Best New Releases from August 2018
by Irina Kotik
August had been at the forefront of stunning release, amazing albums and impressive remixes saturated with depth, intricacy, and power. This month sees the Belgian producer Kiani and His Legion donning his techno moniker Far Out Radio Systems via his own Tanzbar Records, Dutch multitalented techno maestro Boris Bunnik’s return as Silent Harbor to Copenhagen’s Echocord imprint with a gorgeous new album, Mary Yalex’s fruitful collaboration with the Tokyo’s ADSR Collective, Canadian producer Bwana stepping up under his own name Nathan Micay to Whities, Orbe’s bringing his production prowess to Maceo Plex’s Lone Romantic label, a dancefloor-friendly makeover of LCD Soundsystem’s “American Dream” album single “Oh Baby” by the ESP label boss Lovefingers,
Tornado Wallace’s magnificent contribution to Wildlife’s album remix package, the New Zealand’s duo Chaos in CBD bringing stunning deep house excursions to their own newly-fledged imprint, In Dust We Trust, the Dutch electronic music wizard Love Over Entropy putting a magic touch on Marc DePulse’s eponymous new single and Einzelkind’s hypnotic contribution to XLR8RPlus’ series.
Nathan Micay
First Casualty
Whities
The Berlin-based Toronto producer Nathan Micay, better known as Bwana, makes an impressive debut under his own name on Young Turks subsidiary Whities label.
Capturing the wonder and intricacies of the sophisticated electronic sound, Nathan Mickey delivers an exceptional package. Here is what the artist intends to say about this release:
"These are without a doubt the most personal tracks I have written to date. I made them as a sort of exercise in self-therapy during my first few months in Berlin. As time has gone on, more meanings have unfolded with each listens. For me, these tracks are a rebuttal to the endless churn of negativity in the news and online. They have become my battle cry in the club, something to mobilize while also offering a chance to escape it all, even briefly.”
“First Casualty” is carried by a gorgeous tapestry of bright, colorful melodies, infectious bassline, and positive, summery vibes.
Mildlife
The Magnificent Moon (Tornado Wallace Remix)
Research Records
A jazz-funk Aussie collective of Adam Halliwell, James Donald, Kevin McDowell and Thomas Shanahan, better known as Mildlife, continues to flourish on Research Records imprint. Following hot on the heels of their impressive 2017 debut album “Phase”, the Research Records offer up a remix package featuring reinterpretation from a veteran Australian electronic music producer Tornado Wallace,
Melbourne’s Butter Sessions label boss Sleep D and exciting Swedish disco -house duo Mount Liberation Unlimited.
The Berlin-based Melbourne electronic music producer Tornado Wallace dives into the past on his mesmerizing version of “The Magnificent Moon” where classic old-school breakbeat and funky groove blend beautifully with digitally mutated vocals of Kevin McDowell.
Einzelkind
High Times
XLR8RPlus
The online music platform XLR8R brings the third edition of their XLR8RPlus series which supports independent music and journalism. “Each month,” describes the music outlet, “we will share unreleased exclusive tracks from different artists that we feel are pushing the scene forward in inspiring ways. These tracks will be available for download in high quality .wav format for the duration of one month; only subscribers for that particular month will have them.”
This months installment features contributions from German veteran producer Roman Flügel, a multitalented Japanese musician, Wata Igarashi and Frankfurt’s Einzelkind.
Clocking in at just over 11 minutes, Einzelkind’s “High Times”
cloaks a pacing rhythm in hazy atmospherics. The subtle brushes of cooing background vocals, humming bassline and hypnotizing, groovy percussion captivate the listener across the sonic spectrum of sophisticated deep house.
Chaos in CBD
Double Dribble
In Dust We Trust
Hailing from New Zealand, brothers Ben and Luis Helliker-Hales have been making a splash on the electronic music world under the name Chaos In The CBD, since their relocation to London in 2012. With a slew of successful releases on London labels Church and Rhythms Section International, Mule Musiq, the duo is now back to their own newly-fledged imprint, In Dust We Trust. Entitled “Multiverse”, the three-track package is a second release on the label and is described as:
‘Multiverse’ is a word used to describe an infinite group of disparate universes including the ones currently inhabited by humans. A myriad of realms that sit side by side, undetected by our senses, surround us at any given moment. The multiverse theory was first confirmed by tracking leakage of electromagnetic waves filtering from one dimension into the next. When these waves were transposed to fit into frequencies audible by the human ear, the recordings were studied by a team of scientists, who found that they contained rhythmic elements that resembled a speech pattern of an alien language.”
The second track “Double Dribble” sees Chaos In The CBD crafting a sonic journey composed of airy sounding, elegant deep house groove, gorgeous dreamy melody and ethereal soundscapes neatly juxtaposed against the acid bassline.
