Maelstrom returns to Central Processing Unit for the fourth time, and it's the one born Joan-Mael Péneau's lengthiest drop on the Sheffield label yet. The French artist has been a mainstay in the European electro game since the 2000s, and Malestrom brings that experience to bear on new LP The FM Tapes. He goes about this album with the assurance of a seasoned pro, combining his mastery of electro production techniques with a trademark guile to craft an expertly-paced eleven-track affair.

The first section of The FM Tapes sets out the album's stall with style and aplomb - listeners are in store for a rich feast of off-kilter machine-funk which will feature no shortage of intriguing detours. On opener 'Ondes Courtes' the mix throbs with all manner of strange electronic gristle: a distorted bass hum rattles the monitors; wisps of distortion float across the mix; eerily pretty keys wax and wane before giving way to a radar pulse.

'Ondes Courtes' is an ominous slouch of a scene-setter, and it lines things up perfectly for following cut 'Alt50ser' to lock in. This track's churning, gurgling mid-tempo rattle brings to mind the wacky insistence of Modeselektor. Maelstrom repeats the slow-fast one-two again directly afterwards - 'La Vie Sociale Des', a strange nugget that sounds like an early Eski instrumental stripped for parts and blasted into the cosmos, is an ideal prelude to the twitchy space-funk of 'My Digitone'.

Maelstrom's staying power in the electro world comes, in no small part, from his ability to apply his delightfully idiosyncratic choices to some of the genre's staple production tropes. On The FM Tapes, he marks himself out once more as a pleasingly unorthodox talent by taking tracks in unexpected directions to produce surprising - and often rather moving - results.

There are multiple cuts here which channel the more cerebral end of Richard D. James' AFX/Analord output: 'My Digitone' may be a quicksilver techno-electro number, but there's still something cinematic about the synth treatment here which softens the edges; 'Suede's minor-key oscillations bring other CPU veterans like Cygnus and Bochum Welt into view; 'Res 06', one of two Fasme collaborations on the record, is full of pathos even as the beat programming bangs and whirrs throughout.

While there's a deep emotional undercurrent to The FM Tapes, though, Maelstrom's commitment to bringing the thrills surfaces time and again. If 'Res 06' had Maelstrom and Fasme getting wistful, the album's other Fasme link-up 'Trempo' is one of the hardest club joints here, a piece of old-school Detroit energy replete with some great cascading drum production. Indeed, 'Trempo' comes in the middle of a run towards the album's end where Maelstrom takes the handbrake off - there's a wild-eyed sense of fun to 'The Operator' and 'Upside Down DX7' which has one thinking of the zany cut-and-thrust of KiNK's best work.

Maelstrom's latest drop for Sheffield's Central Processing Unit label is an album of leftfield electro numbers that bring both pounding beats and poignant production.

RIYL: KiNK, Modeselektor, Cygnus, Bochum Welt, AFX

The FM Tapes

Maelstrom - The FM Tapes

Kalocain, also known as AJO and a member of the synthpop duo Recht auf Rausch, is releasing his highly anticipated “Big Fun EP” on Codek Records. The EP features several new tracks produced over the past year, showcasing Kalocain's distinctive sound.

https://soundcloud.com/kalocain
https://soundcloud.com/inflagranti

PREMIERE⚡️Kalocain - T9 Nights [Codek Records]

Hailing from Klaipėda, the hub of Lithuanian electronic music beginnings, Kaubrys is a Vilnius-based producer and co-host of the Dykuma radio show on Radio Vilnius.

Embracing a hands-on approach, Kaubrys experiments with hardware synths and samplers to create non-conformist sounds while staying grounded in solid rhythms. His compositions often focus on breakbeat, bass, and dark, aggressive sounds, yet venturing into dreamy and melancholic soundscapes when the mood strikes.

The mix for Electric Shapes encapsulates Kaubrys' dualistic approach. It's designed for both listening and ignition of movement, guiding the listener from subtle head nods to full-body groove. Tracks from Jan Loup to Neida take you on a one-hour journey through bass, breaks, and dubstep.

Follow artist - https://soundcloud.com/kaubrys
Follow Dykuma - https://soundcloud.com/dykumadykuma

303⚡️Kaubrys

The waves thrashed and crashed against the shore. The rocks black and barely noticeable against the darkness of the deep night sky. The noise was incredible – echoing and reverberating in the midst of the storm.

Rushing into water, the land was almost greeting the waves with a hug for that was all it could do.

Watching from a lighthouse perched atop the hill, he looked down at the raging chaos before him and danced in the rain which relentlessly fell from the skies above.

It was going to be a long night…

Iconic tracks by the one and only Tolouse Low Trax reimagined and reinterpreted on a new compilation. Featuring versions from Joakim, Ido Plumes,  Simo Cell and more.

Essential stuff.

