spinning drum blog

So which is it you might ask. Well, no more just background for new age shops or bedtime treats for ravers, under the beat-less direction of Paul Dickow and E*Rock, ambient music merges with sound art to showcase of Portland’s homegrown bliss pop talent. Featuring a sonic wash of tracks from indie artists such as Yellow Swans, Lucky Dragons and White Rainbow, the near beat-free soundscape, broken only by the fuzzed-out minimal techno of AM/PM’s “Even As We Are” and brief cut up groove of Freeform’s “Aunt Meridian,” seems at times more suited to art installation than home listening. Most likely chalked up as spaced-out sound collage by the average ambient fan, experimental music lovers will appreciate the thick soup of disembodied samples, digitally processed drones and minimal melodic and overly moody interludes.
Audio Dregs audiodregs.com
by Romina Wendell (first published in Exclaim Magazine)

Following on 2004’s electro-dubtronica Neurofibro and last year’s dancefloor directed 12″ series Warehouse Sessions, Mark Stewart’s second full-length is a gratifyingly collection of melodic and minimal dub techno. The echos and reverberations are reminiscent of a Deepchord Recording as the slightly sub duded and heavy padded bass lines pulse under the delay thickened analogue charm of Metanarrative’s warm synth and repetitive keys. Its well-executed throb breathes and releases a tension that eventually reaches its most hypnotic and platable pinnacle with the plodding bassline and high hat smacks of “Gone To The Dogs” and the stark beats and simple melodic lace of “Dependants.”
Modern Love – www.claro-intelecto.com
by Romina Wendell (first published in Exclaim Magazine)

In celebration of its 50th release of “emotional experiments in music,” n5MD has capped its seven years of production with a double compilation CD of exclusive new material, remixes and covers from it ’s IDM alumni. AEM, Arc Lab, BitCrush, Quench, Funckarma and Loess are a few notables, and the combined sound unleashes a definitive collection of modern and moody. The forlorn piano keys of Near the Parenthesis “Into the Green” opens the sonic foray. Soon after KeefBaker’s echoy drum rolls in “Never”surge forth and batter down any expectation of pure mellowness, as does the crunch and static of SubtractiveLAD’s “Back To You” and the drawn out glitch-step of Funkcama’s “Skaind.” The rest, characterized by mostly pensive rhythms, expansive synths, and jarring IDM, makes for a distorted indie rock/electronica collection offering intermittent ambient refuge. The most notable chill comes in AEM’s rustling soundscape “Hilbert,” and Loess’ Rhythm and Sound like dub remix of Quenches’”Bud.”
n5MD Records – n5MD.com by Romina Wendell (first published in Exclaim)