RIP. A weekly roundup of releases on Bandcamp and Soundcloud selected and delivered by Aidan
What a world, what a world. My mind is a blank canvas right now.
Piercing Blake - Live at The Lighthouse
This is the kind of thing I want to make when I make music, only much, MUCH better. Longform fuzz, hiss, noise and crackle, it envelops me and makes me want to stand still and gaze into nothingness.
Utterly sumptuous deep ambient techno vibes. Too many words? My son thought it was lovely. “Who even made this music?!” he asked. “Someone called Sindh,” I answered. Who that is, however, I don’t know. “The project Sindh was named as such after the musician had an affecting encounter with the magnificent Indus River in Ladakh…” Whether this means it’s a westerner on a gap year or someone from that region, who knows. Answers on a postcard.
Marine Drouan - Breathing in the Lake
Continuing on from last week’s “non-music” theme, this is the latest in a series of digital singles on the Linear Obsessional label. “Two sides, 7” single length, no music, classic single price!” No music!
It’s really quite lovely though. Drouan also records as Kritzkom, and has previously released on Where to Now? and Seagrave, among other labels. This short release features strange recordings that have been treated and manipulated into sounding something quite otherworldly.
Guy Birkin - Disorganised and Unwanted (Day)
Guy Birkin - Disorganised and Unwanted (Night)
Now for something distinctly this-worldly, to coin a phrase. The artist sent these links to me last week with the subject line “non-music” (see above gif). Field recordings, snippets, ideas, moments, all left unprocessed or warped with glee, these offer a brief insight into the life and times of this particularly inventive artist.
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence (JBS Dramapiano Rework)
Well this is fun. Perhaps you may think it’s sacrilege. The first time I heard the famous ‘Enjoy The Silence’ riff was actually in Mike Koglin’s instrumental trance track of the same name, using its deeply emotional melody to maximum euphoric effect. Only some years later did I learn that it was an actual song with words and stuff. So my own thoughts on “purity” or whatever when it comes to sacred cows like the Mode are non-existent. JBS turns it into a sultry amapiano shuffle, working around a truncated bass line and his own choice of additional notation. It’s novel and it’s fun, as stated above. Oh and proceeds are going to a children’s home in Knysna, South Africa.
Digital Mystikz feat. Spen G - Anti War Dub (SLVPJ VIP)
Speaking of sacrilege… On paper this probably sounds horrendous, the cavernous bass of ‘Anti War Dub’ filled with breaks and samples, but in reality I imagine this would simply GO OFF in a club.
MINDS V/A by Spilt Milk Rekords
This is a huge comp from Belfast, raising money for PIPS Hope & Support, an organisation that works in the area of suicide prevention and support. Across 22 tracks we get a variety of sounds, from spoken word and ambient futures to sample-heavy electronica and searing electro. Something for everyone, if they like forward-thinking electronic music for dark rooms and headphones that is.
Not sure why but this is just comically all over the place. It’s an uptempo acid jam that features a radio DJ taking calls and fielding statements like “you trashy, bitch!” The remix from JADALAREIGN really puts that statement to work, and on the whole it’s just incredible fun.
object blue with Misantrop - 25 July 2021
I was talking to someone this week about how very often, mixes and radio shows ca n leave you underwhelmed. Doing the same ol’ doof doof 1-2 bang bang thing. The guest mix in the opening hour of object blue’s latest Rinse FM show does none of that. Spoken word from Laurie Anderson, propulsive techno, careening tracks that seem to dance around each other with each bolstering the other’s already massive emphasis, all before crashing to a halt after a matter of minutes. This is not a mix that simply travels from A to B. It stops off at every available point to make a statement and then get back on the road. It features some pieces from Misantrop’s recent release Reproaching the Absurd on Opal Tapes, an album several years in the making. This is a thrilling companion piece to that fascinating work.
KS Podcast 20: Category, “Chopped & Screwed Computer Music”
Speaking of mixes doing the unexpected, here is another one. The title was enough to draw me in, and what I heard didn’t disappoint. Low-slung computer beats rendered squishy and elastic, it’s a completely novel approach and does its title proud. The artist just released an album too.
Ian William Craig / Kago - SPLIT SERIES #24
Fatcat is bringing its split 12” series to an end, and it’s doing so with a rather special release. The A-side is from Ian William Craig, whose signature melancholy shines throughout the 19 minutes of his piece. It’s heart-rending stuff, offering you the chance to wail and sob. Kago’s half features a host of modern folk approaches, with Estonian singing over tape warbles and guitar twang. It’s a cathartic follow-on from the drama that ensued, and a fitting end to this project.
Tragic computer voices that sing of everything and nothing. This album feels like torch songs from inside the box. Like the cabaret cousin of Category’s mix above, it seems like something that shouldn’t exist yet does; an insight into a digital world that we don’t deserve.
Erika de Casier - Little Bit (Sydlandsmix by Erika de Casier and El Trick)
This is from last year, and it’s a lovely half-time garage remix by Erika de Casier of her own track Little Bit, working with El Trick, an alias of Natal Zaks, aka Central of Regelbau/Help fame. It’s deeply emotional, a brilliant combination of garage flecks, through M1-esque sounds and gentle 2-step percussion as well as beautiful rnb synth flourishes.