Review: Artificial Owl Recordings welcomes aboard New Yorkers Satoshi Tomiie and Naotake Gunji for the label's fifth release; a recording of their collaborative A_A project and live show, which first came to light at the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. A_A, an ongoing audio project, explores the visceral tension between floor-centric ambient electronica and improvised sound/audio performance. Here, found and object-activated sounds fire a collective dub trigger, producing a distinctly somatic regrounding across five original works.
Review: A aka Mika Vainio's 'Fermionit' is a significant release from the late Finnish producer, who passed away in 2017. Originally featured in a Belgium Detuned 6x12 boxset just before his death, the track received critical acclaim from collectors and fans. Now, it returns to Mika's own Sahko label for a well-deserved 12" release. 'Fermionit' embodies the essence of Finnish techno with its minimalistic, cold and stark sound. The track's passive-aggressive edge showcases Vainio's signature style, blending raw, unfiltered textures with a profound sense of depth. This release not only honors Vainio's legacy but also offers a chance for new listeners to experience the pure DNA of Finnish techno. An essential listen for fans of minimalist and avant-garde electronic music.
Review: A Certain Ratio have returned with their most tight and funky album, possibly ever, recently, and it is steeped in 40 years of ACR DNA. Now you can grab two of the standout singles on this fine, limited edition white 7" thanks to Daniel Miller's essential Mute. Opener 'Berlin' is the second single from that album, ACR Loco, and has breezy vocals and Trillin riffs over tight drum work. 'Dirty Boy' is riddled with squelchy synth funk, with popping drums and a great vocal performance that will get any party vibing.
Review: A Certain Ratio are proof of how many new ideas a band can have. The UK post punk icons have always had an uncanny ability to release tracks into the world that seem to call on a multitude of styles - funk, blues, electro - and yet sound coherent but completely unique. This latest effort is testament to that, and also a wholeheartedly sentimental release with a story to tell.
Following on from ACR: EPA, which represented the last recordings of the band with iconic Manchester vocalist Denise Johnson, who tragically died in 2020 aged 56, EPC continues the series by inviting the inimitable The Emperor Machine in to the studio for a tribute to another lost great, Andrew Weatherall, with Jacknife Lee, Maria Uzor and Chris Massey all in the credits. Quality stuff. Again.
You Don't Have To (Roberto Carlos Lange remix) (4:09)
Review: As visitors to his website will likely note after a quick scroll, "John Herndon is a drummer, music producer, and founding member of the group Tortoise." He's also credited with work under the flags Isotope 217, Five Style, Starlicker, Exploding Star Orchestra, Pulsar Quartet, not to mention A Grape Dope - just one of the Los Angeline's identities. And certainly one of the most musically forward thinking.
For any newcomers in the room, let's just say AGD has laid out more head-nodding beats than most of us have had hot dinners, setting benchmark after benchmark for hip hop instrumentals with jazz and electronic trappings. Here remixed by five equally astute names - Laetitia Sadier, Four Tet, Jeff Parker and Roberto Carlos Lange (no relation to the footballing titan, sadly) - this is maybe not the most definitive introduction to Herndon, but it's a mighty fine release packing plenty of variety and depth nonetheless
B-STOCK: Record ever so slightly warped with very light surface marks/smudges, but otherwise in perfect working order
Rats It's Up (Laetitia Sadier remix) (3:52)
Rainbo Locals (Four Tet remix) (4:22)
Rats It's Up (Jeff Parker remix) (4:56)
You Don't Have To (Roberto Carlos Lange remix) (4:09)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Record ever so slightly warped with very light surface marks/smudges, but otherwise in perfect working order***
As visitors to his website will likely note after a quick scroll, "John Herndon is a drummer, music producer, and founding member of the group Tortoise." He's also credited with work under the flags Isotope 217, Five Style, Starlicker, Exploding Star Orchestra, Pulsar Quartet, not to mention A Grape Dope - just one of the Los Angeline's identities. And certainly one of the most musically forward thinking.
