Leftfield / Experimental / Electronic Recommendations February 2016

Review: France's Vox Low is a psych-minimal-kraut-eave outfit made up of Benoit Raymond and Jean Christophe Couderc, and if the genre description sounds like a mouthful, it's simply because their music is a diverse as diverse as the label that they release on. They return with an EP for Astro Lab Recordings, this time, and "Baby Brown" sets the scene with a jarring selection of organs set against a backdrop of house-driven beats, followed by the shadier, more industrial flex of the 80's-reminiscent "Love Ourself". On the flip, Lost Tapes remixes "I Wanna See The Light" into a cold-blooded lo-fi jam for the dreamers, while long-time Dj Ivan Smagghe adds his own touch on the tune thanks to a shimmering disco flavour, and a gorgeous, warm bassline.

Review: It's been a year of fine collaborations for Beau Wanzer, dropping an album-length masterclass in pummelling techno as Civil Duty alongside Shawn O'Sullivan, as well as land on Dog In The Night for a Juzer 12" with Dan Jugel. 2015 ends with a return to his own Untitled label for a further collaborative release in cahoots with Corporate Park duo Shane English and Jonah Lange. The foundation of Wanzer's own label has seen the Chicago native fully reveal his prolific nature with a series of releases that help map out his particular brand of frazzled sonics. The simply-titled CP/BW adds some more weight, delivering a "slimy hodgepodge of varied influences processed by warped minds and melting hardware" across the nine tracks. Faint whispers of CH BB are present in the deranged "Helium Handicap" whilst opener "Foreign Pedigree" is the musical equivalent of a swift slap in the face.

Review: Following on from three cassette releases this year, Michael Isorinne delivers a stunningly beautiful EP for Dutch label Field. Fans of his 2015 tapes on Mixed Up and Infinite Waves will find much to love here; from the hissing ambience on "Blurred Perceptions Of Substance" to the solemn layers of sound and bird song melody on "Reality Is What You Can Get Away With" to the organic textures of "Whereabouts Unknown", this is a sensuous, sumptuous release. In places, it is almost opulent in its detail, as the chiming bells and eerie sound scapes of "Without Tears" demonstrate. However, Isorinne is never too conceited to stray into self-indulgence and closing track "Terrestrial Measure" reveals the producer's frailty and humanity for all to experience.

Review: In line with the timely reappraisal of all things R&S related, the resurgent Apollo have seen the opportunity to bring one of their most celebrated records back for another round. Aphex Twin's ambient recordings mature magnificently with age, sounding ever richer and more emotive as the rest of electronic music continues to play catch up all around. From the gentle breakbeats of "Xtal" to the aquatic techno lure of "Tha", the airy rave of "Pulsewidth" to the heartwrenching composition of "Ageispolis", every track is a perennial example of how far ambient techno could reach even back then. It's just that no-one quite had the arm-span of Richard D. James.

Review: Roly Porter's recent output finally earned him a place in the big league; his second LP, Third Law, comes through courtesy of New York's excellent Tri Angle label, and the mighty "4101" - released as a single back in Novemeber, paves the way for an album full of suspense and surrealism. This is no job for anyone looking for peace or meditation, but rather one for the more open-minded. "Mass", for instance, unleashes boulders of bass and noise over glitchy half-beats, whereas the tunes like "High Places" sound like the inside of an interstellar cruiser, and the sublime "In System" reminds us of Apex Twin's strand of ambient...a cold, pensive bundle of euphoric energy. Recommended.

Review: ** REPRESS ** Having released just one seminal 12" on Chain Reaction back in 2001, Shinichi Atobe was tracked down by Demdike Stare only to be found with a vast vault of unreleased material. This double-pack release brings together some cherry-picked morsels from this haul, shedding fresh light on the mysterious and alluring sound of an almost forgotten Japanese producer. There are more obtuse noise and industrial moments such as "Free Access Zone 4", while other moments are full of sweet and crisp house grooves with wistful atmospherics. The diversity on offer is quite something, but whatever style is tackled, Shinichi Atobe brings a haunting quality to bear on his music.

Review: It's been a rapid rise over the past few years for Alejandro Ghersi's Arca alias. Following some years spent as Nuuro, his current project launched with aplomb on UNO in 2012 before moving on to Hippos In Tanks, and then last year shored up at Mute with the Xen album in a demonstration of true ascendance through the leftfield ranks. Now Ghersi returns to Mute with a new album Mutant, which sees further exploration of his detailed, unusual style touching on elements of noise, bombastic ambient and neoclassical. "Soichiro" lays down wispy threads of trap in amongst dramatic stop-start dynamics while "En" flirts with lingering piano and static interference in the most artful of ways, just two examples of an album loaded with surprise and intrigue.

Review: Despite their obsession with unearthing and reissuing obscure gems, Dark Entries do occasionally release new - or, at least, nearly new - music. Meditation/Industry is the debut vinyl release from Austin-based analogue hardware enthusiast Bill Converse. Made up, in part, from one-take tracks originally released on cassette, it's an album that emphasizes hissing drum machine percussion, wavering synthesizer lines, and the kind of evocative, entertaining material that sits somewhere between cold wave, EBM, experimental Chicago acid and the far-sighted shuffle of Detroit techno. As debuts go, it's pretty darn good, and well worth further exploration.

