Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield Tape 416 Items

Esteemed ambient auteurs, zake and ossa's collaborative output continues to soothe and delight in equal measure. After Syntheticopia in August 2022 and the dark long-player 'A Pale Shelter' in 2021 between zake, ossa, and City of Dawn comes Module, a collaboration that includes seasoned electronic producer Ruben A. Tamayo, under the alias FAX. The power trio brings forth an eight-track excursion into heavy ambient atmospheres with moody soundscapes and a real weight of melancholy. As always, the textures are grainy and lo-fi, the drones long-held, and the chords which poke through the clouds, bring subtle rays of hope and optimism. It is the latest and maybe the greatest chapter in this ongoing story from zake and ossa with featured collaborators.

You can always rely on zake to serve up some of the most magnificent ambient of the moment. He does it at an almost unbelievably frequent rate, too. This latest project is a seance part of the Orchestral Tape Studies series he minted back in 2019 and finds him paying homage to minimalist symphonic composers and orchestras through a series of pieces that focus on tone and timbre, with subtly shifting layers of carefully manipulated sounds, absorbing drones, field recordings and fragmented orchestral loops. Soundscapes shift subtly and manipulate your emotions just as deftly. This is a limited cassette version with several different vinyl versions also available.

An Orchestral Suite For Tape' is a compilation specifically curated for playback on the noble cassette tape format, featuring orchestral arrangements by Texas-Indiana duo zake & City of Dawn. Including songs from four albums and one compilation, the first time these tracks have been available on tape, the mood is deep and meditative, the billowing clouds of synthesisers providing ample space for thought and relaxation alike.

This is the first album by Yo, an electronic musician who took over the name from the ink painting artist Sesshu Toyo. While carrying a hint of caricatured folk music in the style of the Geinoh Yamashirogumi, Yo seeks something more virtual and sympathizes with the tribal beats radicalized in the background music of video games such as "evergrace" and "garage". At the same time, he was heavily influenced by dub / bass artist such as Goth-trad, and even swallowed the "ska-core" aesthetic of 54-71.

The new release from Zouen Keikaku, an independent label that has released works by Ooyamada Daisanmyaku and Yaryu, among others, that made a splash at last year's RSD and Record Day Japan. This is the second collection by Tokyo electronic musician, Yo. The sharply polished post-industrial sound tangles the feet that line the dance floor and interrupts their dance steps. The dub-derived heavy bass swings aimlessly, crawling around like a snake with bizarre sound textures that cannot be enclosed in any musical genre. A DL code for "B," a special collection of remixed and unreleased sound sources, is included along with a mini booklet that resembles a sightseeing pamphlet.

4th-world fusion trio Yayoba triangulate warped constellations of electronics, woodwinds, hand percussion, and field recordings via their respective bases in Brighton (uk), Turku (fin), and Wiesbaden (de), coaxing a sound they describe as “like a beam of light passing through translucent glass walls in a labyrinth.” Comprised of legacy experimentalists Paul Wilson (F. Ampism), Jani Hirvonen (Uton), and Johannes Schebler (Baldruin) – the latter two of whom also moonlight in “crypto-botanical” electro-acoustic unit Grykë Pyje – the group operate spontaneously and post-geographically, file-sharing sketches, textures, and FX until an alien synergy takes hold.

A Maze Of Glass collects 16 of the project’s headiest and most hyper-sensory improvisations into a 47-minute microcosmic odyssey of fractal, radiophonic exotica. Circuit-bent devotionals dovetail into pixelated mists; diaphanous lifeforms lurch through psychoactive caverns; cybernetic miasmas dance and dissipate. It’s music both placeless and perplexing, undulating and uncanny, hieroglyphic transmissions echoing from the depths.

