Devendra Banhart – The Charles C. Leary (2002)

Hinah

Bandcamp

• Free folk 
• Singer-songwriter 
• Freak folk 
• Lo-fi 
• DIY 
• New Weird America 
• Psych-folk

Devendra Banhart'i muusikaga on vist nii, et kellele meeldib tema varase perioodi lo-fi muusika ja kellele tema hilisemad poleeritud taiesed stuudios. Vahest mees on kirjutanud ühtesid ja samu lugusid kogu aeg. Ise mäletan Devendrat esimest korda Aivar Tõnso mängituna raadios 2003. aastal. Tema repliik sinna juurde ei jätnud kahtlust esimese variandi kasuks. Tõsi see on, et kui peaksin valima, siis võtaksin ka algusaja heliliselt rohmaka variandi. Kujutan ette, et ta inspireeris kümneid tuhandeid poisse ja tüdrukuid kitarri ja mikrofoni järele haarama. Debüütalbumil – mille andis välja Hinah – on 24 lugu, millel on nii (ala)teadvuse vaba voolamist kui nihkes determineeritust, nii flegmaatilist unelust kui sellest paanilist üles ärkamist, nii inglise keeles kui hispaaniakeelset laulu. Siin ei ole lugudel kosmeetilist vaapa pääl, kõik on naturaalne ja ehe; peegeldamaks vahetult emotsioone. Üks noor biitnik-hipi New Weird-liikumise uuele lainele elujõudu sisse puhumas. Hästi puhus ju!

Tyrone Miller – Batman & Tyrone (2002)

Redstarcommunity 

• Drone
• Avant-garde
• Experimentalism
• Minimalism
• Post-rock
• Ambient drone
• Microtonal
• Ambient
• Post-classical

Comment: in fact, one can find out just a couple of links about an artist called Tyrone Miller across the Net. There are up a pair of albums, the second of them All These Moments (2005) already appeared at RMH some years ago but the artist's first outing Batman & Tyrone is here to be focused upon. With regard to the sophomoric issue which is apparently more electronic - and let's say nonsensically contemporary - to introduce the dreams with the aid of synthesisers Batman & Tyrone consists of three lengthy compositions instead based on sparse organ droning which is either twisted and switched on/off or then complete with an electric guitar and spoken word snippets and voice samples. There is no hurry due to each track to clock in at least at a 11 minute meandering from introverted minimal music to lucid outbursts. More profoundly, it is something between late Talk Talk, and Labradford/Pan American. It is issued on a Swedish imprint, Redstarcommunity.

Lycia – Tripping Back Into The Broken Days (2002)

Bandcamp

Projekt

• Dark wave 
• Shoegaze 
• Alternative 
• Ambient rock 
• Dreamgaze 
• Epic 
• Neoclassical 
• Ethereal wave

Comment: I guess Tripping Back Into The Broken Days is a good start for beginners to make acquaintance with Tempe, Arizona, US-based combo. My first contact with Mike VanPortfleet led trio (though the recent one is created by Mike VanPortfleet, and Tara Vanflower) was in 2004 while I got an album by my friend and thereafter was listening to it with my bride in the bed in a darkened room. Yeah, the impression was powerful, I got dazed and I fell in love with Lycia. I think Lycia is one of the most underrated combos in the music history and the trio`s music should be immensely more appreciated. If there is up a topic about shoegaze then you could not find out any hints at Lycia in that regard. Indeed, Lycia as a combo is a juggernaut between shoegaze and dark wave, maybe even between post-punk, and neofolk/dark folk/neoclassical. For instance, at times Lycia, and Slowdive do have much in common. The formula of Lycia is quite simple – their music used to take off with reverb-drenched, extended guitar chords being backed up by murky atmospheric synthesisers and longing vocal lines and then progress slowly and then pertify in a sense. A perfect music example to back up your dreams and anxious minds. Lycia`s music may be considered a break to the other side, or at least something of reflecting shades and dim rays from that dimension. By watching the cover print and considering the title of this 12-track outing you can perceive hints at American gothic and magic realism. It is a place where the past comes into the present in a quaint way and start to dominate the latter. In the sense you can similarities with Morrissey`s lyrics. A mandatory release for sure. The issue was intially released on Projekt Records.

