a sidereal kind of lifestyle...

Experimental 1/2 Hour - Episode XI: Grouper from Experimental 1/2 Hour on Vimeo.

It Is Thee Key To Thee Temple

Teebs - Ardour

Brainfeeder, 2010

Another fresh wax masterpiece from Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label, this takes the new beat sound into smoother, warmer, analogue ambient zones, i.e. less 8-bit arpeggios & angular clips, and more chimes, dusty drums, & Chain Reaction submerged aqua background pads. Massively chill stuff, it'll envelop you.

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iTAL tEK - Midnight Colour

Planet Mu, 2010

I've taken a sidestep from trying to dissect the endless flood of drone/synth/lofi psych bands into the current stream of fantastic beatmakers that I had all hopped off of a half year ago. I'm talking the brainy, thick, multitalented stuff; Flying Lotus, Teebs, Ras G & their ilk, some old & new Ninja Tune faves (the boxset that rules), and the current crop of post-dubstep norm-challengers, like this iTAL tEK album, Mary Anne Hobbes' Wild Angels compilation, Jamie Vex'd's positively illuminated EP, Starkey and the like. I had dismissed this album at first because I still expected them (and myself) to be able to squeeze some more testosterone from the thick bassy noise and aggressive jungle references, but now that my tastes have matured I'm ready to get into this new sound. It does take alot of cross-fertilization, it seems, from stuff like Flying Lotus & Ninja Tune, it's a civilized sound, edgy but not overwhelmingly masculine, jazzy, atmospheric, and avoiding the dub monotony that plagued early dubstep. Here's to the future, I hope you dig it, I know it's another transformation of my taste, but hey all that psychedelic drone, save a few consistent greats, has been getting old too to these ears.

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Julianna Barwick - Florine

Self-Released, 2009

Wonderful little EP from an artist who revels in that new kind of sacred minimalism created only by voice and sparse accompaniment. Think Grouper, Inca Ore, Xela's better recent works, etc. Only here there is more of an anthemic, worded, gospel-like glory. Positively in rapture here. Full LP, The Magic Place, is forthcoming on the Asthmatic Kitty label.

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Rhythm & Sound - Rhythm & Sound

Rhythm & Sound, 2001

Seems like all the bloggers in my clique have been outing their secret minimal dub / techno obsessions recently. Here's one of my personal favorites, one of the most solid, consistent, but still interesting compilations of ye olde Basic Channel crew. Nobody quite tastes as smooth as these fellows if I don't mind myself saying. Pure frosty cold dub tech beats. And Savage fucking hypnotizes on "Smile." BO!

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Marcia Bassett & Helena Espvall - Lapidary

Altvinyl, 2010

Amorphous & gorgeous bioluminescent twilit forest ascensions from two of the most powerful & skilled women of the movement, Marcia Bassett (aka Zaïmph, ov Hototogisu, GHQ, Double Leopards, etc.) and Helena Espvall (Espers, Fursaxa's band, Ghost collaborations, etc.). Inverted rainbows of emotional charges, nightside of eden but neither blackened nor charred, more sensual, liminal, and romantic. The sort of sprawling tactile-yet-ethereal drone sculpting we've come to expect from Bassett's best solo work. For focused, in-depth listening.

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