The Never Years – Life of Dreams (2011)

Bandcamp

• Chillwave 
• Dream pop 
• Indie pop 
• Electronic 
• Ambient pop 
• Synth-pop 

Hämmastav on, et kui ruttu aeg tegelikkuses möödub. Ning samas kümne aasta tagune aeg paistab väga kaugel olevat. Sinna vahele mahub palju sündmusi. Eks ajakulu kiirus olegi peamine põhjus, millega inimesele surelikkust meelde tuletatakse. Aga surelikkus ja selle realiseerumine võib võtta kummastava kõverpeegelduva kuju. Näiteks üleeile viimase NLKP peasekretäri ärasaatmisel Moskvas visati risti kõvasti ette. Ei tea, kas see tuli kristlikust halastusest või ajaloolisest teadmisest, et NLKP koos peasekretäridega võitles usulise vabaduse eest nii, et kirikutornid varisesid ja kirikus käivaid inimesi pandi salaja ligimesearmastusest kirja. Stalin ja teised tippkommunistid keeraksid praegu nähtu peale ilmselt teist külge hauas. Oleks eluohtlik olnud, kui keegi Koba matustel oleks risti ette heitnud. Skisoidne oleks mõelda, et keegi Stalini haua ees Kremli müüri ääres sedasi teeks. Suurim nali on see, et see ei ole tegelikult nali. Ilmselgelt seda tehakse. Mõnes mõttes see muusika ilmumise aegu ilmestas muretust enne sünget perioodi. Unenäopopist ekstraheeritud helged meeleolud, orkestreeritud süntesaatorid ning hüpnootiliselt põrkavaks programmeeritud rütmid loovad maguskibeda tundmuse hinge. Siin ei ole kuigi laia stilistilist diapasooni albumi lõikes. Kiidusõnad lähevad ka Prantsuse plaadifirmale Beko DSL, kes hoolitses seesuguse heli esiletoomise eest. 

8.0 (7.5-8.5)

Beko DSL La Station Radar (2011)

Free Music Archive

• DIY 
• Lo-fi 
• Chillwave 
• Psychedelic 
• Glo-fi 
• Avant-garde 
• Noise pop 
• Hypnagogic pop 
• Electronic 
• Singer-songwriter 
• Drone pop 
• Ambient 
• Experimentalism 

Prantsuse plaadifirma Beko DSL tuli nullindate lõpul pildile iganädalaselt paariloolisi singlireliise üllitades. Sellal, kui indimuusika peavoolus valitses Coldplay ja Snow Patrol'i pompöösne tühjalausumine ja eimidagiütlemine. Ka juhtus see samaaegselt elektroonilise unenäopopi ehk chillwave/glo-fi-muusika esilekerkimisega. Žanriliselt oligi nimetatu kõige enam esindatud, ent ka teiste indistiilide esindajad pääsesid kenasti pildile. Sageli muusikat läbis eneseteadlik tee-seda-ise ja lo-fi mentaliteet. Mingi hetk jõuti ka kogumike koostamiseni, ning seal on, mida kuulata. Käesoleval üheteistloolisel kogumikul vihvatavad drooniv ja kobrutav psühhedeelia ning leekiv mürapopp, elektroonilised eksperimendipadrikud ja horisondini kaikuvad ämbient-kaemused ning pealtnäha loksuv-logisev autorilaul ja "kohatu" helikollaaž. Palju on seesugust muusikat, mida toona tootis hulgi James Ferraro oma nime-pseudonüümide ja koostööprojektide vahendusel. Vastastikku mõjutati teineteist. Artistidest on esindatud Archers by the Sea, Dirty Beaches, Ela Orleans, Gremlins, Holy Strays, Je suis le petit chevalier, Jeans Wilder, Skitter, Terror Bird, Wet Hair ning yves son ace. Nii mõnigi artist peaks kuulajale tuttav olema. Ja Ela Orleans'i fänn olla keegi David Lynch. 

