In these weird times, music releases haven't completely dried up, but understandably there hasn't been the usual flood of contenders for 'Album of the Year' so far.
With this in mind it seems pertinent to take advantage of this extended freetime and turn attentions to some electronica promos that have landed in my inbox, all due for release in April or May.
First up is a right royal return-to-form for Croatian producer Petar Dundov with the expansive Synesthetic Flow (7/10). Hefty 4/4 beats rarely make way for anything as epic as this with both the original and attendant remix delivering on both rhythm and melody. Reminiscent of the likes of Francois Kevorkian and Orbital, SF gradually builds into an irridescent canter that offers sweeping waves of synths and subtle rhythmic shifts. Slower to kick in but no less superior is Dutch-based wizard Patrice Bäumel's widescreen take on things. It's a remix that sounds longer than the original yet clocks in at just under 7 minutes, utilising the lead track's atmospherics more than its melody and adding in a bit of cheeky echo and phasing for good measure. It's more of a headphones track, whereas the original is definitely borne of clubbier chops.
Another leading light in intelligent mid-paced trance and house is John Tejada who returns with Moving 909s (8/10). And returning the favour on remix duties is Warp Records luminary Plaid who gives the lead-track a successful sprinkling of inventive (and occasionally disorientating) electronic fairy-dust (Tejada recently reworked Plaid's Maru). It bears little resemblance to the original version which is a somewhat more straightforward 4/4 track that still tickles the tastebuds and feet with gradually building synthwaves and the odd effect here and there. Reminding me of some of Yello's more recent work is bonus track Infinity Room which manages to sound both funky and freaked out. Then the hi-hats kick in from about 2 minutes in and we're in spaced techno territory. As jams go, this one is sweet.
Hot on the heels of three recent 'lockdown' EPs, Etat Naturel (7/10) is the latest in an ongoing series of releases created by French producer Arnaud Robotini during the current European quarantine measures. The title-track is melodic, hypnotic and motorik without breaking the sound barrier or land-speed record, a clubbers comedown or the start of a lengthy journey from the bed to the fridge and back again. Somewhat more intense are the three remixes of Chloroquine. VTSS creates an industrialesque template that evokes early DAF, while Raffaele Attanasio supercharges the track with even beefier discofied beats and portentuous synthlines. Fabrizio Rat turns in another new-beat/industrial reworking that isn't far removed from Front 242. The other preceding three releases are all worth seeking out (sort of John Foxx/DAF/T21 territory with attendant harder mixes) with more to come on a weekly basis. Update: Volume 5 has since appeared and is also terrific, especially lead-track The Masquerade (very Cabaret Voltaire circa 1990, one has to say).
Essex-based jazzy synthesists Ultramarine have recently offered up a FREE EP for downloading via Bandcamp, which is very welcome indeed, given the strength of the tracks on offer here. Comprising a quartet of 'lost' recordings from the vaults, Interiors (8/10) is good enough to stamp up on vinyl for a wider audience. Each piece dates back to 2011 when the duo were assembling ideas for the acclaimed 2013 album This Time Last Year and are a little more explorative than last year's triumphant Signals Into Space set. Standouts are By Return which is all woozy and druggy, replete with echo and busy rhythms and the cyclical freestyle version of Decoy Point which could easily be the duo's homage to Talk Talk's Laughing Stock.
And so to the recent spate of electronic albums, kicking off with this second collaborative double set from producer Scott Monteith (aka Deadbeat) and vocalist Paul St Hilaire. 4 Quarters of Love and Modern Lash (8/10) heralds something of an atmospheric landmark for this pair, with an underlying dubbed-out nod to the likes of Burial, Alpha Steppa and Massive Attack. Opener War Games is a brooding echo stepper that oozes consciousness and a speaker-bothering sub-bass that recalls Leftfield's Chant of a Poor Man. St Hilaire has a resonating voice not unlike Horace Andy and his cadence lends a sultry warmth and humanity to this quartet of 'meditations'. On Mind Control, the beats kick in and suddenly the heyday of The Orb or Suns of Arqa are recalled. The Persian imprint Another Moon has done itself proud with this really engaging album.
Finally, another 4-track EP showcasing a pioneering electronica artist's inventive and creative bent. Max Cooper dabbles and specializes in explorative and experimental synthwerk, without resorting to too much self-indulgence. On 3D Reworks 001 (initially free on Bandcamp, 7/10), Cooper explores found-sounds, atmospherics and straight-up club mixes and should appeal to fans of Wrangler, Chris Watson and industrialists T21. The whole EP shapeshifts through Cooper's binaural panner and layers of melody, beats and the occasional snippet of spoken word with James Yorkston's voice gracing the closing Reich-like Repetition - it's reminiscent of Scottish poetics Grand Gestures most recent volumes. For the more straightforward clubbier end of Cooper's range, head to Resynthesis, a slowly-building digital anthem in the making. Well worth seeking out.
With this in mind it seems pertinent to take advantage of this extended freetime and turn attentions to some electronica promos that have landed in my inbox, all due for release in April or May.
And so to the recent spate of electronic albums, kicking off with this second collaborative double set from producer Scott Monteith (aka Deadbeat) and vocalist Paul St Hilaire. 4 Quarters of Love and Modern Lash (8/10) heralds something of an atmospheric landmark for this pair, with an underlying dubbed-out nod to the likes of Burial, Alpha Steppa and Massive Attack. Opener War Games is a brooding echo stepper that oozes consciousness and a speaker-bothering sub-bass that recalls Leftfield's Chant of a Poor Man. St Hilaire has a resonating voice not unlike Horace Andy and his cadence lends a sultry warmth and humanity to this quartet of 'meditations'. On Mind Control, the beats kick in and suddenly the heyday of The Orb or Suns of Arqa are recalled. The Persian imprint Another Moon has done itself proud with this really engaging album.
Finally, another 4-track EP showcasing a pioneering electronica artist's inventive and creative bent. Max Cooper dabbles and specializes in explorative and experimental synthwerk, without resorting to too much self-indulgence. On 3D Reworks 001 (initially free on Bandcamp, 7/10), Cooper explores found-sounds, atmospherics and straight-up club mixes and should appeal to fans of Wrangler, Chris Watson and industrialists T21. The whole EP shapeshifts through Cooper's binaural panner and layers of melody, beats and the occasional snippet of spoken word with James Yorkston's voice gracing the closing Reich-like Repetition - it's reminiscent of Scottish poetics Grand Gestures most recent volumes. For the more straightforward clubbier end of Cooper's range, head to Resynthesis, a slowly-building digital anthem in the making. Well worth seeking out.