Flatland Frequencies
Dark and foreboding synthwave from Group Rhoda, the solo project of Mara Barenbaum. Channeling some Grace Jones vibes in this one, over skittering unprocessed 808 beats and deep pentatonic analogue bass lines. A good exercise in pop reductionism.
Get the vinyl direct here
Big fans of GRFRQ releases here at Flatland Frequencies, with many of their releases finding their way onto our monthly radio show.
Their latest offering is a lush 8 track cassette of bubbling lo-fi electronics from Chilian producer Iván Aguayo, who as the blurb states “creates emotive, dream-like vignettes of sound, assembled through an array of digital and analogue processes using electronics, traditional instruments, tape loops, found sounds, and field recordings.“
Head over to GRFRQ bandcamp and pre-order your copy now, as these things don’t tend to stay on the virtual shelves for long…
Randomly stumbled on a tweet recommending this release from a few years ago, made entirely on a 1960’s Buchla 100 system. Glad I did, as it’s very very nice indeed! Pure tones and drones, without any overzealous reverbs masking those tasty analogue waveforms!
Check it out here (and chuck em a few quid)
Four tracks of long form, linear compositions. There’s something quite modern and ‘techno’ about the sound design in these tracks, very up-front and clean, with the structure powering through from A to B. Quite refreshing for fairly long tracks to have the feeling of propulsion, without any tendency for meandering off the track.
Grab is now on the Frequency Domain bandcamp
Crowd Control Vol.1 is a more thematic and focused offering from Suffolk based sound artist Loula Yorke, in comparison to her more techno-orientated output in ‘Ldols’.
The topic of surveillance capitalism covers the use of digital products such as social media, as a means of surveillance and corporate influence. The term was coined by the work of Harvard professor Shoshana Zuboff and is also regularly covered by Silicon Valley commentator Jaron Larnier.
Not one, but two strong releases coming soon from one of UK’s most promising new cassette label of recent times. Miracle Pond caught our ear with their fantastic Polypores album a few months back and have been releasing with consistency since. One of the few labels that really put the effort in with the artwork to perfectly match the sound.
Deftly produced deep and acidic melodic jams from Jonathan Krisp. 5 tracks that work for the head and feet. This will appease fans of the Border Community sound, interlocking arpeggiations and finely tuned, sparkling synth-lines are the order of the day.
PJS, the collaborative name for Patrick Dique and Jordan Christoff, have put out a few cassettes over the last 2 years, on a range of labels we have featured on our radio show, such as Leaving Records, Salmon Universe and Constellation Tatsu.
Heavy bass weight bizniz from the UK don papa of electro, the mighty DEXORCIST. A welcome sight to see that name appear on wax again, this time with a ruff and ravey 4-tracker.
As you’d expect, things start hard and continue in the same vein, sturdy. However the surprise track of the bunch Jah’s Coming, echoes of early Sheffield bleep n bass, with an upfront bassline you can feel as well as hear.
Tip!
pre-order here
A balanced mix of organic and electronic sounds in this meticulously produced album from Neul. Formally known for their techno output, in ‘Fantasia’ Americana meets trance in this cross-over album.