Dolby – Dub:Expo EP (2002)

Thinner

• Dub house 
• Dub techno 
• Alternative 
• Electronic music 
• Deep house

Comment: this set of 4 compositions used to excel at dub house (and dub techno in lesser extent) frequencies which happened many years before dubstep appeared to please our mind. However, all those low yet predominantly flowing basses did predict the birth of the style. It is a nice listening experience in a rainy evening while being wrapped up by the deep and charming and warm oscillations. At times the main layer of the basses is embellished with tickling electronic effects and iterative reverberations being so characteristic to dub music. Or a flow of crackling hisses breaks into a layer of the basses to wobble together charmingly. Behind the project is a producer from Leipzig, Germany, Marko Fürstenberg, who is being widely known within the webaudio/netaudio world and the outing is a part of the discography of a cult imprint, Thinner. Glorious vibe.

Blamstrain – Kavel EP (2002)

Thinner

• Dub-house 
• Electronic music 
• Ambient dub 
• Dubstep 
• Hauntology 
• Abstract 
• Ambient techno

Comment: Blamstrain is a Finnish producer whose 31 minutes being laid out at the legendary German imprint Thinner are something truly divine and mentally overwhelming. Something truly fascinating which must be heard. The words are too weak to transmit the flow of impressions coming out of it. All of that used to happen 15 years ago when Blamstrain was a young, 16 year-old guy. More profoundly, it happened in 2002 when dubstep as a style was not officially recognised and Hyperdub as an imprint was not established yet but there were certainly some artists who were going ahead of its time. For sure, you can hear slowed-down subwoofer frequencies dominating and driving glitched-out and microscopic noise blended vinyl-alike hiss and crackle-tinged terrains which stand there as on its own and on the other side it is also the fine background for fragmented yet bittersweet melodies as if a channel for the listener who would like to go back in time to visit sweet places and beloved periods (especially at Kuluntalahti). Hence the artist does have the similarities with The Caretaker, and on the other side, some ambient moments remind of Mille Plateaux related stuff like being produced by his compatriot Vladislav Delay, and Gas. By listening to it you do not think of people as the kind of clever swines (or some swines are clever than others – by paraphrasing Moz who does have birthday today). All I want to say it just one word – classic. Must own and listen to it.

The “New” Utica Compilation (2002)

Cozy Home

/New Weird America, Crossover, Electronic pop, Blues, Psych-folk, Experimental indie, Acid rock, Psychedelic rock, Anti-folk, Punk rock, DIY/

Comment: I guess I firstly stumbled upon the music of Cozy Home Records at the end of the 00s sometime due to discovering some artists through CLLCT who were being related to the label and closely related platforms like Daydream Generation, and Quixodelic Records. However, this 15-bar issue is the first miscellany being issued under the umbrella in 2002. It was the year when Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective, and Ariel Pink as later backbones to the upcoming New Weird America scene and weird pop appearance just started to gain reputation step by step. Musically the whole is diversified providing a shitloads loads of glimpses into many genres, however, the quality of music not to be given a fuck. Furthermore, it is a vivid exemplar of full-fledged DIY culture in the USA. The listener is being kept in the radar due to thought-provoking crosses between indie and electronic and acid pop bits, freaked-out folk compositions, uncompromisingly stalking blues driven punk rock energy, and effect-laden experimental inclined rock examples. The compilation could be considered as a notch of the so-called New Weird America movement with some reservations because folk music represented over there is not a goal on its own but just a bare instrument to bring forth the magic of sounds. There are represented such artists as The Chrome Ghosts, The Real Burnouts, Have You Seen This, Man?, Zapp Chapp, Crookedfoot (early handwithlegs), D. Only, Dead Priest Sphynx, Early Morning Edison, Christian Science Mobsters, Family Talent Show, Eponine, Travel Labyrinth, Maynard and The Molemen, and The Flying Turdballs (Big Mimi Bourgeous with Jenny Penny and Cashew Cook). Additionally to listening to this lofty legacy I recommend to open up the catalogues and links through the aforementioned platforms to discover an universe within the glorious US-based DIY tradition.

