Bleep Update 11th June

 
There have been tons of fantastic releases over the past few weeks but sadly we can't write about them all so here's the pick of the crop for you to digest. All of these releases come in standard drm-free MP3, are iPod/Mac/PC compatible and have been encoded at the maximum quality of 320kbps. Clicking on a release will take you to Bleep where you can listen to it in its entirety.
 
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Flying Lotus - Los Angeles (Warp)
Flying Lotus' debut album for Warp is Hip-Hop re-imagined as a waking dream, taking new forms and pushing boundaries. The music Lotus makes has been heralded as 'wonky' by certain sections of the press, but this debut is much more impressive than that rather functional term would suggest. This is a deep, soulful and intricate album that's been mixed to perfection. Fresh glints of detail are unearthed on every listen as floating clouds of chords, snippets of voices and exotic percussion float out of the ether.

Venetian Snares - Detrimentalist (Planet Mu)
After the orchestral dramatics of My Downfall, Aaron Funk returns to the territory he knows best with this collection of brutal junglist smashers on the aptly titled Detrimentalist. No Amen is left unturned as Snares channels the melancholia of recent releases and turns it into pure aggression. Nasty, caustic synths collide with splattered breaks at breakneck tempos on this classic Snares release.

Syclops - I've Got My Eye On You (DFA)
Who are Sycolps? A Maurice Fulton solo project or a trio of Finnish musicians.... No one seems to know but that's not important as this is DFA at their finest. Anyone who heard last years excellent 'Where's Jason K?' will already know what the Syclops sound is all about - raw dubbed-out disco jams coloured by analogue beeps and burps. It's not all aimed at the dancefloor however as the album heads for lush ambient downbeat territory from time to time.

The Mole - As High As The Sky (Wagon Repair)
The Mole has been taking a different path to many of his minimal techno contempories for a while now, steering well clear of the cold clinical Minus approach and taking influence from the deeper side of things - Theo Parrish, Moodyman etc... The Canadian's debut album adds inventive samples, vinyl dust and a playful sense of humour to the traditional minimal sound and is a welcome breath of fresh air to these ears.

Daedelus - Love To Make Music To (Ninja Tune)
Daedelus ropes in a bunch of friends to party it up for his third full lengh release on Ninja Tune. Paperboy, Michael Johnson, Erika Rose and Taz Arnold and Om'mas Keith (two thirds of Sa-Ra) all make an appearance as Daedelus shows a blatant disregard for genre classification and mixes up elements of hiphop, soul, techno and rave with his psychedelic spoon.

Subtle - ExitingARM (Lex)
How many other bands have attempted a series of concept albums about another world and imaginary rap heroes...? Not many. That, if nothing else makes this worth listening to and with killer tracks like lead single Unlikely Rock Shock it manages to deftly bypass self indulgence to be an album you must hear.

Ellen Alien - Sool (BPitch Control)
Another fine release from the BPitch head honcho. Ellen Allien places minimal electronics with ambient samples to create something beautiful and engaging. The electro and techno elements that underpin much of the album don’t overpower the subtlety of these tracks.

B12 - Last Days Of Silence (B12)
Techno legends B12 return with the first full-length release on their re-launched B12 label. Last Days Of Silence includes re-masters of old material, new tracks plus live versions and is an amazing package which sounds as pristine and fresh as ever.

Thank You - Terrible 2 (Thrill Jockey)
Thrill Jockey describe their new signings Thank You as 'an athletic rhythm/action unit from Baltimore' and they weren't wrong there! This is pretty far out stuff that's led by a hyperactive drummer and accompanied by some fast moving guitar and synths that are tuneful at times and a screaming wall of feedback at others.

Padded Cell - Night Must Fall (DC)
Richard Sen (Bronx Dogs) and Neil Higgens (Dirty Beatniks) have finally released Padded Cell’s debut album a full five years after their first outings under the Padded Cell moniker. Like previous releases from the duo, Night Must Fall keeps things heavy and fuses elements of disco, electro and funk.

Various Artists - 100 (Traum)
It's 10 years and 100 releases for one of Cologne's finest techno exporters and they celebrate with this collection of tracks from the label stalwarts. Dominik Eulberg, Gabriel Ananda, Broker/Dealer and Minilogue all provide great contributions but the highlight for me is the excellent 'Aleks In Love' from Thomas Brinkmann who takes a break from his recent Nick Cave inspired song writing to drop one of his funkiest techno tracks to date.

Various Artists - Round Black Ghosts (Scape)
Scape have a wealth of experience at linking together genres - their Staedtizism series pulled house, techno, hiphop and funk under their dub-soaked umbrella - so it seems only natural that they'd have a go at Dubstep. This comp sees them select their favourite tracks from recent months and highlights include the killer Velvet by Martyn and the (uncharacteristically) energetic Raw Material by Elemental. Label boss Pole also steps up to the table with a convincing stab at the genre that's exclusive to this release.

Kangding Ray - Automne Fold (Raster Noton)
On Automne Fold, David Letellier aka Kangding Ray keeps the momentum going and follows up last years' Raster Noton debut in fine style. Here he fuses electro-tinged clicks and cuts style beats with a musical approach to composition and layers field recordings and found sounds to create an abstract yet emotive listening experience.

Aleph-1 - Aleph-1 (Ideal)
Aleph-1 is a new project from Alva Noto aka Carsten Nicolai. Nicolai has based these compositions on the mathematical theories of Georg Cantor and has produced a gentle, hypnotic album of treated acoustic recordings that relate to the concept of infinity.

Autechre - Quaristice.Quadrange.ep.ae (Warp)
Full release now available! The Quaristice.Quadrange.ep. contains alternate versions of tracks from the latest album Quaristice and the special edition 2CD package of the album. These versions have not been made available before on any previous releases.

Raiders Of The Lost Arp - Tema 5 (Nature)
Great collection of wobbly electro and techno tracks from Raiders Of The Lost Arp released at just the right time... Half of me wishes that this could have soundtracked Indy's recent exploits as these tracks would have livened things up a bit for sure!

iTAL tEK - Cyclical (Planet Mu)
iTAL tEKs debut album is a deep and dark mix of electronica and dubstep with a melodic edge that makes it stand out from the crowd. Fantastic production and a real understanding of arrangement and composition make this a classic release.

Wiley - Grimewave (Eskibeat)
The continuously inventive Wiley is back again and shows that musically speaking he's still impossible to pigeon hole (plus note the very carefully exclusion of his recent chart hit Wearing My Rolex). Here he's made something that steps beyond the confines of Grime and is well worth a listen.

Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue (Warp)
Insanely young and talented, the Born Ruffians have created an inventive and fresh debut album for Warp. It is catchy pop with a rawness and depth that is matched by few of their peers.

The Hacker - X Live (Different)
This collection of live tracks is blunt and brutal. The Hacker takes tracks from his previous albums, strips them and remodels them to devastating effect.