Yuuki Yamaguchi – Atmosphere EP (2018)

Ceramic

Yuuki Yamaguchi

• House 
• Electronic music 
• Deep house
• Crossover
• Ethno-house 
• Avant-house

Comment: by listening to this 3-notch outing by a Japanese artist, Yuuki Yamaguchi I thought about the possibility to write a review about a house music release. In fact, how much house or drum and bass reviews could you meet today. No, I am not supposed to think of it as an example of boring music but its functionality might predominate over its other qualities more or less deliberately. First of all, it is the synonym of dance music and at a lesser extent, to create a pleasant state of mind (one of the strengths of house music is to build up sultry ambiances). Of course, there have been around many artists whose purpose are being to undermine the aforementioned intentions and outputs. First of all, I could remember for artists under the legendary German imprint Thinner, and Akufen. The Japanese artist's issue being released on Ceramic Records is a tight blend of national motives (which frequently are warped into an appealingly acidic form) and vibrant rhythms. By considering the titles of these tracks (Atmosphere, Distortion, to Nature) one can perceive the artist's drive to move further from within the borders of the aforementioned styles. One can hear the birds are singing, slightly pulsating drones provide an alternative to the more fragmented beats, smithereens-alike sounds used to pop out here and there. To create house music seems not to be his ultimate goal but exploiting it as a platform to reach new heights.

[Teaser of the day] Carcass Brook - Dead Inside

Death Roots Syndicate

• Folk noir
• No Wave
• Singer-songwriter
• Death folk
• Noise folk
• Doom folk

Artist: Carcass Brook

Release: A Good Day to Die

Label: Death Roots Syndicate

Year: 2018

[Teaser of the day] Cousin Silas & Kevin Lyons - The TNT Factory

• Ambient
• Avant-garde
• Post-industrial
• Ambient drone
• Dark ambient
• Soundscape
• Electronic music
• Experimentalism
• Drone
• Illbient

Artist: Cousin Silas & Kevin Lyons

Release: The Fortean Project

Label: We Are All Ghosts

Year: 2018

Luka Prinčič – Antigone/Child (2018)

Kamizdat

Bandcamp

• Ambient 
• Soundscape 
• Art music 
• Epic 
• Post-classical 
• Modern classical 
• Contemporary classical 
• Dark ambient 
• Crossover 
• Ambient drone

Comment: you may not know how indescribably pleasant is to listen to an album which allows you to forget your self and ego just for an hour – it is one of the best sensations you could ever get in at all. I am listening to Slovenia-based artist Luka Prinčič`s 12-track outing and I can feel I have entered outside the mundane realm where I feel I am nobody, I have no goofy obligations, I am just a part of the imminent energy of this unfathomable endlessness. You can feel halcyon chill and ennobling blue and black mixed darkness oozing out of every chord, out of every imaginary slot. Mystical constellations do form in front of you and foster your fantasies. On the other side, it is a bit heretical to dissect the object or goal of which touch is purgative and transcendental and over my head to an incomparable degree. However, I could only assure it would surely not be a topic over there. Just because of that take a time to listen to it, just get into the music, and try to stay inside it as long as possible. In a way, it is an example of post-music because it acts like a medium to bear and sustain a next level, in the recent case overwhelming sensations to be brought to the forefront. The fabulous issue of ambient, drone and contemporary classical music is a part of the discography of Kamizdat, a Slovene imprint.

[Teaser of the day] A Batard Tronique - U Svom Jatu

Ringe Raja

• Breakcore
• Bhangra
• World fusion
• Electronic music
• Breakbeat
• Jungle

Artist: A Batard Tronique

Release: Ringe Raja 038

Label: Ringe Raja

Year: 2016 

[Teaser of the day] Alphaxone - Signals

Eg0cide Productions

• Ambient
• Post-industrial
• Soundscape
• Dark ambient
• Electronic music
• Epic
• Space music

Artist: Alphaxone

Release: Phase.o.n.e

Label: Eg0cide Productions

Year: 2012

Los Pilotos – Under The Breath (2018)

Pan Y Rosas Discos

• Doom rock 
• Sludge rock 
• Art rock 
• Avant-metal 
• Improvised music 
• Experimental rock 
• Avant-rock 
• Post-metal 
• Angst rock

