Bleep

Andy Stott continues his affair with Modern Love on full-length ‘Luxury Problems’. This eight-track album of material features the vocals of none other than Stott’s piano teacher from his teenage years – which he loops hauntingly throughout the work. Reaching out to newer dance trends is the compressed, shuffling percussion but these compositions have a heavy, drugged feeling - seriously intoxicating.

Originally released in 2012 and unavailable on vinyl since then, PYE Corner Audio's Sleep Games was one of Our Head Technician's earliest releases and has gone onto become one of his most cherished. A brilliant mix of science fiction library sounds encased in a bleary eyed radiophonic techno mist.

Another well-rounded, sci-fi themed release from Pye Corner Audio, who have been lurking in the shadows since their release of 'Black Mill Tapes' on Type, earlier in 2012. Surprisingly, 'Sleep Games' veers left of Ghost Box's familiar occult / hauntological leanings towards the slo-mo, post-disco, minimal wave chug of Not Not Fun, L.I.E.S. etc; acknowledging the likes of John Carpenter and Umberto along the way - less the likes of Delia Derbyshire and Belbury Poly.

Utterly brilliant!

Returning after a two year absence, this LP saw a new sound for the band and a new line up of just Keenan and James Cargill. Stripped down to these essential components, they sought inspiration from minimalist post-punk outfits like Young Marble Giants and created a record of pop melodies that maintained the signature Broadcast feeling of melodrama and despondency. Having lost a third member in the run-up to this album, track 11 is entitled Minus 3 and further demonstrates Broadcast’s ability to bring real life experiences to record in inventive and effective ways. The stark minimalism of Tender Buttons was a first for Broadcast but their enduring melodies triumphed once again.

Based on the Ancient Greek play 'Hippolytus', Los Angeles' Julia Holter presents her fifth release, 'Tragedy' - a melancholic journey into wistfully ethereal vocals floating naked above delicate synths, string work, vocoders and even church organs at one point. It's a fine demonstration of composition that manages rich texture and concept theatrics, along with a true pop-sentiment.

Holly Herndon follows up her startling debut with Platform, a ten-track affair of complex electronic structures that have a sense of playfulness deep within the complex maze of beats built throughout. Over the years Holly Herndon has quietly become one of contemporary dance music’s most forward-thinking and fearless luminaries having kept her release schedule tight but showcasing pure quality throughout. The majority of her output has been released on RVNG Intl. but on Platform, legendary indie 4AD have stepped on board to make Platform a joint release from both labels. Having recently graced the front cover of Wire magazine, Herndon is getting much deserved attention from outside of the underground electronic world. On Platform, Herndon has ushered in the viewpoints of cutting edge Dutch design studio Metahaven and digital artist Mat Dryhurst to ensure that the themes explored were looked in to thoroughly and creatively. Her avant-garde brand of electronic composition tackles themes like cyber-surveillance, cyclical social segregation and feudalism in the modern day to create a hugely interesting and enjoyable album of futuristic avant-garde almost-pop style polyrhythmic beat patterns, sporadic vocal blasts and patchwork production that prove that within modern music Holly Herndon is a truly unique voice.

Cendre was recorded between 2004 and 2006 in New York City by Ryuichi Sakamoto and in Vienna by Christian Fennesz, and has now been released in a special 2x10" edition. They came together for the mix in New York City in February of that year. Fennesz would send Sakamoto a guitar or electronic track and Sakamoto would compose his piano piece. This process was also reversed - Sakamoto initiating the track with a piano composition and Fennesz responding. Sakamoto and Fennesz blend the unstructured and imaginative qualities of improvisation with the satisfying sculpturing of composition. Sakamoto's piano, his style reminiscent of Debussy and Satie, perfectly complements Fennesz with his powerful blend of shimmering guitar and passionate electronics. The results on this album are like the best parts of Fennesz music blended intuitively with the best parts of Sakamoto's unique and beautiful playing. This is a really beautiful album that surpasses most of the frothy boring ambience people often call beautiful.

This is the first part of William Basinski's now celebrated Disintegration loops, elegant pastoral loops made from looping disintegrating old tape stock the recordings had originally been recorded onto. As the loop plays the tape disintegrates, creating a hidden recording that could only have come about due to the aging process of the medium they were recorded onto.

Grouper / Liz Harris has always managed to captivate audiences with her unique voice allowing her releases never go unnoticed and Ruins is no different. It features truly quiet, trembling vocals which resemble her previous work whilst what differentiates these are the breathless shaken syllables that come out like secrets. The closing track 'Made of Air', recorded 10 years ago, is one of Harris' most daring and ambitious tracks yet allowing the album to close off into a dream-like setting.