Trippy dose of lush new-age soundscapes from Leaving Records boss Matthewdavid. "Mycelium Music" is his latest LP that just came out, and symbiotically developed a relationship with my Saturday speakers. Part glitchy electronica, part celestial ambient, the album will transform you into a droplet of water that falls down the waterfall in slow motion, reflecting all the sounds and sights around it.
Support here, stream down below.
Negative Gain Productions brings us new EP from VASCHA today. "Visions Of Hereafter (I)" is packed with four hyperclub, futuristic bass/pop mutations that bring to mind post-internet productions from Yen Tech or #HDBOYZ (who remembers them?!). Totally rad hardcore rave music from 2099. "Terrestrial Paradise" is just incredible, and both featurings from il-bambolina and I Am Fya add just enough extra spice to make this EP wholesome listening experience for all the deconstructed kids.
Buy it on Bandcamp here, and stream below.
New smash internet hit from Harpermonia's latest signing Tactical Hugg. "This One For The P" takes me back to the early 2010s, mixing mellow hiphop, r&b and leftfield electronica. Fans of Sincerely Yours, DIS Mag and Beastonleash grab it! Free download from Soundcloud here.
CRAVE's latest EP "Meathook" is a sonic continuation of his "Save Room" concept album, where the focus is on buliding atmosphere with beatless tones and noises rather than overload your senses with grimey beats and synths. Harsh ambient and noir-industrial soundscapes for escape rooms and D&D dungeons. Stream here and pre-order the CD by directly DMing him on Instagram here. Super dope.
Tension, suspense and seduction play the main role in this new album from The Midnight Ensemble. A mix of dark jazz, ambient and drone, "Darkness, Detectives And Dames" is a perfect example who a lot can be achieved with so little. You can smell the coffee particles from those percussion-led tracks. Now I want to watch some black and white movies.
Buy the album here, stream below.
Post-pandemic dark pop anthem from LA-based singer and producer Sam Franco aka Bara Hari, promoting her upcoming album on Re:Mission Entertainment that will see the light of the day on May 26th. You can preorder it here..
New album from Nattymari just landed on bandcamp. Part lo-fi IDM, part chill downtempo beats and part mellow hip-hop instrumentals, "Baseless" is a record that vibes like a soundtrack to a 90s quest-type PC game set in space. There are a few darker moments throughout ("In Darkness" and "Beeknees"), but overall it's a smooth journey through various levels of a sonic arcade.
Download it for free here, stream after the jump.
Vancouver-based producer and rapper VeXe † has just released his debut album "Paradise" and it's a blast. Elevent tracks that sound like bastard children of SALEM's take on witchy hip-hop, Memphis' horrorcore and even some AraabMuzik's beats. VeXe lays his smooth, syrrupy flow over some of the most radical beats out there. Echoes of his contemporaries Stay Healthy, Three Wishes and the All Blurred Out crew can be heard throughout the album, but ultimately thanks to his choice of samples and raps he makes this album feel uniquely his own.
The album is available for free here, and can be streamed below.
Arthur King's Changing Landscapes series may be one of my favourite experimental album series in recent years. Their latest record "Zompopa", inspired by a unique species of ant found in the rainforests of Costa Rica, is a sonic response to this tropical microcosm. Featuring an array of field recordings collected on the ground by AK's Peter Walker, and with support from musicians David Ralicke and Mia Doi Todd, the record is a slow-burning organic odyssey that finds the collective at their most meditative and raw. Immaculately mixing ambient, drone, free jazz and musique concrète, Arthur King managed to craft a soundtrack for the tiniest of forest spirits.
"Zompopa" is out now on AKP Recordings, and can be purchased here. Stream it below.
Xavier premiered yesterday on his Bandcamp a new release featuring a bunch of cover (both new and old) and a few unreleased originals. "Hissing Proteus" feels like a transmission from the outerspace, where aliens managed to hijack a few of Earthly hits, mutated their DNA into those avant-noise-pop songs and bounced them back. A few amazing surprises there, give this one a go.
