Author: csabavarga

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Weval – Chorophobia

Since I saw them in Paradiso in 2023 these guys have been on my continuous watchlist, both for new releases and live performances. Hard to catch them though, their shows are sold out in a minute. People in Amsterdam seem to be very well aware that Weval is a premium export article of this country and don’t hesitate to rush to see them whenever there’s the chance.

This is another great album, being super consistent with their sound but providing enough new material to listen to. Masterfully done, maybe even a bit too calculated. But hey, the end result is still good music, so far so good. It’s mid-tempo electronic music blending genres and just pleasing to listen to. I feel a kinship with Jamie XX, which also works for putting them on that non-genre-specific electronic music line of artists, which are kinda leftfield for pop but more mainstream than underground.

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VH x RR – 101

Talking about my personal synthpop revival, this is another record I’ve listened to a lot in recent weeks. It steers towards futurepop but still maintains an easy tempo and calm sound, oriented to headphones rather than dancefloor.

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Tuff Turf – Another Level

Another Level is my new favorite track on repeat. It’s just too short; after one day I’m already annoying myself by playing it on loop.

After my last year being a deep dive in goth moods throwback I have the feeling that ’80s synthpop vibes might hit me this year. And this song is a perfect lead-up to that.

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Tim Reaper – in vain

Perfect lounging breakbeat. Sometimes it’s liquid drum and bass, sometimes it’s dubstep, but for the most part it’s soulful broken beats with a soothing tone. Reading the liner notes gives a good perspective to this album: I can see how something so full of soul can come from grasping for the life line in a time of need.

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Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying

Another record that went from zero to a hundred on my listening charts in something like a week. I had listened to it once or twice previously but it hadn’t stuck with me, and then last week it just did, a lot. At this point it has a guaranteed Top 3 spot in my year-end list.

The whole album is sprawling with musical references from so many things that I love. And it’s not just a few specific things but entire aspects of music that I’ve been getting hooked on and have been loving in practically my whole life. From the post-nu jazz of the ’00s with its artistic and electronic reinterpretations, through the big beat sounds of the likes of The Chemical Brothers or The Crystal Method, and electro-infused electronic music that I have often a hard time to put in a box other than “electronic music”, all the way to leftfield pop that is just meant to be blasting from the radio.

I rarely pinpoint single tracks because I usually like the coherent experience of a full album best. And this is an a-ma-zing album as a whole, no question about that. Still, Gimme A Reason is just a hymn, I am floored by this song. To me, this is the ultimate pop hit of this year. I don’t even remember when I put a single track on repeat for such a long time as this one. And after a hundred replays I still get goosebumps at the exact same timestamps. I can’t talk highly enough about this one, it’s an essential track.

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Martin Stürtzer – Protostar

First off, this is a great ambient record. This has been my go-to focus music for the past week the mindset it creates for me is just awesome.

On the other hand, one feeling I can’t shake off is how much of a generated music this could potentially be. I really don’t know anything about Stürtzer, his past work, and process, I just feel like music like this could exactly be the type that can be generated by AI today. I feel bad to think this, it feels like such an asshole thought to have, but this is just what the ambient genre is plagued with today. And if I look at an artist’s discography and I see several records published yearly that kind of confirms the idea; either that this is generated music or music that’s produced on a conveyor belt.

And after having these ideas at the back of my mind I’m going back to listening to the record and think: I still like it, I find it pleasant to listen to, it helps me focus and work and create stuff. So what does that mean? What if this is generated music really? Am I happy with generated music? No, I shouldn’t be. I want to value a true artist’s human output and genuine creativity. But still… What if this just works? Ahh, I don’t know. I hate the AI generated problems of our lives when it comes to art.