SPECIAL CELEBRATION AND RETROSPECTIVE
This series of posts is a drop of water in the journalistic ocean, but it made us live unforgettable moments; the chance to meet talented artists and beautiful souls, while digging deep into more than 100k releases.
As explained last week, today is PARTY TIME to celebrate nearly 1000 masterpieces shared with love. For this purpose, our community‘s team members have been invited to dig deep in these weekly lists, pick their ultimate favourite release and express their opinion on it.
Digging in lists where each release has already been pre-selected for its top quality has been of course challenging. The unselected releases remain super dope no matter what, and we invite you not to take this – subjective – chart too seriously. Big thanks to you for following our unprofessional project ♡
WHITE MOON’S FAVOURITE RELEASE
MOD IN OUR COMMUNITY, PRODUCER AND FESTIVAL ORGANISER
PRG/M released another incredible album on Semantica the year before, with his crew r²π AKA “the mad scientists” (Retina.it, Ruhig & PRG/M). Below, a rare footage to watch him live…
PRG/M [SEMANTICA]
What an impressive release it is, charged with deconstructed rhythms, innovative patterns, intense bass and a masterclass of sound architecture. Every track is a multilayer job with such delicate and wild sounds. It’s a true masterpiece, from beginning to end.
Each track is epic but the pleasure amplifies from listening to the whole journey at once. What a gourmet feeling, that doesn’t stop growing until the last track. It’s a carnival, a rhapsody, a fantasy, made to deeply touch the soul and be remembered like a good wine.
From the south of Italy, PRG/M brought a fresh creative process, with Borametz being my favourite track, with its simplicity and memorable melody, subtly dialoguing with the bassline.
When reaching the outro, I feel complete, processing what just happened and driven to play the album again, to catch more details. Even the cover art is mysteriously attractive. If you ever stopped believing in music, “L’altro Giardino” is the answer.
CLARENCE’S FAVOURITE RELEASE
MOD IN OUR COMMUNITY, PROJECT LEADER, DJ, PRODUCER AND LIVE ACT
Do you remember?
KLETIS
[SECUENCIAS TEMPORALES]
Standing like a black jewel in the discography of the fantastic Secuencias Temporales label, the EP by the Czech artist is one of the best representatives of a rather dark ambient techno trend I personally lean toward. Right from the start, the atmosphere is heavy, mysterious and tinged with darkness, as we move with hushed steps by the light of a crackling torch into an unknown universe. Then, through the obscurity, a monolith surrounded by fumes rises: “Európa”. Like a totem from which you can’t look away, it is for me the most mesmerising track of the release and one of the essential achievements of 2022.
It is followed by a musically coherent triptych, which continues the journey into darkness, with more contours and shapes. The environment remains mysterious, but our ears begin to map the sonic space, made up of metallic percussions, filtered layers of pads and deep, wide reverberations.
“Brdo” closes the EP with more rhythmic, quasi-shamanic elements, as a first incantatory dance leading to other lands, depicted in his album “Saudade” a few months later.
TINA’S FAVOURITE RELEASE
MOD IN OUR COMMUNITY, SENIOR WRITER AND DJ
Our (fun) interview of the label spearheads, back in 2022:
VA [IO RECORDS]
It is such a sweet recollection, having this release delivered home and putting the fresh vinyl for a spin.
As the clear wax crackled, the process journeyed by around nine artists, who based “Of Morning And Of Glory” on the “Chinese Whispers’ game”: Kwasu Tembo, poet of IO Records, wrote a text which then inspired the label owners to design four distinct pictures, which themselves served as the creative impetus for the four guest producers.
The project, engaging in a holistic experience, is a gentle reminder to reconnect with peers through play, experiment, seek to break outside the boxes of production and take the time to gaze and mesmerise at nature. As a twist on the “Chinese Whispers’ game”, the VA was a collective expression of sublime, natural wonders that connect us far and wide. It deeply touched me as a heartwarming metaphor for the artistic expressions around us, uniting us in human experience – language, visual, auditory and beyond.
