Review: Los Angeles-based The Black Lodge began as an intimate gathering place and ritual organised around exploring, sharing and experimenting with diverse forms of electronic music. This is the fourth collection of cuts from various artists of The Black Lodge multiverse. The Poetic Painter M, an alias of Nation chief Traxx, opens up the A-side with the dark late night acid of 'Elusive Clarity Of 1 Mind', followed by Pablo R Ruiz from Detroit providing the spooky lo-fi/sci-fi groove 'El Rey De Amor'. Over on the flip, Michigan's Fashion Flesh serves up a harsh experimental soundscape on 'Kisses' and closes with the tunnelling industrial funk of Fauna53's 'Jam1' (Asymmetrical weirdo orchestra edit).
Beautiful People (alternative instrumental 1) (6:12)
Review: In more recent years, Mark Pritchard has moved further away from dubstep, and much closer to the smorgasbord of sounds and influences that is often referred to as 'electronica'. We don't mind the term because it gives us more room to interpret the music without any predefinitions, but "Beautiful People" is much more than that. Coming out courtesy of the mighty Warp, the tune is propelled forwards by Radiohead's Thom Yorke, where the legend's voice is perfectly infused with Pritchard's gentle Eastern chimes and tranquil beats. The whole track is a gentle walk into a far yet alluring sonic landscape, and this could well turn into a future classic. We already see it as a perfect accompaniment to a film, and if you're in the mood to totally zone out then you always have the instrumental cut to steer you further out into outer space.
Review: RECOMMENDED
Last October, acclaimed saxophonist Pharoah Sanders turned 80 years young, and his input on this album is testimony to the fact he has clearly aged like a fine wine. Not that this is to suggest preceding outings were anything less worthy than this collaborative project, which sees Sam Shepherd, the British electronic artist better known to most as Floating Points, write nine spectacular arrangements which are then performed by said brass legend, alongside The London Symphony Orchestra.
The results are spectacular, and wildly far-reaching, albeit firmly rooted in jazz with classical undertones. From the movements that made this final cut, some are whisper quiet and delicate to the point of risking breaking off if you were handling haphazardly. Others are booming loud, musical jumbo jets landing at the end of another great crescendo. Whether hushed or monumental, though, we can feel every note and bar of this masterpiece.
Review: Never heard of Zoroastrianism? Nothing to do with Zorro, this ancient religion is still practiced by a comparatively small number of people today, and has its roots on the Iranian plateau. Hugely overlooked in the modern world, not least given its incredible influence over may of the tropes we associate with recognisable creeds - heaven, hell, good, evil - here M Geddes Gengras and Psychic Reality pay homage to the history of what might be Western Asia's most mythologised and yet misunderstood nation, while also introducing modern sonic elements and effects.
The result is something that's unarguably original. Ambient work that is vivid and transportive, it's highly rhythmic stuff from start to finish, with tracks like 'The Incremental Spirit' taking that format to the nth degree, while the likes of 'Wilde Pastures' break with a more abstract idea of what these sounds can be.
Review: Parus is a Belarusian ethno-ambient project blending pagan songs with modern soundscapes and Zara is their debut album. Led by ethnographer and folk singer Hanna Silivonchyk, the record features traditional Belarusian songs in various dialects, all accompanied by synths and field recordings crafted by Anton Anishchanka. The tracks were gathered during ethnographic expeditions across Belarusian national parks, and songs like 'Soniejka' and the title cut offer intimate reflections on life, love and mythology. It connects to the past while maintaining a deep personal edge that makes Zara a fascinating exploration of Belarusian culture.
Review: Kevin Pearce's Science Fiction Ballads For The Lost Generation emerges as a riveting exploration of sonic storytelling and atmospheric nostalgia. Inspired by Vangelis' evocative 'Blade Runner' soundtrack, Pearce conceived the album as a cinematic journey, crafting a collection of songs that embody a sense of mystery and introspection. Initially recorded as a personal experiment, the album remained hidden for years until Pearce rediscovered it by chance. With its unearthed quality, Science Fiction Ballads exudes a timeless allure, reminiscent of audio fossils waiting to be discovered. Fans of soundtracks everywhere should really be interested in this release.
Review: Mind-bogglingly prolific and eternally on the mark, Aleksi Perala has travelled a long way from his roots as Ovuca and Astrobotnia since embarking on his Colundi quest. Here we are with another wonderful set, this time presented on Trip which might well break his stellar sound to an even wider audience. There are theories behind Colundi which you would need to investigate yourself, but it might be simplest to just plunge into this immaculate techno creation and test the effects for yourself. Spine-tingling harmonic interplay, impeccably balanced sequences and a direct rhythmic approach make this so easy to latch on to, but there's something mystical bubbling away under the surface which elevates this beyond your average techno record.
Review: Kampala's Nyege Nyege is no longer a niche name in electronic music, having risen to become Africa's most prominent stable for experimental synthesised tracks, carving out not necessarily a sound - artists and albums vary pretty wildly - but a kind of aesthetic which, once recognised, can usually be identified in most output. Of course, there's a problem there, with so much light now being shone on Uganda and the label itself, meaning so much else is missed from nearby countries, let alone this vast continent. Nevertheless, all that attention is not without good reason, and this collaboration between Durban, South Africa-based gqom futurists Phelimuncasi and abstract sound system crew Metal Preyers is a case in point. At once rooted in authentic African dance genres, and yet staunchly determined to reconfigure them, it's pretty much unlike anything you'll hear this week/month/year.
