Sam Vicary (a.k.a. Hunrosa) will drop his latest single, “Ransome,” via Wah Wah 45s on April 20.
Based in Manchester, Vicary is most well-known as the bassist of The Cinematic Orchestra, Paper Tiger, and The Dominic J Marshall Trio, as well as a touring artist with Manu Delago, Imogen Heap, Matthew Halsall, Anil Sebastian, and Stuart McCallum.
His latest single is a rhythmically dense journey full of emotive strings and the poignant vocal work of Alice Higgins, whose melodic lines perfectly compliment Vicary’s melancholic production aesthetic. “Ransome” will come packaged with a dubbed-out remix from Black Acre mainstay Clap Clap, who reworks the original into an expansive outing complete with scattered arpeggios and swirling synths.
You can pre-order “Ransome” here, with the 7″ mix streaming in full via the player below.
Autechre will release eight hours of original material, NTS Sessions 1-4, through Warp Records later this month.
NTS Sessions comprises the duo’s four shows planned every Thursday in April, the first of which premiered last week. Each of the four shows will be available individually, either as a triple-vinyl record or a digital download. It’ll also be sold as a single 12-vinyl box-set or eight-CD package.
The duo’s first NTS session aired on April 5, with shows also scheduled for April 12, 19, and 26.
Tracklisting—NTS Session 1
01. t1a1 02. bqbqbq 03. debris_funk 04. I3 ctrl 05. carefree counter dronal 06. north spiral 07. gonk steady one 08. four of seven 09. 32a_reflected
Next up on the eatmybeat roster for 2018 is Croft, returning this time for a full-length EP alongside two remixes. Ghosts is described by the label as a four-tracker “demonstrating the range and versatility of this young producer, as well as showcasing a variety of techno flavours.” It will land on April 13 via all major digital stores and streaming platforms, and the eatmybeat bandcamp. In support of the release, you can download “Alone” via the WeTransfer button below.
Little is known of masked techno artist SNTS, which in today’s age is a rare and welcomed feat. Of course, in recent times, donning a mask and keeping your identity anonymous has been seen as somewhat of a gimmick, little more than a marketing ploy to build hype. SNTS feels different, however—his serrated productions fit perfectly with the shadowy, sonic sorcerer image he’s meticulously crafted since debuting in 2012 on his label of the same name. Every aspect of the project is a considered piece of the puzzle, from the haunted, frayed textures and relentless rhythms of his music to the nightmarish images adorning the record sleeves. Take 2016’s Losing Sight LP, for example, which was recorded at lower BPMs in a cave—to catch the appropriate acoustics for the project—using numerous analog drum machines, modular synths, guitar, distortion pedals, and voice recordings.
Here’s what else we know: in the six years since SNTS’ debut 12″, we’ve been greeted with 10 EPs and two full-length albums on his own SNTS and Sacred Court imprints—which have also been home to artists such as Codex Empire, Alexey Volkov, OAKE, and Positive Centre—as well as Horizontal Ground, Edit Select Records, HORO, and 47. Later this month, a new EP titled Cruel Opacity will drop on SNTS, his first output on the label in over three years. Following that, SNTS will also welcome new artists to the fold, promising a focus on industrial techno, EBM, and wave-influenced sounds. This is much of what we get on the latest edition of our podcast series, with SNTS inviting us on a personal journey through tense atmospheres and foreign sonic worlds.
When and where was the mix recorded?
It was recorded a few weeks ago at my studio.
What equipment did you record it on?
I used two CDJ Pioneer Nexus 2000, two Technics turntables, and an Allen & Heath Xone 92 mixer.
Was there a particular idea or mood you were looking to convey?
Yes, it was created with a very clear idea in mind, as nothing is by chance. As you might have noticed, I’m an absolute fan of experimental, offbeat, and ambient sounds, and in all my releases I’ve always included at least one track with these characteristics. My idea from the beginning was to create a personal journey through sounds that would allow us to travel to those recondite places that, although we do not know, we long to discover, with a set of marked rhythms and tense atmospheres.
As I have previously mentioned, behind sounds there always has to be an intention for which it has been created, to transmit a situation or to provoke a reaction in the listener. I wanted these tracks to convey the sensation of someone traveling through spaces never visited before, which must be traveled in a limited time as each step leads to a different scenario, experiencing it with all the emotions that this path can generate.
What were some of your highlights in 2017?
There have been many highlights in the past year but I would point out among them Exit Festival in Serbia, Vault Sessions III in Amsterdam, and Decode Festival by Bassiani in Tbilisi. Exit Festival in Serbia was memorable because I performed in broad daylight, which I had not done before.
You just recently started your label Sacred Court—can you tell us about the plans for it?
Yes, I started with the first reference releasing my last album Losing Sight, followed by EPs by Hørd, Alexey Volkov, and Codex Empire. I have been very busy with gigs and in the studio producing music, but everything is ready for the next releases later this year, with new artists focused on industrial, dark-techno, experimental, EBM, and synth-wave sounds.
What’s on the horizon for 2018?
After three years since my last EP on the label, my next release, titled Cruel Opacity, will be out on SNTS Records on April 27. I am quite excited about it because I will premiere the tracks with a live act in Berghain the next day. Good events are coming up for this summer, like, for example, my debut at Awakenings Festival and many other very interesting events.
