Category: Quick Picks

Three Drones, by Wóma

Quick Picks

UK Microlabel HIRU presents this ambient drone ep from producer Wóma.

Three Drones is quite a utilitarian title for this release – opting for a no-nonsense approach to dark ambient and drone stretched across 3 longform tracks.

Created using an instrument that’s just as much a Sculpture as a musical device, Wóma shreds and scrapes across the bleak landscape. The sounds fold into each other, welding the harsh metallic edges with bold and bombastic low-horns for a bizarre, neo primitive feeling. There is an ancient and cavernous essence to the entire project that is only enhanced by the improvisational techniques applied.

Perfect addition to your Dungeons and Dragons playlist and whip it out the next time your player group is diving deep under Baulder’s Gate in search of treasure! Additionally great for moody mornings, rainy days or moments of introspection.

You can stream and download the project from HIRU’s bandcamp page.

Childhood, by NOAH KWID

Quick Picks

Magnificently expressive artistic indie rock from the mind of Californian NOAH KWID.

Childhood is a little tape with big dreams and beautiful ideas housed in a quaint collection of 4 songs. Soaked in a soft and intimate essence – as if sitting in your friends garage with the door open during a light rainstorm, listening to a band practice in the corner as you roll your spliff.

The songs are tasteful construction of sparse yet clever vocals, hearty guitar and intriguing horns. The use of woodwinds and flutes is a welcome addition to the sonic palette, adding a unique depth to the tracks. The unique artistic expressiveness would make David Byrne proud – ultimately boiling down to a very wholesome and honest experience.

The tape is only 4 tracks long, however that becomes deceptive once you press play. Each track lives in it’s own world – bedroom microcosms of emotions and human energy, expressed in pure electro-acoustic waves. For all the pretentious flourishes I am using in this article it’s quite a down-to-earth listen.

The project is available on cassette as well as digital edition via the artists bandcamp page!

Chill Noise, by Phirnis

Quick Picks

Brought to us by German label Strategic Tape Reserves is this long playing industrial noise album Chill Noise by Viennese artist Phirnis.

Chill Noise, for the titles, is surprisingly full of energy, exploration and movement. Not to say it isn’t relaxing, of course – but if you’re looking for a collection of melodic field recordings you can keep on walking! This album is a wonderful study of industrial ambience – combining harsh tones with gentle atmospherics for a dense and intriguing journey.

The first few tracks are quite grounded in their noisy mystique, remaining quite free-flowing and spatial. Upon reaching the middle of the album we are greeted with an intense underground techno track thanks to the distorted kickdrum flying in! It’s a welcome way to break up the quite ethereal structure of the songs.

Harsh Noise fans will rejoice (or perhaps they won’t?) at the pure listenability of Phirnis‘ sounds. Somehow these tortured, shredded and FM distorted tones are perfectly layered and mixed in the least obtrusive way possible. Taking into consideration the actual sounds heard, this might possibly be the most digestible and easy-on-the-ears harsh noise album I have ever heard.

Between the robust textures and the intense soundscape construction there’s no shortage of fascinating sounds within. Chill Noise deserves a home in your collection – consider picking up a cassette tape to support (only a few are left when we wrote this, so move your butts!) or stream/download the digital edition via bandcamp.

The D7 Project, by Mollbury Medical Research Centre

Quick Picks

Haunting beauty and academic-level ambience finds us in this most unique release from Mollbury Medical Research Centre titled The D7 Project.

Shrouded in a thin layer of mystique – The D7 Project is an avant-garde album that draws inspiration from many different subgenres, swirling them together into something interesting and new. Layer upon layer of intriguing sound is laid down in the foundation, paired with dissonant wisps of digital wind and a cart of medical tools being casually unloaded.

For the level of sonic experimentation going on here – the album is quite easy to listen to. Pulsing bass and strategically placed tidbits fuse to create this unique atmosphere. This haunted musique concrète soup dominated the compositions in the best way possible.

