April 23, 2017
New release from Kompakt. Gas has crafted an album of droning, mounting dread mixed with symphonic reveries that take the listener away to other worlds.
As an ambient album, it's okay but I found my attention wandering during the latter half with some pieces being too long and unmemorable.
It's available on Audio CD and vinyl but it's pricey, I think.
April 22, 2017
Kraftwerk release a new box set featuring all eight of their albums (again). This time, it's live 3-D multi-media performances from around the world. Available on May 27th.
Personally I do wish they would have spent the last ten years writing new material instead of endless re-issues. Honestly, is there any point to more of the same? Fans will likely disagree.
The new (old) albums are available in a variety of formats below.
April 22, 2017
April 18, 2017
A somewhat esoteric release from a rather obscure band/artist. The music is uneasy and haunting.
Boomkat:
Heavily engaged mission music from the mysterious sect of Niggas With Guitars, coming correct with a stunningly evocative debut vinyl for Digitalis. In the vein of Dylan Ettinger's 'New Age Outlaws' or Leyland Kirby's muddled memories, 'Ethnic Frenzy' is a vivid internal soundtrack for hypnagogic dreamers, warping the memes of Vangelis or Carpenter in much the same way Pat Maher's DJ YoYo Dieting did to DJ Screw or Indignant Senility to Wagner.
Cruising in to the A-side we're slowly immersed in smoked-out and sludgy choral drones punctuated with fractured gasps of drum machine reminding of the 1st Chasing Voices 12", before we reach the bottom and everything becomes blissed out and stargazing with a soulful slopped and screwed ending.
The second side is more unresolved, amping the drama with a weirdly affecting orchestral synth score before tipping over the edge into paranoid, muffled voices while clammy Italian horror hooks give a dank atmosphere and we're dumped from the boot to blunted back alley 808s. Check the samples for yourself, but we should stress that spending a bit of time with this record is a memorable experience.
April 13, 2017
This album was released almost a year ago but I've not written about it until now. Lone, otherwise known as Matt Cutler, a British electronic musician released five or six albums up until now but Levitate is without doubt, the best so far.
Following the blockbuster success of previous album Reality Testing (and it’s all conquering single Airglow Fires), Cutler was left at somewhat of a musical impasse – a six month dry period with no new inspiration that was showing no signs of abating.
The ‘epiphany’ moment came, during an enforced short break from touring in New York. Bed ridden and feverish for days Cutler started to hallucinate;
“It was pretty terrifying – I’d try to go to sleep and I’d be hearing these mad rave tunes form in my head. When i recovered i was left with all these ideas for fast, feverish tunes. Following that we went to LA and hung out with friends, driving round all day in the baking sun playing these jungle and hardcore edits – all the best bits from rare jungle tunes, spliced together…
There was something that really seemed to fit hearing these ridiculously energetic tracks whilst speeding around LA under perfect blue skies, that was amazingly similar to the music I’d been dreaming up whilst in New York. I couldn’t wait to get home and start putting this together – I had a new theme.”
Levitate is a short but very beautiful album, atmospheric and some way, quite haunting.