Blixaboy
Dwarf Star Conspiracies
Wolf Trap Records
TBR: April 17th

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The CPU Records head-boy takes a visit to Wolf Trap Records to administer three tracks of home-brewed Dallas electronica. Aiming for the gloom of basement dancing and eclectic congregations, Blixaboy unites the scene with a hot extended single which focusses his competence in a triad of sonic expression.


Dirty rhythm opens Air Maidens with speckles of static and distortion. It scatters beats in bursts of digital colour. Bass builds beneath with airy pads which resonate and glow in harmonic daydreams. Expressive and gut-wrenching bass drives forward alongside signposts of percussion which litter the sides in neat mentions. Vibrating and reverberating tones gather and shake with temporal intensity as the drums build with extra hats and snare.


Next, a tingly beat unwraps in petal-like motions of clarity. Hard-nosed beats strike a taught surface which snaps in response. Bursts of synthesiser radiate over the top edges like rays of glistening reflected sunlight. Dripping tones bounce and twang in discordant globules which sit atop rhythmic markers. A melody fathoms from the underneath, sparkling droplets and chiming harmonies ring out in various considerate actions. Dwarf Star Conspiracies takes us deep into caves of wondrous energy.


A summery rhythm opens for the final number. Shock Gibson begins like a dance track that eventually breaks open like an egg into a mixture of sugar and spice. Randomness in various rhythm patterns coalesce to form a sleek line of beats which builds and grows in digital direction with each bar. Bass resonates in crisp and tuneful scatterings which bounce and quiver as the drums adjust with bursts of variation.


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Man2.0
Vacuum Of Noise
Audiophile Deep Records
Out 20th March


Mr Mark Bailey aka Man2.0 returns to the fold with one more turn of the decks. The repertoire of EDM, Acid, Electro-Dance, and Indie Experimentica leave us in no doubt as to the validity of this producer's offerings. Three unique blends and a remix, each with an extended running time, mean we get half an hour of franticity and class.


In The Vacuum Of Noise begins with a rampant kick-drum. It's joined by blipping arpeggios that vibrate and scale in rhythmic bursts of major key. Scrapes of melody curl upwards in metallic grinds as rhythm builds and progresses. Then a unison of bass and melody pulses in a percussive ray of staggered sound. Drums re-enter and bring a continual throb to the funky and choppy synth composition. The music evolves to incorporate tapping sounds like pottery drums colliding with tree sticks. Serving as a break, the music then swells down to a whirling current of synthesiser which churns in on itself. The terracotta drums return, various tones of flatly resounding percussion ring out.


This is followed by a remix by The Juan MacLean. The same blippy bass-line rings out, this time it's garnished with shining hats. They creep behind a compression that allows their colour to distort and fade. Those chatty drums find a place right at the start. Their timbre gives the track a where we left off feeling about it. A synthesiser scale elevates in descending tones, throwing us in a high up twist. Resonant tones then shine out from the centre and the sides. They span the landscape in timed releases that ensure every function of the sound-wave is given space to breathe.


Even the wave-form of this next track looks unique. Blocks of neatly organised sound span from start to finish. Stuttery melody on throbbing bass climbs into the treble and down again as shuddering drums continue to pound. Electronic sounds swerve and mingle in clouds of temporal excitement. Through the ordered chaos comes a puncturing melody. It rings out in simple lines and makes sense of the ever growing sonic-boom within. MOD1 is a crazy number, rhythmically invigorating and stocked high with adventurous sound explosions.


The same can be said for this next track. The digital read-out on my screen looks like a bar-code. The music sounds great with tempered beats ringing out from the start. A static feedback shrieks overhead in kites of ghetto like energy. Struggling to control the noise, the sound is kept mostly out of earshot. A thunderous drum-beat continues to stitch time in neat and catchy repetitions while a matrix of sound writhes and formulates behind. An ocean of energy takes the form of electronic infusions and fights with itself to be heard over the neatly organised mechanics of rhythm. Magnetic Field finishes the EP with a classy and up-beat danceathon full of hooks and classic motifs.


You can find Man2.0 on Soundcloud


Facebook


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Audiophile Deep are on Soundcloud


and Bandcamp


Submit your demo here.
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​Craig Birrell
Untitled EP
Temporize Records
TBR: 23rd March


The Electro Review is in Scotland today with a long-awaited EP from Craig Birrell. Temporize have been waiting quite a while, as Mr. Birrell took his time in making something of real quality. This stand-alone four-tracker nods at the club and the after-glow with a selection of varied electronic music creations. This guy has a reputation for ignoring the rules, pushing his way past the boundary, and reinventing techniques with every new operation. It was this fire inside that drew Temporize in and opened a door to this debut record.


