This week’s release is a DJ mix set released at the Sonic Walker netlabel. It features 12 tracks from the netlabel rec72 (which should not be confused with the 12rec. netlabel). The covered genres range from dark ambient stuff to breaky IDM. Tracks by Zoe.LeelA also feature vocals. I would suggest it for a cool evening at the computer.

[See post to listen to audio]

Tracklist

1. Bitbasic – Cdr882
2. Zoe.LeelA – Destroy She Says
3. Kurobear – Powerful Indeed
4. Lukeing Forward – Feel the Motion of the Air
5. Komatsu – Y Arderan Juntos
6. Deef – Ein sonniger Tag Mit Dir
7. Zoe.LeelA – Silence
8. Nisei23 – I Dreamt of Music
9. Pandacetamol – Treasure Map
10. Human Terminal – Parallels
11. Phopha – Macabre City
12. Paco Alvarez – Minimisation

Stats

A unique performance, made available to everyone. Often wrongly described as the first Swing concert, the The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert by Benny Goodman is a milestone in the history of Jazz concerts. Just listen to the final track of the concert and you know what I mean. (The cover image is self-made with an image of Benny Goodman from 1971.)

[See post to listen to audio]
Sing Sing Sing – With A Swing is a legendary Jazz standard. This performance is a 10 minute long frenzy with instrumental soli. The first minute introduces the famous theme, well structured by an excellent drum performance of Gene Krupa. Swing at its best.

Get the whole album at the download link below the long track list.

Tracks

Stats

Peter van Riet is an incredibly talented musician from Belgium. Fortunately, he built on that talent and studied Classical piano, followed by supplement courses in harmonics and composition. The results of this effort are partially for download on his homepage. He first names Craig Armstrong in his list of artists that influenced him. And that is hearable in his only major release I found so far. It is a piano-dominated masterpiece between cinematic soundtrack and “modern classical” compositions. It is difficult to select only three tracks in the following as a listening example, because the whole album is too good to be free. But don’t believe me unheard! Get dazzled!

It is uploaded unfortunately as a ZIP archive which does not allow streaming of individual tracks. Additionally, it is released under a restrictive license, which does not allow me to re-upload it properly. So I just can recommend you to download it and then just to listen to the tracks with a 4-star rating in the following table. I promise, you will not regret it!

Tracks

Stats

Alpha point is a music project originating from a Russian electro band. Their style has influences of Depeche Mode, combined with dance floor compatible beats and straight industrial guitar riffs. The result is not a complex composition, but honest, enjoyable techno songs. They have have released several singles and albums on the internet archive. Here, I review their latest single release High Like The Angels which features four different versions of this songs plus the bonus single God’s Anger. Listen to my favourite picks and download the album, if you like it.

[See post to listen to audio]

High Like The Angels (Relaxed Mix) is my favourite version of this song, probably because it sounds more like Trance, lacking the e-guitars. It such sounds a little bit like an early song from Darude or Paul Oakenfold.

[See post to listen to audio]

Rank two goes to the Cuttin Wings Mix by Personal Space. It uses e-guitars, but adds much cinematic atmosphere by adding depth (i.e. echo) and a subtle soundscape. The song would well fit dystopian science fiction film which plays in an abandoned metropole.

[See post to listen to audio]

The other song on this release, God’s Anger sounds very similar in instrumentation and structure. Nothing surprising here, but a very solid (read: high quality) production makes also this song very pleasing to listen to, when you are after energetic trance-industrial-music.

Tracks

Stats

Free online music is still often linked to eclectic, weird and experimental music. This rock album from 2006, recorded by the band Deadspin is a good counter-example of artists who offer their first release for free. In September 2009, their second album Little Birds Are Like Bullets was published at Split Infinity. In between, several live acts were added to the Internet Archive. As I only review free music here, I stick to Deadspin EP. But have a listen to their new album on the band’s homepage,too! I would compare their sound to a mixture of Coldplay and Sting, but only to give you a rough estimate on how they sound without hearing them, what you can do in the following:

[See post to listen to audio]

October is one of two tracks that is present on both releases. However, the 2009 version was rerecorded and has crisper sound. Nevertheless, October also rocks in this version. Radio-compatible soft rock with extra synth-pads, a great drummer and a relaxed voice in the middle.

[See post to listen to audio]

The Story Never Told has one killer riff that hooked to my brain immediately. I hits you in your face ears right at the beginning (0:10). The bass line glues the 6 minute long song together. Above it, producer Geoff Chase mixes several instrumental solos.

All in all, it is a great album for “general” listening. It doesn’t annoy you but also does not interfere when, say, writing a review. One last remark: the EP does not have an official album cover, so I dared to create one myself. The picture is a photo of an ECQ, taken by user hamma at sxc.hu.