Orbe
Edelweiss
Lone Romantic
Spanish producer Orbe, the alias of Fernando Sanz, brings his production prowess to Maceo Plex’s Lone Romantic label. After numerous releases under his own Orbe Records and an impressive 2017 contribution to John Talabot’s Hivern Discs, Orbe strikes again with a brand new EP.
Entitled “Hohenheim”, 3-track package is delicately balancing between dancefloor euphoria and futuristic electronic sounds.
Named after the Edelweiss, a sweet little alpine flower, “Edelweiss” is a mind-melting track led by nostalgic undertones that are punctuated by a sparse, almost icy synth lines and irresistible, hypnotic rhythms sprinkled with futuristic techno vibes.
Far Out Radio Systems
Voronoi
Tanzbar Records
Belgian Tanzbar Records continues their musical journey with the return of the label boss, the Far Out Radio Systems. The fast-rising Belgian producer and Tanzbar Records label honcho Thomas Neyens, best known for his work as Kiani and His Legion, who has previously released on the likes of Something Happening Somewhere, Curled Recordings, Difu, among others, turns in the third installment of the eponymous vinyl-only series. The powerful four-track collection spins through an array of kaleidoscopic sounds interlaced with mighty drum machines and melodic, acid-tinged flourishes.
Saturated with acid lines and fortified with emotional lyricism, “Voronoi” is a striking affair filled with warm pads, evocative acid-laced melody and driving percussive elements that will get listeners into the hypnotic groove.
Silent Harbor
Noctiluca
Echocord
Dutch multifaceted techno producer and Transcendent label boss Boris Bunnik, better known as Conforce, has further cemented his reputation as a vital voice in the international electronic music world. Enjoying creating music under a wide range of monikers such as Conforce, Hexagon, Mi-24, Vernon Felicity, Severnaya among others, the incredibly talented and prolific artist returns as Silent Harbor to Copenhagen’s Echocord imprint with a new album, “Noctiluca”. The six-track mind-bending fusion of ambient atmospherics and enveloping dub techno excursions is a follow-up on his 2015’s “Hinterland” released via Deep House Channel.
The mesmerizing title track remains true to its ambient techno core with featureless atmospheric soundscapes infused with dub-laced techno elements and abstract, organically evolving textures.
FictionLab had an opportunity to talk to the talented artist about his album in the interview below:
http://www.fictionlabmusic.com/fiction-lab-blog/2018/8/8/labchat-with-conforce
Marc DePulse
Digital Detox (Love Over Entropy Retox)
Tenampa Recordings
he newest release from Mexican imprint Tenampa Recordings welcomes German producer Marc DePulse to the family with a delightfully dark and twisted “Digital Detox” EP, alongside a remix courtesy of Love Over Entropy.
Dutch electronic music wizard Love Over Entropy puts his magic touch on Marc DePulse’s eponymous new single. Stripping down the melody and putting the main focus on the percussion, he takes the listener on the timeless, cosmically energized journey. In artists own words, “To do the remix, I drastically reworked, or got rid of the melodic elements and focused on the percussion and atmosphere. I feel that strategy usually works well when the original has really prominent melodies, and I want to create a different perspective.”
LCD Soundsystem
Oh Baby (Lovefingers Dub)
DFA Records
LCD Soundsystem is an iconic electro-punk band from New York. Formed in 2002, the band is fronted by a musician and co-founder of DFA Records James Murphy. Almost one year after its original release, two tracks from their latest album “American Dream” have been given a remix treatment by celebrated German producer Dixon and ESP Institute label boss Lovedingers. The result is two incredibly diverse, dancefloor-friendly makeover packages which feature two versions of the album opener “Oh Baby” remixed by Lovefingers, a Dixon’s take on “I Used To”, and “Pulse (V.1)”, a 14-minute instrumental composition which was not included on the album.
The LA producer Lovefingers has turned in two gorgeous versions of “Oh Baby”. His dub remix elegantly fuses undulated synth-bass lines and LCD Soundsystem’s hypnotic mantra with the strip-down structure of the original.
Mary Yalex
Some Kind Of Joy
ADSR Collective
The ADSR Collective from Tokyo is bringing the talented German artist Mary Yalex to the limelight with its 9th label release and first vinyl only release. After a string of successful EPs across her own, Yalex Recordings, imprint and the quality underground label KANN, Mary Yalex is now collaborating with the ADSR Collective on her latest release. “The music coming from a long time friend who we featured a few years back on the blog,” described the label. “We‘ve been a fan of Mary’s music for many years, and after hearing how her tracks are layered with melody and emotion it’s easy to see why”. The two-tracks “Some Kind Of Joy” EP reflects a diverse blend of influences from Mary’s upbringing near the Thuringian forest in Erfurt and the industrial spirit of her current hometown Leipzig.
Opening up the new package is title track “Some Kind Of Joy” which revolves around clean organic soundwaves filled with melancholic flourishes that ebb and flow in perfect tandem.