The Electronic Heart is the latest EP from producer/video artist Pierce Warnecke. It’s a 6-track electro-glitch feast for the senses. As the title suggests, there’s a good balance between organic and synthetic properties here. The music is almost entirely made from distorted synth sounds but the arrangements are incredibly sophisticated and human. The EP starts off with a straightforward lo-fi electro track—but as it progresses, the beats become more fragmented and unexpected. In “The Art of Error,” sounds are skipping, splitting and regenerating into new forms—creating the perfect soundtrack to a cellular-level science video.

Warnecke is incredibly successful at making everything sound machinelike. Hi-hats sound like hydraulic pumps, pads sound like electrical surges and the beats pump, pulse, tick, breathe, repeat, spin, click and power down. In “Excision of the Heart,” a robot voice repeats “H. E. A. R. T.,” while synth arpeggiations mimic an internal body process reacting to the removal of a human heart. Things begin to spiral out of control by the final track, “RnBeast,” which is chock full of millisecond samples and florescent rainbow-style synth riffs. If this EP were to represent the health of a patient during medical procedures, they would have definitely died by the end. It’s safe to say they didn’t go without a fight.  ~ tom

To view Warnecke’s experimental video projects, check out www.vimeo.com/user1185399. To purchase or sample more of The Electronic Heart, visit iTunes or BEE Records.

MP3 1: Pierce Warnecke – Used Romamtricks
MP3 2: Pierce Warnecke – Excision of the Heart

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German DJ/Producer, Dominik Eulberg, is one of the most innovative minimal/techno artists of the decade. Drawing his inspirations and sounds from nature, he creates complex organic arrangements that build and evolve effortlessly. Each sound is treated like a musician in a symphony—weaving in and out of an electronic landscape. At an average of eight minutes, Eulberg’s tracks take on a life of their own—progressing through multiple moods and styles. Most critics that concentrate on his ambient and more organic tracks fail to recognize the darker and dissonant tunes that Eulberg is so great at creating. Conjuring up hard driving beats and warped distorted synths seem like second nature.

Ever since Eulberg stepped foot on the scene, he’s been picking up awards and nominations. Best Newcomer of the Year, Top Producer, Best Remixer, Best Remix, Top DJ—and the list goes on and on. He’s remixed tracks for artists including Hot Chip, Gabriel Ananda, Extrawelt, DJ Hell, Steve Barnes, Roman Flugel and Nathan Fake—many of which received awards. When Eulberg’s not in the studio or above the dance floor, he can be found in the woods observing birds and soaking up new inspirations.  ~ tom

Below are a few original tracks and collaborations. Check out Eulberg on iTunes for more full length albums and remixes.

MP3 1: Dominik Eulberg & Gabriel Ananda – Eucalypse Now!
MP3 2: Dominik Eulberg – Sansula (Oder Der Letzte Grund)
MP3 3: Extrawelt – Was Ubrig Bleibt (Dominik Eulberg’s Das Es Remix)
MP3 4: Dominik Eulberg – Der Traum Vom Fliegen
MP3 5: Kollektiv Turmstrasse – Luechtoorn (Dominik Eulberg Remix)

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This has been an interesting year for London based producer, Four Tet. He’s had an obsession with remixing Madlib tracks and collaborated on an acclaimed release with influential dubstep producer, Burial. Now at the culmination of this year, a new track, “Love Cry”, has been released. It’s a preview of the new Four Tet album coming out in January 2010.

“Love Cry” is an epic nine minutes long—however, the time flies by. At the top, we’re greeted by the trademark turning cymbals and fervently individual bleeps and synths. The track crescendos several minutes in with a devilishly subtle bassline that’s easy to miss without a heavy dose of low end pumping through your stereo. This bass alters the entire feel of the track and the listener is suddenly transported to an echoey dark place where the female vocals take on a whole new personality. This switch in mood and ambiance is quite large, yet the length of time taken to fully complete the ‘switch over’ is adequate enough as to not disrupt the flow.

Influences upon the track are house and chilled dubstep, of which remixer, Joy Orbison, is a pioneer. His condensed four minute remix seems very similar, but after side by side listens, both appear uniquely brilliant.  ~ Andy

Check fourtet.net for release info and upcoming tour dates—itunes for previous releases and remixes.

