Moby - Long Ambients 1: Calm, Sleep

Not sure why this is where it is, may just be a show of support for this site which is earth friendly but for Moby to offer up some new ambient music as no charge, I'm in.

Take some time to browse the site while there and show some support if you like their ethos.

Download free

HERE

Dark Ambient of 2014 (Cryo Chamber)

Doing some work at home today that requires uninterrupted focus and since everyone is out of the house for a while I can put the mp3 player on and let it go. I am in no particular mood so put it on the shuffle. A few hours in and I find myself drawn toward the music that is playing and it picks up my mood perfectly.

As most of the shuffle has been jumping from classical to classic trip-hop to gospel to ambient to everything in between there is a sudden sustaining 'tone' to the music that slowly draws me. I walk over to see what it is and it's this mix that I've been sitting on for quite some time.

I'm not a fan of the tag (or tags in generally, really) of 'dark ambient' due to what it is often meant to imply. It's just a different shade on the spectrum.

Cannot recommend this mix enough as it's a great intro to their catalogue. Make sure that you are able to focus for the full hour and a half of the mix or you'll miss out.

Check it out

HERE

Matt & Mark Thibideau

I continue to come across these two names through various compilations and virtual crate digging. If you trace the origins you'll find that they cross paths with the Echospace camp from their earliest days under that name.

Their sound varies but I'd sum it up as sonic manipulations of the analog kind. A brief bio can be found here. They are spread far and wide so it's tough to know where to start but the obsoletecomponents bandcamp page is probably the best place to start to dig in to their sound. Most of the releases are 'Name Your Price' so there is no reason not to venture in.

A representative compilation can be found below so take a listen and track down the releases from which these tracks came. You will not be disappointed.

Enjoy

PDH Experiments

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2 8 1 4

Tagging on to the vaporwave post below, this 'group' is made up of two of the more popular, if that term is to be used, artists in the often shifting and intentionally anonymous virtual scene who make music that falls under this tag. 

It's intoxicating and I still don't know why.

You can find the origins of this mix here.

ZeECc

Officially dead as a label but living on eternally in the digital world.

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Best Of Dream Catalogue, 2814​-​2815

Can't really explain why but I love this vaporwave stuff. I think it has to do with the fact that I lived through this in the 80s and, looking back, loved it then even as I was going through the various stages of heavy metal and simultaneously moving through New Agey stuff into electronica in its infancy. 

It may explain why the irony dripping in the whole Miami Vice colored, cassette, VHS, Japan, rainy late night neon themes sounds so sweet 30 years later.

'Name Your Price' offering of a compilation of tracks from one of the more well known labels within this genre.

Besides dub techno, it's perhaps the first 'genre' that has captured my interest in a long time.

HERE

Those Awkward Origins

None of us start out cool. None of us are ever really as cool as we think. Until the drugs hit. Then we think we're cool. Until we get off drugs. Then we realize cool doesn't matter.

Back in the late 80s when 'techno/electronica' was starting to bubble up from beneath the surface, it was apparent no one was really quite sure what to do with it, including the musicians themselves.

Considering that The Chemical Brothers in 1998 won and Propellerheads in 1999 were nominated for the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental it was obvious they still didn't quite know what to do with it.

For those of us there early enough to remember its infancy and emergence from the underground, this was the beginning of the end as it was poised to be the next big thing. It more or less went back underground as the Grammy's lumped it into the blurry category of 'dance' music. But it could not be conatined. A genre was being born.

In 2005 a category for Best Dance/Elecronic album was created at which point that heinous industry derived term 'EDM' (almost as bad as the uninitiated's use of 'techno' to cover anything electronica) was pushed, marketed and more or less vomited onto the populace at large and that phase of electronic music was officially complete. It had reached critical mass and spilled over, its journey from Comiskey Part through the underground to the Grammy's had come full circle.

Certainly an oversimplification but as the videos above show none of this should be taken too seriously. We aren't saving the world here, contrary to how many of us may feel when first discovering 'that sound' that takes us somewhere else.

Fear not though as for those of us with attentive enough ears know the underground is still alive and its pulse can be sensed wherever it may be found.

ESL

Lounge is a 'thing' now. Probably been a thing for a while truth be told, a thing before it was a thing if you will. Let's just say it's 'thing' enough that my daughter thinks I have good taste in music when it plays.

However, as with all 'things' it is easy to forget how fresh this type of lounge sounded when it first dropped 20 years ago.

