30 May 2008

Kaneel - I've sketched it a while ago

french artist kaneel, curator of the petite&jolie netlabel (and owner of a particularly fetching website), has released a fascinating and original work on the super-exclusive Apegenine Recordings. entitled I've sketched it a while ago, this album is particularly remarkable in the post-techno electronic music world because it features almost no bass frequencies at all! besides this curious fact, it contains a plethora of clicks and cuts, skittering frenetic beats, and chimey chiptune-style melodies. admittedly, its not music for everyone-- the endlessly frantic pace can sometimes become a bit of a sensory overload-- but connoisseurs of post-chiptune music, and those who appreciate music of the playfully weird and wacky variety will find the album this album very charming and unique.

with plentiful high frequencies and carefully-constructed details, this sort of music is certainly best enjoyed at full uncompressed cd-quality. and so, this album may be purchased at the aforementioned Apegenine Recordings shop (worldwide shipping available).

as a preview, a fitting music video for a track from the album can be seen here:

27 May 2008

Uniquetunes

the lads of the russian band Uniquetunes have been steadily honing their skills with a series of live recordings released on the ElectroSound netlabel. on their latest, self-titled studio release (as always, freely downloadable from ElectroSound) their endless hard work is in full effect, and listeners are rewarded with an extremely tight set of indie progressive jazz jams. so-called 'jam band' music can often fall into boring, self-absorbed repetition, or pointless technical showing-off, but Uniquetunes hits just the right balance of technical mastery and artful composition, while laying down some seriously deep funk in the process.
the album begins with several seconds of random radio noise. for me, this was the only negative point on the release-- the intro seems rather pointless and a bit annoying if you have to download the tracks individually! but after the intro, Uniquetunes launches into 7 tracks of some of the best psychedelic jams available. according to the release page, the album was recorded without the use of computers, and it sounds great. as with most new releases from the netaudio.ru family of netlabeles, it is offered in 192kbps streaming, as well as 320kpbs mp3 & flac downloads, so the sound quality as well as the musicianship is really stellar. pleasantly chilled grooves, melodic sax solos, lush swirling delays and tight precision drumming make this a perfect release for a warm & active spring evening.