Author: Jim Allen

Premiere: M.in & Riven – Real Underground

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yearoftheape

The Year of the Ape in the Chinese zodiac is the one in which Frankfurt-based DJ/producer Markus Ferdinand was born, but it’s also the title of his new album under the M.in alias. Due out July 1 on Ferdinand’s own label, My Favourite Freaks Music, the record finds him becoming increasingly involved with exploring the full potential of analog synth tones. It also shows Ferdinand’s ability to achieve a broad range of sounds by collaborating with other artists.

Over the course of the album, he gets together with Fabio Macor, Marquez III, Bruno Gentile, Pete Kaltenburg, and others, turning out tracks that tech ]-house to acid and beyond. And on “Real Underground,” which you can stream below, an artistic partnership with Riven helps to highlight the thick textures Ferdinand is able to wring from his Moog Mother 32 and Sub 37, with an endlessly undulating groove that slips around like an exceptionally agile serpent across an electronic forest.

Premiere: Shadows – Lights Out

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shadowsfear

The Manchester duo AnD introduced their musical alter ego Shadows on the Avian label in 2012, and now they’re reviving the project for the Fear of the Imagination EP, a four-track affair out July 1 on the Leyla imprint. As you can hear from the streaming sneak preview of “Lights Out” found below, Shadow is all about adventurous exploits into the outer limits of electronic music. Their experimental, neo-industrial sound finds form in chaos and beauty in intensity. The sounds that emerge on Fear of the Imagination are simultaneously arresting and dizzying, in your face and strangely hypnotic. They force you to envision an alternate reality where music is made by an entirely different set of rules. And in case this project whets your appetite for more music from the Layla realm, keep in mind that they’re unleashing a new EP by Manni Dee on the same date.

Henry Saiz Kickstarter Takes Electronic Music on an Exotic Journey Around the World

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henry said kickstarter

Spanish DJ/producer Henry Saiz is embarking on an ambitious, globetrotting project that will find him taking his music to all sorts of exotic settings, and you can be a part of the journey by contributing to the Kickstarter fund for the endeavor. Saiz plans to put together an album by writing and recording each track in a different far-flung locale, capturing the flavor of each spot in the process. Saiz states that his artistic agenda will include “recording synthesizers inside the Great Pyramid, traveling to Tokyo to create a track with a virtual singer, composing a theme during a psychotropic trip in the desert of Joshua Tree, playing drums inside the volcanic caves of Lanzarote island or collaborating with a Maasai tribe on a jam techno session.”

And the audio side of the endeavor is only one aspect of Saiz’s plan. He’ll be making a documentary of the whole project too, though he describes it as “a combination of documentary and fiction.” If you want to contribute to Saiz’s adventure, you can head on over to the Kickstarter page for the project and kick in a few bucks to find out what happens when an idea makes its way around the world.

Premiere: Abe Duque – Neyahh

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abeduque

When Abe Duque’s Darkside EP is unleashed via his own imprint on June 24, the world will have five more tracks to absorb from Carlos Abraham Duque Alcivar. But you can catch a sneak peek at one of those tracks right here and now. “Neyahh” finds this son of New York City at his most beguiling. It brings something exotic, something otherworldly to the table while still firmly keeping its feet grounded in the techno verities. Proudly pulsing beats share space with haunting vocal samples and some undeniably New Order-esque riffs for a feel that spans genres and eras. You can stream it below for now, but keep a close lookout for the full release just around the corner.