Ocoeur - Reversed

Ocoeur's 2013 album Light As A Feather, danced with all variations of electronica in one of the most accomplished albums of the year. Melodic breaks and glitch, crossed with straight-up techno, made this one of my most-listened to albums and is the type of milestone release which has helped define n5MD throughout the years.

Franck Zaragoza is back with his third album on the label titled Reversed, focusing on a beautiful modern classical approach - a stark contrast to the energy in his 2013 release. Only the subtlest electronic sounds emerge throughout the ten-tracks, carrying an understated beauty projected through elegant piano and strings.

This intersection of electronic sounds and modern classical has been made synonymous recently by the likes of Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds and Max Cooper and it's a hard rank to join, yet Reversed is up there with the best of them.

Title track Reversed, Timeless and my favorite piece, Reverse Yourself, blend ambient textures and gently rolling beats, accentuated by strings, with only the smallest signature electronic glitches peppering each piece, reminiscent of Franck's earlier productions and further defining his signature sound. 

Opening track Flxo, and Souffle however, center around the piano and will make any modern classical fan draw the upmost respect for the entirety of the production - the simplicity and earnest approach you'd often expect from the most seasoned composers.

While the likes of Gionis and Time To Go and Chance, delve into more textured soundtracks, painting vivid landscapes and vouching for Franck as a master of soundtrack.

Ocoeur's ability to not only dive into this territory, but draw distinct, original sounds across the album is what demands attention. Subtle changes are all that's needed when you have the skill to let a beautiful piano do the talking. Reversed is an understated blend of my most beloved sounds and will undoubtedly be one of the best albums of the year for many. 

Reversed is currently streaming in full over on xlr8r and is available for pre-order on vinyl + digital through Bandcamp / n5MD. 

Ocoeur recently put together this mix for Self-Titled Magazine, featuring Floex, Nest, Brambles and The Green Kingdom.

Biosphere - The Hilvarenbeek Recordings

As The Sun Kissed The Horizon, is one of my favorite Biosphere tracks. It's a recording of (what to me sounds like) the empty fields after a bustling summer's day, as the sun slowly sets and people leave for home. It reminds me of my summer's youth, and every time I listen, I picture myself in that exact field, the same field I spent my summers playing football in, hanging with friends and generally enjoying my childhood. Music has the power to reinvigorate lost memories and despite me never hearing this until years later, this track brings back memories every time.

Biosphere's, The Hilvarenbeek Recordings were released last week and capture a similar emotional response. Across the four pieces, we're treated to a similar summer's day in 't Schop, which then develops into a warm, repetitive analog piece. Pipistrellus descends deeper into the grass and gives life to the small ticks, tweaks and sounds of the undergrowth as insects and birds come to life. Audax forms a more traditional Biosphere ambient piece with hollow expanses and a subtle melody as bass intertwines with a gaseous exchange, very similar to his N-Plants release. Strigiformes closes the release, with a vivid night-time landscape, featuring the shriek of birds and Owls amongst crumbling twigs and leaves. 

Biosphere is known for his field recordings, but they are sometimes lost amongst his more electronic productions, or in some instances, slightly too focused on extremely obscure sounds. This EP is the perfect middle-ground and defines the Biosphere I enjoy the most. A subtle mixture of beautiful ambient formed from some of natures finest textures - sounds that have the power to transport from your own relatable experiences.

“In 2013 Biosphere was invited by the Incubate festival in Tilburg to spend one week doing field recordings at the organic farm Boerderij ‘t Schop in Hilvarenbeek. These recordings were going to be released as a single-sided limited edition vinyl EP (100 copies) “for reviews/media/relations only! Unfortunately Incubate never managed to get it out. Last month, this record was suddenly released by the Dutch label New York Haunted without the artist´s knowledge and written consent. Nor did the artist get any chance to approve the artwork and the quality of the vinyl pressing. In fact, the artist has not even seen the record. ”

The Hilvarenbeek Recordings are available on the above mentioned limited vinyl and digital through Bandcamp.

Mark Pritchard, Sasha, Herbstlaub, Echaskech

Mark Pritchard - Under The Sun

Last year, we were treated to a surprise return of Global Communication, and despite the remix of Dusky's, Skin Deep, being just one half of GC behind the controls (Tom Middleton), it was as brilliant as ever. Mark Pritchard can therefore be excused for not making an appearance, as it seems he has been busy prepping a return to his ambient form with an upcoming release on Warp. The teaser track Sad Alron, sounds beautiful, almost Autechre/Aphex in style, but it remains to be seen whether the remainder of the album will expand on this style or veer into his more recent hip-hop style... let's hope the former. 

Available May 12th on Warp. 

Sasha - Scene Delete

Sasha is undoubtedly a massive influence on me and my love for dance music, and given his legendary mixes such as Northern Exposure and Involver often dabbled with the more downtempo of intros and atmospherics, it's of little surprise to see him try a full ambient/downtempo album. The press for Scene Delete is quoting influences from the likes of Nils Frahm and Max Richter yet the preview tracks sound nothing like the minimal modern classical sounds of the infamous Germans... I can't help but think this is just an attempt to sound relevant to the re-emergence of two awesome producers. The teasers sound like the many tracks that have opened or ended an infamous Sasha set, and whether the influences are audible or not, it doesn't really when you're as experienced and reliable as Sasha. Scene Delete sounds like an ambient album he was destined to produce, even if he was locked in a room by himself for the past ten years. 

Available April 1st on a multitude of lavish, expensive formats. 

