MagicWire

Carl Finlow keeps on keeping on. As the world changes around him, the veteran producer continues to do what he does best - craft top-quality electro tunes which invoke the sound’s Drexciyan heyday, yet carry themselves with an assurance that is all of Finlow’s own. 

Finlow remains a prolific producer more than a quarter of a century on from his emergence. Still averaging several records a year across a variety of aliases, recent times have seen Finlow forge particularly strong links with the Central Processing Unit label. Now, after a run of EPs for the Sheffield imprint which began with 2018’s ‘Projections’, Finlow’s Silicon Scally project offers up CPU’s first drop of 2022 in the form of the ‘Field Lines’ LP. 

Silicon Scally productions have long been marked out by how they combine piston-precise beat programming with more textured synth play. ‘Field Lines’ runs with this formula to deliver some of Finlow’s most atmospheric material to date. At once shadowy and expansive, listening to ‘Field Lines’ is the aural equivalent of taking a night-time drive around some futuristic metropolis. 

The beats cruise sleekly here. Many of these burbling machine-funk numbers hover at mid-tempo, the crisp clip of their drum programming given shape and depth by all sorts of percussive tones fizzing around at the fringes of the mix. Even when ‘Field Lines’ seems to set its sights on the club - the Bunker Records-aping ‘Amino’, for instance, or the dystopian whizz-bang of ‘Static Fire’ - the tracks here strut sturdily rather than giving in to full-on freakouts.

However, from this sturdy base, Finlow moves outwards. Working with tones which range from rapid-fire machine-gun bass to keening, dawn chorus keyboard pads, Finlow leads us through the futurescape with the expertise of a seasoned guide. Cuts like ‘Submerged’ and ‘Yield’ are brilliantly cinematic, blooming from those reliable drum pulses into miniature masterpieces of nocturnal electronics. Elsewhere on ‘Field Lines’ there is a mechanical majesty to ‘Inhibitor’ and ‘Altered Domain’ which invokes the brave new worlds that Kraftwerk repeatedly conjured in their heyday.

Central Processing Unit’s first release of 2022 is ‘Field Lines’, an LP of electro-funk explorations from Carl Finlow’s Silicon Scally project which will thrill regardless of whether it’s experienced through headphones or out on the dancefloor.

RIYL: Drexciya, Kraftwerk, Cygnus, Annie Hall

Field Lines

Silicon Scally - Field Lines

4kj5kkj5j5j

Hoverist:
@hoverist
https://www.instagram.com/hover.ist/?hl=en
Image Research Records;
@image-research
https://www.instagram.com/image.research.records
Bandcamp: https://hoverist.bandcamp.com/album/expansion-chamber
Release Date: March 1st, 2024
Info: Image Research is excited to present a new suite of songs from label stalwart, Hoverist. As one of IR’s founding releases in 2021, ‘Universal Veil’ set the tone with its timeless soundscapes and displaced electronics, embedded in a deep love and appreciation for 90’s IDM.

Flash forward to ‘Expansion Chamber’, the newest offering from the producer which dials in a more rhythmic approach to an already expansive and rich palette. Where ‘Universal Veil’ covers like a warm blanket, ‘Expansion Chamber’ cuts like a knife with a sheen of precision and attention to detail. Genre-bending with fluidity and poise to astonishing results.

There is an uplifting clarity to each of the 4 tracks, that unfold deeply and differently with each listen. Clockwork percussion, emotive synth-work, and an endless supply of chopped and refracted acid sequences combine to entrance and catapult physical movement.

Bandcamp

*PREMIERE* Hoverist - Coronal

Hoverist:
@hoverist
www.instagram.com/hover.ist/?hl=en
Image Research Records;
@image-research
www.instagram.com/image.research.records
Bandcamp: hoverist.bandcamp.com/album/expansion-chamber
Release Date: March 1st, 2024
Info: Image Research is excited to present a new suite of songs from label stalwart, Hoverist. As one of IR’s founding releases in 2021, ‘Universal Veil’ set the tone with its timeless soundscapes and displaced electronics, embedded in a deep love and appreciation for 90’s IDM.

