I revived an old music blog from the early 2000s?

Maybe it’s been a foolish endeavor, and maybe I’m the only one who misses the blog ol’ days, but I’ve been giving it a shot. I’ve been working on restoring some of the old content, though much of it was lost. I’ve slowly been rebuilding the old remix sunday archives, and even posting the occasional new edition. And I’ve been writing again.

You can find all the label’s releases here, on bandcamp, or most anywhere you listen to music these days. I’ve still got copies of some of the old vinyl releases, and I recently released the first in a set of charitable cassette compilations to raise awareness about the continued [mis]use of broken windows policing methods.

Plus, I put together a playlists section with a handful of spotify lists that hopefully start to capture a [slightly] updated version of the moods we used to peddle. Give those a listen and a ❤ if you would be so kind. If you want to get in touch, just give me a holler.

– Haldan/Boody

  • LOOR – In The Dark

    Melancholy-in-the-club from Bristol’s LOOR, the dance project from former alt-J member Gwil Sainsbury. This song is from LOOR’s latest record, Sings In Japanese: We’re Sad Because We’re Alive, which explores the potential for cultural resonance and emotional self-exploration in the use of royalty-free samples, particularly from the Splice platform. It’s an interesting tact to take, and Sainsbury makes a good point in describing how emotionally productive it has been for him to shed his cynicism about where a sound is sourced:

    [W]hat I’ve found is that by using these samples—quite shamelessly—I have been able to enhance the emotional resonance of my own electronic productions beyond my original intentions- it’s opened doors that I didn’t realise existed. These emotional spaces have in turn allowed me to explore my own emotional life in ways I couldn’t have done before.

    This makes a lot of sense. The emotional value of a piece of music is in the ear of the beholder, so to speak—why should it matter if the building blocks of that music are available to everyone? Is it really that different from other forms of sampling? Or from using a I-vi-IV-V chord progression? Probably not, except for the fact that Splice is a VC-backed startup built on Goldman Sachs dollars and with an estimated worth of over half a billion dollars. To what extent do the investments flowing to companies like Splice actually benefit creators? Sainsbury recognizes this inherent conflict too:

    In a way, I’m not entirely comfortable with this. I think that the commodification of music is a serious problem and, in a way, a for-profit company like Splice is part of a general wealth extraction from musicians. […] Despite the rotten core of capitalism at the heart of the EP—there is a small, beautiful mushroom growing out of it that is simultaneously joyful and yet deeply sad in its own existence.

    He seems to be saying that out of something ugly, we may as well try to grow something beautiful, if for no other reason than we are essentially powerless to avoid the greed upon which the creative industries are reliant. This is a sentiment I can get behind, even reluctantly; perhaps our power is in the lasting value of what we build on the backs of the powerful. Without Velasquez having dutifully painted his portraits of Philip IV and members of that court, history wouldn’t have recorded his emotionally rich examinations of the working class and disabled.

    Sings In Japanese: We’re Sad Because We’re Alive is available now on bandcamp, or wherever streams are offered. There’s also a lovely remix from 1-800 GIRLS on the record that you ought not to miss.

    LOOR – “In The Dark” (bc)

  • Mailbox: IDDO & OKADOSH – Erokanji

    Desert esoterica from IDDO and OKADOSH. Hard to pin down these songs, but they feel to me like what Cristobal Tapia de Veer might create if he was a Burner and he accidentally took a hit from the wrong person in a chill out tent (gosh, maybe he actually is a Burner?). All the songs on the pair’s collaborative EP Erokanji, have that same sort of warbling dissonant sweetness that de Veer’s music captures, but here they feel like they’re behind some sort of veil—as if the DMT’s haze is making it impossible to quite zero in on a central motif. The whole record is quite lovely in its distinctiveness, so don’t take my tongue-in-cheek descriptions as anything but a somewhat reductive attempt to describe something for which I lack quite the right words. Just have a listen. My favorite is definitely the EP’s closer, “Momentum.”

    Erokanji is available now on bandcamp, or for streaming, wherever you do that sort of thing. The image I’ve featured above isn’t actually the record’s cover art, but I would be remiss if I hadn’t featured some of IDDO’s portraiture, more of which you can find on his instagram.

