Forces - Dandelion

IM097 - @forces-music - Inertia
Label: Infinite Machine
Release Date: July 1st, 2022
Format: Digital
Mastered by Fausto Mercier

Infinite Machine is happy to welcome interdisciplinary artist, Forces, to the IM family with the release of Inertia, Joonas Siren’s fifth album since he began putting out music in 2018. With previous cosigns from Aphex Twin, Zuli & Daniel Ruane, Forces is known for creating sharp digital textures and ever-surprising rhythmic structures using live coding software such as SuperCollider and TidalCycles. 

With a background in fine art, Forces is never one to shy away from conceptual thinking about his output and this album is no different. Engaging with the work of theorist Franco Berardi (particularly recent book ‘Futurability’), Inertia tries to soundtrack the political malaise of the last few decades and the growing sense of powerlessness and inability to avoid the many crises generated by the structures of capital. 

Forces opens up proceedings with ‘Algorithmic Governance’, where doom-laden bass drones pulse and groan over erratic drum hits which play in alien time signatures, outside of the realm of full, human comprehension. The algorithmic control of the track’s title could refer to Franco Berardi’s interest in social media, a force which simplifies and monetises social communication, or it could refer to his approach to co-creation with his software of choice. With many compositions, Forces sets up rules or parameters in his code but allows elements of randomisation and evolution, inviting SuperCollider’s algorithm to become a co-author alongside him.

‘Morphogenesis’ begins life as a straight-forward, hard techno composition but things are not as simple as they may first seem. Over its 5 minute duration, the stable 4/4 beat seems to collapse in on itself, potentially nodding to the mood of our current socio-economic moment. This is followed up by the formidable ‘Swarm’, a masterclass in algorythmic synthesis that’ll slice your brain in half on first listen. A stuttering of buzz saw-styled synth tones sweep, stretch and pitch bend themselves in ways that would be almost impossible to achieve within a classic DAW. 

Named after the Berardi book that inspired Forces, ‘Futurability’ takes things in a slightly softer direction. Reminiscent of early Tim Hecker releases (with an added cybernetic edge), ‘Futurability’ has a sedative yet uneasy tone to it, as if the song is reflecting the dual sense of concern that things should change in society but our helplessness to actually change them, especially in the ecological or economic arena.

A tale of two halves, ‘Soul at Work’ starts out as a blissfully serene piece of what you could describe as code-based shoegaze which is then chewed up and spat out by algorithmic distortion and disorientating glitches from the midway point onwards. 

Forces ends Inertia on a more hopeful note with the David Graeber-sampling ‘Horizon of Possibility’. Unlike ‘Soul at Work’, the lush drone work is left intact on this arrangement - maybe signaling the potential existence of different structures that are more positive and robust for all.

With Inertia, Forces pushes his singular musical style even further, to more hyperbolic and emotive heights. Embracing the eccentric randomness of the SuperCollider software and working in concepts from contemporary theorists, this album is a mediation on the current moment created alongside technology that also feels hyper-relevant to today.

Inertia

PRE-ORDER

Forces - Spiritual Automata (IM097)

upcoming ep pattern juggling

1. Calibrate
2. In order to dance
3. Anxiety (2184 reshape) 
4. Pattern funk
5. DDD
6. Weird flex
7. Pinninkatu 94
8. Iterate

patterns live

Sarah Nemtsov
NUN (2019) - excerpt 
for ensemble (ob, cl, sax, vl, vla, vlc, perc, pno, assistants) with electronics 
*
live recording of the premiere by ensemble mosaik with Enno Poppe (conductor)- May 22nd, 2019, Kesselhaus Kulturbrauerei Berlin
*
NUN was commissioned by and written for ensemble mosaik
- duration of the whole piece approx. 24 minutes

NUN (2019) - ensemble mosaik - excerpt

Calum Gunn has spent the past few years becoming a key figure in the European electronic avant-garde. As well as releasing his own music through labels like Entr’acte, FLUF and Tsuku Boshi, the Berlin-based Gunn also helms Conditional Records, one of the most forward-thinking computer-music imprints to emerge in recent times.

