Best of Volor Flex

Pretty excited about this one. Volor Flex started out a few years ago making music that sounded remarkably like Burial. This is not a criticism, not at all, as he not only nailed the sound but added his own special vibe to it. 

He recently dropped the Volor Flex moniker and has moved on to a different sound as Trampique and his Face To Face release under this new name is very highly recommended.

Anyhow, he just dropped the 'Best Of Volor Flex' at a 'Name Your Price' offering which will give you an idea of how his sound has evolved over time.  From the bandcamp page:

This collection features 5 parts that add up to a continuous mix. Each one features 13 tracks and they have been split as such for both an easier listening experience and the choice of mood that they offer.

As previously stated, "Sabo" was the final official Volor Flex album, however seeing that this collection has unearthed a fair amount of previously unheard songs we will be releasing them individually in the next 6 months.

With his creative roots openly stated from his first album, Alex Frolov had the opportunity to craft his personal take on what influenced him the most free of bias or ethic debates. The exclusive tracks follow the timeline of Volor Flex's works but they are not outtakes from any of his official output but rather stand-alone tracks that were not part of any projects.

Show some love and support

HERE 

Ultimae | records - Enfold (2014)

Free download from Ultimate Records, one of the best, and longest running, 'chill' (an unfortunately overused tag but still representative nonetheless) labels out there.

From the label:

To celebrate our 15th anniversary, we are pleased to offer you the first volume of « Enfold », a compilation of songs created with the idea of gentleness and chill. With the kind and generous participation of Lars Leonhard, I Awake, Fingers In the Noise, Scann-Tec, Asura, Miktek, Martin non-Static, Circular, Master Margherita and AES Dana.

Get it in any format you like, including 24-bit

HERE

Have a chilled out Christmas from HTCIS. Thanks for the support over the years.

Blueneck - Night Of The Meek (2014)

Ok, so the Christmas thing and the obligatory artist covers of Christmas songs is way overdone. Has been for years. Probably always will be. Blueneck, however, is new, at least to my ears. May not bring anyone to tears but it's got pull and it may just shake the dust off the accumulated layers of cynicism and syrupy sentimentality that surrounds the media saturation this time of year.

'Name Your Price' download

HERE

And if you haven't checked out their newest release, King Nine (the vinyl is a stunning work of art), you can download an acoustic version of the track 'Man Of Lies' at a 'Name Your Price' offering

HERE

P.S. If you haven't checked it already, Lustmord's take on 'Silent Night' is, oddly, a beautiful reflection on what it means in the world in which we live today.

isolatedmix 50 – bvdub (Sleep Tight, Ono)

Brock has suffered some personal losses this year and this mix should reflect the mood of such losses, both the grief and the gratefulness. As with all of his mixes it is meant to be absorbed without preconceived notions derived from a track list.

Direct download option is available from one of the best music sites on the entire Web:

HERE

WIWO

Ditto the post below.

OCN

Just listen.

Then get the story.

Magic.

DS - IFL

Simply astounding how good this is. 'The future' was correct. It's here and it still sounds like it's from the future.

Go back into the future and enjoy the strobe lights in outer space.

Info

Roderick Julian Modell ‎– The Autonomous Music Project (1999)

In between V 1.0-1.9 as Waveform Transmission and Electromagnetic-Etheric Systems Approach and before Deepchord became a parent in the evolving sound of dub techno there was this masterpiece that truly sounds better with maturity.

It is a release "which harboured a batch of fabulously suggestive dark-light soundscapes incorporating "electro-organic, virtual reality audio textures" into a recording which, in the current climate of texturally abraded digital-denying ambient, sounds freshly contemporary." (Source)

It's basically analog ambient done right. As the music washes over the listener, there is an almost "spiritual" immersion a la David Hykes, Baraka-ish in intensity. Of the entire DC/ES catalogue, this remains at the top of the list.

It's strangely affecting "music" that bridges the gulf between the natural harmonic of the human voice and the "clinical" tones so often generated by computer made music.

Long out of print. 

Info

Lustmord - Silent Night Redux

'Tis the season.

I know that Lustmord calls himself a 'godless heathen' but, though I have other sentimental reasons that this song has meaning, there is something true about this version that gives it a rather profound significance that may or may not have been his intent.

It's a 'Name Your Price' offering but support if you are able.

HERE

CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music - Nigel Stanford

Cool as sh*t.

All I'm saying.

Sense​/​Net: Music for Outskirts (2014)

My new favorite netlabel with a perfect compilation to catch the vibe.