  • Visual Velcro 29

    Shygirl & Cosha – “thicc” (sc)

    Oneohtrix Point Never – “On an Axis” (sc)

    Lord Spikeheart – “REM FODDER” ft. James Ginzburg & Koenraad Ecker (sc)

  • From the Mailbox 5

    Tongue-in-cheek outsider house from German Guetta Thunberg, who clearly doesn’t take themselves all too seriously. They describe themselves as “making the world a better place,” which I’m not sure is a reference to Greta or David, or both. But for all the irreverence of their name and presentation, the music’s definitely good. No bandcamp for this, so grab the mp3 below, or find it for streaming wherever.

    Guetta Thunberg – “The Music’s Good” (mp3)

    Sharp and effective lofi house/UKG hybrid from So Only. I’m not sure where in the UK So Only is based, but perhaps Lancashire, as he’s been getting robust support from BBC North West, despite having only released a handful of songs so far (all of them quite good). Strong showing here though, a promising sign of what’s to come. No bandcamp, so grab the mp3, or stream it all over.

    So Only – “Belle” (mp3)

    Simple but solid emotive breakbeat done the LA way, from newcomer Soki. This is definitely in the vein of what Shawn Reynaldo has been calling big room sad, which feels like a slightly derisive descriptor, but honestly it works. Mainstream melodramatic tears in the club for zoomers, what can you do? I like it. No bandcamp for this, but it’s available for streaming wherever you may prefer to do that.

    Soki – “Without You” (sc)

  • Wil Bolton – Null Point

    Wil Bolton is an East London-based artist who’s been releasing textural ambient music for the past fifteen years. His latest album is Null Point, out on The Slow Music Movement. It continues Bolton’s focus on found sound, granularity, and deliberate melodic gradation; however, where much of his previous work has been less concerned with rhythmic elements, this record makes liberal use of organic percussive elements, apparently some of which were sampled from an old 7″ of sounds of the human heart. While these thuds, rumbles, and clanks are present throughout the album’s six songs, it would be inaccurate to describe this as a rhythmically focused record; it’s not. The foci in each song are without doubt the meandering and intersecting melodic lines, and the carefully carved sounds delivering those patterns.

    When the label sent me the record, it referenced Boards of Canada in its press release. That’s always a surefire way to get me to pay attention (I’m one of those who wakes up at least a couple times a month wondering if BoC will ever release again), but when I listened to Null Point, I didn’t hear the reference at first. But I was drawn in nonetheless, and after a few listens, I think I hear the connection. I found myself thinking about Null Point as what it might sound like if the brothers Sandison/Eoin got really into Norwegian Slow TV, or perhaps my personal favorite youtube channel, Kand Hayati (sometimes the only thing that can get my toddler to calm down). I suppose this is a particularly fitting reference, given the name of the label releasing Null Point, but I swear it’s really true. Some of Bolton’s synth patches feel like a shimmering suspended BoC line was taken and timestretched, then chopped, resampled, and reshaped into a pluck or a stab, and then sequenced into a delicate dulcet melody. But where there is often the presence of anxiety in the Edinburgh duo’s music, Bolton seems to have shed that while maintaining all of their penchant for nostalgia. Like if gazing out the window on a rainy autumn morning was simply replaced by a summer afternoon nap in the backyard under a cherry tree.

    You can find the album for streaming all over, or for purchase on bandcamp (support the artist, do the latter).

  • Mailbox: Haven – I Write Music For Those Who’ve Never Been In Love

    Haven is a singer-songwriter from New York, and she’s current with I Write Music For Those Who’ve Never Been In Love, her second EP, following 2023’s Panacea and a string of singles before that. The record is unabashedly pop, but sits comfortably among the new class of pop and R&B artists choosing uptempo double time UK production styles over the weathered half-time quasi-trap stuff that’s been unavoidable for over a decade.

