From the Kahvi Collective, probably the most prolific outlet of quality artists on the internet for the last decade, comes Mikael Fyrek with his icy set of five tracks. Captivating, glitched drums and thoughtful melodies are the centerpiece of this release. Ambient sounds are integrated with long drawn out themes, funky bass sounds supporting it all. This is one of the best from Kahvi yet.
Author Archives: bahgheera
Kovacs – Eastern Block EP
Kovacs 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.
M.A.Z.C.A. – First Hour Of Summer
An Italian post rock band – the Italians do it a tad bit different, a little heavier. Clocking in at thirty four minutes, M.a.z.c.a. has some nice wall-of-sound type music coming at us with this release from the Selva Elettrica net label. I’m not a big fan of the vox on track 6, as it causes us to step into the realm of shoegazer for a moment, but other than that this is an excellent release. M.a.z.c.a. isn’t afraid to try new and experimental things, such as all sorts of various instruments, adding vocals here and there – with and without words – and other interesting details that aren’t common in your garden variety postrock band. Enjoy!
Audiokonstrukte – Smart Echoes For Sensitive Ears
Audiokonstrukte creates jazzy, noisy electro awash with dub reggae influences. Beautiful deep synth sounds and bouncy, tight drum beats combine with funky square basslines, with some glitched out echoes and bleeps and blips thrown in for good measure. There are also a lot of simulated natural sounds Рby which I mean sounds you would expect to hear in your backyard just before the sun touches the horizon. The careful listener will be rewarded by noticing these sounds. Audiokonstrukte sounds similar to R̦yksopp. Enjoy!
Audiokonstrukte – Smart Echoes For Sensitive Ears
one bit wonder – Audiokonstrukte’s net-label.
Krii – Cafe Feelgood
Krii hands us a superb lofi dance track. Good beat, funky rhytmic sounds, etc. All around great track. It does what it says on the tin – makes you feel good.
Slava – Sunflower
Slava brings us some dark, ambient sounds. I’m not sure how to classify this one, it’s experimental but not *too* experimental. Slava crosses the line into the realm of the weird, but doesn’t go too far on Sunflower. A range of styles are represented here – ambient, breakbeat, electro-blues, jazz, d’n’b, a little bit of everything is on the table. This is a strange pick for me, but it’s doing the job – keeping my ears happy.
Basementality – See It Coming
Basementality puts out some sweet instrumental hip hop. Great basslines, just the right amount of ambience, awesome funky beats and old school samples blend together in Basementality’s sonic palette to bring us a perfect record.
Tokyo Dawn, it LIVES!!!
Ok, first some background info. Waaay back in the day, when I first started really getting into music (meaning I suddenly realized there was more to music than Megadeth and commercial rock, lol), I stumbled across this new thing on the net called ‘net-labels’. The very first one I found was called Tokyo Dawn Records, and there was such a huge library of great tracks, I thought it would take forever to exhaust it all. Then one day Tokyo Dawn disappeared, leaving behind a simple page stating that Tokyo Dawn would return soon, brand new music, etc. etc. The website stayed that way for at least five years, I’d check it a couple times a year to see if it had come back and it hadn’t. I don’t know how long it’s been since the last time I checked, but now I get a server not responding error so Tokyo Dawn Records is officially gone.
Now, I just stumbled across possibly the greatest find yet. An ftp server on scene.org that has a catalog of Tokyo Dawn files from the late 90’s. The files are in mod .xm format, so make sure your player knows how to deal with them. (Winamp does just fine.) Mods are what we kids had back in the days before mp3, heh heh.
So without further adieu – Tokyo Dawn ftp site.
Control – Data Flow
Control offers eight tracks of rolling ambient melodies washing over tight dnb drumlines. Think Hearts Of Space with a drum’n’bass flair. While the album overall could do with a bit more variation here and there, it is a completely enjoyable experience that I look forward to again and again.
Hermelin
Hermelin brings us 53 minutes of outstanding postrock, comparable to Milhaven and Explosions In The Sky. Starting out with a Nine-Inch-Nails-esque noise track, we suddenly break into an all over the place guitar riff that introduces a track that completely grabs your attention until it dissolves back into noise at the end of the track. The rest of the album follows suit – droning and pulsing guitar riffs with a touch of wah pedal here and there, piercing powerful melodies and gentle rolling variations. This is the best album I’ve found in months, be sure to give Hermelin a listen.