Premiere: Hear a Sublime Piece of Ambient Techno from Acronym and Korridor

Berlin’s Vaagner label will soon reissue a rare two-sided tape from Acronym w. Korridor, titled Untitled. 

Acronym and Korridor have made names for themselves via meticulously molded ambient techno releases with emotional sound design. The latter, real name Fabian Kempe, released his debut album via Northern Electronics earlier the year; the former co-founded the label and has appeared on it several times. 

“Sscending,” available to stream below, was originally conceived in 2015 during a period in which these two electronic musicians quietly collaborated, but the composition was shelved and never saw the light of day. Instead, the duo released a small batch of cassettes which featured other collaborative works. Now, three years later, “Sscending” is finally available via a remastered vinyl edition by German cassette-based reissue label Vaagner, featuring the never-before-heard track on the B side plus two re-issues drawn from these tapes, one a 15-minute track that swerves through melancholic ambient pads juxtaposed against industrial, drone, and noise elements, the other a moving ambient techno piece that slowly fades into a brooding ambient soundscape. 

Vaagner aims to track down rare and illusive cassette releases and work with the artists behind the music to have it remastered and released on vinyl, making the music available to a new audience that may not normally have come into contact with the cassette release. The reissues feature full cover artwork, a printed insert, and a download code—which often marks the first proper digital edition for the release. The label launched earlier this year with a double-vinyl version of an OAKE live recording, Live In Marseille. 

The vinyl edition is limited to 300 copies. 

Tracklisting: 

A1. Untitled

B1. Untitled

B2. Sscending

Untilted EP will arrive November 30, with pre-order here and “Sscending” streaming exclusively in full below. 

Lobster Theremin Welcomes DJ Different

DJ Different is up next on Lobster Theremin with a five-track “rave” EP, Permission 2 Dance.

DJ Different is Aleksandar Zekovski, an electronic artist Malmö, Sweden. He’s previously appeared on Traxx Underground, 1Ø PILLS MATE, and Distant Hawaii, a sub-label of Lobster Theremin, and now he will appear on the main label for the first time. 

We’re told to expect “fuzzing interstellar ambient, Ilian Tape-esque heaving non-4/4 techno, skittering London jungle, RNB-infused washes of synth & breaks, and soulful, slow-lulling electro.”

Tracklisting

A1. Fast Forward To The Outer Rim

A2. Angels

A3. Permission 2 Dance

B1. Real

B2. Memories Of The Old World

Permission 2 Dance will land on November 30, with clips below.

Le Makeup “Matra”

Le Makeup is Keisuke Iiri, a singer, producer, and guitarist from Osaka, Japan. Iiri’s Matra EP was released on October 12 via Eternal Dragonz (EDZ). 

“Matra” is the titular single from the forthcoming Matra EP, a rhythmic meditation, memories of digital dancehall filtered through a wash of detuned electric guitar. For Iiri, it’s a record about “love, compassion and appreciating the intimate moments,” we’re told. His music steps away from the sonic brashness of big Japanese cities and embraces the natural world surrounding his home of Osaka.

“This record is about how important love and compassion have become in my life, living this to the edge. It’s about taking in the intimate moments like touching each other’s fingers, being honest to yourself and following the dreams you have for the future.” — Le Makeup

In support of the EP, out now, you can download “Matra” in full via the button below, or here for EU readers due to temporary GDPR restrictions. 

Trentemøller Announces ‘Harbour Boat Trips Vol 2.’ Compilation

Danish artist Anders Trentemøller has returned to announce the release of his new compilation album, Harbour Boat Trips Vol. 2—Copenhagen, and premiered his twisted cover of Neil Young’s “Transformer Man.” 

Trentemøller’s latest release—the first since 2016’s Fixion—is a companion to the compilation Harbour Boat Trips Vol. 1 that was released in 2009, which also features various covers and remixes of songs from various genres that were all combined by his love for the Copenhagen harbor. 

Trentemøller explained that the idea to cover “Transformer Man” came from his longtime collaborator Marie Fisker: “Although I’m a huge Neil Young fan, I actually didn’t know about this song until Marie Fisker played it to me when we sat down and thought about some songs that would be fun to cover for the Harbour Boat Trips Mix I was working on. I wasn’t a fan of the song and its sound in the first place, but the melody, especially the hookline, somehow caught me.”The original Neil Young song was released during a period that found him experimenting with vocoders and disco-pop; which, as it turns out, is what made the idea of covering it all too tempting. “I thought it could be interesting to get rid of all that disco/vocoder stuff and focus on the song itself,” Trentemøller explained. “Suddenly it shined in new splendor.” 

Trentemøller’s previous album, Fixion, was released in 2016 via his own label, In My Room. In 2017, he released “Hands Down,” which featured vocals from Warpaint’s Jennylee.

