Happy or Sad? This is for you: ennio_neon – Sun Is Shining But I’m Moody #CHill #Downtempo

•August 5, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Sunshine on a rainy day. Clouds on a sunny day. It’s all yin and yang. Here’s ennio_neon with the soundtrack to that duality.

ennio_neon is Berlin-based and describes himself thus, “Electronic musician and composer. Queer. Likes science fiction books.” We need more love for science fiction. The Asimov revival starts here.

Meanwhile, the track opens with some strings that can’t quite work out of they’re epically euphoric or epically melancholic. The beats come and wallow in that same space. As ennio_neon says, “Sometimes you’re on the beach and you think that you have to be happy because the sun is shining, but you don’t.” But in the end the yearning can’t hold back the ecstasy forever. If the sun is shining it’s kinda hard to feel sad on beach for too long. Until the sand and the ants get in your sandwiches.

A clever synth track that encompasses all of human experience.

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A tune that runs in the field and flies in the sky: Oowets – New Animals #Chill #Downtempo

•August 4, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Here’s a song that, “imagines a new animal that travels in space by transforming into various shapes.” So says Japan’s Oowets of New Animals.

Of himself, Oowets says, “At a home studio by the sea in Kagawa Prefecture, we combine natural objects such as (wood, stone, water) with musical instruments (synths, pianos, guitars, samplers, cassette tapes) to create music that blends into our lives.”

New Animals is a downtempo track that takes its beats from organic House. But it also has a bit of that Sakamoto vibe. There’s something spacey and a touch melancholic about the almost classical feel of the track. A track on which to float away.

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Lo-Fi Oz chill with: Nollsy – Hot Leaf Juice #Chill #HipHop #LoFi @nollsy

•August 3, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Just the one chilled track today from Nollsy. It’s short at a touch over two minutes, so I’m going to keep this post short.

Nollsy is from Blue Mountains, Australia and the track is Hot Leaf Juice. It’s based on a Uncle Iroh quote. This meant nothing to me but the character is from the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. As for the title, it comes from:

Uncle Iroh: Euch! This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice! Prince Zuko: Uncle, that’s what ALL tea is. Uncle Iroh: How could a member of my own family say something so horrible!

The tune obviously has Uncle Iroh going on in the background. It’s a gentle lovely track with a deliciously chiming air. Everything is deceptively simple built around a slow chord progression. But soooo soothing. Perfect to accompany a cup of green tea.

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New release: Steve Cobby – Shanty Bivouac #Downtempo #Chill @sjcobby

•August 2, 2021 • Leave a Comment

It’s summer. The sun’s shining and Steve Cobby’s got a new album out. A good day.

The album is Shanty Bivouac. It’s been too long since I featured some Steve. The album has all the chill you want and more. Avaiilable on Bandcamp but also as a pledge campaign for vinyl.

Shanty Bivouac opens with Saddlebags, a mix of funky squelch bass, guitar and light summer chords. Ten Bob Lino follows with a taut string laden funk journey. More strings and even a bit of Casiotone (?) on the lightly experimental Whip And Tongue.

Everyone Is A Salesman is a cheery hello and a persuasive chilled patter. The Departure Lounge Awaits takes us back to the Samba-influenced days gone by. A little flute and nostalgic memories. Properly lovely. As is the delicate charm of Pick Flowers Brewmaster. These two provide the album’s centrepiece and highlights.

Album closers are 45ft Tide and Life And Consciousness And Mind And Memory And Thought And All Creation. The former is a guitar focused daydream. And the latter a piano solo drenched in reverb and wistfulness.

An album with more folk and string influences than previously but totally chiled. But in The Departure Lounge Awaits and Pick Flowers Brewmaster a couple of future classics.

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Ambient Sunday gets spaced with: Juan Maria Solare – Cimática (en recuerdo de Daniel Ferronato) #Drone #Ambient @DonSolare

•August 1, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Ambient Sunday goes beatless with the spaced meditation of Cimática (en recuerdo de Daniel Ferronato) from Juan Maria Solare.

JMS is a pianist and composer from Argentina, now based in Germany. He conducts the Orquesta No Típica , the tango music ensemble of the University of Bremen.

As for the title, cymatics is the discipline that studies how sound affects matter. JMS says, “Cymatics studies wave phenomena, especially sound, and their visual representations. Cymatics is visualizing sound.” I’d never heard of Daniel Ferronato but JMS explains that, “This piece is dedicated Daniel Ferronato in memoriam. He was an Argentine composer – Juan María started to know about his music and writings and noticed a huge affinity with Ferronato’s ideals – only to find that he had died just weeks before.”

Despite that rather classical and tango nuevo background Cimática (en recuerdo de Daniel Ferronato) is an electronic piece that manages to avoid simply replicating classical sounds on electronic instruments. It’s the last track from the album Evoking a Feeling of Contemplative Spaciousness. And it’s a weightless, spaced synth journey. Sounds ring out into deepest space.. Tones are held but in an ever shifting subtle pattern. It’s almost an evocation of the echoes of space and the sound of planets.

A tune that reverberates out there and it’s less that it ends and more that it’s no longer heard over the vastness of distance.