MP3: Four Tet – Love Cry

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Hark thee! Who goes there?! Why it be Round Table Knights! There is no denying the capability and skill of Questionmark and Biru Bee, sworn together as Round Table Knights. It’s not just a play upon words mates and maidens, this Swiss duo is equipped with an impenetrable armor of technical finesse and steely remix mastery. It’s probable your ears have already gnawed on one of their bountiful feasts of techno-inspired turkey legs or sipped from their goblets of electro-romantic spiced cider. This royal DJ/Producer duo have collaborated with many a fellowship. The likes of TTCD, Spankrock, Justice, Coco Rosie, Simian Mobile Disco and the Beastie Boys have requested the collaborative presence of the Round Table Knights to upgrade tracks from squire to sire. Remix discs from 2004 and 2005 made way for the “roundies” first all original 2008 EP, Hold Me Back. Heralding little commercial success but bolstered by inner circle encouragement, Round Table Knights recently released their second EP, Belly Dance. This is no dance marathon with a scant four cuts featuring the stylings of veteran mixer Mowgli. Even his battle-tested skills seem tepid and unenthusiastic when given the deed to remix.

Alas, this fair maiden must bequeeth a tale of forcible woe. Belly Dance is a producers dream and an avid listener’s cat nap. The talent level of the two denounces nightmare status, but conjures a couple culprits as to why their remix success trumps their solo efforts. Do the Round Table Knights feel a need to carve out their own electronic kingdom? Is this duo tired of all for one and prefer to be one for all? Their track record makes perseverating positively a necessity. Belly Dance is more of a belly flop on the marble floors of my court—though my walls still echo with the succulent re-tooling and organic remixes the Knights have relentlessly and flawlessly always provided. They are musical kings upon men and until the battlefield is less fraught with worthy music makers, they should keep practicing the time honored tradition of go with what ye know.  ~ dimes

MP3: Round Table Knights – Belly Dance

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This is a massive 12″ follow-up to One of Us, Kryptic Minds’ latest LP. The title track, “Life Continuum” is an atmospheric dark-step track with big bass and a heavy beat, something of which I missed on the LP. The flip side, “Wondering Why” is an extremely warm tune with plenty of depth, ricocheting beats and female vocals. It’s huge! —right up there with Emalkay’s “When I look at You” and Burial’s “Moth.” With this single and their September release, 768, Kryptic Minds have effortlessly been able to jump to the forefront of a new genre and smash its boundaries.  ~ tom

MP3: Kryptic Minds – Wondering Why

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Kryptic Minds, a production duo hailing from London, have contributed to the deep drum & bass scene since 2005, but It’s no surprise that they’ve slowed things down for their latest LP. One of Us is a welcome departure from the heavy hitting antics of songs like “More Like You” and “Blue Print,” in which Kryptic Minds have taken a minimal approach to dubstep—drawing influences from Burial, Headhunter, Loefah, Pinch and Tech Itch.

Although Kryptic Minds are new to the dubstep arena, they’ve managed to infuse the expected spacious half-step formula with their own dark brooding style, creating yet another unique offshoot of dubstep. Long-time fans will appreciate this smooth transition as the same elements and slick production that draws them to Kryptic Minds remain present on the record. The individual tracks are intelligent and dynamic—containing a good balance between thick walls of sound and sparse breathable rhythms, but the whole can be a bit arduous. The album lacks differentiating bpms and the energy of previous Kryptic Minds releases. Independently though, “One of Us,” “Six Degrees,” and “Secure Lost” will most definitely make their way into countless DJ sets and late night mixes.  ~ tom

Check out myspace.com/krypticminds1 for show info and release updates. Full albums and remixes are available at iTunes.

MP3 1: Kryptic Minds – One of Us
MP3 2: Kryptic Minds – Secure Lost
MP3 3: Kryptic Minds – Generation Dub

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Whatever floats your boat, this may not be it. Really, a large part of me is surprised that this particular boat belongs in part to Portishead’s Geoff Barrow at all. If there’s one phrase I definitely don’t recall popping into my head while listening to Dummy it was “krautrock noodling.” But there’s been a lot of German prog name-dropping going on with this release by Barrow and fellow Bristol boys Billy Fuller and Matt Williams. And, to an extent, with good reason. It certainly sounds like it could have been cut circa 1974 in a studio two doors down from Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, or some other vaguely krautrock-y name I could just make up. Toss in the fact that these dudes recorded all of this in a single room with no post-production and wrote it in one 12 day session, and you can see why people might be quick to drink some throwback Kool-Aid in today’s 8-bit glitch landscape.

