Crown of Stars - A Need For Something

Crown of Stars is a new, surprise side project from Denver-based producer and musician Preston Weippert, probably best known for his noise alter ego Volunteer Coroner. On "A Need For Something" he directs our attention away from tape manipulations, obscure drones and twisted loops, instead serving up a cocktail of trance-injected and club-oriented compositions. Although Preston has an experimental techno project Fentanyl Fantasy, which draws inspiration from underground dance music, Crown of Stars feels less gritty and creepy, and more warehouse-ready. This is one to lose yourself in for the night.

Get the album on CD here, and stream it below.

Alienobserver - Metamorphosis

Alienobserver (aka Meg Campbell) is a synth-pop singer and producer based in Orlando, Florida. Her new EP "Metamorphosis" came out last Friday on Popnihil, and manages to capture some of that early Grimes free-spirited energy, spread across four eclectic songs. From dream pop that evokes ethereal sound of Boy Friend ("Heart Beats") to mellow synth-pop with darkwave claws ("Kerosene Anatomy"), slow-mo synthwave ("Never Be The Same"), and lo-fi beats ("You Got Me") - there's plenty to choose from.

Get yourself a tape here, and stream all four tracks after the jump.

Samt Martin - Antennen Auf Empfang (Lens Arc Subspace Transmission Dub)

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Dubby transmission from Berlin, courtesy of Lens Art remixing indie pop-rock songwriter Samt Martin. Lens, also known as Disassociate, is an Austrian producer who released some zany music in 2010s, and returned in 2023 with album "Gamma Love". This remix can be purchased on Samt's Bandcamp page, alongside two other remixes.

Bitter Course - Fragments Of Paradise

Bitter Course is one of the many faces of Bratislava-based musician and experimental producer Juraj Bolf. His latest album "Fragments Of Paradise", released on Language Instinct and Cosmic Cause Prophecies, is anchored in a liminal space between ghostly ambient and noise. Filled with familiar textures and foreign landscapes, it feels like watching an amnesiac struggle to operate a lost and found department from a detached, third-person perspective. Sound collages and fuzzy tones wander in and out, while crackling sounds deliver brief jolts that snap you back to reality.

Limited edition tapes are available here (US edition). EU version is sold out. Stream the album below.

White Ring - Leprosy (Vanix Remix)

Texas-based multi-genre producer Vanix took on White Ring's modern classic "Leprosy" and cooked this insane industrial/raw EBM remix. Stream on Soundcloud.

Forest Swords - Bolted

Although "Bolted" came out well over a year ago, I never properly sat down to write my thoughts on it, even though Forest Swords' gig at Institute of Contemporary Arts in London was my favourite live performance of 2023. The album cover itself is a huge hint at what hides behind it - eleven songs for post-industrial electronic wastelands. This may be FS bleakest album yet, but it still manages to pack a punch with its stellar arrangements, melodies and haunting vocals - all of which create the perfect cocktail for late-night swaying in a dreamlike haze, consumed by the sound. Insane replay value.

Check out a selection of vinyl options here. Stream the album below.

Salem - Searz_Towr (E_DEATH_Flip)

E_DEATH edited my favourite song from Salem's second album! Her take on "Sears Tower" is a hardkick juggernaut that enhances all the best bits of the original, and supplies an adrenaline boost to the track. Stream here.