "The Real Acid Protector" Sascha Müller caters a straightforward and well peaktime oriented take on UK-infused Acid Techno backed by heavy claps and spiralling modulations followed by the floating hypnotic late night x early morning Acid(Trance) meditations and twisted machine choirs of "Acid Is Our Religion" whereas the subsequent "Defunction 303" brings forth enchanted Acid Breaks for experienced late night crowds. On the flip we see Citric Acid provide a remix version of "The Real Acid Protector" which speeds things up heavily for strobe-lit underground basement parties whereas the "Acid Is Our Religion *eVADE Remix" offers a playful and trippy little Acid journey for the deep late night jackers and the Flensburg-based DJ Nightnoise morphs "Defunction 303" into a stripped down, swinging and enchanted IDM x Minimal Techno affair whilst at the controls for his so-called 'Mental Atmosphere Remix'. Great stuff and a worthwhile birthday celebration indeed. Go check!

Splatter vinyl on Instagram!

Michael Cloud Duguay - Succeeder [Watch That Ends The Night]

Set for release on August 23rd, 2k24 via the Canadian label that is Watch That Ends The Night is "Succeeder", the latest full length album effort by singer, composer and producer Michael Cloud Duguay. Over the course of eleven new pieces rolled out over 45 minutes the Canadian explores, after many struggles of various sorts throughout the past decades of his somewhat on and off career, the possibilities of working on his own terms and in his own pace rather than being forced into the framework of normal label deals, enabled through running his own record label alongside fellow musician Andrew McKelvie of New Hermitage-fame amongst other musical involvements. This newly found freedom enables Duguay to fully indulge in the creative process without borders or boundaries, bringing to life his musical vision alongside a widely varied set of collaborators from the Kingston / Wolfe Island, Ontario area, most prominently singer x vocalist Cormac Culkeen whose voice is present on most of the albums songs. The result of this multi-faceted musical collaboration ranges from highly dramatic Leftfield Pop songs featuring sustained slide guitars and echoes of grandiose landscapes to positive and somewhat uplifting Indie influences in "A Very Fine Start" which are paired with more large scale panoramic arrangements and heavily emphasized trombone sections in "Emancipation!" whereas the title piece "Succeeder" focuses on most beautiful piano lines contrasted by twisted off-harmonics and - like many pieces of the album - underlying Field Recordings of rather concerning nature before "Wonderwar Pt. I" pays homage to Exotica x Easy Listening vibes and "Sorcerority" explodes into cascading guitars, pianos and shimmering synth backings as one of the most fascinating Spoken Word we've come across in a while just to name a few. Probably one 2k24 album to be referred to as Contemporary AOR due to the lack of a better term even for those who rather despise AOR for being a non-genre and more of a conceptual description. Intredasting.

Somnoroase Pasarele - Auto [2] [Mahorka 394]

Coming in all the way from Moldova these days is "Auto [2]", the latest ten track album cooked up and conceived by Gili Mocanu under his musical moniker Somnoroase Pasarele. Released in cassette tape format via the ever active Mahorka label on May 5th, 2k24 we see Somnoroase Pasarele going on another deep dive into a surprisingly non-minimalist side of experimental electronic music, presenting a set of tense, shimmering atmospheres laid out over fluttering, well ominous bass lines, partly backed by whipping rhythms both akin to harsh IDM as well as Industrial Electronics and percussive futuristic melodic motifs, later progressing into calmly cascading Ambient fountains and playful IDM workouts for advanced late night dancefloors and even brooding, danger-heralding DarkAmbient-infused score-works with a retrofuturist touch on the A-side whereas the flip caters fluid ethereal tonal movements somewhat reminiscent of enchanted underground rivers to be found in humungous caves many a galaxy away - or, if one likes to think Jules Verne, many a mile down in lost lands hidden in what probably is a hollow earth -, crackly Vintage Ambient which, for us, provides a major flashback to the late 90s and early 00s, slightly metallic sounding rhythmic minimalisms accompanied by yearning sustained bleeps of, despite sounding quite organic and almost mimicking intelligent alien communication of sorts, probably electroacoustic origin, more sparkling and whirling synth cascades of rather experimental nature and other advanced electronic goodness which makes this one an album to hunt down for every avid tape collector out there. Recommended.