Tracklisting

01. “Harbour Boat Trips Vol. 02 Copenhagen mixed by Trentemøller”

02. Pyrit “Time For Wind”

03. A Place To Bury Strangers “Never Coming Back (Trentemøller Remix)”

04. The Raveonettes “Expelled From Love”

05. How Do I “Knowing Me, Knowing You”

06. Kira Skov “I Celebrate My Life (Trentemøller Remix)”

07. The Lollipops “Naked When You Come”

08. Tropic Of Cancer “Children Of A Lesser God”

09. Black Marble “Static”

10. Trentemøller “One Eye Open (Trentemøller Remix HBT Edit)”

11. John Maus & Molly Nilsson “Hey Moon!”

12. Neil Young “Transformer Man”

13. Slowdive “Slomo”

14. Moon Duo “Lost In Light”

15. CTM “Paloma Pt.2”

16. The KVB “In Deep”

17. Levin Goes Lightly “1989”

Harbour Boat Trips Vol. 2 is available for pre-order now and will be released November 23, with “Transformer Man” streaming below. 

MJ Cole Shares ‘Glistening’ ‘Foundations’ EP

Matthew James Firth Coleman, real name MJ Cole, has today shared new EP Foundations.

The EP is described as “irresistibly emotive and club ready all at once.” It features new singles “If Only,” “Phoenix,” and “Liquid,” and marks a return to the 2-step sound, the influence of which can be heard in both underground and commercial music today.

The release follows “Soak It Up,” a recent collaboration earlier this year with Kojey Radical. 

We’re also told that the EP marks the first in an exciting series of connecting EPs that will be dropping throughout 2018 and 2019.

“The Foundations EP takes a step away from my more traditional form of writing. It’s created from tiny snippets of vocals, no songs or verse/choruses. A return to my beloved way of making tracks from a palette of sounds. A single-handed tapestry of colours and texture. Sampler craft.” — MJ Cole

Tracklisting

01. If Only

02. Phoenix

03. Liquid

Foundations EP is available now, with “Phoenix” and “Liquid” streaming below. 

 

 

 

 

Editions Mego Welcomes Finlay Shakespeare

Editions Mego will release a single from Finlay Shakespeare next month, a “snapshot” of an album due to land early 2019. 

Shakespeare, a Bristol-based artist, is CEO and founder of Future Sound Systems, an independent musical device manufacturer. His earlier material has landed as Future Imageon Future Image Records; this is his first full appearance under his birth name. 

“Routine” is described as “a twitchy electro monster”; while B-Side “Perris” is “simultaneously a modern throwback to the brooding synth pop age and concurrently an absolute belter in the contemporary mainframe.”

An alternate version of “Perris” will appear on the new album to be released in early 2019.

Tracklisting

A. Routine [5:10]

B. Perris (Inevitable Forthcoming Netflix Docudrama Version) [6:28]

Routine will land on November 30, with a stream available below. 

Yard One “A Warm Glow”

Earlier this month, UK duo Jordan Bruce and Larry Jones released Sonic Excursions Tape on Scaffolder Recordings.

Released digitally and on tape, the EP features six tracks from the duo’s two aliases Yard One and Tryst, with three tracks falling under each moniker. Musically, Sonic Excursions Tape stays true to its name, presenting a collection of hazy ambient, deep and chugging broken beat, and warm deep house. With the EP, the duo prove themselves to be masters of soft and textured nostalgia, weaving together immersive field recordings and affecting synth lines.

To give you a taste, the duo have offered up a cut from their Yard One moniker as today’s XLR8R download. “A Soft Haze,” available via WeTransfer below, is a glowing beat cut full of floating atmospheres and sun-drenched chords.

You can pick up Sonic Excursions Tape here.

Artwork and design by Masami Kuroki.

Due to temporary issues regarding the GDPR, EU readers can download the track here.

Bucharest’s Automata Festival Launches With Alessandro Cortini, Cosmin Nicolae, and Carla dal Forno

Automata Festival has announced its debut edition, taking place from November 8 and 10 at Bucharest’s Control Club—which is presenting, organizing, and curating the festival.

Automata will feature performances from an inspired list of local and international artists, including live sets from Kolorit (Kassem Mosse and Lowtec), Alessandro Cortini, Blackest Ever Black’s Carla dal Forno, Cosmin Nicolae, Posh Isolation’s Croation Armor, SIT (a.k.a. Cristi Cons and Vlad Caia), Huerco S. presents Pendant, and ambiq, as well as DJ sets from Luca Lozano, Borusiade, Alexandra, and more.

More than just a party-focused festival, Automata looks to shine a light and give a platform to under-rated local talents via live concerts, specially commissioned visual representations, DJ sets, workshops, and artist talks. The festival was “conceived as a multidisciplinary catalyst of human-technology interaction, that puts forth not a foretelling of the future, but a better understanding of the present.”