PREMIERE: Tolouse Low Trax - Rushing Into Water (Joakim's Elemental Edit) [Bureau B]

The Other Side is another way of seeing things whilst looking at the world with the same eyes. On this journey your senses are confused, you start to hear what you are looking at: colors and forms become sounds. Trying to offer a transcendental experience every month since 2017, another year, a new beginning, welcome back to The Other Side. 

More info and tracklist here: lyl.live/episode/the-other-side-85

The Other Side 84, Lyl Radio 17/09/2024

Monochrome filter into your blessed ears. More curious dub here: https://plaquebristol.bandcamp.com/album/hlm38

HLM38 - Monochrome Western (A2)

BUY: https://craigieknowes.bandcamp.com/album/pentaquark-ep

Peer-reviewed electro theory by Obergman. Pentaquark is pure plug n’ play technology to bump in your UFO as you conquer the cosmos. Endless bouncing electro rhythms for those that want the power to control dancefloors. Feel the snap of those snares. Embrace the power of the atom! 
Releases October 14, 2024.

Written & produced by Obergman
Mastered by Marco @ Analogcut, Berlin
Distributed by One Eye Witness
Released by Craigie Knowes, Perth, Scotland
Design by Cutwerk

CKNOWEP63 | Obergman - Pentaquark EP

https://ransom-note-records.lnk.to/TheRootedSkyRemix

Following the success of Azu Tiwaline’s Subconscience remix, we welcome Davis Galvin, Flug 8 and Symmol to remix trance-inducing (The) Rooted Sky by Wave Arising.

Pittsburgh-based artist Davis Galvin takes on Electric Shrine. Already an ambient ensemble, Galvin takes us to a higher level of ambience - with a much slower, more meditative approach, the result being an 11-minute ruminative piece.

FOLLOW WAVE ARISING:
linkin.bio/wavearising/

FOLLOW DAVIS GALVIN:
www.instagram.com/davisgalvin/
davisgalvin.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/DavisGalvin
www.twitter.com/DavisGalvin

FOLLOW R$N:
facebook.com/theransomnote
facebook.com/ransomnoterecords
instagram.com/thisisransomnote
twitter.com/ransomnoted
soundcloud.com/the-ransom-note
soundcloud.com/ransom-note-records
www.youtube.com/c/RansomNote

(The) Rooted Sky Remix

Electric Shrine (Davis Galvin Remix)

Wave Arising - Electric Shrine (Davis Galvin Remix)

A dancing voyage from despair to hear, and back to the illusion of sanity & vanity - guided by a key figure behind Düsseldorf's Salon des Amateurs Tolouse Low Trax (@detlefnet) & firmly charged with percussive krautish madness, electric dub staccatos & industrial moans from another side - listen & melt your head for better days.

Stay tuned @ www.20ftradio.net

HANT

Tolouse Low Trax @ 20ft Radio - 04/10/2024

Quirky pop electronica from the 2019 album Elements, music of time and space.

Facebook - www.facebook.com/rabeanmusic
Instagram - www.instagram.com/rabeanmusic
Bandcamp - https://richardanthonybean.bandcamp.com 
YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/@richardanthonybean

Elements

Logical

"German producer Benedikt Frey likes to challenge both DJs and dancers by writhing unpredictable tracks, with the aim to push against the boundaries of functional and "safe" dance music. Although he had been producing for five years previously, his career upped a notch in 2015 upon releasing five separate records, among those Ghosts best demonstrates his penchant for shambling groove. From there, his productions went from strength to strength, culminating in a full-length album in 2018, Artificial, which abandoned club sensibility in favour of low-slung chugging rhythms. Frey's debut single, 2010's Escape/Indica, saw a low-key release on Aldebaran, causing him to step back for a couple of years to further his craft. Upon his return in 2012 Frey had amassed a wealth of material, which he spread across three labels: releasing Fairytale on Mule Electronics, Running in Circles on Live at Robert Johnson, and Delinquencies, the latter of which he released through his newly minted record label Love Pain Sunshine Rain (aka Lopasura). Frey once again stored most of his music for a further two years, springing back in 2015 with another barrage of records; amongst them were his breakthrough EP Ghosts on Crème Organization and a full-length album, 2015's Two Pole Resonance, recorded as @initinit in collaboration with @nadia-d-al and released via @hivern_disc . Frey released his debut EP for ESP Institute in 2016, titled The Lobbyist, before going on to release his debut solo album, 2017's Artificial, on the same label. He spent two years recording the album, deciding to veer away from a record full of high tempo tracks, instead delivering a broader take on his ramshackle productions, partly inspired by industrial music."


@freybenedikt
https://www.residentadvisor.net/dj/benediktfrey
https://www.discogs.com/artist/1886061-Benedikt-Frey
https://freybenedikt.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/freybenedikt

Phormix Podcast #182 Benedikt Frey

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.

PREMIERE: Tolouse Low Trax - Rushing Into Water (Joakim's Elemental Edit) [Bureau B]

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PREMIERE: Tolouse Low Trax - Rushing Into Water (Joakim's Elemental Edit) [Bureau B]

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