Review: Well, we couldn't really be happier. In fact, there is almost nothing to say about this album apart from the fact that it is absolutely, downright essential. Originally released in 1986 on Rough Trade here in the UK, it has been reissued a few time over the years but has always vanished in the blink of an eye and reappeared on the EBay and Discogs circuits for big bucks. Finally, you can indulge in a beautifully remastered version on virgin vinyl. In what is seen by many cultic Russell fans as perhaps his biggest achievement, the LP drifts in and out of light and shadows with utter ease, truly portraying the genius of the man who paved much of the way for modern electronic music generally. From start to finish, it's an ethereal mixture of sparse beats, effect manipulations and folklore, charismatically told by one of the only artists in the history of experimental music to really combine and successfully bind so many unexpected musical terrains. We are only mere mortals, so we won't describe the music to you...just get yourself a copy and see...

Review: If you're a particularly ardent follower of the Northern Electronics phenomenon, you may have stumbled across SARS when her ?????? cassette landed on the label operated by budding graffiti artist Abdulla Rashim in 2014. Since then the rarely visible artist has surfaced once more as one half of Fodd Dod, this time in collaboration with the ever prolific Varg. Earlier in the year the pair delivered the Studie I Narhet, Langtan Och Besvikelse album to Northern Electronics, and now SARS is back but this time she is working alongside Rashim. For Those Who Strive comes draped in sweeps of gloomy pads that fit perfectly with the uneasy tension of the Northern Electronics aesthetic. The album is comprised of six tracks, all reportedly composed by SARS and Rashim in Stockholm this year before being mastered by Neel in Rome. Varg devotees fear not, for Ronnberg reportedly contributed additional production to the opening track "Stolen Scenes Of Golden Lush".

Review: Originally out on Ink Records way back in 1985, Severed Heads' Clifford Darling, Please Don't Live In The Past is a personal favourite of ours from the iconic Australian act. The band were and always have been one of the few post-punk outfits to truly push the boundaries and diverge onto what some may now call proto-techno. Inside this particular LP, you get a sublime example of their signature percussion style, a fast-paced rattle of steely drums and hi-hats surrounded by odd bundles of lo-fi and distorted synth grit. With the amount of amazing tunes at the core of this beast, it would do the album no justice to just describe the all to you in mere words, but what you need to know is that the music here is totally timeless, a glorious journey down the greyer ends of the 80's dance movement, and a magnificent introspective into what is surely Australia's most interesting band of all time. Essential gear.

Review: Last year's Cold Waves Of Color compilation, a re-mastered sprint through the back catalogue of Gary Ramon's obscure 1980s post-punk and new wave stable Color Tapes, was something of a must-have for those interested in the development of left-of-centre electronic and experimental pop music during the period. This follow-up is, if anything, even better, and digs deeper into the label's little-explored archives for inspiration. Over the course of 12 mesmerizing tracks, it variously touches on moody electro (Void's brilliant "Transvision"), beat-less vocal creepiness (The Lord), left-of-centre dark-wave synth-pop (Space Brothers), and the kind of balls-out, surging proto-EBM that still sounds heavy 30-odd years after it was first released (Beserk In A Hayfield's brilliant "Pulse").

Review: Aside from all the projects that he's been involved in the past - Bum Creek and Tarcar being among some of our favourites - Tarquin Manek has only released one tune on his own name, a track entitled "Not Missing You" that came out earlier this year on the mighty Blackest Ever Black. Manek is finally back on BEB with his own mini LP this time, and it's a splendid mixture of eerie electronics and Eastern influences. For instance, the opener "Sassafras Gessundheit" is a wonky twist of pseudo didgeridoos and unstable electronic patterns, and "Fortunes Past" is so molecular in its aesthetic that it sounds like organisms floating at the bottom of the ocean. "Perfect Scorn" is another favourite of ours, but what we most like about Manek's music is the little details dotted everywhere. Like intricate sculptures, his music is a journey into subtlety and elegance. Beautiful.

Review: Italy's shadowy Mace has been spraying eerie techno all over the workshop for the last two years, and his releases on both Further Records and Attic Music have landed him a place on Violetshaped Veleno Viola label - translated into English as Purple Poison...we're in. "Stronger Than Education" is glitchier than his previous releases, a groove barely held together by wonky shades of gargling acid and ultra distorted percussion slithering; and "Sarakin" truly heads down the EBM route with its harsh sonics and hissing drums. On the B-side, "Scenario C" is more angelic, a little more uplifting, but still entrenched in Mace's melancholic euphoria. Dark, odd, broken, and just the way we like it. Tip!

Review: Well, it's another Tarantino flick in the picture houses, and that means another sublime soundtrack. Period. Apart from his directorial talents, of course, what's fascinating about the Mr QT is his ability to inject so much long-lost music into his films, and so much mystique and charm for a man at the top of the commercial Hollywood game; and while most other directors are playing out Taylor Swift or the most recent pop pseudo celebrity, this guy pulls out the big guns...like the mythical Ennio Morricone, the legendary 'Spaghetti Western' composer. As you'd expect, a great part of this is orchestral and aimed at creating moods, ambience and thrill, so if you're a fan of soundtrack works, this is set to be a collector's classic already. Fantastic, as per usual. Check the skits, too, it wouldn't be a Tarantino soundtrack without them!

Review: First surfacing on Legowelt's Strange Life back in 2004, Rotterdam's Ian Martin has brought his own brand of dark ambient and unsettling electronics to a stellar clutch of labels that includes Further, Bunker and Drvg Cvltre's New York Haunted. Of these, it is the Bunker/Panzerkreuz crew that Martin has become most readily associated with, perhaps due to the fact label and artist reside in the Netherlands. Wright Seer finds Martin back on Panzerkreuz for his first release of 2016 and features five more untitled tracks of subtle drone-electro hybrids that sound all the more mind-bending with each successive listen.