DEFSET emerges from lockdown with a 16-track masterpiece

As a newcomer to the scene, Proximity solidifies the artists’ mastery of electronic music

Proximity is the latest release by electronic musician DEFSET. An alias for artist Leo Neelands, DEFSET takes its inspiration from the electronic dance and acid house movements that defined the cultural moment of his youth. Originally known for his work as a visual effects artist, Neelands, has worked on the effects of movies including Harry Potter, Gravity, The Hobbit, and Iron Man 3. But, with a lifelong passion for music dating back to his time making music on an Atari ST, Neelands career as DEFSET has solidified his commitment to the art as he has made himself known for a creative use of modular synthesizers and onboard gear, creating immersive music with glitchy, syncopated rhythms.

As the debut album of an artist who is new to the scene, Proximity follows a series of single releases, many of which appear on the full album. In 2021, he released ‘Deadlines,’ Shira2,’ and ‘Bathtime,’ all of which are featured in the full album, as well as ‘The Edge of the World,’ ‘Shira2 (Locked Groove Remix),’ and ‘Deadlines (Perry Granville Remix).’

DEFSET used his memories of the UK rave scene as a point of inspiration for the album. Rediscovering fond memories in the process of producing the music, DEFSET points tracks such as ‘HoneySwede’ to dedicated fans of underground electronic music. Looking to return to the music making process, Neelands purchased modular gear before the COVID lockdown began and spent the duration of that period producing this album, with every sound and element created from scratch. In its entirety, the album presents an energetic feel with the opportunity for listeners to enter a trance-like-state, absorbed in the atmospheric tone that carries through each track.

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An organic universe exists within BYLJA’s latest release

The five track EP from the Danish duo is a mesmerizing soundscape

Copenhagen-based duo BYLJA released their latest EP ‘Sojourn’ in September. The musicians Marchel Mørk and Emil Aagaard have been friends since school and met while participating in a musical. Sharing a love of synthesizers, they formed BYLJA in 2018 and create music with melancholic tones in a warm soundscape, inspired by organic elements and nature. In their process, they use electronic components, analog synthesizers, and acoustic instruments. Since uniting three years ago, the pair has performed at numerous festivals in Denmark including Spot Fesitval, Uhørt Festival, Smukfest, and Stella Polaris and been featured by publications including Comeherefloyd, VENTS Magazine, and Rock & Pop of Bands of Tomorrow.

BYLJA has released numerous singles and EPs between 2020-2021. This year they released singles ‘Another State of Matter’ and ‘Rings of Eradication,’ both of which feature on their latest EP, as well as ‘Youth Remix’ in collaboration with German pair, KIDSØ. Last year, they released ‘Running Around Remix’ in partnership with teepee, as well as the EP ‘Float’ in collaboration with Gunva. Prior to that, BYLJA released ‘Kosm,’ ‘Mist,’ ‘Sinn,’ and ‘Laki’ in their first two years making music together.

The latest five-track release ‘Sojourn’ pursues BYLJA’s atmospheric tone, exploring space and entrancing beats. Taking inspiration from artists like Jon Hopkins, Christian Löffler, and Boards of Canada, this EP extends their imagination to influences like Kiasmos, Rival Consoles, and Bonobo. The mesmerizing tracks provide a delicate sense of light, as they create space for the listeners to become immersed in an internal exploration grounded in nature, while offering the opportunity for escapism.

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Kutiman dives deep with new EP 'Surface Currents'

The Israeli-born composer delivers 3 inspired tracks of synth meditation and aquatic atmosphere

A life immersed in music, Kutiman has been surrounded by melody and instruments since starting the piano at age 6. Picking up drums and guitar in high school eventually led to a jazz degree at Rimon Music college in Ramat Hasharon, Israel. With a solid theoretical foundation, the young musician continued his path of experimentation absorbing a variety of sounds from reggae, funk, and afrobeat.

But it wasn’t until 2011 when his musical experiences (thus far) coalesced into his self titled debut album ‘Kutiman’ released on German imprint: Melting Pot Music. The album is chalk full of groove and soulful melody across 13 tracks, shifting from vocal led verses to percussion fueled breakdowns. An ambitious start to an increasingly impressive discography from the budding musician.

Tracing Kutiman’s musical output over the years not only reveals his relentless “compulsion to create” but also his steady evolution in sound. Perhaps no where is that more apparent than with his latest release ‘Surface Currents’ a notable departure in aesthetic and style from the multi-disciplinary artist’s previous works. Stemming from his listening preference of subdued and ambient tones whilst working on recent video and animation projects, the new EP not only stands to represent the vastness of the ocean but also the openness of the artists expansive and enlightened musical mind.

Support the release on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify

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Aaron Nevezie shares ‘Dark Patterns’, a fresh IDM creation

With the release of new EP ‘Obsidian’ Aaron Nevezie reaffirms his individual talents as a creator

At different points during the course of his professional career in music, Aaron Nevezie has been a live sound engineer, musician, producer and studio owner. When artists who are so entrenched in these varying sides of the industry turn to their own sound, the approach taken is inevitably influenced by the experience they’ve been able to acquire, but their passion and excitement to produce music which resonates with audience is no less intense than that of artists new to the scene.