This compilation was thoroughly and carefully produced by people who don’t seem to be connected to each other by any way possible: a theologian, a philosopher, a biologist, an ex-drug dealer and a wandering pornographer. The only things that united us were the vortex of melancholy and the eeriness of night. We bloom like flowers by the lights of monitors and street lamps, but not by the sunshine. We’re longing for something more, something big, even global. 

Ordered the cassette, more for the story than anything else. There's something tangible about the weirdness of the whole thing.

It was really hard: we took 47 cassettes from Malaysia, 47 cases from China, 47 covers from Ukraine, 9 tracks from ex-USSR artists and now we are ready to sell.

Highly recommend a download of everything they have to offer and put in on repeat to really absorb yourself into why I find this so bloody enjoyable.

It's all at a 'Name Your Price' offering though I do recommend truly supporting their efforts to keep the music alive.

Highly recommended.

The compilation can be found

HERE

You can also check an assortment of mixes offered up from the label on Mixcloud

HERE

And, on an aside, their main page has one of the best images I've ever seen on the web:

aspect. - bp4 [CFM059] (2014)

Incredible lineup of some of the best among the current roster of 'dub techno' and all its iterations and variations offering up remixes a track from one of the "elders" of the post-BC/DC/ES wave of pioneers. 

From Cold Fiction Music, one of the best netlabels on the Web at the moment:

From the ashes of Textural Being rises... aspect.

By way of introduction, Portland, OR, producer Sage Taylor offers bp4, a floating dub techno track to demonstrate the new alias...

Or, that's how it began, anyway. A few months, several emails and many remixes later, an album is born. Calling on multiple sources of talent spread across the far flung corners of the world, Sage has gathered an impressive list of remixers, including: Mandrasigma, Rabbit Rabbit, Zander One, Katsura, Substak, Fingers in the Noise, Zwei Kreise, Desove, Warmth, Coppice Halifax and The Downgrade Complex...

And as a bonus, at the end, are two alternate mixes by aspect. himself. It's an album for rainy days and headphones... One to get lost in. use that one

Check out the names and track down works under each of their names. You will not be disappointed.

It's offered up as a 'Name Your Price' offering but be generous to allow musical offerings such as this to not only continue but evolve among continuing generations of artists.

HERE

Yes

While you may never own this because of this you can at least listen to it.

Heretics' Gate

It's because of this that I am posting this. Vinyl as artifact of the wealthy. 

The 90s are over and the 'radical' 90s kids are now capitalizing on the old age and bank accounts of the participants who lived through it. Such is the trajectory of all music.

That against which the battle is fought always wins in the end. It's time we admit it and move on.

Info

A short film clip of the installation itself, which looks pretty cool, can be seen

Here

Oneiric - spaceci (2014)

spaceci, one of my favorite creators of atmospheric sounds and all around good guy, is back with a new release. His releases have been featured on such labels Entropy Records and the seminal though sadly defunct label Other Heights. 

It's at a 'Buy It Now' prices but you know the story, give what you can so the music can continue.

HERE

Jenny I Read

Love this woman.

Info et al

Nosferatu

Seemed a fitting tribute to my feelings about the whole holiday madness.

Turn the lights out, the bass up and enjoy.

Primer

Pimping The Sneakers

For the completist, this combines the original release with some bonus tracks found on two different Japanese (they always have the best releases) versions.

Though the extra tracks can be found scattered (another journey in and of itself) throughout the various singles released for this album, it provides five additional songs not present on the original.

Info

Church Done Gone Techno

Ok, this may seem really out of nowhere but hang with me for a minute...

As noted earlier, I am a spiritual guy and am always in pursuit of that 'higher' thing that we all seek. I've found it in the spiritual path I am currently on which is the context of this track. It's written by the children's pastor from our church who, minus the lyrics/vocals (it's for kid's mind you), has a knack for creating a catchy hook.

So we're watching/listening to this in church this morning and it's all happy and bouncy, especially the kids, and I smile to myself because this track's skeleton has its roots in the electronic 'club' music which really gained traction 25 or so odd years ago. The emotion and enthusiasm this morning was, in many ways, just an extension of that 'club' energy. It's a primal human desire to move to a good beat. Just because there is a 'Jesus stamp' on this doesn't somehow absolve it of its origins in the club.

I've seen this in the Pentecostal/Charismatic church as well. There is a trance-like energy induced by the music and there are moments within such services that a person can get just as 'high' as someone who is at a rave or a well crafted DJ set. 

