FLATY Vinilo y CD

Review: It's not always easy to keep up with the output of the relentlessly prolific Flaty, a core tenet of Moscow's Gost Zvuk as well as pursuing his own endeavours. From hard-edged experimentalism and dub-scuffed glitch to oddball ambient and wayward techno, he's a truly original spirit, and his new album continues that trend with yet another dimension to his sound. Intuitive Word is imbued with a strong pop and RnB slant which bleeds into the sample sources and the strong sense of melody, but still this remains a leftfield, compelling release for those with an experimental appetite. Quite how Flaty has squared off these contrasting forces is hard to express, but take a listen to 'Intension' with its tripped out beat and synth arrays shot through with vocal licks and you begin to get the picture. It's dope as hell and oh so sweet on top, like nothing else out there right now.

Review: It's a new episode of Ghost Zvuk, and that can only bring a much welcomed breeze of oddity and leftfield antics to our charts. The Russian label has impressed us since day one, bringing through some truly singular strains of electronic music that only use the core genres as footprints to deviate from. Flaty is new to their collective, but he fits in like hand in glove thanks to his debut album, New Suggestions. As per usual, there's a bit of everything in here, and from the subtle techno of "Aliyans", to the hollow drones of "Jelly", and the dubby, lo-fi glitches of experiments like "Smoke Figure/1-4 Jejer" or "Dismissed Relations", a whole variety of listeners and DJs will find something incredibly interesting and useful in this album. Many labels or artists talk about being experimental, but few actually are. Ghost Zvuk is one of those special imprints who don't feel the need to say anything, but who constantly surprise us with their fresh and compelling strains of music. TIP!

Review: Crimean label Krym Mryk returns with its sophomore release: a Various Artists collection putting the spotlight on several top musicians from Russia and Ukraine as well as a few newcomers to the scene. Highlights come fast and thick throughout; we're particularly loving the grinding cyclicality of Rim Menko's "Illusion", beatless yet hypnotic arpeggio workouts ("Amb Day Out" and "November Bad") by Pavel Milyakov (Buttechno), man of the hour Stanislav Tolkachev with slow-mo entrancer "While You Are Drawing A Butterfly" and Hoavi's "Aya Horizon", which closes the LP with its sublime ambience.