Boomkat new releases list

*Initial copies come with a bonus CD featuring 80 minutes of field recorded treatments made by Modell in Tokyo* ‘Deepchord Presents Echospace’ is the collaborative project of Rod Modell and Steve Hitchell, two veteran producers based in Chicago and Detroit, now returning for a second full album for the Modern Love label. In the years that have passed since their last album both artists have been busy with numerous projects, developing their own Echospace imprint and recording under a number of different guises. Modell in particular has developed his longstanding fascination with location recordings, and some made in Tokyo over the last couple of years provided the source material for what would eventually become this new album. Indeed, a bonus CD that comes with the first pressing of the CD features 80 minutes of these original field recordings. Although the vapor trails of dub still colour the essence of much of this new material, ‘Liumin’ is an altogether more ‘destroyed’ experience than its predecessor, opening with the washed-out, beatless sequence of ‘In Echospace’, a track that somehow manages to harness the disorientating experience of being a stranger in a strange land, with only the flickering glow of neon lights for company. The album unfurls with stretches of immersive techno and low-end treatments compressed with a growling, unstable focus that’s in turn oppressive and soothing, re-creating the uniquely ambiguous euphoria/narcosis that comes with extended sleep deprivation. It’s an effect that’s perhaps encapsulated best on ‘BCN Dub’, a heaving warehouse thump that’s entwined with shortwave radio transmissions bringing to life a disembodied horn-section from deep in the ether. There may well be some connection to dub lurking deep in the foggy mists of these recordings – but ‘Liumin’ inhabits far more opaque and unsettling terrain to anything you may have heard from both this project, or any of its many imitators. Highly Recommended.

King of the Swingers aka Kode 9 delivers his first commercially available mix since the pivotal Dubstep Allstars 3 with a 31-track swift blend for DJ Kicks. It more or less sums up the last 18 months of underground developments, crossing a wide tempo gap from 120-140bpm and covering the spectrum of UK dance music from Funky to Broken Beat to Dubstep, Grime and that mongrel new stuff. We get no less than four Kode 9 joints, three of them fresh-off-the-block, plus a stupendously screwed Cooly G cut ‘Phat Si’ and the soon-come Hyperdub single, Ill Blu’s ‘Bellion’. Broken beats come from Aardvarck’s certified KILLER Prince tribute’Revo’, Morgan Zarate’s ‘M.A.B’ and the Maddslinky staple ‘Cargo’ aligned with the requisite number of up-to-the-moment anthems like Grievous Angel’s ‘Move Down Low’, Mr Majika’s ‘Different Lekstrix’ and Addison Groove’s ‘Footcrab’. There’s also a brand new Zomby joint, the phosphorescing twyst of ‘Spiralz’, and notably the killer Mujava cut ‘Mugwanti’ from the Ayobaness comp for some African authenticity. Quite possibly best of all is the new Ramadanman slayer ‘Work Them’ putting some sidespin on the Juke influx with a feat of breakbeat hardcore scientifics spliced with jit-boogie to make you go, hard, and not forgetting his signature blend of Zomby’s ‘Godzilla’ with DMZ’s Mountain Dread March’. What are you waiting for?

