Rome – “Berlin” – [Cold Meat Industry]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

Rome aka Jerome Reuter is a Luxembourgian act on the Cold Meat Industry label.
This is his debut release, dark and haunting with mesmerizing vocals and charming, crackly samples. This is pretty gothy but not in a black eyeliner, shopping at Hot Topic way. This is gothic in a distinguished sipping Absinthe and discussing H.P Lovecraft way. This to me has a certain maturity to it that I would expect from artists who were much older.
As I have said before, very Death in June-ish or Ordo Equiem Solis and exactly what you would expect from CMI.
Track 6 is by far my favorite and falls into the “Perfect Song” catagory with it’s hauntingly beautiful simplicity.
Track 5 is also excellent with its’ rhythmic creepiness. Songs on here are short and you wish they would go on much longer but please enjoy them anyway. CMI calls this Apocolyptic Fold/Neofolk…….if that helps.

Scsi 9 – “Line of Nine, The” – [Kompakt]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

A duo from Moscow, Maxim Milyutenko is a musian and sound engineer,
Anton Kubikov is a very well known and beloved DJ in the Moscow techno scene and had his own electronic show on a Russian radio station.
This is really great tech-house, very unique instrumentation. Track 4 has guest vocals by Katya Ryba but the standout for me is Track 3 “Eclair de Lune” which samples the famous Debussy song and has really very intriguing instrumentation, its a “perfect Song”. Really I could listen to this CD all day…….actually I have!!
Enjoy!

Splinters – “Watchmaker, The” – [Woodson Lateral]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

Seattle-based musician/sound designer Ben Torrence to release some of his computer-based compositions that fall outside of the styles and/or collaborative
working methods of the laptop duo, Bookmobile.
This is mellow, minimal glitch lite (TM Belladonna) clicky but not irritatingly so, beat-y rhythmic. Track One gives you a wash of sounds that you can just bathe in, track six is very upbeat and dance-y…..and everything else falls in between.

Geoffrey,M / Franzke, J.D. – “Get a Room” – [Extreme Records]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

Extreme???s first digital-only release, by Mr. Geoffrey & J.D. Franzke. The duo (DJ and sound designer, respectively) have teamed up with musician Mystic
Moose???multi-instrumentalist, member of the band Crackpot, guitarist on
the soundtrack to the great Australian film The Castle and tour guitarist for Screamin??? Jay Hawkins.
Track one starts with a funky, long hip hoppy jam
Track two is a quirky squeeky singer with a toy piano, a tiny bit Niobe and a tiny bit Blevin Blectum
Track three is a tragic Parisian love story, a soundtrack for sitting at a sidewalk cafe eating your croissant and seeing the love of your life walk by only to spend the next several years searching for her…
Track four is an exotica loungey Combustible Edison-ish track suitable for sipping cocktails to.
PS It shows up as Stevie Nicks in iTunes, just sayin’ kthanksbai!!

Pop Ambient 2001 [coll] – [Kompakt]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

Mellllllloooooowwwwwww…this might make you verrrryyy sleeeepy…or not.
Extremely ambient mellow electronics, borderline new age stylings.
Enjoyable nontheless.

Deutsch Nepal – “Dystopian Partycollection” – [Cold Meat Industry]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

A collection of previously released material from obscure compilations and limited edition vinyls most of which now unavailable! The approach is different from track to track and there is no theme or secret path to follow….gloomy tribal creepiness with moments of cinematic soundscapey-ness???sinister chanting followed by a sweeping lush ballad.
Check it out!

Foundation Hope – “Tunes For The Wounded” – [Cold Meat Industry]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   A Library, CD

This is the second release from the Dutch dark ambient project Foundation of Hope who have been characterized by a fascination with the socially degenerated side of society; the dark side of the human mind, fear and despair, For the love of Prozac, man is this thing depressing! There are some moments of beauty but they are really overshaddowed with the overall sense of despair. Its bleak,
sorrowfull and tragic soundscapes should perhaps be avoided if you are feel a bit low as they may send you over the edge. Notice how many track titles use ???Wound??? or Wounded???

Unicorn Glowsticks Rave Party [coll] – [Creaked]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   12-inch, A Library

Interesting conceptual split featuring SF based producers Mochipet and BloodySnowman. This is a head pounding nod to old skool rave music (hence the title). Its definitely a hardcore breakcore hard techno pounder that has both an early 90’s hard techno sound mixed with a newer breakcore thing.
Really what can I say? Mochipet is a bit of an electronic genius with charming quirky eccentricities.
You can play this but I bet you can’t dance to it!!

Stott, Andy – “Bad Landing EP” – [Modern Love]

Belladonna   10/20/2009   12-inch, A Library

Very enjoyable release from Manchesturian Andy Stott which makes me wish it was a full length. Track 1/A is a very minimal yet beat-y yet floaty track, not quite techno but not quite ambient. Track 2/B is the title track which is a kick ass dubby mellow dreamy track. I can’t wait to play this on Day of Dub!!!! As with his other releases, these have their own unique style which really sets him apart from other electronic artists.

Farmacia – ???Crucial Sky In The Land of Premonitions???..??? (Psychopath)

Belladonna   6/20/2007   A Library

The Buenos Aires trio Farmacia create intriguing experimental electronics with an old skool feel and obvious (to me at least) Throbbing Gristle influence (or the like). This ranges from quirky experimental electronics and random wierdness (3, 6, 7, 8, 11) to disco-y beats (5), a soundscape (1) some loveliness (10, 12) to some excellent beat-y rhythm tracks (2, 4, 9).
Excellent stuff do not pass this up!!!
Enjoy!!
Belladonna

Terminal Sound System – ???Compressor??? (Extreme)

Belladonna   6/20/2007   A Library

Terminal Sound System is Australian Drum n??? Bass artist Skye Klein. But don???t write this off as just another Drum n??? Bass project! Klein got his start in metal bands and was in the hybrid doom band ???Halo??? so this has a lot of heft to it. This is heavy and I mean HEAVY!! Percussive beats with lots of low frequency ocillation to blow your speakers out. This stuff kicks ass! In between some of the heavy tracks are a few glitchy ones in the Richard Devine variety, no wimpy stuff here!! Check this out, this has the balls to please even the pickiest of DJs.
Enjoy!!
Belladonna

Healamonster & Tarsier “The Heart of a Blue Whale…” (17ft. Jellyfish)

Belladonna   9/10/2006   A Library

A collaboration from Brooklyn based production duo Healamonster and Tarsier. This has Belladonna style instrumentation with some Mitch LeMay style vocals. The vocals range from dreamy, lulling female vocals in the Bjork style (Mitch) to overprocessed vocoded vocals which are super cheeseball (not Mitch). This is good dreamy psychadelic electronica.

Loess “Wind and Water” (n5MD)

Belladonna   9/10/2006   A Library

Loess is Clay Emerson and Ian Pullman (aka a Codec Scovill side project). “Loess” is defined as loose, fine grain soils lain down by the wind. Pretty accurate description as this Loess layers washes of sparse electronic sounds. This is gray and moody, very desolate and lonely. Very atmospheric and moody. Enjoy!