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”
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”
Exceptionally broad movie soundtrack. Cool credit punch songs, mystical and disturbing ambient tracks live side by side.
Netlabel blocSonic again manages to surprise me by the breadth of their roster. This compilation, a soundtrack (you may have guessed), covers a wide range of genres from rock to experimental ambient. If you are not looking for dance music, but an exceptional release to feed to your ears, look no further than this. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2017] Dark Of Winter: Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
Massive music extravaganza. There is a lot of hip hop bonanza going on in 46 tracks.
Most of the tracks are not exactly pop music chart worthy, but then… the music that achieves this feat tends to be of varied quality at best. While I cannot wholeheartedly endorse front to back listening, except you are adventurous, there are many gems tugged tightly between more experimental pieces. I therefore divert from my usual self-limitation of only presenting two tracks, and instead link you to several reasons for recommending this oeuvre: Continue reading “Various Artists – [2012] mix-toor presents: This is material music”
Four hours of alternative, high-quality music. Careful selection, beautiful arrangement.
This item takes some time to digest. It contains so many different genres, tracks, artists, backstories. It is hard to hear back to back, but rather eaten in chunks. For this review, I therefore provide you with possibly interesting entry points. I hope there is something for everyone: Continue reading “Various Artists – [2016] Enough Records Mixtape for CC Europe Meeting”
Fat psy-tech compilation. Tiny speakers need not apply 😉
Netlabel Digital Diamonds celebrates its tenth birthday. The artists mainly produce psychadelic techno and trance. This celebratory compilation features 10 remixes of noteworthy tracks. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2017] Digital Decade”
Excellent trance mix. Toucan Music is one of the household names for well-produced electronic dance music in the Creative Commons scene. It has been releasing free music as a netlabel for more than ten years now, and its annual mixes never fail to impress. Last year’s mix contains 20 tracks. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2016] Toucan Music Presents 2016”
Timeless introductory drug for to-become Creative Commons addicts. This is less of a review and more of a SHOUT-OUT to make you GET. THIS. RELEASE. 17 good to excellent tracks have been gathered. They show both how diverse (and enjoyable) from 2009 and earlier is. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2009] Music From All Around The World”
This excellent compilation is a product of the well-developed German netlabel aaahh-records. Well-developed means that while they still release free music under Creative Commons licenses (aaahhwoo!) the label self-identifies as a “festival curators” nowadays. For me, they are one of the longest-standing publishers of consistent high-quality “analogue” music out in the net. This album features 8 partly folky, acoustic recordings of an artistic weekend in Bralitz. Continue reading “Various Artists – [2012] Braaahhlitz Compilation”
