Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 8 Items

Hardly anything is known about the person behind the pseudonym Anom Vitruv. The artist who has previously released music on UK techno label Tabernacle Records and Los Angeles-based experimental powerhouse Total Stasis, among other outlets, chooses to remain anonymous and lets his music speak for itself. Over more than a decade, the Switzerland-based musician has carefully constructed a body of work that is closely interlinked with his public perception: Always vague, elusive, and thus open.

Anom Vitruv took his time with 6.4311—his first release in more than six years. The artist’s latest project is full of philosophical references around being, time, space, death, and the worthwhile life that not only are visible in the album title and through the artist’s use of samples but are directly manifested in the structure and atmosphere of the music itself. The album is deeply contemplative in its approach. The constant oscillation between the abstract and the concrete, the elaborate build-ups, the subtle emergence and disappearance of elements, and his careful take on layering sounds are all factors that make 6.4311 an engaging album from start to finish.

With his latest full length, the enigmatic artist sets an example on how to incorporate references and concepts into music—all without it being a shallow gesture.

180gr vinyl

Vion is the 29th full-length album to bear the name of Italian soundtrack composer, engineer, and producer Lorenzo Montanà. It is his first solo effort for Oakland-based emotive electronics outpost n5MD.

Vion began as a means for Montanà to experiment with jazz brush drum patterns. The album slowly took shape, and further experimentation gave way to stylistic shifts that, in turn, broadened the album's palette to include ought-era experimental electronica motifs and percolating ambiance. Motion is a constant with nearly all of Montanà's output; details are ever-evolving, rarely static. The brushed drums and leftfield production comple- ment each other and give Vion a sense of lightness juxtaposed with its somewhat melancholic tonality.

With Vion, Montanà has stretched beyond his recent more ambient offerings to include a cross-section of his electronic music output thus far.

We are delighted to welcome the incredible Masal to the Up In Her Room family! Masal is a collaboration between Al Johnson and Ozlem Simsek. Ozlem is a Turkish multi instrumentalist whose middle eastern background is entwined with her western studies in classical music. Al performs psychedelic electronic music as Alien.

As Masal they weave harp, Theremin and electronics into a beautiful aural journeys. Having worked with legends such as Andy Bell & Mark Gardener of Ride, and Sonic Cathedral, plus enjoyed radio play from the wonderful Simone Butler of Primal Scream on Soho Radio, and Mark Riley and Stuart Maconie on BBC 6 Music, we are very excited for you to see what the pair have been cooking up.

‘The Galloping Cat finds this unlikely pair of “neurodiverse nature lovers” collaborating on six meandering tracks of psychedelic grooves, electronic weirdness and motorik basslines mostly wordlessly exploring themes of self-discovery – and it’s stunning.

Slightly different label, track 7 is called Problems With The Sun.

Still in shrink but opened. Vinyl is close to NM.

‘Still’ is the new collaborative record by The Vernon Spring and Gwilym Gold. Borne of three and a half hours of collective piano improvisations in the aftermath of a bereavement, these meditative works are the result of friendship and generosity in a time of vulnerability. Performed using a prepared Upright Piano and Grand Piano installed with The Mechanical Resonator Piano (invented by Andrew McPherson) this project champions the beauty of both raw human interaction and modern technological instrumentation.

‘Still’ was originally recorded for Trestle Records, One Day Band 26. Trestle Records is a London based label dedicated to new instrumental music. Alongside a programme of new LP releases the label also hosts the One Day Band sessions. Musicians are invited to a fully engineered studio to make a record in a day. A multitude of artists have been invited to participate from a variety of backgrounds and genres of music.