Net Decks 4

Our regular look at the techno netlabel scene: Reviews and Preview MP3s.

The Stadtgruen label was in our lense just two weeks ago (Net Decks 2), but how could we resist turning to their pages now that they have yet another tasty full-length for free download available from their site? Dustin Frelich aka The Stringed Theory has been absent from the outfit’s superb “Sprite” sampler of mid-June, which may make sense on purely stylistic considerations, but is a bit of a pitty, as his dreamy ambiances would have made for a perfect close to that release. Frelich plays a mellow kind of drone music with warm washes of waved synthesizer pads gently crashing on sun-bathed shores of deep bass pulsations. A delicate crackling, a digital pulsation far off hint at the notion of rhythm, while choral breaths and seemingly vocoded syllables in a foreign, but friendly tongue whisper invitingly. The separations between harmonic accompaniment, melodic motives and sound effect get blured in this woozy world of wonder and the mind comes to rest, like taking a refreshing shower after a hard day’s work. The word “heavenly” hardly ever seemed as appropriate as here. Take note: This is only the second Stringed Theory release and promises more noteworthy things in the future.
www.stadtgruenlabel.net/

According to Mikel Mendia, Dub has been the main influence for his work. While listening to “Clouds Melting”, this is more than obvious: Deep, very deep bass lines turn your eardrums into hot, vibrating membranes and myriads of minuscule effect drift from one left to right, as the tracks unfold a maximum hypnosis with minimal means. The showstopper of the collection in this respect is the reduced old school vision “Crystal”, which dances on a rubbery slap motive and culminates in an atmospheric lead in the very last minute. And yet, there is more to this Pamplona-based artist than just combining Jamacain vibes with Detroit beats. Mendia has unconventional ideas with regards to arrangement and aims just as much at his audience’s brains as their feet: Already the surprising title track emancipates itself from its abstract click n cuts opening to a disharmonic, spaced-out sampling session, which only just returns to the safety of its catchy beginnings. On other occasions, he allows his fascination for combining seemingly incombinable sounds into bizarre, bewildering, but ever so charming pieces bouncing all over the place to great effect. A release that will make your head spin – with joy.
www.inoquo.com

It is becoming ever clearer that the Netlabe scene is maturing. When following some of the recommendations, one either hits a dead link or a long-standing, professional organisation. Antiritmo falls into the latter category. On the occasion of their 20th release, they have not only decided to update their site to an informative, fast and stylish Flash page, but also invited two of their favourite Spanish producers over for a collaborative EP: Hiroshi Oki delivers fluent, organic grooves with shimmering melodic drops developping a majestic magnetism. “Passeig de Gracia” is the dreamy opener and “Pa amb Tomaquet” the forwards-thrusting club stomper, but no matter what discipline he is active in, Oki proves himself to be a man with a good ear for how long he can keep his powerful loops runnign without reaching a dead end. Dessben, meanwhile, is resonsible for the more reduced and “cool” vibes on “Puente Aereo”, his “M30” leaning on a creaking bass line as dry as a dead dingo’s donger (that’s Australian for “very dry” in case you’re wondering). His second contribution, too, has a purist feeling about it, a smashing track of uncountable, overlapping rhythmic stabs uniting for a mesmerising trance experience. Quite a sweaty and intoxicating 25 minutes in total.
www.antiritmo.com/en/