Expanding Erik Skodvin’s extremely limited 2008 cassette edition Penpals Forever, this vinyl release remasters the original content and adds a whole extra side’s worth of new material, all of which is exclusive to the LP. You wouldn’t necessarily discern this straight away from the Deaf Center member’s elusive and teasingly enigmatic music, but apparently ‘Penpals Forever And Ever’ is an “imaginary tale of a long dead baroque painter and his telekinetic correspondence with a flightless bird.” It all seems so obvious in hindsight. The revamped sleeve art helps point the way towards this sort of archaic, suggestively supernatural imagery, particularly thanks to a brilliantly sinister etching that crops up on the back-cover. This is a release that really starts to sound like it looks too, quickly assuming a brilliantly grim analogue language that floods the speakers with hiss, and unbelievable pitch-black reverberations. The first side throws you into this bleak auditory realm head first, with exhumed renaissance-era string plucks haunting the vinyl grooves before dispersing into the smudginess of Skodvin’s droned-out backdrop – a kind of sonic Rorschach test within which you might make out veiled recordings of birds squawking and other such subconscious-ransacking sounds. The new compositions continue in the same deathly vein, offering mist-shrouded structures that only reinforce Skodvin’s position at the very top of the dark-ambient tree. There are three new pieces in all, encompassing a range of sounds that calls upon vaporising groans, plunging percussive rumbles and lost threads of guitar that meander around discordantly in the darkness. Marvellous stuff all round. The cassette was restricted to just 150 copies, but the LP isn’t exactly easy to come by either, limited to a comparably measly 450 copies. No dawdling with this one.

**Clear Vinyl** In 2000 Tresor released this classic album from Karl O’Connor and Peter Sutton aka Regis and Female. Unhappy with the final edit applied by the label, Sutton and O’Connor have essentially given it a “directors cut” on 2 x clear 12″ vinyl for this essential 2010 reissue on Downwards. The thunderous industrial techno tracks of the original are still in place, but for us the most essential sections are those haunting intro and outro parts sounding at once like Throbbing Gristle or even Joy Division executed with a cold but steady hand. These copies now come with new artwork and the now familiar photocopied insert featuring a photo of their original studio, with bonus annotations. Heavy.

Following his incredible 7″ transmission ‘For Oud & Synthesizer’, Keith Fullerton Whitman presents a set of mindblowing compositions recorded late 2009 for Root Strata. Frustrated by the restrictions of performing computer music in public settings and keen to involve a larger element of risk into his music, Keith follows his obsession with “the tenets of Process music & Systems music” to investigate “the unpredictable entropies & slight signal degradation inherent to Analog instrument design”, resulting in a set of infinitely morphing and self-modulating sequences subtly guided by a hand and mind that perceives the possibilities of music like very few others we can think of. For the tech-heads this involves sending three voltage streams from two LFO’s to different modules… and that’s where we’ll stop, because it’s all noted in the lovely heavy card sleeve anyway! He’s basically creating every sound you hear in-the-moment, on-the-jog, weaving sine waves into florid patterns which can range from alien acidic permutations like the frankly incredible 23-minute ‘Generator 2’, to lushly psychotropic sequences such as ‘Generator 1’, both of which were left untouched meaning you’re simply listening to the modular synths organising themselves into stunningly “musical” arrangements. We can hear the merest hint of human involvement in the audible patching and slightly mismatched levels, but to be totally honest we wouldn’t have noticed this if KFW didn’t point it out. The tracks just seem to have a hugely varied, constantly mutating life of their own, expanding with the vivid pattern arrangements of a DMT trip to immerse us head to toe in tactile waves of pure electronic pulse, panned, pitched and pushed into timelessly chaotic yet controlled motifs. In a way, this tape puts swathes of kosmische imitators and synth obsessives to shame, being both eminently listenable, and completely original. A late night listening session with this has just left us gobsmacked and it’s a crying shame that there’s only 200 copies for the world because far more people need to hear it. So good.

***Ultra-deluxe 4xLP Boxset version including all 34 tracks from the CD*** Honest Jon’s apply their dedicated digging awareness to the Middle East again, following transfixing installments from Baghdad and the sublime ‘Open Strings…’ compilation. ‘To Scratch Your Heart: Early Recordings From Istanbul’ collects 32 intensely beautiful recordings made by the Gramophone Company and HMV in Istanbul during the the first three decades of the twentieth century, while the Ottoman Empire was in it’s final throes of collapse. From instrumental improvisations to passionate paeans, this album crosses bridges between Gypsies, Muslims, Christians and Jews, city folk and country dwellers to present a fascinating artefact that’s half historical document, half treasure trove of spirits unleashed from crackly 78s. The entire album was expertly restored at Abbey Road studios to sound remarkably clear, allowing the full impact of these songs to affect wholly. A vintage aural luxury – do not miss.