A preacher, in many ways, is like that DJ who knows how to build a good set and take it to its peak to drive a crowd into a frenzy and bring it back down into that blissed out chill that leaves an afterglow. I remain fascinated by this connection between music and spirituality and the merging of the two and also am amazed that this so easily slips into the church unnoticed by so many. 

So give it a listen, at least once, and see if you hear what I mean:

Church Rave

Matthias Arfmann ‎– Dvořák "Neue Welt" feat. Onejiru (2005)

Another HTCIS exclusive, currently available only as a v2 that's been floating around for years. Just arrived from Germany after months spent tracking it down. Newly added to discogs as well. The Web is an amazing place.

Promo CD issued at the time of the release of the actual album. 

Features versions of perhaps the catchiest tune on the album featuring the vocals of Onejiru, an artist in her own right whose vocals show up in various places and releases across the dub/electronic spectrum.

The whole techno/classical crossover thing is pretty cool if you ask me and seems to be a natural trajectory.

Info

Bandcamp Recommendations

Not sure how many folks are visiting my feed but there are some amazing releases out there at 'Name Your Price' offerings. I'm having a ball 'virtual' crate digging through these and they show up in my feed because I always contribute something.

Go digging and see who is out there. There is a virtual underground, kind of, so do what you can to show support and drum up some buzz.

Downscope - a regular contributor to the dub techno forum on discogs. Nice when a regular poster is a music maker, adds some legitimacy to the goings on in the forum.

Egg Nebula - a little drum n bass for ya.

Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens - one of my favorite lo-fi artists who has manifest in different styles under various monikers. All of his stuff is well worth checking out, a throwback to a future Americana.

Off Land - artist prominently featured on my latest favorite label discovery, Terminal Window.

Zwei Kreise - a new direction for dub techno artist Axs, also a regular contributor on the discogs forum.

Mobonus

I won't go into the long details here but if you've been here for a while you know that my musical journey and, in many ways, my life with it - not sure the two can be separated easily - revolve around the music of this artist.

Beginning around the time of his first commercial breakthrough there were limited edition 'bonus' editions containing an extra CD of an ambient nature. Say what you will about him and his role in the good and bad of electronic music's trajectory into the commercial mainstream there is no doubt that he is able to create a certain aural ambiance, especially finding the beauty in melancholy, that is inimitable.

Info

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DeepWarmth - Balance (2014)

Stellar release just out from DeepWarmth (aka James Shain, who runs the Cold Fiction Music netlabel).

"A love letter to the Japanese lounge/chillout scene", Balance is a little under 70-minutes of blissed-out downtempo recalling sunlight and streetlights."

Featuring 10 tracks made over 4 years, and ending with a special Coppice Halifax remix by Milieu. A love letter to the Japanese Chillout/Lounge scene I found through the making of the album. 

The album is supported by Sage Taylor and Hiroshi Watanabe (aka Kaito).

A strong ambient flavored release this is an updated throwback to when 'ambient/chillout' music meant something other than schmaltz.

Highly recommended.

'Name Your Price' offering but show some love as this is an artist (and label owner) with a pulse on what music is all about.

HERE

Back To Mine

What started as a 'mix' series morphed into a 'mix tape' toward the end but some of the best collections to ever emerge as electronic music, especially DJ culture, sped headlong over the cliff of mainstream.

R.I.P. (1999-2008)

Essential.

Info

The Downgrade Complex (2014)

New release from one of the best netlabels on the entire Web, Cold Fiction Music. Usually more 'dub techno' and/or 'ambient' driven, this one is much noisier than the normal fare. And better because of it.

Also featuring some remixes by some more familiar names, this is one for your ears.

It's a 'Name Your Price' offering so please show some support and keep the music alive. If you haven't already, bury yourself in the back catalogue as there is a treasure trove of amazing music to be found.

The CFM website is

HERE

Russian Orthodox Chronicles

Storytime. For those who haven't figured it out I'm a spiritual guy. Though I hate that word because it has come to mean New Agey, cheesy, snake oil, Deepak Chopra/Oprah loving self-centered weirdness I don't know of a better term. I suppose, in the end, like of all of us, I seek Truth and a vehicle to get there.

In essence I'm a sinner saved by grace but that doesn't mean I'm not an idiot most days and it sure doesn't mean I'm perfect nor have I found my way. I still find myself dabbling and non-committing and basically avoiding what I know I'm supposed to do. However, I do have those places to which I can return when my ego isn't in the way.

