A new full length by Simon Crab is always interesting and never a disappointment. His autonomous style of work rooted in the freestyle experimental scene of the early 80's with Bourbonese Qualk ages like good vine. It get's more subtile, nuanced but it never looses expression.
Rhythms, Melodies and Abstractions are blend together in hardly comparable but rather pleasing structures which gain even more with repeated listening. Fellow countryside inhabitant Fritz Catlin (23 Skiddoo) and his long time ally David J Smith (The Amal Gamal Ensemble) on percussion give the electronic soundscapes recorded during the course of 2021 in his Hastings studio an additional lively touch.

Simon Crab is a Maeestro of the non-ambient ambience, putting the listener in a positive reflective mood with his compositions which include minimal, dub, leftfield and serious experimental music. All of this and more is basically no mystery if listening to an artist who follows strictly his own path since decades now, coupled with an open mind approach reaching far out in different directions.
As his last album 'Demand Full Automation' from 2018, 'Invisible Cities' is also a cohorent experience but with several highlights i.e. the additional vocals from Ksenia Sadovski on "Headless Day", "What Remains" and "Thirst for a beautiful mouth" . While not being omnipresent it's remarkable how smooth they add to the mood of the pieces. "Stack Interchange" resembles the electro dub of the pre-released 10" single "Kodokushi" (on French label Notte Brigante), "Edgelands" dives into world music terretory, then there are the playful musique concrete leanings of "These Small Things" and the final track "Yarlswood" which sounds like a hommage to Ennio Morricone's musical Western Sunsets and works as a great conclusion.

The over one hour long assemblage of 16 tracks (in the digital version with an deconstructed electro dub piece "Desire Lines" instead of "On Vanishing Land") is also available on double LP from this young courageous label. No CD edition but hey, burn it yourself if you must (But think before you burn). Either way in what format - it's a great listen and highly recommended.

It's been quite some time very quiet from selfimperfectionist from Turin (besides a recent remix for El Muniria) and if you read the liner notes from this album and his latest single you'll know why. The loss of parents is for sure a turning point in everyone's life. Existential questions and self reflective moments are suddenly inescapable.
His first release on the small independent Delete label 'Pure.' produced, mixed and mastered by Marco Milanesio, is pure electronics - the intro drift of "Dialectical" and the drive of "Forever" are minimal experiences in movements, leaving an open space which was clearly Giorgio Pilon's intention here. In his own words:
"Nostalgia accompanied by remembrance represent a purity that we preserve from oblivion; the very instant we try to trap this condition we inexorably decay."
The center piece, "Untold" dives deeper into unknown feelings, a soundscape developes gradually - an ambient, illbient, expression of a nagging 'too late'. Even what one could interpret as the voices of the damned appears deep in the mix at the end.
"Dusk" follows with a clearer structure, based on a remotely poppy sequencing while the lurking infinity is placed in the background like waves on a shore. Surprisingly even an uplifting beat appears 2 and a half minute in.
The concluding track "Goodbye, My Dear Friend" then goes all the way you can expect from instrumental electronic music with such a background and title: soundtrackish, melancholic, the unfiltered upfront and unashamed expression of feelings.
A short but memorable listening ...

Annonced quite some time this awesome collaboration was announced with the release of "Stop / Begin Again" and an accompanying Meat Beat Manifesto Remix shortly after. To be honest I hoped for a little more than a two track release to follow, but well.

The history of both is most likely well known, reaching quite far back in time. Up until 1984 Eric Random regularly went on tour and guested with Cabaret Voltaire, Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder produced / guested on his releases as well.

Eric Random, who disappeared years from music making but started again pure electronically in 2014 provides all of the music; midtempo electro tracks with enough space left for Mal's voice to take advantage. The singer here sounds like the mid-80's Cabaret Voltaire singer, cool but distant. Sadly his vocals supplement the tracks a little too much instead of adding some contrasts. A little more advantage and dynamics would not have hurted in my opion and the cheekily titled "One Way No Replay" sounds a little ironic after repeated listening.

