Welcome back to the Fresh Batch, music lovers! We return with our monthly new-music column absolutely packed with phenomenal sounds.
With summer coming fast and furious (stay cool out there, folks!), we’ve rounded up a selection of lovely summertime releases. Dig in, swim around and enjoy…
Continue reading “Fresh Batch – June 2022”Hello ET readers!
Before I start loading this post up with links, I wanted to take a second to thank anyone and everyone who has supported this project from the beginning – I am inspired every day by seeing artists and collectives still producing and curating amazing content, along with a whole new generation of content creators pulling the underground scene into new directions and uncharted territories.
It is in this spirit that I am announcing a slight shift in the blog format to better accommodate both the current underground climate as well as my own personal habits and responsibilities. Moving forward, I will be focusing on posting “Lists” of recommended listens, opposed to individual “Quick Picks” of my findings. I feel this is a logical step, and also one that will be beneficial to both the readers and the artists featured. So without further explanation or excuse, here is the first list to kick off October 2018 – please enjoy browsing and exploring this batch of recommended underground music!!
Released October 5th, 2018 – DMT Tapes FL
The ever-busy DMT Tapes Florida has graced us with another beautiful, meandering release from Reflections From Nowhere – tinged with a slight melancholy and dystopian vibe, the 13 tracks seem to drip from one to the next, laced with droning synths and keys, dusted with downtempo grooves and textures. The tape on a whole is quite a satisfying listen, as I found myself going back for a repeat listen 2/3 times whenever I pressed play… 🛰
Released September 30, 2018 – Self Released
Longtime readers will know that I am a fan of Marcus Eads’ stripped back, “Primitive” Americana compositions – so it is no surprise that I am both excited and pleased with his latest offering, Rum River Ramble. In traditional Eads fashion, the album is a peaceful homage to archaic sounds, featuring vibes ranging from swinging mellow melodies to thoughtful blues. Throughout the record, Marcus utilizes not only the Acoustic Guitar, but a peppering of unique instruments like the Dulcimer and Autoharp! Quite the enjoyable listen for a relaxing morning coffee. ☕️
Released October 5th, 2018 – Self Released
Dark and atmospheric Drum & Bass from UK’s Doctor Jeep – featuring collaborations with Fixate and Cirrus, with remixes from Hyroglifics and Sinistarr). Wonderfully satisfying dark club grooves with flavors of dub and world sounds. 🌍
Released October 5th, 2018 – Self Released
New Belgium producer Hybrid Boy presents us with an energetic and bold 3-track EP as a first release on the scene – each track is packed with atmosphere and energy, utilizing extraordinary drumwork and soundscape crafting. Definitely excited to hear more from this young producer in the future! 🌀
“Experimental Trip Hop from Vienna/AT” – Saint Elsewhere strings together chilled electronics, downtempo beats and blissful vocals in a small collection of songs uploaded to Choon. Quite interesting stuff, subtle and worth multiple listens 🤙
Listen: Self-Titled 6 Track Album
Incoming drone goodness via collaborative project Glowing Swords, consisting of Zachary Corsa (Nonconnah, ex Lost Trail) and Scott Cortez (Astrobrite, Lovesliescrushing). The Autumn Elegy brings us 10 tracks of soaring, fuzzy noisescapes that are both lush and withering. A thick haze forms over each track, at some points obscuring the senses entirely in pieces such as Calrn which seem to be performed in some otherworldly etherial cavern, then broadcast to the countryside over AM radio. It’s musty and dusty and I love it.
What really grips me about this album is the hidden melodies my brain finds. There is a very therapeutic and rewarding quality to the blissed-out leads that seem to drift in and out of the mix. It’s often right when I am beginning to succumb to the world the track is building, the moment disbelief is suspended, that these melodies creep onto the canvas and introduce a whole new vibe! These gems are what make this album a good repeat listen in my opinion; being an album that can be enjoyed both subliminally and intellectually.
You can download the album via Bandcamp or purchase a Deluxe CD edition via Wist Records which looks so cool! It’s got tons of additional goodies
The Gloom & The Glowing is the first full-length album from the prolific ambient duo now known as Nonconnah ( Lost Trail ). Though on the surface, TG&TG might seem quite similar to the duos former work, but within the folds there are greater forces at work.
The title alone alludes to a theme many people can relate to in these strange times; darkness and light, good and evil, joy and despair. The expressive depths and heights achieved within TG&TG is nothing short of astonishing. The moment when music surpasses mental satisfaction and achieves spiritual satisfaction is both uplifting and grounding.