Tracklisting:
01. LCC “Ib” 02. Arca “Urchin” 03. Modeo “Perdition” 04. Pessimist “Spirals” 05. Roly Porter “In System” 06. Restive Plaggona “Alone To Faith and To Death” 07. Atrium Carceri “Face Of War” 08. Tommy Four Seven “Hornet” 09. Evan Caminiti “Acid Shadow I” 10. Anfs “Skafto” 11. Esplendor Geometrico “Regeneracion” 12. Atrium Carceri “Ruins Of Desolation” 13. SNTS “Resurgence”
Eartheater has signed to PAN for an upcoming album, due later this year, and has released a new video for “Claustra.”
Eartheater is the project of New York-based artist Alexandra Drewchin, with two previous albums on Hausu Mountain. “Claustra” is a song with roots that stretch back to her last album, 2015’s RIP Chrysalis, but looks forward to new paradigms for the project. Co-directed by Christine Zenyi Lu and Drewchin, the video was shot in Paris at Père Lachaise Cemetery, where luminaries such as Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and more are buried. It features dancer Gina Chiappetta performing choreography by Drewchin.
Drewchin explains the origins of the song and imagery: “I wrote “Claustra” around the same time as RIP Chrysalis. However, the piece felt different from everything else I was making at the time. It was foreshadowing things I didn’t fully understand about myself—things that are coming more into focus with upcoming projects. I was realizing that monogamy was a false security for me personally. The song came in like an anthem encouraging me to embrace my growing pains to understand new freedoms. Simultaneously, I was thinking about ownership and control as an artist while meditating on what’s left behind after the composer is dead—what is culturally compostable and what are the bones?”
The album will land later this year, with the video streaming above.
Joy O will release a new collaborative EP with London-based saxophonist Ben Vince via Hessle Audio, after the two were introduced to each other by Jon Rust.
We’re told that the two tracks are a result of studio sessions together as well as manipulation of Ben’s existing recordings. Both tracks explore the tonal, textural, and rhythmic possibilities of Ben’s playing within a focused dancefloor framework.
The EP will be Joy O’s first appearance on the London label run by Ben UFO, Pangaea, and Pearson Sound. It will be the label’s second release of 2018, following the Bone Sucka / Proxy EP by Pangaea.
Ben Vince will also be releasing a solo LP with Where To Now? In late May, featuring collaborations with Micachu and percussionist Rupert Clervaux.
Tracklisting
A. Transition 2 B. Systems Align
Transition 2 / Systems Align EP will land on May 11, with clips streaming below.
The new 18-minute mixtape fuses a collection of sketches, new tracks, and remakes of tracks from previous albums into one seamless mix that flows through sci-fi ambient, frayed drone pieces, and haunting atmospheres. Cyberian Ambient Works is Pixelord’s first release of 2018, following last year’s Chrono Echoes EP with Juke Ellington.
You can purchase the mixtape via Bandcamp, with a stream available below.
On April 13, Seattle’s Hush Hush Records will release Avenues and Remembrances, the debut collaborative effort from Brooklyn-based musician Christian Banks (a.k.a. Walrus Ghost) and Zurich-based guitarist Max Frankl.
The album was birthed following a chance meeting in New York in 2013 when Frankl answered an ad for an open room that Banks had posted. At the time, Banks was prepping his debut Walrus Ghost album, Uplifting Themes for the Naysayer. The idea of working together grew slowly from a mutual appreciation of each other’s music and the differentiation between their working methods—as Banks states: “he’s a proper instrumentalist and I’m more unconventional, everything for me is self-taught.”
After Frankl moved back to Zurich, the two stayed in touch, sending recordings and ideas back and forth, which would eventually take shape into a fully-realized eight-track mini-album. The fusion of the two disparate production styles has given way to a gorgeous and affecting collection of meditative post-rock cuts built from airy guitar lines, warm textures, cinematic atmospheres, and nostalgic field recordings.
In support of this week’s release, Hush Hush has offered up “Late Light” as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below.
On April 13, Seattle’s Hush Hush Records will release Avenues and Remembrances, the debut collaborative effort from Brooklyn-based musician Christian Banks (a.k.a. Walrus Ghost) and Zurich-based guitarist Max Frankl.
The album was birthed following a chance meeting in New York in 2013 when Frankl answered an ad for an open room that Banks had posted. At the time, Banks was prepping his debut Walrus Ghost album, Uplifting Themes for the Naysayer. The idea of working together grew slowly from a mutual appreciation of each other’s music and the differentiation between their working methods—as Banks states: “he’s a proper instrumentalist and I’m more unconventional, everything for me is self-taught.”
After Frankl moved back to Zurich, the two stayed in touch, sending recordings and ideas back and forth, which would eventually take shape into a fully-realized eight-track mini-album. The fusion of the two disparate production styles has given way to a gorgeous and affecting collection of meditative post-rock cuts built from airy guitar lines, warm textures, cinematic atmospheres, and nostalgic field recordings.
In support of this week’s release, Hush Hush has offered up “Late Light” as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below.
The next release on Cure Music comes in the shape of a four-track EP from The Flip, titled Discipline.
Cure Music is the label helmed by Chilean Felipe Valenzuela and Argentinian Momo Trosman, founded in 2015 and with a discography that includes Afriqua, Zendid, Omni A.M., Federico Molinari, and now The Flip. This will be the label’s sixth release.