For any newcomers in the room, let's just say AGD has laid out more head-nodding beats than most of us have had hot dinners, setting benchmark after benchmark for hip hop instrumentals with jazz and electronic trappings. Here remixed by five equally astute names - Laetitia Sadier, Four Tet, Jeff Parker and Roberto Carlos Lange (no relation to the footballing titan, sadly) - this is maybe not the most definitive introduction to Herndon, but it's a mighty fine release packing plenty of variety and depth nonetheless
Review: The Avidya label arrives with a bold new concept that sees it push itself to "step out of comfort zones to release a series of EPs of broad, challenging and deep music." The first affair is a fine one from four artists, the first of which is Lyon based procure A Strange Wedding from the Worst label. His slow trance locks you in and then Gothenburg trio Datasal come through with a prog rock and post funk and dance fusion. 84PC's contribution is peak time gold and Barcelona's Iro Aka arrive with another debut to round out this fine offering.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
A Strange Wedding - "The Proposal" (8:33)
Datasal - "En Till En" (5:41)
84PC - "Goliath's Wrath" (Khidja remix) (6:57)
Iro Aka - "First Dance On The Ice Floor" (5:37)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
The Avidya label arrives with a bold new concept that sees it push itself to "step out of comfort zones to release a series of EPs of broad, challenging and deep music." The first affair is a fine one from four artists, the first of which is Lyon based procure A Strange Wedding from the Worst label. His slow trance locks you in and then Gothenburg trio Datasal come through with a prog rock and post funk and dance fusion. 84PC's contribution is peak time gold and Barcelona's Iro Aka arrive with another debut to round out this fine offering.
Review: After a successful debut release with Untitled Gear, Croatian label continues their journey through fields and forests. Still exploring the Russian Federation, only this time they hired Udacha's honcho and main protagonist A5. Record kicks off with 'Fantasy'. A dreamy kalimba piece which eventually evolves into a deep house track and could be described as a soundtrack from your latest dream while 'Raw Abstractionism' doesn't disappoint it's name. On the flip side we are introduced to the afro banger 'Torri Wowo' which feels almost like driving through safari on a truck. 'Acoustic Cut' calms things down and brings us to an end with a clear message.
Review: Depending on where you stand, Virgil Abloh is either the ruiner of fashion, or its saviour. The Off-White founder doesn't exactly have a subtle style when it comes to his own brand, but that hasn't stopped him making it to the high profile position of artistic director at Louis Vuitton. He is also more and more involved with music on various levels and that now plays out with his new single with serpentwithfeet. It is presented here on both sides of this Sony 7" following his recent remix of Mercury Award winner Michael Kiwanuka's 'Solid Ground'.
Review: In the early days of the Chilean psych underground, two art students join forces to create a new musical project called Acid Call. The band was formed in early 2007 by Ignacio Gatica (aka Blok) and Martin Kaulen (ex-Watchout!). The duo combined influences like Silver Apples, Suicide, Young Jazz Rebels, Sun Ra, Add N to (X), Wu-Tang Clan and Santana, creating a hypnotic and repetitive sound using mixers, cheap keyboards and bass.
During their brief career, the band did some gigs, generating lots of attention from the small circle of people who used to attend the shows. In this period, the New Chilean Psych Underground was emerging. Acid Call. Cindy Sisters, WatchOut!, La Hell Gang, The Psychedelic Schafferson Jetplane, Holydrug Couple and Follakzoid were part of a brilliant generation of bands deserving international attention. And finally, international exposure started. Terminal Boredom and WFMU were the first ones who fell in love with Acid Call. Sadly, their members started to be focused in another projects leaving the band in a period of undefined hibernation. Some recordings in digital format circulate just in circles related to the band members, but finally, a posthumous 7" is here. "Clap Ya Feet" and "Puerta 7" are real testimonies of the real potential of this duo and also represent a unique moment in the history of the Chilean underground music.
Review: After their mysterious little deviation last year, the hotly tipped Acteurs return to London's Public Information with another sublime amalgamation of minimalist industrial music in what feels like a cross between an EP and a mini LP, where each track fits in so perfectly next to its counterpart. "Pride Of Classes" opens things up with a moody arrangement of harmonics and an even moodier male voice, and "Ewe" continues this desolate conversation amid what sound like the peak of the Blitzkrieg. On the flip, "Honey Bear" goes down a post-punk path thanks to its repetitive and minimalistic synth lead, whereas "River Card" is another piece of experimental, neo-technoid poetry, and "I W I" continues this tradition with an even nuttier collection of sonics at the helm.
B-STOCK: Record has very light surface marks/smudges, but otherwise in perfect working order
Howweryuu
Apexxx North
Collection Of Noises
Extra Processing
Loosen The Moorings
Review: ***B-STOCK: Record has very light surface marks/smudges, but otherwise in perfect working order***
After some great ones by Desert Sound Colony and label co-heads Alec Falconer and Tiago Walter, Ba Dum Tish are back with another curious release by the enigmatic Active Research. It's the sound of the '90s underground on the A side, with the dark drum & bass epic 'Howweryuu' and its Optical / Alex Reece influence, followed by the UK electronica throwback sounds on 'Apexxx North'. On the flip, things take a more abstract turn on the deep and dystopian electro bass journey "Collection Of Noises" followed by the sublime ambient bliss of "Loosen The Moorings".