Flash forward to ‘Expansion Chamber’, the newest offering from the producer which dials in a more rhythmic approach to an already expansive and rich palette. Where ‘Universal Veil’ covers like a warm blanket, ‘Expansion Chamber’ cuts like a knife with a sheen of precision and attention to detail. Genre-bending with fluidity and poise to astonishing results.

There is an uplifting clarity to each of the 4 tracks, that unfold deeply and differently with each listen. Clockwork percussion, emotive synth-work, and an endless supply of chopped and refracted acid sequences combine to entrance and catapult physical movement.

*PREMIERE* Hoverist - Torus

In the land of SPLOT, where the seekers do trot, Lived a low end activist, who gave it a shot. With a spoon for a hat, and a sock for a shoe, He danced in the moonlight, with a kangaroo too!

https://www.theransomnote.com/music/premieres/premiere-low-end-activist-seekers-splot/

@splot-wro @lowendactivist

PREMIERE: Low End Activist - Seekers [SPLOT]

EtherwerkZ is back with "Ascension Vol. 2", the leftfield-infused second volume of their VA series,once again serving up high vibrational frequencies to create that magic transcendental dance floor experience.

The compilation kicks off with a heavy, raw halftime/bass-hole riddim from Bristol Amity collective's unstoppable Soundboy Elpac, who has delivered nothing but fire output in 2024

Xen Chron returns to the label with his Xenology-influenced style, sounding something like a 2-stepish take on Autechre remixing a track by Stinson's legendary Transllusion project, perfectly exemplifying his USA - UK relation and connection.

UK bass first team player Product Toss keeping game deep and rolling, but a bit more percussive and bassy, preparing the road perfect for the late night driving in Kid Kun-s German whip with his sub-loaded darkside stepper.

Mexico City's exciting underground club scene don Octoptic delivers an idm-ish technoid breakbeat weapon, ideal for late-night club workoutz.

Tokyo's Albino Sound continues the frequency invasion via his experimental street-style psychedelic techno, of course with key elements from the UK bass sound and scene (the foundation of this subterranean compilation).

Then, label top boy Iggy presents his new project "EssΞncƎ". A 2-step, warp-drive bass-powered journey to outer space, somehow dark and ethereal at the same time with an ambient Lee Gamble-style outro as well as a powerful message via TikTok!

On closing duty, Hungarian sound artist Audio Compression provides ambient bliss therapy for listeners' minds, slowly sinking into ethereal depths, taking us to new levels of this magic ascension.

Massive shouts to all the soundboys and the rest of the fam for making all this happen. The truth is  out once again.

Mastered by www.instagram.com/weightausend/
Artwork by www.instagram.com/annexmarrie/

FREE PALESTINE SAVE TikTok!!!

https://etherwerkz.bandcamp.com/album/va-ascension-vol-2https://soundcloud.com/etherwerkz
https://www.instagram.com/etherwerkz/

https://soundcloud.com/octoptic
https://www.instagram.com/octoptic

PREMIERE: Octoptic - Hoku [EtherwerkZ]

Atom Heart

Matrix

Glasgow crew Erosion launch as a label with an EP from London based producer Slacker. Featuring four original compositions alongside a weighty remix from Brooklyn based Doctor Jeep, this transatlantic pairing unleash a torrent of dark, atmospheric soundscapes.

Drawing inspiration from the gritty sounds of Birmingham techno luminaries, Slacker embarks on a sonic journey that delves deep into the meditative realms of repetition and dark rhythmic environments. The result is a mesmeric fusion of sub-heavy bass, distorted textures, and haunting melodies that captivate the listener from start to finish.

Slacker traverses a spectrum of tempos, departing from the familiar territories of lighter, electro-focused compositions that characterized his earlier works. This departure stems from a profound desire to transcend boundaries and immerse himself in the evocative depths of dark, atmospheric soundscapes—an aspiration that found resonance with the thematic essence of his release on Soft Raw.

‘View from an Empty Lake’ navigates the depths of solitude, intricately threading together reflections and existential quests, drawing the listener into a fully immersive world. The spectrum of tracks resonate with the universal echoes of desolation, highlighting fleeting moments of euphoria, encapsulating the essence of memory and transience.


