Going old first of all with Modeselektor's I Love You. Tucked away at the end of their debut LP Hello Mom!, it's a massive contrast to the stuttering electro house that makes up the main body of the album. It's a little bit of a throwback to their more IDM stuff as well, like 2003's Don't Panic. I Love You isn't quite as intense on the IDM styling as that one, but you can certainly see the hallmarks still. I love it when Modeselektor drop a tune like this every now and the, their main electro stuff is solid as ever don't get me wrong, but as you longtime readers will know - I am a total sucker for any and all things even slightly downtempo. Beautifully smooth and just a damn fine piece of electronic.
Another album that I *technically* went back to - Ochre's A Midsummer Nice Dream. It's one of those I'll put away for a while and then dig out again once I've gotten the itch again. Well last time I got it I found out there was a 15th Anniversary reissue with a bunch of bonus tracks on it (6 to be precise) which was a real bonus. I found Ochre when I was looking to expand my IDM horizons many moons ago, that's how I found artists like The Flashbulb as well - Midsummer is a nice album in that regard and full of the hallmarks you'd come to expect from a record falling under that umbrella: techy sounds and juxtaposition between the smooth synths and the off-kilter beats. I've chosen one of the bonus tracks that stood out to me this time Passing Landscapes which I think does a great job of demonstrating what I just mentioned, but also captures the whole sound aesthetic of the album as well. If I had one complaint it's that the beats can be a little harsh sounding at times, this track is no exception to that rule, sometimes I find myself wishing they'd take a little break and let those synths shine a bit more (which to be fair, they do drop out of the mix to do just that towards the end!), but that's small potatoes really.
And finally a bit from Legowelt. It was a bit overwhelming diving into the discogs of Legowelt because there is a lot to go at, but I decided to do it because the name was cropping up a lot on compilations and remix credits of stuff I was getting a little while back. Contrary to the others I've talked about so far, Experiential Awakening is a track that I had to force myself to put down because I knew it was one of those that I would completely burn myself out on if I could - it's nestled in some of my playlists and one of these days I'll have to pick up the whole LP. It's a divine bit of techy almost deep house. But unlike the laid-back almost loungy brand of Deep House I normally enjoy, this one feels very driving and was absolutely perfect for working through the slew of 8 AM emails that I was getting for a while, it makes the 8 minutes of it's runtime feel like no time at all. Like the tail end of the Drunken Kong post last time, tracks like this make me seriously want to make another of my mixtape thingies, and I am certainly going to use this post as a reminder that I need to check out this LP in full around the next Bandcamp Friday.
That'll do it for this entry - I hope some of these selections twig your ear as much as they did mine, I know I was guilty of having slept on Modeselektor for a long time, and their debut even more - something I need to work on again as they have new material coming out very soon. Maybe time for a non-retro review? Anyway, we're getting off topic again - so as always, stay safe and enjoy the music.
-CVF
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