Axel Toben draws in an alternative perspective, with ‘Orbit’

Alejandro Bento has been an active part of the electronic community for a more than 20 years, composing, producing and refining his personal style of contribution to the scene. Working under his own name, Bento constructed rich piano pieces that carried heavy emotion, cinematically moving works which attracted the acclaim and attention of other significant figures involved with electronica. Bento’s 2016 EP ‘Ripples’ included a remix by Robot Koch, with other artists following with their own re-workings of his songs.

In 2019 Bento established the new alias of Axel Toben, maintaining the sound that he spent so long developing through years in the industry and becoming a welcome addition to the left-field supporting label Subtempo. As Axel Toben he released the neatly titled EP ‘Phonosynthesis’ in October of the same year, injecting a much heavier dose of electronica and techno into his sound. Here Bento claims his title as a multi-instrumentalist, bringing his talent for melodies to more alien environment populated with lo-fi drums and analog synthesizers.

As Bento returns to the Axel Toben project with debut album ‘Orbit’ he looks to more careful, atmosphere defining tracks. The result is emotive, an interstellar point of view wherein the glacier-like patience and beauty manages to trace a circle of solace.

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Fluctuate makes waves with Storms Await Us All

Cameron Brooks, also known as Fluctuate, is based in the UK; specifically the coastal town of Falmouth. The influence of location can be seen in the track list for his upcoming EP Storms Await Us All, which marks his debut with the Subtempo label. Set to be released on December 6th, the four-track collection features titles including ‘Shore’ and ‘Harbored’, which explore the concept of metaphorical storms as well as making use of binaural field recordings from the seafront.

Influence from the music of artists he has expressed appreciation for can be seen in his recent tracks. Fluctuate mentions ambient artists such as Alaskan Tapes, as well as neo-classical producers such as Ólafur Arnalds. His own music appears to fall somewhere between these genres, having produced both classical and EDM releases, as well as blends of the two.

In the eponymous title track of his December EP, we hear gentle but substantial use of piano, matched with faster paced electronic beats which gravitate towards techno. There’s a cinematic feel here, and as the beats drive the track forward with a sense of urgency the classical samples cultivate more nuanced emotional tones, particularly from the piano.

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Ambient maestro Loscil recasts Souns' raw energy into a truly beautiful form

Building on the success of his 2017 album, ‘Aquamarine’, fixture of the Vancouver scene Michael Red, under his ambient alias Souns, prepares a remix EP featuring hand-picked artists to re-work his track ‘Sun Inside The Sun’. Close followers of ADSR may remember Michael Red from his performance at an ADSR show in Vancouver a couple years back, but since then his ambient project Souns has really taken off. The original ‘Sun Inside The Sun’ is a beautifully chaotic track, with pulses echoing about, capturing the energy and entropic dynamics of a hidden world.

Today, we get a peek at the remix from another Vancouverite, and prolific ambient artist in his own right, Loscil. Loscil takes the original’s syncopated form and morphs it into a rhythmic force. If Souns’ original track were stone blocks, rough, weathered, jagged and beautiful in its own right, Loscil’s remix would be a cathedral, with calculated flying buttresses and meticulously carved pillars. It’s a gorgeous rework, with each element fully coordinated with the whole, slowly building to a harmonious crescendo.

Stream the Loscil remix above, and if you like it, hop over to the Souns Bandcamp to pre-order. The EP is set for release on 31 May 2019 on Subtempo.

— review by Autonomy

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