Tag: electronica

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

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!

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New innovations in electronica and techno

spook key apple

Welcome to our latest update from the world of underground music! During the month of February we have found some more awesome tunes as producers make use of their influences to transcend typical genres. The very nature of these crossovers means that we can’t put a label on the music – and that’s just the way we like it!

Maze Car has spent the last few weeks crossing various boundaries of his own, using some delicious new synths to explore the grooves that lurk between dub, chiptune and house. Head over to the Maze Car blog to hear about how he is stitching his latest demo together.

First on the playlist, though, is From Within, by Canadian synthwave sci-fi gurus c+d. This song is driven from the outset by stabs of thin bass and hissing snares, and the mood is lifted by every iteration of the powerful chorus. The mix fills with dirty synth-vox and wiry strings, and Donna’s vocals gain a dramatic urgency as she tries to keep her head above water. The c+d sound is reminiscent of Broadcast and Add N to (X) (wink), but there are also clear nods to NIN and Depeche Mode. There are more great sounding songs on their stream – so go have a listen!

Next up is Tune WIth Horse by aLLriGhT (featuring Horse). This pair of London DJs drops us straight into rude, spitting synths and heavy, plodding drums. The basic monotonic riff does battle with pitch bending buzzes and shredded arcade effects, resulting in a sound potent enough to demolish the sound system without the need for excessive bpm. Mike and Luke throw slow, weighty techno that was born and razed on the dance floor – keep checking their blog for more releases throughout this year. This is loud. With added Horse.

Finally, Irrealiser beta is the very latest from Japan-based producer Christmas (a.k.a. Dear McQueen), and the track is available for free download. The music has all the power of that uplifting, big hall techno vibe, but it is constructed from a brighter sonic palette and more stimulating grooves. The aggressive synths squawk and squeal over the boom of the beats, resulting in a style that takes old-skool Faithless to a new level of breaks, grit and groovy bass.

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New Year discoveries in underground music

voxel records jet microphone

Welcome to the New Year with Voxel Records. This trip around the sun has started with the loss of some influential musicians – so we would like to show big respect in particular for Bowie, Lemmy and Brad: Thanks for all the good times and the inspiration!

The RedSix studio has once again expanded its sonic arsenal. From the depth and control of the Roland JU-06 boutique synthesizer to the playful japery of the Teenage Engineering PO16, resident producer Maze Car is busy noodling with buttons and small lights. Apparently it is entirely acceptable artistic behaviour to fiddle with one’s Pocket Operator day and night …

Now for some more great music we discovered in the underground this month. First on the playlist is Final Lap by Cleeve Morris. This is a nostalgic journey inspired by the classic 80s video game Out Run. The tinny, cheese-grater FM synth sounds are complemented by deep, wide drums that plod firmly beneath the melodies – in fact, the snare is so deep that it is barely discernible from the bass drum. The tones are right on the money, though, from the arpeggiated lead to the late impro breakdown. Cleeve’s melodic retro synthwave fills the audio spectrum with a depth that the arcade games never could!

h.o.p.e. by BTFL MND is a down-tempo affair. The bright percussion is subtly glitched, and the pulsating pads and bass are given space to move and morph around each other. The lazy groove of the bpm is decorated with further arrhythmic morsels, resulting in some laid-back synth trap that fills the page with its beautifully balanced mix. There isn’t much on the BTFL MND stream yet, but keep your ears pressed to their Bandcamp page for future releases.

Finally, we really enjoyed the latest tracks by Way, Shape or Form, with 1.2.2016 being the first of the year from this American collective. The close, boxy drum machine is intelligently programmed, and it spits a rhythm tight to the groove of the track. These computerised timbres both contrast and complement the more organic elements of the music, which builds from a foundation of bass, through syncopated organ arpeggios and thick jazz-tone electric guitar to distorted pad finger-work. This is an accomplished performance and a fresh mix of instruments – keep it coming!

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Festive Tones From Electronic Wonderland

Festive 3D Baubles

Hello again, and welcome to the latest VXLRCRDS update. We have recently noticed that the internet may be in need of some stitching, because it seems to be leaking vowels. Whether this is in homage to major acts, the effect of an increase in the price of column inches or just some l33t-punk way of dealing with predictive text, we just can’t tell. Either way, a trend that seemingly bubbled up from the tunnels of underground music has now trickled into Twitter handles and beyond. We are sure that history will eventually let us know what caused this, but until then, why not enjoy some more of the tunes we found this month …?

Maze Car is pleased to announce the first mix of his new demo – listen to Those Shallow Games now on Soundcloud! Lovingly assembled from squelchy 8-bit gizmos and subtle but funky breaks, a few more tweaks are expected before a single release in 2016 – we hope you enjoy this preview!