Mark Haney - Placentia Bay: Summer Of 1941 [self-released]

Put out on the circuit as a self-released mini album effort via Vancouver's Mark Haney on August 9th, 2k24 is "Placentia Bay: Summer Of 1941" which sees three of the artists compositions for double bass performed by Canadian musician Meaghan Williams. Rolled out over a course of roughly 22 minutes the (non) longplayer opens with "Tempest, Fire And Foe " which sets the pace with its looming, brooding and danger heralding percussive elements which quickly dissolve into enchanted explorative melodic sequences not shying away from drama and rather extreme dynamic movements of an almost score'esque, film noir-informed quality whereas "An Ever Rolling Stream" brings forth shimmering scenic Contemporary Classical beauty with its tender harmonic swells, subdued, slightly vintage-sounding choir episodes and an overall naturalist and rural feel before the final cut "...Thro Countless Ages", by far the liveliest composition amongst these three, even introduces a wide variety of intertwined, meandering harmonics, short fragmented snare rolls and layers of dramatic build-ups which lead to a full orchestral climax for all fans and followers of Classical and (Neo) Classical music.

Album artwork on Instagram

Colin Fisher - Suns Of The Heart [We Are Busy Bodies]

Put out on the circuit via the Canadian label named We Are Busy Bodies on July 12th, 2k24 is "Suns Of The Heart", the latest full length album outing conceived by Toronto-based composer and master of many instruments Colin Fisher. Over the course of six brand new pieces and a total duration of roughly 39 minutes Colin Fisher explores and, due to the fact the the multi-instrumentalist takes the performance of any of the various instruments featured on this album solely upon himself, creates a dense sonic realm mastered and produced by David Psutka a.k.a. Egyptrixx which opens with the ethereal, shimmering and atmospheric "Acts Of Light" defined by highly detailed, slightly twangy guitar movements undergoing multiple cycles before "Deus Absconditus" elaborates on distorted and processed electric guitar solo works alongside what seem to be dreamy and electronically enhanced harp tones and surprisingly Jazz-focused saxophone lines whereas "Luminous Night" brings forth a subdued, yet percussion-oriented take for fans of rhythmatic electroacoustic experiments and hypnotic (neo)tribalisms and might be our favoite cut on this album for this specific reason. Furthermore "Terra Lucida" proceeds to trigger the listeners collective subconscious with another set of swampy, interlocked quasi-tribal rhythms in combination with, also rather percussive, synth signals and sustained rural guitar motifs, "Mundial Imaginalis" provides new goodness for all fans and followers of floating, slightly new age-y, balearic Guitar Ambient infused with a good portion of late night Jazz before the final cut that is "Illuminato Matutina" rounds things off with more comforting, yet rather minimalist Post-PostRock x PopAmbient structures for attentive late night listening sessions. Recommended.

24.08.2k24 Sascha Müller Goes 50 Showcase @ Groundzero Teknocamp / Meppen

timetable:
1200 Duality Micro live [Meppen]
1300 Sarah Ka [Ugly Funk / Berlin]
1430 Alexander Spree live [Berlin]
1530 baze.djunkiii [Intrauterin Recordings / Combat Dubs]
1700 Citric Acid live [Bocholt]
1900 Ed Twist [Berlin / UK]
2000 Sascha Mueller live [Psychocandies / Intrauterin Recordings]
2100 Coffee [Meppen]
2200 Alienme + Dave Sandison live
2330 Blackcrap [Dortmund]

Save the date!

Groundzero Teknocamp
Georg-Sperl-Strasse
49716 Meppen
Germany

The Green Kingdom - Arcadian [Sound In Silence 111]

Released via the Greek Sound In Silence label on April 22nd, 2k24 is "Arcadian", the latest full length album effort conceived by Michigan's Michael Cottone under the name of The Green Kingdom and his fourth longplayer for the imprint in total. Over the course of nine tracks and a duration of 41 minutes Cottone embarks on a journey into a sonic realm defined by airy atmospheric textures and twangy, slighty folk-infused PopAmbient guitar motifs in the opening piece that is "Vista" before the subsequently following cut named "Forgotten Futures" fully indulges in pastoral Ambient innocence and unscathed dreamspheres whilst the deeper, slow pillowing movements of "Shadowplay" present a timeless genre blueprint for true lovers of soothing, soul-healing tonalities whereas "Another Time And Place", a tune with similarly comforting properties, achieves those by the means of folksy guitars and slowly cascading harmonic movements. Furthermore pieces like "Fading Landscapes" showcase a beautiful take on musical melancholia for long summer evenings spent with a loved one before the final piece "Arcadian Skies" once again waves goodbye with a slowly moving stream of rural, innocent Ambient textures garnished with a few sustained guitar tones just to name a few. Classic Sound In Silence for longtime fans and followers of the label, this.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 08/2k24

