safety scissors / tainted lunch / ~scape



San Francisco based Safety Scissors returns with a squelchy IDM-disco-pop much like his first album. Generally, the way it works is: a bouncy electro house beat is laid down while an endless barrage of bleeps, shifting keyboard lines, and leftfield sound effects keep the music constantly moving in one direction or another. Erlend Oye and Kevin Blechdom provide vocal assistance, while Vladislav Delay adds some programming, but it's Safety Scissors who makes the music so infectious and bubbly you'll find yourself humming along on the first listen.
listen: amnesia, i need you to remind me
listen: l'amour d'cuisine

dominik eulberg / kreucht & fleucht / mischwald

Dominik Eulberg's Flora and Fauna was one of my favorite albums to hit the shelves last year. His latest release Kreucht & Fleucht is a double CD mix. The mix mostly contains neo-jacking and interestingly bleeping German house tracks, with that blunted haze in the production that keeps the beats and bleeps from being too harsh. The first cd focuses on the softer side of the club experience, while cd two rocks a little harder without losing any of its creative edge. Classics like Termiten's "Nordhorn" (a soft melodic bobber secretly released by Villalobos) are blended alongside Sergej Auto's killer "I Am Dirty." This mix coaxes you onto the dancefloor and keeps you there.
listen: dinamo / pele bloss
listen: las velas no arden / i am dirty

dj koze / kosi comes around / kompakt



DJ Koze has released a full-length album on Kompakt entitled Kosi Comes Around. This album has many synthesized references to classic house grooves stripped bare and fucked with sparingly, using everything from strange sounds, odd bass pulses to random squiggling sounds. There's also many odd transitions within tracks, where the beat will minimize and ride for a long time and suddenly burst and change. The stripped down funk combined with the goofy unpredictability of this album makes it eligible for a new hybrid genre name.
listen: brutala square
listen: estrella

sigur ros / takk / geffen



It's been over three years since Sigur Ros released an album, and during this time, there has been much speculation in the press regarding what direction they would take. The band claimed that their new direction would be more "pop," and promised that there was an album with proper song titles in the works. Well here it is, and to say it is "pop" is definitely relative, for Takk is more structured and focused than its predecessor, ( ). The bombastic drums, sweeping strings, falsetto vocals, bowed guitars, and delicate piano melodies are distinctively Sigur Ros, but somehow this album seems happier and more optimistic than their previous albums. This could be their finest album to date.
listen: glosoli
listen: saeglopur

tape / mort aux vaches / staalplaat

Swedish trio, Tape's latest endevour "Mort Aux Vaches" treads a similar path to that of their previous albums; it's another faded postcard from the dew-soaked Swedish countryside, where folky acoustics and field recordings are juxtaposed with electronics and synthesizer. Over six tracks and 33 minutes, these contrasting elements help create some of the most entrancing and infinitely beautiful soundscapes, which should thaw even severely frostbitten hearts. Especially recommended for those who have been enjoying releases by Colleen, Mountains, and Fennesz.
listen: reversed flames
listen: summonspipe

t.raumschmiere / blitzkrieg pop / shitkatapult
brainwashed review

depeche mode / precious video

download sam koivikko / hot pepper

download marat hussein

{sender 030cd} konkord - foodgroover
{ware 048} ziggy kinder - mikrozirkulation
{dumb 017} midiots - traktorizm
{dessous 54} phonique - weapon [tracks and the city remix]
{itiswhatitis 003} drumkomputer - munk [john tejada remix]
{boxer 021} goldfish und der dulz - micro boy
{ware 054} mathias schaffhauser - coincidancetrentmoeller remix
{areal 032} konfekt - quenge liese
{sender 030cd} metope - Crux
{substatic 044} metope - even
{wagon repair 004} mathew jonson - return of the zombie bikers
{mental groove mg.ltd.001} luciano - A2 Untitled

_download_

suz / winnipeg

download:

1- Manmade Science - Turn Down The Lights (Jackmate vs. Nik Reiff) - Philpot
2- Echopilot - Emptiness - Morris Audio
3- Magda - Wanda's Wig Wax - Underline
4- Pierre Bucci - Polaris - Crosstown Rebels
5- Chardronnet - Super Serious - Raum
6- Johnatan Traffic - Sad Hurry - Clever
7- Baby Ford - Down - Pal Sl
8- Pheek - Been Up Since Yesterday - Telegraph
9- The Mole - I forgot the Smokin' Posties - Revolver
10- Someone Else - Bedroom Eyes - Found Sound
11- Troy Pierce - Two Weeks In Crack (Butane's Mo Mas RMX) - Mos Ferry
12- Run Stop Restore - Suck My Christmas - Telegraph
13- Bearback - Funky Voodoo Mama - Tuning Spork
14- Troy Pierce - Sold Our Souls - Mos Ferry
15- Samim and Michal Ft. Lil Dirty - Out Of Sight - Tuning Spork
16- Pantytec - Elastobabe (Crackhouse Dub) - Perlon
17- Cabanne - Karashik - Katapult
18- Jay Hunsberger - Move On - Mutek_Rec
19- Guido Schneider - Las Cuerdas De Las Canarias - Poker Flat
20- Adam Kroll - Aeugler - Traum Schallplatten
21- Canson - Kaschmir - Sub Static
22- John Tejada - Steppa - Poker Flat
23- Trentemoller - Kink - 3rd Floor
24- Miss Dinky - Sea Death - Traum Schallplatten
25- Social System - Los Angeles - Unreleased

blir / blir / raster noton

SND project, Blir is the most recent featured artist in the exceptional Raster Post series. The album begins with blended vibrating microbeats burrowing forward, layering one on top of the other. There is a wider range of sounds explored in this album compared to previous releases. Bleeps, gently simmering static, dull thuds, piercing melodies continually evolve through each track like changing colours that melt into each other.
listen: 2
listen: 17

fennesz + sakamoto / sala santa cecilla / touch



Fennesz and Sakamoto construct a beautifully concentrated 19 minutes that covers a lot of ground. They appear to have a very natural connection, that can only come from mutual respect and a fair amount of give and take. "Sala Santa Cecilla" is a beautifully constructed journey through glitchy clouds and atmospheric hums.
listen: sala santa cecilia

boards of canada / new album / october

"we are extremely proud to announce that boards of canada have finished and mastered their new album, to be released in october - their first release since 2002's geogaddi! the album is very much classic boards of canada, building on themes and sounds that can can be heard in their intervening remix work for beck, cLOUDDEAD and boom bip..
- warp records"

chris cunningham / new video / aphex twin



decibel festival / seattle / september 22-25

line up so far:
isolee, fennesz, thomas fehlmann, akufen, deadbeat, aeroc, tim hecker, deru, proem, machine drum, l'usine, jeff samuel, jacob london, caro, bruno ponsato, cepia, loscil, strategy, deceptikon, gel-sol, 302, dj merck

monolake / polygon cities / monolake

Monolake celebrates 10 years of production with his latest album "Polygon Cities." Robert Henke always takes techno above and beyond by emerging dub and deep minimal techno and layering it with spacious organic soundscapes. "Polygon Cities" takes you on a darker journey than his previous releases. This is a nice balance of sophisticated academic computer music and club music.
listen: invisible
listen: carbon

various / spectral sound volume 1 / spectral



The must have compilation of the summer! Check out www.spectralsound.com for a track sample taste.
listen: the vanisher / the tic-tac tactic
listen: matthew dear/lawrence / another/five leaves

jamie lidell / multiply / warp



Jamie Lidell is Stevie Wonder on acid. This crazy autistic fellow can't be ignored, as he always brings exciting entertainment to the floor guaranteed. His funky choppy soulful sounds are bitter sweet tender loving obscurity.
listen: when I come back around
listen: multiply
jamie lidell live


lali puna / i thought i was over that / morr



2 disc's of rarities and remixes by Dntel, Two Lone Swordsmen and Boom Bip, plus a cover of Slowdive's "40 Days."
listen: past machine

