forest, by Lan°

forest is a new EP of live electronic jams by Argentinian producer Lan° – consisting of 3 energetic IDM tracks bursting with flavor!

I found myself beginning my own bedroom dance party as I played through forest several times. My interest was caught by the collage of sound being built – with clear inspirations from braindance, downtempo, chillout and acid electronics – all fused together in quite satisfying compositions! Lazy Jam might be my favorite, though it’s really hard to choose…

There is a beautiful energy to the project – something subtle and joyful, at points I found myself grinning from ear to ear, bouncing along with the 808’s and bubbling synths. It honestly sounds like some kind of long-lost B Sides from Squarepusher after he took a couple doses of mushrooms and watched Saturday morning cartoons!

You can download the project now via Bandcamp. I am looking forward to hearing more from this producer in the future, so show some support! ✨

Springthaw I & II, by Coppice Halifax

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, 2017

W/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.

 

Cavade Morlem, by Olan Mill

DRONARIVM brings us this deep ambient masterpiece. Calming, soothing, this is a fantastic choice for a relaxing afternoon with a cup of coffee…

Favorite Track: 8. Somimes 

“Writing and recording ‘Cavade Morlem’ was one of the smoothest experiences I’ve had producing an album. The tracks were originally created to be played at a handful of concerts throughout the end of last year. The shows were performed using processed guitar, violin and some pre-recorded samples of voice and organ. I was joined by Mike Jessop on violin for many of the songs and his contributions are sampled at various points on the record.

I spent the beginning of the year reworking recordings from the live sets and trying to piece together something coherent. The resulting album is a far calmer experience than the original performances and I hope listeners find a state of mindfulness while experiencing the work”.

– Alex Smalley

released 13 July 2015

Mastered by Porya Hatami
Cover art by Lena Lello
Curated by Bartosz Dziadosz (Pleq)

London 220109, by Gareth Hardwick

Here is a deep and relaxing piece by Gareth Hardwick, originally released in 2010, brought back to us via Low Point

Twilight Sessions Volume 14, by Bing Satellites

The fourteenth volume in the ever-expanding Twilight Sessions series from Bing Satellites