Tracks

Stats

It’s time for some dry, abstract IDM music. This album by the artist Old Bear reminds me of the style of Pluxus whose song Transient you might know already from a Ford TV commercial. The Cologne based netlabel rec72 serves a delicious meal of self-entitled Abstract Hip Hop. Have a quick listen to my favourite tracks and find out if it is your taste, too.

[See post to listen to audio]

If you can find me is both opener and title track of this album. It does both jobs perfectly: the first 40 seconds consist of a classic song build-up until the dry beet sets in to take subtle control of the following 5 minutes. It features short spoken vocal samples and repetitive, nearly meditative synthesizer pads.

[See post to listen to audio]

I would Another evening, like the others describe as a gloomy upbeat track whose general tone transports melancholy, while the vivid percussion has a much more active atmosphere.

Tracks

Stats

This week’s review is about a great piece of Ambient “World” music released at the magnificent Clinical Archives netlabel, a steady source of “eclectic and illogical music”. Its self-proclaimed aim is to broaden the definition of music.

EugeneKha’s River Songs are not attempt in this direction, but they are a dozen well-crafted ambient songs with a distinct sound with various ethnic and cultural influences. In the following are 3 previews of my favourite songs as well as the obligatory download link.

[See post to listen to audio]

The River Song is the flagship song of this album. It starts big with a cinematic opening which could fit a broad range of films. Great first 30 seconds! Then the song slowly introduces other motives and instruments, until in 2:10 an oriental touch is added which moves the imaginary scenery.

[See post to listen to audio]

The Volga Bulgarians strolls through a vivid medina quarter, mixed with traditional western instruments. The comparably strong beat has a quick pace for such an “Ambient” music release.

[See post to listen to audio]

The Eternal River could be the River Song’s elder brother. A little less experimental, but well made and with a great primary motive (played in 1:55-2:25).

Tracks

Stats

Relaxed vibe entering your ears! This ultra-cool release at Monotonik — which sadly is on hiatus at the moment — is really great background music with attitude. It features funky beats and chords, sometimes accompanied by fitting recordings of miscellaneous voices. As usual, I present 3 of my favourite tracks which are described in detail while you can listen to them.

[See post to listen to audio]

O Tema De Viagem Especial sounds like am samba or mambo tune cross-bred with relaxed dub music. It makes you want to move and just sip at a cooled drink while sitting in a comfy sofa.

[See post to listen to audio]

Princess Meoldiae, the last track, starts as a slow and melancholic song played by a harmonic. At 1:02 the beat sets in and pushes the song’s mood in a more active direction. Then the main flute theme is introduced which is such a catchy tune that I think I know it from somewhere in the classical music corner. Nothing noticeable happens from there on, but the track stays interesting by playing with the beats and flutes.

[See post to listen to audio]

Dragons is probably my favourite track of the album. A terrific brass theme together with a swirling SFX sample, probably taken from a video game, a jamming Hammond organ and some short voice samples result in a great, danceable easy-listening track.

Tracks

Stats

Stephane Garry is the man behind the name Pokett, having released this wonderful 4 track EP on the Sundays in Spring netlabel. It is all about dreamy folk music and ears full of emotional guitar chord carpets. Forget Jack Johnson or Conor Oberst, I like this album much better. It reminds me a bit of Newton Faulkner’s “Handbuilt by Robots”, however it lacks pop music genes. But listen yourself to my two favourite tracks (and download the whole release, of course)…

[See post to listen to audio]

Walls is a standard guitar-folk-with-drums-and-tired-singer’s-voice song, just with the small difference that the guitar folk part is exceptionally well done without sounding overdone.

[See post to listen to audio]

Yours is GREAT music. The guitar ostinato sounds like it must have been played already, but the melody consisting of 4 melancholic chords is simply ingenious. Slowly it builds up until the singer sets in and catches your mind that just was floating on the incredible flow of music. (And if you still don’t believe me that this song is great, just realise that listening to this song made me joyfully write such a prosaic song description.)

Tracks

Stats

The Comfort Stand netlabel is one of the strangest out there. It doesn’t focus on experimental sound in the sense of noise, bleep and clicking sounds, but in terms of a colourful mixture of artists, genres and styles. One song is a typical pop song, the next one would fit a ghost ride or seems to be written by someone on drugs. This release is a double album presenting the whole range of strangeness you can find in other releases by this label.

[See post to listen to audio]

Beautiful day by Beth Sorrentino is my personal gem of this release: she has a beautiful singing voice and is accompanied by piano.

[See post to listen to audio]

Polivox Box + Garage has the distinct Comfort Stand Records sound = 60′s influenced, disco and absolutely strange. The song would fit a film with both Adams family and Scooby Doo, facing each other in a discotheque led by Austin Powers.

[See post to listen to audio]

Hotcakes and sausage is finally a hilarious fun song which could be sung be the cookie monster from Sesame Street. Listen and laugh!

Tracks

Stats