Criola is pop music in the purest sense, proven song forms forged in communities through the centuries warped to reflect the changing world around them. The sound of cultures moving around different localities, of cities gloriously losing any sense of over familiarity.
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John Heckle: Tone To Voice
Tone to Voice finds John Heckle in trademark futuristic analogue sci-fi form with eleven tracks spread across two twelve inches. If you’re a fan of Heckle’s dance floor orientated live sets then you’ll find plenty to enjoy here too.
GAS: Narkopop
Narkopop captures the juxtaposition of the forest, the infinitely complex eco-system which when looked at from a far seems awe-inspiringly uniform.
Kritzkom: Void Minus Matter
Deftly maneuvering her way in and around tangled leftfield motifs and further well-beaconed techno grounds on her new album for Seagrave, Kritzkom weaves minimalistic scales of oddball machinic spurts and clinical-precise metronomic grooves within a widespread gamut of stark post-industrial synthscapes and other deep-and-steep subductive layers.
Various Artists: Moon Rock Volume 4
Moon Rock Volume 4 is possibly the best chill out compilation you can get that is also committed to vinyl. Eternally comfortable to just slip into, it befits chilly early mornings as much as it does a hazy afternoon.
Ashan: Air & Ether
Meditative and intensely immersive, solar and vibrant, Ashan’s debut for Elestial Sound – ‘Air & Ether’ – couldn’t be more aptly-named with its vaporous complexions and sedative attraction, casting a spell on you the second you press play. Just as spirited and enchanting on play as it is remains inspiring and haunting once the sound is off.
The Long Now: An Ode to Architectural and Sonic Magnitude
This is our report of “The Long Now” hosted at Kraftwerk Berlin, a place for the enduring present, comprising over thirty hours of concerts, audio-visual installations and live electronic performances, which the public are invited to experience in many ways: be it listening, watching or even sleeping to them.
SZCH: Learning To Cope
A key element of on-the-rise Croatian collective and label low income $quad, SZCH gained further exposure last year with the drop of his fantastic ‘Untitled’ EP on Ron Wilson’s 777 sub-label LLL – notably charted by the ever choosy and discerning Objekt. Busy as ever, Filip strikes back with a shape-shifting funky four-tracker for UK based imprint Departures. Lush as it gets.
Leandro Fresco & Rafael Anton Irisarri: La Equidistancia
Leandro Fresco and Rafael Anton Irrisari ’La Equidistancia’ released on Ryan Griffin’s A Strangely Isolated Place imprint is ambient of the most epic kind – with layer upon layer of undulating sound. A delicately unfurling liminal hinter world at times as cold as the cover art, at others warm and embracing.
Solitary Dancer: Dualism
Montreal duo Solitary Dancer return with a vengeance on the continually gratifying Dark Entries, giving full vent to their sleek and sensual blends of cold wave-imbued synth melodies, neo noir ambiences and fast-flowing electro dynamics over three plus one full-on floor burners of the finest standards.
Nocow: Ledyanoy Album
Stylistically complex albums can be difficult to pull off. Ledyanoy Album – roughly translated as ‘Album Made Of Ice’ – spans house, techno, experimental, ambient and everything in between, but it continues to ask why this can’t be the case, when one pervading mood so cleverly invites us to look upon the album as a whole.
Planet Giegling silent disco at Barbican Conservatory
Last weekend Superstition and Barbican collaborated to present Planet Giegling within the tropical urban oasis of the Conservatory. This is our recollection of this unique and unforgettable experience.
Tom Demac: Sink Or Swim
Walking the line of techno and deep house notoriously, Tom Demac’s array of production can go from the soulful grooves and melody that turn a dusty warehouse into saving Grace, but more importantly he’s got the rare capacity to flip the script, energizing crammed rooms into blissful mania. Hype man ting wha wha.
Phil Struck: Klint
If LL.M.’s first three releases ploughed a more “regular”, club-ready furrow with some outstanding contributions from Berlin’s favourite Annanan, Phil Struck’s ‘Klint’ makes for a massive bend towards antimusic and concrète realms that won’t fail at surprising those who expected the Münster-via-Berlin based imprint to stick to the tried-and-tested 4/4 recipes.
Piezo: Lume EP
Milan born-and-raised producer Piezo – who unsurprisingly lived a few years in Bristol before returning to Italy – steps up with the motley ‘Lume EP’, a three-track plate where Kowton’s pared-down structural formula meets the shuffling grind of vaporous deep house and borderline abstractness of dubby riddims and drone’y meanderings.
Objekt: Objekt #4
Both tracks introduce themselves eagerly, like a knock at the door followed by “can you come out and play?” In response, you can’t help but hurriedly pull on a pair of trainers and fly outside with laces flapping in the wind.