Burnski
Boom

Constructed from a library of sounds collected by the artist in the rainforests of Borneo, Llyr’s debut album is an expansive documentation of natural beauty and human interference. Out July 29th on Max Cooper’s Mesh imprint, it is the first full-length album from the Berlin resident.The result of painstakingly manipulating these recordings via a multitude of cutting edge production techniques, Biome is an expression of precarity and beauty. It invites the listener to be enveloped by Llyr’s augmented reality rendering of the tropical rainforest, one of the Earth’s most biodiverse and iconic biomes, and encourages them to consider our impact on the natural world.Split into two sections - Pre-Anthropocene and Anthropocene - Biome tells its story with vast sonic ecosystems of molecular detail. Opening to the sounds of bird call, faint monkey hollers and the gentle crackling of mist-enshrouded trees, the album sets its tone with an archetypal impression of the jungle; one of instant familiarity. This is then expanded on across eight tracks, with the first four offering an abstract meditation on the marvels of nature, and the remainder of the album presenting a sonic vision of human interference - more chaotic and complicated than before.Llyr’s recordings include signifiers of human presence left untouched as an integral part of the story, with natural phenomena manifesting in different ways on each track. The resulting creations are a testament to the inherent musicality of the natural world. ‘Courtship Signal’ uses a recording of frogs singing in Kubah National Park to map out the rhythms and pitches of its composition, reconstructing an exact structural replica of these mating calls before manipulating and recomposing. Elsewhere, ‘The Hawthorne Effect’ captures a swarm of insects engaging in a rare mating ritual, sampling both a collective hum and individual percussive moments to build an entire library of sound. Similarly, ‘Winged Chamber Music’ carves out a majestic sonic cave using recordings of water dripping and the chattering of bats pitched down to human hearing range. Having engaged wholeheartedly with these moments as they occurred, Llyr extracts themes and motifs with a sincere respect for their origins.The first section is made in its entirety from Llyr’s own rainforest recordings with no use of drum machines, synths or samples. The recordings feature at every possible scale from macro to micro: unmodified binaural field recordings set the scene; granulated layers add pseudo-synthetic textural atmosphere; iteratively processed one-shots provide punctuation; and carefully designed custom instruments, forged from short fragments and cycles, express harmony and rhythm. The second half, heralding the arrival of humans, relaxes the rule book and a smattering of synthetic elements enter the fray to maximise visceral impact.The resulting work is a debut album that considers extensive themes by weaving these rare recordings into a remarkably coherent sonic blueprint. Biome resonates as both an affecting listening experience and a thematic exploration of the changing world we inhabit.

Dublin’s Woozy label premieres on wax with Radial, the debut EP from newcomer Coe. 3 dubstep-informed club weapons b/w a percussive rework from Or:la.The title track recalibrates mid-noughties FWD> pressure, suspending us in an E-licked smog before puncturing the rave-lry with thrusting bass stomps and fervorous IDM-adjacent drums for an electro-id crazed stomper. Say (KL Tribute) flexes Coe’s wub mechanics, presenting computerised sound chaos before dropping a half-step hungry wobble fest, mounting the pressure on the ‘floor to a near combustible, skanking peak.On the flip, 403 slightens the pace for a chugging techno/electro zinger with a faint dembow shell, sounding like the soundtrack to a sinister salsa dance. Or:la’s drum-tastic Radial rework sees us out, conducting an orchestra of percussive pistons akin to a ravey engine room for a mid-tempo grooving killer.

The primer of techno was barely dry or England already had its own variant of the genre: UK techno. Original Man by British producer Dave Angel is perhaps the perfect example of what that variant sounded like, back then. If only you knew where to find it. The single was released in 1993 on a record label that has long since ceased to exist. Fortunately, Utrecht-based record label SoHaSo made this transverse techno-soul classic available again, in a punchy remaster. With its juxtaposed rhythm programming and orchestral arrangements, Original Man still lives up to its title, even if it is 30 years later. On the flip you'll find Quarter Pounder. With its nervous hi-hats and high paced rhythms, this seems like the perfect soundtrack for a highway chase between two roadhouses. As a bonus, SoHaSo has supplemented the vinyl version of this EP with a rare Dave Angel track which also was released back in 1993 on French dance label FNAC. It's called 4th Symphony and ticks all the right techno boxes: strings, hihats and a melancholic melody. If you wanna learn more about UK techno, you might as well start with this wonderful re-release.

Blue Hour completes his Remixed series with the fifth and final installment. Over the past five years, he has curated a quality addition to the label inviting key artists along side exciting newcomers to re-work his music. Remixed [05] sees Julian Muller, Adlas, Tranceman2000, and 3KZ bring the Remixed series to a close accompanied by a full re-release of all past editions plus new bonus material. A1 Meridian (Julian Muller Remix) A2 Flow State (Adlas Remix) B1 Introspective II (Tranceman2000's Remix) B2 First Light (3KZ Jungle Mix)

The A-side, Ronin (aka. J. Axel) the man behind several albums on PlackTown Sounds, Plastic City and Driftwood brings us "Mysterious City", classic Ronin sound here folks this being one of the first releases by the artist back in 1998. Followed by Swedish producer Johan Bacto (aka. Johan Svensson) responsible for labels such as PlackTown Sounds, Everyday, Mankind, Zync, Countdown 2000, with his "Takemountain" the combination of these creates the reunion of the tracks previously released 24 years ago, sounds just as fresh now as it did back then.The B-side Van Delta (Christopher Bleckmann & Hannes Wenner) a German duo in charge of EP's on Groove Attack Productions, M_Nus, Archipel, and Krush Grooves, gives us a nostalgic trip from 1999. "Adjust", with hypnotic keys and solid bass line building up the tension slowly but steadily creating the groove. The final track by Dav (aka. Davor Stosic) a Croatian artist B+Positive, Cove Recordings, and Sensei labels that regularly has been on Swag Records store shelves. "Flight", a fantastic example of late 90's tech-house. Hypnotic soundscape, variety of layers and a slow build up, giving the track an otherworldly feeling.All tracks were produced between the years of 1998 - 2003, timeless and rarer then rare.

Low End Activist on an industrial dancehall tip featuring Vybz Kartel approved vocalist Sikka Rymes including alternate updates from Low Jack and Loraine James.