Muxu - Show Us Your Weak Side

Monotonik, one of the first netlables ever, and the netlable that started my netaudio obsession has sadly been pretty dead lately. there has been a few interesting releases, but nothing of the quality and originality of classics like Latatoo, Aze, or Aleksi Virta meets Tortsi at the Space Lounge. (it should also be noted that Monotonik was the portal for most of Planet Boelex's previous excellent releases)

however, i found the latest release from newcomers muxu (noted as Monotonik's first release from Malaysia) to be quite enjoyable. it reminded me quite strongly of The Ablum Leaf or Four Tet, a pleasing mix of subtle beats, piano, quiet guitars and rhodes mixed with warm electronics. like all good eps, it left me with a pleasant feeling but wanting more. perhaps things are looking up for Montonik?

chillout/idm double feature

short feature today - two recent releases by two of my favourite chilled idm artists - Motionfield and Das Kraftfuttermischwerk.

backlog: dont miss motionfield's excellent release from '06, Northern Lights

in other news, Comfort Fit's poor hamster died a few days ago. the world is sad to lose such a being who was witness to the creation of one of the all-time best netaudio releases, Forget and Remember. dont miss the massiv beat Boris created as a eulogy for Bounce the hamster.

Mr Moods - In Love We Trust...

Nothing is better for driving through the city on a hot day than gritty, downtempo beats. this release fits the bill very nicely. mr moods (not to be confused with a certain other very special artist) keeps the beatz rollin and mixes it up with an eclectic array of samples and sound-mashups, along with vocal samples seemlingly centred around illicit relationships. all in all, an excellently produced ep of downtempo and instrumental hip-hop.
if you enjoy this album, also dont miss his side project, Prototype 68, a slightly more ambient and abstract take on the genre. a must for fans of dj shadow and the turntablist pioneers of asphodel records...

Bergen - Spring Interval EP

i was in the mood for some chilled house music today, and this release from a previously-unknown netlabel (to me) fit the bill nicely. i heard the track 'higher than high' in Micha's Ruhnsong Ruhnsong014 from hybridized.org and it immediately caught my ear. i was quite pleased to see it was available for free download. view and download the release here. this is techno music just how i like it - relaxed and chilled but having enough energy to keep you from falling asleep at work! floating pads, moving subtle beats, and cool mysterious vocoder vocals keep this ep interesting throughout...