8.0 (7.0-9.0)

q///q – beko_209 (2013)

Beko DSL

• Synth-pop
• Electro-indie
• Alternative pop
• Synthwave
• Motorik
• Kraut-electro
• Robot pop
• Synth-punk
• Alternative dance
• Minimal wave
• Kraut-techno

Kohe avalugu ilmutab robotite tahet muundumaks inimesteks. Niivõrd kuivõrd – teravad metalsed sakid ja lõikavad servad turritavad pehmest koest välja. Mõnes teises loos ilmneb klassikaline süntpungilik olemus pelutava alanvegaliku vokaaliga. Klassika noh. Kaheksa lugu, lühikesed paariminutilised kaemused. Aga üldiselt valitseb Kraftwerk'i hilisema ajastu vaim, mille elektro-, tehno- ja robotpopi fassaadi on imbunud algusaegade motoorne et mitte öelda monotoonne krautvaib. Minimalistlik, kõhetu rütmistik on kaunistatud poolorkestreeritud sündipuhangutega, mis mõlemad tekitavad albumit läbiva sünge tunnetuse. Mainitet monotoonsus ja süngus on siin mitte takistavad, vaid (edasi)kandvad jõud. Midagi nagu Joy Division New Order`i seadistuses, olles tugevasti mõjutatud hilisest Kraftwerk`ist. Vahele on pikitud ka elektroonilisi eksperimente rütmi ja helidega. Korralik üllitis. Väljaandjaks on üks väljapaistvaimaid indiplaadifirmasid eelmisel kümnendil – Prantsuse leibel Beko DSL (mitte segi ajada Türgi kodumasinate firmaga).

Beko_Hartzine (2011)

Beko DSL

Archive.org

Free Music Archive

• Indie pop/rock 
• Noise pop 
• Alternative pop/rock 
• Cover 
• Psych-pop 
• Live 
• Lo-fi 
• Post-punk 
• Hypnagogic pop 
• Glo-fi 
• Experimental pop 
• Avant-pop 
• New Weird America 
• Coldwave

Comment: in fact, indie compilations may be boring and dull but it cannot be assumed about French imprint Beko DSL and especially about this 18-notch outing. There are up such artists as Tan Dollar, Ender Belongs To Me, Ela Orleans, Colours, Black Vatican, William Cody Watson, Happy New Year, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jani/Jussi, Collatone, Krusht, To The Happy New, The KVB, Michael Parallax. There is represented a smorgasbord of sounds and styles and an immense amount of crossovers between them. At times more straightforward and noisy, at times more languid and dreamy. At times more electronically employed, sometimes more guitars brought to the focus, at times more vowel effects brought forth thereby echoing back to the golden days of a new wave of the New Weird movement in the 00s. Yet there are up a couple of brilliants over there – Happy New Year's hypnagogic cover of Iggy Pop's The Endless Sea, and Ela Orleans 's Beat Goes On (live at Budokan) which strives to be successfully gravity-free. In a word, get immersed in an idea of indie music of how it would have perpetuated in the beginning of the 10s.

La Houle – Première Vague (2017/2018)

Beko DSL
Bandcamp

• Dream pop 
• Alternative pop/rock 
• Indie pop/rock 
• Shoegaze 
• Alternative dance

Comment: La Houle is the duo of Simon Sockeel and Geoffrey Papin though by listening to this 10-notch outing it would be honest to admit Clementine Blue's remarkable role by adding her enchanting female vocal to the mix. In overall, it is a gentle nugaze/shoegaze album with groovy keyboards and celestial guitar noises and the aforementioned female and male mixed vocals. All the lyrics are represented in French thus making definitely some difference and adding some welcome exotics. A strong thread on this release is to build up from quiet elements into an eargasmic tumult and some tracks result in overtly dance-appealed frequencies. In other words, its absolute sum is definitely bigger than the sum of its initial parts because one get hit by an invigorating synergy. At times it chimes in a kind of symphonic way. In truth, it is a modern counterpart of symphonic music. Truly beautiful in its bliss being released on Beko DSL, another indie stalwart from France.

