BTM

One of the best series to hit during the heyday of the electronic music surge. Started off strong with DJs like Dave Seaman and Nick Warren throwing down some mixes proper with eclectic and eccentric tracks but the series eventually just rolled into a series of mixtapes by well known electronic music artists.

By the time the series ended electronic music was, quite literally, everywhere and there was little that was distinctive about this series.

For its time, however, these are essential to discover an incredible variety of tracks from artists that inspired a generation of electronic artists.

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Netlabel Day

Netlabel Day is back.

Lots and lots of free releases from independent netlabels featuring artists from around the world in genres and styles too many to mention.

Support the true indie spirit and get some new and experimental music to boot.

Don't forget to scroll through Bandcamp as well and search by 'Netlabel Day'.

Good stuff out there.

Check it out

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88 FM

For those who know, you know. You're welcome.

Another HTCIS exclusive.

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Biko (Live At The Blossom Music Center), 1986

His album IV was remastered and re-issued in 2015. As my Fiio is able to play lossless, the sound in 24/96 Hz is incredible. I've been on a binge revisiting the album and have stumbled across some documentaries and factoids surrounding its making.

It was a before/after moment when I picked it up on cassette at 14 years old in 1982 and digested it by playing over and over until I knew every word, every note and every sound. Took me right out of my suburban naivete and into the world at large and was part of my trajectory away from the world of rock music.

His 1986 tour introduced me to Youssou N'Dour and, unknown to me, I was at the very show from which this audio was taken. I actually was in a cast at the time and recorded it with a Walkman I sneaked in under the sling (crappy recording but still listenable now, sadly, long gone in the moves of life).

In light of recent events, this just seemed fitting.

From what I recall, the chanting went on for a long time, the entire venue in unison.

How far we've come, how far we haven't.

Analogue Dreams 2

The first from this label which in turn produced an incredible cast of artists throughout the late 2000s who charted a unique course for electronic music and helped establish a platform for the 'next generation' dub techno artists, many of whom are still making music today.

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Aside from dub techno and vaporwave, it is the post post-rock guitar based noodling that has captured my interest and keeps me transfixed. 

I highly recommend anything this artist has done.

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One off joint effort from one of the members of one of the heavyweights of the post-rock sound and fellow label mate. 

Its a short teaser with lots of promise, would be a shame if it's the last.

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Analogue Dreams

Electronic based noodling, an homage to the last transmitter in Scotland to switch off analogue television.

The team behind this needs no introduction.

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Seven Years of Home Normal

One of the better labels out there today. I discovered them in 2011 with bvdub's Tribes At The Temple Of Silence, the first of what would be seven release that year after the now classic White Clouds Drift On And On emerged from what seemed to be nowhere and the echospace label would continue its ascent from the underground. From the label:

Hello. Home Normal is a small record label originally founded in Tokyo in 2009. Since then we have been lucky enough to have released over eighty musical packages from some of the most talented music producers and sound dreamers all around the world. We've also managed to donate a significant amount to charities close to our hearts, and have been able (through the kind support of a good many people) to donate our money and time to supporting those affected by homelessness and isolation in Japan specifically. This has been developed through releases and most notably our sponsored shows around the world.

It's tough to keep up with all the great releases that flood us daily but this is definitely a label to keep in your feed as there are some gems here that are worth discovering when you are seeking more mellow, quiet, experimental offerings that require attentive listening.

Name Your Price offering

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The Temple Of Darkness Vol. 1

The tale of another label that has gone the way of ghosts in what was perhaps the heyday of blogging in the late 2000s. Not even sure how or when I came across these but I've got so many files I snatched during this time that it's only over time that I've even begun to dabble in them.

This one was a surprise as the title doesn't fit the notion of 'darkness' I had before listening. Excellent compilation of late 00s techno from a new(er) generation of music makers.

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Art Zero

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As often happens today there are brief moments of musical treasures popping in and out of existence. Like a solar flare or a virtual particle in the universe if you aren't paying attention, or don't know where to look, you'll miss it.