    The lead single on I Write… is “Better Run”—a pearly two-step romper that evokes early Shygirl records. Vocally, Haven seems to be embracing her youth and femininity, with a lilting cadence that often sits near-falsetto. Lyrically, it seems at first as if Haven is treading familiar woman scorned territory, with a simple chorus in which she repeats simply “you got me missing you” and describes a lover who never really appreciated her (“you never liked me / never thought highly of my face”). But the second verse takes a darker turn, with Haven’s character revealed to be more vengeful than the song’s pink champagne mood would first have indicated. “Don’t run from what you’ve done / I hope your life turns into dust, pass me the knife, this is getting fun” Haven croons, with what one can only suspect is a twinkle in her eye.

    At first blush, Haven comes off as an artist exploring largely straightforward pop, but with a little interrogation, it becomes clear she’s seeking to imbue her music with more than just the conventional female pop narratives, and trying to imagine herself in the shoes of characters with richer emotional lives. That creative modesty is worth attention. I look forward to hearing what she does next.

    I Write Music For Those Who’ve Never Been In Love isn’t available on bandcamp, unfortunately, but you can stream it at all the usual outlets, which you can access here.

    Haven – “Better Run” (sc)

    (Expand)

    This review was written in support of the artist’s promotional campaign.

  • From the Mailbox 4

    Strong early showing from Leeds-based producer Fine. A cyclical piano motif and the distant sounds of a theme park undergird Molly Rymer’s lulling vocal on this first single from Fine’s debut record, Then, Now, Until due out in May. Pre-order the album on bandcamp, and grab the song below, or find it for streaming all over.

    Fine – “Empty Space” (ft. Molly Rymer and Jonah Evans) (mp3)

    This is the closing track on the latest record from Melbourne’s re:abel. I wrote about the previous single from this record a couple of months ago. Where that one was all deep red crushed velvet 2-step, “Otherside” is more cerulean fogged glass electronica. But no less evocative. No bandcamp for this unfortunately, but grab the mp3 below, and stream the EP at all the usual outlets.

    re:abel – “Otherside” (mp3)

    Dublin’s XXXX In Stereo sent over this smoldering jungle roller, made in honor of Northern Ireland and Man U legendary winger George Best, who some call the best dribbler of all time (debatable obviously, but damn, he was no slouch). This is a free download, but support the artist on bandcamp, or stream this anywhere you do that sort of thing.

    XXXX In Stereo – “Ode to Best” (mp3)

  • Remix Sunday 165

    You look at any poetic creature: muslin, ether, demigoddess, millions of delights; then you look into the soul and find the most ordinary crocodile!
    – Anton Chekhov

    Remix Sunday 165 Zipped Up. (119mb zip)

    Manuel Göttsching – “E2-E4” (Om Unit Edit)

    Caroline Polachek – “Pretty In Possible” (Tom VR Edit)

    Tom Dell – “Burn” (Tom Dell Hyperspace Instrumental Edit)

    Jill Scott – “He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat)” (Wilhelmina Bootleg)

    Shenseea x Trini – “Pon Mi Brazil” (Sinjin Hawke Edit)

    Bola de Fogo & As Foguentas – “Atoladinha” (Beltran 7am Dub)

    Sho Madjozi – “Sena Ala” (Morwell Remix)

    Ariana Grande – “Positions” (Jukaa Bootleg)

    Kid Sister – “Lipgloss” (Lo5ive Remix)

    Guido YZ – “Real Lo” (4am Kru Remix)

    Peggy Gou – “Nanana” (Eloquin Bootleg)

    Basement Jaxx – “Wheres Your Head At” (Joku Bootleg)

    image/ Diana Markosian

  • Mailbox: Aatocaster – Pendant / Exp

    Aatocaster is LA-based Alex Lubeck. His latest release is this pair of bright rays of delicate electronica. According to the artist, both songs are about gratitude. “Pendant” tells of a talisman—either object, person, place, or being—that can be relied upon to save you in your moments of greatest need. However amorphous, it’s so important to have emotional and psychological backup, a support system of some sort, even if not in the form of friends and family. I shudder to think what would have happened to me in the past were it not for the support of my personal outlets, my favorite places, my people. “Exp” is meant to illustrate the result of that support — what one can then contribute to the world as a result of having survived it.

    These songs are out now on bandcamp or for streaming, and will apparently be part of a larger release coming later this year.