Reeko’s other releases on Samurai illustrate his growing love for drum’n’bass and show how his skills in designing dope atmospheres nicely serve the genre…
REEKO [SAMURAI MUSIC]
After a very hard time picking just one release among so many masterpieces, I chose Reeko’s, because this specific EP is not only refreshing and innovative in the broad sub-genre of hypnotic techno, with its broken beats and not-so-common textures, but it also stands out in the Spanish artist’s usual aesthetics.
I particularly enjoyed the risk he took to chock – and eventually frustrate – his audience, by visiting new territories, privileging the authentic sense over the comfort zone.
This being said, I feel very frustrated myself not being able to share more of the gorgeous releases that got previously selected in this series of posts, and highly recommend taking the time to dig back into them.
RONNY’S FAVOURITE RELEASE
ADMIN IN OUR COMMUNITY, DJ, PRODUCER AND EVENT ORGANISER
VA [CONCRETE RECORDS]
Concrete Records succeeded in grouping five fantastic artists together, who managed to create beautiful nocturnal landscapes, inviting escape and reveries. Rediscovering this VA has been a big pleasure for me: it became an instant classic on the Roman Label, well known for its consistent dope gems in the deep techno realm.
RICHARD’S FAVOURITE RELEASE
MASTER OF THE WEBS AND PRODUCER
Do you also remember his deep EP on Secuencias Temporales?
Unsurprisingly, he’s also involved in the psytrance community:
EAMO [CINUS]
“Mimas” has been in my collection for quite a long time, and I regularly find myself drawn back to it, enjoying getting lost in its hypnotic frequencies and driving music.
The opener’s shamanic rhythms succeed in pulling me deeper and deeper into a beautiful, nearly bubbling and dripping atmosphere, while managing to be constantly spiralling around me, through the symmetrical geometry of some futuristic landscape.
Then “Thethys” steps up the game by blending breakbeat, ambient, and hypnotic techno while keeping all the characteristics of “Mimas”. “Enceladus” continues the narrative established in “Thethys,” presenting a more intimate tone and complex refinement.
“Dione” feels like a sidequest, introducing the listener to a slightly different world, made of different yet equally picturesque colours. Finishing off the journey comes two wonderful remixes from the title track, perfectly integrated into the storytelling as two new chapters, illustrating perfectly how deeper an initial idea can unfold.
CEDRIC’S FAVOURITE RELEASE
FOUNDER, WRITER AND EDITOR
Just for the pleasure of watching it again: the viral video of “Techno Wiking”, that the album makes us think of:
BLÒT HEATHEN
[SELF-RELEASED]
Around you, do you know a super hot friend who has no clue about how good-looking he/she is? In a slightly similar way, Blòt Heathen is an extraordinary artists who doesn’t realise how talented he is. When Reggy Van Oers and I discovered “Techno-Shaman”, we were both completely blown away, while a Mohican-alike hairstyle instantly grew on our heads.
We have here all – what I consider to be – the ingredients of a perfect album: a certain duration to install the storytelling, some cinematic consistency, an original sound signature, a modern fusion of genres and, more importantly, an efficient game of tension, making the album particularly “alive”.
If you don’t know Blòt Heathen, check out my comment in last week‘s “Vault” section: it was important for me to end it with my current favourite artist.
From the 44th to the 63rd episode, fabulous guests have honoured us by participating in our comments: Deepbass, Claudio PRC, Dino Sabatini, Jong-Min Lee, Brando Lupi, Ness, Reggy Van Oers, Primal Code, Pattrn, Kontinum, Svarog, Giorgio Gigli, Aleja Sanchez, Sam KDC, Luigi Tozzi, Neel, Notzing, Gio from Artefacts and Clarence Rise. They graciously accepted our invitation, earning nothing in return, while others chose to decline. It reflects the pure and generous nature of our guests, and as you can imagine, we are profoundly grateful 🙌
While each of them has been absolutely amazing, we have compiled our – subjective – favourite comments (again, not to be taken too seriously):
IN THE 54TH EPISODE, SVAROG PRESENTED
DJ AND PRODUCER
Absis – With Eyes Closed LP [Secuencias Temporales, 2023-03-20]
ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO
Svarog: Digging is the DJ’s lower part of the iceberg yet one of my favourite activities. I can spend hours going from one release to another, but when “With Eyes Closed” came to my attention, I stopped the process to only focus on it. I listened to it track by track, in full until the end.