Sun Circle is a duo formed by Greg Davis and Zach Wallace that harks back to the greats of drone music, particularly the likes of Charlemagne Palestine and La Monte Young. Minimalist in the most classic sense, the agenda of Lessness intensively explores the timbral potential of single specific instruments within the narrowest of compositional parameters. Steady-handed drone maestros Davis and Wallace spin one side each from drums and a gong, sourcing two from tamboura – one sustain-based work and one rhythmic piece. The former is a majestic, overtone-enriched affair that’s everything a piece of this kind should be, presenting the illusion of stasis whilst ebbing and flowing with rich, natural modulations. Sun Circle have previously shared a split release with Eleh, and the music on this double-LP might be thought of as an unplugged take on the sort of meditative audiophile drones that artist specialises in. The gong piece might be the finest thing here – it’s certainly the freest and most melodic contribution, flowing through deep, low frequency resonances that yield a subtle and varied distribution of pitches. At the more rhythmic end of the material here there’s an exercise devoted to strictly pared down drumming patterns and a second tamboura piece that cycles through a root-fifth-octave progression to trance-inducing effect. Ruthlessly devoid of decorative baggage, Lessness will be greeted with open arms by all the minimalism purists out there. Limited to 400 copies for the world.

*Another inspired selection from the Tapeworm label, this time making use of some longstanding connections to Terre Thaemlitz aka DJ Sprinkles* Chugga are an immediately interesting proposition: two air conditioner repair school flunkies with a crazy homemade subbass device and a thing for slack, heat-hazed deep south funk and disco with a dub pressure. The pair of Lester Fuero and Jeff Haines hail from Memphis and made this sly tribute to their city ‘Memphistophelis’ in 1996, gleaning eleven tracks of dope, lean and groovesome disco that’s since been plundered for releases on Terre Thamlitz’s Comatonse label and even covered by Austria’s Zeitkratzer electro-acoustic ensemble. The full sessions never got a proper release until now though, suitably showing up now on The Tapeworm with a strangely out-of-time-and-place value which puts it in great stead among the labels disparate schedule. At the base of each track is Jeff’s ‘L.F.U’ or ‘Low Frequency Unit’, wildly dominating the set with quivering subsonic pressure that mercifully benefits from Terre Thaemlitz’s mastering onto tape to sound even more claggy and potent. Musically, their ideas are scraped together from classic samples and bagfuls of funk and soul snippets used sparingly to achieve a sparse yet close and humid sound dripping with a latent late night sensuality. Fans of Terre’s DJ Sprinkles sound will find much to like here, as will lovers of Mark E or NewWorldAquarium. Highly Recommended.

