Electronic - Experimental

Damon Albarn, front man and co-creator of the Gorillaz, has been a very busy man of late.  Even though a Gorillaz album has not been released since Demon Days, in late May of 2005, Albarn has been in constant creative motion.  Rare live shows, the Grammy Awards with Madonna, a release of a B-sides...

Not since Snow Patrol has a Northern Irish band’s chances of mainstream success seemed so certain. Two Door Cinema Club, an indie pop band from Bangor, have, to their credit, always been doing things their way. Faced with the common problem when starting a band of finding a drummer, they simply recruited a Mac book...

It has always seemed to me that Hot Chip are a band that are often overlooked. Their first album “Coming On Strong”, whilst hinting at catchy pop sensibilities served mainly to create an impression of nerdy music geeks making bedroom electro. It was 2006’s “The Warning” that remains the album for which Hot Chip will...

Hessle Audio have only been releasing tunes for a short time but that’s no reason for you not to stand up and take note. The imprint, run by some of todays most promising DJs and Producers (Ramadanman, Ben UFO and Pangaea), is quickly becoming one of the most important Electronic labels the UK has to...

Kieran Hebden’s knack of being able to take sounds from a wide variety of musical genres is something that isn’t often seen in records today. Whilst cynicism might lead you to the belief that such a varied musical palette could only lead to scattershot and confused sounding albums, There Is Love In You is one...

After a run of awesome releases on his own Skull Disco label and several Earth shattering remixes of tracks from the likes of Villalobos and Moderat, Shackleton finally unleashes his first full-length “album” entitled Three EPs. The long awaited debut “album” (which plays like more of a collection of quality hypnotic, bass heavy, sparse techno...

Hot off the press from Scottish based co-op imprint Lucky Me comes one of the most exciting future Hip-Hop and electronic dance music releases of the year! Mike Slott’s debut album Lucky 9Teen is one of the most anticipated 12″s to come out in 2009, being heralded by forward thinking producers and DJ’s like California’s...

London four piece (no kidding) Portico Quartet were first nudged into the spotlight last year, with “Knee Deep In The North Sea” earning a Mercury Music Prize nomination. It was chipper, optimistic sounding jazz, but safe jazz. No Herbie Hancock style time changes or ten minute long freakouts À la Bitches Brew. It was very...

To celebrate the fifth birthday of Steve Goodman’s forward thinking Electronic label, Hyperdub, Mr Goodman has put together a 2 disc collection of tunes both old, rare and new. With the Hyperdub 5: Five Years Of Hyperdub compilation we’re treated to some of the biggest names and freshest producers covering the most important of bass-centric...

It’s become increasingly difficult for new artists to try and do anything with synths that hasn’t already been done before. Even with commercially successful artists like MGMT and Hot Chip, their influences are easily traceable, and while they make for great electronic pop artitsts, therein lies their problem. It’s hard to make accessible music and...

Fuck Buttons are a band whose name has always seemed to carry more weight than their actual music. “Fuck Buttons are playing at [insert festival].” “Cool! I really love that song….y’know..that….um…”. Whilst their 2008 debut Street Horrrsing was released to critical acclaim from artsy music types, I personally remained unimpressed. “Sweet Love For Planet Earth”...

Good things are afoot yet again for independent experimental record label Kranky. The Chicago based duo running the highly revered imprint have been releasing some of the most influential and groundbreaking material within the experimental Electronics and eerie Ambient circles and the brand new debut full-length from Ethernet is in no way an exception. Conceptualized...