First on the playlist this month is Bloom Sequence by En Snares, which is the first from his current long player All Tomorrow’s Yesterdays. A heavy, syncopated beat thumps at the subtly-glitched pads beneath as they heave like a pit of molten lava. The weighty filter swell then drives the track forward as an auto-tuned vocal creeps in, and the menacing lyrics complement the depth of the tones at work. Aspects of glitch, dub and noise are all evident in this down-tempo and moody production, so it’s well worth exploring the rest of the album.

Next up is Aout-kush by Leto Nojey. This track is constructed from three primary stems, each of which raises and lowers its profile as the piece progresses. First is a delicate ambient guitar intro, treated with a subtle delay, which soon gives way to free-form beats accentuated by the whip of a hefty snare drum. Finally, a deep bass riff drives beneath the other instruments to assume control, whilst sweet acoustic cymbal tones provide extra freshness to this well-formed production.

The last tune this month is Gangsta Walk by Dubtone. This track is one of only two available from this Romanian producer of meaty dub. The unassuming build-up of piano and hi-hats lifts the aura before the tune plunges like a guillotine into a filthy, funky dub-step breakdown and howling acid drop. The brilliance of the track lies in its simple but tasty fx, and it would definitely form a great strobe-fueled filler in the club. We’re looking forward to more output from the Dubtone!

 

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Fresh drops of new music from the cloud

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.

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New music treats from the indie electronica underground

Voxel Zombie Controller

Spooky. It’s nearly Halloween, so the Christmas lights are going up in the neighbourhood. Here at Voxel Records, our tiny minds can only handle one capitalist festival at a time, and only then in chronological order. So we are keeping close to tradition by providing you with a loosely horror-related graphic. And some awesome tunes!

Maze Car has experienced some more tech problems recently. There has been a bit of a horror-show in the studio whilst porting to Windows (so-called) 10, and what seems like a tidal wave of updates to Apple devices. But after all this, the break-bit tune project continues with help from Donkey Kong and Pocket Simon …

First up on the playlist this month is Socio by Wing Tip which represents one of the more recent offerings from this UK producer. We are thrown straight into a shuffling house beat and a powerful, flowing chord progression, which is subsequently peppered with a haunting vocal stab. It gradually builds layers which generate subtle underlying melodies, and the ensemble swells into a turbulence of echoing synths until the drop. This interlude is groovy but brief, before we are launched once again into the wall of sound for a climax. It’s the funky shuffle of the beat that gives this track the edge, and the layers of timbre and melody strengthen the appeal.

Voyager by Exile Pots is one of many abstract, experimental and captivating creations from the Exile Pots back catalog that we discovered recently. The release is by no means new material (having originally been recorded some time ago), but it is new to our ears and maybe yours. The lonely chimes from deep space echo, loop and dance like stars and planetary orbits, and whilst the parent Randomiser EP explores various sonic themes, Voyager is a particularly sweet and gentle example. Inspirational stuff, and lots of it!

Alright by suiix is the result of an apparently international collaboration (Berlin and Sydney) led by Sarah Julienne. The song impresses with mellow, breathy vocals and is blessed with subtle strokes from some skilled guitar drops. The beats stumble and stutter along a trip-hop vein, with pitched percussion peeping through the mix as the creation develops into a cascading flurry of strings, wandering vocals and wild intertwining guitar solos. Altogether this demonstrates some innovative production and arrangements, so hopefully we can expect more from this group in the near future.

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New Music September 2015

We have once again been ceaselessly searching the sea of electronica to find some excellent tunes to share with you. Also, we have started to generate some playlists, which should make it easier for you to listen to all the wonderful music we find. Check out our ever-growing collections on Spotify and Soundcloud for starters!

Maze Car continues to explore 8-bit chimes and break beats. It sounds like some interesting demo may emerge in the next few weeks – keep checking the Voxel Records demo stream to hear the results!

Here are some more great tunes we heard this month:

The Moon and I by Maebh: This track by Leeds-based composer Maebh and producer Nolasco crafts a dreamy atmosphere that turns gentleness up to eleven. The song tells the story of a lonely moonlit escape across the Asian wilderness, and the smooth arrangement of warm, jazz-tinged organic sounds with sweet meandering vocals is likely to leave you with goose bumps. If this track is anything to go by, we have no doubt these talented musicians will gain rapid popularity. Demand more!

Out of Breath by Baby Bats: This tune starts with a tinny muted filter, but soon builds into a bold, rolling and anthemic riff, rhythmically side-chained by heavily crushed drums. Organ timbres pepper the arrangement, accentuating the moody vocals before the track peaks with a rave-esque octave-leaping break-down. The music captures angelic darkness on a neat hook – hopefully there is a lot more to come from this innovative band.

Mutter by O-Tone: This German producer has a great collection of tunes, all of which ooze with a distinctive character. Mutter is driven by a plodding synth riff sculpted from pure vintage timbres, and the drums are sumptuously thick and close. These simple elements combine with a sinister, whispering vocal to create elektronische Musik with undertones of punk. Why not check out the rest of the o-tone catalog …?

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Voxel Records Newsletter August 2015

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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.

 


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