On their debut album International Waters [evar Records], French duo XL Order dive into an aquatic underworld of futuristic trance, brutal bass and tingling techno, exploring the paradoxes between dystopia and utopia. Feelings of melancholia and nostalgia ripple throughout, alongside dark and moody textures, reflecting their ability to conjure sinister soundscapes and hazy melodies.
Due to drop onNovember 10th, the album ebbs and flows between futuristic trance, brutal bass and tingling techno that pens a story of a new world, resulting in a paradox between dystopia and utopia. Feelings of melancholia and nostalgia ripple throughout the album alongside dark and moody textures, reflecting their ability to conjure sinister soundscapes in tandem with hazy melodies.
Drawing influence from the metaphysical painter Jean-Pierre Ugarte and the sci-fi film Blade Runner, as well as the aesthetic of Cyberpunk, XL Order produce sonic elements aligned with each multimedia source. Fusing themes of unity between the ecosystem and mankind, International Waters tells a tale of biodiversity and the perpetual renewal of nature, with or without humanity.
Chilling, cinematic and captivating, the album begins in a mirage of ambient tones, evolving into a trance and techno-flecked collection culminating in ten tracks. With a combination of chuggy rhythms, eerie sound FX and resounding kickdrums, an impression of a new world order gurgles beneath the surface while a shimmering utopia remains just beyond reach.
"Realm" opens the album on an angelic note with spine-tingling chords potent enough to make your eyes water before a flash of AI-like noise ends the track abruptly, catching us off guard. "Ode" follows suit with sombre pads and choppy breaks while a bewitching melody swirls in the atmosphere — a myriad of heart-melting frequencies.
On "Ava", XL Order collaborate with Paris-based vocalist Dovae, whose mechanized vocals simmer between rapid-fire hi-hats and breaksy-percussion. Layered between a succession of claps and alarm-like noise, Dovae's lyrics hypnotize and haunt."Hybride" is a storm of staccato synth notes and metallic percussion, working in symbiosis to create an enticing patchwork of grooves, pulling us towards cyberland. It's a contrast to "Cleanse," which is a thunking trip of cow-bell noises and a doom-inducing bassline, whipping up a frenzy that's apt for peak-time raving.
The hint is in the name on "Clubbing Planet." A robotic vocal echoes in the soundscape as a wonky bassline punctuates the mood. Deconstructed breakbeats add a foreboding feel, alluding to the presence of AI. "Industrial Dance" switches pace to a frantic level as mutant kickdrums pulverize the vibe alongside a corrosive melody. Not for the faint of heart.
"Reef Breaks" takes us underwater with a beautiful trance-flavoured melody, coming up for air with a succession of siren-like notes. Pure, unadulterated euphoria bubbles on "Seamulation," evoking pleasure-filled chaos. It's a contemporary tune down to the last beat, with a confetti-cannon synthline and Eurodance melody.
Closing out on the album with "Digillusion", XL Order focus on natural themes, including the sky, clouds and thunder. They run their own vocals through a vocoder, amplifying the hands-in-the-air vibe that dominates. The idea of the final track is to reflect three emotions that they feel resonate with the vision of XL Order: happiness, melancholy and renewal. It couldn't be more accurate.
XL Order display their idea of the future on International Waters — one that is equally intriguing and terrifying. Merging sci-fi-inspired breaks, AI-shaped techno and classic trance with a nu-skool twist, the pair know their sound and deliver it with panache.

LBD Sounds present the new album from World Wild Web. Based in Berlin, this one man band machine from France offers up a beautiful collection of balearic jams, soaked up with instrumental psychedelic keyboards, influenced by traditional music from all over the world. 10 organ-based tracks sound like a dreamy new age voyage from the 70s, yet this music is very here and now.

All the little live jams that this album comprises of have been tweaked and edited, some more and some less, but the feeling of raw improvised music has remained untouched. These don't mean to be no chart hits, actually quite the opposite. It may almost be called a set of B-sides and it would still carry this badge as proud as it gets. It's simple and complex at the same time, this collection has a potential to suck you in, take you for a ride through places unknown and spit you out at the other end.

Was that a dream?

The GTT series is a platform that hosts experimental projects & artists in sound art. It is dedicated to support sound as a genre of its own - beyond the boundaries of music theory and free of any expectation. Just art. Wolffriend is a collaboration project between Mischa Wolff (Von Abseits) and Daniel Harrison (Imaginary Friend). The two met each other in Berlin and discovered their mutual interest in beats, rap and sound art. When they moved in with each other last February they spent their first two weeks together in the studio. It resulted in an adventurous sound story called ‘Computers’ that brings listeners into a dimension of their own.

AmiciMiei is very proud to announce the release of 42'37'' composed by Wladimir Schall 42’37’’ is forty-two minutes and thirty-seven seconds long Track 7 is named Sept 42’37’’ is filled with sounds and silences Track 4 is named Quatre 42’37’’ is an imaginary musical seascape where time floats One can listen to 42’37’’ for 34’22’’ or any other length

Expansion pack of Wave Temples transmissions accompanying the Panama Shift vinyl suite. Its creator contextualizes Portals as the first volume in a tarot-style card game of the same name, to be used for divining prophetic strategies. Each of the 13 pieces here unfolds like a glimpse to an inner realm – or a past life. Hazed vignettes of primitivist anthropological fantasia, warbly and windswept, suffused with déjà vu. Insects and macaws sing from the periphery, while beach fires glow along an abandoned coast, the tide like a language lost in the tunnels of time.

War Scenes continues his techno, hardware odyssey, returning to Instruments Of Discipline with his third EP, ‘Induced Sleep’, featuring a crushing remix from Ayarcana. Induced Sleep is a concept EP, the soundtrack to a generation who have signed themselves into suspended animation to wait out the strife of their times.

This Cassette is limited to 100 copies. MPD is proud to release the set played by Voiron at the 2015 edition of Weather Festival in Paris. Connecting the dots between the approaches of artists such as Aphex Twin,Legowelt and Future Sound of London to name a few, Voiron's music has always been about blending influences from braindance, acid house and techno, proper electro, early rave, early hardcore and 90's dance music in his very own idiosyncratic style.