Suss Cunts – Suss Cunts (2016)

Beko DSL

Bandcamp

• Post-punk 
• Alternative pop/rock 
• Indie pop/rock 
• Punk rock 
• Riot Grrrl 
• Psychedelic rock

Comment: Suss Cunts is the Melburnian, Australian trio of Nina Renee, Tahlia Eastman/Cordeux, and Helena Holmes. This 5-track outing is their debut being issued on France-based indie imprint Beko DSL. Beko DSL has been a very important platform for new and talented bands to be appeared since the beginning of the 10s. Many of them thereafter have gained remarkable following in underground circuits. For instance, Memoryhouse, Raw Thrills, Death And Vanilla, Lee Noble, Cankun, The Procedure Club, The KVB. I can remember for the imprint to be appeared when the chillwave movement kept gaining popularity around the world and thereafter also contributing to the movement by its side. However, Suss Cunt`s issue is obviously the most punk-driven one I have ever heard on it though it is played with loose wrist attitude and some indie and psychedelic sensitivity. Of course, there is difference between male and female punk combos, and one is clearly represented on it as well. It is filled with arousing female shrieks and shouts though the feminists might dislike it because of being approached with a focused attention by men. On the other side, Mark E Smith by The Fall is well known due to shouted and shrieked recitation of his texts. I like the trio`s inner burning and enthusiastic performance by keeping their pace to be coherent and dynamic. Get it. Support them.

Pink Priest – beko_31 (2010)

Beko DSL

Bandcamp

• Dreamwave
• Leftfield
• Avant-garde
• Drone
• Ambient
• Hypnagogic pop
• Glo-fi
• Micronoise
• Chillwave

Comment: recently my mind and soul was psyched by an Estonian indie show, Nestor & Morna at Raadio 2 where Siim Nestor played a song by The Dreams, the French duo who has appeared for many times in the discography of an imprint called Beko DSL. Indeed, I got reason to go back in time while I had listened to the label`s music for much more than I used to do recently. In any cases, one should do it again and again. There were up many groups and one-man projects in the label`s list who gained in popularity later. For instance, Death And Vanilla, Memoryhouse, Cankun, Dirty Beaches, Raw Thrills. On the other side, at the end of the 00s and in the beginning of the 10s there were up many styles which become to appear to influence indie scenes worldwide and even mainstream music worldwide. More profoundly, I do consider such styles as chillwave/hypnagogic pop and witch house/drag house in the first place. Indeed, myspace as a music platform to rev up the artists to gain fame has eventually resulted successfully for The Arctic Monkeys only. A new generation of artists then believed more in music blogs, small record labels (Woodsist, Not Not Fun, Patient Sounds, CLLCT, Beko DSL, Rack And Ruin) and music distribution by their own. The Bandcamp would appear soon. The US-musician Cody Watson aka Pink Priest is one of such sort of artists whose music used to drift between and across the aforementioned styles. The first platform of him is certainly the sort of music recorded in home and probably in his bedroom, and on the other side his outright dreamed-out and slowed down music used to refer toward escaped moods where dreams are built up to be bigger than life. In fact, it is to be much bigger than your fucking, ordinary life. It is quite puzzling to imagine where would be the home place of his music, where would it be to settle down. Obviously it is not a cosy place because those warped vocals, gentle waves of droning and slightly solemn yet somehow ill-omened sonic threads give no support for any pop-oriented point. You are left alone altogether and while listening to it for more and more you are not going to long for it. Instead of it, Sleepyhead, and Get Haunted will grow faster on you than you would have expected it. It is for the fans of Sun Araw, Lee Noble, Ducktails, M Geddes Gengras. Of course, get other issues of Cody watson via Bandcamp for yourself. 