Gunn’s Addenda EP, his debut drop for Central Processing Unit, contains some of his most dynamic work to date. While his commitment to experimentalism remains, these four tracks represent a clear shift in focus for Gunn - namely that, for perhaps the first time in his career, he is making music that is club-friendly. A whole host of dancefloor innovators are recalled when listening to Addenda - particularly Autechre, Analord-era AFX and several of Mark Pritchard’s projects as well as Gunn’s contemporaries Rian Treanor and Renick Bell.

These tracks never sit still, their rhythms constantly evolving and turning themselves over. Addenda’s first two cuts use metronomic hi-hats to keep these ever-changing grooves in check. With its thwacking kicks and snares, opener ‘Esephony’ enters the fray with the heft of an early Wiley riddim. Atop these drums we find squeaky half-melodies interlocking and breaking apart, meaning that the overall effect is not dissimilar to the tweaking beats that Pritchard came up with as part of Africa Hitech. ‘Esephony’ is followed by ‘Moebu’, another track that harks to grime through its fluttering lead synth. The way that this single-note line snakes above a slow, steady drum pulse pitches ‘Moebu’ halfway between Last Japan and rRoxymore.

Gunn increases the tempo in Addenda’s second half. ‘Ternenmarz’ introduces itself with more blarts of bass, but whereas these were steady on ‘Esephony’ they now jump around unexpectedly. Gunn holds the erratic kicks in place with twittering hats and snares - indeed, when you factor in its gnarly synth lines, ‘Ternenmarz’ steers closer than any other cut here to the high-grade electro drops that CPU has made its name with. Closer ‘Pins’ supercharges the snap of ‘Esephony’ to 145 bpm before Gunn softens up the track with reverb-drenched synths that nod to the sombre post-grime of Mr. Mitch’s Gobstopper Records.

With the Addenda EP, Calum Gunn has achieved something that proves elusive to so many producers - making club tracks that are at once innovative and immediate, their experimental tendencies serving to elevate their dancefloor impact.

RIYL: Rian Treanor, Africa Hitech, Autechre, Renick Bell, Brainwaltzera

Addenda

Calum Gunn - Addenda

Yeah (That's What I'm Makin)

Pre-Order here and get an alternative version of the track "In Order To Dance" in gangsta mode  : https://concretecollage.bandcamp.com/album/dogmatic-pattern

Tampere / Detroit !

Concrete Collage is proud to present to you Toiminto, the man behind the exelent Swäg festival, in Tampere, Finland. I met him there where he was playing a very intricate liveset from mostly Elektron gear.

In between Detroit style Electro and Autechre-like abstract "IDM", Toiminto own style is still unique, very cold yet organic, where generative structures of the tracks seems to evolve constantly.

Nothing better than some words form the man himself to describe this release:
"After getting my hands on an elektron Monomachine early 2019, some switch kind of flipped in my head and instantly fell in love with the sounds it can produce. I proceeded to create a ton of patterns with a general idea of mutating repetition and interchangeable patterns between drums and melodies to acommodate interesting versioning for live sets. This resulted in Dogmatic Patterns EP, a cross breed of electro and IDM, geared to make you dance."

releases March 18, 2020

Music & Artwork by Toiminto
Mastering by Julien Guillot aka Stazma, at Electric Voyage Studio

Dogmatic Pattern

Pre-Order

CC016 - Toiminto - Dogmatic Patterns - Promomix

A DJ set performed @ Club Isolation, SWGBBO on 2020-05-16. Event produced and organized by SWÄG (http://swaeg.net).