Ten new tracks from Chino, CA’s favorite son Vex Ruffin, only on cassette!

Ghent-based wanderer Benoit Monsieurs has been exploring the many routes paved by the primitive folk guitarists of legend and is now carving out his own path as Venediktos Tempelboom. These seven tracks straddle the Eastern and Western codes that so infused the hazy Americana pioneered by the John Faheys and the Robbie Bashos of this earth, with the always-haunting Flemish landscape unmistakably lining the contours.

Valentina Villarroel is a sound artist and phonographer who explores the intricate dynamics within various Southern ecosystems. Her work revolves around the profound potential of acoustic ecology, particularly in the face of encroaching real estate development on natural spaces. She also delves into the consequences of sound pollution on numerous species, contributing to their decline or disappearance. In recent years, her focus has extended to urban soundscapes and significant sonic events, such as the October 18th protest in Chile. With a solid background in bioacoustics applied to both human and animal well-being, Valentina assumes the role of co-director at AOIR Sound Laboratory. There, she spearheads an interdisciplinary initiative that centers sound as its core element. This includes the creation of the sonic cartography portal aoir.cl, as well as the development of handmade electronic devices like the Bowerbankii and the creation of various experimental microphones.

Cass (45) Ukrainian/Estonian archival label Shukai return with an unmissable second haul of Valentina Goncharova's un-real synthesis of 4th World, electro-acoustic, noise and new age tropes -highly recommended to disciples of Pauline Oliveros, Deathprod, Daphne Oram, Michael Ranta, Keiji Haino, CC Hennix.

Cass (90) Ukrainian/Estonian archival label Shukai extend unmissable introductions to Valentina Goncharova's incredibly free synthesis of electro-acoustic, noise and new age tropes in a frankly jaw-dropping first compendium of her work -highly recommended to disciples of Pauline Oliveros, Deathprod, Daphne Oram, Michael Ranta, Keiji Haino

Following on from the celebrated first instalment, the second part of The Male Body Will Be Next compiles an entourage of daring sonic experiments, composed in response to bell hooks’ landmark book The Will to Change. Prompting artists and musicians to envision cross-gender solidarity, Osàre! Editions founder Elena Colombi presents an enrapturing, narrative album, conceptualised around collective transformation.

Resonating with hooks’ challenge to men to reclaim the sensitivity that patriarchy denies them, the name of the record arises from a photograph by Peter de Potter and Rebecca Salvadori’s film of the same title. In these depictions, naked flesh is exposed, made vulnerable and trembles with emotion as the fragility of masculine bodies are examined through the queer and female oppositional gaze. Transforming this visual language into musical expression, The Male Body Will Be Next swirls with punk vitriol, electrified noise, acid, electro and free-wheeling encounters charged by love, lust and limerence.

Gently plunking chords signal Pose Diva’s reimagining of lover’s rock before Sissy Fuss smashes in with a heavy-weight instrumental version of their erotic anthem ‘No Restraint’. Made up of Turkish musician Etkin Çekin and Belarussian songstress Galina Ozeran, God is God delivers a gentle lullaby, while Low End Activist flirts with dark and brooding bass, shattering penetrating frequencies into luminous fragments. Riffing off the 2020 documentary about female early electronica pioneers, Loma Doom crafts a slowly oscillating drone zenith, the ultimate climax. In line with the conceptual underpinning, there are plenty of collaborations – Daytripper’s Riva and Sitar player Tommy Khosla, Lebanonese experimentalist N R and Swiss-French producer John Silvestre (aka Typhon), as well as Colombi herself and trans author/activist Juno Roche. Within these partnerships, new modalities come alive as mediums, practices and perspectives are ignited and pushed in otherworldly, metamorphic directions.

Disciple of the god Apollo, Terpsichore was the Muse of the dance, and it was known to be the most enigmatic of the nine Greek muses. She was the mother of the sirens, and she would lure sailors to shipwreck on their island with their music and hypnotic, beautiful singing. Terpsichore has been invoked as a metaphor for rhythm and ordered movement in the universe. The planets orbit the sun and the sun, with other stars, orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The planets go through the Milankovitch cycles in which their orbits around the sun adjust in very regular, periodic, or rhythmic, ways. Terpsichore’s influence goes beyond just the humane, as It can also be seen in the observable universe. She is now the Muse not just of human dance but also the cosmic dance in which the whole universe participates. Music by Anna VS June, Steve Pepe, Francesca Colombo, Bear Bones, Lay Low, Pannotia, Nixxon, Tassilo Vanhoefen, Yuto Takei, Amerza, Orestt, The Dude Of Stratosphear, Anatolian Weapons, Théo Muller, Konsistent, Vidock & Ghassen Chiba