To lighten up on the tone of the past few posts, this one sets a much different mood. Some good stuff to behold in these comps, well worth digging deeper into the various artists spread throughout these. No matter how many times this plays it sounds good, especially when indecisiveness rules and there is no particular mood.

This series also never fails to rise from the background - it's not meant to be played loud enough to take center stage - and anyone listening eventually finds themselves intoxicated by its mood.

And while we're at it, take a listen to this gem of a series taking you back to the 70s.

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ODrex Music - Twin Peetz and Moolsaasa

I continue to stumble across two artists whose music stands out from the din of dub/techno music that seems so omnipresent these days: Twin Peetz and Moolsaasa. It was the Broken Ventilator remixed album that started me on my way.

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Founded in 1994 by Twin Peetz, the ODrex Music netlabel is a treasure trove of musical adventure both for these two artists and, lately, more artists finding their way onto the roster.

A great intro to the label is the Indecent Exposures compilation currently on their Bandcamp page but they have various sublabels as well as many older releases to be found in the archives.

You can find Indecent Exposures here to get you started at a 'Name Your Price' offering. Show some love but get it while the gettings good as more and more of these sites are starting to monetize (rightfully so, especially when the music is good).

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A Tale Of The Rare, Greed And The Overpriced Resale Market For OOP CDs

Dropped some cash on a copy of this release (#010 of 110, blue bottom, 1 of 20 made) in pursuit of a bounty. 

Get it, pop it into EAC to rip away. Track 3 freezes and takes forever. A couple of hours later and it's done. Score a 45 out of a possible 100, suspicious positions in a few places. Mismatched CRCs. Confidence 1, AR v2.

Try a different computer. 45 out of 100. Come back home, do it on burst mode, score a 49 out of 100.

Nothing in the spectrals indicates detritus in the digital. Proceed to listen to it. Can't hear anything at the suspicious positions. Disc looks relatively clean, a few minor scratches. Clean it with a banana. Rip it again. Hang up at Track 3. Same spot. Then toothpaste. Hang up at Track 3. CUETools repair attempt. 0/2, no match. 

Get out the LED flash light and scrutinize the thing for a long, long time. Wouldn't you know it, there is a defect there underneath the surface, right where Track 3 would most likely be (reading inside out). 

Put it back in, put on the noise cancelling headphones, crank it up and there it is. Barely audible but there is some 'clicking' just under the surface. If you didn't have the log to point you to the place, you'd be hard pressed to hear it. Now I can't not hear it. 

Listen to the same track on this release, no noise. There is a v2 and a 320 out there, no noise. Dammit. The $50 for my record collection helped pay for this one. Reminds me of a song.

Anyhow, the guy I bought it from says he ripped it once to mp3 and didn't hear it, bought it for the collectibility factor. True or not, after his lame a** response - "maybe it's the equipment you are using" he says - I definitely would not recommend him to anyone (in fact, quite the opposite) for any purchases on discogs.

The seller he bought it from is a good seller on discogs I've used before but guaranteed he didn't do high level geek rip on it. Doesn't matter because I banana'd it. And toothpasted it. 

Reinforces why I hate CDs (especially CD-Rs) and why I have become friends with digital. Stop the overpriced resale market for CDs, especially junk CD-Rs such as this one. First time I've ever taken a loss in pursuit of bounty. OCD kicking in, must stop. I can stop. Really. 

P.S. 50 Grit sandpaper and a cement wall did not help it either. Now a limited edition of 109. 

Rave - Die Already

Upon hearing this news, it seemed fitting to post this.

On multiple levels - the fact that the show will even exist, the producer of the show and the network on which it will show - both of these album titles are apropos. 

It's the inevitable trajectory of all music styles - that against which music rebels consumes it in the end. 

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Some Scary Sh*t Right There

Popped up on my shuffle this evening.

Thought of this immediately, one of those images that has haunted me since childhood. And they say movies don't affect us.

Inspiration perhaps? Check out the deconstruction of this familiar theme in Track 4.

Then I listened to it and thus the title of the post. In a very good way.

TCS

Vinyl only versions, long out of print.

The foundation for the brilliant full-length release of icey cold precision filled with a strange, isolated sense of shimmering beauty, like the middle of winter in the Great Lakes, that brought dub techno out of the depths and into the world at large.

A game changer, as essential as anything released this century.

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P.S. Still sealed.

Trim Silence - Rediscovery (2016)

Trim Silence's drop of Souleyman on Thursday was just a teaser. Yesterday saw the release of a new album of 10 tracks.

Sounding good.

