Over the past several years, Alfredo Mazzilli has developed his own strain of deep, hypnotic techno that draws on shimmering synth work and razor-sharp drum programming. His releases have landed on some of techno’s premier labels, including Silent Season, Weekend Circuit, and Edit Select. His latest release, Vanaheimr, will be his first US-based release and will drop via Blankstairs in the next couple of weeks.
Featuring two originals and remixes from Clay Wilson and Hiver, Vanaheimr is full of dense synth landscapes, melodic flourishes, and surgical drum arrangements—it’s another standout release for the ever reliable Blankstairs.
In support of the release, Blankstairs have offered up the mesmerizing opening cut, “Vanir,” as today’s XLR8R download, available via WeTransfer below. You can also pre-order Vanaheimr via Blankstairs Bandcamp page ahead of the July 7 release.
To those who have taken an interest in quality electronic music over the past decade, the name MNML SSGS will undoubtedly hold some meaning. The now defunct blog, which made its final post back in 2012, served as an unfailing conduit for the best in techno, house, and ambient music, bringing otherwise hidden gems from the underground scene to its readership.
One of the masterminds behind the project was Chris Hobson (better known as Chris SSG). As one might imagine, having been a long-serving devotee and critic of electronic music, his journey with sounds was anything but over when the site’s business wrapped up. Today, Chris SSG’s role has moved away from blogging, instead serving as an active part of the burgeoning Tokyo techno scene.
In contrast to the prevailing preference for hypnotic techno that seems to characterize the outsider’s perception of the Japanese scene, Chris opts for a different approach in facilitating trance-like states. A champion of ambient and experimental music, his DJ sets are delicate, thoughtful journeys, in which beauty lies in the details; this week’s contribution to the podcast series is no different.
How and where did you record the mix?
The mix was recorded at home in late January 2017. I did it in one take, so it contains a few mistakes, but I think somehow they fit with the mood of the mix.
How did you choose the records? Did you have a particular idea you wanted to pursue?
A close friend gently chided me for my ambient mixes being too bright. This is true, often with my sets I am trying to create a meditative feeling or a sense of beauty. And this is what I did for my last few podcasts for Silent Season, The Bunker NY, and Smoke Machine. Exploring these more positive sounds is, in part, a way for me to fight against a tendency to slip from being critical into being negative, and just as an escape from stress in my life. But it has also been about doing something different from most of the ambient and experimental music out there, which I find rather uninteresting and generally lacking in emotional depth. Too often it is either weak and largely devoid of character, or it is this dark shitty stuff with no nuance. Both, in different ways, suffer from a lack of balance and poor execution. As a result, they miss the kind of stronger impact that is possible. And this is ultimately what I am aiming for: finding how to present ambient and experimental music in a way that provokes powerful feelings and thoughts.
The challenge for this mix was to do something melancholy and emotive, but without lapsing into clichés. And I wanted to do this while avoiding “sad sack ambient”, a term we used at MNML SSGS to describe ambient that you put on when you are feeling depressed and it works to amplify those negative feelings. So I collected tracks that have a certain emotional gravity to them, but many of which have a more ambiguous or ambivalent feel to them. The mix is about exploring sadness, loss, and regret, but without succumbing to these emotions. There is an undercurrent of hope in the mix, which becomes more present towards the end.
Alternatively, you could say it is just another ambient mix from me.
Given you are mainly DJing ambient music, what are your thoughts about the revival of interest in the genre?
I am in two minds about the uptick in interest. Of course, it is great that more people are exploring ambient, as there is so much amazing music there to be discovered. And more interest hopefully might mean more opportunities for ambient artists. But I have been a bit frustrated that a lot of the focus ends up going on techno or house artists trying their hand at ambient (and often producing pretty mediocre stuff), while artists and labels that have been quietly doing brilliant work for a long time get passed over. Of course, there is nothing new with a situation like this, but it still gets to me. People like John Elliott make some of the most profound, beautiful music around and barely get noticed, while some middling techno artist shits out a half-baked William Basinski knockoff and gets high fives from the hype machine. That sucks.