Slacker 
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sam-black747
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Slacker47/timeline/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slacker_is_a_legend/

Erosion
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/___erosion___/

View From An Empty Lake

PREMIERE: Slacker - Growing Cold (Erosion)

https://ovanodero.bandcamp.com/album/over-medium

https://soundcloud.com/ovan_odero
https://soundcloud.com/image-research

PREMIERE: ovan odero - Boiled [Image Research]

READ > inverted-audio.com/premiere-xavier-bonfill-2x2x2-bell-plate-version

Following up 'Selected Works of Anthony Braxton' EP from multi-instrumentalist sextet Ferry Good Company, Danish imprint Don't Look Back prepare to release '2x2x2' EP from Barcelona-born now Copenhagen-based composer Xavier Bonfill...Our pick is '2x2 (bell plate version)' thanks to its entrancing sound bath enclosed by mirroring steel sheets. As crystal quartz symphonies are broadcasted from underworld cave systems, Marta Soggetti and Lorenzo Colombo sculpt an ambient soundscape filled with FX-soaked bell plate polyphony culminating in a whirlwind of analogue noise spirals.

@dontlookbackrecords
@xavierbonfill

2x2x2

2x2x2 (bell plate version)

Xavier Bonfill - 2x2x2 (bell plate version) [Don't Look Back]

@ovan_odero
@image-research
Bandcamp: https://ovanodero.bandcamp.com/album/over-medium
Release Date:  May 31, 2024
Info: It’s been 2 years since we last peered into ovan odero’s sun-baked world of silk-spun melodies and clattering rhythms. Following the artist's signature laid-back approach in mind (and studio), ovan returns with a suite of 4 new songs that pick up right where he left off with his 2022 debut EP ‘Gold Foil’.

‘Over Medium’ is the aptly titled new EP from the Tampa producer, which lands perfectly in the climbing humidity of spring. Never dragging, never rushed, the tracks unfold solemnly and tactfully with shimmering results. Built with an emotional and playful complexity that only ovan could conjure. Youthful images and bittersweet reverie abound in 4 movements of untethered sound.

*PREMIERE* ovan odero - Simmis Rd.

imageresearchrecords.bandcamp.com/album/evolutions

As a label, the ethos of Image Research has consistently been to represent underground artists in an attempt to bring their sounds to a wider audience and help their artistic visions blossom to new heights.

Evolutions is a compilation that stays true to the sonic ground covered over the past 3 years, while also looking into the future with open eyes and ears.

18 artists coming forth with previously unheard and unreleased tracks. Techno, house, and ambient textures paint the compilation with a consistent tone and spirit while bending genres and constantly breaking conceptual barriers. A variety of moods and atmospheres flicker and fade, morphing into a continuous journey of mind and soul.

We proudly present Evolutions on Limited Edition Cassette and all streaming platforms. - HPT

Released April 7, 2023

All tracks written and recorded by their respective artists
Mastered by Hunter P. Thompson
Art and design by Justin Myers
Cassette design by Justin Myers and Hunter P. Thompson

Akasha System - Hunter P. Thompson
Alien House - Justin Myers / Anthony Tarallo
Cofaxx - Joey Magee
Corduroi - Cody J. Wilson
Datagram - Scott Olson
Foans - Andrew Dahabrah
Glo Phase - Joseph Rusnak
Grass Mirror - Kirk Johnson
Hoverist - Alston Palmer
Joe Gigs - Joe Gigs
juneunit - Junea Schultz
ovan odero - Evan Otero
Ozone - Derek McKeon
Pkacarl - Carl Stoodt
Robert Thompson - Robert Thompson
Silent Spirit - Jonas Quirin
Staghorns - Shlomi Zvi
Well Being - Dan Kirschner

IRVA002 - Evolutions - Grass Mirror - Kehena

DC Promo Tracks #1443: "Test Flight" by Justin Depth is part of the release "Wired" on Image Research @image-research  

Pre-Order Digital/Cassette: https://justindepth.bandcamp.com/album/wired
Releases September 6, 2024

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🎶 More Promo Tracks: https://www.dreamchimney.com/promo
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DC Promo Tracks: Justin Depth "Test Flight"

Deciduous

Swag

Endgame

Record label based out of the Pacific Northwest.
Premieres/Reposts/Demos: soundtransitions@gmail.com

PREMIERE ovan odero - Simmis Rd.

Sound Transitions

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