DEEP DARK TECHNO

Editions Mego reissue the 2001 release Asuma by Finnish artist Ilpo Väisänen. Originally released on CD this is the first ever vinyl issue, remastered by Rashad Becker. 2001 is a landmark year for the artist following a wave of success from the notable outfit Väisänen formed alongside Mika Vanio, Pan Sonic (as they were now known then). Following a string of highly acclaimed and influential releases such as “Vakio”, “Kulma”, “A’ and “Aaltopiiri” Pan Sonic had toured the globe extensively leaving a trail of blown expectations and rumours of all manner of objects in venues cracking or falling apart due to the immense sound the duo concocted with their unique instruments.

Taking a break from the ecstatic cacophony of Pan Sonic, Väisänen retreated to work on a solo release which conjured the spirits of the former outfit whilst simultaneously carving out a more personal take on these new electronic forms.

Asuma is a precise study of drones, rhythms, clicks, ambience and gentle confusion. Whilst inhabiting a zone of abstraction the results also move in a natural field as Väisänen’s native Finland permeates these recordings as much as the idea of experimentation itself.

Autioitu 1 opens the album as delicate pinball rhythms bounce across the spectrum as a hairy drone hovers underneath. The mood is both intriguing and unsettling. Tukahduttaja is a delightfully disorientating sound sculpture that is hard to pinpoint what it actually is. Klikki is comparable to a microscopic version of Pink Floyd’s “Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict”. Asumaton is a foreboding miniature acting like a segway to Vallitseva which embraces the icy clicks that punctuates much of the Pan Sonic output. Arvioimaton Ongelma is an audio riddle whilst Jaettu jitters around a dancefloor crawl. Autioitu closes proceedings as a gentle ambient thumper. Asuma is awash with contradiction and mystery. This is time wrapped in twisted turns and rewards a neat payoff for those interested in the absolute fringes of electronic ‘dance’ music.

Ilpo Väisänen 'Autioitu 1 [2025 Remaster]' (EMEGO037)

A1. Phase Fatale - Kekkai

Full tracklist: https://bleep.com/bleep-mix-303-abul-mogard

With his latest solo album Quiet Pieces initiating his imprint Soft Echoes, Abul Mogard mixes composers and collaborators that have permeated his discography and inspirations. An impeccable sense of flow and continuity defines these selections, as Mogard says: "I imagined this mix as an atmosphere you could inhabit – a quiet weave of pieces I’m drawn to. It’s a sound collage of old and new music, where tracks meet and overlap gently, carrying you along in a flow while subtly shifting the scenery beneath your feet." From groaning ambience to trilling winds and warm washes of glitching noise comes a frisson of flutes on Stefano Pilia’s ‘CADUX / Plectere’ over an all consuming rumbling bass drone. Mogard highlights vocals in the midsection: the hissing of ‘Anticredos’, Meredith monk’s harmonic conterplay with arrays of pointillist vocal notes, Félicia Atkinson’s spoken word barely rising from its quietude, before brewing a dense buzzing electrical storm of swirling currents and gyres with the final few tracks, the rugged and visceral clockwork of Rafael Anton Irisarri mechanically crumbling as William Basinski’s piano notes eternally intone.

Bleep Mix #303 - Abul Mogard

This is the third track of 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐆𝐄 cycle

Abyss

Buy link: https://xxlabrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-skin-between-us-part-1-2

Release Name: Bone and Signal
Track Title: No More Shell
Artist: François X
Label: XXLAB
Catalog: XXL009
Release Date: 20/06/2025
Format: Digital
Artwork: XXLAB

François X
@francoisx
https://www.instagram.com/francois_x/

XXLAB
@xxlabrec
https://www.instagram.com/xxlab75/

________

RAW
Website: https://raw-people.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rawppl
Bandcamp: https://rawppl.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud: @rawppl
Facebook: https://facebook.com/rawppl
Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/RAWppl
Spotify: https://spotify.link/KdBmfeIJdDb
Beatport: www.beatport.com/label/raw/89186
Telegram: t.me/rawpplaA

Buy Link

Premiere: François X - No More Shell [XXL009]

Cryptoman (SHXCXCHCXSH Remix)

“Like a Bird”, recorded live at IKLECTIK × Waterloo Festival, St John’s Church, Waterloo, London — 12 July 2025.

The original album version appears on Quiet Pieces, released 30 May 2025 via Soft Echoes.

Photo by Colin Hickie.

BUY ALBUM

Like a Bird (Live at IKLECTIK × Waterloo Festival, St John’s Church, London, 12 July 2025)

In 1978, at the University of London, the Physicist David T. Kemp made an unusual discovery. Kemp noticed that faint sounds, known as Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), revealed the existence of the cochlear amplifier, a mechanism responsible for sound sensitivity and frequency resolution. This discovery proved that the ear is an active rather than passive organ. 

Following this discovery the experimental music world embraced these findings by incorporating them into sound works. Maryanne Amacher was a notable early pioneer of this technique resulting in large scale sound works, the likes of which audiences had never encountered prior. Since these early explorations the use of OAEs has spread more widely in the experimental music landscape, notably by Editions Mego artists Florian Hecker and Marcus Schmickler.

“I believe the kick of techno can be an agent to shapeshift sounds and infiltrate settings” - Jung An Tagen 

Stefan Juster aka Jung An Tagen is known for conceptual works and has a large back catalogue of intriguing ideas and sounds. Revenge of the Speaker People is another adventurous release, one which takes the Otoacoustic discoveries of David T. Kemp and applies them to a techno framework. OAEs are fragile and can collapse quickly when combined with other elements. Jung An Tagen’s success in combining OAEs with beats is therefore quite an achievement, without precedent. 