Sonar 2005



ellen allien live set
interview with ellen allien

isolée / we are monster / playhouse

When it comes to a new Isolée album, the words "highly anticipated" are an understatement. Jounalist, Philip Sherburne has been hyping this album since the word go. After five years, Rajko Moller returns with a full-length filled with squelchy synths, disco beats and some of electronic music's catchiest melodies.
listen: do re mi
listen: pictureloved
listen: enrico

ellen allien / thrills / bpitch

Ellen Allien's new album, Thrills, has all the inventive German electro-techno/minimal vocal style of her previous efforts. A well-crafted club-feel is subtly woven into this album via fat bass booms and extra layers of melody and atmosphere that fill the room tastefully.
listen: the brain is lost
listen: naked rain

triple r / flashback: mbf / trau

MBF (My Best Friend) is a recent sub-label of Traum that has been releasing Germany's answer to neo-jacking, Chicago-style funky acid house. For those of us who love the idea of clean, streamlined techno injected with some jacking, almost disco funk blackness, MBF is a godsend.
listen: steve barnes & riley reinhold / someday
listen: youthanasia / mondo cane

sanso-xtro / sentimentalist / type


Type Records brings us yet another great debut, this time from Sanso-xtro (aka Melissa Agate). Though Sentimentalist was created from digitally manipulated instruments like guitar, ukulele, kalimba, drums and synths, the end result is an album that is much more than just another venture in modern laptop electronics. The influences of traditional Middle Eastern and African music are equally apparent. This is a must have album for fans of Type Records and Rune Grammophon releases, as well as like minded artists such as Goldmund, Tape and Mountains.
listen: misplaced feather
listen: unsentimental

antony and the johnsons / hope there's someone / secretly canadian

The second single from Antony's stunning I Am A Bird Now album, this includes the title track as it appears on the full-length, plus an equally haunting video for the song. The two b-sides are out-takes from the album sessions, and can hold their own with most of that record, particularly the lovely and intense "Frankenstein." A great treat for the fans.
listen: frankenstein

Mutek 2005

June 1 / Nocturne 1

Polmo Polpo


Radian



June 2 / Evolving Channels Panel

Mark Quail, Pheek, Jonas Temple, Matt Laszuk, John Acquaviva

June 2 / Expérience 1

Minibloc


Des cailloux et du carbone


June 3 / Expérience 2

Galerie Stratique


Dafluke


June 3 / Beyond Borders Panel

Deadbeat, Atom Heart, Philip Sherburne, Mendoza, FM3

Philip Sherburne

June 3 / Nocturne 3

Vertex


Apparat


Pan/tone


June 4 / Placard

B. Kawula

superpitcher / today / kompakt

Dreamy, heavenly and sometimes sinister, Superpitcher's mix CD for Kompakt delivers in a way that his album did not. All the dark atmospheric moodiness of artists like Lawrence, Mayer, Hacke, Max Mohr, Wighnomy Bros. and Superpitcher himself create the mood and focus of this mix. Angst-filled bouncy bliss prevails throughout Today, making this one of the first singular mixes to come through in a short while.
listen: marz & blouse / happiness - wighnomy bros. / superpitcher (lawrence mix)
listen: let's help me / love food - dj koze / michael mayer

aminar / AminaminA / the workers institute

Having met at the Reykjavik College of Music in 1998, the four ladies of Amina have an impressive resume. Perhaps best known as Sigur Ros' string ensemble (featured on two of the albums, and an essential ingredient in that band's live act), Amina also backed up Efterklang on their widely acclaimed Tripper album, and laid down some string love on one of the Album Leaf records. However, AnimaminA, the group's debut EP, sees them as much more than a back-up band. Centered around violin, viola and cello, the four compositions have a cinematic and otherworldly quality to them, enhanced by the addition of glockenspiel and glassophone. Clocking in at an all-too-brief 18 minutes, this is beautifully meandering and hypnotic music.
listen: hemipode

bohren and der club of gore / geisterfaust / wonder

Geisterfaust (which translates to ghost fist), Bohren have stripped their music down to absolute bare boned minimalism. Just shy of an hour long, the five songs-"Zeigefinger," "Daumen," Ringerfinger," "Mittlefinger" and "Kleiner Finger" are each named after one of the digits on a hand. Christoph Clöser's electric piano is the dominant instrument and for much of the album there's practically no detectable tempo. Every chord from his Rhodes is allowed to decay before he hits his next series of notes. Low rumbles from a stand-up or eight-string bass, occasional vibes and maybe a percussion accent here and there are sparingly used to emphasize the skeletal minor key melodies. Songs don't really move, but rather creep into lucid ambience like a sinister and unimaginably restrained Tortoise. Geisterfaust is definitely an album to be listened to late at night with lights off and headphones on.
listen: zeigefinger
listen: kleiner finger

From original presentations to exceptional experiences, to playful productions: the 2005 MUTEK edition is a genuine invitation to an exciting voyage… for the pleasure of the eyes and the ears. A multitude of people from all corners of the world will converge in Montreal over the coming weeks. Take your place among the festivalgoers! Tickets on sale now!

Thanks Sami Koivikko!

Sami Koivikko - deep attack:
1. Marcel Janovsky: "Vamos A Otro Piso" Regular
2. Horror Inc.: "In My Garden" Perlon
3. Håkan Lidbo: "Clockwise (Mathew Dear Rmx)" Shitkatapult
4. Dominik Eulberg: "Das Röhren Der Rotwildbrunft" Traum
5. Peter Grummich: "Fasern" Shitkatapult
6. Metope: "Tadpole (It's A Long Way Home)" Areal
7. Sascha Funke: "Forms & Shapes" BPitch Control
8. Heib: "Akrobat" Auftrieb
9. Volker Dornhagen: "Schwarzlicht / B1" Treibstoff
10. Gringo Grinder: "Dirty Deeds (Ada Remix)" Onitor
11. Jake Fairley: "Boozing" Dumb Unit

Sami Koivikko - orange border:
1. Popnebo: "Monsters Make Love To(k)night" Traum
2. Gringo Grinder: "Lovers And Lesser Men" Onitor
3. Jackmate: "Do San" Philpot
4. Mathew Jonson: "Folding Space" Sub Static
5. M. Rahn: "Cobra Boy" Trapez
6. Apoll: "Popschicht" Tongut
7. Misc.: "The Magic Number" Sender
8. P. Lauer: "Starkweather Swing" Punkt Music
9. Le Dust Sucker: "Mr. Ingum" Plong!
10. James Cotton: "Bizarre Carnival" Spectral Sound
11. 2 Dollar Egg: "Naxos / B1" Nummer
12. John Spring: "Schokolada" Sub Static
13. Frivolous: "Song Of The Kwaning Bird" Karloff
14. Jeff Samuel: "Lya" Trapez
15. Los Hermanos: "Guidance" Los Hermanos
16. Baby Ford: "Not So Bad" Perlon
17. Ricardo vs. Jay: "Cactus Love" Contexterrior
18. Hansen + DJ Daniel: "Trapezltd. 11 / B1" Trapez
19. Karri O: "Cricket X" X-Rust

Sami Koivikko - eucalyptus:
1. Kalabrese: "Studio B" Stattmusik
2. Pastamusik: "Velvet" Pastamusik
3. Thomas Fehlmann: "Whistle" Kompakt
4. Carsten Jost: "Uccellini" Sender
5. Kenneth Graham & Casey Hogan: "Around You" Macintosh
6. Villalobos: "Waiworinao" Playhouse
7. Lopazz feat. Alex Cortex: "I Need Ya Hi Time" Freundinnen
8. Oliver Hacke: "Country Grammar / B1" Background
9. Iñaqui Marín: "Ouija" Regular
10. Undo/Redo: "Zeitgleit" Areal
11. Codebase: "Seek & Destroy (Stewart Walker mix)" Force Inc.
12. John Spring: "Do You Like That?" Sub Static
13. Isolée: "Can't Sleep All Night" Playhouse

Sami Koivikko - 100 minutes:
1. Oliver Hacke: "21:31" Traum
2. Cessna: "Dub Ticks Away (Sami Koivikko Remix)" Amuri Air
3. Monoder: "Ikikieriö B2" Statik Entertainment
4. SCSI-9 vs. Lazyfish: "Vint" Salo
5. Morane: "The Trick (Think Away)" Perlon
6. Deadbeat: "Fun...k?" ~Scape
7. Todd Bodine: "The Lost Girl From Mexico" Morris Audio Citysport Edition
8. Ricardo Villalobos: "I Try To Live (Can I Live)" Playhouse
9. Akufen: "3e Tournée" Risquee
10. Kosmos: "Kosmoska" Puu
11. Sami Koivikko: "Rakkaus Pakkaus" Shitkatapult
12. SCSI-9: "Just Married" Forcetracks
13. Tom Clark: "X-File" Highgrade
14. Kenneth Gragam: "Conspiritual" Macintosh
15. Gabriel Ananda: "Quartal III" Trapez
16. Apoll: "Lauchen & Licht" Morris / Audio
17. Jackmate: "L'arc Venue" Morris / Audio
18. Qads: "Muchacho" Raum...Musik
19. Heiko Laux: "Still Lively" Kanzleramt
20. Sylvie Marks & Hal 9000: "Mad Zen" BPitch Control

spring treats:

