An all around great release from Toronto, Canada based professional sound designer, Jakob Thiesen, who forays into techno, yet again, for another satisfying well-crafted release. Unlike his harder, more Detroit styled Equinox, Polikrom is far more upbeat and skirts EDM, dub, and downtempo yet stays deeply melodic and perhaps even dreamy at times. Evocative of early Aphex Twin, the opening “Forwul”, exudes optimism and nearly radiates sun beams from the speakers while “f80eight” is more laid-back with dubby echoes and catchy click grooves. “pIanoflut” is like drifting down a peaceful stream half asleep while the washing machine rhythms of title track, “polikrom” channels Oxygene-era Jean-Michel Jarre stylings with a build-up this reviewer can easily replay continuously. On the ambient tip, “nxtl” is a droning psychedelic trip while “rotexport” picks up the tempo for some understated funky rhythms and loops that accommodates a dreamy, near ethereal melody. Stand out track on Polikrom is “uwavesqr” which is techno with EDM moments echoed-out into kind of psychedelic accents, but with so much well-constructed cohesion that it almost comes off as biological. “epigonion” brings the listener back into ambient mode with a nice ethereal ripple while the following “memora” is also ambient, it is also more melodic and lushly layered while “slate” bookends the album with field recordings of water lapping against a shore, a pleasant way to close a fine recording. If you are into superbly crafted, near organic or perhaps ‘cyborg techno’, this would be the closest music that comes to mind.

Ever see a snow or rain storm approach, one moment, a wave that grows, surrounds, then envelops, and in next moment you are in its midst—that is the experience of Threads. Somewhere between the eerie, whispy aether of Tim Hecker’s more ambient moments and the equally so, Celer wherein the latter also imparts a sense of longing, dwells Capetown, South Africa producer/composer Jason van Wyk. This debut release on N5MD, offers mellifluous, understated whispery drones with unfurling, drawn-out melodies that burst with emotion and meaning. Threads is crowded ghostly crackles and echoes, while treated field recordings interplay with drones and washes. Vestiges of piano melody straddles dream/wake states as you can almost feel a cool breeze emanate from the speakers and caress your face. Think epiphany moments in films, the intense crescendos, the emotionally overwhelming moods, all set in vast, expanses. Opening track “Retention” is like an entire film score unto itself and goes through roller coaster waves of emotion; a gradual summit, plunge and resurgence. “Amidst” is understated ambience while an old record crackles on “Sun Fluorescent” which engages in musical seance amidst lush near-orchestral washes. The haunting, aptly titled “Light Burns Out” opens with shimmering piano notes before aortic beats pump mid way through while tiny crackles and rustling skitters throughout and then dissipates from a chilling wind. Piano and beats, albeit metronome-like return on “Partial Dawn” accompanied with mechanical movement and “Subdued” is more of an ambient echo. “Where to End” seems the more ambitious piece and has a lot more going on, with much on the same emotional rollercoaster as “Retention”. Threads concludes with the dramatic yet positive “Near Dark” where rhythms and ambience coalesce into an uplifting rush. Threads is a series of visitations from ghosts in times gone by, some from a distant past some from your own time that ultimately yields to the great march. Jason van Wyk offers a bright thread in our celestial tapestry. If you wanted to get haunted, in a good way, pick this album up.

While it is true that most good IDM music has some element of melancholy to it, this reviewer has yet to experience one with this level of gloom. Calling Everything an IDM release might be a bit of a stretch, closer to melodic ambient and drone, there is one such track on this release. The impetus behind Everything’s darker side of the emotional spectrum is Ocoeur aka Frank Zaragoza’s contention that our society is increasingly consumed by mobile devices and attendant apps while oblivious to the world around. Therefore, Zaragoza wants the listener to not only tune in to his music, but the environs immediately outside devices, to absorb everything once more. Opening track, “Ascent” immediately instills a sense of gloominess with its subdued, bleak melodies and despite picking up mid way through, never leaves the dark cloud. Title track, “Everything”, follows almost dirge-like, keeping in gloomier territory and even the crunchy fragments of beats mid way through does not propel out of its overcast state. “Current” follows in gloominess, albeit briefly, while also maintaining a pensive and introspective side. Therefore it is a relief to immerse in the sole proper IDM, “Glow” with its more assertive scale-structure-like melody that builds in delicious tension before launching its defining steam-punk-robo-glockenspiel-angular-rhythms in tandem with said melody and both pair beautifully. “Glow” gradually unfurls throughout, both elegant and uplifting though still having overtones of melancholy, like most good IDM. Tracks, “Dawn” and “Dusk” are said to be companion pieces and could easily belong on Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 the way subdued, bleak yet seductive melody forms at the start of the track and then gradually strips down to ambient-textural-drone overtones, mere vestiges of its former self, like the decay of an old-school musical loop machine. “Dawn” and “Dusk” are your melodies on pharmaceuticals getting to work and gradually winning. For this writer, Ocoeur is among favoured artists and this time he challenges the listener to appreciate a different side of his art, even if we are to accompany him on the rainy side. The journey of Everything is well worth it, bring your galoshes.