This was a brief flash and appears to now be defunct. The musical business is tough but there will always be art.

Rescue Knife - Enformig (2016) [Special Request]

 

The Energostatic Label has reached out to its fans for a special request for one of its artists who is facing cancer. From the label:

Dear Friends and Listeners, We are at loss and saddened by terrible news.

Our soul mate, MIKHAIL SCHEVCHENKO, also known as ENFORMIG, an outstanding live performer, great techno artist and a good man has CANCER! He has been fighting against disease for 2 years, resources of his family are exhausted. We have nothing else left, but ask for your help. Mikhail requires about $10k (equivalent to 250k UAH) for two rehabilitation courses.

Shocked by the news, we decided to make a release, consisting of Enformig's unreleased/demo tracks he submitted to us long-time ago. All funds received will be transferred to Mikhail's family to help him with the treatment.

PLEASE SHARE, REPOST & SUPPORT! HELP TO SAVE A HUMAN LIFE!"

It's a mere $2 but you can contribute more if you are able.

Show some love

HERE

Desublimation

'Old becomes new' doesn't mean anything any more; that bubble has popped and has collapsed upon itself. As can be seen and heard in the vaporwave phenomenon, even irony is difficult to find. 

Though I'm sure there is a philosophical rigour that I am lacking in the use of the word, I stumbled across the term desublimation some time ago when seeking the right word for explaining that 'feeling' of what was happening in the culture at large.

Some techno artists have sought an out from this paradox through the adoption of various monikers under which they perform (or, in some cases, by the song name).

Not sure if there is an intent of turning the nostalgia to which they point on its ear but there is some solid music behind the apparent joke. Below is a sampling of their work(s) and you can track down their larger body of work through the albums listed in the snapshot above.

Enjoy

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Nice collection of experimental tunes from Australia from the mid-90s. Volume 3, the most experimental of the bunch, is an upgrade from what's been floating around for years.

Even after all these years, these comps remain some of my favorites as they were my intro to the label and some artists, especially those on Volume 2, who have left quite an impact on the musical landscape.

Also did not realize until posting all three of the cover scans that the same image graces all three covers.

The History Of Rock

Intoxicates in dizzying, trance-like fashion.

Don't miss the comments.

The Cult Is Exposed

Turns out it wasn't just paranoia or hatred for the cult.

A**le Stole My Music

Leave. Now.

Recommendation 

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Abstract Ballet - MJ12 (2011)

By request from the ZeECc files. This was digital only as far as I know, no longer available as the label is now defunct.

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Dub Techno Blog Weekly Podcast

Just another shout out (see top left of the blog) for the Dub Techno Blog Live Show which airs live every Sunday at 5:00 p.m. GMT (12:00 EST in the US). 

What started out small has attracted a pretty loyal following and includes regular visits on the chat from some of the newest dub techno producers. Puts you in touch with new and often exclusive music as well as with the creators.

There is a Patreon account to support the show as well which I not only support but highly recommend. From $1 per month on up it's a great chance to show some real support. The many are more powerful when united than that of the few.

Get .wav files of the show for your donation.

SHOW

Support

MTG

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I've known about these compilations for many years now but it wasn't until I went overseas last year that I actually experienced the title. 

Sourced in Belgium, the magazine is well beyond its 20th year and the comps are now into the 100s, great to find new music if you can keep up with them.

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Abstract Ballet - MK Ultra (2012)

Solid 'second wave' dub techno from the ZeECc label now sadly defunct.

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Tybercyle

The news that Prince had died was rather a strange bit of news. I was sad, sure, but it did not have much of an impact. Trust me, 1999 and Let's Go Crazy were regular spinners on the turntable but I was not a Prince fan. Phenomenal musician, artist and guitar player, justifiably eccentric and insulated. 