My mind instantly resonates with these sounds. There are held by a mysterious atmosphere and a certain melancholy that deeply touches me. There was drama in the first few tracks while tenderness emerged in the following ones.
In the EP, the maturity of the author can be sensed through the sophistication of the work.
The various pieces, deep and mesmerising, somehow musically wake up the fascination that I have for the greatness of nature’s creation, the indivisibility and limitlessness of the universe; I enjoyed very much the artistic connection.
IN THE 58TH EPISODE, LUIGI TOZZI PRESENTED
DJ AND PRODUCER
Rambadu – EN VIRON [Self-released, 2023-05-19]
Below: Rambadu caught playing improbable traditional instruments, such as the Doeng…
ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO
Luigi Tozzi: I picked Rambadu’s En Viron because besides being a very solid EP, it has a few characteristics that I think are worth pointing out when talking about deep techno nowadays.
Each piece has clichés that define the genre such as field recording, lush pads and synth basses/drones which drive the tracks. But even if the record is built around sounds that are often too commonly used in this genre, what I really appreciate here is the effort in achieving originality in the mixing and arrangement process. Especially in the tracks “En Viron” and “Ruutan”, the work Rambadu does with spatialisation gives a feeling of pure immersion that makes his long arrangements flow very naturally.
Finding this kind of ‘technical identity’ is crucial for me when listening to new records and I feel it’s something that is too often missing nowadays: putting together sounds to make a very standard deep techno track is quite easy, while on the other hand, giving it charisma and identity is something else, and it makes the difference.
IN THE 59TH EPISODE, NEEL PRESENTED
DJ, PRODUCER AND LABEL CO-OWNER OF SPAZIO DISPONIBILE
Anthony Linell – Sheltering Skies [Northern Electronics, 2023-05-26]
Neel: I picked this release because it has features that I personally love and that are not always well-set in a record. “Illusion Self” in particular, full of energy, is central for me in this production. It expresses the utmost minimalism as a concept of creativity, whose goal is to find a few elements going well together and make them the core of the track, in order to create a timeless feel. Intended for the peak time, yet deep and mesmerising, “Illusion Self” combines three core elements that perfectly match: the four-to-the-floor drum pattern in the background, the efficient bassline and the impactful upper bassline. Together, they initiate a clever dialogue forming one single vibration, beautiful and immersive.
In addition to its power, “Illusion Self” lends itself very well to playing it in a set, allowing you to mix it for a long time with various different layers on top. Then the B side is characterised by two tracks with different feelings: with a fairly pronounced lead, the first one is perfect to set the transition for the peak time, while the second one is more introverted and floating.
This is for me a complete disc, without pretence, pleasant to play and listen to.
IN THE 62ND EPISODE, GIOVANNI CONTI PRESENTED
PRODUCER AND SOUND ENGINEER, OWNER OF ARTEFACTS MASTERING
Warmth – Essay (Remake) [Archives, 2023-05-01]
Gio: “Essay (Remake)” is a soft ethereal glow, fragile and suggestive, suspended in an endless present with too much past to rehash and no future to hope for. It is one of my favourite ambient albums, hitting close to the heart and resonating with no mercy through my current emotional spaces. “Odessa” is the track I keep going back to, the first that left a lasting impression, somehow reminding a long-lost lover, whose face dissolves as you try to recall in the mind’s eye.
Agustín Mena has generated an impressive discography as Warmth and SVLBRD. His labels Archives and Faint keep delivering prime quality introspective journeys. “Essay (Remake)” is a revision of his first-ever ambient album, stripped to the core, expanded in a delicate balance between silence and memory, inviting us to walk towards the void within and let it speak.
I remember working on this album a few months ago. It has been an exercise in restraint to reveal beauty without burning the shadows, charging colours in the background while fading the edges, letting all of its particles float without constraints, attractors or excessive forces. It is never too close for comfort or overblown, like an eternal flow, part of the thread of life itself.
Being force-fed sounds all day, every day, it is rare that I enjoy listening to music when not working, but this album definitely makes me want to play it again and again, soothing and unassuming, and let my thoughts drift through silence.
* Page’s cover picture: Oye Kreuzkoelln in Berlin, a record shop from a member of our community.
