Blossom – Blue Balloons

Mellow guitars start this release out, but it doesn’t take long for the nicely mellow breakbeat to show up. Blue Balloons is reminiscent of Revolution Void and Boards of Canada, though not as all over the place – these tracks are more structured, and would be perfect background for some trip-hop vocals. I especially love the big fat square bass synth in my favorite track from the album and that is track 5 – Nightbeat. All in all, this is an excellent release, one of the best I’ve heard this year.

Blossom – Blue Balloons

Lee Rosevere – Colourless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously

Lee Rosevere does his own brand of instrumental funk on this release. With a quirky, retro feel, the six tracks run the gamut from smooth and jazzy to hip-hop to beatles-esque. Top notch drum programming keeps the funkiness in the forefront. Out of the whole set, I think track six, Stormbox, is my favorite, mainly because of the huge drumbreak in the background and the big ol’ fat synth doing weird things in the foreground, but also it’s interesting to hear samples from who knows where fading in and out and sounding all out of place and discordant, and finally the entire track implodes in a synth patch nightmare. This is definitely worth a listen – and if you’re like me, you’ll want to have this blazing out the windows of your car as well.

Lee Rosevere – Colourless Green Ideas Sleep Furiously.

Kovacs – Eastern Block EP

KovacsKovacs brings six tracks of odd, dark pseudo-jazz / downtempo. Beginning with Trip to Nomoreland, we are introduced to the EP with a sort of dream-like flight instruction mixed with some Sputnik transmission type noises. This all quickly gives way to a mellow tune that reminds me of Revolution Void. Next up is the slow mover Torespont, a droning cello with jazz drums, a moaning sax, and other assorted orchestral instruments to form an audio canvas so dark you’ll need a flashlight to find your way to the next track – Jazz.zene. I’m still trying to place the accent in the opening sample. Faster paced and more lively, the rest of the EP delivers a strange, dark message, one that we are all aware of but don’t really want to think about. The last track lightens up just a bit, waltzing by in two and a half minutes.

This is a great release, big thanks to Kovacs for bringing his music to the world.

Mark.Nine – Artificial Horizon

Mark.Nine cover artMark.Nine brings a great set of tracks to the table. Very reminiscent of BoC, Mark.Nine utilizes breakbeats over washy synths that create a perfect mood for chilling out. This style could be called ‘inspirational breakbeat’. Artificial Horizon contains fifteen tracks that sort of fade into and out of your head, instilling a flying feeling. Very interesting for the detail oriented type, this is one of the best finds in quite a while.

Foolk – Bleep Bleep

A new ep from Foolk has been released. Foolk, formerly known as Foolcut, does a sort of hip hop / breakbeat / jazz thing thats difficult to describe. You just have to hear it. This ep brings three tracks of energetic electronic music to your ears. More organic and flowing than his previous release, but still in typical Foolcut style, the basslines fit perfectly with the almost glitched out synth / sample work. Track one, Bleep Bleep, sounds almost like a reworking of Royksopps ‘Eple’. Next is ‘Space Blues’, a chillout track with rap vox over it. Sounds perfect, I only wish I knew what the lyrics were. Or what language for that matter. Apologies in advance if they aren’t family friendly. The last track is a live version of Gorillaz ‘Clint Eastwood’.

All in all, this is a great release, especially combined with the previous one.

Thanks to Ladybird for sending me a note about this release.

Surbahar – Gopal

GopalSurbahar (the artist, not the instrument) has released two tracks for us to enjoy. The first, Gopal, is a mellow, dub like ambient electro piece that is sure to chill you out. Next up is Radesha, a guitar laden instrumental with plenty of ethnic percussions and breakbeats that move on into an ethnic vocal to keep you interested all the way through. Surbahar brings an excellent release to the table, be sure to check out his previous release on the same net label.