Luarvik Luarvik – Tabamata Ime (2002)

History of Misery

MKDK Records

/Synth rock, Progressive rock, Fusion, Improvised music, RIO, Avant-rock, Psychedelic, Art rock/

Comment: because of having no intentional pop pretensions (or having it in other, more inferior and hidden terms) Mihkel Kleis headed combo`s sophomoric issue is not a subject about the second and problematic album topic being so popular in discussions about pop albums throughout last decades. Although the line-up is a little bit changed with regard to the breath-taking debut album Baltic Station Sessions (2000) the musicians continue to solidify their fusion and prog-rock based metaphysics in terms of sounds. If to compare it to the debut album the issue involves more spiky, high-pitched synths and noisy, chunky guitar chord infused undercurrents here and there (making nods toward Canterbury-based prog/fusion groups of the 60s and 70s and dizzy electrically groovy albums by Miles Davis in the first half of the 70s and even to the Soviet period regatta pop and yacht rock groups). On the other side, emotively the result is similar due to an uncountable quantum of key changes, simultaneously surfacing theme explorations and chords from different channels and watery synth vamps interwoven with light-hearted drumming by Andres Lõo. Probably the most poppy notch is Ak due to careless shift and full-fledged easiness at its core. The first four tracks are recorded in the studio and the rest of three ones are takings from one musical event in 2001. By not much time passed after that Mihkel Kleis started off his more experimental and conceptually more ambiguous project EDASI and later made some solo albums (his recent music project is called Ratkiller). In any cases, Tabamata Ime constitutes a dynamic and organic chapter in the Estonian progressive and jazz rock history.              

Taavi Tulev – Televiisor on tuksis (2002)

Autoplate

/Experimental electronica, Industrial techno, Abstract techno/

Comment:  Televiisor on tuksis (TV is broken) was the debut album by then 18-year-old Taavi Tulev whose 14-track issue reveals many magnificent moments and felicitous progressions. The album starts off with industrial electronic impulses, however, involving some techno frequencies within it. Later on, more abstract and electronic and even noisy hovers would be ready to overwhelm the release and the listener`s soul (or brain as you wish). Despite its metallic and machine centred concept the outlet is somehow replete with gladness and joy of living (for instance, Kivi is filled with childishly winsome chords). On the other side, the album used to provide daydreams with the assistance of volatile synth gears and motives. The  issue would be finished off in the key of romantic, chamber drenched electronic flickers. The Estonian musician`s following issue Diktüoneemakilt was released under the pseudonym Wochtzchèe in 2006 (Ulmeplaadid) which can be considered one of the toughest issues regarding the Estonian electronic/ambient music scene. In a word, it is a classic one – it is a must-have release.  

Mank - Death Studies (2002)

Mankymusic

Lastfm

• IDM
• Dark ambient
• Neoclassical
• Experimentalism
• Post-industrial
• Darkwave
• Musique concrète
• Illbient
• Dark electro

Outstanding tracks:

Qabalistic Geometry

Sympathy

Requiem For A Train Crash 

La Parlesia - La Parlesia (2002)

Anomolo

• Indie folk
• Folk
• World music

Outstanding tracks:
Luntanu
La Veccia Di L`Acitu
Petrafennula
Tal>
Miercury
Talremix

Abfahrt Hinwil - Links Berge Rechts Seen (2002)

Lastfm

9.4

/Experimental electronica, Electro pop, Minimal techno, Chill out, Ambient techno, Soundscapes, IDM, Synth pop, Ambient/

Comment: this 13-track album can be considered one of those distinguished IDM/electronica/techno albums coming out from the 00s. Otherwise it can be viewed as an example of futuristic synth pop drifting between serene and gloomy moods. In the meantime, however, the German duo of Chris Cunningham (aka Point 7), and Martin Haidinger (aka Gimmik) provides profound contemplations of ambient textures, suggestive sequencer-ridden electro pop and robot-driven patterns. On the strength of it there can be drawn parallels upon the likes of Autechre, Dopplereffekt and many other artists. Highly convincing indeed.   

Sidhartha - Mouse Clicking EP (2002)

Wide Area Network Records
Lastfm

9.4

/Abstract techno, Abstract electronica, Experimental electronica, Ambient dub, Crossover, Dubstep/

Comment: the sonic explorations behind the name Andrey Kiritchenko (born in 1976) need not to be introduced actually. He is an experimental electronic music producer who has defined the imaginary scene of post-Soviet electronic music with Alexei Borisov, Kateryna Zavoloka, Younnat, Evgenij V. Kharitonov, Randomajestiq, Buben, and some other ones. Sidharta`s Mouse Clicking had been issued approximately 10 years ago showcasing his ingenious touch of how diverse styles should be crossbreeded with each other in seamless/organic way. The listener can perceive how dub music in the embodiment of ambient and dubstep does have different possibilites to evolve into a more quintessential one (reminding of the likes of Pole, Basic Channel-related things). Those subtle phase changes based on the modulations of synth sequences do make out an astonishing trace. By the way, the term "dubstep" was not used (invented?) then. On the other side, the parts of it will develop into a more abstract compartment of minimal/intellectual techno vibes a la Autechre or Kim Cascone. Furthermore, the 6-piece release used to have lots of energy and vital power oozing out both from carefully treated paces and ethereal layers. Or just call this power simply synergy. In a word, listen to it and sing this album to be a classic one. Never mind, it has already managed to be a classic one on its own.

Randomajestiq - Evidence Of Utopia (2002)

Subsource
Subsource
Lastfm

9.0

/Deep techno, Ambient dub, Ambient techno, Experimental electronica, IDM, Dub-tech/

Comment: Vladimir Hropov (born 1976) aka Randomajestiq is a producer from Gomel who used to be one of the most eminent electronic musicians from Belarus today (with Buben, and Alexander Martovsky). Just 2 tracks, though, very long ones (both of them more than 20 minutes) both of which are divided into small chapters. More detailly, ethereal dub waves are fringed with spaced-out techno rhythms and subtle IDM vibes. On the other side, there can be detected for some New Age-ish influences. In fact, the second part of the album rings out as if The Orb were mixed up with the last named elements.

Chenard Walcker - Haut Le Coeur (2002/2006)

Free Sample Zone

9.2

/Mash-up, Plunderphonics, Avant-garde, Crossover, Sound collage, Samplecore, Sampledelic, Cut and paste/

Comment: Chenard Walcker was a French artist, thinker, visionary and fervent protagonist for the copyleft movement. He had basically been active in the first half of 00`s before he was diagnosed with the serious health condition. More detailly, he created a blog named Free Sample Zone and having had approximately 30-40 albums on his own account. In fact, a true legend in any cases and one heroes of mine.

This album contains of 18 tracks within 71 minutes, lifting its core from the Gregorian chants, old school soul music, rumbling pace shufflings, film score samples, easy listening, hip-hop, psychedelia, near-ethnic/ethno-pop and much more to be chopped up and re-conceptualized into a new form. Actually any of his tracks would freely be a subject for the quizzes with the purpose to figure out all of those hints coming forth from the concrete track.