Today we debut our newest monthly post. Since the beginning of this magazine that we have been receiving great electronic tracks. For some reason, we didn’t post about those submissions because we felt they should be integrated into a specific mood. We are now building that mood with a monthly post focusing the best of indietronica. Because we want to also give our support to other type of arts we invited Wilson Gracart to illustrate it. This is Electromental – part 1.
Danksy – Cycles
Cycles is the perfect track to kick things on! The first song from Danksy an emerging electronic artist based in Dallas, Texas, combines abundant doses of a jazzy feel, with breathable bits where a guitar gently weeps, with an always shining drum set beat, and huge amounts of melodies. Inspired by the likes of Tycho, Bonobo, and Boards of Canada, this is a track to get you breathing and leaves you the perfect combination of sharp and entertained. The artwork is inspired by the hyperspace scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey (which besides making sense, adds an extra dose of cool to it).
Yohai – Distance (Part II)
Yohai’s second song called Distance (Part II) was the one that introduced him to us. With a feeling of traveling and contained euphoria we can’t quite put into words, this Berlin-based electronic music producer combines feelings of euphoria, beats we can’t get enough and out of the ordinary vocal samples. The track is part of a 3 music EP with the same name, that came out on the 15th of May. We encourage you to take these trips.
Harry K – Looking for Lanterns
Probably the most difficult track to describe on this list is Looking for Lanterns by Stockholm-based Harry K. Described as electronic music spanning from soft to pulsating, it is in the multicultural elements that the track finds the most meaning for us. The huge amount of details on the layers of the track can actually drive us insane if you focus on it, but if not, this is as releasing as music can be. So, let yourself go into these mysterious novel electronic vibes. Yes, we meant that.
Alith Berndarn – Right For You
One of Alith Berndarn latest tracks (released about 2 months ago) is an electronic gem for the soulful ones. Taking its time to grow, all in Right For You feels right and nicely build, compact, strong, and most of all intriguing. The mysterious vibe the song introduces from time to time is almost the opposite that we listen to in the build-up. That duality, not only reflects life itself but turns the song into a meaningful gem. You can find peace in it. You can find power. And you can find delicacy. It is for sure right for all of us that like a song for our souls.
Steven RKS – CARBON
“Melbourne based electronic producer, DJ, and guitarist Steven RKS makes fuzzy-edged electronica incorporating UK garage, post-rock, and more recently minimal house”. No need to describe Carbon much more in terms of sonority. We can describe it as much as we (or you) would like to, but would never be capable of describing what we feel when we hear it. It is psychedelic for sure, sounds a bit like an out-of-the-body experience, but at the same time works as a mind booster.
John Bringwolves – Waiting
You won’t listen to many things written during quarantine that sound better than John Bringwolves’ Waiting. Written as the first part of a quarantine story and filled with instinctive improvisation, drum machines, dreamy synths, and even a funky blues guitar, this is a super contagious electronic track. Waiting includes the multi-instrumentalist based in Turin capacity to include both digital and analogic instruments together with street sounds. And is also tightly connected to video art.
The video is built by Afra Zamara, a London based set designer and multimedia artist, and contributes further to the power of the track. Dancingly hypnotic and with a very cinematic look, the video drives the listener that is now a viewer to a distinct experience than just listening to the track – which is by itself a very introspective and danceable one.
What a combo. We can’t wait for more!
Iñigo Montoya – .E.S
“Years go by and day after day I keep thinking of you”. This “you” is also the adventure Iñigo Montoya started four years ago with his first E.P. With the band growing in the following years he is finally reaching almost every blog in the world. .E.S which comes followed by “Tu” in the chorus (meaning “you are”) is an unparalleled experience for one’s listener. Cultural and strong. Deep and energetic. Unpredictable and gorgeous.
Bob Blankemeier – Time Was Never Us
Bob Blakemeier is a start on electronic music. And Time Was Never Us was his most honest attempt to the will of making a song that sounded visual with a simple drum pattern. From our side, we can only say this gets us easily into a dreamy spirit, sounding almost like a post-rock song in the way it involves the listener and sounds so relatable to a dream soundtrack.
Austrian Apparel – Hi Vis 5
Heavily influenced by Boards of Canada – a band who just played a couple of shows together before disappearing – Austrian Apparel newest track entitled Hi Vis 5 is a song to which we look forward every time we listen to. Evolving from start to end and with a very deep electronic feel, drummy, bassy, and everything in between.
“Sometimes we imagine traveling to Scotland to drive around in search of the two alleged brothers. This song would be the perfect soundtrack on that quest. If we ever found them, we would high-five them and ask them to jam with us. They are probably the nicest guys ever.”
Listen and re/listen to this track we wished we have talked about earlier! And check out their newest album AAplus.
Joe Turner – Malibak
Joe Turner has been gathering attention release after release, and we can say that he also grabbed ours. Malibak is an electronic building stunner. It surprises you, as a listener, to the bones. You can feel it inside you, waving and waving and making your soul dance. And in its small variations that turn into a slow avalanche of change, it captivates us. Certainly among the best sonorities we have heard all “quarantine”. Lifesaver over here.
Varsity Star – Slinky
“Varsity Start is a Brooklyn-based electronic musician”. This is what we first read about Varsity Star, and as we get 30 seconds into Slinky, his latest single, we think about how literal that sentence is. This is a track that actually sounds metallic and electronic, without losing the touch of a musician. This is what gentle and humanistic machines can one day aspire to do when their knowledge overflows our human brains. And if so it is, we will be in such good hands. In sum, Slinky is both interesting, surprising, and overwhelming. A bit like what we imagine a futuristic life soundtrack would ideally sound like.