Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 302 Items

Legit chill slippers by the „ECM of chill wave“ by Growing Bin boss and record collector sommelier Basso. A world of merry music, precious little diamonds and impossible to find records. File under Balearic beats, smooth hardcore jazz, new age ambient or fake reggae.

“Trash Can Lamb” is a new solo album from Akron, OH-based multi instrumentalist Keith Freund. For the better part of twenty years, Freund has been producing intimate, shape-shifting music on his own and as part of collaborative projects such as Trouble Books, Lemon Quartet, and Aqueduct Ensemble. Here, he concocts a heady, homespun broth of analog synthesis, bit-reduced sampling, piano, standup bass, saxophone, and location recordings, arriving at a loose and evocative set of songs. Throughout the album, we hear 8-bit experimental delays mangling airy acoustic materials, denaturalizing them into primitive loop structures while retaining their golden-hued, melodic cores. The sputters, hisses, and croaks of handmade electronics nuzzle up to wistful piano and saxophone ruminations; the pure pandemonium of chaotic triangle wave patching and filtered noise settles into the serenity of a backyard dusk full of spring peepers (or maybe they’re crickets…). It’s in the space between the ragtag and rough-hewn and the romantic and yearning that Freund situates these compositions; it’s a peek inside a workshop that sits atop the trees, branches scraping on the windows, bluejays who just won’t knock it off, a table fan spinning slower and slower, its cheap blades covered in dust.

All music by Keith Freund, with contributions by Linda Lejsovka, G.S. Schray, Steve Clements, and Corey Farrow. Mastered by Kassian Troyer at D&M. Art/design by Alex McCullough and Felix Luke.

Bad Info is a new label set up primarily to reissue the music of Corker Conboy released first in the early 2000's mainly on London's Vertical Form which also released music by Pub and Pan American.

"Rich with cinematic overtones. 'Light...' carries echoes of tortoise, Ennio Morricone & Talk Talk, but its hardly just another remake, Slip into a world where the screen never goes dark"-XLR8R

"I discovered this album in 2007..The instruments felt small and delicate but collectively they elicited a heavy emotional response: a seductive moodiness, a soporific joy, soundtracking both post-party mornings and late night writing. it remains a record that still inspires me to this day." Adam janota Bjowski ( Composer- Black Mirror, Saint Maud, Femme, Out of Darkness)

Post-rock.electronic duo Corker Conboy aka Adrian Corker & Paul Conboy announce a newly remastered reissue of the project's debut album 'In Light Of That Learnt Later'.

Originally released in 2003, and available for the first time digitally, featuring new artwork by graphic designer Joe Gilmore. Alongside the reissue, Corker Conboy will release a limited edition 12" /digital single featuring a track from the album, backed with a new remix, sampling multiple tracks from the album, by acclaimed New York-based ambient dub trio Purelink (The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Pitchfork,'Ambient Dub that glows from within 'Philip Sherburne).

The album is remastered by Paul Conboy, with the remix single mastered/remastered by Stephan Mathieu.

Scottish experimental/electronic musician Drew McDowall's lifelong interestin an elegiac solo bagpipe style called pibroch (ceòl mòr in Gaelic) has beenan inspiration for much of his previous work (including Coil's legendary TimeMachines). This form, often traditionally used for laments and for tributes tothe dead, fuses modal drones with flickering dissonance and plaintive melodyevoking an ancient, solemn mood.His latest work, A Thread, Silvered and Trembling, both incorporates andtransforms these elements via exploratory electronic processing, weaving anelectro-acoustic tapestry of strings, shudders, voids, and voices, alternatelydisembodied and displaced. Co-produced with engineer Randall Dunn atCircular Ruin Studios in Brooklyn, the collection's four pieces captureMcDowall at his most elevated and elusive, in thrall to "the ineffable - thatwhich refuses to be spoken."McDowall's palette here is unusually eclectic, sourced from a dynamicorchestral ensemble arranged by Brent Arnold and comprised of cello, viola,violin, harp (Marilu Donovan of LEYA), and french horn. Ebbing betweenshrouded electronics and enigmatic, sometimes spectralist orchestration, thealbum moves with a seething, simmering energy, surging into elegant, uneasycrescendos. The first two pieces are inspired by a liberatory hijacking andinversion of a grim biblical story (and by a cryptic and strange UK simplesyrup branding). Opener "Out of Strength Comes Sweetness" shivers withshort echo and resonant pads, before shifting into the album's centerpiece:the 14-minute saga "And Lions Will Sing with Joy." A murmuring electricalstorm of keening strings and disorienting drones gradually grows darker anddenser, until suddenly there's a crack in the clouds, revealing mutated choralvoices and sparkling harp. McDowall describes the track as "an incantation tohelp usher in a break, and a new beginning."The record's latter half evokes a deep untamed animism shot through withspiraling radiance. "In Wou...