www.killingcaterpillars.com / mp3

01. lump - sukkula
02. peter f. spiess & jay haze - molecular dynamics
03. jay haze - bass in your face
04. mister e. minimal - want your soul
05. vivianne project - holes
06. mister e. minimal - freakin
07. mikael stavöstrand - steady
08. maetrik - freaky flow (random factor point to point dub)
09. maetrik - excursion
10. the rip off artist - fix the love
11. slam - fast lane
12. ellen allien - bullet (ellen allien flow mix)
13. docma - driving
14. jerry abstract - drvnk
15. michael mayer - speaker
16. popkan - nightman
17. rene breitbarth - woosave
18. ellen allien - alles sehen
19. holger flinsch - mavadoo

www.jenaparadies.com / mp3

01. Pantha du Prince - St. Denis bei Licht (Dial)
02. The MFA - The Difference it Makes (Superpitcher remix) (Kompakt)
03. Dub Taylor - Sweet Lips (Force Tracks)
04. Sami Koivikko - Tyonimi (Shitkatapult)
05. Phonique - The Red Dress (Tiefschwartz remix) (Dessous)
06. Ellen Allien - Fuse (Live Outtake) (Bpitch Control)
07. Jena Paradies - Kotka (Lifeform Project)
08. Heiko Laux - The Silent Bass (Kanzleramt)
09. Sender Berlin - Spaziergang In Neos Kosmos (Tresor)
10. Oliver Hacke - Schoener Wohnen (Trapez)

marsen jules / herstlaub / city centre offices

With Herbstlaub, newcomer Marsen Jules has created the finest electronic record this year. It is a beautiful amalgamation of classical instrumentation and modern electronics, and the results are simply breathtaking. Jules takes pieces from classical compositions such as slow string sections, muted horns, and the occasional piano melody, and builds new loops that rise and swell. Section by section, the layers swirl about one another, in a manner that is simply gorgeous.

The first track, "Fanes D'Automne," is an ambient masterpiece that rivals Wolfgang Voigt's GAS output. Yes, it is that good. As of late, there have been many artists that have combined classical music and electronics--Goldmund, Johann Johannsson and Ryan Teague, to name a few--but Marsen Jules takes it into a whole other realm. This record is a must for any fan of the aforementioned artists or ambient music in general. There has not been a more gorgeous album released this year.
listen: fanes d'automne
listen: aile d'aigle

caro / the return to caro / orac
boomkat review

recycling the rock
by martin turenne

manual / azure vista / darla

For the first time in three years, 23 year old, Jonas Munk goes solo again! "Azure Vista" marks a return to his pop oriented work and finds Munk expanding on the melodic, shoegazy electronica of "Ascend."
listen: clear skies above the coastline cathedral

stereolab/ oscillons from the anti-sun / too pure



Everything you ever wanted from stereolab with this 3 CD disc complied of all their UK EPs from '93 to 2001, and dvd complilation featuring bonus live BBC TV appearances. Without a doubt, some of the band's finest tracks are here, the vast majority of which have never been released domestically.
listen: fluorescences
listen: you used to call me sadness

isolée / we are monster / playhouse

-predicted to be one of the best albums of this year.

autechre / untilted / warp



Autechre has arrived to pummel you over the head with new sounds and rhythms that you have never heard before.
listen: ipacial section
listen: lcc
listen: iera

mitchell akiyama / small explosions / sub rosa

One of Montreal's most notable electronic producers, Mitchell Akiyama's Small Explosions takes somewhat of a classical approach to his arrangements. In many ways his digital manipulations of the piano brought to mind the overall sentiment of Fennesz. Akiyama works in a montage style, layering disparate melodic passages on top of one another and weaving them around digital fragments, but several of these compositions have more semblance of structure than you'd expect. Melodies from acoustic instruments are accented and interrupted with interjections of running water, human voices, breathing, which essentially creates the soul of these pieces and certainly steers the compositions away from the oft clinical nature of laptop constructed music.
listen: but promise me
listen: ghost storms

stephan mathieu / the sad mac / headz

Mathieu collaborates with a long list of traditional instrumentalists (various strings, voice, piano, field recordings etc.), but only slightly abstracting the source and thereby creating a unique sense of space not often found in electronic records. It has the overall effect of some distant memory, sitting just at the edge of your consciousness. An extremely pleasant and warm album that lets each levitating note float just long enough for you to realize the next one is already there.
listen: tinfoil star
listen: imagination

thinner!
If you don't already know about this quality net label, now you do! Thinner is a German electronic music label that distributes all its mp3's for FREE. The artist's range from the best of Canada's electronic music scene to Vladislav Delay. This site has brought me many days of happiness. Check it!

DOPEFIEND, a new Torontontian online magazine; your guide to all things style and art oriented in the city.

toys of one's own - breaking down the boys' club in electronic music
by dimitri nasrallah


dance music's détente - peace breaks out between intellectual and instinctive
by martin turenne

deadbeat / new world observer / ~scape

Montreal's Scott Monteith, aka Deadbeat, aka half of Crackhaus, returns with his third album for the fine ~scape label. Monteith continues to plumb the digital depths set out by folks like Pole, Maurizio, and the early Basic Channel catalog. Still informed by dub reggae's oceanic feel, Deadbeat has more vocals here than on any of his previous work. The biggest presence is that of Montrealian chanteuse, Athesia. She brings a bossa-nova tinged vocal to the table, but rarely does Deadbeat allow them to pass by unprocessed. Instead, he breaks down her lines to a layer of finely chopped phonetics and encoded sighs, making for a fine marriage between the cool of his post-dub spaces and the warm touch that Athesia brings.
listen: port au-prince
listen: little town of bethlehem

solvent / elevators and oscillators / ghostly



Elevators and Oscillators is a collection of singles/12" tracks and remixes that explore Solvent's electropop side. If you've already heard "My Radio" off of 2002's Disco Nouveau compilation, you know what this one's all about: sweet melodies reminiscent of radio-era OMD or Erasure (but produced in an indie kid's bedroom studio), catchy breaks and beats, and love song lyrics sung in a broken hearted robot voice. While the tracks are mostly poppy and sweet, there are a few rockers like Alter Ego's remix of "Think Like Us" and Legowelt's remix of "My Radio".
listen: my radio / schneider tm
listen: devices and strategies

lonely-hearted montag learns to lighten up
by martin turenne

various / state of the union / spectral
- a look at the underground techno scene in Montréal, featuring deadbeat, mike shannon and the mole
listen: sleazy skankin - deadbeat

lawrence / spark ep / ghostly
- deep beautiful magic
listen: wasting a fall

mountains / mountains / apestaartje
Mountains is a collaboration between Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, the label heads behind Apestaartje. Through their combined efforts they've succeeded in creating the greatest electronic album I've heard since Fennesz's Endless Summer. Like that particular album, this one reaches beyond the boundaries of its genre. Too many so-called experimental records are simply content to wallow in a self-inflicted ghetto-isation, never bothering to attempt to bridge the gap between what can be listenable and still artistically forward-thinking and compelling. So what we have here is a rare feat indeed, four slowly unfolding tracks that are artfully and meticulously constructed and which use computers and layers of field recordings as well as various and sundry live instruments to provide a palpable humanness.
listen: paper windmill
listen: down under the manhattan bridge overpass

various artists / minimize to maximize / minus

Nice, new, compilation from Richie Hawtin's Minus imprint featuring all new artists. Minimize to Maximize is full of deep, pumping throb-funk, with the dry minimal production of Perlon mixed with the funk of Playhouse. The tracks develop nicely and generously with sudden shifts and builds that don't rely on played-out, traditional transitions.
listen: magda / the black room
listen: marc houle / east to west

markus guentner / 1981 / kompakt

Markus Guentner is known as being "the inventor of pop-ambient." Guentner's latest release is beautiful ambient textured bliss. Why would anyone want to miss out on this album?
listen: wanderung
listen: wenn musik der liebe nahrung ist
listen: jelly fish
listen: hi-jacked
listen: sommergewitter
listen: umgebung
listen: der wuestenplanet
listen: der hotel shanghai

sam prekop / who's your new professor / thrill jockey

Fans of the Sea and Cake and Sam Prekop's previous solo release will be pleased to hear that his newest solo venture doesn't wander too far from the sound that made him famous. (It also probably helps that three-quarters of the Sea and Cake play on Who's Your New Professor, as well as Chad Taylor, Josh Abrams and Rob Mazurek, the same instrumentalists responsible for his earlier solo album's lighter, jazzy touch.) "Something" opens the record with Prekop's layered, breathy vocals hovering over the sounds of a cornet and bass. The album follows through with a mix of livelier instrumentals and flowing, soothing songs, Prekop's melodies melting into phased-out guitar and gentle rhythms; in "Magic Step," his vocal disappears allowing the warm, Caribbean-inspired percussion to carry the track. Perfectly gratifying for these last (let's hope!) nights of winter.
listen: density
listen: dot eye

