From the electroclash to the gayest album cover of the year.
An Orange Conspiracy – AOC
That cover.
Slam – Athenaeum 101
IDM and ambient. A journey: looking at the star-studded night sky in a wide valley, then taking a trip inside a factory colony on a distant planet, and later back into the open space and nature again.
Throwing Snow – Loma
First got hooked on this one when I was looking for something with broken beats and jungle rhythms, and I was happy to find this record. But then there are quite some flavors of electronics piled up here, all pretty much good flavors.
Maceo Plex, Swayzak – The Tesseract EP
The fourth quarter of last year was massively dominated by techno for me. Going to a good techno party resurfaced in my life as a force that I am drawn to, and I got to listening to a big chunk of good, dance-oriented techno and house.
This record was one of the highlights of the year’s end. It encompasses pretty much everything that I always loved about good techno music: dark atmosphere, industrial sound (that’s mostly the A side here), and a rolling uptempo beat that drags you along and moves your body even at 5am on the dance floor (which is coming along on the flip side).
Laksa – The Amala Trick
All output in 2018 by Laksa is well worth the visit. Mid tempo electronic music, which not special because it’s outstanding, it’s just nice to listen to.
Logical Terror – Ashes Of Fate
Progressive metal with melodic tunes, like Fear Factory and Disturbed mixed up. Random note: why do all these albums have to have the mandatory shitty cover?
Robert Hood – DJ-Kicks
Listen to this the day after a good techno party. Gives some great flashbacks, gets body moving.
Deena Abdelwahed – Khonnar
Experimenting electronics, exciting, new.
Current 93 – The Light Is Leaving Us All
This one is a weirdo, and I find it fascinating.
“[…] the feeling of listening to a preacher behind the pulpit, or a doomsayer on the soapbox. […] a kind of sage or guru, a grey-bearded mystic of deep, arcane wisdom. His industrial noise and mournful neo-folk teems with hymns, incantations, and transcribed dreams.”