Sister Overdrive (aka Giannis Kotsonis) presents ‘Annick/Philomela’, a collection of two pieces, each split into five distinct parts. ‘Annick’ is an immersive journey made up of metallic noises, drones, distorted crescendos and screaming harmonics. Like an eerie night walk filtered through a fuzz pedal, it moves from subliminal hums to pretty mesmerizing surges of noise. Its sibling ‘Philomela’ (originally composed as a theatre piece) is darker and yet warmer at the same time, making beautiful use of processed instrumentation, along with field samples and deep (quite deep) pulsations. Kotsonis has crafted music of a very particular kind that will reward the listener: surrendering is the key. 123

Annick/Philomela

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2009-12-08

After the raw primitive edge of his first two EPs (‘Backbone’ and ‘Manfool’) and the obsessive-compulsive circle of repetition that is ‘Hinterlands’, Kostas Karamitas presents ‘Route Painless’: a massive post-industrial wall of sound. From minimal drones to noiserock-inspired clashes between pounding drums and screaming distortion, ‘Route Painless’ is an elegant monolith: layers of processed field recordings and guitar/bass textures are transformed into pure overdriven filth, sometimes tamed to take the familiar guise of a riff (albeit an overly primitive one), other times left on their own to form ecstatic walls of noise and feedback. ‘Route Painless’ is harsh in its uncompromising nature, but never punishing. Here darkness is charm, an agent of wonder and desire. 126

Route Painless

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2009-12-08

John Mourjopoulos, musician and professor of Electroacoustics and Digital Audio Technology at the University of Patras and poet Christos Laskaris (1938-2008) team up to produce ‘To Potami’ (‘The River’) A selection of nine of Laskaris’ poems are read by himself on top of a dense sonic fabric created by Mourjopoulos. The two collaborators work their material in perfect balance: Laskaris’ honest expressive voice speaks themes of life, death, love and liberation, while Mourjopoulos turns words into sound, combining drones, experimental sound-design, jazzy interludes and moody melodic lines. On a first level this album works as a spoken-word tribute to the late poet, but it’s more than that. Laskaris and Mourjopoulos are a musical duo, a band in the truest sense of the term, as each one has transcended the boundaries of his field to produce something greater. 124

To Potami (The River)

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2009-05-30

Already having made a name for himself with his previous releases in Athenian label Quetempo and his dense livesets, Biomass presents his third full-length album, ‘Electrozali’. This time, he has guided his love for sampling to traditional instruments such as the cretan lyra, to produce what is arguably his best work. The familiar Biomass-style click’n’cut dub is enhanced by processed strings, drones made out of the most impossible sources and uncanny vocal samples. The result is undeniably eclectic, original, addictive and – may we even say – catchy. The contagious grooves and the choirs of stretched lyras amount to an honest tribute to traditional sounds, a meta-comment on tradition itself if you will, but most of all, a good excuse to move your body until it dehydrates. 125

Electrozali

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2009-05-30

Masami Akita is really one of those people that need no introduction. ‘Somei’ is a 55-minute trip into rhythmic hell, sure to please devoted Merzbow followers as well as bring new members to the ongoing cult of noise that he has built throughout the last 20+ years. Featuring live drums that wouldn’t sound out of place in a grindcore or thrash-jazz album, as well as the obligatory full-on sonic assault, this is Merzbow at his finest and heaviest. Essential. 122

Somei

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2009-02-24

‘Two Heads Bis Bis’ is a twisted bedtime story, a dark poem, an alchemist’s magic diary of secrets. Oldman (aka Charles Eric Charrier) employs the typical trio of ‘rock’ instrumentation (bass, guitars, drums) along with several rather atypical sound generating devices to sculpt a truly intense lo-fi masterpiece, a dreamy album drenched in fuzzy smoke: a dark, melancholic, weird and ultimately therapeutic experience. This is post-’something’ in the true sense of the term, as Oldman transcends most musical genres to create something unique and exciting. Repetitive rock-inspired patterns, tribal percussive jams, improvisation, organic ambience and lots of dark humor. This is what popular music would be like in an ideal world. 120

Two Heads Bis Bis

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2008-11-24

Nikos Veliotis and Anastasis Grivas have quite a long history of dealing with drones, improvisation, electroacoustic composition and experimental sounds. In this release, ‘Vertical’, Veliotis’ strings and Grivas’ custom made guitars create a harmonically dense landscape that murmurs, howls, shrieks, sometimes even sings or just rests in silence. The key here is the experience of time, as the music brings a state of suspension and the frequency spectrum dissolves into a frozen uniform mass of pure tonal bliss. Veliotis and Grivas seem to approach the material both with an artist’s passion and a surgeon’s cold calculated movement as they methodically built an intense crawling soundscape. 121