masha qrella / unsolved remained / morr

Sweet vocal melodies with experimental indie-tronic pop. "Destination Vertical" by Rechenzentrum and Masha Qrella was also previously released on ~scape's But Then Again five year anniversary album.
listen: destination vertical
listen: feels like

goldmund / corduroy road / type



Goldmund is the alias of Keith Kenniff, a young Berklee student who has previously released an album of electronic music on Merck. This sparse tastefully performed solo piano music is very delicately played, and with only the barest accompaniment, Kenniff manages to create a compelling dramatic arc over the course of the album's 13 songs.
listen: ba
listen: door of our home

minamo / shining / 12k

Japanese electro-acoustic minimalists Minamo have returned with the much-anticipated follow-up to 2003's aptly titled Beautiful. Last year, band member Keiichi Sugimoto released two great solo albums under the name Fourcolor. I was enthralled with his gorgeous processed guitar pieces, but upon popping the new Minamo album into my stereo I realized that I'd forgotten the wonderful intricacies and dynamics of the full quartet's interplay. As on their previous four full-length releases, Minamo have built the album around live recordings and improvisations, with lulling electronic textures and ambient drones building and weaving amidst simple piano and acoustic guitar passages. This is a group that doesn't need to hide behind a massive and dense wall of sound, but instead works with an incredibly light and precise touch. Shining is a fantastic album, quite possibly their greatest one yet. Of the many groups working with laptops today, very few have figured out how to develop this level of organic interaction between the musicians. Minamo makes the process look deceptively easy.
listen: raum
listen: tone

dj hell / ny muscle / international deejay gigolo

DJ Hell borrowed A.R.E. Weapon's track title for his latest album, NY Muscle, and hired some "NY muscle" to help him make a new album of nasty dancefloor rumbling jams. The album is peppered with a few bleepy nouveau electro tracks Keep on Waiting and Wired featuring Jon Selway, plus a cameo by James Murphy adding his muddy/blown speaker, smash-cymbal disco rock vibe to Tragic Picture Show, but the majority of the album is nouveau Chicago: dark, pumping house grooves with a teaspoon of nastiness thrown in. Let's party!
listen: keep on waiting (feat. erlend oye)
listen: listen to the hiss

lawrence / the absence of blight / dial



How could I have missed this album? Beautiful deep minimal house that warms the heart with lovely elegant ambient melodies. Great comfort listening while indoors and avoiding the March winter wonderland outside.
listen: -
listen: fifteen minutes with you
listen: winter green
listen: somebody hold me

top albums each year:

2004: michael mayer / fabric 13 / fabric


2003: ellen allien/ berlinette / bpitch


2002: múm / finally we are no one / fat cat


2001: fennesz / endless summer / mego



new:

montag / alone, not alone / carpark/grooom disques

Montréal resident, Montag aka. Antoine Bédard has sampled sound sources of 17 different classical instruments at the Conservatoire de Montréal to create his second album Alone, Not Alone while including notable guests like Broadcast's James Corgill and Amy Millan from the Stars and the Broken Social Scene to contribute to his album. Bédard's songs are often crafted around '60s-inspired pop melodies, it's what I'd imagine if Stereolab was part of the Morr Music roster.
listen: perfect vision
listen: temps partiel

various artists / triple r selection 3 / trapez

The latest addition to the Selection series on Trapez has arrived. This third Triple R mix starts smooth and dives deep immediately. Starring Dominik Eulberg, Hansen & DJ Daniel, Matthias Rahn, Marcos Cabral, an unreleased Sarah Goldfarb track with vocals by Riley Reinhold, and a plethora of the LTD 12-inches.
listen: only love
listen: coco puffs

agf + delay / explode / agf producktion

This first proper full-length collaboration displays an interesting evolution for the duo. Vladislav Delay's production incorporates more deep house elements from his Luomo project while Laub's Antye Greie embellishes her spoken narrations with warm melodies. Minimal and impressionistic, Explode reveals itself with repeated listens.
listen: explode baby

c-schulz / 5. flicker tunes / sonig

This is the first proper release from C-Schulz in over five years! An elder statesman of the experimental electronic community in Cologne, C-Schulz has been quietly creating carefully orchestrated drone pieces out of layers of electronics, field recordings, and various objects and instruments for well over two decades. His self-titled duo CD from 2000 with frequent collaborator Hajsch (C-Schulz & Hajsch) is considered by many, including myself, to be a classic. His tremendous influence on the experimental scene in Cologne is quite evident in his choice of collaborators over the years -- Marcus Schmickler (Pol), Georg Odijk (Kontakta), Frank Dommert (Kontakta), Andi Toma, Jan St. Werner, Harold 'Sack' Zielgler etc.

While 5. Flicker Tunes is no great departure from C-Schulz's previous efforts, his modest and singularly focused approach serves him well on the eight pieces contained on the album. Fluttering electronics gradually envelope subtle instrumental passages and atmospheric field recordings to create an overall texture that's both engrossing and beautiful. Averaging around six-minutes, the pieces on 5. Flicker Tunes are remarkably economical in means and demonstrate a sense of precision and attention to detail not often found in more recent drone based compositions. An extremely concise effort that rewards repeated listening. Let's hope we don't have to wait another five years for the next installment.
listen: flicker
listen: weilland

ellen allien / thrills / bpitch


out may 2005

listen: i fell in love with a dead boy
listen: cripple and starfish

tiefschwarz / misch masch / fine

The much requested mix and remix collection from Tiefschwarz! Two generous CDs, the "Misch Masch" mix features rockin' electro tracks from acts like Sleep Archive, Max Durante with Keith Tucker, Think Twice, Kiki, Code 6 and Mat Jonson. The other is an 11-track collection of remixes done for artists like Unit, Lopazz, Spektrum, DJ Hell and Mocky.

The mix is exactly what you'd expect from the tasteful German electrohouse production duo. Stomping rock-electro-house where big synths weave and swell when necessary. Their production is a cross between Metro Area and DFA on Bpitchcontrol. Synthy, club-rocking jams with pseudo-natural drums to keep the fists pumping.
listen: quad 1 / code 6
listen: decompression / mat jonson
listen: listen to the hiss / hell
listen: mickey mouse muthafuckers / mockey feat. ad hawk

postal service / we will become silhouettes / sub pop



Two years later, Give Up is the album that keeps on giving. The snail mailed tape exchanges between Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello seems to have superseded both of their respective main projects, and here's one more single from Postal Service's lone album. The bouncy indie-tronica ode to nuclear obliteration, "We Will Become Silhouettes," is taken from their full-length, but fans will want to check out the three backing tracks. "Be Still My Heart" is a brand new song, while Styrofoam remixes "Nothing Better" and Ghostly International's Matthew Dear puts a nice subtle tech-pulse into a remix of the single's A-side.
listen: we will become silhouettes / matthew dear remix

christo and jeanne claude / the gates / nyc
central park

the mole / meets the bacon smugglers / risquée
bookmat review
listen: mole / lezgo lezgo

polmo polpo / kiss me again and again / intr-version
bookmat review

l'altra / different days / hefty

The Windy City has never been lacking in musical talent. Right now its electronic scene in particular is experiencing a creative boom with acts like Telefon Tel Aviv, Pulseprogramming and Slicker, the musical alias of John Hughes Jr., who also runs the Hefty label. L'altra, is another name that deserves to be near the top of this list. Originally a five-piece ensemble, co-founders Lindsay Anderson and Joseph Costa -- who ended a several year romantic relationship while recording this album -- scaled back the official line-up to just themselves, but among the nine or so guest musicians listed are recognizable names like avant-cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, horn player Nate Walcott (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley), and Pulseprogramming's Marc Heller.

Produced by Telefon Tel Aviv's Joshua Eustis, the duo's third full-length, and first with a Hefty logo, isn't exactly electronic in the traditional sense. The programmed beats and sonic textures are rounded out by the warm accoutrements of acoustic and electric guitars, Rhodes piano and bass. It all comes together creating a gorgeously restrained, at times heart-tugging, musical foundation for Anderson and Costa's intertwined vocals. Their sad, hushed melodies are quite sincere, the interplay between the two singers at times reminiscent of Ida's Daniel Littleton and Elizabeth Mitchell.

