New batch of club gems from the ever-amazing Ombra International crew. "Love Never Dies" brings together Rotciv, Facets (ft. Alpha & Necromante), Stockholm Syndrome and Astroloop, all delivering vastly different yet so similar tracks that will please anyone who's into new beat, ebm or dark wave. All hits, no fillers.
Buy this release here, stream below.
When does this guy sleep? Another great new double-A single from Nights Templar has just landed on bandcamp. "Perversion" my be my new favourite song from NT. While still deeply rooted in his minimal take on postpunk, the track also has this melodic and catchy synthpop feel that's stuck with you after the music stops. But to be honest, side B is also amazing. The single is availble on a cassette, but those should sell out soooooon.
Get the tape and digital here. Stream after the jump.
New, haunting piece from Kyoto resident Shine Of Ugly Jewel. "悪臭" lands somewhere between droning, ghostly witch-house and lo-fi, dreamy r'n'b in the vein of Marxloh. Fantastic track. Buy here.
"Encounter" is the latest EP from the Australian sonic nomad Ourobonic Plague. Four tracks that form this release showcase a range of influences and styles Nick has mastered over the last decade, from the dark and gritty drone opener "Meditation" to slow-burning minimal bass-hop instrumental "Preparation" that morphs into the titular d'n'b madness, to the closing experimental wastelands' breaks of "Rumination". Dope and eclectic mix, especially "Encounter (Confrontation)".
Get the EP here. Stream down below.
Attic Black is an alias of Oxford-based producer and painter Matt Black, who has a string of releases on his bandcamp page. His new EP "Datatrait" came out a few days ago, and it's a cinematic voyage through four compositions that sit at the crossroads of early electronic experimentations, drone synths and ambient soundscapes. Best experienced from start to finish, as the tracks are arranged in a way that allows them to sail smoothly from A to B.
You can purchase the EP here and check it out in full below.
This self-titled album from Canadian composer and producer Christian Richer aka Élément Kuuda came out two years ago, however this month it finally saw a physical release via his new imprint Element Kuuda Music. A journey through star-lit portals channelling retro-futuristic nostalgia, that evokes tranquility with a hint of esoteric unknown. For fans of pulsating arpeggios and cosmic ambience you can lose yourself in.
Buy the tape here, stream the whole album below.
New album "Weld" from Britol-based producer Hamish Trevis aka Kinlaw, collecting 16 MCs in his biggest collaborative project yet. Industrial mutant rap for sewage rats and skate punks, the album is out now on Drowned By Locals from Jordan. Harsh beats and diverse flows.
Support by buying here, the prices are high though! Stream below.
I just blogged about the amazing psych album from The GLK and The Heliocentrics, and here comes AFTA-1 with a joint that fits that vibe perfectly. Adding his signature mellowness to the trippy mood of the track, "Give" is yet another proof why Manuel is one of the best modern beatmakers and producers out there. Bliss. Buy it here.
Ten years after the collab EP "Helio x GLK" saw The Gaslamp Killer chop up and remix songs The Heliocentrics, the DJ and the band are back with a new album proper "Legna". Released by GLK's Cuss Records, the record sounds like a natural continuation of the excellent "Heart Math" from 2020. Psychedelia, obscure library moods, hip-hop breaks and rock jam-like vibe all blend into one cohesive trip that "Legna" offers. Bonkers.
Buy the LP here, stream below.
Replicant techno from Tomek Wirski, probably best known as the creative director of fashion brand MISBHV. Three tracks, co-produced with Bartosz Kruczynski, and a remix by Pepe Bradock mold a record that is oozing with dark, EBM-infused techno beats and cyberpunk vibe. "MISBHV004" does sound like a sountrack for a catwalk for Terminators. Dope shit from Poland. Support! Unforunately there's no stream on bandcamp, but you can check out samples and cop it on Juno.
Cult Member is Liam, electronic producer based in Montreal, Canada. He used to make music under the name Ghoste, before switching lanes into a more club-focused sound under his current monkier. He's released a couple of sick albums on & Options and Pure Life since then, and sort of faded away from the scene for a moment. "Club Tools (Vol.1)" is his new EP that came out yesterday, and is set to be his last project that's "club-adjecent" as he writes on his IG. For fans of lo-fi techno and house this release is a treat though, so give it a try and make sure to check out his previous stuff.
Get the EP for free here, and stream after the jump.
Slowspin is Zeerak Ahmed, US-based Pakistani singer/songwriter and visual artist. Since 2013 she has released a string of EPs, but "Talisman" is her debut full lenght album, co-produced with Grey Mcmurray. I've been a fan of her work since her collabs with Joseph Randolph that came out via The Archives Department. This new record is leaning towards ambient pop territories, sprinkled with folk influences that seem to be deeply rooted in her country's music but also emanating similar sensibilities that I'm used to when listening to Carlos Nino music for example. Very chill, and meditative music.
Download the album for free here, and stream it down below.
Black Light District has unleashed a new album written and recorded while living away from Kyiv. Recorded in Poland, "The Gothic Collection" is a darkly creature bursting with 80s goth nostalgia, blending darkwave, synth-pop, and post-punk among a number of other genres to form this contemporary retro-capsule of dark vibes. For fans of Curses, In Death It Ends and Sisters of Mercy.
