The somewhat tritely titled CD "Visions of Future Past" by Limon actually covers a mesmerizing and spacey journey into the center of your mind. These "dreamscapes", as 28-year-old Gene Deel, the mind behind Limon, likes to call them are minimalist but captivating planes of stretched out aural tones that expand to fill the size of infinite space itself. Percussion elements are few and far between but when they arrive they serve only to enhance the addictive loneliness of Limon's music, acting as brief flickers of life in the void before it disappears and the listener is left alone again, to wander the depths of outer and inner space. A masterpiece of ambient space experimental.

Zimoun is a young Swiss artist active in the visual field (photos, sculptures, etc.) and the musical one, with both rhythmic electronica and experimental/droning compositions, live improv and installations. As the title suggests, his debut cdr on his label Leerraum belongs to the former field, with hypnotic, dark minimal techno. All tracks are built around a simple, yet effective structure: a looped beat and really subdued, ghostly ambiences. Zimoun's ability lies in making this formula work throughout, as the same ingredients can easily turn into crap (and often do). I was reminded of EAR's collaboration with Thomas Koener, plus a bit of Brinkmann and Berlin-style techno. I'm definitely not a sucker for beats, but these are just the way I like them: minimal and obscure.

Ninth volume in the Electroshock series, compiled and edited by Russian composer Artemiy Artemiev. It's a good international showcase of well-known and less well-known artists, and while electroacoustics/concrete music/contemporary composition are predominant, there's also room for deep ambient electronica, as in Victor Cerullo's lengthy "Rusalki". I was not familiar with many names, and artists like Gottfried Michael Koenig, Rodrigo Sigal and Mark Cooley are a nice surprise, along with more experienced ones like Carl Stone and Simon Wickham-Smith. They all offer crisp and engaging compositions. The only contribution which seemed out of place to me was Eternal Wanderers' "Sufferer's Drems" (contemporary art-pop/prog?), but as a whole this is a solid sampler.

Third DIY cdr in a year for this up-and-coming German project, here as a duo (Mirko Uhlig and Joerg Eger). "Geschwaerzte Milch", a melancholic acoustic instrumental reminding of mid-period Current 93, is a deceiving beginning for the massive 46-minute title track, which is divided into several movement but easily flows as an organic composition. The first half is a lunatic session of heavily delayed, echoed and pitch-shifted clanks, mixed with subdued environmental drones: I was a bit put off by this one, as the same tricks are repeated over and over again with tedious effects. Luckily, the tour-de-force becomes far more successful and worthwhile halfway, with a more controlled use of minimalism. Drones, strummed guitars, vocal samples and concrete noises are skillfully textured in a surrealistic soundscape not far from what Monos or Ora (to name but two possible references) have produced over the last decade. This second half manages to put you in a suspended, dreaming state, and promises great things from the project.

From the Netherlands come the Fckn' Bstrds, a group I had never heard of, but who have actually released close to twenty items, from tapes to vinyl, from CDs to CDXtra like in this case... "Kutlul" is their sixteenth release and, you can say it loud, brings the noise! If you are into KK Null, Merzbow, Masonna and all that type of anti-musical crap this one is for you. And if you can't take a whole CD of it, you're in luck because this one only has got two tracks (totaling close to eighteen minutes of music... did I say music? scrap that... I meant: noise!). What is probably more my cup of tea is the extra multimedia content of the CD: 34 pictures where you can see why this stuff is more interesting when it's a live performance rather than a record. These guys come out with decorated cardboard boxes covering their heads and brightly coloured costumes that are a mixture of more industrial/more raw Mummenschanz visuals and performances by the like of Monte Cazazza, Genesis P. Orridge, Musicus Phÿcus, the Hearts of Darknesses or Johnny Knoxville for that matter. You'll get over twenty minutes of this performance art on video (live at some Dutch squatt called Dans Havo).The art work comes in a black/white digipack with phallic design (they seem to love that) and hand-written notes, addresses etc.Check out their site or WoT4's website for more info (even though it hasn't been updated in a while) about this release and about the new 'very special' release (announced today) of a brand new CD by Polpetta e i Cani Avvelenati (with tracks from their performance at the Reading Festival in the UK and the Melkweg in Amsterdam, Holland and a song performed live with Lee Scratch Perry. Stay on the lookout! This one is a MUST HAVE!