Buy it here, stream after the jump
Zen tones and minimal ambient drones fill the new tape "For Three" from the Canadian experimental producer Nathan Ivanco aka Background Character. Presented by Moonside Tapes, the album has a meditative quality that will slowly lure you into an ocean of calmness the moment you press play. Very relaxing and rewarding.
Order the tapes here, and stream below.
Third, and final video single promoting the upcoming album "Krypt" from Male Tears. 100% kitchy 80s nostalgia, 100% sick. The album is out on April 28th. Pre-order a copy here.
Second LP from Egyptian producer Hashem Kelesh under his Dijit alias. Unlike its predecessor "Hyperattention", which sounded like it crawled out from a hazy opium room while playing trip-hop on an old walkman, "The Room" feels more polished and forward-thinking. Traces of various scenes that could be lazily summed up as UK bass music are weaved into Dijit's beats, giving his productions a contemporary feel. It still has this smoky, slow vibe though ("Hamhama" sounds like some lost r&b edit by oOoOO), that nicely ties it with the previous album. Album to smoke blunts to.
Buy the vinyl (and digital) here. Stream down below.
Third maxi-single with remixes promoting my fav album from last year. Three radically good remixes of the Jennifer Touch-featuring single "Boundless", one from Istanbul-based dj and producer Günce Acı, Hamburg based producer L.F.T. and Toulouse resident Kendal. Best of dark electro, synth-pop, d'n'b and all the murky spaces in-between. L.F.T. wobbly banger is my fav, but damn, everyone delivered here.
Support Curses by buying this single here. Stream below.
Although this follow-up to Transcend All Identities' "Afterglow" came out 2 months ago, only now I had some time to sit down and give it a spin. Consisting of a whooping 22 compositions, "Foreglow" is an album that picks up all the threads from its predecessor, slowly and steadily floating in between textural ambient portals, and catalysing a zoned-out mood that gradually spills onto its listener. Background muzak for mellow afternoons and retrospective walks in the nature.
Purchase "Foreglow" here, and stream it after the jump.
Kutmah is on a roll right now, "A.P.R.E.A.L Son" is his new beat-tape that came out on April 7th, showcasing his latest set of instrumentals. Dusty and full of sick chops and samples, this tape is probably one of his darkest hiphop productions in a long while. Kutz says himself that "some of the beats might seem a bit frustrated and uneasy. This is because it's how I feel right now." Nevertheless, it's a dope noir-hiphop album that sits somewhere between Da Beatminerz' style of NY boom-bap and the experimental take on the genre that takes me back to the Def Jux days.
Buy it here, stream below.
When info about this release landed in my mailbox, my jaw dropped. HTDW's music is really close to my heart and defined many many playlists of my last decade. "Love Remains" is one of my favourite albums of all time, so seeing it being remastered AND remixed got me super excited. Tom invited a number of amazing musicians and producers to chop, twist, trip and build on his stems - and the results are amazing. Claire Rousay, CFCF, Nick León, Shlohmo, North Americans, ★gLfX彁 and Carmen Villain all lend their talent to make this release a unique experience.
Buy the remix album here, and stream it below.
Split EP from two All Blurred Out collaborators - Three Wishes and Pharmacist. Not surprisingly, "The Things Only I Know" goes hard, a perfect dose of anti-rave witchhouse that takes me back to the early SALEM demos' leaks. "Maelstrom" may be my fav track of the year, I cannot get over it! Three Wishes solo tracks are sick, but he's flying a bit too close to the SALEM's sun... (especially on "Shut Eye"). Pharmacist is constantly progressing, he's unstoppabe at the moment. The whole EP is closed with a remix from this blog's favourite Vidchajj, who adds his own splash on "Shellshock". Brilliant stuff, recommended!