It's all about slow-building dynamics. L'altra utilize subtle crescendos much in the same way as Efterklang; the lulling tempos of the songs emphasize the lush textures of instrumentation that flow in and out, be it layers of horns, strings or a rare blast of guitar feedback. This is a perfect late night chill-out soundtrack for those looking for something slow, seductive and a little bittersweet.
listen: different days
listen: better than bleeding

bibio / fi / mush

Bibio is in fact an Englishmen named Stephen Wilkinson, who not only has an affinity for playing beautiful, finger-picked guitar passages, but also for impressionistic production inspired by electronic auteurs like Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada, and what sounds to be a love of his four-track. The latter explains the brief, nonsensical album title Fi. His debut album actually blurs the line between hi-fi and lo-fi, Wilkinson processing and layering his cassette recorded guitar passages with unrecognizable drones, tape loops, and nature sounds. During "Puddled in the Morning," the precise fingerpicked notes are almost unrecognizable, overtaken by his guitar's overtones. As the distant melody fades away, what one would assume to be the clicks and pops coming from a stuck groove of an old record suddenly turns into a campfire's crackle.

Warbled tape recordings of Wilkinson's circular folk guitar passages give the album a mysterious, almost timeless quality. One can imagine these songs coming from an unlabeled cassette that had once been covered in moss, unearthed in a damp, English forest. Boards of Canada's Marcus Eoin is actually responsible for introducing the young musician to the Mush label. But while adjectives like hazy, soothing and pastoral can be used in describing both BOC and Bibio, Wilkinson's approach is much more minimalist. Deprived of beats, picture Fennesz processing loops from old British folk recordings or Kevin Shields on a camping trip with Jewelled Antler Collective.
listen: bewley in white
listen: puddled in the morning

alva noto / transrapid + transvision / raster noton

Alva Noto has released two new CD-EPs, each beautifully packaged and printed in a cardstock, fold-over pocket manual sized booklet. The CDs themselves look a lot like the 20' to 2000' CD-EPs from a while back with a few added graphic lines imbedded in the clear plastic. Very nice. Thankfully, the high expectations inspired by the design are rewarded with music that matches the simple intricacy of its package.

The first noticeable quality is its simultaneous closeness and distance to hip-hop. Ultra-sterilized (clinical), isolated bass-bumps, clicks, buzzes and beeps (smaller than 'bleeps') bump, scratch and climb themselves into breakbeats fit for the biosphere -- not that that idea worked, but you know, imagine a manmade atmosphere. (Take the sounds Carsten Nicolai added to the Noto/Sakamoto album and arrange them in fresh, lively, active beat arrangements.)

After hearing both EPs for the first time (and feeling them immediately) it took me a while to realize the obvious: these tracks bear a striking resemblance to recent Pan Sonic releases. I realized that the difference, and the reason that I didn't notice right away, is that here, the hi-fidelity of the sounds is much more inviting; the tracks 'swing' more and are much less static with many buildups and breakdowns -- if Panasonic and Jan Jelinek jammed in a parking lot.
listen: future
listen: j

various / pop ambient 2005 / kompakt

Kompakt releases year five of their Pop Ambient series. Get ready for blissful, warm adventures by Ulf Lohmann, Markus Guentner, Peter Grummich, Triola, Andrew Thomas, Klimek, DJ Koze, Thomas Fehlmann, The Orb, a classic slice of heaven from Gas (culled from his 2000 masterpiece, Pop), and a simultaneously sweet and haunting offering from the mysterious Popnoname. Bubbling synth arpeggios, luxurious drones, textures, washes, smears, wisps, reverberations, and hums…almost all the tracks are absolutely perfect, infectious, satin pop gems. Recommended.
listen: gas - pop
listen: peter grummich - sunbeams

michael mayer works alone
by martin turenne

coming to Toronto 27/02/05

m83's one man drama
by cam lindsay

coming to Toronto 19/04/05

m83 / before the dawn heals us / mute

In spite of the departure of co-founder Nicolas Fromageau, Anthony Gonzalez forges ahead with a new M83 album. Female voices and live instruments are more prominent, but the visceral layers of sound and breathtaking passages are unmistakably M83.
listen: teen angst
listen: moon child


Philip Sherburne's mixes
download

shuttle358 / chessa / 12k

Sweet warm hugs. Subtle beauty that floats by like a creek in autumn. Minimal (with nods to SND, Dettinger, Oval, Pete Namlook and other 'ambient classics') Chessa seems to be about indulging in the mood of the moment.
listen: marchie
listen: duh

a new Toronto techno mag.
KICK

best of 2004:

1.) michael mayer / fabric 13 / fabric
listen: heiko voss / i think about you
listen: richard davis / bring me closer
listen: m83 and benoit villeneuve / run into flowers

2.) loscil / first narrows / kranky
listen: sickbay
listen: emma



3) deadbeat / something borrowed, something blue / ~scape

Tunes Have Become The Big Priority For Swayzak
by martin turenne

over-looked ablums of 2004:
*credit to a friend
reviews courtesy of www.boomkat.com

ricardo villalobos / the au harem d'archimede / perlon

Yes, Villalobos is back! Following on from what must surely count as one of the largest and most highly regarded House albums of the last few years (the supremely sexy Alcachofa), Ricardo is back with another mighty collection, this time for the foremost purveyors of minimal cool – Perlon. “The Au Harem D’Archimede” is another epic succession of long tracks and divine instrumentation – Villalobos manages to make his percussion sound complex and terrifyingly funky at the same time, while the melodic arrangements are often brooding (Murcof-esque harp cascades grace the haunting “Hireklon). Villalobos is a master of the slow build up, taking you from looped malfunctioning machinery to twilight loveliness without you really noticing how you got there. Album closer “True to Myself”, meanwhile, throws caution to the wind and heads for the minimal disco with some unhinged vocals thrown in for good measure – like a tanked up Theo Parrish. Magnificent.

robag wruhme/ wuzzelbud kk / musik krause

From the plethora of artists, labels and parties associated with Cologne's mighty Kompakt crew one can safely say that Musik Krause and the hugely talented Robag Wruhme have been the most consistantly evolutionary and enjoyable operators of the bunch. Mr Wruhme has crept up in our estimation with every 12” issued by the label, from the ace ‘Backcatalog’ to the bumping ‘Kopfniker’ ep and recently to the jacking tech house of ‘Polytik’‚ each 12" has delivered top quality tracks with a twist and has served to expand an ever growing fanbase spanning the spectrum from diehard Fabric practicioners through to Giles Peterson's massively influential playlist. "Wuzzelbud KK" sees Robag joyously tweaking and perfecting his glittering blend of microscopic house chops, jazzed-up vibes and late night airy beachside lullabies. He manages with a wink to equip a whole sound, a unique, forceful, tech-minimal-house with substantial bass, twists, tension, longing, felt all over and throughout your body. If you like your chopped-up house innovative, involving and advanced, at times diving into sun-drenched climes, at others even lending some deep Aphex melodies for inspiration, look no further. Awesome.

frivolous / somewhere in the suburbs / karloff

A compilation of the two Karloff 12”s plus a couple of bonus cuts are available for the first time on cd. It’s easy to see why Karloff issued this cd as it flows brilliantly, showing off of the varied talents of Daniel Gardner under his Frivolous moniker, from the cut up 80’s tracks on ‘Born Out Of Beta’ which uses a speeded up early hip house accapella and mashes the beats, drops vocoders and other vocal samples for a quirky early house mash up, to the ace deep cut, ‘All The Comforts of Home’ that hits the more left of centre with its deep groove and almost operatic vocal samples that mix with the subtle drums and club led edits. The bonus cuts are excellent, ‘Fredrick Cokanose’ skims the spectrum of dance music with abandon, from stripped acoustic guitar samples to rough ass 2 step bass and drums, with all manner of electro house and techno sounds and influences in, a little schizophrenic, but in the best mash up way. ‘Every Day Of My Life’ hits a deeper note with lush chords following a superb jazz double bass line that’s almost freestyle under the minimal house beats and lush noises. Unique and challenging material from Frivolous, well worth a check.

new:

styrofoam / nothing's lost / morr

Belgium producer, songwriter Arne Van Petegem, aka Styrofoam has done it again with his latest release Nothing's Lost. Styrofoam caters to the electronic heads with crunchy pops and textures while still giving the indie lovers their melodic soothing sprays of warmth. This could be Styrofoam's best album to date especially when it comes to his collaborations with Death Cab for Cutie's artist Ben Gibbard, Lali puna's vocalist Valerie Terebljahr and Notwist's Markus Acher. This album is dynamic and layered in ways that keeps you craving more.
listen: misguided
listen: couches in alleys
listen: ticket out of town

dominik eulberg / flora & fauna / traum



Flora and Fauna, Dominik Eulberg's new album on Traum, is full of deep throbbing tracks peppered with all kinds of familiar sampled sounds (a shutter clicking, water drop, etc.), but the samples are not in the Matmos/Herbert, found-sound style. Some are found sounds digitized with effects, and some are digital versions of familiar sounds (a door closing, an echoing snare crack). Though the sampled bits and subtle deepness of the tracks set it apart immediately, it's the unique tweaking and placement of each sound that push the album into the "special" category. Finally, another new techno artist has emerged with a signature style.