As we say to the twins, 'put on your listening ears' and show some support 

HERE

That Ol' Time Religion

Whether you call yourself religious or not, there is something compelling and mysterious, intoxicating even, about this music. It's a far cry from the modern 'pop' and sugar coated versions of religious yearning. There is soul, grit and honesty here that bears repeat listening.

I have the book of vintage postcards. A treasure.

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One of my favorite films. Granted, much of it has a staged feel but you just know that behind all that there is something real to be found here.

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No info needed, permeates American culture.

Owner Of A Lonely Dub

Not rare but not well known. 

Nice spin on a well known name.

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DeepWarmth - Night Sessions 2 (2016)

DeepWarmth (aka James Shain, aka Lilmanjs) is back with some remixes of tracks from other well known artists such as Milieu, aspect., substak and ocralab.

A talented and evolving artist who also runs the Cold Fiction Music label, one of the best netlabels on the Web, especially for electronic music fans who enjoy a varied array of sounds and styles on the more subdued tip.

'Name Your Price' offering but show some love if you can

HERE

The first Night Sessions, also on this label, can be found

HERE

LP Trilogy

As anyone who has followed electronica, especially the dance culture as it emerged from the underground during the 90s, knows, the idea of the "white label" was always a DJ's secret weapon, that artist or song that no one knew about, known only by the DJ.  That aesthetic permeates the culture of "underground" electronic music.  It's that dramatic tension of remaining underground yet striving for that following.

This label carries this torch and gives it a name as every release is from an Unknown Artist.  In truth, the artists seem to be fairly well known but they are given anonymity with the release to add to the mystique.  The label's discography is starting to name names.

I picked up on their 12" releases starting with 001 but it wasn't until I got wind of a full album release that I dropped some cash on LP001. Glad I did as it turns out it is an artist who I've followed for years.  If you give it a listen, it shouldn't be too hard to pick out who it is.  

The third installment dropped without much fanfare as I believe the jig is up and peaked as a capitalist venture here.

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P.S.

No. 105.

Trim Silence - Souleyman (Digital Single, 2016)

Good day for me as another one of my favorite discoveries, Trim Silence, has released a new single.

I know that flute sample. Thought it was from here but not quite sure. Gonna bug me 'til I remember

Love this guy's sound. 

HERE

Med Gen - The Inevitable Absorption (2016)

Sense/Net, one of the standout labels on my radar that sends a thrill when a new release is issued, is back with a release by Med Gen whose work is known to me in passing from the Minus Silence label, another one of my recent faves in the drone/silence/ambient/isolationist camp.

As always from the label it's a 'Name Your Price' offering but show some love if you can and keep the music alive.

Not meant to be listened to in passing it fits in the background or, better, with headphones on. In a dark room. When no one is home.

HERE

Anchorsong - 'Oriental Suite (Red Bull Studios Tokyo Session)'

One guy, one machine, sunk its teeth into me this morning.

Incredible, just had to share.

The Studio Stereo - Full Discography (27 Albums)

As if there isn't enough music to occupy, distract and satisfy our minds, The Studio Stereo out of Berlin has their entire BC catalogue available for €0.50 or more. That's 90% off.

Crazy not to drop what is a little more than $.50 for 27 releases of experimental electronic dub oriented music that is fresh, interesting and will have you coming back for repeat listens before moving on rapidly as we tend to do in our squirrel based culture.

Get it

HERE

(Click on an album and you'll see the Buy Now option on the Full Digital Discography)

Get Your Groove Back

I am familiar with many of the artists featured in these comps such as this group but far too often it is on a very shallow, superficial level. 

Go deep into the grooves and evolve.

Funk on, brothers and sisters, funk on.

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DRONARIVM - Into The White (New Year's 2016 Free Compilation)

Not sure what it is about 'drone' and especially music of a similar notion that is coming out of the Russian/Ukraine region in particular that so intrigues me. I think it has a lot to do with what we are fed in the news that attempts to sway and distort our views in a certain direction. Believe they call that propaganda.

Then there is this incredible music being made and I wonder to myself who these artists are and am curious about what they do and how they live. This music sets a certain mood, certainly, but it also tells me that there is life teeming within the bandwidth and this is an expression of those lives. The information to which we are often limited, especially in mainstream outlets, is in far too many ways disconnected from the lives that real people experience. Music has the ability to provide the connection that mere 'information' lacks.

Drone and similar sloooow music forces me to slow down which is why I struggle so often to listen to it as life forces us in constant motion. But when I do it is the most rewarding music as of late that has captivated my interest.

21 tracks to set the mood

HERE