A Closer Listen
While these may be dark times, and a dark season (especially for people in Tromsø), the preparation of the electronic preview fills us with joy. The beats and grooves provide the uplift we need, and having heard most of these albums in full, we are anticipating the good will that they will create. Many of the artists have written music specifically to encourage and uplift; their releases arrive as gifts, even when there are no holidays in sight. The cover of AMIANGELIKA & 1000’s Redemption, pictured left, is a reminder that an eclipse lasts only for a moment, and the sun will eventually return. We hope that you experience as much enjoyment in perusing our Electronic Music Preview as we have had preparing it! Here’s to brighter days and happier hearts.
Since audiovisual artist Max Cooper is already at the top of his game, one wouldn’t think he could still go up ~ and yet, on On Being, he does. The album includes Aho Ssan and other guests, as well as the best title we’ve seen in quite some time: “I Am In A Church In Gravesend Listening To Old Vinyl And Drinking Coffee.” As always, we expect forward-thinking videos to accompany the tracks as they are released. The scarf, sadly, has already sold out (Mesh, February 28). Bloom is a perfect name for the new album from Polynation, who add trumpet, saxophone and EWI to their arsenal for an expanded, techno-jazz sound. Bloom is warm and uplifting, with a gorgeous blue cover and transparent blue vinyl that will look good on any turntable (Atomization, January 31). Also from the Netherlands, Nous’klaer Audio presents the energetic compilation Paerels, a perfect way to enter the label’s club-ready sonic world (January 17). While not appearing on the compilation, Gaiko (not to be confused with the insurance spokesman) will debut on the imprint a month later with a self-titled album, blending electronic genres with pensive piano work (February 14).
How about some qrebeb and guimbiri? If you don’t know these instruments, you’re in for a treat. Vian & Maâlem Najib Soudani meld Gnawa music with electronic frameworks, as Mogador seeks to open Western ears while entertaining (Modern Obscure Music, January 31). We love the ebullient video for “What Is To Be Done?”, the lead single from Maria Teriaeva‘s Sayan – Savoie. The artist compares her former life in Siberia with her new life in France, finding similarities between the mountain peaks and a newfound feeling of connection. Listen to the end to hear the cowbells! (February 7). Trumpeter Gijs Levelt has already released two very different singles from PLAYGROUND, a collection of music for theatre. The latter of these, “Cloaca,” comes in both a trumpet solo and a club version, the next best thing to the surprise of live performance (February 14).
Nyege Nyege Tapesis preparing a pair of fun releases for early winter. The first of these is Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta‘s Mapambazuko, which combines “Congolese soukous and folk sounds and psychedelic Afro-Latin rhythms,” with remixes from KMRU and Flora-Lin Wong. “Bonne année,” heard below, is like a party in a box, already winter’s happiest track (January 28). And Jako Maron‘s Mahavélouz showcases maloya kabaré’s bowed bobye accompanied by percussion in a genre-defying feat, bending an acoustic tradition to the electronic form (February 7).
Hard beats, intricate textures and poetry intertwine on Noémi Büchi‘s Liquid Bones, which demonstrates a liquidity of genres as well. Hints of modern composition can be gleaned in this set, which at times suggests the orchestral (~OUS, February 14). Enxin/Onyx bring a level of abrasion to In Rupture, which teeters on the edge of darkness. The percussion is strong, of an industrial nature, while carefully-placed vocals enhance the mysterious energy (Other People, February 21). The DAIMON trio of Simon Balestrazzi, Paolo Monti and Nicola Quiriconi continues to experiment with texture while adding pulsations, which moves Ellipse from drone to electronic. Fear not, the music is still as crunchy as fans will expect (Dissipatio, January 16).
Robert Logan‘s Brutalist is the fifth album featured on our site in the last few months to reference the architectural movement, and another is below; perhaps its time has come around again. The tracks are harsh, aggressive and powerful, and there are a lot of them; Logan recorded these two dozen pieces over a span of thirteen years while dealing with a devastating form of tinnitus (Slowfoot, January 10). edna‘s sample-laden Portails recalls video games, performance art and club culture, all in a compact package. Claustinto appears on one track, while another is remixed by DJ WEED (January 17).
Bjarki‘s A Guide to Hellthier Lifestyle is unafraid to get weird, as indicated by its title. In the first single, “Real Insight,” the narrator seeks a place to get well, and suggests Iceland; another person responds, “No.” We disagree, because we love Iceland (which is where the artist lives), but we’re looking forward to hearing how strange this album can get (differance, February 7). Audio-visual duo AMIANGELIKA & 1000 may remind some of Ben Frost; their sound is gutsy and distorted, albeit alluring, with cinematic overtones. BLCK SUN is out this March, preceded by the single Redemption.
