Holyld - Soulthorns

Holyld is an alias of French musician and producer Clément Paulmier, ex-member of emo darkwavers The Creepy Moon and indie-trap outfit Core Wave. I've been a fan of The Creepy Moon back in 2014, but lost them from my radar a good while ago, after they rebranded to Core Wave. Today I stumbled across this new LP from Clément (his third long-play as Holyld apparently), and what a pleasant surprise it is. "Soulthorns" sits at the intersection of ambient, bass music and techno, all mashed together to form a hypnotising, slow-burning record that should be ideally experienced at dusk. Murky atmospheres and 2-step beats bring to mind Burial's work (i.e. on "Arcanes / White Ember"), but Holyld manages to claim his own space, much darker and located in folky meadows rather than urban outskirts. Don't sleep on this one.

"Soulthorns" can be now purchased here, and you and stream it in full below.

Carlos Niño & Friends - WaterWavesArrival (with Jesse Peterson) // video

First single from the upcoming album "Extra Presence", out on July 22nd via International Anthem. I'm a huge fan of "Chicago Waves" LP which Carlos recorded in collaboration with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, so this single makes me believe that the new album will be equally enjoyable. You can pre-order it here.

Vidchajj - Cryme

New single from Vidchajj fka Churchterror (tbh not sure why the change, I quite loved his old name). "Cryme" is a witch-house beat with a nostalgic vibe to it, perfect to chill to at the end of your day. Buy it here.

Parrish Smith - Light, Cruel & Vain

Ok, first of all - I love this cover artwork. Parrish Smith is a Dutch singer, producer and musician who just released a new album on Dekmantel entitled "Light, Cruel & Vain". I came across this LP today while browsing CVLT Nation, and their description "electro-grunge" (plus the artwork) caught my attention. Turns out I listened to his music a couple of years earlier - he's also a member of Volition Immanent who released a handful of records on Mind Records. Anyway, his new album is all over the place (in a good way), from the aforementioned electro-grunge, through metal-heavy rock and punk, to industrial techno. My personal favourite track from the LP is "Perfume Of Oil" - reminiscent of the raw minimalism of Beau Wanzer, but with an acid punch. If you're looking for something eclectic, check this album out.

"Light, Cruel & Vain" is out not on vinyl and digital, and can be purchased here. Stream the whole album below.

Amarcord - More Than Enough feat. Altutt

Ombra International has launched a new sublabel called D'Oro Unlmtd which will be dedicated to singles, or as the label puts it "songs in their original form, no remixes, no club version, no dub". Their first double-A release comes from Italian producer Amarcord, who alongside Altutt on vocal duties, charms his way into my speakers with his sultry synth-pop jam. Track two slows the tempo a bit offering a trippy, synth comedown that nicely contrasts the dancefloor vibes from "More Than Enough".

Cop the single here, and stream it below.

Monomorte - The River feat. Moi Saint

Monomorte is back with a new single "The River", featuring Moi Saint on vocals. It's a stripped slab of trip-hop-infused bass music that sounds like it just crawled out of forgotten tomb in a jungle. It can be copped from his bandcamp page here.

Pharmacist - Food Desert High Rise Mix

Pharmacist returns with a 20-minutes long mix studded with twisted electronic beats, bastard remixes and dragged edits. Featuring tracks from CRAVE, oOoOO, DJ Nate and the man himself. Dig in, stream only.

Space Between Clouds - Space Between Clouds

Space Between Clouds is the new solo project from Los Angeles based multi-instrumentalist David Ralicke, whose CV boasts collaborations with Madlib's Sound Directions, Quantic and M83 among many many other amazing artists. His self-titled LP, which dropped today via AKP Recordings, is an otherworldly journey through desolate ambient and droning synth soundscapes that come to life thanks to the finely selected accompaniment of saxophone, flugelhorn and clarinet. Smooth tones glide effortlessly throughout this cosmic odyssey, allowing the listener to fully immerse themselves in this uncertain, slightly suspenseful yet oddly familiar world of sounds. Imagine being alone on Saturn, watching in awe the sun slowly hiding behind the horizon - this is the soundtrack to that moment. Wonderful album.

You can order the album here, and stream it below.

Male Tears - Jaded // video

Here's the latest video to Male Tears' single "Jaded", which premiered on bandcamp a couple of weeks ago. You can support the band by buying it from their page here.

