Category: Quick Picks

Cause Without Effect, by Information For The Blind

Quick Picks

Raw and wandering post-industrial ambient techno from Information For The Blind (SeisMoGraph).

Cause Without Effect is a beefy 2-track project that certainly feels more like a full EP given the breadth of sonic exploration occurring within the 16-17 minutes of music.

The title track – nearly 10 minutes in length – bounces between dark ambience and experimental electronics with ease, guided by interesting vocals and vocoders. Structures and built up and deconstructed, chugging along to a dark and ominous end.

Meander Patterns offers a more unified vision, opting to solidify itself in a single atmosphere – rhythms and accents swirling around to provide steady progression.

Certainly an interesting listen that you may find yourself returning to. Stream it now on bandcamp or take advantage of the name-your-own-price download.

Flow State, by Zvrra

Quick Picks

The recent EP, Flow State by Illinois based techno producer Zvrra brings us minimalist, driving techno that instantly puts us into the state of, well, flow promised.

The opener, the eponymous Flow State, is crisp, punchy and brittle in equal measure. We’re night-driving through a deserted strip-lighted tunnel in search of some warehouse rave that will never emerge.

Flow State II follows, taking things to an even more minimal place with subtly skittering beats and a menacing bass riff slowly-but-insistently driving us forwards.

Track 3, The Gift of Dexterity, sees a glimmer of albeit-still-quite-icy synths breaking cover over the sparse horizon. The track’s title hints at Zvrra’s ability to deftly introduce new elements to their compositions that keep us hooked whilst never breaking us out of the titular flow state we’re locked into. 

This EP’s closer, The Curse of Dexterity, flips the tone of the first three pieces, introducing a harder, more submerged soundscape with a rapid bass kick and the future-kitsch chirruping of computer systems fluttering in the background.

Zvrra’s ability to keep techno fresh and exciting whilst staying true to its minimalist hypnotic essence makes their music an essential addition to your sonic world.

Hypnotist, by Toxic Chicken

Quick Picks

Hypnotist is a mellow IDM experience from producer Toxic Chicken, presented by Earthrid.

The 9 track project dances around experimental styles, touching on bit-crushed beats and melodic ambient atmospherics, all tied together by warm electronics. Pounding acid synths sit comfortably next to swooping fuzzy pads as the songs hop along.

There is an interesting overall energy to the album – at times becoming quite rowdy and avant-garde, yet maintaining a firm grounded feeling. The result is a very accessible experimental album – perfect for new ears to this type of freeform experimental electronic sound. With its playful diversity and satisfying and subtly melancholy undertones, this one should definitely be in your listening queue!

Landline, by Colonial Skyway

Quick Picks

Calm and collected ambient from producer Colonial Skyway

Landline is an album built from 6 long-form drone tracks that, for the most part, dwell in the realm of subtle darkness and brooding nostalgia, drifting occasionally into warm hopefulness. There is an atmosphere of intimacy to the songs – often invoking imagery not dissimilar from the albums artwork – wide open fields, sprawling and epic – yet alone. Churning, fuzzy synths are abundant – leading the listener into a realm that is organic and expansive.

This one is perfect for ambient listeners who want a bit more of a passive experience – whether to fall asleep at night or have a soundtrack to your morning meditation. Be sure to check out Colonial Skyway’s other projects on their bandcamp page – and pick up the album for yourself, pay what you want style!

1:1, by OLHO

Quick Picks

I was recently introduced to Brazilian producer OLHO’s creations – I am so happy this release found it’s way into my submission inbox, because I have fallen in love.

OLHO’s body of work dances between atmospheric dub, ambient techno and experimental sounds. 1:1 itself is a 2 track study of interesting washed out energy – saturated yet delicious. OLHO manages to create an expansive and massive atmosphere with a relatively minimal palette of sounds. Utilizing soft reverberating pads together with the flickering resonance of plucking synths to create a dense and dynamic world. The limited yet tasteful use of vocal samples only increases the ethereal nature of the pieces….

Now please pardon me while I explore more of OLHO’s offerings. With most of their releases on Bandcamp being only a Track or two long, I highly recommend picking up the Discography at a little discount! Very interested to see what is next on the horizon for this producer…

Selected Brobient Works, Vol. 1

Quick Picks

The gang at Vivarium Recordings in collaboration with the self-proclaimed Brone Hivemind present us with a collection if bizarre yet satisfying drone and ambient tracks.

