In-Tune: Nulleins

Style: Electronica

"Seven Spaces is definitely not a concept album - it rather resembles a kind of sample assortment, composed of tracks produced from 2002 to 2005. However, the selection process has been dominated by one central ambition: variety. Particularly in the "electronic dub" segment, LP releases are prone to become slightly tedious when listened to in their full length, due to the genre's inherent bias towards lengthy and monotonous tracks. In addition, the absence of vocals and traditional song structures often makes it even more difficult to keep one's ears focused after two or three tracks. Achieving a high degree of diversity therefore has to be an important goal for a near-60-minutes release. Seven Spaces (hopefully) fulfills this requirement by alternating between organic, soothing, earthy pieces and "classic" rolling dub-techno tracks stuffed with lots of reverb and echoes - the latter already well-known from previous Nulleins EPs on Thinner. The album title refers to the impression this kind of music might establish in the alert listener's mind, especially when using headphones: each track opening up an imaginary room, determined by its distinct size, shape, surfaces, lights, temperature and countless other attributes. In short, it is really just an encouragement to let your imagination paint the video clip. Enjoy." - Markus Dolic (Nulleins)

Available at:
http://www.thinner.cc/

Highlights:
Another Day
Traces

In-Tune: Michael Forrest

Style: Electronica

"Michael Forrest is a solo multi-instrumentalist producer based in London. His influences are far reaching, from instrumental hip-hop through ragged electronica to jazz and classical music. The sound is asymetric, polyrhythmic, often atonal but always fun. Sometimes dark. Sometimes relaxed, sometimes very very tense. 'Pop production values are part of the creative process, correcting the wrongnotes or deliberately making them part of the sound' says Michael. A multi-instrumentalist, Forrest plays all his own instruments - the keyboard, the trumpet, cello, drums, decks and anything else he can lay his hands on. He makes no claims to instrumental virtuosity (although he is classically trained on the piano and trumpet), but rather uses keenly honed production skills to shape sounds, to remake them inside the computer - making pop production values part of the creative process, correcting the wrongnotes or deliberately making them part of the sound; bringing the organic chaos of the real world into the usually pristine world of electronica. When playing live, Forrest's music is heavily improvised (using Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, a keyboard and a trumpet through a Kaoss pad), focussed on rhythms - keeping the dancefloor moving. Forrest is almost entirely self-sufficient, funding his endless thirst for gear with a day job as a software developer. He also runs a community website at www.cinestatic.com that hosts writing, artwork and music from a host of contributors. He creates and monitors his own online advertising, pays for his own studio time, puts out music for free online. Until someone finally sees sense and starts putting out some of his records for money..." - Michael Forrest

Visit the website:
http://www.cinestatic.com/

Highlights:
Hobgoblin
Xut Um Up

In-Tune: Daniel Maze

Style: Electronica

"There are different approaches to noise in electronic music. technically, noise is described as an equal amount of output in all present frequencies ('white noise') and sounds pretty boring. People tend to mix their original signals with fragments of noise to get a more individual, maybe more haptical sound; on the other hand, a lot of strictly experimental music uses noise as the main source of audio, shifted in frequency and amplitude, fed back to the machines or distorted and delayed. Why do you have to know about noise when you want know about Daniel Maze? His Treehugger EP is full of noise! Like a graphic designer adding certain samples of pixelated dirt to his 'clean' graphics, Daniel uses different forms of unspecific audio to break the unreflected beauty of his compositions. April and pantomime for example are tricky four-to-the-floor house-tracks, with a beat that's playful and danceable, good melodies and a lot of warmth. Still they might sound a bit 'easy listening' if the noises were missing. But they don't! Jan Jelinek's farben-alter ego might be a good reference. For manhattan and playground minaturette, Daniel adds some more pop and gives his music a more indietronic-appeal without loosing relevance. The title track and ambulance chase at position five and six get into pop-music even deeper- pearling piano motives, smooth guitar pickings and vocal-samples make daniel sound like akufen, 70s electronic music and, ahem, art rock. You've got to listen to believe." - Daniel Maze

Visit the website:
http://www.12rec.net/

Available at:
http://www.archive.org/

Highlights:
Manhattan
Playground Miniaturette

In-Tune: Greetings From Tuskan

Style: Electronica

"Greetings From Tuskan comes from the urge to press buttons and putting things into sound. Listen and enjoy a little thought or memory. Just go and wander in a wonderful place." - Greetings from Tuskan

