Best New Releases from December 2020
While the pandemic has left no corner of underground electronic music untouched, December rounded out with impressive and diverse releases featuring Lawrence Le Doux, Love Over Entropy, Siarem, Estrato Aurora, Josef Gaard, Konduku, Kevin Paul Cahay, Four Tet, Timo Chinala, Kev Sheridan, and Roza Terenzi.
Lawrence Le Doux
Anther
Kalahari Oyster Cult
Kalahari Oyster Cult has launched a new series of Oyster Ballads releases dedicated to "the quieter spectrum of electro-powered semantics, from meditative ambient ballads to escapist downtempo jams."
"Made of recycled vinyl, each record will come out folded in a beautiful and unique artwork, depicting a singular form of a hybridized mineral named 'plastiglomerate' - literally an amalgam of stone and plastic waste gathered by the involved musician and fused together by Japanese eco-artist Sae Honda to form a singular piece of art that doesn't just question notions as waste and upcycling, but aims to more largely invite to reconsider the position of art as a vector for change," the label explains.
The series starts with the EP by Belgian veteran producer and musician Lawrence Baudoux, better known as Lawrence Le Doux. The four-track package provides a balance between retro-futuristic electronic textures, sprawling harmonics, and twisted rhythmic patterns.
The second track on the EP, "Anther," brings a lingering sense of nostalgic ambiance filled with warm harmonies and evocative lyricism.
Siarem & Estrato Aurora
Acacio
Dial Records
Dial Records closes the year with a surprise DIAL 2020 (IV). The fourth and final installment of their 20th-anniversary compilation series represents the stylish imprint. It features impressive contributions from Leafar Legov, Jordan GCZ, Katie Drover, Lawrence, Siarem & Estrato Aurora, and Bachelor Kisses, aka J*rn Elling Wuttke .
Spanish producers Siarem and Estrato Aurora join the Dial family with a beautifully deep contribution. A dystopian ambiance stands behind "Acacio'' built around elegant multilayered melodicism effortlessly evolving between sci-fi subtleties and hardware-driven rhythms.
Love Over Entropy
Discoconnected
SoHaSo
Nuno Dos Santo's respected record label, Something Happening Somewhere, in short SOHASO, is proud to present the fourth installment of their compilation series SOMEWHERE. Drawing on the label's diverse roster, the collection of 15 tracks represents a cross-section in ambient, deep sounds featuring new and established electronic music artists, including Love Over Entropy, Mattheis, Kurt Baggaley, Bas Dobbelaer, queniv, Will Oirson, Villete, among others. Like its predecessors, SOMEWHERE IV continues to expand its sonic palette and dynamics.
One of the stand-out tracks on the compilation comes from the Dutch electronic music maestro Love Over Entropy, which takes the listeners into the magical realm of flowing beats and analog sounds swirling in atmospheric dissonance.
Four Tet
Parallel 6
The highly respected UK producer Kieran Hebden, better known as Four Tet, just in time for Christmas quietly unveiled two new albums “Parallel” and “871,” featuring artwork by Jason Evans. This is a follow up to his “Sexteen Oceans” which was released earlier this year. In addition, Kieran Hebden also partnered with Thom Yorke and Burial for a couple of songs “Her Revolution” and “His Rope” which came out earlier this month.
“871” comprises 20 tracks recorded mostly between August 1995 and January 1997. The songs on the album encompass a broad range of movement from blurry washes of noise to mood-driven ambient soundscapes to ambient electric guitar textures.
The ten-track album “Parallel” is full of shapeshifting rhythms and radiant melodies fused with field recordings and ambient flavors. Embracing a warm atmosphere, “Parallel 6” conjures the tropical feel with its dancing bells, humming vocals hanging in the background, and a bubbling percussive rhythm that built effortlessly into a kaleidoscope of sonic colors.
Konduku
Devre
Nous'klaer Audio
Following a run of impressive releases on Nousklaer Audio, Delsin's Mantise series, Disk, and Idle Hands, Konduku returns to his home base Nous'klaer Audio with four tracks of atmospheric techno filled with robotic tentacles of percussive intricacies and abstract rhythmic patterns.
Anchored around a breezy three-note motif, the third track, "Devre" is immersed in an airy atmosphere meticulously wrapped into embracing curtains of chimes and bells. The rattling and bubbling sounds of "Devre" seemingly pierce its veil of atmospheric density into the lightweight polymorphic rhythms.