Vertical

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2008-11-23

Three years of beavering sees Pridon present his latest venture into ecclectic soulful techno. While retaining the warm character and trademark sound design of his previous works, with ‘Apnea Eina’, Pridon’s flair for ‘all seasons on one disc’ is bolstered by a deeper confidence and understanding in bringing about a cohesive journey of a record. Techno, electro, IDM, dub and even traces of 70s psychedelia have found their way into this little monster of an album and Pridon’s signature shifting and mutating like a restless creature is a rare joy to behold. However, although this album has accessible moments in abundance, be careful: a choir of mad synths or the atonal bleeps of Pan himself might come out of nowhere and turn everything into a psychedelic space-jam. But even when the mouth of chaos opens up and all synth-trickery breaks loose, ‘Apnea Eina’ never strays off focus. As much as improvisation plays a large part in Pridon’s processes, and this album provides no exception, it’s also a wondrous embodiment of electronica’s quintessential elements: gratifying breaks and basslines. This work took three years in the making and needless to say, we are extremely proud to present it! 67

Apnea Eina

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2008-07-05

Qebo return after a long pause, with their second installment entitled “Wroln” and this is a release to look out for… Carefully structured electronics meet their counterparts in the visual arts, composed in an enhanced CD. Once again, the exploit of the glitch aesthetics move Qebo one step forward, revealing segments of deranged beats and suppressed melodies. This exploration takes place in a fully controlled environment, which is breathing through its’ selected tracks and videos, created by VJ-ing enthusiasts Threepixels, Effekts and Anthony Squizzato. “Wroln” balances dangerously into over-stretched territories using the occasional improvisation element, but the warm atmospheres are there to assist its’ journey through the unearthly world, that Qebo have so intensely crafted. 61

Wroln

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2007-11-29

Mary and The Boy present their highly anticipated first official album through Low Impedance Recordings. Essentially a trio (Mary, The Boy and the dancer Exotic), they tread in grim, noisy and somewhat controversial territorries armed with a venomous punk attitude. Themes of vulgar sexuality, existential terror and social disintegration rise behind walls of abused synthlines and vocal chords stretched to their limits. While undeniably dark, the album contains a great deal of (self) sarcasm, playfulness and a melodic sensibility that borrows a lot from retro pop and cabaret music. Make no mistake though, this is not pop in the traditional sense, but more of a distorted, collapsing version of it. All the pieces were performed entirely live, sounding lo-fi, raw, aggresive and true to the band’s artistic vision. Piano-punk, brutal-pop, industrial-cabaret? Name it what you will. Love them or hate them? Whatever. The fact is Mary and The Boy are praying for your sins in their distinctive fashion. 103

Mary & the Boy

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2007-09-06

Mathias Delplanque is an artist based in France, known mainly for his dub albums released under the name ‘Lena’ on the labels Quatermass and Sounds Around. He’s also involved in numerous projects ranging from sound installations, to improvisation and live performance. ‘Le Pavillon Temoin’ (‘The Show House’), marks the beginning of a new phase in the music of Mathias Delplanque. This is a very subtle and personal piece of work exploring the aesthetics of modern electronica, jazz, folk and musique concrete. Acoustic instruments (guitar, piano, cello, drums, accordion, melodica, bells) form the backbone of the compositions, sometimes dissolving into particles of abstract sound, and at other times conspiring to create familiar textures. This fragile balance between noisy collages and pleasing melodies is the key to the album’s atmosphere, it¹s a listening treat for the mind, the ear and the imagination. With each layer of shimmering guitar, The Show House reveals itself in all its mysterious glory. 60

Le Pavillon Temoin

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2007-05-22

Daniel De Los Santos (Tamarin), John Sellekaers (Xingu Hill, Dead Hollywood Stars) and Mathias Delplanque (Lena, Bidlo) team up to produce their second work as The Missing Ensemble ‘Zeropolis’. The trio summons desolated urban landscapes, spectral cities and empty spaces so that a surrealistic vision of dystopia and dereliction forms into an abstract riddle. Drones that are at times almost subliminal and at other times huge and menacing, throw the listener into a submerged, forgotten metropolis, a place fed back to itself until the point of collapse. The phantoms of James Ballard and George Romero hover above the music like silent architects, as the former’s vision of disaster areas and the latter’s concept of decayed commercialism and corruption are translated into sound. This is a tour inside Zeropolis, a majestic non-city and the listener is invited to drown in its hallucinatory sounds. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0qfMhGsBB5E"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0qfMhGsBB5E" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> 51