    Aatocaster – “Pendant” (sc)

    Aatocaster – “Exp” (sc)

  • From the Mailbox 3

    Fluttery drum-n-pop from Malaysian artist Lunadira. The most obvious reference here is PinkPantheress, but this song also really brings to mind that Sassy 009 song I wrote about a couple of years ago, “Blue Racecar” — that’s a good reference coming from me; I constantly have that song stuck in my head. No bandcamp for this, but catch it on streaming.

    Lunadira – “crying over nothing (wah wah)” (sc)

    Tightly-knit drum patterns, staccato synth shimmers, and indecipherable vocal sample dust on this sharp percussion workout from Madrid’s frankydrama. I can see this going off on the right floor. Grab it on bandcamp or for streaming.

    frankydrama – “Y.E.I.S.” (sc)

    Icy North Sea-inspired breakbeat angst from Drive to Tears, about whom I don’t know much except that this is the third song he’s made public. But he’s open about the fact that he’s using his music as a direct outlet for his depression, which is more than respectable. Strong early showing. No bandcamp, so find it on streaming.

    Drive to Tears – “Running” (sc)

  • Visual Velcro 28

    Kim Gordon – “BYE BYE” (bc)

    Beth Gibbons – “Floating On A Moment” (sc)

    YUVI – “Жидає” (bc)

  • Flex Ariani & Lacy – Tension / Neck

    Flex Ariani and Lacy are both artists from Greensboro, NC. They’re current with this white label maxi, the first release on Less Than Family, a DIY imprint meant to act as a vehicle for the output of a collective of musicians (most based on the East Coast) of which both artists are a part.

    A-side “Tension” lives up to its name perfectly. It’s a patient half-time roller centered around larger-than-life sub and a disembodied voice telling us what’s what. It’s a great example of how a minimalist quasi-drop can be so much more rewind-worthy than a drop that goes big. “Neck” is on the flip, and it’s likely the more versatile tool of the two: a shuffling bit of mongrel UKG with choppy reptilian vocals and appropriately clattering percussion.

    Both tracks (but particularly the A-side) are perfect examples of understated modern dubstep that’s low-end-focused and mid-range avoidant, out at a time when many of the genre’s originators are returning to their old styles in force. It’s really refreshing to see a new generation of artists embracing the elements of dubstep that made it so exciting when it first emerged, before it was co-opted by the EDM machine and maximal-ized for its midrange–and often middling—big room potential. All that midrange wobble worked fine to shred the fuck out of the open air in a stadium, but what was lost was all that wonderful greasy viscous sub, and the power it had to fully engulf a human-sized audience in a well filled basement. That’s not to say there isn’t a role for the shreddy midrange wobble, or that the Skreams of the world shouldn’t strive to fill giant venues with dubstep heads old and new, “real” and “bros” alike. It’s just even more encouraging to me that those events are coinciding with a new wave of producers warming up to the sultrier side of what was once the most ambrosial club genre around. If this single is any indication, Flex Ariani and Lacy—and the Less Than Family crew in general—deserve our continued attention going forward.

    Tension / Neck is available on bandcamp, so go support the artists there. Or for those of you more inclined towards streaming, both songs can be found at all the usual outlets.

    Flex Ariani & Lacy – “Tension” (sc)

    Flex Ariani & Lacy – “Neck” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Morwell – Loving You (Remix)

    Celestial-scale breakbeats from British-Croatian Morwell, off of his newly released remix EP on which he reinterprets the tracks from his previous record from early last year, Resonance. In the case of “Loving You,” the dissonant rave stabs of the original are swapped out for cosmic piano chords, and vocals read from HP Lovecraft’s Beyond the Wall of Sleep, and the clobber of the break is dialed back (but just a smidgen). While these two versions exist in the same general orbit, the other remixes on the new record tend to be more severe departures from the originals upon which they’re based, often dipping dramatically in tempo or shifting genre altogether.

    You can grab both the Resonance remixes or the originals on Morwell’s bandcamp, and while you’re there, check out his whole catalog. He’s impressively prolific; there’s tons of good stuff to get lost in. You can also find all of his stuff from streaming, if that’s more your speed.