Scottish experimental/electronic musician Drew McDowall's lifelong interestin an elegiac solo bagpipe style called pibroch (ceòl mòr in Gaelic) has beenan inspiration for much of his previous work (including Coil's legendary TimeMachines). This form, often traditionally used for laments and for tributes tothe dead, fuses modal drones with flickering dissonance and plaintive melodyevoking an ancient, solemn mood.His latest work, A Thread, Silvered and Trembling, both incorporates andtransforms these elements via exploratory electronic processing, weaving anelectro-acoustic tapestry of strings, shudders, voids, and voices, alternatelydisembodied and displaced. Co-produced with engineer Randall Dunn atCircular Ruin Studios in Brooklyn, the collection's four pieces captureMcDowall at his most elevated and elusive, in thrall to "the ineffable - thatwhich refuses to be spoken."McDowall's palette here is unusually eclectic, sourced from a dynamicorchestral ensemble arranged by Brent Arnold and comprised of cello, viola,violin, harp (Marilu Donovan of LEYA), and french horn. Ebbing betweenshrouded electronics and enigmatic, sometimes spectralist orchestration, thealbum moves with a seething, simmering energy, surging into elegant, uneasycrescendos. The first two pieces are inspired by a liberatory hijacking andinversion of a grim biblical story (and by a cryptic and strange UK simplesyrup branding). Opener "Out of Strength Comes Sweetness" shivers withshort echo and resonant pads, before shifting into the album's centerpiece:the 14-minute saga "And Lions Will Sing with Joy." A murmuring electricalstorm of keening strings and disorienting drones gradually grows darker anddenser, until suddenly there's a crack in the clouds, revealing mutated choralvoices and sparkling harp. McDowall describes the track as "an incantation tohelp usher in a break, and a new beginning."The record's latter half evokes a deep untamed animism shot through withspiraling radiance. "In Wou...

Atmosphere and gravity lean into each other. They aresimultaneously expansive, and anchoring. They hold us, and lend asense of perspective. They provide a stability and a knowingnesswhich is essential in the absolute, and yet we can't help but findourselves gazing upward, outward and reaching towards that whichsits outside those things and ways we know.Selene is a record about that this lingering desire for that which sitsbeyond.It is work that seeks new perspectives snatched from familiarvistas, and it meditates on that sense of anchor and perspective.The work is also a speculative hymn to the visions of the celestialzones that spill ever outward. These visions, once merely what wecould perceive with the naked eye are now so much more. Ourminds eye is fed in equal parts by radio telecopy, filmic dreams andfiction renders of a place most of us will never know first-hand.This recording ties into a linage that reaches back, while stretchingforward. It is just one story of so many, told across places, acrosscultures, across generations. It sits in the in-between of before andafter, and in that moment invites us to situate ourselves and leaninto it.

Atmosphere and gravity lean into each other. They aresimultaneously expansive, and anchoring. They hold us, and lend asense of perspective. They provide a stability and a knowingnesswhich is essential in the absolute, and yet we can't help but findourselves gazing upward, outward and reaching towards that whichsits outside those things and ways we know.Selene is a record about that this lingering desire for that which sitsbeyond.It is work that seeks new perspectives snatched from familiarvistas, and it meditates on that sense of anchor and perspective.The work is also a speculative hymn to the visions of the celestialzones that spill ever outward. These visions, once merely what wecould perceive with the naked eye are now so much more. Ourminds eye is fed in equal parts by radio telecopy, filmic dreams andfiction renders of a place most of us will never know first-hand.This recording ties into a linage that reaches back, while stretchingforward. It is just one story of so many, told across places, acrosscultures, across generations. It sits in the in-between of before andafter, and in that moment invites us to situate ourselves and leaninto it.

WRWTFWW Records is flying high as it announces the reissue of the 1997 ambient masterpiece Quiet Logic by electronic music visionaries Mixmaster Morris (The Irresistible Force), Jonah Sharp (Spacetime Continuum), and Haruomi Hosono (Yellow Magic Orchestra). For the first time ever, this iconic album is available on vinyl as a double LP with a heavy 350gsm sleeve, as well as on digipack CD and digitally.
Quiet Logic invites listeners to embark on a captivating sonic odyssey, blending intricate rhythms and celestial environments that push the boundaries of electronic music. Co-crafted at Haruomi Hosono's Tokyo studio in 1997, this album represents a time of rapid transformation in the genre, with these three artists at the forefront of redefining soundscapes.
With its unique blend of influences from Hosono's immense contribution to electronic, pop, and experimental music to Morris' worldwide chill out DJ performances and Sharp's pioneering label, Reflective, Quiet Logic remains a timeless piece of ethereal electronica. It was originally only released in Japan in CD format on the Harry Hosono-curated Daisyworld Discs label.
Remastered for 2024, this reissue is a must-have for fans of Haruomi Hosono / YMO, The Irresistible Force, Spacetime Continuum, Dreamfish, Tetsu Inoue, FFWD, H.I.A., Fax +49-69/450464, and mind-expanding musics.
Immerse yourself now.

