Acid house by one half of Future Sound of London. Ranging from the old school big beaty Crystal Method vibes through silly-easy to some more techy sounds, but straight-up acid house all along.
Humanoid – 7 Songs
Weval – Changed for the Better
Overall a nice electronic music record, and I couldn’t be more specific than that—it’s like those Booka Shades of the musical spectrum that could fall in many sub-genres depending on how you look at it or where you come from. That said let’s focus on the title track, which just knocks my socks off. It is some amazing achievement in being soothing and calm, but also high in energy and making me move right away with floaty-wavy arms. I can imagine listening to it on a dancefloor and rise to melodic mid-tempo electro heaven. It’s been a while that I listened to something and wanted to reach for remixes; I just wish there’s a slightly higher tempo version of this as well.
Alva Noto – HYbr:ID I
Cannot say much beyond what I’d expect from Alva Noto on the usual high standard.
Djrum – Portrait With Firewood
Nice to mention this record right after Tides as this is a great example for the same vibe but with originality that I felt lacking there. Nice atmospheres on the slow-to-mid tempo electronic axis with lots of live-sounding orchestration, even more Floex vibes, but the more complex drum patterns and the post-dubstep bassline aesthetics package it into something fresh and exciting. I really like that this is a moody record without the sadness aspect—it’s like watching rain through the window but with inspiration and wondering. Actually it’s also like a new take on nu jazz.
Sunda Arc – Tides
From ambient to mid-tempo, from moody electronics to modern classical. A debut record that sounds like a debut record: full of references and inspiration but I have yet to hear the dintinct voice of Sunda Arc. I can hear the blue electronics of Moderat, the piano play of Nils Frahm, also the clarinet comes with a Floex reference to me. Nice sounds overall, just needs more originality next time.