Netaudio

Wapstan is the moniker of Canadian producer Martin Sasseville who also runs Brise-Cul Records, a label which is focusing on Noise, Ambient, and Experimental releases which are mostly strictly limited.

So far I haven’t listened to any releases by Martin Sasseville, so I can’t tell if it’s different to his other ones. Anyway, this release on Canadian label Panospria consists of just one long track (26:58 minutes). Deep and minimal drones ebb and flow, sometimes hardly audible, creating a dark and cold but not menacing atmosphere.

A great track for Sunday nights.

Italian netlabel Zymogen has released a compilation of twelve tracks by artists that have released on Zymogen in the past or will have releases in the future. This compilation has been released a few weeks ago already; it is Zymogen’s contribution to the Qwartz label award and they wanted it to be something very special. And yes, it is special.

Artists include big talents like Lezrod, Emil Klotzsch, Daniel Maze, and many more. They cover a wide range of mostly experimental music, incorporating influences from other genres like Ambient, classical music, Glitch, and IDM. If you are familiar with the Zymogen catalogue and the artists involved you probably know what to expect here.

All artists provided outstanding tracks for this release. I have listened to it four times in a row by now; all I can say it’s great. A stunning release and defnitely a must have for everyone into experimental music.

Though if you want to download the release you have to sign up for Zymogen’s newsletter to get a code. But that shouldn’t hold you back.

Drum and Bass on Not So Relevant again; at long last. Quite frankly, I have lost a lot of interest in the genre to really get into it and stay informed on the latest releases, new artists and labels. The logical consequence of listening to a single genre too much over a couple of years? Maybe, but there are still some good and exciting tracks in the land of subbass driven breakbeats.

Veteran producer Alpha Omega is releasing three great tracks on German netlabel Plain Productions. But what else can you expect from someone who is responsible for some of the finest tracks of Reinforced’s 2nd Wave series of the late 1990’s? Right, no bad tracks. I’m a big fan of his production skills and more than 20-30 of his releases in my collection are proof of it.

Bad Karma is the first track starting with some haunting synth lines and evolving into a subbass filled, floor smashing track, certainly not taking any prisoners. Shades of the Past is more melodic and rolling. Beats dropping smoothly along the bassline without losing any impact or even becoming wimpy radio stuff.
Rainshine is rounding off an outstanding EP. Razor sharp breakbeats, rapidly changing rhythms, but still monolithic. Melodic sprinkles dissolve the tension every now and then before Alpha Omega unleashes even more salvos of breakbeats upon us.

Great artist, great label, great music, great release.

It’s Sunday evening, Labour Day on Tuesday (yes, for you British guys it’s Monday next week and for those living across the pond it’s in September, crazy isn’t it?), so basically a long weekend for me and about time to listen to some great and free music.

Christian Dittmann is part of the Chilean producer duo Alta Infidelidad who had a wonderful and highly recommended release on Thinner last year. Thinner is the home of this release as well. Christian Dittmann has produced six minimal and Glitch fueled tracks with a seventh track being a remix by his partner in crime, Receptor. Smooth, warm, granular, and discreet tracks.

Thinner again, this time it is Joerg Schuster under his Sensual Physics moniker. Schuster has released several tracks as Lufth and Digitalverein for Thinner already. This time it’s four very funky Tech House tracks with dubby sprinkles which fit perfectly to the Thinner roster once again. More meaty, more floor compatible than the Christian Dittmann release.

The latest release from German netlabel Tropic is by Brazilian producer Roberto Massoni who delivers four original tracks and one remix by label owner D.Soul. The tracks switch from rather dark and straight tunes like the opener Monoblock to more playful tunes like Parque Chas but always remain deep and mostly minimal. A very enjoyable release to say the least.