RIP. A weekly roundup of releases on Bandcamp and Soundcloud selected and delivered by Aidan
Don’t get me started. I’ll never stop. I couldn’t sleep the other night so I just replayed the events of my life from about November 2001 to July 2003 in my head. As you do. You know those memes? They are accurate. Instead, lets look to the future, or the more recent past, with music from recent weeks and years as well as stuff yet to be released.
This is some super exciting techno from a producer who seems to make ambient the rest of the time. Just crunchy vibes, warm and chunky. Into it.
I was going to say I was a bit late finding this but at least two of the releases today are from 2019. SURE LOOK. NikNak is an artist from Leeds who describes herself as a “DJ, Turntablist, Sound Artist & Comic Book Enthusiast!” on her website. She was recently a recipient of a 2020 Oram Award. Bashi is a sonic retelling of a trip to Turkey, utilising field recordings and reworking them via her own brand of turntablism. It’s truly fascinating, and at times it’s genuinely hard to tell how she fashioned the end results from such material.
I’m very much into ‘Dronacid’ [phaserinterlude mix] from this collection of acid trax.
This is the first mix from the newly formed Mixtape Club: “A free dance music mixtape series where DJs get paid.” It comes from Finn and Local Action, and is supported by Patreon subscriptions (and, I have to assume, the coffers of those commissioning the mixes). Ariel Zetina, based in Chicago, delivers an exhilarating mix that bangs from the start, the perfect soundtrack to twirling around your bedroom while dreaming of dance floors past. Things get faster and faster in the closing stages, an almost breathless whirlwind taking it home.
Tony Poland - ItTakesTime036 ft Withdrawn (Cold Light) guest mix
My man Tony gets Cold Light on the show. Cold Light got a special mention from Ambient Babestation Meltdown when asked about her favourite music of 2020.
Secret Pyramid aka Amir Abbey got in touch with some albums he’d made. This one is really special, released on the ever fascinating Geographic North (remember that fantastic Halloween compilation last year). Embers is sweeping and elegiac, mournful and heart-wrenching. Slowly unfurling, searing and bereft of hope. Gorgeous!
assistant director - Korgy 136
Gurgly wurgly techno from some random SoundCloud account. Nice work.
Fatima Al Qadiri - D-Medley (Zurvolt Edit)
This is part of a collection of edits but for me it’s the standout, if only because the source material is already my favourite of the bunch.
A single track from a Bay Area producer. Snarling angry vibes, slightly monastical like ‘D-Medley' above. The vocals are plaintive and vibey. Gated synths sit underneath, with an overall trance-meets-rnb-meets-goth-disco vibe.
Here we have another release from the enmossed x psychic liberation series. It’s haunting piano music, muted and looped, recorded during lockdown (of course!), eventually devolving into single dank tones, crunchy footsteps adding terror or perhaps levity, depending on your pov. Swirling, unsettling sounds, the sweet hour of the title the start of the day, the middle of the night, the depth of despair, the end of longing, the hope for renewal. The blurb speaks of superposition and sublimation, inviting the listener to inhabit, to the space created by these sounds.
I bought a bunch of stuff from Warp over Christmas, including a compilation called Strictly 4 Groovers from a collective named DIY. Or Diy? Or diy? One track was especially nice, Cassiopeia by someone called Nail. I went to his Discogs and found a Bandcamp link, and sure enough he’s still putting stuff out. This is from 2019, or rather was originally released in 2015 and then shared again two years ago with an extra track. Dreamy, atmospheric techno, timeless stuff.
CRUNCHY NOISE. Crunchy is the word of the week I think.
VA - Music for Another Sky (mailbox)
This is a compilation raising money for UK charity Refuge, which helps victims of domestic abuse. It marks 50 years of hard work this year; I don’t say celebrates because ideally charities like this would not exist, but sadly there remains a need for them. The title comes from Emily Dickinson, who imagines “another sky, ever serene and fair”. The music is thus wistful and elegiac, hopeful yet at times resigned. Ryefield Society’s ‘Home Outside’ reminds me of Accadia’s ‘Into The Dawn’, albeit using a different approach with similar chords. zakè creates muffled serenity with ‘Distant Shadow’. There are also tracks from Patricia Wolf, Slow Clinic, KMRU, Whettman Chelmets, Isnaj Dui and Stephanie Merchak among many others.
Lila Tirando a Violeta - N.D.E
Recorded during a night of unrest, N.D.E (which stands for near-death experience, if you didn’t know, or haven’t watched The OA) moves between sweet melodies, unsettling tones, strange voices and stranger folkloric sounds. It’s reflective of the uncomfortable state of its origins.
Martina Bertoni - Music For Empty Flats
Just over a year ago I featured cellist Martina Bertoni’s All the Ghosts Are Gone on Falk. This new release comes on Karlrecords. For me, the title speaks of dwellings that lie unlived in because their occupants have gone to be with their families elsewhere during the pandemic, places dormant while lockdowns continue. That’s me. The blurb features the following explanation:
„the inspiration for the title „music for empty flats“ comes from a fraction of time during last winter, while i was visiting iceland. i had the strange opportunity to spend lots of time listening to music, alone in a brand new but unoccupied - therefore completely naked - empty flat in the suburbs of reykjavík. it was christmas, it was constantly dark, outside there was snow, inside there was this strange dystopian empty space in which i could listen to my favourite pieces of music in complete solitude. this is when i started sketching the new record.“ says bertoni.
For some reason I’m thinking of Crocodile, the Black Mirror segment that featured Andrea Riseborough (side note, that was only December 2017???). I could talk about the dark and oppressive sounds on display here, the cinematic and evocative moods. I feel I’ve already used enough words without saying anything.