ICARUS
Sylt Remixes
RUMPCD011
Rump Recordings 2009
14 Tracks. 75mins38secs

Buy: iTunes

For the last decade or so, Icarus have continuously refined their sophisticated electronica, feeding it with layers of found sounds, prepared instruments, noise, complex rhythmic structures and electro-acoustic forms. Formed of Ollie Bown and Sam Britton, Icarus started in the mid nineties as a pretty conventional electronic act with a taste for minimal forms and beats infused with drum & bass, but progressively, the pair brought in less conformist sounds and developed a very different approach to their work, which reached full maturity for the first time with their 2004 album I Tweet The Birdy Electric, published on Leaf. Sylt, released in 2007 on Danish imprint Rump Recordings, was built around a series of live improvisations, which were later dismantled and reassembled into the seven tracks that made the album.

This remix album sees a wide array of artists, from Opiate to Isan, Svartag to Xela, Digitonal to Ital Tek, getting their hands on Sylt and once again pull its sounds apart to create something entirely new. Continue Reading »

BURNT FRIEDMAN
Con Ritmo
NON26
Nonplace Records 2000/2009
12 Tracks. 59mins08secs

Buy: CD | iTunes
Stream: Spotify

When he released Con Ritmo, almost ten years ago, German musician and producer Bernd ‘Burnt’ Friedman had already been publishing music, under a variety of pseudonyms, and with the Nu Dub Players or Flanger, a project he co-steered with Atom™, since the mid-nineties, appearing on labels such as ~Scape or Ash International. This album was only the third release, and the first album, from his then recently set up Nonplace Records imprint.

Playing keyboards and vibraphone, Friedman surrounded himself with the tongue-in-cheek Disposable Rhythm Section, featuring guitarist Josef Suchy and Bernie The Bolt, who brought Latin flavours to the drums and percussions. On Das Wesen Aus Der Milchstrasse, the trio were joined by long-time friend and collaborator Atom Heart on Moog. The tracks collected on this record were culled from live recordings made during a two-week period.

Now presented in fully remastered glory and featuring four additional tracks, Con Ritmo has lost none of its charms and quirks. Continue Reading »

Rival Consoles first appeared two years ago with a first EP released on London-based Erased Tapes. Since, Ryan Lee West he has delivered two more EPs spanning quite a wide sound world, from Aphex-like abstract drum’n’bass to razor-sharp techno. His debut album, released on Erased Tapes once again, expands greatly on the latter by collecting eleven thumping techno cuts with enough edges to last a lifetime. We took this opportunity to talk to the man about how the album came together, how he uses beats against melody, what it feels like to have his album out in the open and which console is the one. Continue Reading »

YVAT
Kunzite
BOLTLP007
Boltfish Recordings 2009
12 Tracks. 42mins24secs

Buy: MP3

Although a new addition to the ever expanding Boltfish roster, Yvat is far from a new comer, having under his belt a considerable amount of albums, EPs and compilation appearances. Hailing from Bucharest, Romania, where he manages his own sound design agency, Yvat, born Octavian Justinian Uta, released his first album, Concerto For Violin And Analog Orchestra, in 2003 on Birmingham-based imprint Experimental Seafood, and since went on to work with Subliminal Tape Club, Cactus Island, +G6PD and Envizagae or Patpong Records.

Right from the onset, Kunzite is a gritty and angular affair, where cold mechanical structures drive the momentum while more subtle touches bring unexpected glimmers of emotion and warmth throughout. Continue Reading »