    Morwell – “Loving You” (Remix) (sc)

    Morwell – “Loving You” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Havening – gorpt up

    Infectiously odd experimentation from New Zealand’s Havening. I’m telling you, they do it weird in NZ. I wrote about some of Havening’s compatriots last month—about how well those artists from NZ captured a sense of everyday dread and gloom, and that maybe that was part of the Kiwi condition, so to speak. But this track, and Havening’s other work, leads me to believe it may be more accurate to describe a willingness to embrace esoterica, and let the everyday weird in. This song is just as strange as those I posted from flip for garth and Qwazdyn, but most of the gloom is replaced by a sense of calm curiosity. There’s still an underlying current of mild dread in that arpeggiating synth line, but don’t we all wake up some mornings with a combination of resignation and optimism? I may dread one part of my upcoming day, and look forward to another.

    I’m not sure if there’s more direct meaning intended here. ‘Gorp’ is a funny word, and that may be the extent of it, or maybe Havening is referencing the act of eating greedily, or an affinity for trail mix. Either way, I like this song.

    You can find this for streaming anywhere you do that sort of thing, or support the artist by grabbing a copy on bandcamp.

    Havening – “gorpt up” (sc)

  • From the Mailbox 2

    First up is Syglit, an artist from Russia about whom I know just about nothing else, but both tracks on their new record are sublime exercises in mood and glitch. Find them streaming all over, or grab them on bandcamp.

    Syglit – “you_re late” (sc)

    Syglit – “source .env” (sc)

    Next is the new single from Iranian artist Pari Eskandari. I posted the video for Eskandari’s previous single a couple of months ago, which was a vivid exploration of the struggle of women in Iran, made in-part as a tribute to Mahsa Amini. This new song is equally compelling, and was produced by Eskandari, together with Tricky and Peter Kirn, and released on Tricky’s False Idols imprint. Find it for streaming, or on bandcamp.

    Pari Eskandari – “Drehmoment” (sc)

    The last one is from another artist I know little about: London’s Omar Moon. This is from a charming beat tape that you can find on all the streamers, but unfortunately not on bandcamp. Thankfully, Moon okayed me sharing with you all the mp3, which you can download below. Lovely stuff, this.

    Omar Moon – “i love us” (mp3)

  • Olof Dreijer – Coral

    I was so overcome by excitement for Olof Dreijer‘s Rosa Rugosa 12″ last year on Hessle Audio that I totally overlooked sharing it here. Suffice it to say, the record was exactly what I’d been missing since falling in love with the old Knife records — songs that elegantly teeter between emotionality and humor. Dreijer hasn’t lost any of his Swedish knack for pop sensibility, and he’s still combining that with a healthy dose of side eye, a curled smile, and an aesthetic all his own: one I will clumsily describe as evocative of impish toucans flying around in a botanical garden formed of plasticine.

    Now he’s got another record on the way, this time for the ever-exciting AD93. It’s out March 6th, but you can listen to the A1 below, and pre-order the 12″ on bandcamp. You can also still grab a copy of Rosa Rugosa on bandcamp too, but I’m sure they’ll sell out soon. I can’t pick a favorite song from that record, so I’m just sharing all three here.

    Olof Dreijer – “Coral” (sc)

    Olof Dreijer – “Rosa Rugosa” (sc)

    Olof Dreijer – “Camelia” (sc)

    Olof Dreijer – “Cassia” (sc)

  • Hidetoshi Koizumi – Number Face

    Number Face is the new album from Tokyo and Paris-based composer Hidetoshi Koizumi. Koizumi is better known as Hybrid Leisureland, the pseudonym under which he released music between the years of 2007 and 2021, at which point he shifted to using his real name. The new album—his second under his real name—follows closely his previous work, and is primarily concerned with the intersection of serene texture and minimalist, hyper-intricate programming. Over the course of the album’s seventy-five minutes, on songs like “Finale” and “Illusion in Illusion,” Koizumi coasts gently across the tranquil waters of carefully laid pad washes, disturbed only by the delicate insect-wing flutters of serial clicks and blips. He moves from the near-neo-classical territory of “Clowns” and “Second Delight” to songs like “Phantom” and “Misalignment” that almost feel like highly restrained takes on dub techno.

