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Black Moon Rising

Butter Sessions: ...Canadian born and Naarm (Melbourne) based Jennifer Loveless returns one year on from her debut release Hard/Soft (Pure Space Records) with Water, a 12” EP presented by Butter Sessions. Bestowing us with five tracks of dystopian dance-floor thump, Water is a bustling showcase of Jenn’s breadth as an artist. Reflecting on the contrast of Water with her first EP, Loveless comments “I wanted a hard contrast to the Hard/Soft release. I always had a plan to release an energetic frivolous fun type EP after Hard/Soft. I had a feeling people might see me as an ambient producer (although I wouldn’t really categorise Hard/Soft as that), and I guess this EP, Water, is my response”. At its core, Water is a hyper-charged cetacean maelstrom of electronic music, sampling weddell seals, humpback whales, pacific walruses and water itself. Water kicks off with the rumbling patter of Out/Under before moving into the unabating Syzygy (Scissor Me). Jenn stamps a joyful yet skittish imprint onto ECC, while fly on the wall Backroll Buddy sits on a sound bed of audio Jenn recorded at parties, capturing friends chattering and an edit of a Whitney Houston earworm she heard a DJ playing, paying ode to a night out. B L U YOU is a charming endnote; a fusion of fluorescent pop and a catchy bassline. The verdict here is that Water allows Jennifer Loveless to prove herself truly as a jack of all trades. Water takes shape as an engrossing palette of bold dance music.

EM Records: ..."Ecological Plantron" was a CD released in 1994, the audio document of an installation held in 1994 at a gallery in Tokyo. The Plantron is a bioelectric interface developed by botanist Yuji Dogane; it was designed to give voice to plants, using electronic means to make audible the energy of the natural world, prioritizing the non-human aspects of nature. Dogane was assisted in the project by composer Mamoru Fujieda, who helped to convert the vegetal energies into audible sounds. Though they stress that this is not music, the recordings that Dogane and Fujieda released are actually quite musical and not at all unpleasant in the way that some other non-musical sounds might seem. There is an attractive gentleness and an intelligent flow here, a vibrant energy, and one can sense that the plants are communicating, waiting for us to understand.

"Every 4,044 years comet Calanhi enters the inner solar system, returning from its cold and silent voyage through the Oort cloud. As it approaches perihelion, billions on Earth gaze into the night sky, transfixed by the celestial spectacle of their lifetime. While solar winds tear at the comet’s surface, deep inside the glowing ball of ice, ancient machinery springs to life."

Editions Mego: ...Second phantasmagorical audio outing from former Seefeel and Loops Haunt members, Mark Clifford and Scott Gordon. ‘Two’ expands the duo’s unique take on spectral synthesis incorporating a diverse amount of approaches to experimental sound. Two expounds a hybrid mix of acoustic based audio design, ambient tonality, sound effects, music, abstraction and world’s hybrid video game soundtrack.There is something of an onomatopoeia quality to the release as the six tracks take on the character of their individual title. Silt, Dapple, Overcurve, Scutter, Strain and Plates appear as extremely well executed versions of the inferred intent of their namesake. This inquisitive approach will appeal to those interested in the more exploratory end of sound production providing hope as newly formed methods and colours are exposed from the duo’s contemporary audio tactics.Seasoned veterans can lie in a bed of laurels whereas ‘Two’ is an exemplary release revelling in the enthusiasm that comes from the joy of unabated exploration.