Kev Sheridan
Exploding Bursts Of Colour
arch
Arch, is a new project by Sweat Lodge Agency, Inland, and Mathias Schober. During the late summer and early autumn days, they threw a series of carefully curated live concerts at Berlin's Prince Charles named arch, an exercise in the new and bizarre language of socially distanced happenings. At each event, three live acts transmitted their take on post-club ambiance, experimental, minimalist, and avant-garde music. Boundaries were crossed, expectations exceeded, and a wave of new music came into existence as the artists on stage adapted and opened up to nutritiously rich, meditative zones.
'Life on Small Planets,' a ten-track album, is reminiscent of three sold-out arch events featuring Amandra, Fred Mann, Inland & John Gürtler, Jamaica Suk, Johanna Knutsson, Kev Sheridan, Magna Pia, Mathias Schober, Merrin Karras, and Perm & HAL. 'Life on Small Planets' is a refreshing reminder of the power and importance of contemporary electronic music.
Kev Sheridan adds an intricate palette of drone and ambient to the package with “Exploding Bursts Of Colour.” Drawing on cinematic and imaginary, the composition’s distant melodies and drones glow with the shimmering light of reflective beauty.
Timo Chinala
Zugzwang
Laut & Luise
Slovenian producer Timo Chinala shines brightly on the Cologne-based Laut & Luise imprint with an impressive debut album "Dreamscape." Across eight tracks, the artist creates a detailed sonic palette that oscillates between ambient and house, all with soft electronic edges and dreamy moods. Intricate rhythms, constantly evolving atmosphere, and rippling resonance propel the listener through a deeper network of unseen horizons and landscapes.
The fifth track, "Zugzwang," explores groovy rhythms and texture-rich atmospherics punctuated by eerie undertones. The ghostly vibes flow through in a subtle but intense way creating a dark atmospheric excursion.
Kevin Paul Cahay
Spatium Vacua
Music_is
The French producer and musician Kevin Paul Cahay has graced listeners with a gorgeous record, "Ruina Sequnti," released through Parisian imprint Music_is. The impressionism-oriented package showcases the abundance of infused melodic flares, evocative moods, and striking imagery.
On the last track of the EP, "Spatium Vacua," Kevin Paul Cahay creates a warm and inviting quiescence of time as lush vintage pads carry melancholic melodies like slow, iridescent waves on a moonlight after the storm. Somewhere in the middle of this sonic excursion, clockwork-like percussion slowly fades in and reminds us that even though everything looks still and feels numb, it is temporary and shall pass. All the bad things that we faced in the past several months will be behind us, and we'll dance and laugh all together again very soon.
Josef Gaard
Tzumu Chant
NORITE
Belgian hypnotic techno imprint NORITE celebrates its fifths anniversary with a new edition of the "Noritian Mysteries" various artist compilation series. The double CD collects 20 tracks highlighting producers who've previously released on the label and new artists from across the globe featuring Kyntral, Saphileaum, Forest on Stasys, Josef Gaard, Simone Bauer, The Alchemical Theory, among others.
Josef Gaard makes a beautiful contribution to the "Noritian Mysteries II" with a deep techno gem, "Tzumu Chant," premiered by Delayed. Read a full article here.
Roza Terenzi
On Those Clouds
Mindmap
Melbourne-based producer iota inaugurates his new record label with an impressive non-profit compilation simply titled “MM001.” The new imprint aims “ to provide a platform for emerging and established producers to share their music and raise money for a good cause. Whilst operating primarily as a music label, Mindmap's main purpose is to raise money for charity through multi-artist compilations, and hopefully down the line, become a social enterprise in itself.”
An excellent group of talent has been gathered up on the first release including De Lichting stalwarts Queniv, Eversines, and RDS. It also features tracks made by the Aussie artists such as Sam Brickel, Dashiell, Billus, Seedless, Pascal, Amulet, Underground City Loop, Nelson, as well as the established producer Roza Terenzi and the label founder iota. 100% of all proceeds from the compilation will be donated to Black Rainbow, an organization that works in the pursuit of good health and positive wellbeing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island LGBTIQ+SB Australia wide. (blackrainbow.org.au)”
After releasing a striking debut album “Modern Bliss'' through Planet Euphorique, Australian producer and a major supporter of the local dance scene, Katie Campbell, a.k.a. Roza Terenzi, makes an appearance on the Mindmap with a beautiful track “On Those Clouds.”
With its vibrant blend of breakbeat rhythms and dreamy melodic motifs, “On Those Clouds” wanders through atmospheric induced soundscapes and cosmic sounds.