VARIOUS ARTISTS
EED 05
EED05
Expanding Electronic Diversity 2005
10 Tracks. 60mins16secs

Net labels have become increasingly more important in the last couple of years, with a myriad of new imprints popping out of nowhere. Very much an underground phenomenon still, these labels, often ran by musicians who have decided to use the web as a way to reach people, are intrinsically extremely versatile due to the running cost being a fraction of traditional labels. This also allows them to release music at a more sustained pace right from the start.

Yet, despite rapidly growing, the audience of these labels often remains tiny, and in order to reach a wider audience, some have got into the habit of releasing regular CD compilations. Recent releases by labels such as Boltfish or Audiobulb to name but two have been clear demonstration of the impact of such structures. Expanding Electronic Diversity (EED) emerged in 2004 and rapidly gained momentum with a series of excellent releases by the likes of David Tagg, Matthieu Bauer, Dave Shichman or BRTLMN to name but a few.

EED 05 collects ten brand new tracks by ten different artists. Although covering a wide musical spectrum, from classic electronica (Matthieu Bauer, NuOpSys) and guitar-led ambient (David Tagg, Music In 2D) to more sombre and experimental moments (Another’s Bass, Bazaar), the mood is very much subdued, with the majority of artists involved dealing subtle and delicate soundscapes, presented either within intricate structures or exposed on wonderfully luscious and spacious compositions. Surprisingly considering the variety of these ten tracks, this album appears extremely consistent as a whole, as if each artist was working on part of a much bigger and more complex project. This contributes to make this one of the finest collections of electronic-based compositions around.

VARIOUS ARTISTS
London Electrics
LE01CD
London Electrics Labels 2006
12 Tracks. 59mins50secs

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London Electrics is a new structure in which London-based independent electronic labels, design agencies and promoters have joined forces to provide a one-stop shop for projects based around electronic music in the capital. Founded by AI Records, Benge’s Expanding Records, Highpoint Lowlife, Seed Records, SRL and Uncharted Audio, with additional involvement from Bleep.com, Build and Further.info, the first major document to come out of this meeting of talents is this first volume of London Electrics. Featuring tracks from Expanding’s Benge and Vessel, Highpoint Lowlife’s Bovaflux and Fisk Industries, SRL’s Blamstrain and 11t1, AI’s Jacen Solo and Yellotone, Seed’s Digitonal and Posthuman and Uncharted Audio’s LJ Kruzer and Line, this compilation is a masterful exercise in bringing together some of London’s most interesting and upcoming artists.

The tone is resolutely laidback, melodic and peaceful, offering a sharp contrast to the traditional hustle and bustle of city life and seems to position London Electrics as an escapist structure of sort. The genres covered here are quite varied, ranging from luscious classic electronica to hip-hop infused techno and post-rock tinted electro-pop, yet the mood remains constant all the way. Although Benge’s Panhard, Jacen Solo’s Abstract Soul or LJ Kruzer’s What Was Your Day Like prove worthy highlights, each track is set within the context of the whole album and very much works as part of the overall structures. Yet, none of the tracks collected here were specifically composed for this album.

With further volumes in the series announced, this album may just be an indication of things to come. It is not clear yet whether each album will present a different musical aspect of electronic music in London, but, considering the consistency of this album and the extreme diversity of the music released by the labels involved, it is to be expected that London Electrics will, in the future, define and showcase a far wider spectrum.

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Suburb. The Record Label
SUB001CD
SRL 2006
14 Tracks. 69mins39secs

The newest imprint involved in the London Electric project is the South Bank-based Suburb The Record Label (SRL). Introducing the label is a fourteen-track compilation packaged in a soft clear plastic sleeve with the label’s logo embossed on the front. Limited to one thousand copies, this label sampler collects tracks by relative newcomers 11t1, Nameless, who is one half of AI act Yunx, Immovable Object, who is the other, or Hyl, the new project from Normal’s Steve Hyland, and works by the likes of Praveen, Bovaflux or Blamstrain.

That SRL shares part of its roster with the excellent AI Records doesn’t seem the least fortuitous, as both labels appear to share a same vision of musical aesthetics and a flair for cinematic electronic music, yet, if this debut release is anything to go by, SRL hints at more intimate forms. While this album undoubtedly benefits from the excellent contributions from Bovaflux (the wonderful Nunnying2 being one of his best work to date), Praveen with the dreamy glitch-ridden Two Sides, or Blamstrain’s intricate Climate Control and Lumi, the focus should be set on the label’s own artists, with Buddy Peace and 11t1 in particular demonstrating incredible potential. While the former has already been spotted on Lex, 11t1’s debut album is due to be the first full length released from the label.

With SRL launching this February, this very strong compilation and the link with London Electrics will no doubt help raising the label’s profile, not only in London, but on the UK electronic circuit.

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Idol Tryouts Two
GI51
Ghostly International 2006
27 Tracks. 122ins11secs

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The brain-child of Sam Valenti IV, Ghostly International sprung out of a dorm room at the the University of Michigan in 1999, and the label has rapidly become one of the most acclaimed US electronic-focussed imprint. With a roster including artists as diverse as Dykehouse, Tadd Mullinix, who officiates as Dabrye and James T. Cotton, Lusine, Solvent, Mobius Band or Twine, the label has, from its early days, been a platform for a wide range of electronic-based music to develop from, and, with its Spectral subsidiary, has been shaping

Follow up to the first Idol Tryouts compilation, released in 2003, this second collection spreads twenty-seven tracks over two CDs, each with its own focus. The first CD, subtitled Avant-Pop, collects a series of uncompromissing compositions with a resolutely abstract pop edge. Featuring tracks from Mobius Band, Skeletons & The Grid-Faced Boys, Matthew Dear, Solvent, Dabrye or Benoit Pioulard, there is a clear emphasis on vocal tracks, denoting a shift in focus in electronic music in recent years. The tracks featured here are in majority upbeat and offer a wide array of interpretations of the genre, from the quirky electro-pop of Solvent, with heavy references to the contrived pop of Depeche Mode or Human League of the early eighties, to the complex and inspired futuristic jazz of Skeltons & The Grid-Faced Boys, the sepia tones infused with hip-hop grooves of Dabrye’s Magic Says and the abstract electro folk of Benoit Pioulard.

The second CD showcases a gentler and more intimate selection of tracks from Loscil, Sybarite, Cepia, Greg Davis, Aeroc, Twine and Richard Devine to name but a few, all gathered under a mysterious tag (SMM, suggested to stand for Sensual Machine Music or Stately Modern Melodies). If this exercise reminds of the rather painful IDM idiom and seems rather pointless, the content of this second CD is resolutely atmospheric, highlighting the more delicate side of the label’s releases. The diversity of the compositions collected here is as impressive as that of the first CD and is undoubtedly a credit to the label’s visionary approach. While Loscil, Deru, Cepia or Kiln remain very much within a purely electronic scope, Greg Davis, Sybarite or Twine apply more organic textures.

As diverse as it is, this second instalment in the Idol Tryouts series provide a comprehensive view of one of the most constantly eclectic labels around.