the kahvi collective, still one of my top netlabels, has put out another excellent commercial release. as i have written before, all the artists i feature on this blog deserve your support for their hard work, and this is a perfect opportunity to 'show some love.'
the intentional use of noise is can be a powerful expressive tool when used effectively. an exceptional example of noise-based music which i recently discovered is the coded dream ep. gate zero has been a favorite artist of mine, with releases on thinner and stadtgruen, as well as other excellent releases under his other moniker, spaceTourist (such as last year summer).
a little something more for those who enjoyed the previously reviewed release by kaneel- the 'embarrassing triangle' LP by iqtu. this time the sound is a little more straightforward and less abstract, but still containing plentiful cheerful 8bit melodies, grooving cutup beats, and glitchy, glittery chiptune-esque soundscapes.
at the beginning of the year, i began to lament the lack of interesting netaudio being released, but in the last few weeks have seen an explosion of potentially good releases. as always, see the 'queue' box to the right of the blog page for a sampling of what sits on my mp3 player awaiting a listen..
once again switching gears back into electronic/ambient/idm territory: a brand-new live set is released this week on monotonik from a favorite here at hiddenplace music, planet boelex. including delicious live versions of new planet b. releases, a few older classics as well as some new surprises, this super-chilled winter set makes for an excellent morning, afternoon, or evening's listen (or perhaps all three!)
it has taken me several listens to form a proper opinion of this piece, but the continued dark and moody weather inspired another listen today, and i decided that it is most certainly a noteworthy release. Symmetries comes from one of my favorite new new netlabels, Resting Bell, and is produced by netaudio veteran K.M. Krebs (aka 883-54). at times the combination of processed field recordings and droning, repetitive electronics can seem rather over-worked in the netlabel world, as a large number of releases in a similar 'experimental' style may be found on various netlabels. however, when done with the right amount of careful mixing and skilful attention to detail, the results can be quite fascinating, hypnotic, and even beautiful. a set of three disparate but consistent tonal landscapes are presented here, and with a duration of only about 25 minutes, it is a perfect length for those who are sometimes easily bored by longform ambient drones. all listeners with adventurous ears will certainly find this brief, but deeply textured sonic excursion a worthy pursuit.
hiddenplace music has recently received word that the long-awaited 100th release from the camomille netlabel has been officially released. normally i dont recommend anything without listening to the entire thing first, but with such an impressive array of artists, i know this will be an excellent and fascinating release. a collection of digital artwork has also been included, and along with the 3,5 hrs+ playing time, there is much to explore here. artists included are:
a new netlabel has appeared, with a very interesting array of artists contributing to their debut 'various artists' compilation. charmingly named petite&jolie: a place for cute people, and presenting a fascinating collection of electro-acoustic glitch pop and avant-garde sound art, id say the netlabel is off to a very promising start.
my latest addiction is surfing through the mad bloggings of Phlow Magazine, and i've come accross another great release thanks to our favourite german listening machines! 'Welcome Wilderness' from the long-silent Aquavelvas netlabel, presents slightly bizarre, slightly campy collection of sampledelic cutup elektro-jazz which will make a perfect addition to your afternoon chillout playlist. the release starts out chilled and low-key and develops into trippy freaked-out breakbeat/disco beats. insane catchyness!
in case you dont keep up with the Kahvi netlabel, the newest release is an absolute must-have. finnish producer planet boelex is the master of warmly chilled electronic ambient idm, and each release keeps getting better and better. the usual planet boelex devices are deftly employed here - precisely syncopated percussion, endlessly deep bass, wandering warbling pads, delay-soaked glitchy fx and soaring leads, along with a new element - a track featuring vocals from chillout songwriter Krister Linder. also featured in this release is hi-resolution HD 16x9 artwork by a certain designer..