Hopefully this is only a test for more to come, perhaps with some more risks taken in the mix.

Dave Arnold (aka The Starkman) is an long time independent working Musician and Artist from Hastings, UK. Actually a veteran of the early tape scene he went as early solo as 1982 after some stints with local punk and wave bands and consequently used electronic instruments and effects throughout all of his works and projects, too many to mention here be it visual or accoustic.

The Starkman operates somewhere in the nirvana between space rock and cyberpunk and Sonic Electronique recorded during the last 3 years is no exception. His intense vocals echo through the album and it's unsurprisingly dystopian themes. While he's operating Synths, Effects, Loops he's supported here by Iggy (Space Synth) and John Carter (Space Guitar) and co-produced by Keith Rodway (of Necessary Animals, Good Missionaries, The Cast) he manages to give this still an upbeat 80's appeal.
After an trio of energetic tracks the more mellow "Speak To The Earth" is the first highlight where the ambience takes over and the psychedelic undertones glitter and shine. This midtempo flow continous through "Acid Rain" and the intense "(No)Future Shock".
The seventh track "Dystopian Dream" is the albums jewel; a steady beat and Dave Arnold's questioning vocals intoning:
'Are We, Are We, Are We Free?
This Dystopian Dream
Is All I See'
just hit it on the point and it's 5 minutes length could've used an extended remix treatment.

The final track, the sarcastic "Space Zoo" shows no way out and so the vibes flow round and round in circles. A Remix of "Space Zoo" is directly following as bonus track, the vocals are taking a backseat here and more echos and delays add to the alienating lyrics.
These songs are reflections of a stranger in strange times which are emotionally strangely remiscent of the early 80's when there was a dystopian climate with the Gulf War in Iraq, the Miners Strike and Thatcherism in the UK, the Cold War, Afghanistan the emergence of AIDS and various guises of Terrorism.

Francis Lafont aka fr6 Manne, once bassist and part of legendary French Experimentalists Vox Populi! stopped being a full-time musician / graphic artist a long time ago to work as a landscape designer but never stopped recording and painting. Kosa was conceived as music and video arts collective and appeared in various incarnations already.
Among his friends featured here is Mitra Kyrou-Khalatbari, Marc Mouret, Francoise Girard on Vocals and as main collaborator Nicolai Minescu.
Notte Brigante managed to contact him and compile from his wealth of unreleased recordings this LP, with an exclusive action collage artwork.
What differs the french avantgarde from most scenes is the playfulness and dare I say humour shining through a lot recordings; tweaked voices, not afraid adding a groove or a poppy melody here and there, a drip of poetry and noise added. X-Ray Pop, No Unauthorized, Psyclones / PSY 231 and others say hello.
Therefore it's not too far fetched to say Brian Ladd was the perfect man to restore and master these recordings.
"Cinq Minutes" is the album's real opener, after an short intro cut with a hypnotic bassline and clear synthetic minimal arrangements on top. An instant highlight with Marc Mouret's poignant voice.
Equally strong is "The Starting Signal" with it's leading organ set against a dynamic but cheap beatbox sound. Voices chatter in the background but don't distract.
The following songs are more easy-going, closing Side A is the ironical lenghty "No News - Good News" in semi lethargic fashion set against some 'I don't care' backdrop.
"I Don't On Tools" brings on some guitar to the table of elements but stays in the middle field with it's efforts. Atmospheric and minimal "The Center" does capture my attention and holds it before "Il Faut Les PTG Tous" not unlike some early Cabaret Voltaire with dubbed samples and a restless beat follows. What is spoken could be important or not only repeated listening will unveil.
Another short instrumental leads to the funky improvisation of "Le Preche Me Seche" before the final track "Over Medium Heat" returns to the vague dubby experimental fields only few can handle so well.
It's a strength but also a weakness of this collection to present such diverse music and moods at once and leaving the listener most likely a bit puzzled in the end. But as said above - the French avant-garde calls for an appraisal for the pleasure of curiosity and humour.