Though the album is deep, there is a subtle hint of hardness (i.e. propulsion). Speed and softness combine with a feeling of depth that sounds as though all the sounds were encased in a glass container, or more likely, as if they were recorded outdoors amongst the Flora and Fauna.

Do you remember Marcus Guentner's last album? The general depth of the tracks is similar to that but a little less "minimal" and altogether more complex. On top of that, add a bit of genuine German acid funk with new not retro sounds and you have a refreshingly good and unique techno album.
listen: brenzlich, brenzlich' dachte der feuersalamander
listen: das roehren der rotwildbrunft

ada / blondie / areal

Ada, aka M. Dippel, has released her debut LP Blondie on the up-and-coming Areal label. Besides releasing 12-inch tracks on Areal, Ada's "Blindhouse" appeared on Triple R's Friends mix. (A remixed vocal version is featured on Blondie.) Areal has been making waves as a new label offering clubby yet poppy and abstract tracks with Ada being one of their standout artists. Her album is a nice surprise, offering more than a few potential (abstract) club hits.

While so much techno released this year prior to Fall 2004 has been just more cookie-cutter set-fillers, Ada has managed to make a listenable album, with a variety of danceable tracks (i.e., she's not just obsessed with one type of beat/melody or track style). It's saying a lot, and may sound like an exaggeration, but she comes across very much like a mix between Ellen Allien and Michael Mayer: deep and emotive, with a pop sensibility that has a nice rockin' feel with well-placed female vocals, and without trying too hard. Some of the tracks have a groovin' German club disco feel, some are poppy and bouncy like Bpitch stuff but with a softer, deeper feeling.

Though I don't guess that this album was painstakingly produced (many sounds/parts on this album sound very 'familiar', either directly sampled or otherwise borrowed), no matter what (I personally don't care, I just dig the tracks), Ada's tracks still stand out for using these sounds in very unique ways and in unique arrangements. (Which should serve as a point of advice to the Techno Producer Boy's Club out there: It's not about being Mr. Glitchiest-of-the-year. It's more about showing that you have an 'ear' connected to your heart with whatever means you have at your disposal -- which is what Ada ends up doing.) At the end of the day, seven out of 10 tracks on this album would get me on the dancefloor, and for different reasons. Altogether this is a solid album. You'll hear a lot of this one while out this fall.      
listen: cool my fire (i'm burning)
listen: eve

khonnor / handwriting / type

Khonnor's Handwriting is the work of 17-year-old wunderkind Connor Kirby-Long who created this record in his bedroom with an old PC from the '80s, a free microphone that he acquired from a Spanish tutorial, and one single computer speaker. Khonnor takes his cues from shoegaze-era Creation records (especially Slowdive), Fennesz's Endless Summer and the Morr Music roster, and what he has created is unlike anything else around right now. A song will have a traditional start and then all of the sudden it is bombarded with beautiful digital noise (ala Fennesz). From there it will twist and turn into an acoustic ballad reminiscent of Bright Eyes' finest material, only seconds later to morph into a beautiful shoegaze anthem...and yes, it all works. Handwriting is an incredible debut and one that will introduce this emerging talent to the world -- and I say emerging because he is only 17.

Khonnor's lyrics are that of lost love, longing, confusion about the world, and everything else in between. At times they are quite naive but I have to say that it is definitely part of the charm. This album is a treasure filled with lush beautiful sounds and rich textures that will appeal to anyone that is a fan of the aforementioned artists, and music that wears its heart on its sleeve. Gorgeous!
listen: daylight and delight
listen: a little secret

triola / triola im fünftonraum / kompakt

Triola is the one and only Jorg Burger, the man from Cologne who records under almost as many aliases as Wolfgang Voigt. You may have just heard of a few of them; does the Modernist, Bionaut, Autobianchi, Burger/Ink, ring any bells?? Yes, Jorg Burger is all of them and more, and now he has recorded one of the most brilliant records that Kompakt has ever released. Triola Im Fünftonraum is right up there with Dettinger's two full-lengths. It is that good, and takes us back to the classic days of Kompakt, before Schaffel, before Pop Ambient, when a techno record was filled with all of the elements that I love in electronic music. Downtempo beats collide with lush synths and the tracks build slowly with some of the most gorgeous melodies I have heard in some time until they climax and everything drops, fades and the next track does exactly the same thing -- it totally blows you away. This album is fantastic, and definitely one of Kompakt's finest hours.
listen: neuland
listen: wanderlust

various artists / but then again / ~scape



Well, right off the bat, the first thing I noticed was that this album sounds AMAZING. The tracks feature ultra-dynamic sound positioning and pin-point melodies that linger so far from the speakers that it resembles the effect of someone behind you beatmatching his ringtone to your stereo. (Check the last section of Cappablack's "5th Dimension" with its Brigitte Fontaine loop.)

While previous ~scape releases focused on dub, glitch-hop and, minimal soul, "But Then Again" displays a wide yet focused sense of variety that shows the label successfully branching out while still remaining true to its minimal, textural, high fidelity aesthetic. The melodies are more pronounced but without just being one-finger, 'naive' melodies. They remain somewhat 'serios' and complex, sitting in some less-explored space between dancetracks and ambient tracks. (Check John Tejada's "And Many More," Jelinek's "Western Mimickry" and J. Burger's "Neuland".) Some tracks touch on the indie/melodic electronica leanings of Morr Music, Karaoke Kalk and maybe even Intr. Version (Headset and Soulo, Epo etc.), but again, without ever becoming too obvious or 'cute.' Bravo to Stefan Betke and all the artists involved and happy fifth year anniversary! Recommended.

andrew pekler / nocturnes, false dawns and breakdowns / ~scape

Former member of Sad Rockets and Bergheim 34, and current Heidelberg, German resident (by way of California), Andrew Pekler began recording on his own in early-2000. Nocturnes, False Dawns and Breakdowns continues where 2002's Station to Station left off, exploring the possibilities of combining programmed digital-scapes with acoustic improvisation. Precise shifting tones of delicate electronic textures combine with bleeps and pulses coming in, seemingly from all directions, while multiple layers of dense and diverse percussion and vibes work with and against each other to create a sonically rich tapestry of sound. Recalling everything from the electro acoustic funk of Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and Sun Ra to the spacial dub/jazz explorations of Burnt Friedman, Four Tet, Tortoise, Cinematic Orchestra and As One. The interesting thing is that Nocturnes manages to keep it all together in a way that gives his music a very evenly balanced weight and feel to it, never pushing so far out that it disrupts the overall character of the whole. Recommended.
listen: stardusting
listen: sleepless

soft pink truth / do you want new wave or do you want the soft pink truth / tigerbeat6



With last year's fantastic micro-funk masterpiece Do You Party, Matmos' Drew Daniels showed us that when he wasn't busy sampling the sounds of liposuctions and rat cages, he likes to get down and dirty. For his second solo release as the Soft Pink Truth, Daniels throws us another curve ball transforming old-school American hardcore and British punk songs into techno music. He covers bands like Angry Samoans, Die Kreuzen, Crass and Minor Threat reinterpreting their anarchist classics through house, acid house and booty bass grinders. Features vocal guests like fashion designer Jeremy Scott, Vickie Bennet, Blevin Blectum and Dani Siciliano.
listen: out of step
listen: kitchen

Jacked In
by Martin Turenne
A look into the Vancouver electronic music scene

various artists / speicher cd 2 / kompakt

Michael Mayer is here to demonstrate, once again, his skills of big-room, crowd-pleasing quality control. While Speicher 1 was a bit hard and trance-y for some (well, at first, since so many Kompakt-heads came around to digging it eventually), Speicher CD 2 is the ideal mix of the deep, classic Kompakt-style techno naturally evolving into new hard, double A-side Speicher-style rockers. (With a lot more of what I can only describe as Mayer-style tracks and mixing -- throbbing, smart tracks with new twists on classic ideas and lots of personality...and of course so well placed in a way that resembles an ideal live set.)

As a CD it sits somewhere between Speicher CD1 and the Mayer Fabric 13 mix. Musically it's starting deep in classic Kompakt-style, going into long rocking tracks with lots of beautiful atmosphere, then ending with some big-room Schaffel jams.
listen: x - michael mayer
listen: kontakt - reinhard voight

stephan mathieu / on tape / hapna

With On Tape (recorded on the occasion of a live performance at Fylkingen, Stockholm in Febuary of 2004), Stephan Mathieu could have very easily done a conventional remix of Tape material using the various filtering and processing techniques that he has become so comfortable with over his extensive back catalog. Instead, this release marks a new direction for Mathieu. Sidestepping his usual approach, On Tape sees him concentrating solely on the editing and layering of the source material. Rather then obscuring the origin, Mathieu uses the unprocessed source material supplied by Tape, saxophonist Magnus Granberg, and along with some of his own percussion, to create a slowly evolving mass of sound. It's a deceptively simple and extremely rewarding approach that hones in on each minute detail breaking each sound and event down to its core before bringing it back into the whole.