Ritualz - Die Here Now

Fifth and final maxi single from Ritualz, heralding the arrival of his new album "Radical Macabro". The titular track is quite likely my fav song from the album so far (well, maybe just behind "Disintegration"), very ominous sounding, thanks to the pulsing, alarm-like structure of the track. The single also includes remixes from Nailbeds, experimental trance alter-ego of Killian Brom from Youryoungbody, as well as Black Magnet who injects some industrial-metal vibe into the original. It also has a couple of remixes by me and a cover of Xxxtentacion's "Numb".

Head over to Ritualz' bandcamp here to pre-order it, and stream it below (more tracks will be available soon).

Zola Jesus - The Fall // video

Third single from the upcoming album "Arkhon", out on June 24, 2022 on Sacred Bones Records. Video directed by Jenni Hensler. The album is shaping up really nice.

NIGELTHREETIMES - The Rubirosa Paradox

My fav NY-based junglist and MC NIGELTHREETIMES is back with a 10-track long album "The Rubirosa Paradox". It's been exactly a year since his last LP, so I'm pleased to report that the man has not only managed to deliver a quality follow-up material but also spiced up his style a bit, incorporating sneaky jazzy ("Man A Get Digital"), cloud-rap ("Wailer's Canyon") and ambient IDM ("73% Fog Juice") influences along the way. "The Clock Ticks Somewhere" is probably one of my favourite tracks from this year, what a jam. Best NTT album to date? Yessir. Support!

Buy "The Rubirosa Paradox" here, and stream below.

Nuclear Winter / Heavy Rain - Y15TH

Is Nuclear Winter / Heavy Rain a group name? A solo artist? Or just two titles put together... Mysterious white label from Mancunian label Youth, boasting two UK bass-flavoured tracks that sound like someone resurrected them from a long-lost dusty mid 00s archive. The dark and juicy dubstep joint "Nuclear Winter" takes me back to the golden Hyperdub era, while "Heavy Rain" (the weaker of the two) is a cold and moody take on garage.

Cop the record here, and stream below.

Hilde - Sand Garden

New single from Hilde landed on his Soundcloud, oozing with his signature avant-pop singing and downtempo beat. Hopefully it's a teaser before new LP? Fingers crossed.

Kikagaku Moyo - Kumoyo Island

Fifth studio album from japanese psych-rockers Kikagaku Moyo. Released on May 6th via brilliant Guruguru Brain, the LP takes us on a trip to imaginary Kumoyo Island, with its landscape represented via various moods and music styles that shape-shift throughout the listening journey. The record feels like a continuation of the vibe showcased on their album "House in the Tall Grass", meaning it's less psychedelic-experimental (well, tracks like "Cardboard Pile" or "Field of Tiger Lillies" may prove me otherwise), and more psychedelic-rock-pop oriented. Made me think of Tonstartssbandht's "Petunia" a bit actually. Great stuff for lazy Sundays, or as the label puts it "best-suited for counting stars, looking at the ocean, and dancing in one’s daydream."

Get the album from bandcamp here, including a limited edition vinyl pressing on orange wax. Stream below.

Nights Templar - Night Tide ​/ ​Motionless

Nights Templar is a cryptic minimal synth artist from California. I've been hooked on his minimal, lo-fi take on coldwave for a couple of months now, dude's been hell of a busy over the last year, with two album and a handful of double-A singles. His latest release "Night Tide/Motionless" oscillates between fuzzy, lo-fi post-punk and stripped synth-pop. Great stuff.

All Nights Templar releases are available to download for free from his bandcamp, so don't sleep and check them out.

GHXST - Admire

Doom metal/goth rockers GHXST are back with a new album. Apparently it dropped in April, but only today they uploaded it to Bandcamp. Following their 2016 LP "Perish", "Admire" consists of ten new tracks of gloomy rock, that seem a bit more polished in comparison to their previous projects. I definitely like them in their sludgier mode, but tracks like "Sonores" are a pleasant surprise, giving off trip-hop/Chromatics-like vibe.

Buy "Admire" here, and stream it below.

Mong Tong - Tiang Shi

Taiwanese psychedelic trio Mong Tong premiered today their new single "Tiang Shi" on bandcamp. Trippy slow-burner that should satisfy fans of Sun Araw and Hype Williams. Apparantly the track is promoting their latest soon-to-be-announced merch set: an amulet and a blindfold. Watch this space (and cop the track if you dare).

SØLVE - Black Silk Stone // video

First single from the upcoming album "Earth Inferno" from SØLVE. The LP is set for June 7 release via Re:Mission Entertainment (pre-order here), and will come out in digital format as well as limited edition CD and cassette. Check out my review of his previous album "The Negative" which got re-issued last year.

