Charity Run 03 - Degaussing

Hey all, another quick one for Monday - meant to put this one up last week and unfortunately time is a factor here. Another charity single, but with a twist this time: it's not really a 'single' and the charity part is sort of external, more on that in a minute. SDEM is the focus of today, one of the few musicians I know IRL but haven't actually talked about on here as of yet. His work is very firmly rooted in the 'IDM' world but on the opposite end of the spectrum to the stuff I normally post under that umbrella - more akin to Autechre's later work than my recent melodic streak.



The Deguass mixtape is pretty much a crash course introduction if you're not familiar, it comes in thick and fast. It is a free download, per the Artist's request in lieu of payment, consider donating to the Voices Of Children chairty - there are links on the Bandcamp page to that and several other charity resources. The mixtape will be taken down after a month, which as of today gives you another 3 weeks to get hold of it. In addition, any proceeds from SDEM's other releases will also be donated to Voices for the rest of this month.

While I'm here (and just so this page isn't a dead embed in a month's time), I thought I'd cover some of SDEM's catalogue. We'll kick off with what was the first SDEM release I heard, the Index Hole EP on CPU Records. If you're coming to this post after the one-month deadline for the mixtape has passed, then this EP equally serves as a great intro. If you've dipped into Autechre's later discography then hopefully my comparison in the opening paragraph rings true, there's also potentially a dash of Clark-esque intensity in there, albeit less 'gritty' than Clark's work.



SDEM works bring that same sort of dystopic, oppressive feel that Zamilska does, especially on 6448 as above. But the rest of the EP orbits all around the 'IDM' sphere, opening track Arc Rail is by comparison a much more traditional affair, it has that 'Drill & Bass' sense to it. It's a much more intense listen as a result, but balanced with some lovely melodic touches means it's not out and out abrasion.



But if that's your bag, there's some of that on here too. We've been steadily getting more expeirmental with my selections, and that culminates in the mangled Mitherer. If that Autechre comparison wasn't 100% apt before this point, it sure will be by now. Not my usual go-to for sure, but sometimes it's nice to get absolutely dissolved by sound.



And that'll be all for today, I'm going to try and drop by again with another before week's end but I hope this is enough to tide you over in the meantime. Until then, as always - stay safe and enjoy the music.

-CVF