The first CD comprises the  results of Juster’s experiments, resulting in some of the strangest techno committed to digital since the initial burst of the Mego label. A series of head spinning, ear tickling extreme electronic miniatures bleed in a continuous form. This adventurous and playful music would likely have many a raver run to the bathroom. There is a tangible subversive delight in mixing in such sounds to what is ostensibly ‘club music’.

Because the record had this clear divide of beat + otoacoustics the idea came to see how the material would lend itself to a series of remixes. The second CD has remix contributions from a selection of artists from the Editions Mego stable alongside Juster’s own ETAT imprint along with DJ Nervoso from the Príncipe crew. The results are a headspinning variety of Otoacoustic mayhem as the likes of Evol, Thomas Brinkmann, Ellen Phan, Nik Colk Void and others fold these initial bizarre sounds into even more twisted shapes. Revenge of the Speaker People is a daring, playful and audacious release. One that will baffle your ears, neighbours and dancefloor clients.

Revenge of the Speaker People

Revenge of the Speaker People [Collage] (EMEGO321)

FJAAK - Rekorder

Cryptoman (Atom™ Remix)

The Lossless Self EP is a two- track pack heavily influenced by dark and tribal sonic aesthetics. The output is a result of resampling organic drums, layered low ends, washed out highs, and a focus on telling simple yet concise rhythmic stories. 

The goal was to create juxtapositional compositions where there is a clear contrast between gritty/distorted elements and softer elements such as the synthesized pads in Generative Chase.

Sebaas - Lossless Self

After decades of chasing, accumulating, and then sharing new music with you, I think I've hit some saturation point. I think I'm done spinning in the vortex of the "new", being pulled in all directions, catching up on all the "fresh" and "innovative" tracks. I'm not saying that I will stop covering new music. No. But I think I'll focus the virtual lens of my listening on a very narrow point, investing my time and attention over more extended periods. I think I will turn inwards... towards music and the artists that genuinely make me feel. This is the case with Rafael Anton Irisarri's A Fragile Geography, an album from 2015, which captured my attention then as it does now, triggering memories, triggering thoughts, and emotion. A decade ago, during a move between coasts, Rafael lost his possessions - stolen with the moving truck - along with all his audio archives, forcing him to rebuild his studio and sound from the ground up. The pain of this loss is reflected in almost every single track on the album. This music is slightly dark and melancholic. It's visceral, and it gets under your skin. And there it stays with you for ages. Becoming part of you, becoming part of your existence.

On September 19th, the album will be reissued, beautifully remastered by Stephan Mathieu at his Schwebung studio, along with a limited edition cassette of remixes by the most renowned artists, handpicked by Rafael. "This record has always been about letting go of one life and rebuilding another", says Irisarri, "It feels fitting to return to it now - ten years later, in a different country, a different world." These reworks are worthy of your precious awareness as well. I know that there are more than a few in the pipeline (at least six), which will be revealed one at a time. As of this writing, there is already a gorgeous rework by the one and only William Basinski, with his version of "Secretly Wishing For Rain" with Gary Thomas Wright, which incorporates field recordings of Reseda rain and birds captured by Basinski himself. You can check out a digital stream of that track here. *BUT!* Today, I am premiering for you a second rework by Abul Mogard! This piece bears not only the original elements of "Persistence" but, of course, Guido's extremely personal touch that breathes new life into this sound.

Head over to headphonecommute.com to read more about this release, including a quote from Abul Mogard on the rework.

TRACK PREMIERE : Rafael Anton Irisarri - Persistence (Abul Mogard rework)

Cryptoman (Carl Stone Remix)

Widely regarded as one of the most uncompromising works in experimental noise, Kevin Drumm’s Sheer Hellish Miasma is once again available on vinyl. First released on CD in 2002 on the original Mego label, the album remains a landmark in extreme electronic sound and is an essential and ferocious document of Drumm at his most inventive.

The history of Drumm’s Sheer Hellish Miasma is one of resilience to the twists of underground trends that have come and gone since its initial release. Using guitar, tape manipulation, microphones, pedals, analog synthesizers, and subtle computer processing, Sheer Hellish Miasma is an overwhelming experience: a sonic onslaught of storming feedback, fractured textures and  an unrelenting energy. At once brutal and meticulously composed, the album offers a singular vision at the outermost edges of sound art.

For seasoned noise veterans, Sheer Hellish Miasma offers a bracing soundscape filled with exquisitely abrasive textures and more than enough hidden detail to warrant repeated listening – a distinct voice in the increasingly same-sounding world of abstract electronic noise. For everyone else, Drumm’s journey through the noisy underworld is likely to inspire fear or, in an optimistic case, fearful admiration. 

Drumm’s Sheer Hellish Miasma is an abstract noise classic with this 2LP reissue being an artefact of eternal power.

Sheer Hellish Miasma

Cloudy

Kevin Drumm 'Cloudy' (EMEGO053)

Conceived in studios of Los Angeles and Paris, WILL LAUT is a duo led by Frankie Gothard, aka COH, known for his role in the computer avant-garde scene of the late 90s. The project draws on COH's earlier collaborations with vocal performers like John Balance of Coil, Cosey Fanni Tutti of Throbbing Gristle, and fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester. The duo's singer and frontman William Laut, once a Eurovision contender, has a diverse musical background, ranging from working with children's choirs to composing rock anthems, and organizing Asian music showcase festivals.

WILL LAUT's music is a blend of ambient pop, noir minimalism, and synthesizer tango, featuring atmospheric textures, minimalist rhythms, and haunting crooner-style lyrics.

Cryptoman (Atom™ Remix)

WILL LAUT

Related tracks