Cankun + Holy Strays - Beko_91 (2011)

Beko DSL

• Lo-fi
• Hypnagogic pop
• Dreamwave
• DIY
• Experimental pop
• Avant-pop
• Chillwave
• Poptronica
• Post-psychedelic electronica
• Glo-fi

Comment: Beko DSL is a French contemporary music imprint who started to issue singles and compilations at the beginning of the 10s when such styles as chillwave, glo-fi, hypnagogic pop, dreamwave started to appear. Undoubtedly it was one of the best sources to get proper overview about new music. Unfortunately they decided to finish off their doings at the end of 2011, though all the releases are still up there. Beko_91 involves three compositions (one track is provided by Cankun, and two by Holy Strays both artists coming from France). Cankun who is now highly acclaimed artist within indie music circles provides a track called Coconuts which used to circle around due to fairly sultry synth loops and dusty ambience as if providing an interface for ambient and lo-fi pop. Indeed, I like that the sounds are subdued as if buried in. Holy Strays`s tracks are also immersed in mildly glistening echoes and DIY aesthetic driven synthesiser`s soup. In a word, listen to it and let`s remember those good old times replete with hope and desire. 

Beko_cs02 (August 2010)

Beko DSL

/Indie pop, Alternative pop, Indietronica, Electronic, Dream pop, Ambient pop/

Comment: as you can see a huge amount of stylistic tags above this compilation of 21 tracks embraces a lot of artists from the modern indie music spectrum. Mostly it is dominated by synthetic, keyboard percolated orchestrations and tenuous vocals. Indeed, the guitars do have a backseat role within the case. The miscellany was issued 5 years ago and it can say at the moment that some of these artists have gained popularity meanwhile and are solidly represented in most important webzines. For instance, Blackbird Blackbird, Porcelain Raft, Foxes In Fiction are those ones. Additionally there are represented such artists as Fluker Love, Black Coffee & Cherry Pie, Wizard Oz, Kites Sail High, Raw Moans & Party Trash, Petit Tambour, Cosmic Sound, Pandit, Liquid Days, Kiss Kiss Fantastic, Lay Bac, The Beauty, Vacation Dad, Mon Insomnie, The Cq, Hard Mix, Winter Drones, Coma Cinema. 

Folle Eglise/Chicaloyoh - Beko 47 (2010)

Beko DSL

• Experimental rock
• Slowcore
• Psych-rock
• Chamber music
• Avant-rock
• Microtonal
• Noir
• Angst rock
• Minimal
• Abstract

Outstanding tracks:

Folle Eglise - Classic Mountain

Beko DSL - CS01 (2010)

Beko DSL

• Indie pop
• Electro-indie
• Lo-fi
• Alternative rock
• Shitgaze
• Dream pop
• Organcore
• Fuzz pop
• Poptronica
• Indietronica
• Glo-fi
• Ambient pop
• Alternative dance
• Post-psychedelic electronica
• Drone pop

Outstanding tracks:

Death And Vanilla - Between Circles

Romantic States - The Fourth

The Bilinda Butchers - All My Friends

Eternal Summers - Pure Affection

Tan Dollar - Clams

Wonder Wheel - Eyes

Nude Beach - Hot Girl

Greatest Hits - Your Just An Uptown Girl

Muscle Drum - So Slow

Edh - Longwasted

Woven Tales - God Helmet

Eachothers - Jogging Holiday

Ander - Beko_77 (2011)

Beko DSL

Lastfm

• Indietronica
• Post-rock
• Alternative

Outstanding tracks:

Fields

Rifts

Xmas - Beko DSL (2012)

Beko DSL

• Conceptual
• Dreamwave
• Electronic pop
• Alternative
• Leftfield
• Poptronica
• Experimental indie
• Chillwave

Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones - Beko_97 (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.2

/Noir jazz, Trip-hop, Post-rock, Nu jazz, Avant-garde, Crossover, Cinematic/

Comment: there are up a pair of sublime notches spreaded out over 17 minutes. The whole rotates around the noir-centered progressions and cinematic glimpses. In particular, these ghastly vocal whiffs and smoky bits are blended with minimal/cool jazz/glowering trip-hop in the first part and with more post-rock-esque guitar terrains and a profound, intimate interaction between male and female voices in the second one.

