Leftfield

Review: **Tracks 'Sixth Sequence' and 'Tenth Sequence' are bonus tracks & exclusive to the vinyl release only.**

Past Inside The Present is pleased to announce 'Wave Variations' which is a new mini-album by veteran ambient producer Dennis Huddleston AKA 36.

36 has often enjoyed exploring self-imposed restrictions, as it forces him to be creative, while allowing an inherently coherent sound between the different compositions. All the arrangements on Wave Variations use a limited pallete of mostly synth-based sounds, with particular focus on keys and melodies. Each track directly influenced the next one.

Dennis has kept almost every track around three minutes in length. He states, 'I feel like a lot of ambient music (including my own) is often unnecessarily long and these small vignettes work as a nice counter to that. Don't expect long build-ups or over-extended crescendos; These are short tracks that take you straight to Elysium and then dissolve into the ether.'

He further explains the output of Wave Variations, 'Ocean tides inspired the album. I think we've all felt that sense of longing and wonder while standing at the beach, staring at the waves and gazing into the endless horizon. I think it's something that transcends all generations of people. Like the waves, these tracks leave as quickly as they arrive. I feel it's one of the most minimal records I have made, with far fewer individual sound sources at my disposal. It keeps me on my toes and forces me to deeply explore the instruments I have available to me.'

This stripped-back sound gives the album a hypnotic quality to it. Like much of Dennis' work, there is a delicate balance between melancholic melodies and rich textures, resulting in an understated yet deeply exhilarating sound. Fans of emotional, melodic ambient music should find plenty to enjoy.

Review: Earlier in the year, experienced ambient producers 36 and Zake released two different versions of the same album, "Stasis Sounds for Long Distance Space Travel", with the vinyl and cassette releases featuring totally different mixes. Happily, they've now decided to compile all of these contrasting takes on one limited-edition CD. It's well worth a listen, because in our opinion it's one of the best ambient albums of 2020 to date. The included tracks mix echoing sonic tones, drifting sound effects, drone-style aural textures, slow-burn electronic melodies, swelling, near neo-classical musical movements and the kind of immersive, sustained chords that were once the preserve of the late, great Pete Namlook.

Review: When he launched the "Xerrox" series way back in 2007, Alva Noto intended it to run to five volumes. Here he presents the fourth volume, which largely eschews "external samples" of everyday sounds - the series was inspired by the idea of creating new musical motifs from "copies of copies" - in favour of greater warmth, emotion and musical dexterity. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the appealing, slow-burn haziness of deep ambient opener "Xerrox Kirlian" and the distinctly cinematic, Angelo Badalamenti-in-"Twin Peaks"-mode beauty of "Xerrox Voyage", to the Radiophonic Workshop style creepiness of "Xerrox Cosmos" and the melancholic, string-laden swell of "Xerrox Canaux".

Review: Attraktors originally surfaced back in 2015 with the Future Systems EP. Made up of members of Six.By.Seven, Bivouac, The Selecter and more besides. Now this eclectic group of coldwave connoisseurs fold that initial EP into a raft of new songs to make up a sterling debut album for Vivod. It's brittle, homespun stuff that opens up a wormhole to the bedroom studio explosion of the 1980s, when lo-fi new wave was king. But there are other dimensions to this record, like the dreamy synth pop of "Mensonge Et La Chute" and the cosmic rock stylings of "Theme From Unknown". For all lovers of the early to mid '80s era, this is an album you won't want to miss.

Review: This package is one that dedicated Depeche Mode fans won't want to miss. It documents in great detail the final date of the band's epic Global Spirit Tour in Berlin, which was the subject of the acclaimed 2019 documentary film "SPiRTS In The Forest". That documentary, a DVD of which is included in the package, interspersed concert footage with interviews with the band and six of their fans. The entire concert recording, which features a mixture of album tracks, fan favourites and big hits ("Enjoy The Silence", "Personal Jesus", "Just Can't Get Enough" and so on), is included here for the first time - both as audio across two CDs, and as a concert film via an accompanying DVD.

Review: Pioneering ambient duo Global Communication were invited to rework the Blood Music album from Chapterhouse for this 1993 album, originally on Dedicated Records. It might technically be a remix album, then, but you'd be hard pushed to notice much of the original material left intact. Instead, in the hands of these two skilled sonic craftsmen, it becomes an hour long work over five tracks, various multi-track tapes and thematic embellishments that make for a whole new world of cinematic sound. Floating ambience is paired with slow and deep electronic beats to classic effect throughout, making it yet another masterclass from Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton.

Review: Although the word 'liquid' has specific connotations in the electronic music world, none of which are really relevant here, there's a certain fluidity to Peter Graf's 'Expedition Bahn'. Channeling steamy effects, there's a flowing timbre running behind many of the tracks, creating a sense of depth and movement. Take the sparse, rhythmic 'E-Mail', or the trickling notes of 'VW Polo', as examples. Elsewhere weightlessness rises to the top, with 'What Happened' sounding like echoes of a rave once held, and 'Justice' basically a deconstructed bass track. The fact it drops straight into the low slung electro of 'Indonesia', one of the more up front dance tunes here, is nothing short of a club-style payoff - the much needed workout after all that knife-edge tension. A complete album, make no mistake.

Review: Has there been a Planet Mu or Ital Tek release that hasn't packed a punch? Often divisive as a result, whether it's usually the right punch or not is a personal matter, but suffice to say yaysayers will be won over by the latest from both stable and producer. It's heavy, intelligent music that's steadfast in its rejection of anything like the norms - sitting somewhere between IDM, EBM, ambient and dubstep. As you'd expect, then, there are moments of real intensity. In fact, more than a few. The dystopian hoovers and thunderous kick drum of slow death rave anthem 'Bladed Terrain', or the equally well-titled bassbin killer 'Deadhead'. But although plentiful (and bountiful), those moments are contrasted by elegance and wide-eyed cinematic grandeur - 'Chamber Music', 'Open Heart' and 'Diamond Child'. Perhaps one of the best bass records you'll find in summer 2020.

Review: Takashi Kokubo makes archetypal Japanese ambient, new age and experimental synth sounds. But not only that, he also created the nationally-used mobile phone earthquake alert sound and designed credit card payment jingles that pervade all of Japanese society. His sound, then, is very much the sound of the Far East. It has been that way since at least this album came out back in 1985. It's a classic of the genre, hard to find and hugely expensive if you do. This full scale reissue sinks you into his world of distant chimes, eerie chords and spring-time soundtracking that is pure as ice.

Review: Malin Genie welcomes an extensive EP treat from Lava Lap, an emergent producer with an affinity for the kind of braindance that will have fans of Jodey Kendrick beating their drum machines with approval. The acid is slippery, the structures ever-shifting and a wealth of expression spills out of every bar. There are faster drum & bass paced bits, melancholy detuned electro and much more besides. Far from just being clever music though, it's also amazingly emotional and so impeccably produced. Any electronica head should be all over this.