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Music

Sam Prekop, John McEntire – Ascending By Night

Ascending By Night is taken from the debut collaborative album from Sam Prekop (The Sea and Cake) and John McEntire (Tortoise), but given how excellent is it I think they should probably commit to at least half a dozen more. With four sprawling electronic compositions clocking in at just under an hour, Sons Of gives allows of its tracks the time to develop; to morph from one thing to another, with tonal shifts from dark to light and back again a common theme. Beautiful, patiently handled and exquisitely crafted.

https://thrilljockey.com/products/sons-of

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Pye Corner Audio – Does It Go Dark?

Yes. Yes it does.

https://www.instagram.com/steve.lacy

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Music

Tewksbury – COP26 (Excerpt)

Taken from the Canadian ambient musician’s new album Hush Hush, COP26 is one of four pieces that comprise the LP, all of which were created by combining several 16th century choral arrangements that were then altered and spliced together using reel-to-reel machines, before being played live via an array of eight guitar amps. For fans of William Basinski, Stars of the Lid and generally being awestruck while thinking Big Thoughts.

https://hushhushrecords.bandcamp.com/album/brutes

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Music

Levon Vincent – Sunrise

The new album from Levon Vincent, SILENT CITIES, is unlike anything he’s produced before, and is more concerned with mood and atmosphere than deadly dancefloor “weapons”, which is just fine by me. The entire album is great but Sunrise is a definite stand out, with its glistening, meandering synth line and washed out pads evoking both peak Mr Fingers house and 80s-aping synthwave.

https://levonvincent.bandcamp.com

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Music

The Range – 1995

US producer The Range is responsible for one of my all-time favourite and go-to “get shit done at work” mix. His new album Mercury is full of the same sample-heavy., outrageously feel-good electronic tunes, and while it doesn’t quite compete in terms of sheer propulsive energy as his mixes, is still definitely worth checking out.

http://www.therange.us

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Music

Salamanda – Hard Luck Story

ashbalkum – the new album from Seoul electronic duo Salamanda – is really, really lovely. In the press release, rather than banging on about all the different synths they used and talking about their inspirations, the overwhelming focus is the fun they had making it, and how their friendship inspired them to create music that was playful and soothing. How nice is that! And to quote directly from the PR: “Do dreams always reflect what we think? Is what we feel within dreams real? Ultimately, Salamanda don’t seek to answer these questions, so much as revel in the delightful liminality of it all.” Lush.

https://8salamanda8.bandcamp.com/album/ashbalkum

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Music

070 Shake – Purple Walls

Despite 070 Shake’s Modus Vivendi being my very favourite album of 2020, the fact that she released the follow up, You Can’t Kill Me, last week completely passed me by. You would have thought that sitting in front of a computer and hunting for new music for hours every single day would prevent this kind of glaring oversight, but apparently not. Anyway, it’s here, and it’s fucking great. I could have picked any one of at least half a dozen tracks to highlight, but let’s go for Purple Walls as it has that perfect balance of crushingly hard production and plaintive vocals. Peerlessly brilliant, as ever.

https://www.instagram.com/070shake

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Music

Jamal Moss – The Lust With-IN

Jamal Moss (who also records as Hieroglyphic Being) has been a pioneering force in Chicago’s electronic music scene for decades, producing a range of sounds from weird, glitchy electro, to gorgeous, melodic house. Most of the tracks on his Modern Love debut Thanks 4 The Tracks U Lost fall into the latter category, with The Lust With-IN tugging especially hard on the heartstrings with its melancholy pads and beautiful, cascading synth line.

https://boomkat.com/products/thanks-4-the-tracks-u-lost-93eb5e09-774f-48fc-abba-5fb562b3f8dc

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Planetary Assault Systems – Eden Tide (Barker Remix)

Barker is someone I wish released more music, as pretty much everything he does put out is fucking incredible. Since 2018’s groundbreakingly brilliant Debiasing EP he’s been ploughing a particularly rich furrow of (nearly) beatless atmospheric techno, now taking on a remix of techno royalty Luke Slater under his Planetary Assault Systems alias. Slowing the tempo and erasing all but the tiniest hint of a kick drum, Barker’s version is meditative, warm and essential.

https://soundcloud.com/voltek

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Music

HAAi – Pigeon Baron

Taken from her new album Baby, We’re Ascending which is out today, Pigeon Baron is an emotional banger of ridiculously impressive quality and intensity, and the thought of being three beans deep while listening to this somewhere in the depths of Block 9 next month is making me so excited I can barely sit still.

https://haai.bandcamp.com/