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Afro-Techno with: Sevenn – Kanima #House #Techno #AfroHouse

•July 31, 2021 • Leave a Comment

I’m not really one for Afro-House or for artists that are associated with the likes of Tiesto and David Guetta. But Sevenn breaks both of those with the storming Kanima track.

Sevenn is American artist/producer Kevin Brauer. After an Ibiza epiphany in 2017 he’s been producing big room tracks. His new Hybrid Techno EP is a bit different. It takes a range of Ibiza club styles and brings them together in a single release.

Kanima has a strong Afro-Techno or Afro-House vibe. The track title is either a Teen Wolf reference or a reference to a South American half-man half-animal mythology. Probably. The Afro vocal element gives the track an added twist. The beats are sinuous and a bit dark. That takes the pumping main room edge off the track. It’s also got a subtle but effective use of peaks and slower sections. The radio edit is a bit of a thrill ride that ends too early. Luckily there’s also an extended version. A track that’s all about the joy of dancing in dark clubs.

Big track should be big in the clubs.

There’s also an extended vesion

And the rest of the EP

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Berlin does Detroit PREMIERE: Chymera – Varial Crush #Techno

•July 30, 2021 • Leave a Comment

Let’s end the week with the premiere of a stonking techno track from Chymera.

Chymera is from Ireland and has been producing records since 2002, releasing internationally since 2006. And that pedigree and longevity shows in the quality of his work here.

The track is Varial Crush from a two track EP of the same name. It’s the best of Berlin Techno blended with the best of Detroit Techno and a bit of 90s sheen for good measure. Perhapps that’s the hybrid creature of the artist name. The tune is a delicious techno monster. Opening with a bassy kick drum and a hint of Acid Techno this takes its own sweet time to get going. It understands the impact of a good build.

There’s a clean sound here that reeks of Berlin alongside chords that have a bit of Dub Techno echoes but mostly the rest of the sound is a lovely clean Detroit Techno. Everything is sleek futuristic machine noise. Carl Craig would be proud to put his name to this track. The break comes around 3:00 but even then doesn’t go for a rush of fury and noise. It’s all quite controlled and precise. There’s downshift in sound by 5:00 that allows the synth chords a chance to shine and avoid being second stage to the beats. Ultimately though, this is a techno track so the beats return eventually to pummel their way to the end.

Techno that knows its power and, critically, how to use it.

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If you’ve had one of those days this is for you: Father Sheed – Amniotic #Chill #Downtempo #Bliss #HipHop

•July 29, 2021 • Leave a Comment

How’s your day been? If it’s been one of those days I have just the thing for you. A track by Father Sheed. It’s blissed out and laid back and it will comfort you.

Father Sheed is Nick Jamshidi from Austin, Texas. His debut EP is out today and is called Mild Bliss. It’s a generally laid back affair but Amniotic is the pick of the bunch.

Amniotic is named after the protective liquid contained by the amniotic sac of a gravid amniote. This fluid serves as a cushion for the growing foetus, but also serves to facilitate the exchange of nutrients, water, and biochemical products between mother and foetus. And the track does surround and nurture you.

It’s four minutes of bliss, opening with softly hushed keyboards and a wash of percussion. Keyboards float around in a light haze. A track in which to lose yourself. No hard edges or sharp corners. Everything is soft and cushioned. Bits of wandering almost 70s guitar, some oohs and a few aahs. Someone tries to say something in the background. But by then you’re so in the cocoon that who cares?

Less Mild Bliss than totally blissed out.

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Midweek downtempo with: Xin – The Grand Oasis #Chill #Downtempo #Electronic

•July 28, 2021 • Leave a Comment

A time to pause and chill with Xin.

Xin describes himself as a, “London based composer specializing in instrumental Film, TV, and Game Music.” Today’s track is The Grand Oasis and is indeed available for licensing. But for it to end up as background to an advert would be a shame as it’s a really lovely track in its own right.

It opens with bells tinkling lightly and some far off forest sound. Beats shuffle in and a bit of guitar strums into view. Everything is tropically languid. Tom toms give a lightness of touch and birdsong flows through the track. It’s all terribly gentle and yet intricate enough to never slip completely into the background. There are ripples of sound and chords that keep catching your attention.

Proper quality chill.

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303 frenzy with: Saekone – Feel It #Acid #Techno

•July 27, 2021 • Leave a Comment

No mucking about today. It’s all about the Techno. Acid Techno. Saekone gives you the acid beating you so richly deserve.

Saekone is from Washington DC, USA. He says he’s influenced by hip hop but there’s none of that obviously here, save for a bit of surliness. The track is Feel It. And as Saekone says, “if you like acid 303 synth lines, then this one is for you.”

Feel It doesn’t want to seduce you, it wants to overwhelm you. Starts off with dirty beats and crackles of electronics. Lots of kick drum to put you in your place. And then… then comes the 303s. And an acid squiggling splatter everywhere. But there’s nothing random about it. The construction and build of the track is purposeful. Purposefully bringing you to a climax before letting you down with an unceremonious bump. Six minutes of pummelling pain as pleasure. An acid feast for the ears.

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