Memory Drawings - Deathbed Requests [Sound In Silence 113]

Another new album released via the regularly praised Greek Ambient / Post-PostRock staple that is Sound In Silence on June 19th, 2k24 is "Deathbed Request", the first contribution to the labels catalogue for the pan-continental collective operating under the name of Memory Drawings. Led by hammered dulcimer player Joel Hanson the groups latest album effort offers a set of nine brand new pieces rolled out over the course of 38 minutes total playtime on this one, focusing on oftentimes romantic and harmonic dulcimer lines as a leading key instrument following almost classical song structures backed by elegic strings sections and a complimenting foundations of tender drums and supporting bass figures with pieces like "These Are My Interpretations" seemingly being influenced by echoes of Downtempo / Dub whereas the lively and positive "Non-Aggression Pact" even seems to be bordering widescreen, yet muscular New Age Folk Rock before "A Necessary Fiction" rides a similar, slightly more tender and rural wave. Furthermore "Divisible By Three" indulges in rather romantic Downtempo elegies and the concluding "A Final Request" once again puts tender dulcimer lines at the forefront and therefore brings all things full circle when it comes to this album just to name a few. Probably best consumed on a late fall evening, this one.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Stanley Hottek - Cvant Discovery [Psychocandies 119 Promo]

Put out on the digital circuit via the long-standing Psychocandies label on April 30th, 2k24 is Stanley Hottek's "Cvant Discovery" which marks the very first ever release on the label for the Leipzig-based producer who caters a menu of three sequentially named tracks on this one. With "Discovery One" Hottek presents a raw, yet highly detailed take on a well complex amalgamation of ElectroPhonk and bass heavy Wonky Techno for smog-fueled underground dancefloors whereas "Discovery Two", despite being on a similar tip, is more reminiscent of Si Begg's warped and ever morphing ElectroBreaks variations and surely a thing that DJ's like the legendary Warlock would've utilized in their sets around the first half of the noughties before the final cut that is "Discovery Three" brings on a swinging, syncopated sci-fi-infused ElectroBass vibe for those who know. Recommended for a reason.

Panoptique Electrical - For Years [Sound In Silence 114]

Once again put out on the circuit via Sound In Silence is "For Years", the latest, June 19th, 2k24 released ten track album by Jason Sweeney a.k.a. Panoptique Electrical and his fifth longplayer for the label under this specific musical moniker. Still located and based in Kaurna Country in South Australia Sweeney starts his new, roughly 40 minutes spanning musical journey with the washed out and shimmering aesthetics of "For Oceans" which are backed by deep tectonic rumblings followed by the calm and comforting Ambient rivers of "For Sleep" whereas "For Em" provides some subtle, yet surely angelic overtones and a shimmering silver lining of hope at the horizon. "For Piano" interestingly is more reminiscent of tender Ambient textures garnished with softly plucked guitar strings than of actual Piano Ambient whilst "For Stillness" seems to be based on brooding, ever morphing bass drones closing in before beauteous echoes of fragile Ambient structures provide a bit of a relieving contrast and "For Ruins" waves goodbye with a most beautiful sequence of slowly cascading Piano Ambient tones just to name a few. As intimate and closeup as an Ambient album can get.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Sascha Müller - Ballet Dancer [La Bomba Recordings 021 Promo]

Released as cat.no. 021 of La Bomba Recordings on April 11th, 2k24 is "Ballet Dancer", the latest digital two track single on the label produced and cooked up by Mr. Sascha Müller. With the opening title track that is "Ballet Dance" we see Sascha Müller on a quite unusually tender and floating, yet expertly executed DeepHouse tip for either early opening or very late after afterhour sets whereas the subsequent cut named "Fabrique" presents an absolutely killer take on airy and beautifully uplifting Trance vibes for all the oldskool ravers out there and therefore is our favorite tune on this single for more than one reason.

