RIP. A weekly roundup of releases on Bandcamp and Soundcloud selected and delivered by Aidan
Bandcloud 199
Next week is going to be exciting! For now, enjoy this selection.
Monoak - Live At Freerotation 2017
Irish man in the UK Monoak has just shared a recording of his live set at Freerotation last year. It follows the thread first unspooled in his releases for the festival's label, but cuts off in different directions, rumbling kinetic techno all the way though. Around 45 minutes in there's one particularly lumpy track that's chugging along nicely when all of a sudden a weird twisted almost vocal element comes in, and it's just magical.
Balmorhea - Clear Language: Reworked
A gathering of ambient superheroes on this one. I hadn't actually heard of Balmorhea until this release, but I couldn't help but notice Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Christina Vantzou and William Basinski among the artists enlisted to remix tracks from the duo's 2017 album. They're all beautiful and heartbreaking, as you'd expect. Vantzou's rework is a favourite, as is that of Jon Porras.
Olive T - a few hours 2 red bulls. need a refill
WOOO. New track from Olive T! It's a percussive jam with narcotic synths and a repeated refrain about baggin' cute boys. And a SUPER title. We already know that Olive is a great DJ, but now we have proof that she's an inventive producer with great ideas and humour to boot. I can't wait to hear more in the future.
FOOZOOL - CLUB CHAI 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL MIX
Two years of Club Chai! The label, event series and curatorial project by DJs/producers FOOZOOL & 8ULENTINA celebrates with this half-hour mix of superlative jams ahead of their birthday party tomorrow. Choppy, scrappy club, a smattering of classic house and eastern pop. I'm so so happy to hear iio's 'Rapture' feature too. My youth!
Empathic Window - Communication Shield Drafts
This is so cool — Empathic Window took sounds from Wikipedia's international phonetic alphabet and turned those into a sea of noise, ebbing and flowing, exploding and settling. Not one for relaxation or background noise, this is intriguing computer music that seeks to get to the heart of computer/human relationships.
VA - Rusted Tone Recordings: Sampler Vol. 1
Newly minted label Rusted Tone kicks off 2018 with a hefty sampler, featuring 10 gorgeous tracks of ... rusted tones. Darren Harper opens proceedings with tape-stretched warbled beauty, Kepier Window (fka Joseph Curwen) offers slightly unhinged sonic transmissions; it's hard to pick out favourites really. I await further releases eagerly.
Cassini - Breakers
An unknown quantity, Cassini seems to make music that's somewhere techno and breaks, constantly gazing into space. It's an accomplished collection of tracks, perhaps leaning too heavily on the '90s style of ambient-electronica-techno (think 'Xtal' or 'Tha') but it's melodically rich and sonically coherent, so it works. Closer 'Segment' is a delight, earning its 14-minute length with twists and turns.
Stanton Warriors - Stanton Sessions Vol.1
Wahey! I tell people about this mix fairly regularly. It's from 2001 (not 2003 as the link says) and it's SUCH a slammer. It starts off with a bang (the Warriors' remix of Basement Jaxx's 'Jump 'N' Shout') and never lets up. Somehow it pulls in The Streets over Zinc, Louie Vega, 'Doom's Night', Isolée and finishes with 'Groove Chronicles'. It's fun, it's exciting, it's clever, it's just GREAT. And it's on SoundCloud!
Nothing catchy in this box. Goodbye for now.