Review: Picture Music's works are pining dedications to idealized, fragile beauty. At the same time, the 80s Brisbane duo's name functioned as a nice pun, with every one of their works intended as workable in film, hence "picture music". Here their groundbreaking yet lesser-spotted ambient debut album, first released in 1987 on tape, gets a wax reissue via Left Ear. We're thrown back to a candlelit array of twilit tunes, from the curious, marimba-ey narrative developer 'Ivory Coast' to the light yet evocative, heart chakra-affirming piece 'Landscape'.
Review: As Warp gears up to celebrate its 30th birthday, it seems fitting that the label should be putting out a fresh album from one of its longest serving artists. As Plaid, Andy Turner and Ed Handley played a significant role in defining the label's approach to electronic music during the "Artificial Intelligence" era in the mid 1990s. All these years on, they're still capable of crafting fizzing, melodious, off-kilter electronic listening music that defies lazy categorization. "Polymer" is a hugely enjoyable and entertaining set, with highlights including the jumpy beats, post-electro melodies and mind-altering acid lines of "Los", the metallic bounce of "Maru" - a kind of twisted take on Afro-tech that's amongst their most club-ready cuts of recent times - and the disturbed, Autechre-style clang of "Recall".
Review: Joey Kendrick is perhaps better known for the braindance gear he's put out under his own name for Rephlex and the like, but he's also played around with plenty of aliases over the years too. His work as +10 actually predates his breakthrough years on Rephlex, having been released on the classy Canadian label Napalm Enema. Grace came out in 2007 and it sounds a little rowdier than later Kendrick works, but that's also part of its charm. Hence stalwart Belgian braindance believers WeMe have opted to reissue the CDr-only album as a double vinyl for your twitch, glitchy, acidic pleasure. It's a feast for the cerebellum, no doubt about it.
Review: French tropical house duo Polo & Pan return with another playful, transportive record, their third album, fusing their love of storytelling with a finely tuned sense of groove. Having cut their teeth as residents at Paris' Le Baron, the duoiPaul Armand-Delille and Alexandre Grynszpanihave built a world where fantasy meets the dancefloor, balancing carefree melodies with precise, spellbinding cadences. Their latest offering moves between daydream and dance, from the delicate charm of 'The Piano and The Violin' to the low-slung pulse of 'Disco Nap' featuring Metronomy. 'Petite Etoile' with Beth Ditto introduces a bold, cinematic energy, while 'A Different Side of Us' featuring PawPaw Rod leans into hazy, after-hours territory. 'Bluetopia' with Kids Return and 'La Nuit' featuring Arthur Teboul close things out with a reflective, late-night glow. It's another confident stride forward from a duo whose music feels both effortless and meticulously crafted.
Review: Two of life's great escape artists, Polo & Pan, or Paul Armand-Delille and Alexandre Grynszpan, first bonded in the chronological hinterland of nightlife's operating hours, at the iconic Parisian nightclub, Le Baron. We weren't there, but in our minds they talked about quantum theories, and maybe came up with the phrase "everything everywhere all at once". But nobody can be sure. Apart from the artists. Since then, they've committed themselves to creating beautiful, weird, tropical house-synth-pop-electronica stuff which they say transcends moments and places, people and cultures. 22:22 is their triumphant return after four years without a full length, and it's every bit as good as fans were hoping for. Dive in, the water is lovely - wherever in the time-space continuum it is.
Review: Peter Power invites listeners deep into his unique world of rich soundscapes and potent grooves, hypnotic vocals and glitchy beats topped with fine melodies on his new album New Dance Energy. The innovative downtempo talent has a truly global musical perspective and finds inspiration in "organic motion and the alchemical forces of nature." He plays many instruments on the record and for this first dancefloor orientated sound in five years he also brings ecstatic dance forms and the spirit of cacao dance ceremonies to his work.
Review: Norwegian disco titan Prins Thomas returns to his regular stomping ground of Smalltown Supersound with this, his sixth solo studio album. Thomas is sounding as vibrant as ever, his musical ideas spilling forth in glorious arrangements of organic instrumentation and gentling bubbling electronics that melt into a mellow, groovy sonic realm. There are hazy, cosmic moments to be savoured on the likes of "Feel The Love", and more adventurous rhythmic trysts like the nagging, snaking percussive melee of "Ambitions". Thomas' studio proficiency is more than matched by his imagination and creative ambition - would you expect any less from such a titan of Scandinavian electronic music?
Review: Belgian singer and producer Bolis Pupul releases his first solo debut album 'Letter to Yu' following his smash success with fellow DEEWEE artist Charlotte Adigery 'Topical Dancer', a satirical, yet hard-hitting, exploration of spirituality, racism and identity that the two experienced in Ghent as children of immigrant families. If you're a fan of the production of songs like 'Mantra', then this project is for you. Still keeping the witty elements from 'Topical Dancer' the LP, a reference to a great emperor of Chinese history, 'Completely Half' opens up with Pupuls hallmark 80s synthpop style, partnered with the typically Belgian cerebral approach to music and allusions to his mixed-race heritage. Pupul's beats feel pensive, yet danceable and the more deep-in-thought cuts like 'Goodnight Mr Yi' benefit from they dynamic contrast with more in-your-face cuts like the blaring 'Kowloon' and its siren-like supersaws.
Review: Martin Jenkins aka Pye Corner Audio has been a busy man. He ended a fine trio of albums last year with Entangled Routes, then dropped a live album on this label early in the year, and now quickly follows it up with yet another fine long player. Ride guitarist Andy Bell plays on five of the tunes and is a collection that comes heated by plenty of sun and coloured with bright acid psychedelics. Says the man himself, "I try to tailor my work slightly differently for the various labels that I work with, and this seems to fit nicely with Sonic Cathedral's ethos." He has sure done that.
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