    Koizumi describes Number Face as an exercise in “express[ing] a sympathy with the various movements of the human heart; the thoughts, feelings, and concerns of our daily lives.” This sentiment feels realized here. After a few listens, I found myself hearing the record as the soundtrack of everyday people completing their activities of daily living, if perhaps at times at both lethargic and manic paces. On “Second Delight” I can picture the overworked parent frantically vacuuming their house as soon as they’ve arrived home from work, before rushing to get dinner prepared; “Snow Tiger” could be the soundtrack of someone soaking in the tub until they prune; “Judge” could be the song you hear when you catch someone’s eye for a couple of seconds too long on the street; album closer “So Was Red” could be just for someone eating a meal alone with their thoughts.

    These daily mundanities are easily overlooked, but they carry with them most of our feelings and thoughts, whether fleeting or concrete. As is the case with much of his previous work, Koizumi seems willing to treasure these moments, in lieu of focusing on the more melodramatic or visceral. The result is a record that at first blush is placid, but upon more thoughtful reflection is full of insight into everyday living, the kind of record that can keep you company while keeping you even-keeled — one that doesn’t feed on your agita or lull you to sleep.

    Number Face is available now on all streaming services, and for purchase on bandcamp.

    Hidetoshi Koizumi – “Phantom” (bc)

    Hidetoshi Koizumi – “Illusion in Illusion” (bc)

    Hidetoshi Koizumi – “Judge” (bc)

  • Visual Velcro 27

    Joshua Crumbly – “again, on the road” (bc)

    Brian Wenner – “Age of Execution” (bc)

    Paultra Violet – “I Will Find Your Heart” (bc)

  • From the Mailbox

    I’ve got so much good stuff coming in all the time, and I don’t always have the bandwidth to cover as much as I’d like. So, in the interest of not letting too many gems fall through the cracks, I’ll occasionally be collecting a handful of recent contributions into a new From the Mailbox feature.

    Wonderfully idiosyncratic club music from Perth’s Nikolas Thompson. I love when a song feels totally built for purpose, like it was produced by a DJ just to fill a specific hole in their set. Grab the mp3 so it can serve that purpose for you too. Thompson seems full of personality, zeal, and good ideas, so I’d keep an ear out for more from him.

    Nikolas Thompson – “On The Sure (Waiting For Me)” (mp3)

    Next, it’s more dancefloor frenzy from Norway’s Dr. Sepi. This time it’s breakneck triplet carioca syncopation meets 170bpm breakbeat fury. DJ’s: grab the mp3 for free below (and don’t miss that last one I posted too).

    Dr. Sepi – “IceDrop” (mp3)

    Finally, another slice of ambient breakcore / online jungle vibes from ERRx, who I’ve covered in the past. Two pristine minutes of flow state music.

    ERRx – “breaking down” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Sound of Fractures – Don’t Worry

    More unabashedly vulnerable dance music from North London’s Sound of Fractures (aka Jamie Reddington), who I’ve covered a couple of times now. This is the third single from Reddington’s interactive album Scenes, a project that encourages listeners to contribute their own memories and rewards them by generating unique album art for the next song in the series based on their contribution (plus one of the submissions becomes the official artwork). Participate in the project, and in so doing get to have a listen to the next single.

    The Scenes project is also emblematic of Reddington’s approach. I’ve been following him on socials the past few months, and the guy is clearly working hard to try to create something special — leaving no stone unturned. I know he has young children, as I do, so I’m extra impressed by what he’s managing to accomplish. He’s seemingly using even the most peripheral of moments to generate content that may inch him forward. I can’t always say the same for myself, but his determination is almost as inspiring as the music itself.

    Find this song, along with previous Sound of Fractures material, on all the streaming services, or support the artist and grab this one on bandcamp.

    Sound of Fractures – “Don’t Worry” (bc)

  • Astrid Sonne – Great Doubt

    Do you wanna have a baby?
    Do you wanna bring people into this world?

