MUSIC RECOMMENDATION

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

We’ve never hidden it, Secuencias Temporales is our favourite label, having found its originality into very deep frequencies, diffused in a catalogue containing only stunning releases. It’s too good, always. Then, we have Avsluta from London, founder of the magical downtempo Introspective Electronics podcast. She has been producing since the mid-2010s but only has a couple of official releases. She enjoys improvising, creating abstract music. We would like that she hits the “record” button more often, because her sensitivity and talent are very palpable. “Ākāsagata” is sublime, with remixes from talented artists that are familiar with this sound and that have clearly understood the message.

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

There is a bit of Greece in the name “Alexskyspirit” (he’s Greek), but watch out for the pronunciation: it’s “Alex-Sky-Spirit”. We mention it because we believe that he’s now very worthy to be remembered, with such a masterclass production. In the past, he was producing pretty high – if not harsh – aerial layers, in well-designed but yet not very original tracks from our critical ear, maybe too blasé. However, with “Wormhole”, he reached an incommensurable deepness that suits him amazingly well and that marks, for us, a high step forward.

TRIBAL TECHNO

They are young, they are fresh, they are Italian (as if it was a label of quality, but well…): meet the multi-vitamin duo of artists in their last release, on the sunny Argentinian label “Danza Nativa“. Well-designed and sonically rich, the EP is an invitation to be visited and revisited, as one listening won’t be enough to capture all the subtle details of the journey. ALPI originally comes from the melodic techno scene, with a dominance of coloured dancefloor-oriented tracks in their productions: it partly explains the “energy of the youth” palpable in the warm tracks of the EP, groovy and well-inspired.

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

Do you remember Halos from Spain? He made his official debut in the production world with a particularly memorable album on संस्कार Rites, that we reviewed (here). It was in July 2021 and he is now back with a superb EP on Cellar Door, a great podcast which became also a record label by the end of last year. Eight months ago, Halos also dropped a beautiful downtempo mix on Cellar Door, which we also recommend checking out (here).

EXPERIMENTAL

The planet is sick from viruses, wars and global warming. During these difficult times, family, music and nature probably remain the most important refugees. The last EP on Mexican label Permafrost – dedicated to avant-garde ambient and experimental music – creates a strong link between the three, by involving warm evocative field recordings in the rhythmic structures. Time stands still during the listening.

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

The Turkish artist is a newcomer in the scene, which he has obviously been studying for a while, before releasing “Entrance”, his very first work. In his electronic music discoveries, he seems to have quickly reached the shores of our hypnotic techno, after a quick tour in the cinematic music of French genius Rone. “Hypnotic” and “cinematic” definitely qualify “Entrance”, a fabulous two-tracker, impressive both musically and visually, with Şevval Nida Baladın’s stunning artwork. It’s hard to believe that this is a first release… “Genius alert”?

DANCEFLOOR-ORIENTED

Mental loops are waiting for you in the last EP of Pyramidal Decode on Dynamic Reflection, the floral Dutch label which assumes being entirely dedicated to the heat of the night. Here, it’s not made to think, it’s made to control your mind, throw your body to the dancefloor and initiate a zombie dance. Everything could fall apart around you that you would not feel it: the Italian artist turns your body on and your consciousness off, with the latter dissolving into the repetitive music. Strangely, it’s a perfect cure for hyperactivity…

DUB TECHNO

The “Drooling Face Emoji” (🤤) is certainly more adapted than words to express the comfortable sensation of the album, originally released in two parts in 2018 on Rohs! Records, and reissued last week on Docetism’s own label Nichts. The Polish artist has been producing such sounds for more than 10 years. Mostly dedicated to his music, Nichts is described as “a small netlabel” by his owner, while containing more than 50 releases… The sentence probably needs an update, but at the same time, it evokes the humility present in the album, which makes the journey particularly pleasant and beautiful to live.