01	Stanislav Tolkachev @stanislav-tolkachev - Be Careful And Nobody Dies
[ Semantica @semantica-records SEMANTICA112 ]

02	Fareed - Cryptic Eyesight
[ Maze @user-224931879 MAZE01 ]

03	Diabla Diezco @diabladiezco - Faust
[ MORD @bas-mooy MORD066 ]

04	Amotik - Teint
[ Amotik @amotikmusic AMTK009 ]

05	Endplate @endplatelab - Promotion
[ Warm Up WU60D ]

06	Olēka @olekamusik - Remiss
[ Sticky Ground @stickyground STG016 ]

07	A.Morgan @a_morgan - Delusions
[ Abyss @abyssrecordings ABY013 ]

08	Truncate @truncate - Initials
[ Blueprint @jamesruskin-blueprint BP055 ]

09	Mike Parker - Dragonesque
[ Geophone @geophone GPHBC06 ]

10	Specific Objects @specific-objects - Echo Lawrence
[ NORD LTD @shkedul NORDLTD004 ]

11	Kamikaze Space Programme @kamikaze-space-programme - High Rise
[ Mote-Evolver @mote-evolver MOTE045 ]

12	Temudo @temudo - Tough To Say
[ Soma @soma SOMA569D ]

13	Raär @11pmraar - Ghosts
[ Vaerel @vaerel-records VAEREL005 ]

14	Peder Mannerfelt @the-subliminal-kid - Summercase 2006
[ Voam @voamlabel VOAM003 ]

15	Pfirter @pfirtermusic - Faith Healer
[ Mindtrip @mindtriprec MT-25 ]

16	VSK @vsk_crs & Michal Jablonski - X&Y
[ VSK Series @vskseries VSKSERIES001 ]

17	Scalameriya @scalameriya - Red X
[ 47 @47x47 47024 ]

18	Flaminia @flaminia_elohk & End Train @thetrain - Soba
[ Metempsychosis @metempsychosis-records MPSYEP03 ]

19	Valentin Mase - Blood On Her Hands
[ Planet Rhythm @planetrhythmrec PRRUKD091 ]

20	Coefficient - Decaying Forms (part 2)
[ Ravage @ravageamsterdam RDS004 ]

21	VSK @vsk_crs - Sliding Curve
[ Metempsychosis @metempsychosis-records MPSYEP03 ]

22	End Train @thetrain - Onde
[ Ways To Die @ways-to-die-records WTDEP007 ]

23	Reeko @reeko - Screem ‘N’ Cry
[ Avian @avian-music AVN038 ]

24	Brumann & Finalversion3 @finalversion3 - Parallel Minds
[ Newrhythmic @newrhythmicrecords NRDR101 ]

25	BR1002 @br1002-music - Experience One
[ Overstep OVR002 ]

26	Temudo @temudo - Priority
[ Soma @soma SOMA561D ]

27	Olēka @olekamusik - Tain [Lag @lag Remix]
[ Green Fetish @greenfetishrecords GFRV005 ]

28	Krahm @krahmofficial - Level 004
[ Revolt @revoltrecordings RVLT1D ]

29	Figxxro @figxxro - Drill Sergeant
[ Coincidence @coincidencerecords COINCIDENCE112 ]

30	Militiā - Desire
[ Abyss @abyssrecordings ABY015 ]

31	Scalameriya @scalameriya - Neonorb
[ 47 @47x47 47026 ]

32	Lars Huismann @lars-huismann - Artificial Catalyst
[ Metaphor @meta4records META406 ]

33	BR1002 @br1002-music - Remember Your Limits
[ Overstep OVR001 ]

34	Figxxro @figxxro - Concrete Metal
[ Coincidence @coincidencerecords COINCIDENCE112 ]

35	James Bong @jamesbongofficial - Duffer
[ Mindtrip @mindtriprec MT-22 ]

36	VSK @vsk_crs - Grida e Caos
[ MORD @bas-mooy MORD063 ]

37	Scalameriya @scalameriya - Hyperdrift
[ THEM @themldn THEM013 ]

38	Ulu Zar - Backbone36
[ Several Minor Promises ]

Club Isolation

Club Isolation (techno, 2020)

Sensible4

A/V , dance music, AI music, scripted music, generative/procedural art, event organizing and stuff from Tampere, Finland. SWÄG collective 
contact toiminto@gmail