Tyoma – Mirror (Life on Mars)

•March 4, 2016 • Leave a Comment

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Tyoma is Artem Karchenko from Russia and this is his new album. Only a preview so having to extrapolate from not very much.

There’s quite a combination of styles gathered here. Giorgio Moroder meets techno, ambient and film score for a coffee at the cosmic space cafe. So ‘Intro,’ ‘Unclose’ and ‘Cut’ channel their inner ’80’s synth pop outwards via mid-tempo beats and fat, shimmering synths along the lines of Kavinsky’s Nightcall, while ‘Desolation,’ and ‘Emblematic,’ despite the retention of the synth pop sound, possess a more modern feel as the techno seeps in. The intro to ‘Pause’ wouldn’t have sounded out of place as part of the Bladerunner soundtrack with its off-kilter synths but then peels off into something more contemporary as our music maker switches tone again and it all becomes a bit more Bourne Identity.

Ambient emerges in the lovely ‘Reflection,’ with its pulsating resonations akin to a ship in space and more gentle beats abound with the delicate ‘Dialogue,’ the twinkling keyboards sprinkled over a soft, dreamy rhythm. The same can be said of ‘Formation’ with its euphonious vibe of orchestral synth, tap-tap beat and sweet melody. To finish, ‘1st’ again blends genres with Zimmer style synths, a brisk beat and vocal snatches.

I very much look forward to hearing this in full.

Review by D

Here’s Unclose and Reflections

 

Techno from Monika Kruse

•March 3, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Kendo bow down

Monika Kruse @ Voodooamt is back with some remixes of a couple of tracks from the Passengers album as part of the 15 years of Terminal M celebrations. There’s a really great remix from Skober.

Let’s take the Skober mix first. It’s the stand out remix here. The track being remixed is Highway No. 4. This has a seemingly endless and aimless intro. But bear with it. After a minute or so some dark bass comes in, swiftly followed by some wordless but uplifting vocal. All of a sudden this has become a great piece of dark, twisted techno.

Albert Ruiz also takes on Highway No.4. He doesn’t waste any time getting into the track but the track doesn’t manage the same sense of development or emotional punch. That’s not to say that in a club it would be a bad track but in a cold kitchen it doesn’t warm.

Oliver Huntemann takes on Luvsucka and twists it into a tech house / techno cross of a somewhat minimal bassy style. This is followed by a remastered version of the original. The EP closes with a remastered version of Higway No.4, reminding us that the original track was no slouch in its own right.

Blurb: For the 15 years of Terminal M festivities it was a sure step to also get back into our catalogue and obviously listened to the older releases again. And it quickly came to our mind that Monika Kruse @ Voodooamt’s classic ‘Passengers’ album from 2003 still is a true gem. So we reworked and remastered the whole album and asked close friends to select a track they wanted to remix. Oliver Huntemann, Alberto Ruiz and Skober immediately agreed and surprised us with their great new interpretations.

Check:
www.facebook.com/TerminalMRecords
www.facebook.com/monikakruseofficial
www.facebook.com/patricklindsey
www.facebook.com/SkoberDj
www.facebook.com/Alberto-Ruiz-156857327783261
www.facebook.com/OliverHuntemannOFC

Konektiv – Synchronicity 365

•March 2, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Fortrex

Is it possible to escape your past? The title, Synchronicity 365, can’t help but remind me of The Police’s overweening, overbearing, overblown 1983 album Synchronicity. Which is rather unfair because this is a rather good electronic album from Mexico’s Konektiv.

Opener, Interlude to Nothingness offers a gentle electronic intro to the album. Echoes of Silence is not the chilled opus that the title implies. My son described it as music for zombie dancing. It’s the techno influence coming through. Destino Paralelo takes us on a synth diversion – pleasant but unexceptional.

Infinitum offers the first vocal sample and a soaring feel. Terribly cosmic. Autodromo has engine hum and a darker warp. Monza returns to the car references but in a delicately paced track not at all evocative of F1 – not a bad thing. And more car references arrive with Interlagos. Again, a gently euphoric track, resting on synths, rather than beats.

The album ends with Dreams. Those dreams are not at all wistful. They are positive visions of the future. And that’s very much the sense of this album. It could do with losing a couple of tracks but overall one to enjoy.

