Review: Artificial Owl Recordings welcomes aboard New Yorkers Satoshi Tomiie and Naotake Gunji for the label's fifth release; a recording of their collaborative A_A project and live show, which first came to light at the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. A_A, an ongoing audio project, explores the visceral tension between floor-centric ambient electronica and improvised sound/audio performance. Here, found and object-activated sounds fire a collective dub trigger, producing a distinctly somatic regrounding across five original works.
Review: Starting life as a side-project of Cave psych-voyager Cooper Crain, Bitchin Bajas have quickly made their presence felt as experts in both inner and outer space-the drone-based and meditative strains of the three releases they've embarked on to date see them following in a lineage of electronic repetition that takes in such visionary figures as Terry Riley, Harmonia and Eno. The tracks on this fourth release function as a pathway to altered states, yet also work beautifully on an ambient level, connecting the dots between the now and the '70s, yet also the earth and the stars.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Trojan Horus (part 1) (5:03)
Trojan Horus (part 2) (2:30)
Lam Vril (4:27)
Truth Benders DIE (3:22)
Bolt 23 Blue Screen Ov Death (1:45)
Alt/Return/Dash/Kill (2:14)
Bolt 777 Ordinary Boy (4:04)
Drexian City RIDE (1:23)
Remote Viewing (feat Steven Severin) (3:12)
Gummi Void (2:31)
Machine Machina (2:15)
The Stele Of Revealing (1:27)
Songs For Other People (2:57)
Break Down On Lake Shore Drive (2:00)
Bolt 33 Glitch & Chin (2:20)
Sudden Intake (4:49)
4 3s 555 (part 1) (2:49)
4 3s 555 (part 2) (4:27)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Album number six from Sheffield's electronic heroes The Black Dog was closer to their debut, Bytes, than anything that came in between. "We never set out to make it like Bytes," group member Martin Dust has since explained. "My idea was to create something you could come home to after you'd just ben to a club or gig, that would start at the right pace and then just wind down into a great album and just chill out." Suffice to say, they achieved that and then some. Silenced is an example of downtempo that still feels like it has one foot in the rave, sounds informed by 4AM highs and 10AM quiet, here made precious through the use of blissful and complex tones that envelop and encase your mind. A record everyone should own.
Review: Former Pulled Apart By Horses guitarist James Adrian Brown has been crafting his new sound since early 2021 when he transitioned from fuzzed guitars to lush synthesisers. His debut EP, Terra Incognita, is a six-track electronic journey reflecting his mental health struggles and self-discovery. It was originally intended as an album and the EP evolved into a more focused project showcasing Brown's use of tape recording hardware, analogue synths, and unique instruments sourced from the Yorkshire Dales such as stone xylophones and homemade antennas. Terra Incognita explores themes of introspection and healing and captures the essence of Brown's immersive recording process.
Review: The wonderful Er + Er imprint has a knack for getting some of the biggest names in electronic music together and jamming the hell out! Some of the works by Ricardo Villalobos for the label have been simply sublime. This time, we got legend Carl Craig going head-to-head with the supremely talented Francesco Tristano in a sort of classical techno vibe. "Luder Pre" combines a mid-tempo percussive beat with some seriously twisted piano work, twisting and contorting into a right old spin. It's a one-sided gem, it's 300 copies limited, so you better get yourself one quick!
Review: Here's a genuine slice of history: a rare recording of a live jam from ambient techno explorers The Irresistible Force (AKA legendary chill-out room DJ and shiny space suit enthusiast Mixmaster Morris) and Ramjac Corporation (AKA Paul Chivers), which took place at gallery, shop and intimate acid house venue The Brain in Soho, way back in September 1990. It's a brilliant time capsule of a time when the template of ambient techno was yet to be fully fleshed out and sees the two performers take it in turns to combine immersive ambient synth sounds and hallucinatory electronics with oddball samples and, more significantly, basslines and drum machine rhythms inspired by the Chicago House and UK mutations of Detroit techno. An important and entertaining musical time capsule.