Available at:
http://www.myspace.com/

Highlights:
This One is For You
The 4th of Never

Free EP Available at:
http://www.plexiphonic.com/

In-Tune: Cagey House

Style: Electronica

"Cagey House is an electronic music entity that produces synth-post-pop-punk-psyche-hypno-exotica. More or less. It’s all done with a sequencer—and no real instruments were harmed in the course of any Cagey House endeavor. Cagey House tries to be light on its feet, but still ends up breaking things much of the time. His previous EP for Nishi was very well received. This time we're treated to a full album of his skewed, adventurous, melodious, quirky takes on electronica." - Cagey House / Nishi / No Type

Visit the website:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~keiferdavid/cageyhouse/

Available at:
http://www.notype.com/nishi/

Highlights:
The Summer Pump
Neon Phase Cluster

In-Tune: Hidekazu Wakabayashi

Style: Electronica

"Born in Osaka, Japan in 1977. After struggling with learning classical piano and composing I stopped writing scores anyway and started improvisation with instruments as many as I could, sing a song without words. That's what you can hear right here. Yet the music may sound a bit too slow they are all dance music. Maybe ambient waltz. The dance of sprit. Spirits and impressions. And somehow I began to call them Yin-Bient Music. Gondal is an imaginary island found in Emily and Ann Bronte's Gondal poems. I was very inspired by Emily's literature and I decided to create soundtracks for that Gondal island." - Hidekazu Wakabayashi

Visit the website:
http://members.ld.infoseek.co.jp/wambanko/kusamahula/eng.htm

Highlights:
Hello Mommy
You or Universe

In-Tune: Alexey V

Style: Electronica

"Kahvi Collective release #170 is the second of the alexey v ep's. Above is in Alexey's usual style (beat driven subtleness) yet has more emotion and feel to it than his previous offering. Progressive and epic, sheer delight in its ambience. Easy listening and enjoyable audio from russia." - Alexey V / Kahvi Collective

Available at:
http://www.kahvi.org/

Highlights:
Pointed
Stainless

In-Tune: Iloyd

Style: Electronica

"Iloyd aka Tolga Gurpinar has been creating electronic music since 1993. He has released 4 albums of different genres like ambient, worldfusion, chillout, progressive electronica, newage, and children's electronic music. 'Music is an exploration for me and I want to have fun of composing without having the stress of deadlines, contracts and I do really love to share it. I make deals with companies like Pump Audio who licence my songs to broadcasting networks like MTV, VH1, Discovery, History, etc. And this is how I earn money and have my music free on the net for personal enjoyment.' An Iloyd project from year 2005, Desert Green features light transparent ambient tracks with flowing dub grooves and world beats." - Iloyd

Visit the website:
http://www.iloyd.com/

Highlights:
Desert Green
Birdymos

In-Tune: Morgan Packard

Style: Ambient Electronica

"Morgan Packard's search for the perfect music for a benevolent future has led him to study jazz saxophone at Boston's New England Conservatory, to move to London to immerse himself in British drum and bass, to study classical composition, and to learn to program his own software tools. More scholar than fusioneer, he strives to understand the inner workings of the music he studies, using this deep understanding to more effectively create something new, rather than simply appropriating the glittering exotic sounds floating on the surface of the music he hears. Across all the music he explores, the qualities of beauty, melody, texture, and hypnotic repetition fascinate him, and these qualities unite his work across disparate styles. Most recently, Morgan has brought his diverse skills to New York City imprint Microcosm Music, recording tunes for their Macrofun 10" series and releasing a collaborative full length album with Ezekiel Honig entitled Early Morning Migration." - Morgan Packard

Visit the website:
http://www.frogwosh.com/morgan_packard/default.php

Highlights:
Billow

In-Tune: A. Vanvranken

Style: Electronica

"Electronic music with styles varying from ambient, downtempo, and minimal electronic. Organic textures and warm electronics make this something you can listen to any time." - Pelpp and A. Vanvranken

Visit the website:
http://www.avanvranken.com

Available at:
http://www.cdbaby.com

Highlights:
Sillhouettes Landed
Bye

In-Tune: Silke

Style: Ambient Electronica

"SILKE is a blend of classic instruments, electronic sound, on a minimalistic percussion background. SILKE is a concept project. It illustrates the story of german female pilot during World War 1. SILKE flugtag is a voyage in the air and on land, alternatively seeking heaven or hell. SILKE: light in the darkness, hellfire in the skies." - Silke

Visit the website:
silke-ambient.blogspot.com

Highlights:
Aweakening
Locust Baron

In-Tune: The Weir

Style: Electronica

"The Weir is experimental hip hop beats, heavy basslines and breaks. laid back instrumentals" - The Weir

A rather short description, but to the point.. Don't overlook, the music's good.

