Browsing Tag

Alt Electronica

The anonymous electronica collective, Formanteau, detonated a bomb of colorful euphoria in their debut single, In Your Hands

Posted on 17 August 2022

In Your Hands is the debut mellifluously melodic feat of electronica from the collective, Formanteau, headed by a veteran underground music producer who has appeared in multiple film and TV credits for his compositions.

There is something incredibly reassuring about an anonymous electronica collective running in the same vein as 21st-century enigmas, such as Gorillaz and Sault. There is the immediate affirmation that the motivation behind the electro momentum is in no way egotized, and that is exactly how In Your Hand sweetly runs through.

The innocence in the reprise of “my life is only in your hands” made an unforgettable production out of the colourfully euphoric release that runs at the perfect tempo to leave you as invigorated as mellowed.

Get In Your Hands on your playlists by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Time Meddler – Folks Want Blood: The Tranquil Trip-Hop Enigma Returns

Posted on 13 July 2022

If you prefer your trip-hop on the more temperately exotic side, The Time Meddler’s latest orchestration, Folks Want Blood, will happily assist in your sun-bleached transcendence.

The cinematic Timothy and the Apocalypse Remix tears away from the electronica mould, before boldly roaming into avant-garde textures, kaleidoscopic tones and a sense of intrinsic soul that brings you right into the tranquil heart of the mix.

You scarcely need the producer’s bio to tell you that he’s been making beats since the 90s. It is written within the mellifluous leftfield gravitas that throws right back to that era.

The Timothy and the Apocalypse Remix of Folks Want Blood is now available to stream via Spotify. Hit play; the cathartic payoff is instantaneous.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Nocturnal Omissions – Local Customs: Meet Your New Experimental Escapist Playlist Staple

Posted on 15 June 2022
Pareidolia by Nocturnal Omissions

After the infinitely experimental alt-electronica artist Nocturnal Omissions invited us into the sanctity of his 2021 album, Tempus Destinatum, we’ve been hoping to see a return of his cinematic blends of post-rock, synthwave and chillwave.

The standout single, Local Customs, from his 2022 album, Pareidolia, is quite the departure from the last time we heard the one-man production machine, but a welcome reprieve from the soul-less electronica that floods the internet. The spacey meandering synths kaleidoscopically drift through the soundscape until the first crashing crescendo that lets you know just how immersed you are by pulling you through the tumultuous shift before the ambience creeps back, albeit briefly before another hammering blow of a breakdown.

Alchemic creativity and confidence in autonomy aside, any artist with the humility to describe themselves as perpetually emerging is an artist you should have on your radar.

You can check out Nocturnal Omissions’ album Pareidolia via Apple Music & Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ireland’s most experimental luminary ReHumanise has unleashed his monolithically surreal love song, Elemental

Posted on 11 June 2022

After a psychedelically soulful introduction to Irish multi-instrumentalist and producer, ReHumanise through his 2020 debut, our eyes and ears have been firmly affixed to the sonic maverick.

In his latest single, Elemental, he stormed in cooler and infinitely more visceral than Editors did when they unleashed Munich; it is a percussive electronic masterpiece with the acoustic snares snapping over the weight of the heavy electro beats. Juxtaposing-ly, every volatile fixture serves to contrast the soulful beckoning of the vocals as they project the canderous outpour of emotion in the celestial love song. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me if he had to travel to a parallel universe to write it.

Inspired by the likes of Depeche Mode, Radiohead and The Smiths, any true romantic with an affinity for unpretentiously humanistic experimental music will want to save space on their playlists.

Polished by the Grammy-award-winning mastering engineer, James Auwarter, Elemental is set to take ReHumanise to even greater heights after he released a top 5 hit in Ireland in 2017 under his real name, Damian Brady, and racked up over 90k streams on his seminal single 2020, Hu Man.

Check out Elemental on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yarsha has made his quirky darkwave electro debut, Do you wanna dance

Posted on 29 May 2022
https://open.spotify.com/track/0cc7i3ojtavuAUlqes7BDt?si=b86e08159aa64459

The darkwave synth-pop genre saw a surge of quirky innovation after the release of the debut single, Do you wanna dance, from the Italian self-proclaimed nerdy spiritual data scientist, Yarsha.

Starting with a similar stylistically moody edge as Depeche Mode and New Order, you’re drawn in by the familiarity. Once you are safely nestled into the synth-carved soundscape, that’s when the indulgent obscurities start to manifest in the distorted vocal layers and caustic effects which amass around the 80s synths. By that point, you’re suitably hooked in the paradox of so much personality breathing through an electronica soundscape, which progressively flirts with the more mechanical proclivities of industrial. It’s enough to make Covenant sound lobotomised.

