Spectral Sound Electronic & Dance 11 Artikel

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For over five years, Canadian artist Patrick Holland has developed an inimitable perspective on melodic, freewheeling house music. And the myriad tracks he writes as Project Pablo have come to embody both the sensibilities of the producer and the environs of his Montreal home. Inside Unsolved, Project Pablo's dynamic four-tracker for Spectral, specifically looks to Holland's local clubs and Canada's dance music past for inspiration. The old records of labels such as Steel City and Map Music course through the lush synths of emotional roller "Pressure No Impact" and the light-footed swing of "Big Room Delusion." While standing on the dancefloor at MUTEK two years ago, Holland dreamt up "Pill" in all of its billowy, percussive charms. Lead track "The Solution" cooly and confidently kicks things off with the kinds of earworm synthlines, rich atmospheres, and effortless grooves now synonymous with Project Pablo. Inside Unsolved is yet another classy and classic record from an unstoppable force of quality dance music.

Brooklyn's Seer is the live electronics duo of Maroje T and M Parent, two budding artists who explore the outer edges of dance psychedelia. Their otherworldly electro is brought to life by conjuring the unknown in a live dancefloor setting and then further honing that magic in the studio. With No Resurrection, the duo presents its most fully realized expression of this process. Steely 808 drums cut through spacey pads and disembodied voices on the likes of "Electrolytic" and "Principle of Casualty"; the driving, squelchy basslines in "Polaronic" contrast the low-slung grooves of "No Resurrection" and "Surface Normal." Throughout SEER's 12-inch for Spectral, freeform sound experimentation meets gold-standard electro on the astral plane.

Under the alias Ciel, Xi'an-born/Toronto-based producer, pianist, DJ, and Discwoman affiliate Cindy Li embodies the social conscience of progressive electronic music. She is at once a local and global artist, having flourished at the fringe of cutting-edge club culture since 2015, firmly rooted in her adopted city while reaching increasingly outward, her sets echoing from Berlin’s Berghain to Chicago’s Smartbar to Lisbon’s Lux Fragil. Back in Toronto, she co-runs the label Parallel Minds and event initiative Work In Progress, an extension of her radio show in both name and M.O. to improve female representation in the scene. She’s helped write safe space policies, hosted DJ workshops, and applied activist pressure on promoters through varying methods with a single-minded resolve. Those efforts have evoked responses, which Li has spent time reckoning with over the past two years. Now, manifesting as a self-guided reaction to her experiences as an artist and activist is Ciel’s Spectral Sound debut, Why Me?, a deeply personal and physical work.

Russell E.L. Butler is a non-binary experimental artist and DJ based in Oakland, California. Originally from Bermuda, Russell has developed a process of improvisation that draws from a rich cultural history rooted in their island and the black, queer diaspora. Following releases on Left Hand Path, Jacktone Records, Black Opal, and CGI Records, Butler enters the Spectral Sound fold with Petty, a 4-track EP of pummeling machine techno.

Since completing his two-decade-long hip-hop trilogy as Dabrye in 2018, Ann Arbor-based artist and Bopside label head Tadd Mullinix has engaged his arsenal of aliases with renewed heat. First came the debut of X-Altera, a new project flexing a wildstyle hybrid of drum & bass and deep techno. Now, he returns to James T. Cotton, a moniker which dates back as far as Dabrye and helped define Spectral Sound, the dance imprint of Ghostly International. While historically tagged as Mullinix’s acid house alias, JTC has always expressed with a more pliable sense of genre, freely fusing an eclectic blend of classic electronic sounds; helpings of Chicago acid, Belgian New Beat, and the leftfield techno stylings popularized both in Berlin and Detroit. With Indigo, Flesh and Fire, Mullinix moves closer to the latter city, adopting a bright, optimistic tone informed by minimalism and futurism.

Since completing his two-decade-long hip-hop trilogy as Dabrye in 2018, Ann Arbor-based artist and Bopside label head Tadd Mullinix has engaged his arsenal of aliases with renewed heat. First came the debut of X-Altera, a new project flexing a wildstyle hybrid of drum & bass and deep techno. Now, he returns to James T. Cotton, a moniker which dates back as far as Dabrye and helped define Spectral Sound, the dance imprint of Ghostly International. While historically tagged as Mullinix’s acid house alias, JTC has always expressed with a more pliable sense of genre, freely fusing an eclectic blend of classic electronic sounds; helpings of Chicago acid, Belgian New Beat, and the leftfield techno stylings popularized both in Berlin and Detroit. With Indigo, Flesh and Fire, Mullinix moves closer to the latter city, adopting a bright, optimistic tone informed by minimalism and futurism.

This release is limited to 300 copies. Todd Osborn returns to Spectral Sound in his Osborne guise with his first release on on the label since 2013's Hold Up (feat. Joe Goddard). Fools finds Osborn in his best self, as a shapeshifter bringing together strands of various genres. The title track is a lesson in house reduction, while "Different" is a chunk of bassline-led techno. On the B-side, "Back Whenever" kicks off in proto-IDM electro form, all melody and light, and "Integrate" slows it down to a walking pace for a dash of synth funk.

Gunnar Haslam, Minimal Violence, Matrixxman & Riccardo Limiti, Russell E.L. Butler, D’Marc Cantu, Earth Trax x Newborn Jr., X-Altera, Nigel Caenaan. For over 18 years, Spectral Sound, the dance music imprint of Ghostly International, has thrived at the forefront of techno and house. It has been a source of support for numerous DJs and producers during that time, from Matthew Dear and Benoit & Sergio to Avalon Emerson and Hieroglyphic Being. Now, Spectral brings the past alongside the present with its latest release, a compilation that offers a vibrant cross-section of the current moment in underground dance music. Despite the wide-ranging selections on Spectral 139, a throughline of classic style and infectious energy emerges from the up-and-coming and established artists alike.

This grouping of audio recordings is for aural use only. Any emotional content perceived herein is borne of its listener, and is in no way intended by its author. Any sounds resembling speech are not intended to convey meaning. Several Shades Of The Same Color is Patricia's first album for Spectral Sound produced in conjunction with his own label Active Cultures. Tips for listeners: consider the moment in which you exist; pay attention to how these sounds evoke physiological (rather than cognitive) responses. Listeners may find themselves deriving immense physical pleasure from exposure to these sounds. Inability to achieve such pleasure is likely attributable to over-analysis of the aforementioned audio content or to improper amplification.

This grouping of audio recordings is for aural use only. Any emotional content perceived herein is borne of its listener, and is in no way intended by its author. Any sounds resembling speech are not intended to convey meaning. Several Shades Of The Same Color is Patricia's first album for Spectral Sound produced in conjunction with his own label Active Cultures. Tips for listeners: consider the moment in which you exist; pay attention to how these sounds evoke physiological (rather than cognitive) responses. Listeners may find themselves deriving immense physical pleasure from exposure to these sounds. Inability to achieve such pleasure is likely attributable to over-analysis of the aforementioned audio content or to improper amplification.