Reviews: electronica

Drum and Bass music has had it?s best days. All the legendary tracks have been produced and every rhythm has been tried over and over again. Still dnb releases are being released, and once in a while there is actually a nice one in between them. This new CD by Kub is a very well produced example of the more synthetic drum ?n? bass…

This collaboration CD released by Bip-hop brings us the work by Douglas Benford (aka Si-cut.db) and Stephan Mathieu (aka Full Swing). Both artists have been releasing a multitude of works on various labels (12k, Background, Sprawl, Ritornell, etc.). Both artists also focus on making microtonal, highly microscopic technoid music…

The musicians of ex-industrial formation Nox seem to be very busy lately. Ex-Nox member ElectroniCat released various ep?s, and another member called G-nox just released a CD on M-tronic (see review elsewhere on this site). Now Laurent Perrier also releases a new album under the name of Zonk?t…

The title of this record says it all. Alien Folk Trash. That’s what this record is. It’s folk music, sure. The vocals seem to have folk influences. Alien? Yes, just listen to the detuned strange synth melodies. Trash? Absolutely, in every possible way this release is trash.

The first release on Funkwelten, the electronic sublabel of Black Rain. Also my first acquintance with Echorausch, though the tracks were recorded between 1997 and 2000. Most of them were already released in 2000 on Jetlag Records. There are some nice seaside photos on the digipack, I suspect from the pier of Bournemouth, which fit nicely with the ‘waves’ in the title…

Enfusion is a new act for me, but one of the bandmmebers, Torben SChmidt, isn’t. He is better known for the EBM band Lights of Euphoria. In this project he is assisted by Alfred Gregl, who also made music as Aqualite, of whom I remember the trancy hit ‘Wavemaker’…

The M-tronic label has released a lot of very interesting releases lately, the new Dither, the fourth Beefcake and the Chemical elements CD. M-tronic seems to have its roots in Industrial music, but most of its releases tend to be in a more idm-electronica vein. This new release by an artist called G-nox shows that the label also has a more industial side…

The second release on Funkwelten, a side-label of Black Rain which is dedicated to innovative electronic music. For a Space is a project of Sebastian Ullmann, who already created the 6 tracks on this album in 1998. Back then they only appeared as a limited cd-r. Two years later For a Space published its official debut “Welcome 4000” on Daniel Myers label Basic Unit…

The last few years there has been an extensive amount of releases in the field of clicks and cuts and dub-techno, so much in fact that the genres became a bit dull. It seemed like everyone who owned a computer made minimal techno all of a sudden. When I first heard this release, I thought it was rather dull, uninspiring and simplistic…

This CD-R by Tsukimono is the first release of a promising new label from the Netherlands, called ?Mechanizedmind?. ?Sketches 6-27? contains 5 long tracks. Most of the tracks appear to be made of manipulated piano and guitar sounds. These beautiful sounds are used to make subtle and beautiful compositions…

This is the debut cd of Kazumasa Hashimoto, a composer form Tokyo, Japan. Hashimoto has played piano on several cd’s, and has worked as a mastering engineer for several labels. Now the Japanese label Plop has released his debut cd, called “Yupi”…

Minamo are a Japanese quartet, combining many different sounds into their songs. This is their third release, a compilation of live recordings, though it feels more like a well put together studio album. Minamo uses a huge array of different sounds. Classic minimalism, psych folk, free improvisation, and many more, layered together…

Ghislain Poirier is a Montreal based sound and visual artist. He released his debut cd on 12k, called “Il n’y pas de sud”. Beside sound artist he is a visual artists who has had several exhibitions in montreal with his drwanings and paintings…

This is a compilation of tracks by artists that performed on the fourth issue of the ‘all tomorrows parties’ festival in the UK (4-6 April, 2003). The festival was curated by the legendary electronica pioneers Autechre…

The young French industrial label Parametric is not very modest. After releases by Mlada Fronta and Mimetic, both double albums with excellent design and packed with worthwhile music, now a 3cd compilation is their latest feit of arms. “QFG” comes in a luxurious fold-out digipack, which again looks absolutely stunning…

These days it seems to be a fashion to combine electronics with acoustical sounds. Normally the ideas are great, but too often the resulting product is disappointing. So now there is Davide Balula from France, a visual artist that has been experimenting with many forms of art, and now he is trying music…

The first vinyl release of Kratarknathrak, after numerous cdr’s. The man with the impossible name (short: Krat) and the countless musical projects, has created a nice looking record, with all kinds of machinery details on the cover…

Kpt.michi.gan is Micheal Beckett, member of the Schneider TM experience, Dr. Drek(noise) and the Beautiful new börn children(punk) Besides that he has played live with numerous bands. The record seems to be build on a few things. First there are the dub techno beat strcutures Beckett uses…

Kareem is perhaps better known for his involvement in Berlin?s Zhark label. This Zhark label has released a steady output of excellent dark and noisy industrial techno releases with a bit of an acidic flavour. About half of these releases have been by DJ Kareem. Some time ago, a sublabel of Zhark was created which is called Ramadan Records…

Wow, I have probably just discovered my favourite release of 2003. I will tell you about it right now? I have been following the releases of Berlin?s Shitkatapult label for some time now, and although I do not like every release, they have managed to impress me time and time again. Shitkatapult has released excellent 12?es and CD?s by acts like Apparat, T…