To answer the question proposed by the title, as long as this track is playing, it is a resounding yes for me. We can’t wait to hear what the rest of the upcoming debut album contains.

Do you wanna dance is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

TheMindSettlers set the ambient pace in their latest oceanic alt-electro single, TakeyourTime

Posted on 18 May 2022

For their latest alt-ambient single, TakeyourTime, the Montreal experimental electronic duo, TheMindSettlers borrowed the rhythmic pulses of the ocean to remind their ever-growing fanbase that pace is the trick and to provide an opportunity to dip into a pool of lush azure chords.

The Aphex Twin influence is just about legible in the natural pace of the single, which is tinged by the duo’s respective affinities for the rave scene and Skinny Puppy-era industrial music. The instrumentals may be minimal, but TakeyourTime is still a force of meditative nature to be reckoned with. It stands as a testament to TheMindSettlers’ ability to deliver everything their moniker promises.

With more releases in the pipeline, TheMindSettlers are worth a spot on your radar and your ambient playlists.

In the duo’s own words, here is what they had to say about their latest production:

The idea came when we went around the city of Montreal and found some surfers close to Lachine Canal. The base chords remind the flow of the water, and we added a water noise sample in the background to accentuate that feeling.

TakeyourTime is now available to stream on Spotify and SoundCloud.

Follow TheMindSettlers on Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Meet The Future of Electronica: Geoffrey Toussaint – Sun & Stars

Posted on 5 May 2022
Geoffrey Toussaint

After spending the last few years trying to find his sound, the 22-year-old indie electronica artist, Geoffrey Toussaint now has a sonic signature well-worth flaunting. Especially if his trip hoppy alchemically modernist track, Sun & Stars, is anything to go by.

The Washington DC-based artist takes inspiration from Porter Robinson, SOPHIE and Ramzoid, but with the robustness of new wave hip hop and the visceral gravity that flows through his hyper-pop proclivities, Sun & Stars is anything but a feat of assimilation. Through the oscillating reverb laced around the robust percussion and deep throbbing basslines, it is as cathartic as it is innately exhilarating.

Sun & Stars will officially release on May 20th; you can check it out for yourselves here.

Keep up to date with new releases from Geoffrey Toussaint via Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Melodic bass meets noise pop in Heasuence’s latest experimental electro single, I Find

Posted on 4 May 2022

Melodic bass artists and producer, Heasuence has unleashed their evocatively charged trip-hop-tinged single, I Find. Despite the lo-fi production, it’s an artfully expressive electronica triumph. When the bass hits, I Find evolves from a melodiously downtempo and almost meditative sonic landscape with elevated indie-pop vocals into a monolithic cage of volatile turbulence.

The avant-garde and emotionally reflective elements certainly weren’t lost on us. It does what so tracks fail to do and brings you right into the artist’s psyche. And perhaps more importantly, in our commodified aural reality, it leaves an unforgettable mark on your consciousness with the ethereal versing of lyrics “I find peace in mystery” before the bass tears the track to asunder.

I Find is now available on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sandbender – Apostrophes: Soul-Sating Ambient Psy Noise

Posted on 28 April 2022

After playing in punk rock bands and dabbling with prog rock, the artist behind the sandbender moniker turned his noise-enthusiast inclinations to orchestrating ambiently psychedelic dub electronica.

His sophomore album, hiding moon, was officially released on April 2nd. The standout single, Apostrophes, is an opulently transcendent ode to the 90s era of electronica, with influences from Orbital, Leftfield and The Crystal Method all drifting fleetingly into the single that is also touched by the style of the noisier outfits Squarepusher, Aphex Twin and Infected Mushroom.

The art of immersive ambience is one that few artists and producers will ever truly master; only a handful of electronica artists possess the ability to entrance the listener. It is safe to say that sandbender is one of the most visionary amongst them. The beguiling complexities within Apostrophes make the 6-minute duration a capsule of catharsis.

Hiding moon is now available to stream in full via SoundCloud. For more info, head over to sandbender’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Night Movies got orbital in their cinematic downtempo trip-hop instrumental, Once Around the Sun

Posted on 15 April 2022

Once Around the Sun is an orbital teaser of what’s to come from the highly anticipated album from the UK alt-electro collective, Night Movies. The instrumental downtempo trip-hop track flirts with the brashier tones of trap while the moody yet dreamy cinematic production ensures that your trip around the sun is a cathartically immersive one.

The competition in the electronica field may be fierce but Night Movies, with their dystopically transcendent dark teeth and stellar line up of contributing artists have exactly what it takes to leave an impression.

Once Around the Sun will be available to stream from April 15th worldwide. The album which it was taken from, Dreamish, will be available from August 5th. Check out Night Movies via SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast