Juno6 - Crete [tro007]

Juno6 - a young guy living practically next door to me - has already given an appearance on our latest 1bit wonder, the "Celebration Compilation #2". This is his first netlabel-EP, released on diligent new imprint Tropic. He kicks off with the dreamy "chania", going on to "serpentine" - a really superb dancefloor rocker. Weird sequence he uses, but highly effective, I'm sure. Followed by "sfinari" - a very slow, wonderfully atmospheric piece of melancholy, using a real sample from the roar of the surf. "Crete" finishes off with a piece of playful minimal techno (which is not very exact - Juno6 always shows some house influences as well), "syia 3". Very nice release!

4x MP3, 192kbps, 36.9MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
juno6 provides for the first sunbeams this year and prepares for us a perfect mix of minimal, ambient and housy sounds.

V.A. - Cooking with herbs [ecb002]

Epicure Business is a label operating from Thuringia, which is only a few minutes by car away from where I live. It's nice to watch people starting their own projects and developing within this process. I have to admit that their first release was not my sense of taste, but this one is: Five Tracks by the artists Less, Insert84 and Gunne (from 1st Decade). Gunne surprised me with his dryly kickin' minimal shit, with 1st decade in mind I expected something different... Insert84 and Less stay minimal as well, with the first one moving on to somewhat dreamy, almost melodic structures while the latter unleashes two superb bassy movers, "don't grab my fuckin money" being my favorite on this release. Should get some dancefloor testing soon... =)

5x MP3, 320kbps, 59.3MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
Not available...

Ontagon - Forgetful EP [post-digital]

I don't really get how this netlabel works but I guess they don't care - which seems to fit with the sound as well. This EP starts with two weird tracks somewhere between ambient and IDM. It goes on with some more relaxt, nice, soft breakbeats till it flows into a sound that is something of everything: Some oriental influences here ("180 degrees"), some pop there ("forget to remember"). Sometimes it gets melancholic, but even though it combines all these different elements it never turns kitschy. At the end they even serve some Hiphop - amazingly good one ("grandfather clock") - and something to laugh at ("rain on my parade"). Great stuff that is!

7x MP3, 192kbps, all together 34.8MB:
Download here.

Official text:
this 7-song ep is a varied and strange journey of diverse electronic songs. from the glittery idm synth intro to the dark industrial middle-eastern 180 degrees, this ep defies categorization. originally released on the ontagon.com site in january of 2005, its rerelease on post-digital in january 2006 will bring it to new listeners.

V.A. - 30 Days [pm001]

I absolutely like this project, Peppermill, with its total feel all around and stuff. Take their wonderful down-to-earth self-description for example: "The Peppermill is a fun little project label based in Vancouver, trying to make interesting art in interesting ways."
And their first project is really interesting indeed: 30 artists from all over the world working together on a project in a period of 30 days - resulting in a monster longplayer of 30 tracks. Of course, the result is very diverse - with some absolutely superb vocal tracks by Antenne and Alice Rose as well as some works which are simply too crazy for me (Domotic, Venetian Snares). Surprisingly enough, there's is not one track in here which I would consider belonging to the much-hyped genre "minimal" - most of these 30 tracks work in a field between IDM, experimental and ambient. Some elements of classical music (KKFS), trashy dance (The Flashbulb) and acid (Bogsnarth) are represented as well. However different all these tracks are, because of the production process they all fit together somehow - a nice flow of 82 minutes music...
Note that the next project will be an open remix project of this release. For sample packs and more info click here.

30x MP3, 192kbps, 113MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
This album was created in thirty days by thirty different artists, in a sort of chain-collaboration where one finished at midnight and passed it on to the next to continue the set. Each song leads smoothly into the next creating one slowly morphing mix of a large variety of electronic music.

Holden / Unit 21 - Ucomputer EP [grat001]

A new netlabel hailing from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia - with musical orientation towards ambient and minimal techno. Release number 001 already sounds promising: Nice deep cuts with a lot of atmosphere. Ranges from minimal stuff ("ucomputer") over ambientish electronica ("recommand (u21 re-run)") to slowly movin' techno ("ucomputer remix"). Comes with a stylish graphic artwork - one picture accompanying each track plus front & back cover. Very nice!

4x MP3, 192kbps, 35.8MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
the spirit of the first net-release half-opened the holes, where the green rat will be making its promenades. following the "nothing amiss, when saving whiskers and tail" principle, pc had felt crackling of the musical linen on its own back ('recommand' track) and came to the conclusion, that techno is on the verge of foul - i.e. when it's not yet hard, but already catchy ('ucomputer remix') - provokes a natural reflex of musculoskeletal system. 'ucomputer' and 'blop-bip-bop' are manifestations of deep techno with "intelligent" pulsation, and that's all and even a bit more to say.

V.A. - Sushitech Err9r [mnlv004]

Minlove releases are always promising: This time, it's UK-based Sushitech with a label showcase. And it's a maximum one: 14 tracks, covering a musical spectrum from sophisticated electronica (Franco Cangelli, Nir T.) over nice atmospheric stuff (Koljah, Westend Ghetto, Stl, Automata) to dryly kickin' minimal (Miss Fitz, Molair). It's nice to see such a young label showing this variety in sound as well with its artists (12 different ones). The release is divided in two parts, the first one representing the "mother label", Sushitech, the second one dedicated to its sub, "Sushitech Purple". I have to admit that I like the first half better as it is more diverse and not as straight as the Purple part. However, with this release Minlove definitely establishes itself as a highly welcome enrichment to the netaudio scene.

14x MP3, 256kpbs, 153MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
Too long to quote - see webpage...

V.A. - Celebration Compilation #2 [1bit013]

No comment - just listen... =)

12x MP3, 256kbps, 136MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
It has been a wonderful first year - thanks to all our artists, listeners, fans, critics, supporters. Our second big compilation is our birthday gift for you - a diversified collection of tracks that can give you a good idea of how wide our musical spectrum is. From jaunty minimal techno and detroit-influenced 4/4 to experimental electronica and the songwriter stuff of "The Noise Tales" - there probably is something in here for everybody, ranging from sweaty basement club dancers to meditative sofa surfers...

Kai - Atomic [audio808.011]

Argentina's Audio:808 comes with a double release in February: Kai on 011, Vaia on 012. I prefer this one here - three nice minimal tracks with a good flow. Their sound is not too stuffed, instead Kai holds it pretty minimal. The Bassline always vibrating, all three tracks come with an underlying and somewhat dubby chord or rhodish sound. Sounds deep but still moving. Well done!

3x MP3, 192kbps, 34.2MB ZIP-file (incl. cover):
Download here.

Official text:
Only available in Spanish...