Friday Week 45 2020

Moxie (NTS Radio)

Send Me

Wake-Up (Loraine James Remix)

Josey In Space

Glitch Bitch

Whatever The Weather

17°C

Universo

Cruisin

Electronic Jugoton - Synthetic Music From Yugoslavia 1964-1989

Pocket

The dinner was a sophisticated affair, anybody who was anybody was in attendance. These soirees were an opportunity to gloat, to boast about their wealth and good fortune. Across the room people eyeballed one another, looking each other up and down as if to assess their right to be in there. Each and every person had waited all year for this event to do just that, to justify their position in society and shout about their various accolades. It had become their obsession, their sole purpose.

Optimo's next release comes from newcomer Frank Rodas, a London-based DJ and label owner of Out The Flat alongside Bogdan Dražić. His debut five tracker on the Glaswegian imprint blends a wealth of influences like early acid house, electro, italo disco and early industrial to lower bpm EBM & Hague style electro which shines on our pick, closing number Obsess.

PREMIERE: Frank Rodas - Obsess [Optimo]

Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds

Debold

Release date: 2020/11/06
Vinyl on Blackround Twelve: blackroundtwelve.de/release/back-then-ep/
Vinyl & Digital on Bandcamp: https://loser-records.bandcamp.com/album/back-then-ep

Surfing the tip of a wave crashing through techno, DJ Traytex is on a mission to bring together adventurous trance and breakbeat with ambient soundscapes and vocals in his sound. Cerebral and emotive as it is atmospheric and danceable, his music is just much for the person sitting on the train imagining themselves in the movie of their own lives as for the raver at 5am, dancing to the end of the world and back again (…and again, and again).				

His multi-faceted approach to style and genre shows in his output both as an artist and DJ, where his desire to unlock the expressive potential of breakbeat through the force of trance comes together with wanting to offer an audience space in their mind and soul. The result is a style that is dreamlike and cutting, fast but reflective – altogether, techno that can give the raver a 140BPM release, all while keeping a spacious atmosphere. As it is and kind-of always has been, combining influences from old, existing trends tends to open the door to something new.

His debut release with the Back Then EP on LOSER Records showcases his skill with ambient breaks, with light, glittering melodies that trip over deep basslines and punchy rhythms. Hazy moods combine with sharp precision in the bass and melody, hinting towards the techno emerging from Bavaria and Copenhagen and the faster pace of his remixes and sets as a DJ. Soft, meandering cadences and flowing landscapes combine with a thumping, sometimes brittle drive in the breaks, and it’s not hard to feel how Alessio has spent good time measuring how sound can be used to present the ever-shifting formula between human thought and emotion. Although the tone is sentimental, the perception is super-sharp.

While other kids played on PlayStation, Alessio was busy getting to grips with Ableton after his elder brother introduced him to it at the age of 12, at which point he was laying the groundwork with drums and different rhythms that would ultimately come to fuel his passion for breakbeat within techno. Since then, he’s journeyed from origins in southern Germany through experimental music production as duo Battery Flex with his best friend Leo to a move to Berlin and the city’s scene, all culminating in the creation of the DJ Traytex alias as a solo artist. A passion for hip-hop intermingles, reflecting in the broad atmospheres and soulful rhythms in his music.

Something fast and fun, and something for the pain that we feel; something of serendipity, and then something for all of the normal moments, sitting in-between. Another door in techno opens.

DJ Traytex - B2 INTO IT (Back Then EP)

Something new from myself and my bro @dub-beans

Big up and Respect @jkenzo each and every

Oddkut X Dub Beans - Oblivion (J:Kenzo - Artikal Music Show - Subtle - 09.07.2020)

Phase 4 / Witch Linen

Phase 4

Inner Activist

Electro Body Free

Out now on Crosstown Rebels: ffm.to/krustctr

On 6th November Bristolian master Krust presents 'The Edge Of Everything' – his first album in 14 years. The pre-eminent electronic icon – who continuously blew minds throughout the 90s and 00s – has returned from a 10 year hiatus rejuvenated and artistically freed.

He took time out to explore liberating new philosophical, mental and creative processes, then employed an approach he describes as “80% psychology and 20% mechanics”, to strive for something authentically unique and original. And the results really show; this is Krust as futurist revisionist, on his best ever form, making exhilarating standout music of depth and substance, which sounds unlike anything else.

Inspired by everything from Christopher Nolan to Hegel, Martin Scorsese to The Kabbalah, Krust is ready to shake things up with his wildly engrossing new sonics. On this multi-layered masterpiece parallel threads run simultaneously, operating as gripping fantasy tale, profound trip into Ego death and rebirth, deeply personal expression, and all-inclusive proposal for the improvement of creativity and global society.