Brobient is a unique concept in itself – ambient and drone tracks created and constructed from love-hate realm of Bro-Step. For those not familiar with the style, it sits in between oversaturated modern dubstep and overproduced EDM. You might be thinking HEY that sounds like a weird place to trawl for ambient material – but all the producers involved in this project were quite up to the task.

The thick 11-track playlist brings the listener on a strange and wandering journey through harsh noise, atmospherics, and general deconstructed sonic sensations. Though the sounds are stretched and manipulated, the raw energy of the Bro-Step shines through, with ripping oscillations shredding through the mix. It’s all got an atmosphere of mysterious dankness, wrapped up and delivered hot-and-ready to your earholes via drone delivery.

Big recommendation on this one if you’re looking to spice up your ambient playlist – or if you need something less structured to start your day. Definitely explore Vivariums page for the album for links to all the artists, and to learn more about the Brone Hivemind…

Water Flowing and Birds, by Heavenchord & Infinity Dots

Quick Picks

Ethereal and atmospheric dub ambience created collaboratively by Heavenchord & Infinity Dots, released by Russian label Secret Domain.

Blending together a pleasant balance of stripped down classic ambient, subtle synthetic atmospherics and field recordings – the duo craft a selection of incredibly relaxing tracks. Perfectly suitable for morning meditations or lulling yourself into the embrace of a good night’s sleep. Each song has plenty of room to get lost inside – Water Flowing and Birds features a marvelous environment created with a satisfyingly minimal palette. The birds chirp on as you float down the Quiet River, a narrator from high above the clouds peppering his two cents about the situation.

All in all it’s a very fulfilling listen, touching lots of different concepts – breaking them down and extrapolating upon. Doing that wonderful thing that brilliant ambient releases do, providing just enough dynamics to make for an interesting listen – without being obtrusive….Perfect for either active or passive listening.

Pick up the Digital Release via Secret Domain’s Bandcamp page – and be sure to explore the catalogs of both Heavenchord and Infinity Dots!

Fancy Feast (blue label), by Fester’s Quest

Quick Picks

Brought to us by the ever-amazing Bogus Collective, we have a lovely full-length classic vaporwave album by Fester’s Quest titled FANCY FEAST (blue label). Now – was I attracted to listen to this album simply because there was a cat on the cover art? Yes. But as anticipated the sounds within are clever and enjoyable – utilizing a very classic and traditional flavor of vaporwave, FQ takes the listeners hand gently and guides us through the fuzzy haze. The project is overwhelmingly instrumental, lacking the pitched-down and chopped vocals one would expect in such vaporsounds – instead opting for melodies and riffs on the guitar. The result is quite nice, making this record great for background listening where you want just a little more interesting flavor in your ambience.

You can download the album now at Name-Your-Own-Price via BC’s Bandcamp page, or visit Fester’s bandcamp to explore further and support the artist directly!

Walking, by Docetism

Quick Picks

Classic and satisfying dub-techno sounds from Docetism, brought to us by the amazing Nichts records of Poland. Walking is a 5-track EP with each track taking aim at a different angle of dub-techno sound. Perhaps you could call it a master-class in this genre, just because the style and essence is boiled down appropriately from track to track. Deep pulsing sub-bass, echoing and pulsing plucks, all wrapped up in lush crispy atmospherics. It’s a clever little collection of tracks, and will find a nice home in any collection…

Dream Mediations, by Covolux

Quick Picks

Somewhere inbetween the tops of clouds and the beginning of the starry sky exists “Dream Mediations” – an album by Covolux released by Earthrid Records.

Beautiful ambient-drone compositions with a big emotional injection. Often such ethereal productions can lean in one direction or the other, being steeped in nostalgic melancholy or otherwise totally void of humanity opting for a more studious view – here in Dream Mediations I find a wonderful balance of the two.

With the bulk of the sounds being triumphant and compassionate, Covolux lulls the listener into a comfortable state – the perfect de-arming to swoop in and take control of our minds, steering us around the landscape and showing us personal highlights. Atmospheric turns into a too-good descriptor, as I found each composition instilling me with a sense of flight, as if I were in a waking dream – able to launch off and glide above my surroundings at any moment…

Overall the album is a very relaxing listen, and would be quite at home during a personal meditation session or calm rainy mornings. Blissful drones give way to more energy and movement in tracks such as “Acts of Kindness”, which fully embraces the orchestral instrumentation of the project and steers head-on into modern classical territory – while slightly out of place with the rest of the tracks, it’s turned into one of my favorites!

You can download and stream the album for free or name-your-own-price via Earthrid’s Bandcamp page!