Alessio Ballerini Blanc (Zymogen)

The privilege, the pleasure is mine... . Zymogen is back with its new notch, Alessio Ballerini`s brand new heavy album Blanc. The coverprint with a snowy mountain peak...what is it up here to be referred actually? As it is obviously known "Blanc" does mean as "white" in French, so is it possible to have somehow a reference to the highest peak in the Europe? Why not, though in fact, the album concerns on climate changes regarding the melting of the ice sheets of Greenland. 5 tracks are appeared here to be sounded really warm and comfortable, though, it is full of ghosts and ghouls, which, however, are not used to be frightening occurences. The whole one might be reminiscent of borealic space of Tim Hecker, endlessly snowy landscapes, chaotically swirling airy vectors and silent whirls of the storm. Here you can relax for listening to hiss-infused mini-orchestrations, electro-acoustic trash-y clangors, minimally sounding piano loaded modern classical pieces. Could you imagine that a kind of (beatific) shit and a piece of beauty are rolling alongside to get finally joint together, and as a result, delivering a hallmark about an exhilarating sound example in the end of 2010. By the way, Ballerini is helped by Canenero, Gianni Pavan, and Christian Fennesz (indeed, by this famous österreicher Fennesz).

Listen to it here

9.4

[Compilation] Beko DSL Beko_Fla (Beko DSL)

In fact, there is not much time passed by when I reviewed Bekos DSL`s compilation box_3 being dedicated to witch house/drag/haunted house/screwgaze/crunk shoegaze. It is another compilation, however, also subnamed as A Beko/Free Loving Anarchists Collab concerning profoundly on shoegaze, lo-fi, fuzz pop, dream pop, and post punk-influenced sound from one area/scene (Houston, Texas). Indeed, this miscellany can be dealt with as a fine indie stuff for nowadays people being seriously annoyed by the mediocrity and unvariedness of ordinary music examples. 8 tracks by projects like Rape Faction, Lois Magic, Pink Playground, Young Henry, The KVB, Virgo Rising, Wicked Crafts, Sacred Place do draft solid harmonies and catchy pace notches. The favorite numbers of mine are The KVB`s Into The Night which is an experimental drive on the level of DIY via pulsating trance-alike synth drones, and Joy Division-esque coolness; and Virgo Rising`s To Deal Without It based upon reminiscence of a track by My Bloody Valentine (find it yourself out, I guess) through a memorable synth repetition and spaced-out milieu.

Listen to it here

[Artists] Addis Abbeba/Аддис Абеба

Addis Abbeba/Аддис Абеба
Lastfm

Model Warships Capsules (Bandcamp)

No doubt, Leeds-based Michael Waters is an idiosyncratic singer-songwriter, who has issued 4 releases during last 2 years under the likes of Tavern Eightieth, BeatIsMurder, and Bandcamp. For an argue, concerning on his abundant experiences and possibly much collected know-how in various experimental ensembles (Perfect Writing; Shi Toys; Syuzhet; The Amber Sleep; Cedar Trees), it should not make a big heck of his (sub)conscious expressions and stylistic palette. Indeed, it is eccentrically diverse on each of his issues, stretching out to form kinds of striking wholes consisting of wide-rangely used plaintive and sometimes dirge-alike vocal manners encompassed by noise and hiss-infused guitar strummings, which is enriched with glockenspiel snippets, electronics and stereo effects. Finding out his nichè in drifting between the ways of silence and noise, calmness and unrest, dream-alikeness and horribleness Waters` music is compared to such defiant pop acts as Xiu Xiu, Frog Eyes, Belong, Sufjan Stevens, and Martin Grech. By my side I would add the metal-slapping adoreness of Einstuerzende Neubauten, and dream folk-esque invertedness of Pipher, and Barbagallo.

The whole array of the abovementioned elements are proudly represented on Capsules too, though, some new elements are up here for Waters` weird conception to be completed. For instance, through electro-cadenced undercurrents and metallic abrasiveness are brought forth some new grinning facies. No doubt, Model Warship is one of the most powerful representatives in the New Weird Europe movement nowadays.

Listen to it here

9.4

[Artists] Skittle Alley

Club 7
Anorak Records
Series Two Records
Myspace
Lastfm

[Compilation] Artificios 3 (Sincro)

The Argentinian label/experimental electronic music platform Sincro is back after for a while. It is their third compilation consisting of musicians coming from Argentina, Peru, and Spain (Catalonia). Asolaar, GUM, Ivliss, Juan Dub Silva, Mezzo, and Omar Lavalle are the names up there to get set up with an excellent smorgasboard of industrial/noise-infused repetitive cadences, the abstract abysses of noir-esque soundscapes, microtonal/monotonal manipulations, rough audio processing, and the blaze-framed pavements of pulsating glitchtronics. Although you can hear some similarities with the nihilistic approach of the 70/80`s industrial music, the borealic senseless of Pan Sonic, or the frightening neuroticness of Suicide, it is an universe regulated by its own rules. In fact, while it is an impressive compilation, you shall have to listen to its two precedessors as well.

Listen to it here

The Arctic Flow Club 7 003 (Club 7)

Supposedly everyone who is got deeply digged into the discography of the Holiday Records is not surprised at all to hear about such a name as the Arctic Flow, behind it is Brian Hancheck, a profilic musician from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Approximately a half year ago he released a pair of singles under Beko DSL as well. However, now it is proper time for another single label Club 7. Hancheck`s soundscape is profoundly dreamy and floating, consisting mainly of subtle indie pop numbers with certain shoegaze influences. On the other way, it could be described as shoegaze music without massive touch of abrasive guitars and psychedelic entering into a chaotic inner world, instead of it used to be reserved for nicely suffusing guitar chords driving over the middle layers of the sound. Though, it can be sounded psychedelic as well. First of all, if you are in to dedicate your time to such British indie luminaries as Slowdive, Ride, and Chapterhouse (especially the last named one) or have listened to music released under the label Slumberland, this release of 2 tracks (Sentiments and Artifacts; King of the Flood) is thought for you.

Listen to it here

8.9

[Artists] Modern Warships

Model Warships/Bandcamp
Tavern Eightieth
BeatIsMurder
Myspace
Lastfm

Plantae Pinguin (Qulture Production)

Plantae comes from Izhevsk, the Udmurtian Republic, the Russian Federation, having previously released the albums Feld, and Distance under the likes of Datenbits, and 8081, respectively. Pinguin does offer 7 tracks within 35 minutes. On the site of Qulture Production, on the record site, the album is being described as "minimal toy techno", "acoustic", and "IDM". No, doubt, any kind of experiments with toytronica, with its mellow sense of fluctuant harmonic crests has been quite popular in those days, giving some different touches and angles of views to our weary listening experiences to be changed, at least a little. In addition to it, however, it can be mentioned to have a cute cartoon-esque coverprint and all the track names are titled in German (Wanderung; Entspannung, Schwimmen; Niedergang etc). However, regarding penguins (or pinguins as a kind therefore showing up its deviation in reference to the IDM-based conceptions), such an infantile soundscape, and folktronic-infused album, it is impossible not to see a connection between Plantae`s recent issue and the minimal approach of Penguin Cafe Orchestra (Pinguin is used to express itself especially on this mode in the beginning of the album). No doubt, all of those samples of unconventional instruments imbued with synthetic cadences do construct an organic whole here. A solid work indeed.

Listen to it here

9.0

[Artists] Fescal

1798
Bypass
Black Square
Fescal/Bandcamp
Lastfm