Two of the most distinctive presences in German experimental music unite for this stunning new collaborative venture, introducing the project with a five-track 12″ that precedes a full-length due later on in the year. As it turns out, these two seemingly strange bedfellows have long admired one another’s work and the project has itself been a long-term concern, in development since 2007. Bargeld lends his vocal to Nicolai’s soundscapes, a formula that in theory might lead to an end product resembling Alan Vega’s work with Pan Sonic. There is, however, something rather more immediately synergetic about this project, and Bargeld’s voice embeds itself very naturally within Nicolai’s seemingly inhospitable, yet ever-inscrutable production. Lead track ‘Ret Marut Handshake’ sets the tone, and everything immediately slots into place: the Einsturzende Neubauten frontman (and sometime Nick Cave sideman) Bargeld gives a commandingly expressive vocal performance that functions perfectly in counterpoint to the clinical precision of the pinpoint backdrop. While familiar Alva Noto hallmarks are in place, there’s actually very little about the track that could be branded ‘minimal’, and the production soon reveals itself to be a multi-layered and robust affair. Possibly the biggest curveball on the EP, arriving next is a cover of Harry Nilsson’s ‘One’ (from 1968’s Aerial Ballet album, later popularised all over again by Aimee Mann on the Magnolia soundtrack). While it’s mildly peculiar to hear Bargeld emotively intoning his way through the song, it’s flat out bizarre to think that this is in any way the handiwork of Noto, an artist responsible for countless high-concept sound installations and uncompromising glitch landmarks like ‘Transform’. Yet it’s the terse digital arrangement that makes the piece so compelling – the solitary theme being underlined by the lonesome, metronomic blip running throughout the track. Subtle waves of noise and Xerrox-like quasi-orchestral timbres frame hints of piano, completing a logic-defyingly great rendition. A considerably more abstract affair, ‘Electricity Is Fiction’ introduces the B-side, laying down a rhythmic barrage while Bargeld’s digitised voice floods every corner of the mix – even providing a vintage electro-style ascending/descending bassline. Switching tone again, ‘Bersteinzimer’ channels a richly elegiac tone that calls upon a string ensemble, a few loose high frequency drones and a palpable sense of drama. Bargeld’s clearly in his element here, delivering a central performance that’s devoid of production tricks or manipulations. Another cover completes the EP: ‘I Wish I Was A Mole In The Ground’ is a traditional American folk song that’s been boldly rearranged by the two Berliners. Nicolai is at his most restrained, supplying only the leanest backdrop of bass-heavy, panning electricity surges and snare-like percussive noise while Bargeld puts in an engagingly natural and forthright vocal. Exciting stuff from these two avant-garde greats; let’s hope the album isn’t too far behind.

Serious remix session from Shed and Ramadanman tackling dBridge’s killer ‘ZX81’ from the ‘Producer #2’ compilation! No joke, Shed’s remix is quite possibly the best track we’ve heard from him since the album a few years back. With a bulbous, slow-motion Reese bass, scissoring hi-hats and the kind of bumpy bass swing that made ‘Another Wedged Chicken’ so addictive, the Berlin maverick has crafted a lethal tune that’s guaranteed to be in our boxes for years to come. For his mix, the prolific Ramadanman works with dance-weirding pitch bends and the kind of future-tribalist syncopations that made his Pearson Sound tracks and the recent ‘Glut’ 12″ for Hemlock so bloody crucial. In this case, he’s overshadowed by the towering mix on the flip, but who the f**k is complaining?! Essential dancefloor weight for all crew!!!

**White Vinyl** The unpredictably brilliant Downwards label spins out three tracks of snotty goth garage from California’s Dva Damas (pronounced duh-va duh-mas apparently). Their songs are brief but assured, from the the ghoulish Rock-a-billy strut of ‘Brand New Head’ with its sneering bassline and numb synth drones to the motorik bass rev and cascading circus synths of ‘See Me’ or the cantering Suicide-inspirations of ‘Time Dilation’. In essence this record draws a line between the attitudes and aesthetic of leather-jacketed 50s rockers, late 70s New York punks and 90s techno industrialists to end up in 2010 where it’s everything, all at once. White vinyl, photocopied insert courtesy of Silent Servant, very limited copies only. Need!

Emerging in the wake of their brilliant Blast First Petite 10″, Factory Floor have wrangled a remix from none other than industrial legend Chris Carter (Throbbing Gristle/Chris&Cosey) backed with a heavier pressing of ‘Wooden Box’ for the DJs. Carter takes the sparse source material and picks away at the surface to subtly illuminate Nikki Colk’s vocals over black lit strobing synths while retaining the stoic but pacy drive of the original. ‘A Wooden Box’ on the flip is a sharp thrust of minimal industrial techno with despondant female vox. A tip for fans of Cold Cave, TG, Silk Flowers, Minimal Wave Tapes etc! – Essential twelve.

