Tag: edm

From Screaming Dubstep To Chip Tune Trap In May 2016

28 May 2016
Indie Electronica News
0 Comment

Voxel Records Explosive Music

This month, we have another diverse set of tunes from the electronic underground to share with you – so be sure to check out the playlist below!

Lately, it seems that the music business is getting confused about how we should listen to music. The closure of Beatport streaming suggests that we should be downloading our favourite tracks, but rumours of Apple closing its iTunes download may suggest otherwise. Meanwhile, there are reports that Bandcamp sales of physical media have increased significantly. In a world where the flow of data through the internet is often wasted like water, we think the download model is probably more helpful for many music fans because we can listen to our music off the grid. Carrying multiple subscriptions and draining our download limits is not always a practical solution.

Thankfully, there are millions of independent producers and plenty of platforms on which they can host their wares. From established players like Soundcloud and Bandcamp to the noobs of Orfium, there are plenty of music makers working outside the confines of corporate pop.

Voxel Records resident Maze Car has recently been lost in Spain (whilst some old friends are Lost In France). This has reduced studio time somewhat, and the search for a vocal component for the next single continues. We hope that this search will end before Mazey’s life turns into a crazy retro platform game and an acute case of life imitating art can be avoided!

First on the playlist this month is West Coast by Domascus. This is a screaming dubstep roller-coaster of raw riffs joined together by awesome stuttering fills, and the wailing portamento of the eastern-tinged lead is surrounded by bit-crushed drops. The music has all the power you expect from the genre, but Domascus manages to sprinkle a laid-back off-beat vibe throughout the track. We bet there is plenty more good stuff to come from this producer as he hones his craft.

Du by Bosque opens with a delicate, soothing and shimmering chord progression before a wistful lead and squashy traps take over. Gorgeously granular motifs play off each other throughout this deeply digital arrangement, like a journey from 8-bit to 64-bit that gives chiptune trap the silky finish it has always deserved. The combination of sound design, melody and style is rarely captured as sensitively as it is here.

Finally, we found Shattered Backbone by SHI. This is a production stripped back to the bone, with a subtle synthetic horn clipped and crushed beneath soft and sultry vocals and a thin veil of birdsong. There is a melancholy trip-hop presence here that is reminiscent of early Portishead, but the production stands out on its own with unique mood and style. With only a couple of tracks available we hope to hear much more in the future: SHI cool.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/227965798″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Box-fresh synth pop, electronic grooves and style-busting drum and bass for March 2016

28 March 2016
Indie Electronica News
0 Comment

voxel records potent new music discovery

 

Welcome to our latest update from the electronic music underground! We have a bit of a frog-flavoured theme this month, in order to celebrate a new demo from Voxel Records resident producer Maze Car. as ever, we also bring you a short playlist containing three more great tracks we discovered in the internet during the month of March.

The Maze Car demo currently goes under the working title Dub Croaky, and for a limited time you can download it for FREE at SoundCloud! This experiment combines some abrasive 8-bit tones with shuffling grooves and thick deep bass. It’s an epic journey that builds from basic beats into a trancey glitch-house workout – we hope you enjoy it!

First on the playlist for March is Trouble In My Head by Human Skills. This is the only track we found by this brand new, box-fresh band from somewhere in the USA. Launching into an up-tempo rhythm, the bendy, echoing synth motif takes the lead before the crystal clear vocals burst through like a shaft of light through an otherwise lo-fi mix. The wall of synth lines eventually gives way to a clean guitar solo and middle-8 (in true indie style), and there is enough freshness and familiarity to this music for it to find a home with all fans of indie synth pop. If this track serves to demonstrate their potential, we are expecting great things from Human Skills.

Having been available for two years, Rive Gauche by Carlini is not quite as new, but we are glad we found it. A slow, bouncy introduction with acoustic funk feel plays on before the piercing timbres of zither and thin synths form the true mood of the track.  The deep groove and the subtle bubbling of the bass mooch along until a neatly-etched passage of poetry finally plays the track out. This is a moody melting pot of influences that would be well received by any lovers of retro movie scores and Air.

Finally, we have Images With a Heartbeat by LA producer Hermetik. We are always pleased to discover a pioneering genre as we wander the internet in search of music, and this example of drill and bass introduces a new take on DnB. A simple hi-tempo synth arpeggio kicks off before the percussion takes control with a rigid, robotic jungle vibe. After a half-tempo breakdown, dark and dirty pads ebb and flow beneath the drums until more machine-edged synth motifs limp in and out of the mix. Make way for new wave industrial drum and bass!