The D7 Project – though slightly dark and off kilter – manages to be quite relaxing and peaceful for the first half. By the time the listener reaches Brain Activity it’s a different story altogether. The listeners, or patients perhaps, have clearly already gone through the necessary procedures before this mad brain surgery. The album finishes off with a brilliant yet strange modern classical number with big Twin Peaks feelings laced into the synthetic strings, only deepening the sense of discomfort and intrigue.

For fans of experimental ambient, or for anyone who just need a replacement soundtrack for their next Silent Hill playthrough. After this very powerful and brooding debut, I am very excited to see what the future holds for the Mollbury Medical Research Centre. Stream the album yourself or pick up the digital edition from Bandcamp today.

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Cartoon Forest II, by Cartoon Forest

Quick Picks

Cartoon Forest II is the second full-length project from experimental trio Cartoon Forest – released on Crash Symbols in May, 2022.

Recorded live in 2018 – the tape basks in a raw beauty that is both refreshing and intriguing. Cartoon Forest II is a wonderful blend of experimental ambience and psychedelic drone with a touch of post-rock. It’s quite easy to become lost in the hazy, distorted soundscapes – laying back on the gritty foundation before letting luscious, morbid riffs wash over you.

I adore the sounds used in this project – often morphing between semi-acoustic to ethereally ambiguous. By track 4-5 you will start to peel back and realize the true experimental and progressive nature of the album. There’s no holding back from the trio as the dive deeply into incredibly unstable and emotional territories – embracing soft distortion and semi-dissonant waves amidst the already established landscape.

Cartoon Forest truly exemplifies the experimental group format – demonstrating the benefit of weaving together the threads of several avant-garde minds. This tape is a blissful journey dense with ideas and riffs that you don’t want to miss. I’ve only heard the digital version myself but I can already tell these tracks will benefit from being heard with the warm process of cassette ribbon passing through a tapedeck.

You can support the band by picking up a Cassette from the Crash Symbols Bandcamp Page – or give them a couple dozen streams on our preferred streaming platform Tidal!

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Foggy Nights, by Tabi

Quick Picks

From the Inner Ocean Records Lofi Snack Series comes this lovely little EP by beatmaker Tabi – Foggy Nights.

The 3-track bedroom beat project is a groovy little package – dusty beats laced with sweet, melancholy emotion. A little bit worn and crackly like all good chillhop is, these tunes will be at home in any number of “Late Night Study” playlists, and that’s a good thing! I have a personal affinity for little guitar riffs like the ones used in the title track Foggy Nights, lingering in my head for days after listening.

Of course the small EP leaves us wanting more – I have personally given these three tracks over a dozen plays each, simply because the project is so replay-able. Though this is Tabi‘s first release on Inner Ocean, let’s hope we get more from this mellow producer. I personally would not mind a thick beat-tape of these songs, maybe even a cassette drop!

You can pick up the EP today from Inner Ocean’s Bandcamp Page – with a $60 Dollar Subscription getting you all the Lofi Snack Series as they drop along with the rest of their amazing catalog and other sweet perks!

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20/20 Hindsight, by Plukx Vitamite

Quick Picks

Fresh madness from MEGATAPE RECORDS – let’s take a look at 20/20 Hindsight by Plukx Vitamite, a breakcore journey soaked in energy and intelligence.

20/20 Hindsight is at times manic, like the best IDM is – and as with many of my favorite producers of this genre, Plukx Vitamite finds wonderful ways to twist the gnarly waveforms into perfectly chopped and syncopated madness. Tracks like The World Turns Red take a beautiful maximal approach to braindance, seamlessly flowing between distinct rhythms and flavors – synthesizers ripping and soaring back and forth, cradled by the spastic percussion riffs.

Sometimes more pure speedcore and gabber can really throw me through a loop, especially if it’s fragmented and disconnected. Even amidst the most furious breakbeats and shredded samples, 20/20 Hindsight finds that magical zone of “high-speed-flow” that is commonly found in electronic music 170-240bpm and beyond – resulting in an extremely groovy breakcore experience.