Herbstlaub - Softly Hidden (Stray Theories remix)

A switch in gears to some ASIP alumni, with Herbstlaub prepping a new album titled Seems Like Time To Remember, Seems Like The Moment To Forget. His bubbly organic sounds and haunting, melodic backgrounds return, alongside a very special remix by Stray Theories.  Both Herbstlaub and Stray Theories have free releases on ASIP as part of The Places Series.

Pre-order on Bandcamp.

Echaskech - Certainty of Tides EP

Echaskech have been a part of ASIP since the very beginning over eight years ago, so it's immensely pleasing to see them still churning out the good stuff, and sticking to what they do best. Their new EP Certainty of Tides is available for pre-order, and in true Echa' style, it's another slice of sublime electronics; hard to pin down, and hard to put down, whether you're at home or dancing the night away. 

Pre-order on Bandcamp.

Purl & Sinius - Oceans Of Sound

There exists a subtle boundary between ambient music and beat-driven electronica. Dub-techno for example, is an obvious style and by that, I mean it often exists within a particular realm, with particular patterns, instruments and recognizable synths - it's hard to perfect but all too often, easy to replicate. And it's not often you find artists that leave you wondering where a piece fits all-together within that spectrum. Not everything has to be tagged or labelled, or even 'fit', but by the very nature of you struggling to place it, makes it all that more interesting and intriguing. 

One artist that continues to blur the boundaries of ambient music, is Purl. Ludvig's releases on Dewtone and Silent Season, have helped establish this expansive, bubbly, organic style which he is now synonymous for, and his latest album alongside Sinius, on Eternell, is another stamp on his lush, silky take on beat-driven ambient music.

With each track averaging around ten-minutes, Purl & Sinius' music is allowed the time and patience to grow and emerge. Be it a tiny cocoon, or a time-lapse of an entire habitat's emergence, each piece holds a sentiment that stays true throughout, yet develops unto itself as if it were an ever-expanding organism. It's this deep attention to detail that enriches each listen, and the swathes of glistening ambience that continue to carry you through like a bird soaring high in a jet-stream, looking down amongst the minute detail of the earths canopy. Crossing dense jungles, hitting blankets of fog, emerging in-front of majestic plains, this music moves you from all angels, and demands more attention.

It's an interesting partnership on paper, but one that makes complete sense once you're soaring with the transcending pads that no doubt come from Bass 'Flo's (Sinius) previous production experience (and who's Discogs page notes an upcoming album with Ulrich Schnauss no-less). Combined with Purl's organic and nurtured detail, it's a must listen to anyone that cares for ambient music. 

With so much detail amongst the ten pieces, mentioning individual tracks is like reviewing an entire album in itself. Oceans Of Sound, is best left up to you and the majestic night sky; or like the album art suggests, the beautiful dance of mother nature. 

Available on Bandcamp

port-royal - You Ware Nowhere (Remixes)

I'm a sucker for remix albums and I'm certainly a sucker for remixes by  a whole bunch of artists on this remix album of port-royal's, You Ware Nowhere.

With thirteen takes on port-royal's distinct glistening euphoria, you can expect the best of n5MD's powerful roster with a wide array of styles.  However, n5MD also opened this one up to a remix competition, so alongside the likes of bvdub, The Sight Below, Arovane and Ocoeur, comes competition winner Gustaf Fjelstrom. Not content with label regulars in full-force, n5MD also invited the likes of Atomnation's catchy electronica artist Tonik Ensemble and techno legend John Tejada amongst many others.

With Ocoeur's latest album coming down the pipeline soon, I was keen to see how he would handle the port-royal magic, and his take on Ain't No Magician is a nice little taster of Frank Zaragoza's upcoming album Reversed; melding modern classical styles with stripped-back electronica.

Remix competition winner Gustaf Fjelstrom elaborates on port-royal's unique style, taking the trance-like original down a notch and adding a touch of class, replacing the Italian's heavy synths with a subtle bass undercurrent.

Adding space, succinct drums and a twist of analog flair, Arovane opens up the vocal-heavy Alma M into a familiar IDM space, whilst fellow ASIP collaborator Rafael drives home the bubbling, twinkling expanse of Heisenberg as The Sight Below.

Tonik Ensemble lay down a dirty bass-line for Alma M serving up the polar opposite to Arovane's earlier careful caress. And in another similar extravagant take on the original, bvdub raises his notorious imagination level to eleven, with an energetic trip through a multitude of breaks, complex beats, trance-like pads and highly pitched vocals - undoubtedly a palette Brock had fun bringing to life. 

If you're not content with the range of styles so far, there's a touch of 80's flair and pop to a few of the remixes too, with John Tejada and Ambidextrous bringing out the european in port-royal. 

With such a wealth of energy, complexity and power in the original music from port-royal, the remixers certainly had a wealth of material at their fingertips, leaving us with an absorbing and intense listen from start to finish, and an educational journey across one of our favorite labels out there; n5MD.

Available now via n5MD and Bandcamp.

Tracklist:

The Last Big Impezzo (HatGuy Remix)
Disco-Adorno (Ambidextrous Remix)
Ain't No Magician (Ocoeur Remix)
The Last Big Impezzo (Remix by Gustaf Fjelstrom)
Alma M. (Arovane Amx)
Tallinn (bvdub's 46 Pieces of Estonia - feat. Aaron Molyneaux)
The Man Who Stole The Last Big Impezzo (Nseven Remix)
Whispering In The Dark (John Tejada Remix)
Alma M. (Tonik Ensemble Remix)
The Last Big Impezzo (Northcape Mix)
Karl Marx Song (To Destroy A City vs port-royal)
Heisenberg (The Sight Below Remix)
The Last Big Impezzo (Attilio Novellino Rework)