It begins with bubbles and bursts of squeaky sound. Rays of sonic inflection waft and pop in strange waves as a rhythm builds beneath. Snare and kick dominate with a snappy and uplifting groove. Then, blippy bass notes in the mid range match deeper unison tones down in the depths. A chatty melody shimmies on the tempo with an ear-grabbing timbre. The music breaks down to just a bass drum. Then snare is added with smashy hats. Melodic percussion builds with airy synth tones that hustle and breathe in adjusting corners. 2506 progresses swiftly with chapters involving melody, rhythm evolutions, and uplifting swells of dance energy.


Arp06 opens with a vocal sample. It's garbled with effects and scatters across other abstract sounds. Electronic mechanical sounds and odd pops then begin to fill the gaps. Rhythm makes an attempt to form, and it's only when a child-like melody with an eerie reverb motions in that we can tell. New beats on strange angles are welded on. These burst in and out of existence, building in pressure with each insertion. A disjointed energy pins a series of emotive parts together in a patchwork of strangeness.


Next, an airy synth tone spills radiant light in short shiny bursts. A drum-kit begins with pounding bass garnished with shimmering cymbal. A sludgy bass note is added, it squelches and shudders. New wafts of space-age sound fall in, they chatter and exchange energy in effervescent transactions. High end blips give rise to a new section of tempo, a slow and sensual flow slides around a consistent throb of timing. Abstract and relaxing, CCC draws us in with jostling beats and hypnotic repetitive layers.


Zoom0059 starts with sawing notes which dive and climb with soft curves. Wavering melody dances as zaps and laser sounds start to decorate the sky. Motions of slow and graceful notes remain calm as fiery kinesis scatters across the horizon. A dualistic presentation of ambience and chaos, the two themes sit comfortably on see-saws of intensity. Rhythm finds a home, wooden tapping sounds build in organic and abstract phrases, rumbling and rolling on adjacent beats. The crashing ocean of sounds collides with a growing percussion. A slow and sultry synthesiser remains focused on it's relaxing groove.


You can find Untitled by Craig Birrell on Bandcamp


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Various Artists
From Our Future Selves
YGAM Records
TBR: 20th March


This debut release from the non-profit collective at YGAM in Berlin is supporting Friends Of The Earth. Eleven artists donated tracks from their music laboratory to complete this full-length, twelve track LP. Expect rhythm, dance, techno, and exploratory sounds in this cutting edge and socially responsible music release. The club scene is observed from various perspectives and stand-points along the way as each unique composer offers a slice of their production repertoire for the common good.


First up is Nina Pixel with Species In Denial. It begins with distorted voice, splattered across a sonic sphere. Strange industrial sounds growl and swell behind, levelling up the track into an obscure romp through sonic synthesis. Plucks and blips scatter through, a surge of static energy washes over in a continual pressure. Intensity rises, the sounds build up upon each-other and rise in volume. Eerie atmosphere churns and vortices in strange spacial areas.


Next, a howling metallic sound bursts through the quietness. It shimmers on silvery axes as the gradual sonic pressure encapsulates the moment. Shimmering sounds and gusty bellows form a mixture of potential chaos. Sunken bass throbs beneath in drastic and long-reaching stretches of sub-tone. Rattles and shakers spurn in ambient shadows. More dreamy and sudden pushes of sound thrive in the scenery, strange samples splice and shudder together in abstract formations. Inglorious Fortune by Ospiel takes us deep and down further.


Rhythm makes its first real appearance as track three opens out. Otone's In the years of salt sands begins on an industrial beat infused with static crackle. Metallic drums and conks build a repeating motif through a slurry of subtlety. The rhythm breaks and reveals a finer layer, the distortive elements fade slightly and the chunky banging of the tempo rises a little further. A spherical reverb encapsulates the percussion, leaving short echoes in its tail-lights.


A muted rumbling spans the horizon as the following track introduces itself. Rampant taps and zaps build from the mattress of sonics to form structures of rotating and gleaming metalwork. Wooden pegs and electronic displays add their unique additive sounds to the mix. Fast paced dancing tempo and interesting spacial awareness for the individual parts unveils a room-full of beats and perspectives. Fast Dive by Zagam is a beat infused surge through quick beats and energetic progression.


Catartsis's Lamentations begins on a scatty tempo made of snaps, shakers, and hats. Abstract rumblings and clatters fill the spaces between the beats in a consistent and homogenous paste of sound. Bass begins to dominate, a rhythmic massage of notes throbs below the static and sound. Strange vocalisations make oddly shaped sounds, perhaps it's animal noises. The continual input of awkward and unique sonics makes an interesting sonic landscape for our ears to enjoy.


A slow, rumbling, and abstract notion glistens quietly in dank corners. Squeaks and mechanics spark into motion, shifting pressures and gentle pads briefly lock down in regular presses. Then, a surge of drums opens out. A thrashy and sporadic flow to the tempo leaves gaps in the rhythm that almost suck us in. Choppy and frantic beats unravel, the background noises adapt and swell to incorporate the new and uneasy energy. Transgression from Diasiva rolls out in burst and spurts of gentle yet evocative layers.