Support Stan by buying the album here. Stream it below.
Released as a limited bundle with an artbook, the CDR version of "Space Necronomicon (The Vogue Witch Remixes)" comes with five bonus tracks in comparison with its digital counterpart. This set, both when it comes to its packaging and the audio part, takes me back to 2010, like an AI-enhanced modern blast from the past. The book itself is so trippy, not sure what commands CDX was feeding to the software that generated those images, but the feel of the artworks nails the DIY occult collage scene of the late 00s and early 10s. I totally loved the original Space Necronomicon book with its sci-fi take on witchy visuals, but also really appreciate this more classic WH throwback. Sound wise, the album feels like a wholesome cross-section of all MSV styles over the years, from psychedelic chants and minimal beats, to droney synths and mummy trance. "Geisterinsel im Weltall (Vogue Witches 2010 Mix)" feels like it was lifted from one of their early albums, love it. Overall the Space Church remix may be my most fav here, a dark ambient minimal spooky opera. The book+CDR set unfortunately sold out, but you can grab the digital version here.
This short-lived Soundcloud mixtape from STRFLL finally found its way to Bandcamp - original demos dragged and edited into a 52 minute capsule. Bangers.
New mellow nugget from AFTA-1 dropped on Bandcamp. Spaced out atmospheres are juxtaposed with hip-hop beats that give the track a 90s vibe, while distant vocals accent the celestial mood. Total jam - get it and vibe to it. Cop here.
First video single from Palestinian-American composer, producer, DJ and sound artist Omar Ahmad, promoting his upcoming album "Inheritance" on AKP Recordings. Unfortunately YT censored the video so you have to click here to watch it. You can pre-order the album on tape here.
Two double-A single from Joseph Randolpf (of The Archives Department). Ambient guitar soundscapes on "Viridesce" should give you comfort and ease, while the droning vibe of "Vermillion" evokes early Ben Frost's mood with its layer of noise. Buy it here.
Industrial electro and EBM beats clash on this great LP from Meet Me After Sundown née Dorothy Waste. Glitch, witch-house, noise, metal and IDM are also injected in some of the tracks along the way, making the whole listening experience an exploratory ride full of surprises and unexpected solutions. Promoted by a great single "White Men", the whole thing feels like a soundtrack to a neo-noir movie about a workers' uprising somewhere in the near future. Echoes of the original Matrix movie also hover somewhere in the aura of this release. Dive in and enjoy.
Support MMAS by buying the album here, and stream it after the jump.
Debut tape from the new LA-based label Qui Mal, founded by Daniel Hipólito after he and Robert Disaro parted ways. The Viewer is an electronic producer from Austin, TX Ben Scheffler. "Reservoir" flows like a soundtrack to interplanetary mission somewhere beyond our Solar system. Ultimately it's an experimental exploration of drone, dark ambient and noise landscapes, taking cues from all those genres and clashing them against each other to form a gritty yet cohesive sound collage. Dark and trippy.
Buy tapes here, stream down below.
Chicago dark synth trio Replicant are back with a new 2-track single "Heaventsent", that promotes an upcoming full-length album due out later this summer.
Nicholas Ives is a multi-disciplinary contemporary artist, painter, sculptor and producer based in Melbourne, Australia. I discovered him by chance a few weeks ago, and his music totally took over my speakers lately. We're working on putting out his album "Breaking Dawn" on a cassette tape via Dagger Forest right now, but today I wanted to share his latest album "Saturn Devouring". It's a sonic response to his recent art exhibition entitled Saturn Devouring at Oigall Projects in Melbourne week ago. 45 minutes of sound collage, warped electronica and abstract beats that can bring to mind works of AFTA-1, Dem Hunger and Yuk, a psych-trip through delirious deserts and hazy hills of an imaginary Australian wasteland. So so good.
Buy the album here (including a super limited tape edition), and stream it below.
Pale Palace is a mysterious producer from Sweden who stole my dark heart with his incredible witch house remix of Zola Jesus' "Lost", from her last LP. On replay for three days straight. Check it out above, and cop some singles on Bandcamp here.
Couronne de Merde is a French experimental producer who just released his latest LP "Policy of Trust". The last track on the album is a remix from John Katsav's Sniper Bait project, who turned the drone/dark ambient original into a spooky industrial composition that sounds like it was recorded late at night by a hauneted pond. Fantastic. Buy the whole album here.
Massive tunes from Travis, DJing a sick jungle set in a pizza shop in Manhattan. The set took place in March 2023.
Akira Kintsugi is a Mexico City-based producer who's relatively new to the scene (as far as I know). His solo bandcamp debut comes in a form of a remix of SEXES' "Placer Displacer" track. The original is a indie pop/rock composition that would be banging on the radio in the 90s. Akira's remix is a deconstructed, minimal edit of the single, focusing on the ethereal, choir-focused ambient interlude there, and expanding that into a whole new composition. Think Julianna Barwick or Holly Herndon's voice manipulations. Download here.
