MUSIC RECOMMENDATION

DREAMY TECHNO

Spearhead of Raster-Noton and Stroboscopic Artefacts, Kangding Ray continues to impress with his charismatic beats. “ULTRACHROMA” defies gravity with its crystal clear kaleidoscopic tracks, released on his young imprint “ara” (“about recording artists”). It’s been about a year since we didn’t hear any new production from him, outside of a massive electrifying mix for HATE three months ago. The LP was therefore particularly awaited since its announcement, and shows that the Berlin-based master keeps on evolving “far far away in another galaxy”.

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

A lot of magic mushrooms are surrounding the young label, through its name & concept. Founded last year by Ariet, Psylocybina is originally a podcast and an event series taking place in Schron, a bunker in Poznan that also serves as “an escape room”…
Through his project, Ariet promotes the therapeutic side of the “psilocybin“, known to cure excessive anxieties, as explained by the Polish Psychedelic Society, and enhance self-awareness, as documented by McKenna. Illegal, there is always a risk of a bad trip though, while with the music, there is always a risk of a good trip… We thank Klara, Polygonia, Pięta and Ariet for their superb mystical release, turning Psylocybina into a very promising record label.

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

French duo Javier Salazar is officially joining the production world with “Lepante”. The two artists are not newcomers to the scene, having launched “rdg tribe” in 2019; which is both a podcast (“rdg” originally means “Radio G”) and a young record label. The sound of the project is mainly infused with dubby electronica and cinematic breakbeat, two genres that we don’t really follow, but whose artists are admittedly often great percussionists. Salazar expressed a desire to push some “shamanic” doors, so we hit play. “Lepante” is interesting for joining the atmospheric and tribal eras that we enjoy, from a completely different root…

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

French label Ancestral Process is such a beautiful project, through its silky-textured techno, its stunning artworks and the very nice personality of its owner, Frank Favini. In social media, you can see how much Favini loves cinema, from “Leon The Professional” to “Interstellar“, giving a better understanding of the label’s strong cinematic side. Nicolás Barrera AKA NBM from Chile is part of Dosis Records‘ crew, another imprint somewhat cousin of Ancestral Process. It’s not the first time that the two labels collaborate, making room now for NBM, who created a very comfortable journey, harmonious and serene, with a dreamy remix by Trøm Borg.

TEXTURED TECHNO

We don’t know for you, but on our side, we’ve been witnessing the emergence of the Australian hypnotic techno scene only for the past two years, while it started many years ago. For instance, “Machine Label“, based in Melbourne, exists since 2010. “Cell 747”, nicely described as “cybernetic” on Bandcamp, totally matches the label’s sound, itself evolving between breakbeat and minimal techno, yet hypnotic and “futuristic”. Talking about “machines”, Enclave is an obvious aficionado of those, being a rare artist who lists them all in his SoundCloud. He produces since 2013 and the weight of his long experience can be sensed in “Cell 747”, whose cerebral tracks are creative and well-designed.

DANCEFLOOR-ORIENTED

Kajunga Records being also an event series, run by Ryote and Private Guy who are themselves well-established DJs, it is not surprising to see mainly party-driving electronic music in the label’s discography, in a pretty eclectic range from funky electro to leftfield house. Each release however often contains a track like “Additive Spectra”: hypnotic and minimal. Lonefront, whose personal discography groups lots of self-released modular compositions, doesn’t seem to realise how dope his work usually is: “Additive Spectra” is a banger while “South of Forever”, minimal and intriguing, creates a subtle space to dissolve the mind.

TEXTURED TECHNO

The three first tracks sound like three versions of the same piece, with their similar rhythmic pulse and bass drone in the background. It could also be seen as some sort of guideline for the EP. It’s nevertheless not a lazy gesture, each track being particularly complex, with a groove that instantly catches the attention. They somehow introduce well the entry of the last track, highlighted by a superb amplitude. Complex, textured, deep, so are the other releases of the Israeli label Periphery Music, launched in 2018 and mainly crafted by the sound of Roy Lebens and its founder OCHERii. From the latter in particular, we also recommend “Down The Road Through The Park“, released in 2020 with a sick remix by Ness.

AMBIENT

When the instantly recognisable artwork from genius Javier Marimon pops up in Bandcamp’s timeline, we know that we are going to travel to Jeju Island for our greatest pleasure, the occasion to salute Oslon, probably walking in the local forest with his playful dog. That’s how powerful an artwork can condition the mind, while Italian artist Owl, based in Belgium, is in fact showcasing his own forestal world in the EP… We know him mainly from his ethereal ambient pieces for Silent Season and from his drum’n’bass project GLŸPH that he shares with Clearlight: both music genres show his attraction for two extreme poles: quietness and furore! They sometimes meet in his mixes, such as in his recent epic set for Unknown Species, and in the interesting present EP, where the still surface doesn’t totally hide the inner tensions…