MUSIC RECOMMENDATION

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

When atheists use the word “belief”, it is to differentiate “facts” from “surreality”, which gives the spiritual word a certain pejorative flavour. It would maybe have a more honourable consideration if “belief” was called what it really is: “a thought”; a beautiful one when virtuous and full of hope, persistent and timeless, proven to have a positive impact on well-being and expressing the sensation of “the invisible”. 

The feeling of “a caring and loving presence” may or may not be experienced by everyone, with all types of sensitivity equally worthy of respect. But here, we humbly believe – or better said “we think” – that the artists sometimes have this strange yet impressive ability to make “the invisible more visible”, through the beauty, the energy and the power of their music. This is what “Terrene” evoked for us: “a spiritual piece of art.”

Dark Division in Soundcloud is also home to one of the most creative deep dark techno mix series, check out this one for instance:

ATMOSPHERIC TECHNO

The dream for any label owner is to find the rare gem, unique, creative, that will transcend the imprint. Finding one occurs a couple of times in a label’s life. But in the case of Secuencias Temporales, almost every release is “special”, “different”, while following the label’s guideline of “deep depth”. Owner Eafhm must be some sort of wizard, and for sure a happy “techno Gandalf”…

Take “Black To Bleach” for instance, did you already hear such subtle cinematic rhythmic processes? Dark Division is itself a very special trio: Somma was already into the machines at 13 years old, Matrone started his journey by repairing a turntable found in a closet, Scafati explored depths through painting, sculpting, ceramics, furniture design, graphics… In 2017, they created the label Hidden Tapes, mentioned earlier for Kemppi’s last EP; the trio’s path is like an Italian auteur film, original and impressive!

ELECTRONICA

We remain in the depths with the Polish artist’s second album, on U Know Me, one of Poland’s best labels of the genre. During the listening, you would maybe think that the tracks are perfect to build creative DJ sets, well, next-level “original mixes” are exactly what Yac sometimes shares on his Soundcloud channel, highly recommended to check out. Well-produced, instantly trippy, the 7-tracker also comes with a fun concept: each rectangle of the artwork represents the duration of each track, and the algorithm created 300 variations for the vinyls, making each unique. This will for sure please the collectors, and yes, this album is definitely worth collecting…

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Monument, Inner Tension, The Vortex, The Code, Initiate, Cellar Door, Fur:ther Sessions and now Monochrome: many mix series have taken the leap to become record labels in the past two years. For the latter, it just happened last week with the present VA, both tribal and modern.

Monochrome is firstly a premiering service and an eclectic podcast yet with dominant contemplative techno and broken beats, therefore no surprise to find such vibes in its first release. Each artist is an expert in the genre and contributed to building a solid reputation for the nascent label, embellished by stunning artworks, and also by the fact that it’s a charity VA for Envol Vert to save the forests.

VARIOUS ARTISTS

In quantum physics, one element can be in two places at the same time. Well, in classical physics too finally: miracle #1: Paul Rêve is back in your ears from the previous VA, for a metaphysical healing opener. Miracle #2: Without your consent, the matter in your body will move your head forwards and backwards for the next tracks, resulting from the UK Bass effect (yes, the label is French). Miracle #3: If you hit play when reading, you probably already closed your eyes to feel the bass, and therefore miss our geeky metaphors. That’s sad!

VARIOUS ARTISTS

“Munich”, it’s not only Spielberg’s 2005 spy movie, but the hometown of two quality labels: Fur:ther Sessions and IO Records. “Munich”, it’s not only the beer-drinking festival, but a significant medium of the collective spirit, with for instance the two labels naturally collaborating together.

On our side, we wished we could “spy” on their studio to learn how to produce so wonderfully, and “share a beer” with their members, obviously super friendly.

Intrigue and warm connection both emerge from the present VA, hypnotic and groovy, with four tracks that are four different stories, four different tales in a mystical German grimoire.

Reminding his first self-release (September 2022):

SPIRALS

The world is not very big in Germany, as IO Records‘ talented sound engineer Niklas Bühler is in charge of the mastering. You can really tell that it’s all the same mafia from Munich to Leipzig (😜). Yet Kontinum remains an elegant gangster: he steals our hearts with his music but decided not to release his EP on his new label “Mnestic“. The reason? He doesn’t want to denature the label’s sonic vision, he explained us. We all know how humble he is, but having a label and “not releasing on it to protect its integrity” says a lot about him.

On our side, we think that the EP is fantastic, with an interesting dialogue between the light and dark forces and some well-designed spirals; definitely a great follow-up to his first self-release.