You can find the full lineup below, with tickets and more information here.

LINEUP:

Alessandro Cortini ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴀ/ᴠ
Alexandra <Melliflow>
ambiq ʟɪᴠᴇ w. Cotė ᴠɪsᴜᴀʟs
Bogdan <Orbita Lacustra>
Bogman
Borusiade <Cómeme>
Carla dal Forno ʟɪᴠᴇ <Blackest Ever Black>
Corp. Showcase w. Admina, Chlorys, Von Bülove
Cosmin Nicolae ʟɪᴠᴇ w. Dreamrec ᴠɪsᴜᴀʟs
Croatian Amor ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴀ/ᴠ <Posh Isolation>
Dragoș Rusu <The Attic>
Eirwud Mudwasser <Balearic Social>
Elena Colombi <NTS>
Huerco S. presents Pendant ʟɪᴠᴇ <West Minerals LTD.>
Izabel <Lullabies for Insomniacs>
Kolorit ʟɪᴠᴇ (Kassem Mosse & Lowtec – Workshop Records)
Luca Lozano <Klasse Wrecks>
Minus & Șerb ʟɪᴠᴇ <Listen2Me>
Patricia ʟɪᴠᴇ <Opal Tapes>
Romansoff <Raw Tools>
SIT ʟɪᴠᴇ <Amphia>

Luke Slater Returns as The 7th Plain with ‘Chronicles II and III’

Luke Slater will return as The 7th Plain with two new albums, again via Ostgut Ton’s A-TON sub-label. 

Slater’s previous appearance as The 7th Plain arrived back in 2016 when he launched A-TON with Chronicles I, establishing the sub-label as a platform for archive, ambient, and art-related releases. This first eight-track compilation was split between classics from the albums My Yellow Wise Rug and The 4 Cornered Room on the one hand and previously unreleased tracks on the other, with the goal of providing a different, remastered framework for Slater’s futuristic visions from the past. Now, with the release of Chronicles II and Chronicles III, as well as a special edition vinyl boxset, we’re told that “the journey continues further into outer and inner space.” 

Like its predecessor, Chronicles II is divided between previously released material from the aforementioned albums, as well as four unreleased tracks: “Silver Shinhook”, “Wand Star”, “I Think I Think Too Much,” and “JDC”.

In contrast, Chronicles III is made up solely of music from the General Production Recordings label catalogue and stylistically skews less toward percussive techno-funk and more toward free-form broken rhythms– though tracks such as “Lost,” “Time Melts,” and “Millentum.”

Aside from the special vinyl boxset (6×12“ LP), which includes Chronicles I–III, limited edition stickers, an essay by Joe Muggs, and a complete download code, all releases are available individually on CD, 2xLP, and for the first time in digital formats.

Tracklisting,  Chronicles II

01. Boundaries

02. Extra (The 7th Plain Remix)

03. Grace

04. Surface Bound

05. The Super 8

06. T Funk States

07. Slip 7 Sideways

08. Chords Are Dirty

Tracklisting, Chronicles III

01. Silver Shinhook

02. Astra Naut-E

03. Wand Star

04. Convex

05. I Think I Think Too Much

06. JDC

07. To Be Surreal

08. Big Field

Chronicles will arrive on December 14 via A-TON, with exclusive new track “JDC” now on Bandcamp. Anyone who preorders the album will receive the track to download.

John Tejada Returns with New Hardware-Focussed Album

As Palette Recordings turns 22 years old, John Tejada will release his first release in two years, Live Rytm Trax.

The album follows recent efforts for Kompakt and a collaboration with Reggie, and is “geared more towards his own style of DJing,” described by the label as “more of a meditative exploration with tracks evolving and modulating but keeping a solid foundation in the groove.” 

It was conceived as Tejada’s new live PA focusing more or less on just one machine and making the most out of its limitations. After some live performances, the idea was to capture the spontaneity of the pieces live and perform and capture them in a studio. Rather than use the all too familiar home studio, Kenny Larkin offered up an invitation to record in his studio, the centrepiece being an API console. This provided the perfect opportunity to add a special sound signature to the songs providing a DAW-less production process using hardware instruments into analog console recorded straight to a Tascam one-bit recorder. The result is “a real time, organic experience with Tejada performing the pieces live with no overdubs or editing,” the label explains. 

Tracklisting

01. Subsumed 

02. Irusu 

03. Sfumato 

04. Bdub 

05. Dr. Party 

06. Reminisce 

07. Celerity 

08. Zazz Function 

09. Soft Hue 

10. 126 bpm 

Live Rytm Trax LP will land on November 30, with “Reminisce” streaming below. 

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