Review: After some great ones by Desert Sound Colony and label co-heads Alec Falconer and Tiago Walter, Ba Dum Tish are back with another curious release by the enigmatic Active Research. It's the sound of the '90s underground on the A side, with the dark drum & bass epic 'Howweryuu' and its Optical / Alex Reece influence, followed by the UK electronica throwback sounds on 'Apexxx North'. On the flip, things take a more abstract turn on the deep and dystopian electro bass journey "Collection Of Noises" followed by the sublime ambient bliss of "Loosen The Moorings".
Review: Don't you just love it when Darren Cunningham just drops an Actress EP out of nowhere, mid-week!? This has come to be the Actress way as of late. Releasing unannounced EP's out of his own Werkdiscs label that almost always contain the most obscure of title names. "Xoul" is the luminary's current mood, a mixture of distorted glitch, shimmering melodics and that classic mutant touch which he so easily applies to all his music. This is Actress at his most musical, such that the lightly detuned keys of "Xoul Particles" seem like lost musical notes in a deep wormhole in outer space. "Pharaoh Moon Rising" is the odd one out, both by name and nature. However, although Cunningham goes for the all-out lo-fi on this one, there is still a sense of musicality and arrangement amongst his madness. What can we say? It's another Actress classic. Recommended.
Review: There's something heart warming about the faulty connection glitches and dusty electronics of a Darren Cunningham production. "Voodoo Posse Chronic Illusion" from the Silver Clouds EP is one such example. Noises which would normally sound out of place sit ever-eloquently between plucked harps strings, reverberating bells and wood block percussion. At first "Floating In Ecstasy" is a little confusing - is it whether 33rpm or 45rpm? Pitched down it sounds like something that could soundtrack a scene of a staggering ghoul bearing down on a cornered victim, while pitched up it sounds somewhere between 80s EBM and electronic gothic rock. "Silver Cloud Dream Come True" however is definitely meant for 45rpm play with a drum pattern that jitters intermittently between varied glockenspiel chimes.
Review: Given its loose nature, the prospect of reworkings of Shangaan music from Actress, whose material is often as wild and tumbling as it comes, was always going to be something far out, and he hasn't disappointed us. His A-Side is pure Drexciyan funk bliss, as disembodied vocals are smeared in broken chords, R2-D2 bleeps and radio static beamed in from a distant nebula, cracked and warped but somehow with a solid pulse at its core. The B-Side meanwhile is even crazier, keeping the furious tempo of the original music but distilling it down to its base elements, leaving a marimba tone that is blunt and vehemently lo-fi, but somehow coming across with the same haunted atmosphere as its counterpart. Highly recommended.
Review: Actress released a mix for Resident Advisor in June and to everyone's surprise, it was filled entirely with new, unreleased music. When asked if this was a new album, Darren S. Cunningham, aka Actress, responded simply, "It's a collage - Braque." Call it what you likeia mix, a mixtape, a collage, or even an albumiit's unmistakably another bold statement from Actress. Cunningham's approach defies labels and formats, creating music that exists in its own space, evolving without concern for conventional definitions or boundaries. It's just pure, unfiltered Actress, doing what he does best.
Review: Actress is one of those names that invokes equal parts notoriety and hero worship. Like so much of the music he is associated with, the producer and DJ, studio experimenter and synth explorer doesn't have a reputation for being the easiest artist to predict. A creator who seems determined to push boundaries, even if that sometimes means abrasive and uninviting to the uninitiated, or anyone who would have preferred to hear something less abstract, if not altogether safer. Grey Interiors is a case in point. Dropping on the always-incredible Norwegian outlet Smalltown Supersound only emphasises the fact this is going to be an exercise in boldly going... Pressed onto a single-sided white 12" reinforces the notion that this occupies a place very much unto itself. The drones, distant sound of stardust falling, and whirs of tech that make up this spacey drone experience confirming we've boarded the shuttle and are now exiting Earth's atmosphere.
Actress - "Bird Matrix" (Kid606 club remix) (10:13)
Actress - "Bird Matrix" (Kid606 dub remix) (8:35)
GNESIS - "Pear" (original mix) (3:17)
Actress - "Bird Matrix" (Simbiosi remix) (6:40)
Review: Germany's K7 have got it on lock-down with this latest 12', a full rework EP of Actress' "Bird Matrix" killer by a pair of dance luminaries. First up is Kid606, a man who has been making 'outsider' music since before the term was ever coined, and one who has been every bit as important to the dance music scene all the more commercial names. Kid606's Club Mix is driving, filled with slithering percussion and led by a gorgeous swarm of aqueous synths and Zelda-like sonics, while the dub version slows things down and muddies the groove up into a heady, meditative bundle of melodies and beats. Simbiosi, on the other hand, goes for the jugular and delivers a heavy, stomping techno retuning of the original - what a blinder! There's also a tune by the mysterious Gnesis, "Pear", which appeared on Actress' own K7 compilation. Ya need!
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