Over the course of 30-minutes Mathieu transforms the piece from seemingly incidental sounds to almost ephemeral harmonics and back again without ever seeming too complicated or forced. Beginning with a swell of electronics and gradually adding tiny quiet events and layered saxophone and harmonium loops, the piece illustrates itself through such a natural evolution that the listener becomes less concerned with the overall process and simply focuses on the moment. An exceptionally fulfilling release that may take a little while to sink into, but given the time, will reward tenfold.
listen: on tape

akufen / fabric 17 / fabric

Two years ago, Mark LeClair (aka Akufen) raised the bar for tech house with his funky, micro-sample packed "My Way," a truly classic genre-defining album. Rumor has it that LeClair is getting ready to record its follow-up, meanwhile his DJ contribution for the latest installment of the Fabric club/label mix series will hopefully tie us over until then. Most of the 21 tracks which the Canadian producer selected are by artists that are friends of his, and recorded in just one take, there's a great live DJ set feel to the compilation.

Kicking off with a mash-up between Philippe Cam's "LFO Drive" and the Pantytec re-mix of Matthew Dear's "Dog's Day," Akufen hits the decks running. LeClair is instinctive in his track selection, knowing when to take a small break from the minimal house and interject a little fun, like when he comes out of the Rip-Off-Artist's glitch filled "Little Tiny 1/8" Jack" and into Senor Coconut's cha-cha cover of "Smoke on the Water." Akufen also seems to be drawn to tracks that mirror his own micro-sample aesthetic -- from the stutter beats in Pantytec's "Alabaster" to the super tight edits throughout Crackhaus' "Ample Stacks." But for 73 minutes, he keeps the mix interesting and flowing, with selections from Ultrakurt, Matthew Herbert, Serafin & Luciano, and Horror Inc. (to name a few more) and fittingly sends us off with Steve Beaupre's vocal sample heavy "My Old Lady." Definitely a fun mix and one of Fabric's best installments, although Michael Mayer's Fabric 13 is still number one in my books.
listen: lfo drive" / "dog's day" philippe cam / matthew dear (pantytech remix)
listen: little tiny 1/8 inch jack" / "smoke on the water" rip-off artist / senor coconut

signer / new face of smiling / carpark

For the last two years, many a laptop producer has tried his hand at crossing over into vocal territory. Unfortunately, too many are just album-long essays that could be entitled I Heart My Bloody Valentine. Or even worse, I Heart Two Songs by My Bloody Valentine Way Too Much. Signer's follow up to Low Light Dreams is a successful step into minimal vocal pop that has an actual variety of influences and elements that are used in a sincere and heartfelt way. And unlike some of the crossover attempts I mentioned earlier, Signer's tracks had a songlike quality from the start that always had room for vocals but didn't necessarily need them. Track two, "Hurricane or Sunshine?" has a beautifully deep, Marz / "Chelsea Boys" feel. Track one, "Low Light Sleep" has a neo-electronic Tortoise-with-vocals feel which breezes into a Swirlies' slow dream pop drone. Track three, "I Was Dressed as the Ant..." has a synth filled, electropop (not clash), Kings of Convenience -esque (though more subtle) indie synth pop thing going on.

Another thing: This guy likes his guitars and his synths and his beats equally. The songs on this album alternate all over the place without losing focus -- electronic beats ease into live drums and back seamlessly. Track eight has the slow build of MBV but with a well-placed glitch beat that some 30-something-year-old shoegazers haven't even heard the likes of yet. Well, not like this anyway. It seems Signer also loves My Bloody Valentine, but he actually does his homework and demonstrates his love for you too. Maybe you'll love him back for it. Recommended.
listen: hurricane or sunshine
listen: your ears across the fences
*performs in Toronto Nov. 15 / 2004 @ the Drake

manual and syntak / golden sun / darla

On Golden Sun Manual and Syntaks have created the perfect combination of IDM influenced hip hop, Creation Records-era shoegazing bands, and traditional Middle Eastern music. The album is split into two halves; the first half, titled "Nissarana," relies more on the hip hop sounds of Prefuse 73 and Muslimgauze, while the second half, called "Sundazed," takes cues from shoegazers like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. This album is definitely one of Manual's finest hours and is easily as good as his Morr Music debut Until Tomorrow. This is a must for fans of blissful melodic electronics. Beautiful!
listen: golden sun
listen: inez

fourcolor / air curtain / 12 k

Keiichi Sugimoto has now released 4 albums in half as many years with his groups Minamo and Fonica and on his own as Fourcolor. Water Mirror, out earlier this year, was a gorgeous experiment in guitar processing. His new album Air Curtain, released by Taylor Deupree's 12K label, takes narcotic digital serenity to a whole new level. The fragile, glassy drones remain in full effect and, while there were very subtle rhythmic pulses on the first Fourcolor record, a couple of the tracks on this one build to moments that sound like they could have been produced by a narcoleptic SND. Air Curtain is melodic perfection.
listen: ae
listen: cloud whereabouts

various / morr music japan tour 2004 / morr

What's not to like about unreleased Morr label tracks.
listen: styrofoam (cover of Elliot Smith's "between the bars")

hey & múm / dreams never die (book + cd) / fatcat

b. fleischmann & herbert weixelbaum present duo 505 / late / morr

The interesting pairing of B. Fleischmann and classically trained guitarist Herbert Weixelbaum actually goes back a few years ago to what at first was to be a one-off live performance at a Berlin street festival. The two share a common love/hate for the Roland MC-505, better known as the Groovebox -- a fairly inexpensive workhorse sequencer/arranger that became a staple piece of gear in '90s-era electronic music. In lesser hands, I'd expect lo-fi attempts at crafting modern electronica out of dated sounds and beats; but if a Groovebox is capable of overheating, Fleischmann and Weixelbaum set it on fire.

The two split songwriting duties; in fact, almost every track is one man's musical response to the other. The two wring every ounce of sound from the machine, manipulating many recognizable tones in ways that I never would have imagined to come from the MC-505. Above the industrial-lite beats of "Facing It," robotic sequences chirp around somber synth melodies while the duo drives the Groovebox far past its limitations. And though most of the sound sources may be emanating from a singular device, the material on this album is pretty diverse. "LSDJ08" is super-playful and bouncy while Fleischmann's romantic closer "Disko+Bett" is full of saturated drones and a micro-tech pulse.

Through the years more than a few Groovebox themed records have been released, Late stands-out. Here, Fleischmann and Weixelbaum's tracks are multi-dimensional and at many points, transcend the novelty of the concept.
listen: b. fleischmann & herbert weixelbaum present duo 505 / toru okada
listen: b. fleischmann & herbert weixelbaum present duo 505 / facing it

radian / juxtraposition / thrill jockey

Viennese experimentalists Radian are back with their third proper album, and they've refined their approach without straying too far from their trademark sound. The group seamlessly intertwines buzzing, humming and throbbing ambient electronics with dubby live bass and drums, creating constantly morphing soundscapes that follow their own internal logic. This time the group carefully constructed sizzling electronic beds at their home studio in Vienna, and then took the tracks to John McEntire's Chicago studio to lay down the instruments. Elements of jazz, dub, and laptop electronica bubble to the surface on this ear-tickling headphone experience.
listen: radian / ontario
listen: radian / transistor

medulla:

+ collaborators
. beats - Rahzel, Shlomo and Dokaka
. vocals - Björk, Mike Patton, Robert Wyatt, Gregory Purnhagen, Tagaq, Icelandic + London choirs
. songwriters - Björk, Sjón, Olivier Alary, Tagaq, Jórunn Vidar & Jakobína Sigurdardóttir, E.E. Cummings
. programming - Valgeir Sigursson, Mark Bell, Little Miss Specta, Matmos, Jake Davies, Olivier Alary, Björk

+ tracklist
01____________Pleasure Is All Mine
02____________Show Me Forgiveness
03____________Where Is The Line?
04____________Vökuró
05____________Öll Birtan
06____________Who Is It
07____________Oceania
08____________Submarine
09____________Sonnets / Unrealities XI
10____________Desired Constellation
11____________Ancestors
12____________Mouth's Cradle
13____________Mi©£vikudags
14____________Triumph Of A Heart

