Psychadelik Pedestrian – Transient [TOULP2]

Deep House & Techno, Downbeat & Downtempo, Dub, Dubstep & Garage // By: simiolioliocloseAuthor: simioliolio Email: simon@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (40) // 11/04/2012 // 1 Comment

Toucan netlabel was started by ‘John’, who also makes music under the name ‘Psychadelik Pedestrian’. It certainly seems this guy knows what he is doing. Not only has he released nearly 300 EPs since 1994, he also makes great electronic music. It’s clear he has a real passion for the netlabel world, which is highly appreciable considering CC outlets are seldom a source of income.

‘Transient’ is the second ‘LP’ release under this label name. It spans many different electronic styles (breaks, house, downtempo…), and is produced extremely well. The polished clarity inherent in each and every one of these tracks is wonderful to hear, considering it – like all other releases on this well-established label – is free to download.

I tend to shy away from pop house tracks containing loud powerful vocals, so track 2 “Upside Down” was not a great beginning for me. However it carries a good melody, and as mentioned earlier, the production is very clean and the parts are well mixed. “Tears In My Heart” takes a downtempo plunge, with thick pad textures and a stern squelchy bass tugging along the aimlessly wondering melodies and dub-style drum parts. A full, rich sound, yet a reassuring amount of space and clarity imposes a blissed-out dream-like atmosphere.

“Cry Over You” continues this feel, whilst introducing dubstep to the equation. Again, not too keen on the loud vocals, and the mixing here is a little loose (no sub bass, and the depth achieved by earlier tracks is faded). “World of Fantasy” injects some energetic breaks to bring the flow back to the LP, and the remaining three tracks wind this climax down to a dark and ambient conclusion.

I may not be the best person to review this, as most mainstream pop-vocals and pop-synths are not met with much welcome. I like music to be a bit more organic and fuzzy, rather than clean and clinical. However, I like this release as there is a strong dedication and skill oozing from these mp3s. I have said it before, I’ll say it again; to be noticed in this vast sea of netlabelism, it takes an artist who is prepared to go the extra mile to develop themselves technically and musically. ‘John’ is a true inspiration in this respect, and although his label needs a bit of work to keep up with the moving times, he has clearly done a fantastic job.

Psychadelik Pedestrian – Spectre

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Lunova Labs – [SHHHT_13]

Dub, Dubstep & Garage, Instrumental, Minimal // By: simiolioliocloseAuthor: simioliolio Email: simon@netlabelism.com
More Authors Posts (40) // 05/03/2012 // 2 Comments

“The album breaths spirituality and mystery. I dare you to hit the repeat button. You’ll find yourself back on the moon.” — Silenced 2011

More wonderful future garage from the ‘Silenced‘ netlabel. The ‘SHHHT’ catalogue prefix has been seen on Netlabelism before, with Simon VB reviewing ‘Great Skies’ back in October last year, a quality release rated very highly by all of us here.

‘Silenced’ follow a newer netlabel layout that we have seen more and more in the last few years. They have a website with the usual sections for news, releases etc, however everything is in blog format, and all references to downloads and previews are done using the music-networking sites Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Compared with older labels who have their own distinct layout styles, custom flash players and self-hosted music archives, this is clear change in direction, and proves that it is easier than ever to create your own individual netlabel with very minimal costs or web-design experience.

Lunova Labs have made an EP fuelled with creative passion and skilful content. It possesses a very natural aura. The warm ambience and tight, fluffy rhythms seem to hug around my ears like old friends. The opening gave me tingles immediately; as the majestic whispering sample of “I’ve finally found it…” welcomes a wonderful groove and bassline, it filled me with a unique comfort and happiness that I simply wasn’t expecting. The plinky instrumentation on ‘Autumnal Tints’ forms a fabulous percussive contrast to the first track. The long piano interlude in the middle is truly inspiring, when considering this sort of garage-orientated music rarely incorporates such natural use of a well-known real instrument. The deep dive into ‘Night & Moonlight’ carries the same delicate piano-infused foundation, which seems to drift away from any association with previous material whilst still maintaining a marvellous hypnotic tension. ‘The Over-Soul’ crawls out of this sombre hole, and scoots the EP to a a funky yet cold climax before grinding away into ruined granularity.

I know I love a release when my only criticism is this: “The worst thing about this release is that it has to end at some point.” In this case it is more pertinent than ever as I don’t think these tracks last long enough. The  first track ‘Paradise (to be) Regained’ could easily be twice as long. The track is very carefully built up in a way which takes me somewhere else entirely, and few tracks are able to do this. I would love to stay in this place for longer, but the track reaches a dead end, and this is a little frustrating. However, it is pretty amazing that this is my only real criticism, as the only reason why I would prefer it to be longer, is because it is so good!

With releases of this calibre, I’m sure we will continue to closely monitor ‘Silenced’ in the near future. I love their website, and now is the perfect time for them to spring the best of the future garage scene on a huge number of eagerly waiting ears.

Lunova Labs – Paradise (to be) Regained

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Rain Dog – See Hear EP [CUT006]

Audio, Downbeat & Downtempo, Dub, Dubstep & Garage, Review by Genre // By: SimonVBcloseAuthor: SimonVB Email: simon.vanbockstal@gmail.com
More Authors Posts (23) // 15/11/2011 // 1 Comment

Only halfway through the first song of ‘See Hear EP’, I knew I wanted to hear more from both this artist and the netlabel that released his music. According to his soundcloud page, Rain Dog is a Newcastle-based dubstep producer and DJ. On September 12th, 2011, he released ‘See Hear EP’ on, enter drumroll, Cut Records. Seriously, Cut? Again? I decided to seek some answers to the seemingly magic way this label always seems to pick up the best releases out there, and found one on the label’s website:

“Most netlabels have a stigma attached to them leading people to assume that because the music is free, it’s low quality. Cut has set out to debunk that myth.”

Had this come from any other mouth, I might have had some reservations. But if there’s anyone out there that can achieve this goal, it has to be them. Anything touched by Cut Records seems to turn to gold. That is definitely true for this sixth release.

‘See Hear EP’ has very little to do with dubstep at first glance. It’s a great downtempo release, where the artist has painstakingly brought back the arrangements to the essential core. Seldom have I heard that much emotion in a piece with so little instruments. The great use of silence is in no small part responsible for this.
The dubstep influence is mainly audible in what dubstep does best: the rhythm section. The overarching tempo for most of the tracks on ‘See Hear EP’ is pretty slow, and keeping track of it has to be done on the snare drum. Within those slow measures, however, there’s tremendous variation and eye for detail in the drum programming. Combined with the previously mentioned top-notch melodic parts, this is the listening experience I never knew I’ve always wanted.

The first three tracks are all excellent variations on the theme described above, and though it’s hard to pick a favourite, I’d have to go with the obvious single, ‘Beyond their years’. Both ‘One to Love’ and ‘Dry’ are veritable gems as well, though.
The title track ‘See Hear’, also the last track of the EP, is the odd track out of the four. The rhythm is slightly more uptempo, and while it’s still a decent song, it does pale in comparison to the three tracks that came before it.

All in all, this release is a premium blend of downtempo cum dubstep injection, and very hard not to fall in love with. Rain Dog, if you’re reading this, we want more. A lot more. [SVB]

Rain Dog – Beyond Their Years

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