pasvake

Blender

Current Bias - Stimming

After a five-year hiatus, Isaka returns with ‘Elytra’, a work exploring the increasingly blurred lines between organic and artificial realities. In her self-defined 'hyperbass', 'Elytra' blends low-end grit with a melodic pop sheen, morphing erratic rhythms, intricate sound design and hyperpop vocals that balance formal sensibilities and visceral club energy. 
Isaka underwent the transformative experience of medical transition during her move to Berlin and this radical change emerges in the thematic exploration of Elytra. 
Isaka uses insect moulting as a metaphor for the cyclical, often traumatic process of metamorphosis and the EP’s exploration of adaptation and articulation where skin is not only a boundary of the self, but also the interface for our surroundings. 
Themes of evolving identity are woven not only into the music but also into the visual art, zine & custom website accompanying the release. A different character represents each of the tracks, brought to life through a deep iterative process involving collages, sketches, and an array of AI-assisted 3D imagery. Limited-edition electronic sculptures will also be produced for ‘Elytra’.

Tracks in focus

Bubbly textures and frenzied drum cuts move side-by-side with NPC inspired vocal chops in opening track Slang Overload. Made in collaboration with TRYCE over an intense three-day session in 2023, it’s a nod towards glitch-hop revival with elements of UK Bass, packed with meticulously sculpted and destroyed sounds.

In Circuit Shaker we enter metallic low-end stepper territory: celestial tripped-out highs and a driving low end. We are cohabiting with lesbian androids at a picnic. With its off-kilter grooves and tender strangeness, Circuit Shaker embodies the inherent weirdness of intimacy—the paradoxical freedom of losing yourself when the boundaries blur between who's wearing who. The track, which first began in 2018, is a footwork, house, and electro-inspired tune which transitions between two sections at 120 and 160 BPM through polyrhythmic syncopation.

Isaka and Enayet combine for the third track, NYC 2016, a wigged-out hard hitter where drums are the main character. NYC 2016 is the ultimate DJ tool—a sonic exoskeleton whose essence straddles alienation and empowerment. Forged through countless late-night sessions with Enayet between 2016 and 2017, this track embodies the raw energy of a city’s underground dance scene where jackhammer kicks and clattering snares assault the senses. 

7Qubit explores dehumanization through platform capitalism and is alive with bugs and the quirks of  the obsessive virtualisation of the self. Imagined through a 15/4 time signature grime beat and echoes of malfunctioning code, Isaka hints at our endangered humanity. Isaka’s vocals about missing her chatbot girlfriend are processed through AI models and auto-tune, blurring the line between the organic and the synthetic. 

The final track on ‘Elytra’ takes you to the edge where all the layers fall away and what remains is the raw and unadorned self. Glittering ethereal textures are underpinned by an engulfing bass section that reverberates against the edges of the song. With its poignant melodies and delicate yet impactful percussion, Precipice is a meditation on a moment of self-realization. The track builds towards an overwhelming wall of sound before dropping into a stark sample: “Being trans… is spiritual.” Featuring quotes from Hunter Schafer’s character Jules in Euphoria, processed through an AI model trained on Isaka’s voice, this track explores the complexities of identity and self-discovery.

NYC 2016

Following the release of the single 𝘔𝘢𝘲𝘭𝘢𝘣, the Marseille-based duo Caïn و Muchi presents their debut full-length album 𝘋𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘢. This takes listeners on a journey through a rich tapestry of industrial gloom woven of dubstep, grime, and contemporary hip-hop. In this album, these 'labels' matter as much as they don't, given the heavy mutations they undergo, in a That’s Hara Kiri fashion (RIP Sd Laika).

At the heart of this record lies a dense yet harmonious sound palette, featuring meticulous vocal processing of lead singer Vanda’s voice, which engages reflection on their shared and individual lives.

As the album progresses, the lyrics reveal layers of stress and trauma linked to colonial experience, intertwined with multiple references to North African ghost stories and legends. The result is a resonant experience, where the wraithlike and glacial instrumentals crafted by the duo encapsulates the introspective act of witnessing the turmoil of our current world.

Releases October 8, 2024

Written, Mixed & Composed - Caïn و Muchi
Sinclair Ringenbach & Vanda Forte
Mastering - Victor Malvoti
Artwork - Akakir Studio
Words - M. Fellah
Photo & Executive Production - Vincent Mare
©2024 Gros:Œuvre Records (GOE009)

GECKO REC (FT. ASSYOUTI)

Taken from SBKT067: 96 Back - tender, exit
Release date: 27th November 2024
Limited vinyl + digital

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For his sixth 96 Back LP, Evan Majumdar-Swift found himself writing “a long form eulogy” to his years living in Manchester while preparing for an imminent move to London. Initially intended as a series of technical exercises, which saw the artist radically stripping back his established production setup, over the last two years tender, exit gradually took on the form of an emotional landscape, mapped in transit between two cities. “The overarching concept of the record is cycles, recognising them, loving them, and tearing yourself away from them,” he says. Heard together, the project takes on the pace and cadence of a passionate conversation with a loved one.

Full press release - https://svbkvlt.bandcamp.com/album/tender-exit

tender, exit

96 Back -  DUI2

THANKS FOR JOINING US ON THIS EPISODE! shout out v!13 for the stems this shit is so fire 🔥 FREEEEE

V!13 - BLEED OUT (BEEJUICE VIP)

✦⋆.*𖥔 ᴄʀᴜᴅᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴍɪᴇʀᴇ 𖥔*⋆.✦

Artist: RXEX, Autogenesis
Track:  Leos Trip (Autogenesis Remix)
Label: Backpocket Slammers

>> https://backpocketslammers.bandcamp.com/album/floating-glowing

@backpocketslammers
@rxexx
@auto-genesis

CRUDE Premiere: RXEX - Leos Trip (Autogenesis Remix)

DeltaDub - 3PIECE (DirectDL)

After a year of relative silence with the exception of a self-released track in collaboration with DJ Heroin, the Madrid based producer Loyalty XIX is back with ‘Catrialis’, a 4 track EP where he gives a twist to the conceptual and aesthetic perspective that inspired previous works while maintaining a more sharp than ever praxis of the meticulous sound design and hypnotic drum patterns that define his work.

“Balancing in the axis between the artificially sleek and the organic (im)perfection, Catrialis finds Loyalty XIX on a personal hike to battle his own self. A first and last breath with an armour on.”

All tracks produced by Loyalty XIX
Mastered by @jesseosbornelanthier
Photography by Luis Rubiera

Loyalty XIX - Ternua

Bougainville

Bougainville - Green Mamba (BLADEBLANC Remix)

interdisciplinary conspiracy run by @zoemcpherson

https://s-f-x.space/

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