Beats News

A new album is finally on Drivecom. A 2xLp full of new tracks recovered and rearrenged around 2022-23. No doubt the legacy of the past works are represented. Some arpeggios and melody lines will remember us to sonic landscapes from the “La Hora de las Máquinas” or “The Source” albums by Boris Divider but with a new and refreshed production sound, for sure this will be a must item for all the electro community and fans of the label.

The album opens with the intro track “The Way You Feel Me” a mix between electro and synthwave with a moog bass and arpegio reminiscent of some Arpanet’s “Wireless Internet” tracks. Then followed for the “Letters From A Sleeper” theme. As the track’s name reflects, it's a clear tribute to the synth era of David Harrow/Anne Clarke’s “Sleeper in Metropolis” just like a reply from a postnuclear future, with a big role carried out by the initial synthline. Then the first slow bpm track is for “Distante” where synthlines a la Tangerine Dream are crossed and mixed with vintage digital rhythm machine sounds and the pattern seems to be taken from those Dire Straits’ “Money for nothing” intro drum arrange in an infinite and repetitive way.

In the B Side “You Know What I Know” track is again showing an Arpanet-ish intro synthline followed by a sequential prophet's arpeggio which bring us back to the old “La hora de las máquinas” sound. Closing the first 12 inch is “Sin Mirar Atrás”. One of the most important tracks of the album for the author. A big dimensional and introspective track full of vintage synthlines and reverb. Time for “Your Light” track is again here. This song was already presented with its own reference on Drivecom. A future pure Electro classic which was announcing the album months before.

In the same side, we find another slow tempo theme called “Recursos Infinitos” an instrumental track which implements several synthlines that interlink themselves into an infnite Tangerine Dream’s soundtrack that serves as a little break to the power and darkness of “Cenital”. Electro rhythm patterns and dark arpeggio synthlines in the vibe of Vangelis’ Blade Runner are mixed in this cold dystopian agressive dancefloor track. Later we find the theme that gives name to the album: “ Memories From The Dust” a slower track which mixes sounds and melodies between “La Hora de las Máquinas“ and other 80's digital keyboard sounds. The last track is just an outro theme called “Out of Sync”. Its name is a clear statement of its own musical arrangement, synthlines are full out of timing and synchro, it was recorded in realtime from a modular synth to a digital device in one take.

Repress.

Irish supergroup Princ€ss arrives to wherethetimegoes.

Max Holler a Berlin-based singer and musician founded Echo Romeo in the early 80s and later the Atlantic Popes, which himself considers his main project together with Bernhard Lloyd (from Alphaville).

In those years Max's dream was to direct films and create music videos but, according to his statements, the equipment for it was way too expensive. Therefore, after meeting Jurgen Erdmann from Dusseldorf, Echo Romeo and the first and only single "Your Tears" were born.

The Wall was still there and Jurgen had insanely adventurous car journeys to reach Berlin, precisely the Tritonus Studio where they recorded the masterpiece. But, despite everything and everyone, the title track "Your Tears" is one of the most seminal examples of robotic synth-wave we've ever heard with a driving bass that blows you away, mixed with a pulsating soul and lyrics that are pure poetry. On the B-side, we find "Dreams" and the same kind of atmosphere but, drastically pitched down and with a splash of jazz that is actually Max's first love.

The Covid Pandemic hit Germany in March 2020 and by the 15th of March all of the public life was shut down. It was the same day where my son Rio was born.
For me, this early stage of the pandemic had something very intimate and private, since I was forced to stay at home with my young family for weeks. In Mai 2020 I started to leave the house, for other occasions then just going to the shop or taking a walk and that was the time I started working on “Hotel Solaris”. It was an intense creative rush: in 8 weeks the album was written, performed and produced in one flow. I had two days every week, where I could go to the studio for 4 hours and that time the album was done. It had a corpus in a sense that I
knew I wanted a faster or a slower track at points, but the whole hotel idea came when I saw photos of the old Hotel Arkada on the Croatian island Hvar, that my extremely talented friend Marcella Zanki shot on her holidays.
They show a well preserved socialist-brutalist hotel architecture in the middle of the beautiful Adriatic and for me it was like looking at pictures from a timeless place, without knowing where and when it exactly was, totally surreal.
I liked that idea of a hote that stands as an escape symbol from the real world, which was something everyone needed when the pandemic was building stronger and stronger. I decided to call it Hotel Solaris, inspired by the novel from Stanislav Lem, where Solaris is a planet covered by an ocean which triggers our subconscious mind to
become reality. It all fit at the end and “Hotel Solaris” was done.

