The ill-ec-tro-nic

Today's post is an attempt to cover off some things I've been meaning to mention for weeks in the (perhaps unlikely) hope that I'll get back to posting about things that have only just been released.

Emptyset are an act I've been meaning to feature on these pages for a very long time indeed as I've been a big fan of their work ever since hearing their Isokon EP back in 2007. Their brand of stripped back techno minimalism really appeals to me and they are a classic example of how a small sound palette can be used to keep intrigue in a track's evolution as well as producing an overall sound that really fills the speakers. Over the course of three 12s for Future Days and Caravan, these boys delivered some very interesting cuts that work particularly well for slowing things right down in the thick of a mix and making the listener really tune into the skeletal sonic remains before things get cranked up again. Their debut long player dropped last year and I must admit that it caught me a little off guard initially as it's a lot less dancefloor than I was expecting. The eponymously titled release strips things back even further than their earlier work and becomes almost an experiment in sonic manipulation, focusing heavily on drones, bleeps and white noise all underpinned by lashings of bass. Despite, not really being a 'dancefloor' album, some of the cuts on offer here would no doubt cause devastating effect if placed into the right hands although looking for standout tracks is not really the way to approach this album as it's not the kind of release to dip ones toe into lightly as the immersive nature of the complete sonic package is where the real beauty lies.

You can check out the album in full over at Caravan's Multiverse page where the press release also provides some interesting notes on the concept behind the album. You can buy a copy of the release at the usual outlets including Boomkat.

You can also download a mix put together by the less famous half of the duo (the other being 30Hz / Ginz who will be well known to any dubstep aficionados) that takes a pleasant walk through techno minimalism picking up some house and dubstep en route.

Emptyset - DJ Mix (Nov '09)

If Emptyset's darkness is a little too much for you, then perhaps Lusine's latest long player is a little more up your street. As with his earlier work, A Certain Distance is a solid electronica outing but this time with a much poppier vibe than before. The overall result definitely makes for a very engaging listen and there's some great tracks on offer but on some of the vocal numbers (Twilight in particular) things stray too far into easy listening territory for my liking. Don't let this put you off though as all in all, this is a pretty decent album and well worthy of your attention - you can pick up a copy here.

Lusine - Operation Costs // Ghostly International

Rounding things off for today is a good bit of Detroit style techno. Not actually Detroit techno as such as the producer in question, Davor, hails from Croatia but it came out on Detroit's Matrix Records and certainly uses a Detroit-esque sound palette. Four version of Transitional Objects feature on the Transitional Objects Remixes package although there's only actually two remixes (Jolka and Area, neither of whom I've heard of previously) plus the original and a beatless version from Davor himself. For me it's definitely the beatless 'No Gravity' mix that's the pick of the bunch as the meandering synths, rising chord sequences and sci-fi FX unfold to deliver an intriguing and very rich tapestry that, as the title suggests, allows the listener to float along with the music.

Pick yourself up a copy at Juno.

Davor - Transitional Objects (No Gravity Mix) //Matrix Records

Labels: Davor O, Emptyset, Lusine