Review: Veteran Swiss born producer Kay Zee (Patrick Hollenstein) and the EP The Whole Shebang is released on Zurich based label Phantom Island. If you are looking for unique electronic music, then look no further than this little slice of wax that is limited to 20 copies. We really like the unique sound in 'Le Reve' with the experimental rhythm that combines dub and electro into a odd but slamming frenzy. Not to be outdone is the quirky electro of 'Strange Side Effects' or the catchy downtempo strangeness that is 'Inglisch'. 'Razor Sharp Boogie' covers the entire B-side with a cool, retro sounding jam. All and all, you have a very special 12" that sounds unlike anything out there. In this day in age, that is very special indeed.
Review: Mike Paradinas continues to be a prolific force in electronica after so many years helping push the scene forwards via Planet Mu. Magic Pony Ride is his first LP of new material on his own label since 2013, although Analogical Force did carry the excellent Scurlage LP last year while he's also been busy reviving the Tusken Raiders alias for more roughneck electro and jungle business. There's jungle to behold on this new record, too, but as with much of his u-Ziq work, Paradinas prefers a more melodious approach here. There's also a different element at play - dare we say a degree of maturity in the compositional aspect? Just check the haunting piano-led lilt of 'Goodbye' and you'll see what we mean.
Review: It has been 25 years since Bryn Jones left us for the great musical odyssey in the sky, and reissuing Lo Fi India Abuse is a fitting way to honour a true musical visionary who is pretty much impossible to pigeonhole or accurately describe. Nevertheless, this record, as with many of his near-countless others, offers a great insight into the breadth and bold sense of adventure running through his output.
As dense and complex as anything he gave fans and followers in his decade and a half of putting out sounds, this outing first landed the year after his death, and by that point a musical identity was more than fully formed. Highly percussive, littered with aural motifs from far away lands, filtered through noise and disruption, it's an exotic form of IDM, as compelling and immediate as beguiling and off-centre.
Mystum (The album I Would Have Released In An alternate Universe)
That Came From Nowhere
Fucking Siiiiick
Can’t Comprehend The Birds
Hyperborea
Chaos Institute
Maybe Logic
It Vanished Right In Front Of Your Eyes
Review: Launched back in 2022 by former Muzik and Electronic Sound staffer (not to mention occasional Juno Daily contributor) Neil Mason and the Castles In Space label, Moon Building Magazine has quickly carved out a niche as an essential read for those interested in the DIY end of the electronic music spectrum. Each issue is bundled with a CD and the one accompanying this issue (summer 2024) is a cracker - a new, previously unheard album from sometime Polytechnic Youth contributor Polypores (real name Stephen Buckley). Brilliantly titled The Album I Would Have Released In An Alternate Universe, the set sees Buckley flit through trippy, Radiophonic Workshop-inspired dreamscapes ('Mystum'), hybrid electronic/acoustic kosmiche epics ('That Came From Nowhere'), nods to the nostalgic analogue explorations of late 90s outfit Plone ('Fucking Siiiiiick'), immersive weird-outs ('Hyperborea'), experimental electronic jazz ('Chaos Institute') and much more besides.
Review: Gregory T.S. Walker's Minstrels & Minimoogs is a stunning reissue of a rare and groundbreaking 1988 album. Originally self-released as a micro-edition, this avant-garde masterpiece was crafted to accompany an immersive multimedia performance at the University of Colorado Boulder's Fiske Planetarium. Blending ancient Egyptian myths with futuristic soundscapes, Walker conjures a unique sonic universe where electronic drums, synth guitars, and the iconic Minimoog weave together in a dazzling display of three-dimensional sound. Born into a prestigious musical family, Walker was steeped in classical traditions yet driven by a rebellious spirit. His deep knowledge, combined with a passion for electronic music, led him to create this otherworldly album that defies easy categorization. Recorded in a DIY spirit with a group of eclectic musicians, Minstrels & Minimoogs is an inspired fusion of prog, pop, and baroque elements, drawing comparisons to the playful experimentation of Gregorio Paniagua. With its cosmic-futuristic vision and baroque subversion, this reissue from Freedom to Spend's uncommonA series breathes new life into an album that was nearly lost to time. Minstrels & Minimoogs is a triumphant reminder of Walker's boundary-pushing genius, an album that continues to inspire. An album that's simply begging to be discovered.
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