Comment: Los Pilotos is the solo project of Keith Helt with a swarm of rotating musical collaborators. In fact, Keith Helt has headed a prolific Chicago, the US-based imprint, Pan Y Rosas Discos for years and it is obviously one of the most represented if not the very most represented project in the discography of the record label. Regrettably I have to admit my experience with the oeuvre by Keith Helt is being moderate because I have reviewed just an album (The Process Of Learning, 2016) before the recent one. However, by comparing these issues I have to assume the releases are quite different ones by their accents and formats. The Process Of Learning was more motorik, psychedelic and electronic music soaked and obviously krautrock influenced but on Under The Breath Keith Helt does away with any electronics and synths. On the other side, this 10-notch whole is a fascinating result due to its repetitive chords on rough yet vibrant guitars and basses and a bit interrupted, convulsive singing manner (yeah, his voice does convey strong passion and intense pain) as if a weird bastard between doom, and sludge rock/metal being subjugated to an improvised algorithm. In a sense, the sparse instrumental premises put huge pressure on the artist's technical virtuosity and aesthetical creativity. At times the listener can perceive even cinematic hovers atop the aforementioned guitar and bass built scaffolding as if some kind of salvation for compensating artsy suffering and fear. All in all, the result is impressive due to Keith Helt's ability to balance between expressive playing style, and a creative formative output. This interaction as a result is truly worth on its own.

Alan Morse Davies – The Morse Codex (2018)

 At The Sea

• Experimentalism 
• Avant-garde 
• Experimental electronica 
• Crossover 
• Plunderphonics 
• Micronoise 
• Musique concrète 
• Contemporary classical 
• Art music

Comment: I am not going to wish you a happy new year because no one would care of it, and secondly, the life is not going to change better and happier during the next 365 days. Some things may be better, some things will be worse. Most things are averagely mean. The same could be said about the music – in fact, I do not have belief in the mainstream music at all regarding also the music which is wrongly considered as indie music. The only hope by my side is related to music coming out from within the netlabels, Bandcamp, Archive.org, Jamendo, and Free Music Archive. European culture is declining due to being impotent to create something inspiring and refreshing and seminal. As impotent as one European leader used to be in 2018 who was not able to resolve problems within his country and got heavily punched by his own people. And of course, he did not feel any guilt but blamed the so-called populists for organising the riots. Europe's fate can only be saved by abandoning Christianity as a religion of the slaves. The Europeans should go back to their heathenish roots, directly to clear incantation, directly to the nature and God (however, a true Marxist considers himself/herself a god – he/she knows how the things must be set out). Most of good sonic things are related to the US-based underground scene but also Russian independent creators showcase their power with every new year more and more than before. And Asia's experimental scene is about to explode (especially in Indonesia). Today I am going to review an American creator, Alan Morse Davies whose 12-track issue The Morse Codex is an outstanding one by employing different strategies including the plunderphonic strategy by taking something from other musicians and building something new on them or mashing other authors' music or concrete sounds up. At times one can feel as if dialing a short wave radio. Furthermore, some shortwave-based things seem to be even more cryptic and mystical and thereby reminding a bit of The Conet Project's Numbers Stations. One part of this 12-track outing embraces uncanny yet overcoming noise symphonies and shifting sonic phases. In one song – indeed, the song with the lyrics – he takes a shot at artsy composing a la Robert Wyatt. One can discern the issue to be influenced by world music threads although the threads are warped and indirectly represented. In general, these minutes used to incorporate very different aspects and it is mostly because the release is a collection of tracks from the years 2016-2018. All in all, it is truly inspiring and providing a hefty sort of mental restart. It is a work and joy of non-genre as the artist likes to reckon. As most of his albums used to be this recent one is released on At The Sea.

[Teaser of the day] Cory Allen - Vipassana

Test Tube

• Drone
• Minimalism
• Epic
• Avant-garde
• Kosmische Musik
• Microtonal
• Ambient drone
• Experimentalism

Artist: Cory Allen

Release: Satori In Atlantis

Label: Test Tube

Year: 2007

[Teaser of the day] Erkki Hyva - Klassiõhtud

• Spoken word
• DIY
• Avant-garde
• Bedroom music
• New Weird Estonia
• Storytelling
• Lo-fi

Artist: Erkki Hyva

Release: Varjust rambini 

Label: Õunaviks

Year: 2004