Celebrated new wave compilation from Japan reissued for the first time on Glossy Mistakes.

A much-cherished gem from the 1980s underground Japanese music scene returns as Soft Selection 84 is reissued by Glossy Mistakes for its 40th anniversary. Originally released on DIY label Soft, the compilation sees 13 tracks from nine acts spanning minimal, ambient, zolo and more for a beguiling listen.

The result is a charming time capsule of eclectic creativity in which nothing sounds dated. Take La Sellrose Can Can, whose two party jams predate Kero Kero Bonito's hyperpop by decades. In addition, an impeccable remastering from the original master tapes adds to the "could have been recorded yesterday" feel of the collection.

Soft Selection 84 also includes the eccentric Picky Picnic. One of the few featured artists with recordings beyond the anthology, the trio is an essential act for those curious about Japanese art pop of the era. There is also new wave introspection from Name, whose "Do We All Need Love" plays out as a sensual nod to John Lennon. In a similar vein is Clä-Sick, the recording name of Goro Some, the compilation's original producer and founder of Soft.

The record's rerelease comes with Some's blessing, along with his original artwork and photography. Ultimately, the listener is left tantalised by his selection and its bold excursions into no wave, synth pop, radioplay and bizzaro house. Most of the artists on this release would fade into obscurity, but the transient nature of the potential showcased has helped cement the compilation's reputation over the years.

Soft Selection will be released on vinyl LP by Glossy Mistakes on March 2024, with a remastering from the original master tapes.

*GATEFOLD 2LP**

Music From Memory are excited to present the first compilation of works by British electronic pioneers MLO aka Peter Smith and Jon Tye. Titled ‘Oumuamua’ and second up in the Virtual Dreams series, the compilation is an in-depth artist focused release containing twelve thoughtfully selected tracks that touch on highlights from the duo’s discography as well as newly (re)discovered music drawn from a vast archive of unreleased pieces, sketches and extended jams recorded between 1993-1995.

MLO’s ambient explorations began when Pete and Jon, having first met in rival punk bands during the late ‘70s, found themselves with unlimited access to an incredibly well-equipped studio, having been hired to produce an Icelandic pop star’s record in the early ‘90s. Particularly charmed by the Korg PS 3300 and an Emulator 2, Smith and Tye were also deeply fascinated by outer space and set about developing a musical landscape informed by both this new state of the art musical equipment and what lay beyond the Earth’s limits. Painting with a palette informed by classical minimalism, new age and the works of Cluster & Eno; the duos primary colours were drones, sustained tones, washes, calming tides, gentle temple bells and soft angelic voices with flickering glimpses of percussion and drums that hinted at the possibilities of a dance floor.

‘Oumuamua’ is a collection of music to get lost-in, a wander down the mazed, mirrored corridors of the subconscious. Peaceful, flowing, fresh-water patterns, drawing the listener toward a mediative, inner space. Not strictly ambient, rather the music rests temporarily within the boundaries between drum ‘n’ bass, library music, soundtracks and Techno. Or how Jon Tye himself puts it: “It really feels like music from a different place, a different time, made by different people.”

Artwork by Vica Pacheco, design by Steele Bonus, liner notes by Dr. Rob

Just as a film or painting does, recorded music proposes a space in three dimensions, it may not be permanent and it could be said to be illusory, but to us, in the moment, it is there.
Sunstroke were Ben Bollaert and Etienne Delaruye, both were obsessed with the burgeoning possibilities of electronic music it made sense that they collaborate in the studio.

The resulting experiments culminated in the 1985 release of Nothing's Wrong in Paradise.
The record was conceived as a soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist - a sophisticated meeting of post-Berlin-school dreaming, Yen-records hi-tech calm and Impressionist Café music ennui. What makes it most compelling though, is that even while it conjures a seemingly perfect world, something around the edges lets you know that all might not be as it seems. Maybe there is nothing wrong in paradise. Or maybe that’s just wallpapering over the cracks. The rough edges and regret of everyday life cannot help but intrude. Once you have spent some time with it, the whole record starts to seem bathed in a dim half-light, suggesting utopia glimpsed through a smudged lens.

