Posts
FebruaryFeb 10 Sunday 08
VA - Ranking Records Exclusive Studio Mix (Electronic Explorations)
This was a double surprise! Not only did I find a great podcast, Electronic Explorations, [nah, let's call it for what it is - a radio show broadcasted on the intarwebs], but also an amazing record label, Ranking Records. Rob Booth is behind his weekly 90-minute show …
Tom Burbank - Famous First Words (Planet Mu)
It's about time I got my hands on this instant keeper from one of my favorite labels, Planet Mu. Part glitchy IDM, part instrumental trip hoppy beats, part experimental jazzy downtempo, Burbank's got my head bopping with every track, reminiscent of productions by
Here's a two for one, fellas - an EP from 2004, Periphery, and a mini-album from 2007, Automatic Writing, both released on the same label, Zabel Muziek, by Sennen, a four-piece instrumental post-rock band from The Netherlands. I'm going to start off with the most recent …Sennen - Periphery // Automatic Writing (Zabel Muziek)
Grails - Burning Off Impurities (Temporary Residence Ltd)
This must be one of the most interesting compositions that I've heard in a long time. Perhaps my surprise may be attributed to my lack of familiarity with instrumental psychedelic rock. Regardless of the circumstances, I find the album refreshing, intelligent, …
The Ansion - That Is The Way Of Things (Skean Dhu)
When Jon Innes is not playing live, he can be found in his Ayrshire (Scotland) studio layering guitar shoegaze with laptop electronica. Innes' composition is undoubtedly fueled by heartbreak with open ended track titles like Her Resistance To The Mind Probe Is …
Kiln - Dusker (Ghostly International)
Kiln returns to Ghostly with yet another album (I lost the actual count of their total releases). A trio out of Michigan (Clark Rehberg III, Kevin Hayes, and Kirk Marrison), pleasantly satisfy my headphone cravings with hypnotic electronic music that bounces, swirls, …
Wisp - Honor Beats (Sublight)
Out of Niagara Falls, NY, Reid W. Dunn pushes the beats further to where Squarepusher's work would be today. I know that this may be a repeating and unfair analogy - each artist should be seen in an original light - but this comparison should be considered a very highly …
Harmonic 313 - EP 1 (Warp)
Mark Pritchard returns to Warp, this time with another solo project, throwing a "1" between the double integers of his more known collaboration with Dave Brinkworth, Harmonic 33. Pritchard's Harmonic 313 sound is not a far departure from the previous sci-fi space-hop …
Mono & World's End Girlfriend - Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain (Temporary Residence Ltd)
This album is probably the saddest thing I have EVER heard. By the time I get to the sequentially titled Trailer 3 (of a five part album), I'm almost shaking with grief, unable to comprehend how mere music can possess so much power of movement. I challenge anyone to sit …
Deaf Center - Pale Ravine (Type)
Norwegian based, Erik Skodvin and Otto Totland produce a cinematic album as inspired by the "old silent 8mm film reels and historical architecture". Skvodin's releases should be familiar to you under his Svarte Greiner alias on Type Records, as well as Xhale and
Must be a gloomy kinda day for me. The irritating questions from those who should know better, and the music from The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation didn't help at all. Perhaps just another alias for Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, or perhaps a brand new outlet for the …The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation - Doomjazz Future Corpses! (Ad Noiseam)
The Pirate Ship Quintet - The Pirate Ship Quintet EP (Sound Devastation)
At only three tracks, The Pirate Ship Quintet's first self titled EP, progresses the future of post-rock with an incredible dynamic acceleration. Super charged with emotion, one can not help but anticipate the explosive breakdowns as they crescendo with a cello, piano, …
Death In Public - Instrumental in Silence EP (self released)
A two member band out of Lancaster, UK, had everything lined up for an EP but the drummer. But that didn't stop Julian Dicken and Josh Longton from going forward on this instrumental release falling somewhere between post-rock and post-metal. Armed with a drum machine, …
Loscil - Plume (Kranky)
Vancouver based Scott Morgan is a sound director within the video game industry. But that's his daytime job, and his contemporary ambient soundscapes constructed with looping oscillators (a similar function in Csound computer language is compounded to Loscil) don't have …
Autechre - Quaristice (Warp)
It's hard to believe that Sean Booth and Rob Brown have been experimenting with sound for over 16 years now, ever since their first release, Incunabula, on Warp Records. It is perhaps their unique programming approach to analog synths, custom Max/MSP patches, micro …
The Flashbulb - Soundtrack To A Vacant Life (Alphabasic)
For over two years, it seems as if dark forces surrounded Benn Jordan's masterpiece, Soundtrack To A Vacant Life. First, it was the death of Sublight Records (RIP), followed by continuous production delays and tour cancellations. Finally the album is here, only to …
Blueneck - Scars of the Midwest (Don't Touch)
A North Somerset (UK) based instrumental post-rock band, Blueneck, flicks the lit match into the puddle of gasoline, spilled near my winter beaten soul. With the calm cinematic piano, gliding guitars, and explosive crescendos, Blueneck builds up raw emotion until you …
I Am David Sparkle - This Is The New (KittyWu)
We've all been blown away by a Japanese post-rock band Mono, so why not check out an excellent surprise from a pioneering Singapore based instrumental four-piece band, I Am David Sparkle? Before I get to the music, I want to take a moment and drop a tribute to a very …