The second release from ISOTOOP sees Vand venture out solo on three divergent and introspective cuts, each cultivated from the Dutch musician’s live repertoire, and an austere remix from the ever-accurate Italian duo natural.electronic/system tops off the release. Learn More
Since at least 2024, by our reckoning, shells have been having something of a moment in electronic music. Why, exactly, is anyone’s guess. Maybe it’s the unsettling feel of nautilus palps or the spiraling segments of ancient fossils—forms that seem to intuit the mechanized pulse of techno. Birmingham linchpin Surgeon (Anthony Child) taps into this fascination, transforming chirping sonic opercula into filter-fed 4/4 Borg-like entities. Despite the thematic suggestion, Child keeps his setup minimal: “For me, it's an interesting experience returning to old techniques again after 30 years,” he says. The result is a stripped-back, live-style set—eight tracks recorded in single takes. Only "Dying" breaks from the beat-driven mold, offering a morose, mantra-like soundscape.
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There's not much we can tell you about the identities of the "trusty producers" behind the Old Boys Vinyl Sessions project, other than that they have been making and releasing music under various aliases since the pre-MP3 days. It's easy to see why they want to avoid publicity, as what's an offer is a tasty house rework of a string-laden Blue Nile number from back in 1984. The opening 'Cloudburst Vox' wraps elements of the band's sultry, simmering original track (strings, vocals, pianos) and tech-house electronics around a locked-in house groove, while the accompanying 'Cloudburst Dub' strips out the vocals while retaining the gorgeous arrangements and druggy 21st century sounds. The extended flipside 'Torrent Vox' ramps up the strings and other picturesque sounds, inserting a simply stunning extended breakdown for good measure. Learn More