BODY COUNT - F*** What You Heard (Official Video)

3cloneB - RPG EP [Psychocandies 118 Promo]

Released via the ever active imprint known as Psychocandies on April 18th, 2k24 is the "RPG EP", another fresh digital two track single from a producer who's been with the label for twelve years now. With the opening title track "RPG" 3cloneB caters a heavily distorted, hyperbrutalist take one raw early 90s Techno garnished with razor sharp hi-hats, metallic overtones and rattling rapid fire percussion sequences whilst the subsequent cut "Chicks" embarks on a journey into a land of deep, stripped down, floating and slightly psychedelic Acid modulations slightly reminiscent of long forgotten releases on labels like Labworks Germany and the likes of. One for those in the know.

JARR - All The Past Lives [Sound In Silence 112]

JARR is back. Or better: are back. The collaborational duo project of Jon Atwwood of Yellow6-fame and Ray Robinson of Wodwo set out to release their third full length album outing on April 22nd, 2k24, once again backed by the Athens-based Ambient x PostRock staple that is the Sound In Silence camp. With nine brand new tracks and a total duration of 62 minutes the two artists manifest their vision of reimagining and rearranging each others source material, partially even taken from already finished solo works, to create a deep and emotional sonic landscape in parts reminiscent of the German Romanticism of the famed GAS project - minus the beats, though, yet garnished with reverberating tender guitar interventions whereas cuts like "Cartographer Maps A Way", our favorite piece on this album, present a floating, skeletal stream of calm and soothing Ambient PostRock which also could be classified as PopAmbient by the Cologne-based Kompakt crew, "Darker Sooner" (un)surprisingly flirts with elements of droning nocturnal Dark Ambient, "A God At The Door" unfortunately seems to suffer from an index error and is unplayable in our copy whereas "Sine" explores crackly minimalist harmonies and overall slightly vintage sounding, dreamy guitarscapes just to name a few. Quite a lovely one, this.

Alberto Boccardi - Apnea [Room40 Promo]

Another fresh album released via the Australian label Room40 on July 19th, 2k24 is "Apnea", the latest album outing by Italian composer x producer Alberto Boccardi who's serving a total of nine new pieces over the course of 26 minutes total playtime, all recorded over a period of three years and heavily influenced by parenthood and the birth of his second daughter, exploring a soft and calm sonic spectrum set somewhere between classic Ambient x Deep Listening Music and minimalist Electronica, oftentimes garnished with chiming tones reminiscent of childrens music box toys, partly backed by rumbling, earth shaking and almost tectonic bass pulses with "Apnea III" even evoking memories of long lost Classical Music pieces written for spinet or cembalo whilst "Struttura Cristallina, Ordinamento, Densita" dives into minimalist Ambient Electronics with what seem to be tribal chants buried deep within its overall mixdown and "Sessantacinque" even serves comforting, organic and slightly twangy guitar tones atop of calm low end movements just to name a few. Defo one to check out for the dedciated Ambient collectors out there.

Pericopes + 1 - Good Morning World [Losen Records]

Scheduled for release on September 27th, 2k24 via the Oslo-based label named Losen Records is "Good Morning World", the new, forthcoming and roughly 49 minutes spanning album by Pericopes + 1. Over the course of nine brand new compositions we see the group, led by sax player and composer Emiliano Vernizzi for pretty much an entire decade by this point, presenting a rare and unmatched vision of Contemporary Jazz, opening on a calm, only two minutes long take on Ambient Jazz melancholia yet immediately connecting to the high tech age via samples taken from one of the most iconic and influential science fiction movies of all time in "Logout" before drifting off, accompanied by Anais Drago, into a "Cosmic Nirvana", truely a syncopated, uptempo, yet still slightly melancholic piece which seems to incorporate both elements from the Oriental / Arab world as well as echoes of action-laden high speed chase scenes from spy movies of yore whereas "Liturgico" presents the trios vision of perfectly executed and emotionally touching late night romanticisms in Jazz with "Rue Sedaine Metavers" following on a similarly tender and deep path whilst working its way up to fascinating climax which, from our point of view, sounds as much as a soundtrack for inner city life like Lemon D.'s "Urban Style Music" did Drum'n'Bass-wise all the way back in 1995 whereas "The Dawn Of Algo-Rhytm" mainly focuses on intimate, yet lively piano works and Spoken Word samples seemingly taken from a news report or documentary of sorts before the concluding title track "Good Morning World" provides more captivating Urban Jazz dynamics for a closing just to name a few. As urban as a Contemporary Jazz album can get. Go check.