I love electronic music and I’ve been told my taste is often “left of center”. I also love to obsessively search for records. I tried to dig up 4 tunes you may or may not have heard, and write a quick description about what I like about them.
This month’s playlist is:
1. Phoenecia – “Aunt Alice” from Demissions (DETUND/Schematic)
Phoenecia have always made a softer, more melodic, and less showy sort of “IDM”– this is why they’ve remained one of my favorite glitchy bands for years. Like the rest of Demissions, this tune is melancholy, cinematic, and meticulously constructed. If you’re into this, it’s also worth checking out Phoenecia’s 2001 album, Brownout.
2. Syndrone – “Caste” from Salmataxia (Merck)
Number 2 this month is in line with the “melodic IDM” theme and is over a decade old. This little known side project by the man mostly known as Machinedrum still stands out as one of my favorite glitchy albums of all time. It’s also a great example of MOD Tracker virtuosity. Another notable cut from this record is “Colnkft”.
3. SD Laika – “Gutter Vibrations” from Thats Harakiri (Tri Angle)
I don’t know where to start about this tune– it’s just so wrong! There is something great about people who are willing to abuse audio compression. I love this super thick noisey beat with just the right amount of paranoia.
4. User 48736353001 (Aphex Twin) – “Bradley Echos”
You’re probably bored of hearing about this, but Aphex Twin recently posted a whole bunch of unreleased tunes on a semi-anonymous soundcloud account. These tunes seem to span the date range of his whole career and are often idiosyncratic glimpses into an artist who has previously surrounded himself in mystery. “Bradley Echos” is silly, cheesy, and more straightforward that a lot of the stuff we’ve heard from Richard D. James.