But it did not have meaning, just a tinge of sadness as I reminisced and strolled down to the basement in hopes that my copies of his albums on vinyl were still there as they went through the roof after he died. Ah, but to no avail. Hopefully they are spinning on a turntable somewhere.

Anyhow, I seem to be hovering in between ambient, drone and noise these days. The dub techno thing is the air in which I swim but it is the ambient, drone and noise that rattles my cage and gets my attention.

I've had this comp for a long time now from one of the better netlabels out there and this one is chock full of musical cacophony. Took me a while to warm up to this because it's, well, a bit noisy. But it has grown on me with each spin (the vinyl spirit still lives!), an appreciation for each song just as it is with no expectation projected into it. 

In the right mood it's oddly enjoyable. 

Name Your Price offering 

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P.S. You can get the entire label's output for €1 or a little over $1 USD. That's 90% off. Don't sleep.

Get Your Chakras Aligned

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Have had a single rip low bit rate mp3 of the first one here for years, was a very early discovery in the whole blog thing. This was back when I knew nothing about CUE sheets so deleted the original CUE log and was left with this, the lone holdout in my collection of single rip mp3s.

Finally got an upgrade and was unaware of the second in this series until recently.

Adding a 'spiritual' vibe to DJ mixes sometimes risks going the way of cheese but these are some solid mixes circa the mid-2000s with a bit of a twist with the whole bossa/lounge thread throughout.  

JBO

If I could pick one compilation and one label to introduce future generations to electronic music as it had evolved by the late 90s it would probably be this one. 

Granted, by the time of this release there were a thousand genres and sub-genres as everyone sought not only to innovate but to capitalize on where music was headed. This one is solid and stands up over time and many of the artists on here are still doing their thing.

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Get Yer Yag Ya's Out

Where the scientist meets the artist, where math meets nature and the computer meets analog to create something magical.

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Tiki Bars, Hawaiian Shirts and Bongos

Used to pick as many of these on vinyl as I could at the thrift stores. This is not the dub influenced lounge music as we think of it today. Although it may have been taken seriously by some, this is lowbrow at its best and an entire ethos was created around it, more of an insulated view of the exotic other, an imaginary fantasy of an alternate world that may or may not exist.

Trust me, you'll have the urge to take out the tiki torches, Hawaiian shirts and bongos and watch Gilligan's Island reruns.

Enjoy, and for the real thing hit those thrift stores.

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Ahimsâ (1997)

Sorry I've gone dark for a while. Let's just say there are some events in my life, which I may write about once they've passed, that are causing me to question most everything. This isn't the usual stresses in life, this is something I could never have imagined. Exciting, nerve wracking, all consuming, potentially life changing, for better or for worse, it's most certainly a before/after series of events.

Anyhow, this is not exactly a rare compilation by any means but it has been quite difficult to find through the usual channels.

Excellent, lesser known collection of 'darker' or 'experimental' sounds mid-90s style from around the world with a heavy emphasis on some Dorobo label mates. 

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F – M CDOT G (2013)

There are times in my life when I need noise. A bit cranky this morning, sort of directionless and not sure quite why so was even more irritable. The shuffle was shuffling and nothing was sticking until this one dropped.

It drives those in my house crazy (this is music how?) but for me it is therapeutic, cleansing, dusting off those cobwebs that turn introversion into selfish whining.

This isn't a Merzbow or power electronics kind of noise it's just the sound of analog and machines devoid of human emotion and that may be why it works as therapy.

From the label:

"F – M CDOT G drops 3 tracks of undiluted dark ambient on you. Recorded live at the kitchen table by the two unnamed members of this project, with minimal means and straight to good old cassette tape for that extra hum of ferro chrome. 

The three tracks, named after slight variations in Holland’s gravity field, feature machinery, contact mics, weird phone apps and field recordings and are meant to lull you in a state of mental relaxation. The tracks evoke a dark sci fi imagery of lost planets, eroded space equipment and strange streches of travel where absolutely nothing happens and all sense of time is lost."

Name your price

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