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 on the best of indietronica. This is Electromental – part 11.
Andrey Kunin – Mind Plateau
This is not our first rodeo with Andrey Kunin. After the incredible power of Pustupovo, “Mind Plateau” is an experimental 3-track single from Kyiv-based electronic producer Andrey Kunin. The music video is directed by his friend, visual artist Alexey Utochkin. Based on the concept of transistasis – the tendency of living things to keep changing themselves according to the transformation of the circumstances -, this project explores the different states of mind during such a process. From the calm plateau of vocal-chopped lullabies & generative graphics, it takes you to the dazzling spike of glitched rhythms, alien textures & 3D-modelled infants.
Baalti – Me & You & Rob From M.A.D.
Incorporating lo-fi House and Club music, Mihir and Jaiveer are Baalti: an active exploration of music from the Indian subcontinent. Their sound comes from the love for samples and tries to reimagine the sounds they grew up with within the context of contemporary club culture. “Me & You & Rob From M.A.D.” is one of the more playful songs on their newest EP and perfectly showcase their vibe to new listeners (and dancers). “We found this beautiful Pakistani vocal sample but really chopped it and mangled it up because we wanted to focus on the sound of her voice and bring out interesting artefacts like breaths and weird intonations, rather than focus on the lyrics“.
JEEVES – Only A Fool
Describing himself as a “House Artist from New Orleans, currently residing in Brooklyn“, JEEVES has been making great electronic tracks since this year when he first released “Baile Sujo” (which means something like “dirty dance” in Portuguese). His second release “Only A Fool” blurs the lines between your standard house track and an orchestral arrangement. “Recording a full brass arrangement, string section, along with chopped vocal samples and a strong bassline – I have a hard time deciding if this even is house music – but it’ll make you dance“. And it truly does. Multiple times.
Minsue – Under the Stars
“Have you ever felt so lost that no matter what you do it all feels hopeless? I’ve been there. Several times throughout my life. Whether it’s constant failures or people that continue to pound you into the ground, they were the hardest times in my life and I didn’t think I’d make it. My mental state was always waning, all the way into college… “. These are the words by David Chang, a.k.a. Minsue. Like many of us, he struggled (or has been struggling) with people throughout his life. The way he takes shelter in other things (like games) is also part of his culture, but the way he expresses his feelings through electronic music is something else. “Under the Stars” is his latest track and a track he created as a simple future bass track created after playing a bunch of rhythm games at an arcade. It is beautiful, electrifying, conceptual and most of all contagious.
nothingspecial – Stepping Standing Reaching Jumping
“Stepping Standing Reaching Jumping” is a track whose title may tire you a bit for everything that describes. Actually, it is a deep and meditative song. A track meant to take you to that place where the waves meet the shore. Fusing what feels like Jazzy elements with House vibes, providing both the space for the listener to breath and dance, it is a track that flows naturally and effortlessly. It works as a soundscape, or as a soundtrack for some inner contemplation. And the piano on the back of the instrumentals is just too gorgeous and calculated in order for the track to ever feel too much. A generous indietronic composition.
Retro Kid – The Room
“We’ve all been in a room with no way out. Whether it be in relationships or falling back into bad habits. This room is Luke’s room and you have the key“. This is how Retro Kid announces the inspiration behind “The Room” his latest indie-rock and indie-pop infused electronic track that feels the perfect fusion of these genres without forgetting an unusual amount of depth in the lyrics. The track is the first single from his debut album entitled “Who do you want to be, L.A.Byrne?” and asks the question “Who do you want to be?” and comes along with the notions of life when turning 30. Instrumentally there is, for us, a clear indie vibe that brings us some of the vibes that are more notable by acts such as Metronomy, filling the variations with both cinematic and electronic hooks that also invite us to some natural dance moves.
There is also space for some distorted vocals, almost like they are there representing the background noise in our lives, or the voices that tend to speak to us and incite us into continuing the bad habits and preventing us from progressing. The track is both energic and genius. And a perfect blend.
Tired Tape Machine – He’s Gone
Subsided by the Swedish Arts Council, Tired Tape Machine’s latest track entitled “He’s Gone” is probably the most instantaneous song of this bunch. Packing bags and bags of cultural, sonic and cinematic vibes, the track that is ultimately electronic is also much more than that, keeping a very thin line between genres. Tired Tape Machine is a musician and producer from Stockholm and this track is from their upcoming album “Thing” which will be released in 2022. They say “having spent the last decade in the underground music scene, self-releasing vinyl and cassettes on his own label Feeder Recordings, DIY-musician Tired Tape Machine (Petter Lindhagen), now returns with new full-length album “Thing”, an album three years in the making originally meant for a new project and new name. The first single, ”He’s Gone”, mixes a reversed Bollywood-Esque vocal sample and a spaced-out horn section with an organic drumbeat, in a mixture of sounds that seem to be rooted in no particular place and everywhere all at once“.
Tone Ranger – Follow the Sun
Last month, Tone Ranger released “Follow the Sun” the first EP in a cycle of new releases which travel through the sonic realms of analogue technology, desert landscapes, empty highways and ancient forests out into the cosmos. From abandoned casinos to the Red Rock monuments of the Southwest, ‘the EP is the first step into “Peaks & Valleys“, a multi-volume collection accompanied by a world of experimental film and immersive performances. The title track, “Follow The Sun” is the second track in this EP and features anthemic vocals performed by Americana singer Parker Ainsworth and thundering pianos and guitars. It is also a very beautiful and unusual mix of electronic music with those desert landscape based genres like Folk and Americana and one super electric track that never leaves us indifferent, inviting both the introspection and the dancing act.
Tone Ranger – Wavelength
We like Tone Ranger so much that we could not resist on actually, and for the first time, including a second track of this EP in this compilation of great new electronic releases. “Wavelenght” is a more mysterious (for the lack of a better word) track than the previous but another incredible build-up from the Americana genre into an electronic perspective. It features desert guitars, arpeggiated synths and sound samples from archival films about holography and cowboys from New Mexico. It sounds punchy and hard-to-resist, constant but still always evolving, and above all distinct and fresh to the genre.
All these tracks (and previous tracks featured in Electromental) are also in our Spotify Playlist: