Back in stock: Leftfield

Review: Following fast on the scorched heels of his most recent record Kosmische Pitch, Jan Jelinek now releases a fresh one for Faitiche: a recorded issuance of his 2022 performance, The Carpenters. Held at Uferstudio 1 in Berlin on July 20, 2022, two pieces transform an irrecognisable Carpenters' sample (the original song name is asterisked for perhaps obvious reasons) into salivatory stretch-scape. The original source is slowly unveiled near the end of the first half, almost of a moment of awakening from hypnosis. Then in the second half, Jelinek re-blurs the material, as if to descend the trough of a sinusoid wave. The Faitiche edition series houses such captivations exclusively on cassette, whose deprecatory format matches the exclusivity of the performance (though tape deck owners can also request a free digital download code).

Review: Russian titan Monokle is back to once again traverse many different sound worlds with his new album Ultraflowers. It is one of a number of superb albums landing on Constellation Tatsu this summer and one defined again by its warmth. The title track is a lo-fi, scruffy and deep opener with persuasive breakbeats, while 'Glassy Eyed' is an ambient jungle trip that drips with watery melody. 'Night Objects' offers some introspection and 'Moths' is a glitchy future techno cut with smeared synth soul. '1000Work' layer sup more breaks with elegant ambient melodies and 'Predteche' casts you admit in the deepest corners of space.

Review: One Million Eyes, previously known as Templehof, return with a new album of balearic ambient, previously heard on two excellent releases for A Strangely Isolated Place. This time appearing on legendary cassette label Constellation Tatsu as part of their fall combo, anyone familiar with their previous work will know what to expect. Dreamy, sun hazed analogue synth lines mix with deep fourth world soundscapes that wouldn't sound out of place on 90s labels such as Pete Namlook's Fax or Instinct Ambient. The first half of Signal begins slowly, eyes wide shut, with 'Nickel', a slow pulsating jam of chilled out psychedelia. 'Marea' blends organic instrumentation with distant, processed voices. 'Koala', the deepest cut on the album, leads to a mood shift in 'Opalescent' that will sound eerily familiar to any Gaussian Curve fans. 'Polaris', 'Solstice' and highlight 'Landscape' close out the album in style. For fans of anyone from Music From Memory, Jonathan Fitoussi & Ishq, there are few better ways to relive your memories of later summer.