Enter the three track EP remix of “Dancing With Fireflies” by Stasis Recordings founder and producer Sanderson Dear, off his Urban Mosaic full-length on same label. The three remix artists are Louis Haiman, Minimal States, and Off Land wherein each bring their own emotional take on the track; including deep, moody yet heavily grooving house (Haiman), angsty techno from Minimal States and spacious ambience of Off Land on a retro-stylings tip. Opening with an infectious bass groove and restrained hand percussion rhythms, “Louis Haiman’s Evening Shadows mix’s” synth tones and melodies hover and shimmer like fireflies on a dusky expanse. Overtones of melancholy permeate, the the way the sunset makes one feel sad from the loss of a sunny day, but there is also anticipation of various excitements with the approach the night to counterbalance as the tune picks up. The following “Minimal States remix” has more anxious overtones with tense, dramatic synth melodies that layer and build until they are propelled by controlled yet layered techno beats that interplay and build in intensity. As the track progresses, the beats and momentum harness the angst and throw into an infectious-dance driven excursion, ultimately providing a kind of resolution to the turmoil. By way of contrast, the dreamier “Off Land recon” rolls into the listeners’ ears like a gentle morning mist with whispering rhythms and tones that echoes fragments of nostalgic 80’s songs tantalizingly just out of memory’s reach. Murmurs of dialog periodically peep through the billowing ambience as the mind struggles to reconstruct what could be an event from the past or some distant dream. Three satisfying emotional takes are offered here and the one critique is that it would be nice to experience the original track here so the listener can compare and contrast. This listener is certainly motivated to acquire the Urban Mosaic album to hear the inspiration behind all this musical goodness. If you like your electronic music moods mixed, the Dancing With Fireflies EP will not disappoint.

There are a number of collaborations between the triumvirate of Uwe Zahn, Porya Hatami, and Darren McClure but only in permutations as a pair. Ypsilon is the first collaboration where all three work together and the results are unlike any of the previous. Whereas prior dual collaborations like In Between Spaces, and Nest dwell in atmospheric, textural sound art, Ypsilon is more sublime atmospheric-dub-ambient-techno at home in the hallowed halls of Basic Channel/Chain Reaction roster. Ypsilon captures the vaporous moments between dream and wakefulness, the twilights of dusk and dawn and instills a sense of wonderment, even to seasoned listeners. It is not clear in the liner notes which artist contributed what sound, and that is by design. There are tones that seem to evoke the signature Arovane style, but that could be from another member. For all we know, the least Arovane-like sound could be Zahn’s contribution. That is because Zahn is the kind of artist who likes to play with listeners’ expectations and challenge them. Opening track, “they’ll” begins with a rummaging clamour and then envelops like a dive into a cool lake during a hot day or a cool breeze for several moments until the sensuous rush instilled from the kick-beats announce like the rhythmic tapping of a tail from a whale as varied tones wash over like schools of colourful fish. The following, “cyntr” with its progressive layered melodic synth modulations evokes the dreamier yet playfully quirky sounds of The Orb. “synfolt” is comprised of fragmentary female enunciations amidst ornate textures and breezy atmospheres that wash over. “blynn” has a myriad of disparate yet gentle tones that come together like the frayed ends of a rug and coalesce into lovely musical patterns while higher pitched tones wistfully float above as momentum builds. “absyrb” takes us into a living, cavernous techno club cocoon with electro-currents that pulse and course like a rod just after it is struck by lightning, followed by retro-organ tones. “prysma” is made up of toybox melodies while ghostly tones swirl while title track, “ypsilon” is a series of string-like resonances on a bed of gentle pastel tones. Book-end piece, “byte” concludes with continuous ambient flow, a gentle noctural breeze where microcosms of sound emerge, a restive conclusion to a work of blissbeat. Ypsiolon is easily one of the loveliest recordings of 2019 and also a pleasant surprise for both techno and ambient enthusiasts.