Classic netaudio electronica. Still sounding fresh after well over a decade.
Kahvi does what kahvi does best: introducing us music addicts to obscure but resourceful artists out there. This classic only slipped through my earlier release schedule because there was (and still is) no MP3 version of the release available on archive.org. But now that all browsers (yes, I’m looking at you, IE/Edge) support OGG natively, I can include this three track EP here without fear. Oh, yes, the music was worth the wait: Continue reading “Mosaik – [2004] Minutes”
Fun indie ska rock. German band, faux tropical sound, with an air of punk.
Wow, only 9 years after release I come to review this album. 11 tracks of honest ska punk rock, fully equipped with brass section, off-beat guitar riffs and half-screamed lyrics. I find nothing special about this album, but that’s a good thing: it represents its genre well. Continue reading “Boxing Fox – [2009] The Shepherd Hates Us”
Just in case you do not check this page daily: the article free music on the internet has received an update with my currently (2018) up-to-date information on other Creative Commons review blogs, lists of netlabels, and pointers to good starting points if you want to go hunting for cool music on your own.
Manifesto of a dead netlabel. Long live Starquake!
Starquake was an active netlabel from 2011 to 2015. During that time, it was dedicated to promote music by their creators and DJs in Torino, Italy. Although short-lived, their music remains an important contribution to the Creative Commons music catalogue for me. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2011] Quaking Stars”
I recently switched on tikzexternalize on a document with several figures created by TikZ in it. Activating this Tikz library has the advantage of compiling the figures only once (if unchanged), speeding up the creation of the completed document. As a nice side benefit, one gets the images as separate PDF files, which in my case was the main motivation. One simple call to ImageMagick later, one has all images in a format of choice. However, I could not get it to work at first due to my using the PGFgantt package to create a gantt time chart. Here is the (not compiling) start point: Continue reading “How to use TikZ externalize with PGFgantt”
Rough indie rock & roll. Simple, straight-up songs without bells & whistles, but with guitar & drums.
Electronic music is rather easy to find online. Good, honest and analogue music is much harder to find. Therefore, it’s great to even find cool, classic rock & roll music. This 4-track EP sounds much older than it is. (Yes, this was a compliment.) Continue reading “The Dots – [2006] The Dots”
Unforgiving hard trance. Take upeat house, remove unecessary vocals, keep just the beats.
Following up on my plan to review more from Bump Foot’s catalogue, I dig through over a decade of electronic music. This release could stand up in a fight against Juno Reactor and Paul Oakenfold – if music were a competitive combat sport, that is. Continue reading “AKU – [2010] Insomnia”
Ambient acoustic guitar. Very musical 2 track EP.
With only two tracks, this short EP by artist Fellirium makes it easy for me to select my habitual two tracks for you. Airy guitar tones with noticeable reverb calmly meditate over beautiful riffs with minimal synthetic background drones: Continue reading “Fellirium – [2017] Bill A & 24/7”
Hard retro synth. Sounds like early 90s dark underground faux disco.
This week’s entry is brought to you by Russian netlabel MNMN Records. Both their homepage and their music look and sound more DIY than average. This release plays electronic industrial tunes. Despite simple song structures, the atmosphere is excellent. Continue reading “Demetr – [2016] Different View Of The World”
After my two (!) previous posts on the same topic, it’s time to give my final entry for the competition of the definitive full-frame graphics command for use with beamer in LaTeX. To seal the deal, I do not propose 1, but 4 commands, depending on your use case: Continue reading “Finally the definitive full-frame graphic commands for beamer in LaTeX”
Columbian Tech House remixes. Close to 90 minutes of danceable tracks.
Both mainstream and exotic titles got themselves caught in the blender of remix artist Sokio, who took up the task to add special flavours to other artists’ works. The result sounds both refreshing and familiar: Continue reading “Sokio – [2009] Columbia Remixes”
Oldschool future sounds. Slight similarities with the original Blade Runner soundtrack.
To celebrate the 60th birthday of the first satellite in space, this compilation contains 10 tracks from mostly Russian artists with retro sounds, effects, aiming for space-themed instrumental tracks. Overall, I like the result very much: Continue reading “Various Artists – [2017] Music for Sputnik-1 Vol. 1”
Juicy electronica bleeps. Sound like fresh orange juice, familiar yet fresh.
This review is a friendly reminder to myself to go through Bump Foot‘s back catalogue more often to fish for classic netlabel gems. If you are into friendly electronica, you might consider going for a hunt there for yourself. But back to today’s catch: Continue reading “Mikk Rebane – [2017] Deviations”
Cinematic. Folk. Much. Wow. Mostly analogue guitar instrumentals creating melancholic atmospheres.
Ok, I’m quite late to the (review) party on this one. All other netlabel blogs have covered this gem already in September 2012, when originally released. To my ears, this is a half cheesy, half treasure chest full of simple yet thoroughly enjoyable tunes. I can recommend hearing it from front to back, it’s that good. Like usual, here are two picks to get you started: Continue reading “Plusplus – [2012] Game Over”
Minimal bleep sounds. Very experimental science fiction movie backdrop.
Sound samples and single notes from vintage science fiction movies, put together. I would expect to encounter this a) in a over-the-top artsy Scifi movie on ARTE, or b) in a museum for modern art, next to a… interesting piece of metal or unwatchable video montage. Still here? Great, because those tracks are very well put together. Let me give you two samples: Continue reading “Ryukau – [2015] Muryoku”
Multi-genre blend. Charming combination of uncommon sound combinations with rhythmic orthodoxy.
The term “defying genre boundaries” gets thrown around too often, I concur, but here it is on spot. Electronic click sounds, jazz fusion and funk lines are masterfully mixed in this release at German netlabel Broque. But please, don’t believe me and listen for yourself: Continue reading “Counterfly – [2017] The Invisible Journey”
Electronic noise something. Odd saw wave sounds over irregular beats.
“Not fun, but effective.” That’s the note I made to myself when adding this release from Portuguese netlabel Enough Records to my review queue. This 5 track EP is from the “power noise” genre, so do not expect Disco, but industrial sounds. Continue reading “Edgeist – [2016] Septentrion”
Poetic hip hop with acrobatic diction. Traditional sample loops form the base for some creative lyrics.
I don’t do much hip hop, but when I do, I rather like it to be special. This is such a special case. Netlabel blocSonic keep up with their promise to deliver fresh sounding music. I like the classic vibe of the music, while the spoken words roll off nicely. Continue reading “The Impossebulls – [2016] The Devils You Know”
Dark ambient drones. Clearly experimental two-track EP, delivering dark soundscapes direct to your brain.
If you have occasions where “proper music” would be too distracting, but “proper silence” to silent or boring, really ambient music, based mainly on long, drawn out ambient sounds, also called drones, fill a very handy niche. This representative of that genre adds a little rhythm to spice things up, and the end result sounds like you could read The Call of Cthulhu to it. Continue reading “SEA OF ÅLAND – [2017] Extended Play One”
Cinematic instrumental post rock. Like an alternative soundtrack to Magnolia, this slow-paced exercise in wackyness.
The inspiration taken from Air cannot be overheard, and is clearly stated in the album’s release notes. So if you like the alternative sound of the French pop duo, give this album a try on a train ride. Continue reading “Wacky Southern Current – [2011] In a Realm of Uncertain Summer”