Such is the tale here. Back when I was pursuing a higher education in things religious, I had a teacher who invited us over to his house for some Buddhist meditation. I was open to and learning about anything and everything religious. I had done that for years anyhow but now I had a cover to do it openly. Pretty trippy stuff that meditation. First time I actually had someone guide me through meditation and when the carpet started to move I was at once entranced and a bit freaked out (mostly because this was chemical free). 

There was this music playing when we had first arrived and I, curious soul that I am, studied the album cover and made a mental note of the Hearts of Space connection. I had gone through a serious HOS phase as I was immersed in my JMJ, Kitaro and Windham Hill phase of looking for higher planes of consciousness through music rather than funneling anger into banging my head and filling my gut with alcohol.

Remembered hearing this little ditty on one of the Saturday mornings with Stephen Hill...

Info

Though it took a long time to get this one (I started with the second album in this series), I came to realize the radio broadcast was from the same album I heard that night.

Info

As the Web continued to open up the ability to discover musical mysteries I would never have otherwise discovered, I went through an everything Bill Laswell phase which opened up to me even more genres of music. One of Laswell's trademarks within the musical universe is to mash and meld genres that shouldn't go together. I eventually, perhaps inevitably, stumbled across this little gem which I picked up on CD.

Issued only in Germany (meaning I never would have discovered it before the Web), it remains to me one of the stronger albums in his repertoire and one that I revisit more than others.

Info

And, eventually,  a more traditional recording of the original.

Info

So the universe was aligned, my mind was once again slowed down and peace reigned. These tunes still take me back to 'that' place. It's a marvel how, if you allow it, music can transform your world rather than merely reinforce the mood which you are already occupying and seeking something to further fuel it. 

Allow yourself to be transported...

Studio Stereo - 7.1 (2014)

Another sweet compilation just dropped featuring some better known dub techno artists and some other artists making different styles of music. Don't know the label but this one's a "Name Your Price" offering.

“Seven years ago The Studio Stereo was born, and as we know 7 years is the age of reason. To celebrate the event, we have made a big new compilation in two parts around these three axes: dub / experimental / electronic. Here is the first part. We find the spirit of TSS when it was created, oriented towards minimal techno, and experimental dub! With a few touches here and there of House, or deep ambient. Overall, this compilation offers a deep and dark atmosphere.”

Looking forward to some new sounds.

Check it

HERE

Shinichi Atobe ‎– Ship-Scope (2001)

Demdike Stare's unearthing of new material from this mysterious Basic Channel artist on their own eponymous label is the impetus for this post.

Although I must admit that a copy of the original going for $600 right now just reinforces the absurdity of the vinyl market.

Info

Demdike Stare info

Blueneck - King Nine

Have been eyeing this for weeks and dropped an order today for the limited edition vinyl, mostly on the strength of this song:

It may have to do with the cover art and the whole 'Gothic South' thing as well, perhaps adding to the myth and thus the appeal for me. Go here for another UK connection to the same fascination and you'll see what I mean. Here's the back story on how the artwork came to be:

How Blueneck Sent Lasse Hoile On A True Detective Mission

Have been gravitating not necessarily away from 'dub techno' (it's still the general ambience in which I swim) but toward more drone/post rock categorized music and especially that point at which the two merge. There's something therapeutic when the level of noise/distortion somehow morphs into what is often referred to as ambient. Pretty sure these guys fall into the "post rock" category but, not being familiar with their back catalogue (yet), this is my first go round with their stuff.

You can stream the album

HERE

The Denovali label is one of the best labels out there. Artists off the mainstream radar who are really trying to make music in its best form: personal expression and creativity. Sound like a sales pitch? Guess it kind of is but such pitches don't come lightly.  

Check out their label here:

Denovali

P.S. A bit puzzled by the label's move on the mp3 that was stated, in writing, to be included with the vinyl purchase. Dropped almost $50 for the LP and the mp3 download that was to be included with it will be in the album. So it is included with the album in a literal sense. Meanwhile, folks can download it on the site and enjoy listening to it while those of us who chose to invest in the vinyl have to wait.

Update: One of the band members contacted me about this which is pretty cool. They had no control of the 'how' of the digital files for vinyl buyers and he graciously offered a link to a stream of the album. Didn't think the band had anything to do with it (know how that works) but it still says a lot for him to do that. Mad props, show support however you are able.

The Qur'an

Something a little different here. For those who don't know I spent seven years studying Islam in great depth (while immersed in Pentecostalism) and seriously considered converting.  I have a different understanding than most of all the crap you hear in the news about Islam. It's not as cut and dry as Western media (especially that in the U.S., Conservative or Liberal) might lead you to believe.