Which isn’t to say there’s no synthy dicking around to be found here; it’s practically smeared in the stuff. But I’ll cop to the fact that there’s something oddly comforting about the (admittedly synthetic) earthiness of it all. And while Third gave the world a glimpse of a somehow-even-darker Portishead, it certainly didn’t hint at the blackness that Beak> brings to the table. Before I had ever heard Silver Apples, I kind of assumed they were on some sunny 60’s day-glo shit, but after the first two tracks of Beak> I found myself slammed into the same queasy ominousness that that band first surprised me with. That initial familiarity doesn’t hang around for long, though, with the band soon enough skittering all over the place. The crunching guitar lines of “Ham Green” manage to juxtapose themselves with the ethereal when we arrive at “Battery Point,” one of the album’s few pinholes of light. But you’ll forget all that by the time your noise tolerance is tested by tracks like “Barrow Gurney.” In a lot of ways, much of what’s on display here is what I had hoped a group like Sunn O))) sounded like: heavy experimental grind with receded vocals that occasionally kicks ass. I mean, pretense is pretense, but I’ll take mine sounding like this and leave the cartoon demon vox for somebody else.

A large part of the enjoyment here relies purely on surprise. Plenty of artists take time for side projects or decide to move their work in different directions with middling results (Hi, Kanye).  So to give a cursory listen to a knob-twiddling side project out of obligation to an artist’s previous work, it’s definitely a relief to discover that it doesn’t blow up in their face. Sometimes risks pay off. And considering that “risk” isn’t exactly the watchword on the lips of most musicians these days, Beak> at least deserves a tip of the hat for making theirs work. And if you hate it, hey, at least you tried something new.  ~ Jim Feeney

MP3 1: Beak> – Backwell
MP3 2: Beak> – Ham Green
MP3 3: Beak> – Battery Point

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Try and Imagine pure evil as a living force that feeds on life, death, murder and pain. This evil infiltrates a city, tainting the air, water and streets. As its power grows, so does fear, corruption, agony and hysteria. For all those unfortunate enough to live here, death is imminent. Let the Night Roar is the soundtrack to this story—down to the details of crime, punishment and the true face of evil—which is unmasked throughout this imaginatively dark and devastating debut LP from King Cannibal.

Let the Night Roar is hands down the hardest release from Ninja Tune Records to date. Trailing far behind are The Bug’s London Zoo and Amon Tobin’s 2004 release, Chaos Theory. LTNR is a seamless blend of dancehall, industrial, drum & bass and dubstep that continually builds with tension even when the beats slow down and drop out. The stage is set with an intro of eerie atmospheres and the words “You’ve got about one hour to think about what you’ve done to me.” Because of repeating sounds, themes and frequent movie samples—including the explosive speech by George C. Scott in Exorcist III—it’s hard to not think of this album as conceptual.

As cool as the hard beats and unrelenting bass lines are, the MCs steal the show. “Murder Us” features deep and dark vocals by Jahcoozi woven around train-like percussion, alarming synth stabs and gun shots. The layered rapid fire vocals by Face-A-Face on “Virgo,” are absolutely sick (this track is so dope). On the voodoo-like track, “Dirt,” legendary Ragga/Hip-Hop artist Daddy Freddy adds violence and fear with repetitive screams.

The intoxicating dubstep single, “So… Embrace the Minimum” is set close to the middle of the album to momentarily break the tension with warm bass effects and rhythms—but don’t let your guard down, it doesn’t last long. Other highlights include “Aragami Style” and “Colder Still,” which fuel the album with threatening beats, distorted bass, ghostly pads and unforgettable breaks. “Flower of Flesh and Blood” concludes the record with a battle between good and evil where the true face of the beast is revealed… 303-style acid bass! It’s heavy, dark and best heard from beginning to end. Definitely one of the best albums of the year.  ~ tom

Two unreleased tracks, “Downtime” and “Stone Tape Theory,” were recorded during the LTNR sessions but didn’t fit the feel of the record. This 2-track single will be released on November 16th. Check out myspace.com/kingcannibal for samples and tour dates. Let the Night Roar and a ton of other King Cannibal tracks and remixes are available now on iTunes.

MP3 1: King Cannibal – Virgo (Featuring Face-A-Face)
MP3 2: King Cannibal – Aragami Style
MP3 3: King Cannibal – So… Embrace The Minimum
MP3 4: King Cannibal – Flower Of Flesh And Blood
MP3 5: King Cannibal – Murder Us (Featuring Jahcoozi)

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