CCBYNCND40 – ojdo

Point – [2019] Human Music

Slick abstract trance, located somewhere between deadmau5 and Moderat. Genuinely trance-inducing.

Netlabel Digital Diamonds has stayed one of the more active netlabels. As such, it comes up more and more often when fishing for recent releases in the younger parts of the Internet Archive’s audio section. This release is a particularly brilliant gem of cerebral dance music. Doing well both as fancy coding backdrop as well as late night club furniture, its polished soundscapes hide lots of work that must have gone into their effort betraying shiny finish.

Emerald Park – [2020] Basement Sessions (CC Version)

Routinely produced indie pop rock by staples of the genre in Creative Commons land.

If you have been following “the scene” for some years, Emerald Park are one of the big names. They regularly have released high quality indie pop ranging from synth to vocal pop rock. Clearly aimed at broader rather than niche audiences, their sound is pleasing yet not flat.

Aleckat And Hynamo – [2020] Apollo EP

Stratospheric sounds hit grounded beats. Solid progressive techno with psy trance influences. Headphones strongly recommended.

Imagine the fat production value of Monstercat, the astro-inspired sound of space backdrops, and the routine of a club music DJ, all at the same time. The result is an EP whose use of Armstrong’s iconic footprint is fully justified. Long, stretched-out bass lines are monotonous, but never boring. But judge for yourself whether this is your cup of trance:

Niteffect [2019] – The Wage Of Forgetting

Relaxing trip hop flirting with IDM. Limited cassette version (still) available (?).

Kreislauf is boutique electronica netlabel specialising in cold and steely sounds, similar to its older cousin Kahvi Records. Check out release Kreislauf Extrea 020 to check whether you can still grab the physical tape edition, in case you like the sound, or crave a print of this gorgeous cover art, or want to listen to all 12 tracks with real tape wobble artefacts. But back to the music:

Osiris4 – [2019] Black Diamonds EP

Simple and effective melodic trance. Digital Diamonds keeps up to its promise.

Long rides, dark evenings behind the keyboard long for meditative, long form music. Netlabel Digital Diamonds specialises in this type of electronic music. This is their 64th release (but not my first review). With only 3 tracks, but over 20 minutes playtime this gives you plenty of time (and me the joy of presenting you two thirds of it all below):

Aevio – [2019] Bioluminescence

Soothing ambient glitch hop. Skilfully crafted sound textures that excite your ears and calm your mind.

Welcome back to the present (releases of 2019, that is)! This week’s review does not come from my well-fed queue, but instead has been freshly caught. Artist Aevio mixes organic field recordings and synthetic music. The result is not strictly ambient, but calm enough for casual listening.

Various Artists – [2019] Fusion Compilation 12

Versatile trip hop compilation. From ethnic ambient to catchy pop rock, all genres may apply.

Over 5 years after my review on Fusion Compilation 8, I return to this netlabel with their most recent instalment to the series. Comparing both compilations back to back highlights how professional the free music scene has become during the course of the decade: all ten tracks have major-label grade production, crisp recording and tight arrangements. Which tracks am I gonna highlight?

SEA OF ÅLAND – [2017] Extended Play One

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”

Teppana – [2017] Triple EP

Slow, uplifting IDM. Winter on the outside, but warmer on the inside.

Phonocake again serve one of their delicious pieces. This release surfes between cheezy dancefloor and electronic ambient. I settled for “Easy Listening IDM” as a compromise. While the sound feels cold on first contact, the tracks are actually quite heart-warming on the inside. Give them a go! Continue reading “Teppana – [2017] Triple EP”