Winter Sphere - The Forgotten Winter

Random bandcamp find of the day. Winter Sphere is a dungeon synth project from Sweden, one of many from this musician (peep his Discogs page). The weather outside my window is getting warmer every day, but "The Forgotten Winter" brings a breeze of cold, northern air. Serious Tolkien vibes here (I mean, dungen synth right?), sonic quest through frozen glaciers and forgotten ruins. And it only costs $1. Buy it here, and stream above.

Morgan Wright - Class Tourist

Morgan Wright is an electronic producer based in Eltham North in Victoria, Australia. His new album "Class Tourist" just dropped on Burning Rose, and it's quite a ride. IDM, hip-hop, synth, breakbeat all blend and loop here, forming a longplay that's both cohesive in its storytelling and varied in terms of styles that mold it. One with a replay value for sure.

You can cop the digital here (as well as pre-order the vinyl version - those should be out around July though). Stream in full bellow.

Kutmah - Original Production Beat Mix

Cult beatmaker and DJ Kutmah published yesterday his latest mixtape. Released on the 12-year anniversary of him leaving Los Angeles (check out this in-depth interview about his story), the tape consists of over 1 hour of beats infused with leftfield hiphop, dubby bass and meticulously selected samples from all over the world. The bandcamp states: some (beats) have been released on bandcamp through various beat-tapes, some are forthcoming Ras G tribute beats which will be on the second volume on All City Dublin and some will on a new 10'' entitled ''Old Ghosts'' on Insect Records. All are pretty dusty and full of beautiful mistakes. Iconic mix that celebrates the iconic producer.

Support Kutmah by purchasing the tape here, and stream it above.

Grave Owl - The Solar Crypt

The library/synth music has been in a full-on revival mode for a decade now, and at the forefront of this modern take on the genre is the British label Library Of The Occult. They just releases a debut LP from Grave Owl, entitled "The Solar Crypt". Heralded as a tribute to Italian masters Lucio Fulci and Joe D'Amato, the album manages to escape the usual cliches of horror scores and proves to be quite a captivating experience. There are hints of Celer-like celestial ambience that neatly complements droning synths and occasional contributions from (or samples of) the choir. If you're looking for an album to accompany your midnight sight-seeing of the local crypts, this is your soundtrack.

"The Solar Crypt" came out today on a cassette and a limited to 300 copies smoke-marble vinyl, both of which you can purchase here. Check the full album after the jump below.

Venom Vampires - Luxury In Deceit

Venom Vampires are a noir-beat band out of Texas. They debuted years ago via Black Lodge Music, a label founded on the ashes of the notorious Witchbook FB group. Fast forward 10 years, and we get their debut-proper thanks to the German darkwavers Detriti Records. "Luxury In Deceit" consists of 8 tracks inspired by new beat vibes, EBM basslines and coldwave minimalism. The tracks are fairly long, but they're catchy enough to let you breeze through them in no time. A retro chain-clad charm that should appeal to the goths, techno-punks and cemetery ravers. It's a really cool album that I bet will be on heavy rotation in the coming months.

You can buy the vinyl version here, digital on Bandcamp, and stream the whole LP below.

Pharmacist - Neglect / Oil

On the back of that Sheryl Crow cover, Pharmacist is back with a new 2-track single. I shared my thoughts on "Neglect" here, and premiered "Oil" last year in November. There MAY be a little bonus in the download archive when you purchase it on Bandcamp. Click here to find out.

Male Tears - Jaded

Male Tears return with "Jaded", an electro-industrial single for all the apathetic goths out there. (Rad) music aside, I must admit that the artwork is on point, shout out to Silent Dimension. Don't hesitate and cop the single here (or wait til Friday for the Bandcamp day).

Tommy - Crying During Sex (Edith Underground Remix)

Tommy is the secret alter-ego of Ethel Cain. While I love her music and am looking forward to the upcoming LP "Preacher's Daughter", what triggered me to blog today was this remix from my fav underground icon Edith Underground, who remixed Ethel's "Crying During Sex" single. You can check out the original version here, and stream the ethereal remix above. Amazing stuff.

Ghost Cop - Strict Tempo Live Set // video

Couple of months ago Ghost Cop recorded this live set for the Strict Tempo Twitch night, which was eventually broadcasted on April 22. For anyone who missed it, they were kind enough to publish the video of it on their YT account. Fans of all kinds of waves, EBM and minimal will dig this.

Drop - The Electric Hour

New beat from Drop aka Martin Wong (and fka DropxLife), who came to my attentio many many moons ago after producing a track on The Weeknd's trilogy + being signed to XO label. Anyway, he's back with this mellow and quite leftfield trap single above, enjoy.