Pimao's debut album, 'Duangkamol,' is set to hit the shelves on March 22, 2024. The Berlin-based producer, DJ, and avid vinyl collector, Pimao skillfully weaves together samples from Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian rarities, framing them with a cinematic sound design. The title, 'Duangkamol,' means ‘straight from the heart' in Thai, reflecting the album's deeply personal essence. It embodies the culmination of Pimao's long musical journey and his deep thirst for exploring diverse sounds and cultures. From the striking melodies of Southeast Asia to the bass heavy undercurrents of Berlin, 'Duangkamol' encompasses a rich sonic tapestry. The music flows effortlessly, taking unexpected turns but always remaining tethered to a soulful core, as heard on the captivating single 'Suay Isan.' With a musical career spanning back to 2005, Pimao's sound is both forward-looking and nostalgic, evoking the depth of iconic releases from labels like Ninja Tune and Stones Throw Records. Scheduled for release on March 22, 2024, 'Duangkamol' was polished by Blanka at Kasablanka Mastering Studio in France. The album's artwork, crafted by Subwway, features the imposing figure of 'Yaksha,' a protector deity whose calling into ward off malevolent forces. Pimao's 'Duangkamol' is a captivating musical journey, blending traditional influences with contemporary innovation, delivered uncut straight from the heart.

Italian born, London-based soundsmith Andrea Ottomani dons his Big Hands moniker for an excursion in modern dub on the burgeoning Teeth label. Ottomani is the artist behind the label Baroque Sunburst, which he runs with Soreab, and he also forms half of jazz techno unit Ottomani Parker with Abraham Parker.

The Vulgarity Of Snow is Ottomani’s woozy, lilting soundwalk through techno, experimental electronics and scorched earth acid. The untitled tracks are less like distinct entities and give way to a larger, conjoined pair of triptychs spread out over two sides of wax. They feel like a paean to the format, which no doubt comes from Ottomani’s time spent working at one of London’s most revered record shops. As a longer, more probing piece, it’s anathema to talk about The Vulgarity Of Snow in terms of bpms and sub-genres, and arguably it owes as much to free jazz and psych-rock as it does to more leaden styles such as dub and roots. At times it pays tribute to the work of acts like Basic Channel and Random Trio, deploying dub electronics in novel ways, but it is also broader in its choice of sounds. On B2, for example, Mino Carbone, the artist’s uncle and an Italian anarchist from the same lineage as artists like Dario Fo, plays a song from that tradition. It’s not a chaotic piece, but it’s not heavily constrained.

Teeth is an ideal home for Ottomani’s freeform work, following contributions to Beat Machine, Blank Mind and Oscilla. The label is the brainchild of Jojo Mathiszig, who also runs Farringdon record shop and radio station Kindred. Slade graduate and Kindred co-founder, Scarlet Griffiths, supplies the artwork following on from her recent exhibition at Dinner Party Gallery.

RSE surprise album just in time before the migration to cooler waters.

Grown in the shade of the glacier. 'Killer Whale Atmospheres' is a future-memory affair of sub bass propulsive drones, rhythms, chords and dorsal scars building to a forbidding sense of cold echolocations yet to come through the violent procession of darkening rains.

Odd Nosdam really doesn’t need an introduction, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years then undoubtedly you’ll know what’s up, and what an absolute humbling pleasure it is to now introduce Nosdam to the Where To Now? catalogue with two new cuts that flow from ethereal, meditative contemplation through to downtown abstracted machine damage..

The record opens with ‘End is Important’, A looping, spiritual lament which forces observation, or resolution around the concept of ‘Endings.’ Passages from Tsunetomo Yamamoto’s ‘Hagakure’ seep in and out of the mix throughout, where spiraling and glistening arpeggios dance across a glorious choral mantra, intended to elevate minds towards some kind of plume of awakening. This is a heady and deep cut which finds Odd Nosdam in full introspection mode.

‘Here to Know’ recalls the work of Patrick Cowley in his best downtown ultra slow swinging funk suit, or the more obvious nods to John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 OST. However, this is far from a straight up ode to creeping machine funk - Nosdam’s injection of energetic, pulsing synth stabs move the piece into a more surreal territory, creating a masterful and experimental injection of life and colour into an otherwise smoked out landscape.

“Where I found myself when Where To Now? reached out - asking if I'd consider a vinyl release with the label - was over in Barcelona spending time with loved ones at my family's apartment in the district of Sant Gervasi.

After my initial contact with WTN?, I ventured north to Cadaqués to visit Salvador Dalí's house in Port Lligat, where Gala & Dalí spent some 50 summers. While inspired asf touring the glorious property, I captured recordings from a looping video screening in an open air theater. These recordings became the foundation of Here To Know.

Sometimes there’s a break in the road. End Is Important was realized after re-watching the Jim Jarmusch film, Ghost Dog. Stealthy and evanescent, a familiar voice carries this slow-diver with a message to the world warped cruiser in all of us.” - Odd Nosdam