Nembus from Forest People starts with a ferocious rhythm. It crackles with high-end and rumbles with low. The beat progress, more percussion is added and layer by layer the evolution occurs before our ears. We're drawn in by a string of progressive beats which collide with the consistent tempo. Spirals of sound whisk up while plunging sonics drag us back down. The music fades for a short moment, a time for everyone to put their hands up in the air. Then the beat smashes back in with the same veraciousness it had before.


A dreamy string orchestral opens up, then strange digital vocal noises bubble out. The slow moving intro gives way to a thumping bass which surges behind a steam pressure valve. The combination of sounds is given new flux with a dose of hats and clappers. Another forward-facing and floor-filling rhythm pushes in. Echoing drums and wide-reaching howls of pressure gather in portioned beats and elongated bursts of sound. Quelza's Refracted is an adventurous journey through open plains of infinite scope.


Nina Pixel is back for track number nine. Cave Allegory simmers into being with strange fuzzy sonics. Rhythm builds gradually among garbled vocals and robotic noises. Drums break in a high tempo fury yet they're gated and prevented from dominating. So far, the background atmosphere takes centre stage. Odd sampled effects merge and crumble together as disparate entities find snugness among their angles. Rhythm then makes a run for it. We're given a high energy wholesome tapping which reverberates on many levels. This jumps and scatters its beats in regular tempo that splutters with its own weight.


Next, a spacious and deep wallowing of damp noise splurges out. Gongs and huge expanses coalesce as sudden beats and sonic injections form a static arena. Rhythm is revealed. A rock n roll beat on strange electronic drums gives us an exciting edge. The abstractions in the distance still grumble and growl in their ambient shadows. This keeps the warmth glowing and the energy eerie while the continually changing rhythm fractals out on its perpetual layers. At least I'm not a penguin from cplt is a gradually progressive and jazz influenced free-form number.


Granulated tones drift across the silence and emerge as a thundering bass. Isabassi's Exhumed Electronics pounds with static infusions and crispy flow while long-distance percussion swooshes across the bare-bones. Peeling sounds and the release of segmented pressures give rise to airy yet mechanical synthesis, rhythm flows in bass end beats and splattering highs that chop like waves. Snare finds a home, it resonates on the beat as various other tones fill spaces in between. An expressive and multi-tonal beat slams forward.


Track twelve starts slowly. At first there's next to nothing, then slight movements become distant sounds. These grow to become a humming matched with scratching sounds like digging through gravel. A wave on sonic emphasis then courses over the top leaving glowing energy buzzing in its slip-stream. The tones quieten, a rip of electronic charge breaks through, like wires being touched while the amplifier is switched on. These crackle and distort in various styles of semi-controlled feedback. Silence once more becomes a force within the composition, as subtle shifts in tone and input alter the way everything sounds. Fuir Le Silence Parfois leaves us feeling enchanted with Peinture Sonore D'un Paysage Mort.


You can follow YGAM records on Facebook


and Soundcloud


Buy the music from YGAM on Bandcamp

Anfisa Letyago
Electrifying EP
Hotflush Records
TBR: 13th March


Anfisa Letyago has been exploring the various label opportunities available with recent works on REKIDS and Nervous. This new five track club fodder makes a label debut for Hotflush. This new-comer from Naples seems to have keys to all the doors in the techno music world. Mashing the driving kinetic energy of techno with the drifty mood pudding of house, Anfisa Letyago knows what she's doing and knows she does it well.


Electrifying opens with a thunderous and chunky electro-bass. It pounds with full tonal outlay, with high and low ends to it's voice. A shiny and clean hat then is added. The pulse breaks open as synths begin a breathy tempo with a dash of delicate melody. New tones emerge, plunges of note and rhythmic flow progress with small insertions of layer. The build-up is a gradual uphill voyage through dancing beats and fizzy composition. Once the track moves on, strange sonics begin a drifting percussive line that filters out the heavy side of the track. This swirls back into action after a few bars with extra cymbals and notes crisping the edges.


Next, a one-two beat is laid bare before our ears. It stutters on the break to bring out layers of timing that sit comfortably on their own. We wait, there must be something more to this track. Then, a shaker is brought in. It adds a colourful tapestry of percussion in continual bursts. Another rhythm line is added, it stereos and fills the room on all sides. Then, a wobbly pulsing synth builds from quietness. It grows in a growling surge of tempo, matching the drums. This then builds to become a lead line in the track, with rhythm breaking and swilling around its drive. Push is a grabby and simple number that takes us by the primals and gets us to dance.