+ facts
. a limited edition of "Medúlla" will have expanded artwork and a 16-panel poster.
. the Japanese release will feature a bonus track.
. Öll Birtan means 'All the light', Vökuró means 'Vigil'.
. Sonnets / Unrealities XI is based on a poem by E.E. Cummings.
. a special is on the way!

matthew dear / backstroke / spectral

The ultra-prolific Matthew Dear has released a new mini-album just seven months after his fantastic Leave Luck to Heaven; Backstroke picks up where he left off. On the last album there were a few tracks that featured vocals ala the incredible Prince inspired "Dog Days." This mini-album takes what was first started there and raises the bar. Most of the tracks on Backstroke are vocal driven, danceable pop gems that can be played both in the club and in a live setting. The track "Tide" features a funky shuffle beat with Matthew's deadpan vocals singing over the top and it is well worth the price of this album alone...truly amazing! Track 4, entitled "Grut Wall," could be mistaken for a song off of the Junior Boys album; it is a perfect electronic pop song. Matthew ends the record on a high note with the eight-plus-minute house jam "And in the Night," which starts like the perfect tech-house anthem. Then Matthew pulls a 180 and the song transforms into the weirdest pop track of the album with vocals and beats going every which way; it's hard to keep up. Matthew, you have done it again!!
listen: matthew dear / grut wall
listen: matthew dear / and in the night

lali puna / micronomic ep / morr

Lali Puna have released a five-track EP of their single "Micronomic," and it also includes a video of that song. "Micronomic," from the Faking the Books album, has a definite indie rockist feel...laptop (early) Blonde Redhead? Almost. It teeters nicely between having bursts of driving guitars, swelling keyboard drones and worn-out sounding snare hits and having skittering guitar melodies and driving loops. Speaking of teetering, it sounds like they are over standing politely behind their instruments. It's easy to imagine them flailing and thrusting guitars all over the stage. The Boom Bip remix is very nicely constructed of small chapters. Small acoustic loops segue into a slowly rising groove that peaks with a distorted crackly, overdriven sample of the chorus, "Where do you want to go…?" Track 3,"The Daily Match" and track 4, "Alienation" (Alias remix) are a return to Tridecoder form -- introspective, sweet, lilting and melancholic.
listen: lali puna / the daily match

junior boys...

Junior Boys skyrocket in the blogosphere
Last Exit a fab first outing

various / kompakt 100 / kompakt

Kompakt celebrates its 100th compilation by remixing the best classic tracks and making it fucking unbelievable again.
listen: pensum
listen: radeln
listen: zu dicht dran
listen: megamix

murcof / utopia / leaf

In 2002, Fernando Corona's debut as Murcof marked a major stylistic departure from his previous project, and Martes was hailed as a favorite of the year by many electronic music fans. As Terrestre, he had displayed a funky fusion of electronic and traditional music of his homeland, and received acclaim as a part of Tijuana's Nortec Collective. But as Murcof, Corona made a surprising change exchanging booty-shaking Tech-Mex for a more minimal direction merging modern classical and compositional elements with organic, atmospheric electronic soundscapes.

The Leaf label has just released an essential collection of the Mexican producer's more recent Murcof tracks, culling together two magnificent 12" singles -- 2003's "Ulysses" and this year's "Utopia" -- with exclusive new songs and also featuring a varied roster of re-mixers. The almost 76-minute collection begins with a flurry of strings; with its subtle orchestration and slow electronic swells, album opener "Ulysses" could have been part of a dark soundtrack for a Stanley Kubrick film. Later, Helge Sten's Deathprod remix gives the track a deeper, more ominous tone with a spacious wash of sounds, while the Fax rework (first heard on the "Utopia" 12") adds a pulse of clicks and cuts.

Each re-mixer puts their unique stamp to Murcof's organic compositions, from Jan Jelinek's grainy gurgles to Icarus' digital glitches and backwards manipulations of a piano. (Both producers rework the "Maiz" track.) Colleen creates a haunting ambience in "Muim" as the washed-out crescendos of strings and piano are stretched into minimal pulses of sounds that almost seem to breathe, while Sutekh's reworking of "Memoria (also featured on the "Utopia" 12") is an indescribable collage of organic tones and skittering techstep. Of course, the two exclusive Murcof tracks, "Una" and "Ultimatum," prove Corona to be a master of creating cinematic electronica. During the latter, the factory-like churn of electronic beats further magnifies the almost silent spaces between the piano and strings. Quiet and often disquieting, there's plenty of room for your imagination to take hold.
listen: memoria
listen: una

junior boys / last exit / kin



Junior Boys are the next big electronic pop sensation. Jeremy Greenspan's songwriting is heart felt without appearing cliché, his voice is soft/waspy sexy. This is one of the best albums of the year.
listen: junior boys / birthday
listen: junior boys / high come down

fourcolor / water mirror / apestaartje

Keiichi Sugimoto had two great records out in 2003 with his groups Minamo (on Apestaartje) and Fonica (on Tomlab). The majority of his fantastic new solo album as Fourcolor was created using only the guitar as source material. He processes his instrument as if it were going through the phase changes of water, making it virtually unrecognizable as a string instrument. You can practically hear the sounds freezing, slowly melting, then evaporating, and finally condensing back into a liquid state. The compositions develop gradually and take on a gentle, barely perceptible pulse. Like a lot of the best electronic music, it's deceptively simple.

The final track is a twenty-three minute long soundtrack to Jun Miyazaki's award-winning short film Frontire, which screened in competition at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The piece is more or less in the same vein as the music before it, but it also incorporates heavily-edited field recordings and found sounds to tremendous effect.

Water Mirror is subtle, gorgeous, and hypnotizing. Its warm and resonant tones will fill any room in which it's played. Those of you who are already familiar with Brooklyn's Apestaartje label know that their releases don't disappoint, and this is one of their finest yet. If you liked the latest albums from Fennesz or Mitchell Akiyama, you're going to love Fourcolor. Water Mirror is an absolute necessity for anyone who enjoys minimal electronic music.
listen: thomas fourcolor / dip
listen: fourcolor / stream

thomas brinkmann / tokyo + 1 / max ernst



Another magnificent release from Brinkmann, this time he's exploring the textural urban landscapes of Tokyo + 1...Greece.
listen: thomas brinkmann / mate song
listen: thomas brinkmann / e-bar

múm / summer make good / fat cat

If you've heard Múm's excellent pair of Fat Cat albums, Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Was OK and Finally We Are No One, you should have some idea of what to expect from Summer Make Good: songs that stray a bit from traditional form, yet retain an internal sense of structure; a panoply of instruments, real and virtual; a uniquely Icelandic sense of innocence and melody counterbalanced with dangerous swaths of noise and chaos; and a nearly comprehensible yet slightly alien title.

But while the album has plenty in common with its predecessors, Múm is working on perfecting a mode of expression rather than being stuck in a rut. Its choice of instruments has become more subtle, even while the range expands--most of these songs incorporate some form of guitar or piano, but you're just as likely to hear a bit of banjo or glockenspiel played against a MAX/MSP patch. The various elements are interwoven so as not to call undue attention to themselves for eclecticism's sake. Kristin Anna Valtysdottir's delicate, childlike voice whispers simple, poetic lyrics, but her twin sister has moved on from the group, leaving her tiny voice alone among the waves of music crashing around it.

Summer Make Good might be a maritime concept album, as well, as titles like "The Island of Children's Children," "Oh, How the Boat Drifts" and "Abandoned Ship Bells" are hard to miss. Where Múm's music used to reflect the cold-yet-bright contradictions of Iceland, on Summer Make Good it seems to have sailed off into some dark, mythic Nordic sea, and these songs are the half-remembered sea shanteys of a vessel long gone.

Grooves
Rob Geary
listen: múm / the ghosts you draw on my back
listen: múm / the island of children's children


thomas brinkmann / tour de traum / traum

For Tour De Traum, Kompakt's sister label and its owner Riley Reinhold open the vaults and let the one and only Thomas Brinkmann in to do what he will with them. And that he does. Brinkmann takes his favorite Traum tracks and mashes, splices, fades and overlaps them in a way that only he can. In the first song alone, he melds four tracks into one 3-minute segment that not only adds a bit to each of the individual songs, but he has created something new and all his own. Thomas is never one to make things easy on himself for he has reshaped and interpreted eight of the 13 tracks contained herein, tweaking some ever-so-slightly but still adding his personal touch -- one that is both bass heavy and dubbed out. On this CD I have to say that Thomas Brinkmann has had excellent source material to work with (probably some of the best that Cologne has to offer) and he has created an impeccable mix that lives up to the standards of himself, Traum and I am sure, you, the listener. This is one of the finest mixes that I have heard in some time and it has a surefire place in my CD changer for months to come. Recommended!
listen: thomas brinkmann / surface + today
listen: thomas brinkmann / polar 1: 21: 31