Just like the ethereal space in their music Sunstroke only existed for a moment, a second LP was planned but never materialised, Delaruye returned to theatre music and Bollaert opened a successful synthesiser store and was active in the New Beat scene. Briefly they created a paradise and pointed out its temporary nature, all at the same time.

Remastered from the Master tapes.e.

Oblicuo, Madrid-based techno artist announces debut EP 'Another Possible Version' due March 4.

In the heady days prior to the pandemic, on October 23, 2019, Pye Corner Audio headlined Sonic Cathedral’s 15th birthday bash at The Social in London (on a bill that also included bdrmm and Andy Bell). Now, following a limited cassette release in 2020, the incendiary performance – which mixes improvisations with reworked material from across his career – has been remastered by Antony Ryan (ISAN) and is to be made available on vinyl for the first time. Wryly titled ‘Social Dissonance’, it comes on green and blue swirl vinyl in a striking fluoro green and neon blue sleeve by designer Marc Jones. “This is a recording of a gig in a small space with a big heart,” says Pye Corner Audio, aka Martin Jenkins. “A memory of a night before the world changed completely. However, new alliances were formed and friendships made in that basement in Little Portland Street.” Indeed, Pye Corner Audio went on to collaborate with Andy Bell on an acclaimed series of remixes and the Ride guitarist returned the favour by playing on some new recordings that will be coming out on Sonic Cathedral later this year.

White Marbled Vinyl

Rico Friebe (otherwise known as Rico Puestel) enters the stage, carrying the weight of his peerless debut album "Jenni". Based on completely unanticipated events from personal matters, the album quickly emerged during a state of deeper challenges, worries and depression, subversively operating as reprocessing and self-reflective counselling in a state of uncertainty. A fusion of electronic and organic origins, combining sensitive production work and vintage songwriting, tells an incisive story within a widespread stilistic diversity from the realms of Ambient, Trip Hop and beyond. An album of esteem and acknowledgement with a deeply personal tiding. A salute, a tribute, a reminder.

Rico Friebe (sonstig umtriebig als Rico Puestel) betritt die Bühne, die Last seines vergleichlosen Debüt-Albums "Jenni" tragend. Auf gänzlich unabsehbaren Geschehnissen persönlicher Natur basierend, entstand das Album in einer sehr kurzen, dennoch hochgradig intensiven Zeit tiefgehender Herausforderungen, Sorgen und Depressionen und fungierte daraufhin zugleich als Methode der Aufarbeitung und Therapie im Status der Ungewissheit. Die Fusion elektronischer und organischer Ursprünge, die einer Vereinung feinfühliger Produktion und klassischen Songwritings zugewandt ist, eröffnet die Erzählungen zu einer einschneidenden Geschichte mit dem Sprachrohr breitgefächerter, stilistischer Strömungen aus den Sphären von Ambient, Trip Hop und darüber hinaus. Ein Album voller Wertschätzung und Anerkennung mit einer zutiefst persönlichen Botschaft. Ein Salut, eine Widmung und Mahnung zugleich.

Repress!

Artificial Intelligence was born in 2005 with the AI Series events in Madrid as a deep and sincere tribute to the pioneers of the early Bleep, Braindance and Idm sound. Thanks to labels such as Warp, Planet Mu, Skam Records, Rephlex… and artists such as Richard D. James, Autechre, Jega, Boards of Canada…

Almost 20 years later we are back as a label with this first volume of 14 tracks by 14 different artists with the usual suspects along with some new faces where we want to express our love and respect for this sound.

Synth wizard, soundtrack composer, and Zombi member, Steve Moore expands further on his stark and drama filled cosmic sound with a new six track lp. These tracks call to mind to his early-L.I.E.S. releases, where Moore focused on cold arppegations and basic beat constructions to fuel his epic productions which center around pristine soaring synthscapes. A master of the genre, Moore gives us an equal mix of explosive, creepy home at the end of a dark street floor fodder as well as slower tempo cosmic headcrushers, all capable of getting your head or niteclub in a frenzy. Beyond epic!!!

DFR will start the new year with its second release, this time by Venezuelan artist Log_In.

An 80’s revival - connecting old and new school sounds with a vintage touch. From high energy hooks to deep evolving breaks, all four tracks focusing on emotional dance floor effect. TIP!