Alexis Taylor
Rubbed Out

Lash00: ...Weird Weather turn loose the ‘Succulents EP’, the grimier sequel to 2020’s ‘Tongue Drum’ 12” on their LASH00 label (formerly Whip+Lash). Finding overlap with the contemporary sounds of YOUTH, Hessle, Bokeh-and-related, and with a nod to leftfield 90’s grindcore experimentalists Scorn and James Plotkin, the London-based duo return on energising form with four surging tracks of heavy-duty dub industrial and off-kilter bass.First featured on The Wire magazine’s Below the Radar series, the outsized 808 pressure and gurgling anti-melodies of ‘Succulents’ lead the charge. Next up: ‘Axle 2 Grind’s streamlined rhythms and percolating distortion occasionally give way to rising, alarm-like tones. Side two serves up ‘Devil’s Dinner Plate’, a smudgy platter of greasy breakbeat and degraded noise, before ‘Heavy Metal Bathtub’ brings things to a close with a wash of crackling static and tense drums. Here be Dragons.>>>>>>>>

boomkat: ...On their eponymous sophomore outing picnic reveal a fuller picture of their sound. The eight original pieces are given to sensitively mulched textures and softly glowing pads mottled with new age spirited strings and wafting voices. It’s nothing particularly new or inventive but works it’s way under the skin with pharmaceutic efficacy, at its lushest in the descriptive title and feel of ‘drops in the water (with tics)’, and the gently keening, hypnagogic appeal of ‘basket.’ released February 11, 2021Artwork by Rissa HochbergerInner labels by Sam MullanyAdditional artwork by Ken NicoleMastered by Shy (3XL)

ORANGE MILK RECORDS: ...Review from 'a closer listen' ~"Luis Pestana‘s debut is unlike anything else on Orange Milk Records; in fact, it’s like little else on the market. The set unfolds like a radio play, embracing multiple genres and instruments: choirs and church bells, woodwinds and hurdy-gurdy. The Portuguese artist calls Rosa Pano “his own folklore, inspired by his mother’s lullabies,” although the timbres are more likely to wake a listener up than to lull one to sleep. There are no track breaks, providing a seamless experience; one is drawn into the dream. We would not be surprised to see a troupe adopt the extended piece for an exercise in creative choreography.“Oneia” begins as a slow march with church bells, a female voice and a sense of procession. At the end of the track, a clock is wound and allowed to tick; a baby begins to cry. Then chimes ring out and the tape enters a new phase, a fairy-tale world populated by buzzing sprites and synthesized surges that seem more Subtext than Orange Milk. Is the baby sleeping yet? As of Track 3, she is not. Multiple voices converge, keeping her awake and agitated. A short, solid drone leads to the busiest piece, “Au Romper Da Bela Aurora” (“A Break from the Beautiful Dawn”), where zither lays the foundation for an architecture of operatic voices.The electronic tones return for the end run, percussive in nature, implying a flight through the forest back to safer ground. At the end of “Asa Machina,” the machines break down with a stutter, revealing a persistent choir. A lone flute, possibly from Pan, leads to the nine-minute title track, in which a siren’s cry is answered by a chorus of wolves. As a final drone approaches, the fairy tales crash together on a single shore. Once again, church bells ring, the mysterious story returning to the beginning: cycling, although changed, like a dreamer nourished by fantastic visions. Are we dancing or are we dreaming? Either way, we’ve grown enchanted by Pestana’s folkloric world."(Richard Allen)acloserlisten.com/2020/11/22/luis-pestana-rosa-pano/ Celeste (vocals) Elizabete Francisca (vocals)Alibori H. (woodwinds) Bruno Pereira (zither)Janita Salomé (arrangement and vocals on 5)Vitorino (vocals on 5) Carlos Guerreiro (hurdy-gurdy on 5)Contains samples from Julia Wolfe, Warner Jepson,José Pinhal and Krzysztof KomedaWritten and produced by Luis PestanaMastered by James PlotkinArtwork by Mariusz LewandowskiLayout by Keith Rankin and Adrienn Császár

uknowme: ...It started with the EP "Krzyżacy", which was released exactly two years ago. Two well-known producers - Daniel Drumz & Hatti Vatti - joined their forces to release an EP, which later on was appreciated by the worldwide listeners, journalists and festival audience. JANKA, which I am talking about, hit the stages of the best Polish festivals such as Opener, Spring Break, Tauron, Slovenian MENT and Moscow Music Week. But that happened in 2019.On March 8th 2021 the duo's debut album, "MIDI Life Crisis" will be released. Daniel Szlajnda and Piotr Kaliński once again prove that there is much more than just musical chemistry between them. What we can hear there are fascinations from dubby minimalism and IDM to jungle and rave - it's hard to label this unique mature album which should be a pleasant surprise for people open to electronic music. "Modern vintage" might be a good description of what we experience there, music is pressed on modular and analog synths and unusual sampling is drowned in delays and reverbs. However it's not from the late '90s, nothing is typical or obvious, the sound and the style of JANKA are unique.On the album, you hear two guest voices - Sujka (i.e. Iwona Król - known from the projects Kobieta z Wydm, Lauda, and Król) and Kacha Kowalczyk (i.e. the voice of Coals), the album was mastered by Kwazar. The unique graphic was designed and created by Zosia Paśnik on the analogue gear (as a diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice). The album is released in analog form in two color versions, the 180-gram vinyl edition also includes three inserts with Zosia's graphics.