    Hope battles doom on Danish composer Astrid Sonne‘s new LP Great Doubt. It’s fair to feel trapped in this tension. There’s so much in the world to be in awe of, and so much simple beauty by which to be captured. But we’re also inundated with information that rightly ought to make us doubt our collective futures, and in turn would cause most artists seeking sincerity or posterity to doubt themselves. Sonne puts these contradictions on plain display on her new record, and in doing so, gives the impression of utter confidence–anything but great doubt.

    Sonne’s previous three records were largely instrumental; confluences of heady and often futuristic sound design and measured instrumentation. They were all terribly beautiful at times, but also sometimes bearish. They gave a sense of Sonne as thoughtful and self-aware, but maybe also a touch self-conscious or unfeeling. There were previous glimpses of something else among those records too — Cliodynamic‘s “To Change Is To Continue”, outside your lifetime‘s “Withdrawal”, or Human Lines‘s “Alta” were all moments that made me sure something much more fluid was at work beneath all the virtuosity.

    The new record is so much looser than its predecessors, and it’s wonderful for it. Most obvious is the addition of Sonne’s words; they appear on much of Great Doubt, and they’re almost all full of such a welcoming tender unpretentiousness and intimacy. But I also get the impression that Sonne has become unwilling to hide behind a complicated sound palette. The sound design across the album is skeletal, and at times, almost naive in its simplicity (at least when compared to her previous work). This is a ruse, I think — there’s still plenty of care put into these sounds, but I think that’s mostly just a product of Sonne’s skill in getting at the essence of the recipe, no longer overworking the ingredients. I believe she just had the confidence on this record to let the sounds serve the songs, and not obfuscate her feelings with overthinking.

    Great Doubt is out now on Escho. You can purchase it on bandcamp, or find it for streaming anywhere.

    Astrid Sonne – “Do You Wanna” (bc)

    Astrid Sonne – “Boost” (bc)

  • Macro/micro – Reassembling the Self

    New work from Tommy Simpson, also known as Macro/micro, whose last album I wrote about in 2022. This song is the ending credits music for R.A.E.R BETA 0027, a sci-fi short film about a novel confrontational therapy modality that cinematizes the subject’s psyche and draws them through a visual tour of their own memories and feelings. It’s a wild little film, and Simpson’s score is perfectly subdued and tense. His work lends itself to this sort of thing, so it’s no wonder the whole soundtrack works so well. Find it on bandcamp, or for streaming all over.

    Macro/micro – “Reassembling the Self” (bc)

    Simpson also recently released “VoE” or (Velocity of Emotions), a commission for Lever Couture to soundtrack their recent collection and runway event of the same name. This is an epic—clocking in at just over fifteen minutes, but wholly engaging throughout—intended to capture the internal contradictions of being human, and our collective struggle to find peace in our respective polarities. Listen below, or find it on bandcamp.

    Macro/micro – “VoE” (sc)

  • Visual Velcro 26

    Gacha Bakradze – “Bowl” (bc)

    Solbore – “The Often” (bc)

    Kelela – “Happy Ending” (A.G Remix) (bc)

  • Remix Sunday 164

    “So then you’re free?” “Yes, I’m free,” said Karl, and nothing seemed more worthless than his freedom.
    – Franz Kafka

    Remix Sunday 164 Zipped Up. (113mb zip)

    Charli XCX – “No Angel” (Lil Gossip Remix)

    Jason Derulo – “Watcha Say” (Proc Fiscal ‘paul fisk olbas oil’ Mix)

    Mez – “Woiya” (Kami-O Remix)

    Yasin – “Har Dig” (Slackin Beats Edit)

    Joy Orbison & Overmono – “Blind Date” ft. ABRA (Disaffected Bootleg)

    B Goody & Tjerbor – “Coasting” (Mick Jeets Remix)

    Robert Miles – “Children” (9TRANE Edit)

    Tame Impala / Austin Marshmallows – “Borderline (Cover)” (Udachi Remix)

    Billie Eilish – “Therefore I Am” (RamonPang Remix)

    Ice Spice – “In Ha Mood” (Yunzero Edit)

    ⣎⡇ꉺლ༽இ•̛)ྀ◞ ༎ຶ ༽ৣৢ؞ৢ؞ؖ ꉺლ – “△▃△▓ – …” (Kelbin Edit)

    Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Forbidden Colours” (Florentino Version)

    image/ Olgaç Bozalp

  • New Hots Hots 9

    DJ Arana e Triz – “Fuzil dos Drake” (sc)

    pherris – “Sinta Isto” (sc) [buy on bandcamp]

    Falcons & Richtanner – “Art of Baile” (mp3)

  • Mailbox: Maud – Wherever I Go

    Glittery and tense breakup pop from Oslo’s Maud, real name Kristine Hoff. The gist here is straightforward, but familiar to many: it’s after a painful breakup and you’d rather never see that other person again (or at least you need some real distance for a minute), but you keep running into them, either actually, virtually, or at least mentally.

    This is from Maud’s upcoming full-length The Love That Remains, which you can pre-order on bandcamp. It’s out February 16th. You can also find this for streaming all over.

    Maud – “Wherever I Go” (sc)

  • Mailbox: Thys, Big Dope P, TT The Artist – Squad Up

    Filter house meets g-tech from Baltimore’s club queen, TT The Artist, together with Noisia’s Thys and Big Dope P himself. Doppie and Moveltraxx continue their neverending quest to remain the most productive ass shakers east of the Atlantic.

    Taken from the upcoming SBF26 compilation, out 2/26. Preorder on bandcamp, or find it for streaming wherever.

    Thys, Big Dope P, TT The Artist – “Squad Up” (sc)

  • Mailbox: miiinty – playing spyro on a ps2 emulator gave me a hit of dopamine!!!

    More of that internetcore-adjacent online jungle I was on about a couple of months ago. This time it’s this very playstation roller from miiinty, who I know nothing about except that they’re [maybe] from the UK. Besides the song’s bloodshot title, the only indication of miiinty’s inspiration is the following statement: “born to uwu forced to thug it out tbh.” Like any good loading screen song, this song’s appeal is immediate and it remains engaging throughout, in a way that could probably go on forever before you’d notice the game had frozen.

    Not on bandcamp, but you can find it for streaming anywhere you’d think to look.

    miiinty – “playing spyro on a ps2 emulator gave me a hit of dopamine!!!” (sc)

  • Mailbox: bad snacks – iiwannabe

    Like many of her fans, I became aware of LA-based bad snacks from that great track she made during a session of Andrew Huang’s “4 producers 1 sample” challenge. Notwithstanding her violin chops, at the time, she was primarily putting out LA beat scene-type stuff (there’s still no great name for that subgenre, but you know the wonky stuff I’m referring to, right?), which she continued to focus on for quite a while afterwards. She did some great performances in that context too, including online during the pandemic for the likes of Brainfeeder’s twitch channel.

    Lately though, she’s been putting out sublime dance music. She shies away from calling it house music, instead referring to it as “home music.” Cute joke, sure, but it’s honestly a pretty apt description. I can’t really see “iiwannabe” fitting all that well in most club sets, but I sure do see plenty of people (myself included) really enjoying a romp around the living room to it.

    Grab this on bandcamp or find it for streaming. Her youtube persona, much like her music, is also as earnest as can be, and a great resource for producers and other music people of all sorts—I recommend you check that too, if you’re not already there.

    bad snacks – “iiwannabe” (sc)

  • Mailbox: kmodp – 2023:01.2 Electric Telegraphy 24 May 1844

    Today is just a day for experimental composition and ambient explorations, I guess. Seattle-based composer and producer Stephen Karukas, aka kmodp sent me this curious piece a couple of weeks ago. The title refers to Samuel Morse’s first message sent over telegraph: “What Hath God Wrought.” As Karukas tells it, because this first transmission was the basis of all electronic communication that followed—including music distribution—he sought to write something that would juxtapose Morse’s “weathered quasi-religious” message with other elements more “enigmatic and futuristic.” The song does just that. It feels like its the product of time travel, like something that might have been made by a church organist from 1844 transported to the present and plopped in front of an open Ableton Live session.

    The song is available now on bandcamp or for streaming. It’s the first single from kmodp’s upcoming album Crimée No. 7 scheduled for released in early February.

    kmodp – “2023:01.2 Electric Telegraphy 24 May 1844” (bc)

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