Various
Sued Electronic
mnlv 02
minlove
http://www.minlove.net
For their second release Minlove invited, london based imprint Sued Electronic, to submit new material that would best reflect the label’s vision and output. The result is a compilation that offers a very diverse, and highly individual exploration of minimal electronic music – ranging from highly rhythmical, african influenced textures, to the more dubbier end of the spectrum, icy reduced yet quirky melodies and spacious cinematic meanderings.
“Wormhole”, by label head Alan Abrahams offers harmonious juxtapositions between state-of-the-art production methods, techno structures, world-music rhythms, and tribal chants / spoken words. Samples cut in and out at one instance and reappear in others, percussion is added at will, and textural elements are pasted into intricate collages to outstanding effects.
Lump’s highly infectious “Cake and Discipline” is a grooving mass of granulated noises crackling away over the 4/4 with a funked up sub bass adding the swing and minimally grooving underneath. The track is built and dissected with perfect precision, with subtle synths dotted around the 4/4, and clever vocal edits. “Yellow Leaf” by Milos enters reduced icy territories, with bassline depths to dubby floats and intricate textures forging a stripped, delicious line, in ascetic minimalism.
The closing track ” Halfway North” by AM/PM further demonstrates, his ability to combine contemporary electronic music, with beautiful conceptual composition. The skeletal percussion, sounding like a rattle snake, acts as a perfect catalyst and background for deeply melodic and strangely sparse sequences, chords and strings.
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Konrad Bayer
Shall We Go To The Park?
APL 21
Autoplate
http://www.autoplate.cc/
Konrad Bayer is based in Munich and has put out tracks on a few compilations, an album called Dreams Of Leaving on the Genesungswerk label and a pair of albums on his own CDr imprint, Digital Folklore. More intriguing yet is his work with author Mathias Hirth, with whom he recorded “an audiobook, Al Wahid,… about getting lost in North Africa”. Well, it’s a big place. He now has an eight-track collection, Shall We Go To The Park? on the Autoplate netlabel, with a new release apparently to follow soon. And I can’t wait to hear it, because Shall We Go…? is an absolutely fascinating lo-volume listen. It’s just a delight, the way that Bayer toys with loops – often field recordings – in creating textures that at times start out as being somewhat difficult to get to grips with, but subtly pan out into deft, melodic pieces constructed mainly around acoustic guitar phrases punctuated with electronic blips and hits: in effect, it’s indietronics but with a dose of collage-based abstraction. As an example of a style of music that is constructed using a real range of techniques and sound sources, this is superb stuff, and while I might be more of a stay-at-home-with-a-cup-of-tea-and-a-nice-piece-of-homemade-cake guy than Autoplate’s suggestion that this is “best enjoyed while picknicking underneath the trees in the park, relaxing on a quilt,” it still makes me hungry for more. So when is that new release coming out? Get to it, Autoplate.
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Latex Distortion
Dis is to late E.P.
1bit 01
1-bit wonder
http://www.1bit-wonder.com/
Mirsch is the producer behind Latex Distortion. When performing live, he’s joined by Zacke aka René Schinkel. Latex Distortion started in the year 1999 when Mirsch was still deejaying techno sounds as Spud Murphy. Their first productions promoted a rather harsh industrial sound brimming with killing sounds and wicked samples. Simultaneously, Latex Distortion tracks and live appearances have always peered somewhat beyond the dancefloor.
Straight rhythms are rather rare, expectations are not there to be met but to be played with. The Latex universe is mazy and full of clever built traps. Its sound cannot be limited to one style – predictions, which direction the LD project will take next is highly precarious. As the Latex-boys are influenced by all kinds of music ranging from The Beatles and Air to Aphex Twin and Zhark Recordings and even Punk Rock, their next output could be just about everything…
The first 1-bit wonder release is a mellow and electronic one. Smooth tricky beats versus beautiful soundscapes. Find out by downloading the “Dis is to late E.P.”!
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Sarah Goldfarb
Absolute Funk ep
SN018
Sinergy networks
http://www.sinergy-networks.com
El debut para Sinergy del francés Jean –Vince, de nombre artístico Sarah Goldfarb, nos ofrece 2 cortes originales y 4 remixes, en un EP de título totalmente definitorio que supone un gran ejemplo de las conexiones que se establecen entre estilos como el electro y el tecno con el que sin duda es uno de sus predecesores: el funk.
El tema original, “Absolute Funk” guarda su virtud en la sencillez de estructuras y en la profunda efectividad que ofrece. El funk es un estilo que siempre ha tenido muy buenos resultados en manos de artistas franceses, y Jean-Vince lo demuestra con un tema que es la pista perfecta para captar la esencia del maxi. Absolute Funk puede hacerte bailar con su clásica e intensa base rítmica y hacerte volar con sus ambientales synthes.
El segundo tema original del francés es retorcido, directo, bañado en percusión digital de aire cuasi-africana y en sonidos sintéticos que poseen a la vez una tendencia al electro mucho más patente, y que llevan a cabo una repetición rítmica casi tranceante.
La revisión de “Absolute Funk” a cargo de LOD, conserva el groove de la original pero le añade más tintes de tecno minimal sugerente, clicks y sonidos eléctricos incrustados en el ritmo, acogiendo así múltiples registros sonoros que se van sucediendo hasta llegar a conformar el matrimonio perfecto entre ritmo e interferencia.
La recreación de Abstract Groove es mucho más espesa, abstracta, con ciertos toques de destono y ruido abrupto. De nuevo ofrece una construcción asombrosa, ácida, oscura y con graves desbordantes al límite de la saturación, en la que el funk se va retorciendo y adquiriendo nuevas formas.
En el remix que hace Funzion de nuevo los synthes con aires espaciales tienen su buena porción de protagonismo además de incorporar una voz tratada que le aporta cierto aire de sensualidad. Todo esto en un marco rítmico contundente, que entra de lleno en los terrenos del mejor electro, aquel que atrapa y puede llegar a hipnotizar a base de repetición e intensidad.
El alemán Marko Fuerstenberg muestra la cara más dura del corte revisado, dando cuerpo al tema con un enfoque más cercano al sonido de Detroit, siempre evocador del misterio y utilizando para transmitirlo synthes afilados desde la clave del mejor tecno minimalista.
En su conjunto, estamos ante una montaña rusa de sonidos y espirales rítmicas en la que el funk domina pero cede su impronta al servicio de otras experiencias estilísticas.
La herencia de este género sigue muy viva, al menos desde la visión de creadores del siglo 21.
Buenísima muestra.
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