Zeropolis

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2007-02-28

After two EPs and live performances, Tokyo Mask presents his first full-length album ‘Hinterlands’. Keeping the basic principles of slow rhythms and deep drones intact, ‘Hinterlands’ adds intricate details and subtleties that reward repeated careful listening. Guitars turned inside-out, mysterious echoes, gloomy drones and minimal dark-hop/dub rhythms are placed around the satisfying rumble of a bass guitar. The minimal approach to composition magnifies each element, turning the slightest change into a radical shift of perspective. An intensely enigmatic, almost mystical feel is at the heart of the album, as it methodically draws the listener into its circle of repetition. 50

Hinterlands

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2007-02-23

Mormo presents his debut full-length work with ‘Wasting 500 Sounds’. The music combines splintered percussion and idiosyncratic melodies, resulting in a delicately crafted album with amazing attention to the smallest detail. From broken glitchy rhythms to quiet ambient interludes, the music creates a sense of space and progression by focusing on the way sounds interact and evolve. As the music constantly shifts and mutates, exotic forms emerge and take over. <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Mormo/Wasting+500+Sounds">last fm page</a> 48

Wasting 500 Sounds

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2006-12-15

‘Krupnik’ is the debut release of 16stages (aka Joseph kaye), a rich and evolving mixture of funky synth lines, dirty breakbeats and bright textures. The music is rooted in modern electronica, portraying a huge palette of bleeps, noises, grooves and atmospheres. Using these elements, 16stages paints colourful images ranging from the most relaxed and nostalgic to the most tense, blending the aesthetics of videogame and classical music (two of his greatest influences) as he effortlessly combines everything into a meaningful and cohesive mix. 49

Krupnik

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2006-12-14

Francisco Lopez and Scott Arford need no introduction. They have established themselves as major influential figures in the underground experimental scene. “Solid State Flesh / Solid State Sex” is a double cd collaboration between these two passionate artists, dealing with the flowing presence of electricity all around us and inside us. Intense, sexy and rough, electricity mutates into a multitude of unknown sonic virtual spaces. The two discs work as a perfect companion to each other, shifting between relentless noise and menacing silence. 47

Solid State Flesh/Solid State Sex

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2005-11-01

Kamotek strikes with the densely packed electronic ride of “Loftway”. He’s not afraid of having fun when he’s making music and that is evident, presenting a crazy roller coaster speeding through a wide range of electronic styles. Colourful, detailed, beautifully produced and instantly likeable, “Loftway” retains a sense of self-sarcasm, rare in these days of over-serious artistry. Check the menacing chiptunes in “Midnight Afrobeaver” to see what we mean. Donkey Kong on crack throwing barrels at Darth Vader. Well, that’s what music is all about in the first place. 45

Loftway

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2005-09-17

Following his 2005 debut album on Fluxion’s Vibrant Music imprint, Pridon returns with this next instalment, a five track EP on our label. The EP also comes with a bonus remix by Peekay Tayloh (Poeta Negra Records). Made for the most part at Pridon’s old wind-lashed seaside street in Brighton (from which the title is borrowed), “New Steine” is the result of Pridon’s attempt to compose music that connects the fragmented pieces of his music listening experience. In doing so, he is diving into the roots of his palette, with an emphasis on compositional structure, creating hybrids that unfold linearly in a skillful and surprising way. The EP opens with “Caretta”, where the off-kilter hip hop rhythm and burbling, cascading synth lines give way to glissando acid lines, which snake around a fortified rhythm section as gloomy dissonant ambiences encroach. Pridon’s interest in sonic synthesis and in creating detailed movement of sound is evident from track one, as he operates in microworld and macroworld with a confident flair, utilising found sounds to add feel to his rhythm sections and successfully interlocks layers of melodic and rhythmic parts. “Sortman Tales”, with it’s snare that sounds reminiscent of a bucket of water (or lego?) being chucked against a wall, “Scruffy”’s frantic IDM/Detroit techno mergence and the bittersweet, funky slo-mo rave of “Relax” make this EP a rich and rewarding listen. Peekay Tayloh’s heavily reworked version of the preceding track finishes off the EP, with it’s water colour sonic washes and spindly pitter-patter rhythms. 44

New Steine

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2005-09-16

Tokyo Mask propels his slow wall-of-sound beats within a sea of deep distorted ambience. Elements of industrial, dub and trip hop are the most prominent, creating a massive sound that runs through “Backbone”. Throughout the five tracks, the mood constantly remains primitive, forging a sense of forgotten desolate power. The structure is tight, yet spacious, always allowing for details among the crude sound volumes. Still, inside this claustrophobic mess, the patient listener will find his way to the core of the mood: calmness, maybe even optimism. 43

Backbone

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2005-09-15