You can read more in depth on my journey here. It is a much more powerful tradition and is much more diverse in its manifestations than most people realize. There is a 'Rumi' infatuation which has been removed from its context and accosted by the New Age sect that has a large audience. You can find my opinions on this here.

Not sure how many have heard recitations of the Qur'an but these recitations are, for Muslims, music to the ears. More traditional Muslims tend not to listen to "music" as it is generally recognized; instruments are, for the more staunch traditionalist, not allowed.

The only instrument in this case is the human voice and, according to this line of belief, the most pure "music" would be the recitation of the Qur'an. And, I must confess, they have a valid point.

You may be thinking to yourself, what place does religion have here on a predominantly music blog?  Consider how often these recitations are sampled in and throughout music and I think you'll agree there is power here. Listen for yourself and let me know what you think.

I can listen to the Adhan ("Call to Prayer") without ever tiring of it...

The text is presently available for download here.

Electronic Samsara

So simple, so deep. 

Bears repeated listening to fully grasp what's here. 

Nice 7" box set available on this one as well.

Info

A Different Detroit Connection

We are all multi-faceted and highly complex individuals, some more than others, which is what makes the world the marvel that it is. None of us have The Answer but in life we do gravitate toward those things which help us make sense of the world in which we live and set our priorities aright.

You can scratch the surface of my journey here but after many, many years of 'spiritual' searching, seeking meaning, looking for The One Thing, in the late 90s, as my electronic music love affair was reaching critical mass, I found myself immersed in the world of Charismatic Christianity. 

I've gone from the early days of personal questioning (driven by something much darker); to the writings of Joseph Campbell; to the militant agnostic/atheist path; into the quantum physics/New Age connection; through the eastern philosophies, including an ever deepening walk through the 'original' Chinese text(s) of the Dao De Jing; through a decades long love affair with alcohol and drugs capped off with a yearlong chemically fueled walkabout; to a full baptismal immersion within the Pentecostal tradition; to a Comparative Religious Studies degree tempered with a seven year deep dive into Islam.

I post this here, today, on Sunday, because something happened during this period of searching and I went to places that I could never have imagined had I not dove headlong into it. Sometimes it is far too easy to criticize from outside and you need to go in.

There have been many a 'peak' moment in my life and this is the music that takes me back to one of them. 

I could go on and on but I leave you with the music...

P.S. He is from Detroit. Seems fitting, no?

Info

Info is available on qobuz. Looks like I need to update Discogs.

Speaking of the previous post...

Try it, you'll like it.

Trust me.

Info

Sunday Morning Old School

I won't bore you with details but my entry ramp into what would become a life spent immersed in electronic music began with the albums below. Disparate elements of electronics in music have been around for many, many decades but it seems as if it was the 80s where it all began to coalesce into the ubiquitous sounds that surround us today.

High school, early 80s, family trip home up from Florida, met 'Kit Kat' (remember CB Radios?) on the Interstate. Long story that I may go into sometime. During a visit to her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee (longer story there), an evening under the stars on her back porch and there is this music playing that sounded otherworldly, foreign, odd, invigorating. 

The first album below, spinning on that turntable, changed not only the environment that evening but it expanded my musical horizon. I went out and bought that album and the follow up on vinyl and swam in that ocean over and over again until I learned every nuance of each of the albums.

Though less well known, the third album came out my senior year. While this album veered in the direction of 'pop' (Track is 4 a catchy, almost wrongfully so, head bobbing, drive faster groove), it was the tribute song on this album that stands out as it stirs up reflections of physics class being stopped to wheel in a t.v. to watch the disaster thus giving the album a permanent residence in long term memory.

Although the seeds were already present, this was the gateway drug that set me free.

So, sourced from wax, the way I first heard them.

Info

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Santessa - Delirium (2000)

A sleeper in the trip hop archives, overused tag that it is.

Such comparisons to Portishead are inevitable yet without the ominousness and just enough dub, funk, jazz and omnipresent bass groove throughout to set it free from such strictures.

Japanese version (always the best releases) with three bonus tracks, not even listed on Discogs, which makes it even more of a sleeper.

Nice. Very nice. 

Info

Dub Techno Live Podcast(s) - Mixlr

Live today and every Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, 8 p.m. Greenwich time on Mixlr.

HERE

Mixlr says Dub Techno is one of the most popular tags on Mixcloud. Featuring Dub Techno Blog at the #1 spot along with a host of other artists/DJs spinning tracks, the list is 

HERE

If only I could listen to music at work and if only the rest of my universe liked dub techno so it could be the air I breathe 24/7.