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/209202042″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

 

Fresh drops of new music from the cloud

28 November 2015
Indie Electronica News
0 Comment

voxel records je suis paris banner

And we continue: the winter holiday season is approaching, so if you are wondering what to give your fellow electrophile buddies for xmas, why not snide on over to our NEW GEAR STORE …?

Voxel Records 909 Boom Hoodie

909 BoomVoxel Records 8-bit Love T-Shirt8-bit Love TeeVoxel Records Egg Beat TeeEgg Beat Tee

We are now offering a new line in high quality clothing and accessories, each adorned with exclusive Voxel Records designs. As ever, we also bring you another selection of the music we discovered as we crawled around the internet this month – check out the reviews below and listen to it all on the playlist.

For Voxel resident Maze Car, it’s out with the new and in with the old as he gears up for his next vintage sound experiments, so there are beats and beeps galore over at DAW ’84. He also promises to upload the results of the current project to the cloud when the studio stops crashing :s

First up on the playlist this month is Horizon by French producer Hubrid. This track is immediately reminiscent of Tron: Legacy era Daft Punk, at least in terms of timbre and tempo. The production style stands up to further scrutiny with its leaping synth arpeggios, podgy drums and epic underlying pads – but develops a darker edge as the riffs become more gritty towards the drop. It is the length of the track that leaves us wanting more – so if you are still hungry after this taster, then check out the other similarly styled tracks on the Hubrid stream.

Next is Venom by American producer Telekrex. He specialises in twisting effected synths (and indeed other sounds) into workouts that ooze fat, juicy tones right across the spectrum. This example of his work is suitably aggressive in terms of rhythm and filtering, which results in a distinctive down-tempo dub sound. The Telekrex stream mutates between ambient and modern dub styles and provides plenty to sink your teeth into.

Finally, we present Firecrackers by Kristaps Locmelis. Here, laid back jazz licks on the guitar are underpinned by a sparse, shuffling beat. The drums grow from seemingly organic roots, but are fashioned with electronic duality as vintage strings reverberate from beneath. Any followers of electrophonic crossovers like Broadcast and Air will appreciate the vibes emanating the Kristaps Locmelis catalog.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/169355904″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

 

 

Voxel Records Newsletter August 2015

26 August 2015
Indie Electronica News
0 Comment

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/137894758″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]

 

If a comet was indeed destined to eliminate planet earth in the next month or so, then this does not give us nearly enough time to PANIC. Some say that the offending comet sounds like “hell” but if it’s anything like Rosetta, we think it sounds kinda cute.  Instead of living in abject fear of Armageddon this month, we have been collecting a few more choice echoes from the deep space of electronic music. Not only this, but we have also started generating playlists across various music platforms … keep your eyes on the Voxel Records news feed for the stuff we find!

Maze Car is currently on a voyage of discovery, attempting to create chiptune breaks in 8 bits (or less). We expect some funky, crunchy demos to be emerging soon enough – but just how much can the Maze Car squeeze out of his vintage toy collection?

What else did we find this month?

H-arth by Hyph-n – This producer from Melbourne commits to posting a new track every two weeks. This recent output demonstrates Hyph-n‘s consistent style well: singing synths and dry, weighty basslines play off each other over a laid back tempo. H-arth is full-on and close-up, tripping between a spiky trap impro and a more organic, mellow groove which reclines into the shadows. A bit like star-bathing under a cool night sky.

Co-Star by Michael Lantela – Co-Star opens with sticky glitch-esque trills, and the atmosphere builds into a cogent, rolling trip-hop beat with swirling effects. The bass growls menacingly throughout, and whilst the underlying percussion is often complex, the sheer mass of the crunchy drums keeps a solid underlying rhythm. Further nods to chip-tune and ambient are noted in this heavy, down-tempo affair.

Try To Forget by Laugh Lines – This tune dives into dark, distorted dub waves from the start. it swells and subsides between well-placed breakdowns, and Letitia’s sweet and clipped vocals provide the sheen on the finished product. much like lighting a match in a dark hall, this track illuminates and burns brightly before smouldering to an end in a faint puff of smoke.

 

Warning: Undefined array key 0 in /customers/9/e/e/voxelrecords.com/httpd.www/news/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-analytics-scripts/wp-google-analytics-scripts.php on line 602