Incredible new remix from MSV, sounding like it was lifted from a soundtrack to some forgotten 80s future-noir movie, oozing with 2010-era witch house vibe (it could easily be an outtake from their 2010 "Second Coming" album too). "Geisterinsel Im Weltall" originally appeared in a more cinematic ambient version on the "Space Necronomicon" album that I reviewed a while ago. The Vogue Witch Ritual Goth Trance Mix will be available alongside eight other remixes on a limited edition CDR+book deal, that can be preordered here. I'm beyond stoked to hear the rest of those tracks. Recommended!
Vascha is back with a new single for Chi-town based label Negative Gain Productions. Deconstructed club/hardcore banger with a pop-appeal in the vein of DIS Magazine mixtapes from 2010s. Love it! Download here.
A pair of incredible filed recordings collected, assembled and curated by Dave Phillips, Zürich-based experimental musician who's been active on numerous music scenes since the late 80s. The first one (it's a mouthful), "Should A Seeker Not Find A Companion Who Is Better Or Equal, Let Him Resolutely Pursue A Solitary Course; There Is No Fellowship With The Fool", is my personal favourite here, almost an hour of alien-like sounds created by various reptilies, amphibians, and insects. It's a trippy transmission from the depths of the Twin Peaks' Black Lodge, utterly fascinating, and gripping. It was actually originally released in 2008 by an Italian label Radical Matters (still available here), but now, thanks to No Part Of It, we're getting a physical reissue alongside new recording "Cicada Trance". That one feels more noisy, almost nocturnal, despite the press info assuring me that most of it was captured during the day. Nature is so sick!
You can buy this release on 2xCD here, and dive into it right away with the stream below.
Mars Kumari is back with a new single "Isolatra", which in fact is a remix of a track from LA-based producer brz. His original track was released by Nicholas Jaar's Other People earlier this year on the "Portals" compilation. Mars gives it her own spin that reminds me a bit of Jneiro Jarel. Total bop. Get it here.
Dan Ocean is back with eleven new rituals, channeling the witchy ghosts through his oujia sampler machine. I don't think there's a big and elaborate backstory to "The Valley" - it's simply an album filled with dope, often horror-inspired beats. Easier on the vocal samples this time, which I think puts more focus on his music and arrangements. "Three" is my jam.
Buy for 7 bucks here, stream below.
Ace new single from SCYTHE, oscillating somewhere between minimal, dub techno and cinematic ambient. Chills! Loving this new, unknown direction. Support here.
Probably the most pop-friendly single from Monomore right here? Wavey soundscapes and chill beats lead the track, but I quite like the guitar lingering somewhere around 1:30 mark. Free download, help yourself.
Troller are back with a new album, single and a video! Love the visuals here, but I'm not 100% sold with the music, I think I preferred them in their dark synth/gothwave phase. The album "Drain" is out May 26 on Relapse Records. Looking forward to it.
New hypnagogic offering from the arcade champion New Mexican Stargazers. "Return 2 White Sands Arcade" is an eight tracks-deep trippy, lofi ode to the myspace-era music, where proto-vaporwave psychedelic tones and abstract electronic mutations reign. Can't go wrong with this one, if you loved previous NMS stuff, then this new album will be your new best friend. Worth mentioning that Carter has also just launched a new NMS season 2 pass - all his recent albums reissued on CDs. Grab this sweet deal here.
Cop "Return 2 White Sands Arcade" here. Stream down below.
As Valet is an alias of Paris-based producer Christophe Davidas. "Neg" is his latest video single, lifted from his 2022 album "Canne À Sucre". Drumwork from heaven, so freaking mellow and upbeat at the same time.
I'm quite surprised I've never properly blogged about Shhadows here (had to double check it). Jason Timothy's main project has been one of my fav post-witch house/dark electro acts in the recent years, in particular his incredible first EP "Renewal". "Under Your Spell (Live Remix)" is actually a remix of his cover of Desire's hit from the movie "Drive". The original cover from Shhadows was on his debut record for Re:Mission Ent (you can download it here), and now, three years later, we get a newly remixed version of this masterpiece. With Vienna Vox still on the vocals, it's a faster, more danocefloor friendly dark synth-pop banger. Free download too! Grab it here.