Berlin’s Felix K follows Nether’s dark gem ‘Beating Me’ with another stone cold minimal D’n’B killer for Doc Scott’s 31 Records. ‘Recognition’ adopts the reductionist approach common to his city, synching pin-on-skull hi-hat patterns with strongback rim shots and ghoulish sweeps of mood setting synth to really capture the zeitgeist. On the flip ‘Ice’ is a techier beast, commanding controlled limb coordination with scuttling percussive trickery and a swampy sub for sublime tension. For fans of Rockwell, Data, Sabre or Instra:mental. Killer.

Accompanying Chris Carter’s ‘Lying Remix’, New Order’s duracell bunny drummer, Stephen Morris, remixes ‘A Wooden Box’ from Factory Floor’s brilliant Blast First Petite 10″. Much like his peer, Morris sticks to the original structure of his respective track, but takes the drastic measure of completely warping Nikki Colk’s vox with some high-end auto-tune treatment to make her sound like some lachrymose gothbot. On the flip we get the original mix of FF’s minimal throbber ‘Lying’ laid out on a heavy cut 45rpm pressing for smarter DJs to drop down the disco. A tip for fans of Cold Cave, New Order, Silk Flowers, Minimal Wave tapes etc!

Frozen Border drop their first 12″ for 2010 from another undercover agent.You should know the styles with these guys by now; stripped and optimized underground techno tools for those who like to go until the sun sets again. The A-side rolls out a threatening bass rumble with dry, frictional percussion grazing the surface and subtly aquatic dub chord adding space and depth. The B-side could almost be a Marcel Dettmann production (but we don’t think it is), unloading another dread bassline only with more emphasis on the shivering hi-hat swing and coarse internal syncopations. For fans of Regis, Norman Nodge, Marcel Fengler or Szare – big twelve.

Heavyweight feminine pressure from JA legend Foxy Brown!!! Following from the revelation of Dadawah’s ‘Peace And Love’ Dug Out goes dutty wine with a digital dancehall cut spiced with early 90s R’n’B vibes, recorded by Lloyd Pickout Dennis at Dynamic with the Firehouse Crew. It’s one of those deadly cuts that slips under the radar of all but the most eagle-eyed and dedicated selectors until it’s ripe for reissue. As with anything on this label, there’s no need to think twice. BUY.

Arbor’s latest delivery is a transfixing split record divided between Cloaked Light and label manager Mike Pollard’s Pale Blue Sky project. Quiet, solitary reflection is the order of each side, or as the label puts it “both offering reconsiderations / examinations to the common listening experience”. Cloaked Light’s ‘Clear Of’ is a side-long drone composition placing the listener in a slowly shifting atmospheric vibration. Gradually emerging from total silence, the experience is akin to lying still on a windless sunny day when the sound of distant plane hovers into audition, filling the surrounding space with a timelessly evocative hum reminding of Eleh. But, before the plane passes we’re stuck in the moment, that second is expanded so the very subtlest threshold becomes a heavy presence and inherent distortions catch our attention before fading away like like a palindronic aural hallucination. Pale Blue Sky’s ‘Someday, Sometime’ is more celestial, where pure shades of beautifully radiant tones are smudged through tape manipulation into a tactile blur, exploring “the inner workings of tonal relationships” wherein exquisite moments of harmonic bliss occur. This is a record you’ll return to at opportune moments for years to come. Limited to 400 copies housed in glossy jacket and inners, highly recommended.

Chunky bruk-house rollers from Danny Native! Mr Natives is owning this corner of the modern house movement right now with his killer ‘Tenement Yard’ album and a ruck of celebrated DJ sets. Recently featuring heavily in the sets of Martyn and himself, ‘The Bitch’ bounces a cheeky square bassline into play with old-skool ruff-house vibes pivoting about shoulder dropping syncopations. On the flip ‘Crop Duster’ takes it down low with crouching subs and skittering percussion showing the lineage of Afrobeat through house and broken beats to end up in Natives territory. Fans of Martyn, Cooly G, Deep Teknologi or Kode 9 should check!