The album itself is a solid 13 tracks. Throughout, synths churn and bellow between one-another, providing a near constant motion within the drone. The effect is an engaging and easy listen, with songs moving past beautifully like unknown towns through your car window. Tones evoke nostalgia, melancholy, humble warmth and old wisdom. A delicate balance of pain and purity, wistfully guiding the listener in a tour of emotion.
Listening to The Gloom & The Glowing was a rich and satisfying experience for me several times through, and I honestly look forward to enjoying it again many times again. You can have a listen yourself via Bandcamp, or do your stereo a favor and purchase a CD!
Dayton Ohio’s Coppice Halifax brings us two long-form projects to ease us into the coming summer. Springthaw is a unique and robust project, utilizing live recordings and improvisation to create vivid soundscapes. With all 4 tracks from the 2 EP’s played back to back, it results in nearly 2 hours of dense sonic exploration, reaching into the dark corners or ambience, electronics and dub tendencies.
Both EP’s are available via bandcamp either as Digital Downloads or Compact Discs.
Initially conceived as a more open-ended project, Springthaw manifested itself as four near-half-hour pieces that herald the arrival of Spring. This second volume contains the third and fourth pieces recorded for the project – Dark Room and Wind Hues – both bubbling over with organic textures and floral hiss. Deep dub techno basslines and rhythms anchor a drifting pastoral landscape of melting ice, blossoming color and bounding green hills.Springthaw was improvised and captured live in the White Pillar Workshop, using a Gemini PDT-6000 turntable to select sides of heavily processed vinyl (solo piano pieces and chamber music) which set an atmospheric tone above/below a Korg ER-1 drum machine, Yamaha QY-70 sequencer, Grass S10CTCMA and a Unisonic “Chippendale” 8-track receiver (channeling local AM radio stations), augmented by FX units including three Moogerfoogers, Alesis Quadraverb, Pioneer spring reverb box, Boss RV-3, SL-20 & RC-20 and a Behringer US600. Everything was mixed on a Peavey FX24 hybrid mixer, and resident collaborator John-Paul Kramer (Coal, Casio Commander) assisted with pitch and modulation of the vinyl sides during three of the four performances.
Springthaw is (at present) a two-volume set, much like the previous Earthworks, Autochromata and the as-yet-unpublished Cedar Mastodon. Time, and seasonal change, will tell whether or not there will be further installments next year. The two volumes make a solid companion/postscript to the recently reinstated 24xCD-R set Dripping Earth, which also venerates Spring in its own way.
released May 30, 2017W/P by Brian Grainger. Recorded live at White Pillar Workshop, March 2017. Assisted by John-Paul Kramer on “Dark Room”. Mastered by The Analog Botanist, April 2017. Photograph by Brian, Dayton 2017. This is Milieu Music number ABX63.
Concepto Hipnotico celebrates their 5-year Anniversary with one heck of a compilation. 22 tracks strong, you can purchase the album via bandcamp.
From the Netherlands Deep Electronics Label comes this massive compilation of dubbed-out tunes. Featuring 17 tracks from a slew of producers, each with their own unique style, grace the tracklist of this album. Best of all, you can pick this up at the price of your choosing. What are you waiting for!!
Energostatic Records of Kiev brings us a phenomenal little project from Marc Atmost / Atmeo, The Tales of the Sagebrush Wind.
Only 3 tracks long, this little EP is simultaneously packed with pulsing energy and relaxing vibes. The long-form tracks fluctuate and evolve between textural ambience and hypnotic rhythms. Such as the first track, which takes a full 8-minutes to ramp-up to a serious groove, only to be whisked off into the aether. All in all it is quite satisfying, and I certainly wish it were a longer project! You can grab the digital download via Bandcamp.
“If you reveal your secrets to the wind, you should not blame the wind for revealing them to the trees.”stasis043 “Marc Atmost pres. Atmeo – The Tales Of The Sagebrush Wind”
Written, produced and mastered by Marc Atmost / Atmeo.
released May 19, 2017
A brief yet satisfying EP from Dijuma & Gaston Volpe, put out by Argentinian Label Concepto Hipnotico. Grab the digital album via Bandcamp today.
rohs! records brings us a dank little release from Andrea Porcu (Label Founder), a collection of “Textures”. Only 3 tracks, but satisfying to the core. Grab the EP today via bandcamp at your chosen price.
#cat: ROHS!01RAW:NETWritten, produced and mastered by Andrea Porcu.
[Original photography by ~Brenda-Starr~]released April 23, 2013
Eternity Tree 