You can pick up 20/20 Hindsight on Cassette or Digital via Megatape Records bandcamp page

LoFi Beats, by CLOUDWARMER

Quick Picks

From New York Jazz-Hop Duo CLOUDWARMER comes this lovely long-playing beat tape – LoFi Beats.

Self released at the beginning of May, 2022 – LoFi Beats lives up to its namesake, packing 16 dusty instrumentals into its hefty runtime. The sounds themselves are classic yet diverse – we hear the duo seamlessly blend orchestral passages with chopped drums and foggy horns. Put simply, the bass booms and the beat slaps!

I feel transported back in time to the heyday of beatstrumentals on Soundcloud and Bandcamp – the late 2000’s saw a rabid flourishing of lofi, crusty boom-bap beat tapes from the likes of Boom Baptist, All These Fingers and Gloam. I have a personal affinity for this type of beat tape – sleek samples paired with classic percussion patterns, stirring together to create a relaxing yet nostalgic mood.

Even better about this release – the mad lads decided to unleash these puppies under a Creative Commons license – making these little beats PERFECT bumpers for your next YouTube project or even potential for remixing! We have to give love and respect to anyone who unleashes music in this most creative manner.

Grab the beat-tape now via CLOUDWARMERS Bandcamp page – be sure to explore the rest of CLOUDWARMERS excellent projects while you’re over there.

LESS, by Trium Circulorum

Quick Picks

Sharp and witty new underground techno from producer and label namesake Trium Circulorum – returning to us this time with a fuzzy-yet-banging cassette release in LESS – an epic 90 minute techno tape housing a masterclass in underground dancefloor stylistics and hazy yet intense atmospheric soundscapes.

LESS carries some heavy weight with it, from the instrumentation to the mixing to the track-lengths, with the very shortest track clocking in at 8 minutes and 48 seconds. The scale is massive yet once you hit play and the BPM kicks in, you will find the tape flying by in a coasting frenzy.

The energy does not let up from Side A to Side B – though the production does see some small variation especially in tracks like HEART – which jumps in and out of the traditional four-to-the-flour kicks and a off kilter two step pattern for a nicely welcome mid project mixup. Or the heavily experimental synthesizers in HOPE which sound like a distressed brass choir simultaneously escaping a reaper yet tuning up their instruments at the same time!

There is a certain wholesome lo-fi-ness to the release, basking in its less than EDM quality resulting in a soupy yet satisfying blur. The Gaussian fade helps to ease the harsher sounds entry onto the scene – while solidifying a warm spot for the deeper side of the spectrum. Fuzzy booms pound away as synths shred and dance furiously atop the foundation that’s been set.

I haven’t heard this one on tape yet – but I can only assume the analog adaptation will do even more wonders to the mix, adding even more layers of hazy warmth and warbled personality to the tracks. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, or at the very least give it a play or three via the digital edition! Both are available via Bandcamp

Flotsam & Jetsam, by Bing Satellites

Quick Picks

Flotsam & Jetsam is a new Ambient/Modern Classical album from prolific UK producer Bing Satellites.

Consisting of seven piano “sketches” – Flotsam & Jetsam sees a more delicate and intimate side of Bing Satellites that is most welcome. Known best for their shoegaze-infused-ambient, opting instead for the use of Acoustic Piano which lends a feeling of emotion and closeness to the project. Even with the introduction of pads/synths within the tracks always leaves ample room for improvisation on the keys.

The album itself is incredibly relaxing, almost immediately I was instilled with a sense of calmness and introspection. Wistfully meandering between optimism and melancholy, the sounds are perfect for a moody-rainy day. There is a deep satisfaction I derive from these sounds – perhaps nested in the electro-acoustic nature, or years of emotion carefully folded into the songs.

You can pick the digital edition of the album up now via Bing Satellites bandcamp page – along with a very attractive CD package available! For those of you who are true ambient lovers, consider supporting the artist via their monthly subscription, or consider picking up the extended discography of over 200 releases for less than $50 – the amount of music you get in return is borderline overwhelming but it’s highly encouraged. Don’t sleep on this amazing producer, and if you do, be sure to throw on Flotsam & Jetsam before you shut your eyes…