Released on February 29th via Molecule Recordings.

iTunes Preorder: bit.ly/synchronicity365_iTunes

Blurb: The somewhat mysterious and elusive Mexican underground artist Daniel Mahuad (aka Konektiv) lets his music do the talking for him. As an artist, he knows no boundaries and his debut album ‘Synchronicity 365’ is an adventurous opus that can be best described as sound experimentation through intricate soundscapes and impulsive, bold shifts through genres. It evolves from enthralling slo-mo electronica towards deeply melodic techno with many adventures in between. In other words, this debut album from Konektiv is supremely individualistic and should not be missed!

Blurb: B

On & Off and Ukkonen’s back again

•March 1, 2016 • Leave a Comment

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At last, here’s Ukkonen’s first release after more than a year away. We dealt with the whys and wherefores of his absence in the interview last month. He promised us long track, and this one keeps that promise, with nigh on 20 minutes of ambient techno.

On & Off A Nonagon takes up where his stuff was headed before the absence. This has moved some way from the glacial ambient techno of his early releases and is much more in the more organic sounding neo-classical vein of his latter stuff.

This is a single piece but comes in roughly three movements. The first movement has a rippling tone, with sounds somewhere between xylophone and kalimba. This eventually gives way to synth but never quite grips. The second movement is dominated by synths doing a heroic Kraftwerkian cosmic disco thing. The best section of the track. The third movement is more of a comedown. A retreat from the dancefloor into pastoral sounds, full of lush synths. The ending is quite exquisite with two minutes of pure comedown to a bit of piano to fade.

This is the first track funded via www.patreon.com/ukkonen

Patrons check yr emails as your downloads are waiting for you!

Huge thank you to everyone who is supporting me :)

24bit WAV and liner notes for those who have pledged – mp3 for those who have not!

Everyone’s a winner baby.

Life coach kitteh says go local

•February 29, 2016 • Leave a Comment

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Life coach kitteh says: “Help the planet by eating locally sourced ingredients. Always go to the KFC nearest to your house.”

Meanwhile, if you’re dreaming of sunshine but are faced with the chill north or east winds, here’s Koresma with Far Away Coast. This is a chilled track of guitar and soft electronic beats. This combination may have been done many times before, but done well, and here it’s done very well, it’s still a beautifully beguiling, enticing proposition. Free download.

Steve Cobby & Emma Fee – Captivated

•February 28, 2016 • Leave a Comment

Caravan of love

Captivated is the word. Steve Cobby does it again but this time in a collaboration with Emma Fee. It’s looking for a proper release, so this may not be up for long. It’s a beautiful track; acoustic guitar, washed out beats and a thrumming bassline all set far behind the pure vocal. Gorgeous.

Wind Horse Sampler 5 – Various Artists

•February 27, 2016 • Leave a Comment

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An album’s worth of tracks from artists under the umbrella of India’s Wind Horse Records.

Starting off with the upbeat, percussive, albeit gentle, house beats of Tatsama’s ‘Junebug,’ which bobs along pleasantly, the agreeable mood continues with Jay Pei’s contribution, ‘Michigan.’ Enjoyable but not about to blow your socks off. Glasgow’s JFunc has more of a tech-house feel, with some delightfully luxuriant expansive synths swirling throughout and a cheery, summers-on-its-way vibe. A change in ambience comes with Hamza’s ‘Indigo Activation.’ This is a more quirky affair, made up of a standard beat layered with vocal snatches and long, drawn out synth notes, the off-beat nature marked by a slightly edgier tone.

5volts maintain the more prominent techno element with ‘Cemani’ projecting an intense, driving experience through sweeping, expansive synths all laid over an hypnotic beat. Nice. A builder of a tune in the form of ‘Before The Storm,’ courtesy of Ejaz and Subandrio who provide a more conventional but still satisfying techno track that gradually engulfs you with its fat, buttery bass and atmospheric, menacing synths. Stylish and dark. More techno pleasures abound with the grinding, bass driven ‘Reform’, a real tub thumping, 3am-and-trashed-on-the-dancefloor joy, crisp, powerful and exhilarating. To end, a return to the off-kilter with Stalvart John’s ‘It’s Just A Matter Of Time.’ An oddly endearing tune beginning with an emphatic, funky rhythm of beats that supports a chorus of eccentric, idiosyncratic noises and instruments and has a lovely break midway to boot.

Review by D

The album’s out now and so here are a couple tracks.

JFunc – “Ek Sien n’ Ses”


5volts – “Cemani”

 
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