Trippy synthwave techno ambience. Slightly experimental, yet thoroughly enjoyable as upbeat background music.
Minimal, vowel-free netlabel MNMN Records pumps out a steady stream of diverse, slighly experimental music. This item with catalogue number 483 surfs on the edge between synth wave and glitchy ambient. 9 tracks, each longer than six minutes, make for a pretty spaced up ambience. Continue reading “Erugo Purakushi – [2017] SPARK”
Friendly ambient electronica. If Minecraft would have another soundtrack, this EP could set the style.
Ambient music is hard to discover for me: while I am in the mood for exploration, I tend to favour louder and more immediately “gratifying” productions. This EP released at a Portuguese netlabel focused on Japanese music – yes, apparently that’s a thing – MiMi Records. Here, calm bleeps create an ambience very conducive to relaxing activities. Continue reading “Seki Takashi – [2016] Night City”
History-rewriting compilation. Diverse selection of popular CC music from the era.
This release is a replacement (a whitewash) of previous netBloc Vol. 34 about ccMixter, which had to be redacted for some reason which is not completely clear to me to today. I was just surprised that my recollection, download and album art to this release did not match what is currently online… Bad for me, bad good for you. The whitewash has definitely not worse music than the original… Continue reading “Various Artists – [2011] netBloc Vol. 34: The Whitewash”
Spacetime drones. Long-stretched synthy soundscapes for late-night orbital flights.
Put this onto your ears if you want to beat silence, yet not distract you from whatever you are doing otherwise. The album does a great job of catching you mid-thought, making you realise how cool the sounds sound that you were not listening to, and letting you of the hook not a full minute later. Best consumed after sunset, in a darkened room, while you shake off a busy day. Continue reading “Derek Nigell – [2017] Heartbeat of the Universe”
Pop master of glitch. Jazzy electronica, made from scrambled samples and lots of groove.
Ever heard of the genre “drill & bass”? No? Me neither. Imagine a DJ aiming for dance music, but only equipped with 90’s Disco/Pop/Funk/Techno tapes, a pair of scissors (blunt) and a synthesizer. Yes, the result might take more than the first listening to appreciate, but the sheer amount of funk, groove and rhythm that oozes out of every track is great! Let me show you what I mean by listening to these three tracks: Continue reading “BitBasic – [2009] Sprinkling Rainbows”
Essential experimental IDM. 3 discs, 51 tracks of IDM à la Sutemos are an earful to chew on. Bring popcorn!
This compilation series by netlabel Sutemos is a little bit like vegetables: they are good for you, but they might not taste good at first. This release contains many different flavours, musical vitamins, experiments in sound design, genre-branching dubstep, IDM, cerebral techno, and lots of electro goodness in general. But, the sound is often outside the realm of “standard” harmony, often even completely devoid of it. Like these sentences, it takes some time to wrap one’s head around. So, if you are looking for easy listening while coding, please move on. If you want to enrich a late night party with an eccentric musical backdrop, give it a spin… Continue reading “Various Artists – [2010] Intelligent Toys: We Make Music”
Frosty ambient IDM with class. Very versatile EP with fully ambient to almost danceable tracks. A real classic, published at Kahvi.
Back in 2009, I started this series of reviews with Coax’s The Ice Garden. Ever since, I was hesitant to write another review on the same artist. But I have done so multiple times over the years now, so it’s time to finally break the spell and give Coax their second review. Their music deserves it, after all: frosty, ambient IDM, released at the notorious Kahvi netlabel, well known for delivering quality electronica by truck. Continue reading “Coax – [2008] Aeons”
Disco fuel. Decent party music compilation from Germany.
frei² by Robert Bienert is a program featured in Freies Radio Kassel, an independent radio station in Germany’s wild centre. For several years, this program has been sending out a steady stream of Creative Commons music. This release consists of individual tracks, on air for a clubbing night over 10 years ago. Enjoy! Continue reading “Various Artists – [2008] Super Sommer Clubbing-Charts”
Laidback easy listening. Simple ambient tracks with distinct flavour.
Another entry from prolific netlabel Enough Records, who have been releasing over 400 albums and EPs since 2002, and are – unlike many others – still active. This weeks album features guitar-based trip hop served on top of ambient synth sounds. A bit too busy for coding, this album makes for a great pool party backdrop (not that I had a pool to test this). Continue reading “Daizy – [2011] The Daizy Factory”
Lavish dance tracks. Old-school underground house from the ’00s.
Not much is written online about netlabel Bevlar, that has published music from 2004 to 2007. If you like the following tracks, it might be worth for you to hunt through their back catalogue of about three dozen releases. Or just wait for me to review my favourite releases in time… Continue reading “Various Artists – [2005] We Are Bevlar 2”