Next is a James Walsh remix of the following track, Technology. It's unusual to put the alternative version first in the playing list. It begins with a fuzzy tonal pipe sound which hums and pulses in breaths of input. A voice speaks words over in a surreal dreamy tunnel while beats and synth rise from the sidelines. Fast hats and choppy drums merge with a rubbery twangs that bounce and contort with the tempo. A burst of sunny synth then radiates forward in a solitary burst, it gives us a brief pause for thought before fading. There it is again. The rhythm then takes us deeper, with breaks and rolls throwing the tempo into abstraction. It boils down to a throbbing bass, which is joined by a voice. From here the music builds up again into a frantic smash of drums, hats, and synthesiser.


Next, a clap and bass motif opens the original. Zaps fill the void with fast-paced doses of energy. Hats come next, they fill yet more of the puzzle and elevate the energy of the track. New vocal sounds break free. Squashy bass rumbles as a vocal sample repeats the word technology. The hypnotic word merges with the electro drumming and digital bass-line that reaches from left to right in moving spurts. The vocal builds again with only a test ringing out over the airwaves. All new technology is a test really, the market has to buy it to make it worth employing people to make it. The soul, the mind, the body, does technology have a reference point to all these? Although not present in awareness and unable to observe the act of observation, we assign personalities to our objects. They see, hear, feel the temperature, they can even compute, but do they have a subjective and objective experience of mind?


The final track begins with a smooth bass-drum. It builds in with hats which tinkle on the edge before a wave of sound throbs forward. It elevates the tempo to a fast-paced rummage through metal-work and thudding bass. Synth bursts rumble in with trance-like blossoms of tone. A quick breath of saw like air flows over the track. This builds and densens, until it evolves into a catchy melody. The rhythmic quality of the tune fits snugly into the predictive drumming. A breakdown ensues, giving the original bass-line room to reassert itself. The burst of sound fills the space once more and allows the rest of the music to build back into place. Push The Button seems to tease us with potential dance energy that we have to wait for as it approaches.


Find Anfisa Letyago on Facebook


and Twitter


You can listen to Anfisa Letyago on Soundcloud


​Visit Hotflush Records online

No Moon
Set Phasers For Stun
X-Kalay Records
TBR: 30th March


Three years have flown past for Berlin's No Moon since his debut release on X-Kalay. The label are stoked to the hilt with excitement about this long-awaited return. This attention grabbing EP serves up the usual strain of future inventing electro, offering the scene a whole new dimension to discover. Sculpture in sound with exquisite attention to detail both at the macro and micro levels requires an ear for aesthetics and a confidence to understand the controls.


It begins with CPU Limit 99. Dynamic beats coil up and extend out with melodic scales, their wooden timbre is joined by dishy hats and snare stitched in subtle distortion. Synth percussives spill gloopy solids over neat bars in a decorative garnish which froths and foams under brightly coloured segments. Scatty beats repeat and build to evolve into a vocal line accompanied by twangy electro-bass. Progressive drumming builds on itself which now has a squidgy bass-line that penetrates the tapestry of sound.


Next, a whistling howl scatters across the stereoscape. Tappety drums bumble from their holes and begin exploring the new surroundings. Ghostly echoes and murmuring chatter builds and flows before a twisting synth builds with sonic pressure. Each bar passes new intensity into the flow while beats staple the notches preventing it's escape. When a critical point is reached the music adapts and evolves into a new phase, painting the constellations with vocal chants and fiery percussion. Aoe_Rushin simmers into a mulch of ambient synth chords that soften the delivery for a moment. The vocal sample percussion breaks the hypnosis and forms a basis for the drums and bass to climb back up into the horizon.


Next is an Adam Pits remix of the previous track. It begins completely differently. Shifting drums open with a catch tempo. These build with heavy bass and piercing snare. The vocal sample is brought back, it stutters the rhythm forwards in a new tone. Mechanical and industrial beats reverberate in dusty corridors which open out into large halls, grimy windows and swinging lamps vibrate in the progressive bass. Whistling tones form, they cast spectral magic through the dusty air. Wafts of effervescent notches fling through the track before a break-down reveals a shuddering bass-line that plunges us into the machine.


The final track opens with a euphoric burst of warm synth. Delicate droplets of percussion rain down on shimmering rocks and sandy beaches. The glow from the ocean meets us as a salty aroma which tingles the back of our nose. A wave breaks, cymbals splash, and the progression builds as the whole process begins again. Symphonic tones and electronic melodics dance in moving reflectivity as beams of luminescence distribute according to their refractive potential. Moody and sleepy notes drift in gently moving currents of sonic disposition, forming around static features in regularly posted markers. Set Phasers To Stun leaves us feeling blissful, it is a stunning walk through delicious electronica.


You can follow No Moon on Facebook


Listen to No Moon on Soundcloud


Visit X-Kalay Records online


And listen to X-Kalay on Soundcloud.