Endless Dive has an in-between sound that might be placed in electronic or post-rock; the blend is almost exactly even. Souvenances offers warm shoegaze guitars atop fresh, languid beats with a crossover appeal (Luik, February 28). Edging ever-so-slowly from the post-rock arena while retaining a vestigial limb, TUKAN offers Human Drift, an uplifting set that affirms faith in humanity while inviting people everywhere to the dance floor (January 24).
Dött ljus premieres Bottna with the impressionistic, watercolor video for Förr. Next week a remixed version will accompany the single, followed by the full album on February 5. There’s plenty more where this came from, as the Stockholm duo of Johan Kisro and Petter Lindhagen offers ambient currents, comforting grooves and an overall feeling of peace (Slowcraft). Everyday Nostalgics is similarly soothing by design, as Brooklyn-based Sandy offers an essential salve for modern listeners. The first single is FLS.001 (365). (January 17). Balearic tones surface on Voice Wave, a collection of island-ready works from Pacific Coliseum (Noire & Blanche, February 3).
As the title implies, Modular is packed with modular synth, but what may not be as apparent is the wealth of timbres, from ambient to breakbeat to trance. Simon Littauer recorded each track in one take, but it’s safe to say that a lot of preparation was involved (katharsis, January 10). Synthecist Astrobal references library music and pop on L’uomo e la natura, which also includes “wordless yet terminally catchy vocals,” which makes us hope the description is exaggerated. Then again, one track is named “Miami 2064,” and who knows how many of us will still be around by then? (Karaoke Kalk, February 7). Requiem for the Ontario Science Centre not only recalls a classic of Brutalist architecture, but the heyday of 80s synth. Tony Price‘s nostalgic album benefits from guest appearances by Colin Fisher on sax (Maximum Exposure Inc., January 24). Miki Yui channels the greats on As If, an oceanic suite of modular synth that mirrors her experiences in the rainforest (Hallow Ground, February 7).
Swing Low is one of the season’s outliers, a sparkling collaboration between Pierre Bastian and DJ LOW. Saxophone meets same, jazz improvisation with mechanical repetition, graced by trip-hop beats (Modern Obscure, February 15). General Magic returns after a long absence with the unpredictable Bosko, but then again, the duo once released an album of refrigerator noise. The new set delves into jazz, big beat and funk, all with a sense of humor that befits the Editions Memo veterans (January 31). Bass and beats populate Sectra‘s Through the Static, but there’s an additional bonus: an EP hidden in the static at the end of the CD. It’s a good reason to buy the physical edition, because who doesn’t love a mystery? (Tectonic, January 31).
Minimal techno inhabits the grooves of Repetitive Texture, mirroring the architecture of the cover. Encoder‘s album is good for those late hours on the dance floor, when the dancers have entered a group trance and are able to move fluidly (Subsist & Faith, February 15). The label is also preparing Greyn‘s Eastern Portraits, which retains the energy while being slightly more subdued (February 1). Continuing the theme, Architectural offers tongue-in-cheek techno on Good Night, Whatever That Is, which includes the great track title “Teenagers from Outer Space” (Turbo, January 31). Techno, breakbeat and trance all appear on Ecstatic Nostalgia, a supremely danceable EP from Piezo. As part of Dekmantel’s UFO series, the release honors a fan favorite stage from the label’s annual festival (January 24). Another entry in the series: Wata Igarashi‘s Kaleidoscopic, released on the same day, featuring the welcome return of the 303. Big Hands‘ Bacchanalia EP contains three bass-heavy movements and a remix, moody and deep, just like the season (Vargmal, January 24). Exactly how many aliases does Jeff Mills have? We may never know, but Millsart is one of them. The Star Child EP will be released on Axis January 31, sporting a variety of approaches to justify the multiple monikers.
Neon Remixed contains all manner of electronic genres as half a dozen artists offer new versions of the Ghostwoods album. The most energetic: an ambient/drum ‘n’ bass take on “Dreamless” from Shugorai (4000 Records, January 10). DOVS insists that Psychic Geometry is more ambient than acid, but there’s a lot of activity in these synth-led pieces, which avoid the extremes of agitation and calm (Balmat, January 17).
Richard Allen
Thu Jan 02 00:01:38 GMT 2025