Category Archives: Electronic

THE BEST BOX SETS OF 2016-PART 1.

THE BEST BOX SETS OF 2016-PART 1. Having looked at the best of the new albums released during 2016, it’s now time to look at the best box sets released during the last twelve months. These box sets range from lovingly curated, luxurious, limited editions to budget box sets. There’s something for everyone and every …

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THE BEST BOX SETS OF 2016-PART 2.

THE BEST BOX SETS OF 2016-PART 2. Klaus Schulze-Dark Side Of The Moog Volumes 1-4. When Klaus Schulze agreed to collaborate with Pete Namlook, little did he realise that this was the start of a partnership that lasted fourteen years. The first volume in the Dark Side Of The Moog series was released in 1994. …

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GANDALF-JOURNEY TO AN IMAGINARY LAND.

GANDALF-JOURNEY TO AN IMAGINARY LAND. Prior to embarking upon a musical career, and becoming  one of Austria’s most accomplished, innovative and successful musicians, Gandalf travelled extensively. That’s why the talented multi-instrumentalist never released his debut album Journey To An Imaginary Land until 1980. By then he was twenty-nine. However, soon, Gandalf would make up for lost time. …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1. Adam Holmes and The Embers-Better Still. Just two years after releasing his debut Heirs and Graces, Edinburgh based singer-songwriter returned with his much-anticipated sophomore album Better Still. This time around though, his backing band  The Embers receive equal billing. They play an important in the sound and success of …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2. Ches Smith-The Bell. Up until the New York Winter Jazzfest in 2014, Ches Smith had always been a sideman. That night, he led his own trio. Two years later, Ches Smith’s move from sideman to bandleader was complete when he released The Bell on ECM.   He assumes the …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3. Fire!-She Sleeps, She Sleeps. Back in Fenruary, Fire! released their fifth studio album She Sleeps, She Sleeps on Rune Grammofon. Just like previous albums by Fire! and the Fire! Orchestra the music on She Sleeps, She Sleeps was groundbreaking, influential and innovative. It was also captivating, progressive, genre-melting music. …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 4.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 4. Jóhann Jóhannsson-Ophee On Orphée, Jóhann Jóhannsson’s turned his attention to the beauty and the process of creation. Orphée features Jóhann Jóhannsson tracing a path from darkness into light. Inspiration for Orphée comes from the opéra bouffe Orphée aux enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld). It was written by Ludovic Halévy, …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 5.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 5. Martin Green-Flit Last year, when  Lau enjoying some downtime, accordionist and electronics guru Martin Green decided to release his sophomore album, Flit on Reveal Records. It was the followup to Crow’s Bones which was released in 2014 and found Martin accompanied by an-star cast of musicians. They play their …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 6.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 6. Qluster-Echtzei. Forty-seven years after he first co-founded Kluster, Hans-Joachim Roedelius keeps the memory of Kluster and Cluster alive with Qluster.  They released their sixth album Echtzeit on  Bureau B during 2016.    Echtzeit marks a stylistic departure from Qluster. It’s much more ambient sounding album.  Qluster combine elements of …

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BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 7.

BEST NEW ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 7. Sunanna-Triangle. Triangle is Susanna’s eleventh album and first for four years. It was released on Susanna’s own SusannaSonata label, and is no ordinary album. Not by a long chalk. Instead, Triangle is a twenty-two song cerebral epic, where Susanna muses and meditates on mortality and religion.  It’s a powerful album, …

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BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1

BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 1 For years, I’ve been writing about the Nordic Wave scene, which is, without doubt, one of the most eclectic and vibrant in Europe. During that period, I’ve witnessed the rise and rise of the Nordic Wave. There’s no sign of the bubble bursting. Quite the opposite. This latest …

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BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2.

BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 2. Hedvig Mollestad Trio-Evil In Oslo. In July 2016, the Hedvig Mollestad Trio released two albums. This includes the live album Evil In Oslo. It was released by Rune Grammofon and is the Hedvig Mollestad Trio’s first ever live album. Evil In Oslo is a tantalising taste of the …

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BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3.

BEST NORDIC WAVE ALBUMS OF 2016-PART 3. Nicklas Sørensen-Solo.  Ever since 2010, Copenhagen based instrumental rock trio Papir’s star has been in the ascendancy. One of the men behind Papir’s success was guitarist Nicklas Sørensen, who released his debut album Solo on El Paraiso Records. He set out to experiment on Solo. However, on other …

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KLAUS SCHULZE-THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOOG BOX SETS.

KLAUS SCHULZE-THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOOG BOX SETS. By 1994, Berlin School pioneer Klaus Schulze was a veteran of German music. He had been making music for twenty-five years. His recording career began back in October 1969, when Klaus Schulze played on Tangerine Dream’s debut album Electronic Meditation. Eight months later, Electronic Meditation was released …

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ASHRA-CORRELATIONS COMPLETE BOX SET.

ASHRA-CORRELATIONS COMPLETE BOX SET.  When Manuel Göttsching released Inventions For Electric Guitar in 1975, this was meant to be the start of a new chapter in his career. Inventions For Electric Guitar was meant to be Manuel Göttsching’s debut solo album. Some eagle eyed record buyers weren’t so sure about that. Atop the album cover …

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SVEN GRUNBERG-HINGUS.

SVEN GRUNBERG-HINGUS. From the sixties, right through to the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Eastern Europe was a musical hotbed. The problem was, very few in the West realised this. That, to some extent, this still the case. Most music lovers have yet to discover the music that came out of Eastern Europe during this …

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ADELBERT VON DEYEN-NORBORG AND ATMOSPHERE.

ADELBERT VON DEYEN-NORBORG AND ATMOSPHERE. After Adelbert Von Deyen released his debut album Sternzeit on Günter Körber’s Sky Records in 1978, the label became his home for the next nine years. This was the most productive period of Adelbert Von Deyen’s career. His creativity blossomed and he released eight studio albums and one live album. …

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SPACE ROCK: AN INTERSTELLAR TRAVELLER’S GUIDE.

SPACE ROCK: AN INTERSTELLAR TRAVELLER’S GUIDE. Music like fashion is cyclical. One minute a musical genre is hugely popular, the next it falls from grace. That usually, isn’t the end of the story. There’s usually always a resurgence in popularity of that musical genre at a later date. This has been the case with countless  …

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CONRAD SCHNITZLER-FILMMUSIK 1.

CONRAD SCHNITZLER-FILMMUSIK 1. Conrad Schnitzler was, without doubt, one of the most important and influential figures in German music. Having studied under Joseph Beuys, he cofounded the legendary Zodiak Free Arts Lab in Berlin with Hans-Joachim Roedelius.  For next the two years,  the Zodiak Free Arts Lab became one of Berlin’s cultural hubs. Artists and …

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KOLLECTION 06: CLUSTER 1971-1981-COMPILED BY JOHN McENTIRE.

KOLLECTiON 06: CLUSTER 1971-1981-COMPILED BY JOHN McENTIRE. One of the most important, influential and innovative bands in the history of German music were Cluster. Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius formed Cluster in 1971. Previously they had both been members of Kluster since 1969. However, Conrad Schnitzler, the third member of Kluster, left the band in mid-1971. …

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