You’ve been based in Tokyo for some time now. How has living there impacted your musical style?
The way I engage with music hasn’t drastically changed; it has always been pretty constant. I regularly have phases where I go deep into exploring a specific sound. And because I am a techno nerd I like to think of these periods as following the Drexcyen R.E.S.T. Principle (Research. Experimentation. Science. Technology), except it really is just the R and E for me.
Where being in Tokyo has impacted my approach to music is that after moving here I started DJing and putting on parties. This has allowed me to see things from a different perspective, I have become much more aware of the complexities of the relationship with the audience: how to build trust, when to push and when not to, what things you cannot compromise on, and how to present and sequence music in a way that it will have maximum impact. I have learned a lot from those close to me in Tokyo, it has been fascinating to discover more about these dynamics.
MNML SSGS was one of the most well-respected blogs in the electronic music world. Since that ended you now have moved into DJing and doing events in Tokyo, how are your current activities connected to your previous work with the blog?
The blog was very much a joint enterprise with PC. We reached a point where we had done about as much as we felt we could do with that format. We had an amazing run with our mixes, and there are only so many think pieces, charts, and reviews you can write before you tire of them. It’s weird, interviews like this are one of the only ways I can still write about music. I really struggle with the rest. Anyway, I was done with MNML SSGS as a blog, but I definitely still wanted to be doing something with techno. I began to get more serious about DJing, and then when the time and conditions were right, I started doing some MNML SSGS nights in Tokyo. PC is not directly part of this beyond giving his blessing to each event and continuing to be a vital source of engagement behind the scenes. The aim with these events and my DJing is basically continuing with the ethos we developed through MNML SSGS – sharing a very sincere and genuine love of electronic music, combined with a desire to engage in a critical but ultimately constructive manner. Of course, the parties are meant to give people a good night out, but they are also supposed to be contributing to the Tokyo scene and helping to support artists who I believe in.
What have you got planned for 2017?
In the last 18 months or so I feel I have really found my voice as a DJ, I have become much more confident in what I am doing. So I want to keep going deeper and further refine my approach to ambient music. Hopefully the renewed interest in the genre might lead to a few more opportunities for people like me, let’s see. And I’ll organize a couple of MNML SSGS parties, plus some nights at Dommune and keep doing our semi-regular Sound Garden chill out session. As always, aiming for the right balance of study and fun.
Tracklisting:
Terre Thaemlitz “A City On Springs” [Instinct Records] TUC “Dights Falls” (w. Albrecht La’Brooy) [Analogue Attic Recordings] Vladislav Delay “Lumi” [Huume] Forest Swords “Hjurt” (Pariah Refix) [No Pain In Pop] Ulf Lohmann “Because Before 5” [Kompakt] Sowing Paranoia “Ambient VI” [Silent Season] Henrik B “Elektronik Kry” [Truesoul] Sandwell District “Feed-Forward 7 A” [Sandwell District] Jens-Uwe Beyer “Final 10” [Kompakt] Isorinne “Single Focus” [Northern Electronics] D.Å.R.F.D.H.S. “Tystnaden & Ensamheten” [Northern Electronics] Pedro Vian “Paradise” [Modern Obscure Music] Belarisk “74chy)n & )n” [Moss Archive] Ø “Nakinkenka (shell)” [Sahko] Autechre “VLetrmx” [Warp] Not Waving “Dangerously Well” [Not Waving] Gunnar Haslam “Brahmaputra” [L.I.E.S.] Varg “En tulpan blå som blod” [Posh Isolation] Ital & Halal “Where Exactly I Am” [Lovers Rock] Imre Kiss “Sweet Cherry Soul” [Farbwechsel] Nest “Amroth” (Brambles Version) [Serein] Ross 154 “Moon FM Desire” [Delsin] Donnacha Costello “Rebuild” [Music 4 Your Legs]
Peter Broderick, the Portland, Oregon-based composer, pianist, singer and violinist, has shared a new track from his upcoming collaborative, stripped-back full-length featuring newfound musical partner David Allred.