Nevezie has helped bring to fruition projects spearheaded by an array of other talented artists, most recently working on albums from Iggy Pop and Jim Campilongo & Honeyfingers. His own exploration into music has delved into areas of the electronic scene such as IDM and modular synthesis, his construction of electronic textures echoing the sound of others creating ambient tracks including Aphex Twin and Floating Points.

Now having found time to develop his own substantial body of work, Nevezie has released a new EP; Obsidian. The six track collection is beat driven at its core but expansive in its execution, creating soundscapes both sonic and celestial. Unlike many EPs created during isolation, Obsidian celebrates the journey taken within.

Support the single on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify

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Dark Ambient Synth and Bass with Only Ruin's 'brks1030'

Brooklyn based producer ‘Only Ruin’ may be flying under the radar, but they’ve no doubt been keeping busy. With the end of 2019 seeing their first full length album release, they’ve shown no sign of slowing down, consistently pumping out fresh tracks since the turn of the new year. Coining their style “dark ambient synth and bass”, their diverse catalogue consists of glitchy and stabbing IDM, dark ambient and bass heavy downtempo, deep pulsating techno, and with their latest release ‘brks1030’, moody and melodic DnB.

With a catalogue of primarily heady sounds, ‘brks1030’ shows a step in a new direction, sitting somewhere between visceral and dancefloor- ready. With the elements of the track playing in contrast to one another, the rapid breaks that define the track provide a vehicle for the deep synthesized bass, swelling chords, and disjunct melody to propel forward. 

Only Ruin is one to keep an eye on in the new decade. If you’re into ‘brks1030’, be sure to check out the rest of their catalogue:

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Datach'i discovers the cycles of life with 'Akemies'

A few weeks ago we heard the first new music from veteran producer Datach’i in a few years, announcing to the world his return with an upcoming LP entitled ‘Bones,’ releasing the 26th July 2019 on Planet Mu sublabel Timesig. As mentioned in that review, Datach’i’s approach to this album was unlike any other in his now-sizable ouvre. With the recent passing of his father, he channelled thoughts and feelings into Bones that only significant disruptions such as this can bring.

Electronic music is almost intrinsically linked to repetition, to loops, to cycles. A form in which time bends back on itself, creating moments with no predetermined end. Datach’i employs this principle masterfully when he operates his custom-designed modular system, but in the context of this particular album, the producer born Joseph Fraioli reflects deeply on how this manifests in life: “It was something very much on my mind throughout recording this album, ends being beginnings and beginnings being the end. Cycles of time and how time works, it's all reflected throughout the album right down to how the tracks are ordered."

In particular, the opening track on Bones which we get to preview today, unmistakably captures how electronic music can reflect life in this cyclic manner. It’s a rhythmically mesmerizing start, intentionally obscuring the structure of various modulations to capture a feeling of perpetual movement. Fittingly, the track is titled ‘Akemies’, likely after Akemie’s Castle, a beautifully classic sounding FM synth module that propels the frantic synthetic percussion and kicks the album off with a bang.

Stream it above right now, and hop over to Datach’i’s bandcamp to pre-order the full album.

— review by autonomy

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Audio of the Urban with Sweden's Victor Öberg

Victor Öberg is an urban planner and musician residing in the southern most part of Sweden. His music goes hand in hand with his research, and focuses heavily on interpreting urban issues mainly concerning urban alienation and identity creation of both people and place in urban society.

Utilizing an array of hardware effects and modular synths, Victor designs and configures sonic environments to reflect these urban issues. His Instagram features a variety of dawless jams and sketches pleasing to both the audio and visual palette. Today’s track ‘Insula’ serves as a progression from these shorter jams into what will be Victor’s first solo album set to release later this year.

Insula features a minimal landscape of plucked arpeggiation, undulating clouds of noise, and rich resonant harmonies. A kind of playful utilitarianism permeates throughout the track, which really shows Öberg’s concept coming into fruition. ”The song itself is a brief sketch of the insula as a building type; part home part business. A concept that has shaped the way we think of city centers throughout history."

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Audio / Visual Overload from Richard Devine and Numbercult

Music written and produced by Richard Devine available on the album 'Sort\Lave' (TIMESIG009) https://richarddevine.bandcamp.com/album/sort-lave Video produced and directed by Craig Ritchie Allan https://numbercult.design/

In case you missed it, IDM guru and sound design genius Richard Devine just dropped what is arguably one of the deepest modular synth records of all time.

’Sort/Lave’ was composed almost entirely on his custom built Eurorack modular system and features 12 tracks of dizzying percussion, galaxy-deep atmospheres, and utter sound design opulence. It’s an album that really sets the bar for what is possible with modern-day modular systems while still retaining all the rich musicality we’ve come to expect from the Atlanta-born producer.

Adding a visual dimension to the already incredibly detailed track ‘Revsic’, digital artist Craig Ritchie Allan aka Numbercult focused on unpacking the tracks densely packed constituent parts.

”When I set about constructing the video, I wanted the visual elements to engage the dynamics of the music, it felt like there was something elemental about the acoustic elements, so I starting thinking about about travelling through inner space, sub atomic structures forming and splintering apart and electric flashes of colour. I finished off by dropping in some sci-fi inspired interface elements to give the feeling you’re in a craft traversing a microverse.”

Get the full audio/visual immersion by checking out the clip above in full 1080p or by supporting the release over on Bandcamp.

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