The Never Years - Beko_98 (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.2

/Chillwave, Glo-fi, Electronic pop, Poptronica, Dreamwave, Experimental indie, Alternative/

Comment: behind this project is none else than Jamie Long who was previously known writing electronic-soaked pop music under his own name. Now he is back with a handful of tracks running on the verge and soaring over the plateaus of chillwave/glo-fi plateaus. There are represented blissed-out and lucid ones appearing like the episodes of an unforgettable dream. Let`s call it just panoramic pop which used to gluttonize the stars.

The Dreams+Delacave - Beko_99 (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.2

/No Wave, Angst pop, Experimental indie, Lo-fi, Primitive pop, Dark pop, Avant-rock, Electronic pop/

Comment: it is nice to meet the Dreams again, a French duo taking on impassioned lo-fi approach blended with existential, moan-soaked singing. This time they are joined by another Gallian combo Delacave, offering up as similarly as the Dreams three tracks of glowering, angst-drenched drones, creepy guitars, haunting vocal lines and monotonous paces buried below it. On the other side, the last track Funeral Party reflects upon a more primitivistic shape.

beko DSL - beko_killshaman (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.3

/Post-punk, Psychedelia, Avant-garde, Primitive electronca, Post-psychedelic electronica, Experimentalism, Art rock, Alternative pop/rock/

Comment: this compilation reflects upon - let`s just say - industrial/urban tribalism. Lots of variable hooks and enthralling trash are chosen over here, however, veering out from the Fall-alike manifesting post-punk-ish shimmer and 80`s Sonic Youth-afforded bristled yet dream-filled guitar works to off-kilter shamanic oscillation/post-psychedelic tilts and somehow statically flowing guitar-induced experimentalism and stuttering primitivism. Here are represented the likes of GeR^^aN, Hiking, Turrks, GeRmAn ArMy, Night Control, and Healthcare, all those bands seem to related with one location - Oakland, California.

Turrks - Bisbee (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.3

/Psych-rock, Experimental rock, Psychedelia, Alternative rock, Noise rock/

Comment: heavily reverb-loaded psych-rock/psychedelia from Oakland, California. A shitloads of massive guitar washes and arrogant, manifesting vocal lines a la Mark E Smith (The Fall) which ultimately makes out an excellent result.

Beko DSL - Skrotup (2011)

Beko DSL
Lastfm

9.1

/Lo-fi, DIY, Experimental rock, Electro-rock, Post-industrial, Weird pop, Experimental metal/

Comment: rough and brutal yet excellent shit... . Here are uploaded artists who provide heavily effect-charged lo-fi/DIY music which apparently gets inspiration from the compartments of 70`s nihilistic industrial progressions, electro-rock and the hype of witch house/drag music. Yet, you can listen to dub-influenced angst rock, warped metal progressions, straightforwardly punching guitar dashes and much more. Here are represented the likes of Endless Endless Endless, Heroin In Tahiti, Braindamage, Portable Morla, Loopgoat, and many others. The more you listen to the miscellany the more it opens up. The sign of quality indeed. By the way, all these artists are related to the Copenhagen`s experimental label Skrot Up.

Beko DSL - Crashsymbols (2011)

Beko DSL

9.0

/Synthwave, Post-punk, Dark pop, Art pop, Shoegaze, Experimental indie, Dreamwave/

Comment: a sequent glittering miscellany by the French label Beko DSL. These 13 tracks used to veer from rigid post-punk and synthwave to shoegaze and lush dreamwave. Here are represented the likes of Hobbledeions, Abstract Cannon, Bonifrate, Rimar, Kumon Plaza, Sumsun, Antn Hrkwk, Noah Wall, Two Bicycles, Bong Rodent, Shuriken, Phil and the Osophers, Monster Rally, Daniel Sex Jr., Moon Bounce, Pregnant, Honeydrum, and Flamingod. Indeed, the compilation might make your day.