Pingipung! Germany レコード& CD

Review: Instrumental synth pop producer Gozen Atila, AKA Anadol - named after an old Turkish car company - has been building a stellar reputation for herself as a purveyor of 1970s and 1980s influenced electronic soundscapes since her first full length, curuyen Yillar (Rotting Years), turned heads among press and public alike in 2012. Plenty has come between then and now, but finally we're given Hatiralar, a record that was made around the same time as her debut but has never before seen the light of day. Informed by the experimental European and Eurasian movie scores of decades past, fans of Bruce Haack and The Space Lady will find much to fall head over heels for here, touching on naive keyboard chart hits from outside the Western music industry, kosmische, science fiction sounds and obscure electro forms, it's a strange but enticing trip into another world.

Review: Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila are bonafide musical visionaries who have come totters for the first time on this debut collaborative album, Baba Soiree. They have achieved plenty over their careers in electronic music and draw on all of it here as they fuse their own idiosyncratic styles into something new. The churning and rigid mechanical loops and experimental instrumental setups come from Bastien while the sound designs and superbly chosen and assembled samples come from Banabila. Sitting somewhere between dance floor fun and avant garde invention this is a great piece of sonic alchemy.

Review: Marewrew, a female vocal group specialising in traditional Ainu songs, takes centre stage in Pingipung's exploration of the music of northern Japan's long-suppressed people. Produced by Oki Kano, who is known for his work with Ainu artists, Marewrew's a cappella renditions offer a fresh perspective on these age-old tunes. With voices familiar from their backing vocals for Umeko Ando, Marewrew's harmonious canons create captivating, trance-like experiences. Nature's whispers and birdcalls add depth, while tracks like 'Little Sea God' weave hypnotic tales. The album, Ukouk, curated by Andi Otto, showcases Marewrew's enchanting melodies, including unexpected cumbia and pop-inspired moments, accompanied by percussion and the Tonkori harp.