Visit the website:
www.theweir.co.uk

Highlights:
Devil May Care
The Tithing

In-Tune: Victor Elkins

Style: Electronica

"Victor is a beautiful musician that possesses mad rhythmic skills and a deep, philosophical mindset. His music represents a synthesis of all the various styles he's waded through during his tenure in this world. Both he and his work continue to evolve, ever changing like the Tao itself. Vic creates a kaleidoscopic collage with his music that reflects moments in time, memories of friends, and frozen perspectives from the past. From jazz licks to synthesizer manipulation, Vic is always able to meld his vast interests into new sonic structures that brim with uplifiting melodies. As an artist who has spent time listening to Elvin Jones, John Coltrane, and Charlie Parker, as well as Squarepusher, Ulrich Schnauss, and Aphex Twin, his skills encompass both live, improv-oriented reinterpretation of parts on acoustic instruments and solo electronic composition. A true product of the computer generation, Vic's artistic vision coincides with current movements in abstract electronic (sometimes referred to as IDM). This music represents the random blips and ecstasy of our modern, digitized world and puts the noise and beauty of electricity on display. His compositions are a running commentary on his individual and independent take on reality. This unique and pure perspective is the root of his talent, creativity, and depth. Victor's music stands forever defiant of a capitalistic culture that systematically bombards us with watered down, mass produced artists." - Malik Rosinski, Sufi / Jazz guitarist

Visit the website:
www.victorelkins.com

Highlights:
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Infinite Wisdom

In-Tune: Cardamar

Style: Electronica

"Those familiar with Di.FM will no doubt know of Cardamar's mixes - but did you know he was also an acclaimed producer of chill/idm? Well, now you do. A small ep with three tracks of exquisite audio treats for your delectation. Verging slightly on the commercial side of things but with an interesting dark slant on things." - Cardamar / Kahvi Collective

Visit the website:
www.cardamar.com

Available at:
www.kahvi.org

Highlights:
Start (Instrumental Mix)
Obscure Scenery

In-Tune: Trapist

Style: Electronica

"Trapist, a Vienna based trio, is Joe Williamson on bass, Martin Siewert on guitar, and Martin Brandlmayr on drums. The group formed when a friend, Silvia Faessler, invited them to play a concert at the Rhiz in Vienna. It was not until several weeks after this first meeting when the group decided to continue working together and came up with their name. The name came from the Trappist fraternity whose devotion is demonstrated by their silence. Restraint is a key word in the Trapist musical vocabulary, thus the name felt like a good fit. They dropped a "p" allowing the word to also make an obtuse reference to trapez, the German word for the free flowing trapeze. The trio is a group of experienced improvisers who collectively like to explore and question familiar surroundings and contexts for both art and music. They think not only about melodic and emotional elements of music but additionally look at structures and forms. A trio whose deliberate and spare improvisation show that while they are interested in the sound of silence they have a focused energy that often escapes restraint to reveal angelic melodies resting on sinewy grooves. Their unique blend of sparse improvisation and delicate electronics is a welcome and refreshing change for fans of electronic and free music of all types." - Trapist

Visit the website:
trapist.klingt.org

Available at:
www.thrilljockey.com

Highlights:
Observations Took place

In-Tune: Marshall Watson

Style: Electronica

"The sound of machines in love; Overflowing with beautiful melodies and bass heavy distorted drums, Marshall Watson's delicate constructions of complementary and contrasting layers of sound conjure images of summer romance, mischief and adventure. 'The music changes with the seasons. The same song that works in the spring, will work in the fall, and have a completely different meaning. I am highly affected by the weather, and Seattle has great weather for staying inside and working on music obsessively. Lots of gray skies and rain, but when it is sunny here, there aren't words to describe how beautiful it can be.' His music indelibly leaves his unique mark on the indie-electronic landscape and injects a healthy dose of originality, soul, and a kick up the arse for anyone who thinks all you need is the correct software to make beautiful music!" - Marshall Watson

Visit the website:
www.highpointlowlife.com

Highlights:
Fifty in June
Joins Rambles