Out April 7 on Erased Tapes, Find The Ways features nothing more than the violin, upright bass and the voices of Allred and Broderick, as the idea was to create an album as minimal as possible.
Tracklisting
01. Living On A Wire 02. The Wise One 03. Two Otters 04. Hey Stranger 05. Four Aspens 06. The Ways 07. Hesitation 08. I’m Not Crazy 09. Ode To Angelica 10. Robert, Please
Find The Ways is scheduled for April 7 release via Erased Tapes, with “Hey Stranger” streamable below.
Last year, SoundCloud launched a subscription service: for $9.99 each month, the audio platform offered users full access to its catalog of tracks (around 150 million in total), both on and offline, without interference from ads. That service has now been rebranded as SoundCloud Go+, while a new, cheaper service has been introduced alongside it.
The new SoundCloud Go option will cost $4.99 each month, offering access to all of SoundCloud’s user-uploaded audio content (which tallies up at roughly 120 million tracks), with the same ad-free conditions.
“SoundCloud Go answers the call from our users who want the ability to take the huge catalog of content found in SoundCloud’s free, ad-supported offering with them anytime, anywhere, without interruptions, at a very affordable price,” explained chief revenue officer, Alison Moore.
For those who would like to give the service a shot, SoundCloud is offering a special 30-day free trial subscription to first-time users.
Apollo Records will soon present the new release from NYC / Berlin-based artists Soundwalk Collective (a.k.a the trio of Stephan Crasneanscki, Simone Merli, and Kamran Sadeghi).
Formed in Manhattan to produce concept albums, sound installations, and live performances, the collective creates immersive audio excursions from field recordings which they gather from all over the globe. Previous works have seen them collaborate with Berghain, Nan Goldin, the films of Jean-Luc Godard and Patti Smith.
For Before Music There Is Blood, their new mini-album, they have collaborated with some of the world’s most prestigious music conservatories—including Shanghai’s Conservatory of Music (China), The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (Russia), and the Conservatorio di Musica S. Pietro A Majella in Napoli (Italy). They entered the hallowed courtyards, corridors, and classrooms of these three academies to record hundreds of hours of these elite students practicing and rehearsing.
“The piece questions what is music, composition, and ultimately what is harmony,” they explain. “It is an attempt to capture notes out of their context—bleeding into each other through the walls, windows, courtyards and alleyway of the conservatory.”
These unexpected melodies are the result of an impromptu, anarchic musical composition of all instruments, where composers, centuries and civilizations are echoing each other in one acoustic space—ghostly fragments of conversation, skittering percussive stabs, burbling synthesis, oscillating swathes of droning strings and hushed, gauzy ambiance.
Max Loderbauer also supplies a rework.
To give Soundwalk Collective the last word on the topic “Our microphones wondering through the architecture were the silent spectators of the music left behind.”
Pale Blue is the new alias for Mike Simonetti, a NY producer, paired with the vocals of Elizabeth Wight. The duo’s new double-sided EP Comes Home / Have You Passed Through This Night is remixed by Spanish producer Pional on Man Power’s Me Me Me label.
“Have You Passed Through This Night” is raw and daring, its female vocal reminiscent of innovative early electro. Its lyrics are taken from the film “The Thin Red Line,” a movie about man’s destruction of nature, his world and himself. “Come Home” is equally alluring with a dreamier narrative, and Pional’s remix is stripped back and effortless.
“For these two songs, the inspiration is coming out of the darkness that is inside all of us. It sounds heavy and overbearing, but dance music is the ideal music for escape. It fits perfectly into the Pale Blue agenda. This music was made for a small, dark crowded dancefloors, with low ceilings and high hopes. Humanity is bombarded with suffering and pain at every turn—it’s almost like we thrive on it. But we deserve better. These two songs represent part of that struggle—moving towards the light. Take your frustrations out on the dancefloor. Throw it all away for the night. The B-side is about coming out of darkness, coming home. Finding euphoria in love and security in one another. Feeling lost in the best way.” Pale Blue
Tracklisting:
01. Comes Home (Pional Remix) 02. Have You Passed Through This Night 03. Comes Home
Comes Home / Have You Passed Through This Night is scheduled for April 7 release.
Shelter—namely Alan Briand, a young Parisian producer with a strong melodic center—will soon release a new mini-album on International Feel, titled Zon Zon Zon.
International Feel first met Shelter on a trip to Paris a few years back. The meeting happening in the L’International Records which is run by a guy called Dave who has a group of young French DJs, producers and promoters that visit the store, hang out and buy and listen to music—a story no doubt currently being repeated throughout the world as new generations immerse themselves in the culture.
The seven tracks on this mini-album are taken from an extensive pool of Shelter’s melodic catalog. “Some people lead on the beats, some on the production, but Briand focuses on the melody, with the beat closely tied in as support,” says the label.
Zon Zon Zon is only Shelter’s fifth release and his first mini-album.
The one-day festival is split across five stages, put together by festival organizers LWE, The Hydra and Drumcode, as well as Sonus Festival and Into The Woods. It will commence at midday on June 10, running through to 22:30 that evening, all taking place at Boston Manor Park in West London.
The stage splits are now exclusively available below.
For more information and tickets, head to the Junction 2 site.
Drumcode
Adam Beyer Ben Klock Ida Engberg Reset Robot Tale Of Us
SONUS
Joseph Capriati Maceo Plex Recondite Live Sam Paganini DJ Tennis Eagles & Butterflies
The Hydra
Daphni DJ Koze Andrew Weatherall Willow Dolan Bergin
LWE Warehouse in association with Relentless
Chris Liebing Alan Fitzpatrick Charlotte De Witte Daniel Avery Planetary Assault Systems (Live) Rødhåd
Into The Woods in association with Frontier
Praslea Jane Fitz Janeret Kolo & Dyze Tarek Charbonnier G. Walker
Launched as a London-based party series by Luke Vibert and Posthuman back in 2007, the I Love Acid banner has since grown and extended into a record label (established 2014), maintaining a focus on the classic 303 acid sound. In celebration of it turning 10 years old, the label heads have put together a 20-track compilation. Aside from their own contributions, they call on the likes of B12, Jared Wilson, Neville Watson, TB Arthur, John Heckle, and Mystic Bill amongst others.
Ten Years Of I Love Acid will be released March 31.
Tracklisting:
01. Neville Watson “Sweatbox” 02. Posthuman “Brand Loyalty” 03. Mike Dunn “No Chaser” 04. XXXY “Blup Blup” 05. TB Arthur “TB1 B1” 06. Mystic Bill “Revenge Of The Preacherman” 07. Cardopusher “Out On A Limb” 08. Hardfloor “36 Chambers Of Kikumoto” 09. dyLab “Let Us Rise” 10. Kerrie “Eerie Acid” 11. Jared Wilson “Tracking” 12. Hannah Holland “Tweak” (feat. Josh Caffe) 13. B12 “Wobble Boarding” 14. Mark Forshaw “He’s Not There” 15. Jozef K & Wintersun “Hyggeacid” 16. John Heckle “Days Of Atlantis” 17. Chevron “CYPUPB~B” 18. Luke Vibert “Jeepers H Christ” 19. Transparent Sound “Dancing Eyelids” 20. Pye Corner Audio “Dead Ends”
The album and its 10 tracks are a tribute to Bolívar’s homeland, Cantabria, and were initially written there “between the sea and the mountains, between the blue and green.” The album as a whole evokes a beautiful sonic scenery, Bolívar’s 10 ambient excursions perfectly match the stunning coastal region of Cantabria. The release is also paired with a tale written by X. Balboa, in which a Finnish sailor plays the main character—the label recommends reading the tale while listening to the tracks on the album to fuse the musical and geographical aspects.
The album is available digitally and as a limited-edition CD that includes the tale by X. Balboa and a three-bodied package. You can find both options on Seven Villa Voyage’s Bandcamp page, with the album’s introspective title track available via WeTransfer below.
