Labraska – Nattskog

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 28, 2011
Posted in: Finnish, Mixes, Swedish, UK. 3 comments

Labraska-Nattskog by Labraska

There haven’t been many freeform-only sets recently, but Labraska’s newest is one of those rare efforts that really takes you on a ‘journey’. Add some excellent mixing to the well-structured selection, and its no wonder that I’ve already given it a couple of listens.

Starting off with some of the better UK freeform tunes of the past year or so, things really take off with the introduction of Carbon Based’s Dark Side. I won’t spoil the tracklist, but the next mix had me nodding in approval as it came in, and the standard’s really maintained for the rest of the mix. For the first time in an age, I was genuinely looking forward to what Labraska was going to do with each new connection, which is always the sign of a great set.

Not a bad word to say about this one, then…it’s a must-listen.

RITUALS THE HEAD SHOP Vol.2 [Kenzomas Special], 26th August @Shinjuku Live Freak

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 27, 2011
Posted in: Events, Japanese. Leave a Comment

Last night I wandered along to the latest installment of Rituals, a music/fashion event run by singer/DJ/designer KENZO-A. I was mostly interested in seeing Siki’s set, but the mixed (and very friendly) crowd of industrial fans, goths and the occasional raver made for a really interesting night.

I arrived just as KENZO-A’s electro-rock group Gabriels Stiletto were finishing their set, leaving the rest of the night to the DJs. Siki made a heroic effort at playing something for all the different groups in the crowd, getting through dark psy, schranz-with-vocals and industrial in her hour-long set. I took a quick video as she played her last couple of tunes, with NRGetic Romancer’s Kokekakiikii responsible for the visuals in the background.

Alek Szahala – Ziggurat (Reason 4 demonstration)

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 25, 2011
Posted in: Finnish, Releases. 4 comments

It’s always educational/awesome to see artists at work in their sequencers, and an Alek Szahala demonstration has been on the TYFTH wishlist for a long time now. Today’s the day, then, and the track in question is the recent FINRG release, Ziggurat.

Like Aryx’s excellent Galaxis video, this really gives a sense of what’s needed to make a quality track, and anyone with the slightest understanding of Reason will get a lot from Alek’s showcasing of the melody lines and synths. Many thanks to Alek for taking the time to put the video together, here’s hoping that it inspires a few more tunes into existence.

Heathen – Harder.fi @Pyynikki

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 24, 2011
Posted in: Finnish, Mixes, Swedish. 1 comment

Heathen recently played a very well-received Harder.fi set during his trip to Finland, and luckily it was recorded. This is a proper dancefloor set, with pretty much incessant energy from start to finish, and of course includes some of Heathen’s own new material (as well as long time favourite, Hesotarou Tankobu).

I’m hoping to get a full tracklist ASAP, but for the time being you can download here.

Byproduct – Easy Evening 3

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 24, 2011
Posted in: Finnish, Mixes. Leave a Comment

Something very different here, but after listening through Byproduct’s latest Easy Evening set I couldn’t resist giving it some room on TYFTH. Anyone who has heard previous EE installments (or indeed the Assembly b2b with Alek Szahala) will know that Byproduct really has a knack for interesting/smooth mix connections, and this hour or so of easy listening is well up to the usual standards. I’ve heard some truly woeful attempts to mix complex ambient drum & bass in my time, so it’s a real pleasure to hear a deep set that’s been so carefully put together.

The mix covers all sorts of downtempo genres, from vaguely dubstep to vaguely chiptune, but my favourite track was probably the fantastic LSD (In Dub Live). Anyone looking for a chilled-out set, this is absolutely recommended.

  1. Tom Bragl – Zerochoice
  2. Rinneradio – Osaka
  3. Moog – Dadelos
  4. Tripswitch – Silver (OTT remix)
  5. Cyrex – Perspectives
  6. Deviant Electronics – Silverside
  7. Tom Bragl – Voiceless
  8. Aes Dana – Haze
  9. Hallucinogen – Solstice (In Dub Live)
  10. Lunar vegetarian – Final Level
  11. Hallucinogen – LSD (In Dub Live)
  12. In Flames – The Puzzle

Download here

DJ AT @Destroyed High, 20th August

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 23, 2011
Posted in: Events, Japanese. Leave a Comment

The spectre of work on Sunday meant that I wasn’t able to make it to Destroyed High after all, but thanks again to Soham for a great video of AT’s set. He told me last week that it was going to be quite an oldskool track selection, but here he’s playing NRGetic Romancer anthem Venla, Alek Szahala’s Ziggurat and the beginnings of a Lost Soul-style tune (which sounds familiar, but I can’t remember right now). Anyway, it looks like it was an excellent set – I really have to get to next month’s event, where Kanon will be guesting.

Also, Happy Birthday to both Guld and KA-NA!

Kreatrix – Time (Original)

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 19, 2011
Posted in: Canadian, Releases. 1 comment

Kreatrix – Time – Original (Krea-free) by Kreatrix

This is turning into a good week for releases, isn’t it? Something a little different, but one of my favourite freeform tunes so far this year, Kreatrix/Level 13’s Time is now available for free via the Kreatrix SoundCloud. Twisty synthed, 180bpm freeform isn’t a common sight these days, and this one is absolutely recommended.

Hardcore Syndrome 5

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 19, 2011
Posted in: Japanese, Releases. 7 comments

The latest installment of Hardcore Syndrome is on the way (already on sale at Comic Market, it’ll be available elsewhere from the 26th), and freeform fans will immediately notice the standout track – Betwixt & Between’s Tout est Bien (Sein zum Tode). I’d like to hear the full version of Teranoid’s Back on Fear, but the rest of the tunes (understandably) look like they’re aimed squarely at the J-Core crew, and probably won’t be finding their way into freeform setlists anytime soon.

Qygen

Posted by PlasmaDancer on August 19, 2011
Posted in: Releases. 6 comments

Qygen – L.E.D. Galaxy by Qygen

Towards the end of last night’s ustream set I threw in some of the ‘psycore’ I’d been promising, and most of it came from the extremely talented Qygen. The name might be familiar to a few people from his hardcore/freeform tracks, but it’s his recent Goa-influenced tunes that really caught my attention.

With tracks like Vast and LED Galaxy, he has done a fantastic (and really confident) job of transplanting old Goa atmosphere and melodies into a hardcore bpm. I can’t wait to hear some more material, but for now you can find a decent selection on Qygen’s SoundCloud.