‘The Edge Of Everything’ is as much a movie as it is an album, with a combination of adventure and brains that shares DNA with the metaphysical blockbuster ‘Inception.’ In turns psychological thriller, action romp and sci fi space opus, the album has a narrative arc which charts a physical, mental and spiritual journey to far beyond and back, full of detours and levels.

The record champions embracing the unknown and tackling the uncomfortably unfamiliar, with an unnamed protagonist at the precipice, with no choice but to take a leap of faith. Diving headfirst into the unexplored realms, a perilous quest of self-discovery is undertaken, before finally returning home, forever changed for the better. “This is something everyone is the world is faced with now; as we enter the abyss of unprecedented times, uncertainty and turmoil, we have to face the reality of our future and adapt”, comments Krust.

He adds, “even if we’re dragged kicking and screaming, we’re going into a new world, whether we like it or not. Some people don’t want change and are reluctant to do something different, but in myself and others I'm pushing forward to show our capabilities and say that we don’t need be afraid. We have to embrace change, come to terms with life in a different way, and find different approaches. We need to take risks.

It's the same with certain scenes and genres, which musicians shouldn’t feel handcuffed to. We shouldn’t try and maintain the status quo – it's gone now anyway! Do we want new and wonderful, or more of the same? We’re going into new world kicking and screaming, whether we like it or not. We're at a fork in the road and there’s no way back.”

Although a universal hero/heroine, it’s possible the protagonist is an avatar of Krust himself, who following a breakdown left his familiar world of music and entered uncharted territory. “I walked away, took a stap back to discover new things and re-think. I went on retreats and workshops, meditated, studied beliefs and neuro-linguistic programming, and thought a lot about creativity and consciousness. I had to really consider, ‘who is Kirk Thompson’?”

When making the album, Krust shattered his usual preconceptions, life patterns and working methods; he scattered them across the galaxy, explored the unknown, gathered the shards, and returned – reassembling them into brand new fantastical shapes.

Krust - Hegel Dialectic

From Meemo Comma - "Neon Genesis: Soul Into Matter²" out March 19th
https://meemocomma.bandcamp.com/album/neon-genesis-soul-into-matter

On "Neon Genesis: Soul Into Matter²" Meemo Comma (a.k.a. Lara Rix-Martin) takes Kabbalistic text and Jewish prayer and guides them through twinkling ambient synths, breakbeats and cranking industrial noise, full of strange wonder and drama. You can hear soft synths transmuted into choirs of seraphim and moments of occulted dancefloor rapture, from Aramaic chanting and ravey breakbeats to readings from the Zohar. It is quite beautiful at times.

Jewish mysticism is at the root of Western esoteric beliefs and therefore has formed the structure of many films and books that explore the question of humanity. Inspired by the visuals of Evangelion and nineties anime soundtracks such as Ghost In The Shell (and its later Stand Alone Complex series), the new Meemo Comma album is a soundtrack to an imaginary anime that, like its real counterparts (e.g. Full Metal Alchemist), takes the beautiful parts of Kabbalah and sets them to science fiction stories.

When asked about the themes that inform her new album, Lara Rix-Martin says "Judaism is filled with many tales and teachings that prevail in science fiction to this day - whether consciously or not. Sci-Fi is the genre best equipped to explore the immensity and challenges of human experience. Something that Judaism has also been attempting for over three thousand years."

"I watched Ghost in the Shell when I was 14 and it was so striking, visually and sonically.  The soundtrack has acted as a backdrop to explore my Jewish identity. I have been reading the Talmud since last year, discovering a deeper love for Jewish stories and teachings. There are some beautiful, hopeful ideas in Kabbalah too, which were a central inspiration to this album such as the idea that the first human was non-gendered and just this form made up from the qualities of HaShem (God) who performed 'Tzimtzum', contracted their form using their Ein Sof (eternal light) to create 'Adam Kadmon' whose form split into all human souls." 

Lara playfully subheads her album: “In the year 5781 humanity is ever closer to becoming a singular consciousness. A team of humans are forming an android, Adam Kadmon (CODENAME: UNIT KADMON). First, humans have to gain higher consciousness guided by the Sefirot.“ While you don't have to know about these influences to enjoy the music, it stands true that the intention is an irreverent love letter to the way grand myths are birthed into the future through new forms, retaining their beauty and elegance.

Neon Genesis: Soul Into Matter²

Meemo Comma - Neon Genesis: Title Sequence

soundcloud:tracks:960945673

Phase 4

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