electronic

Zoe.LeelA’s Queendom Come – vibrant electro-pop

German pop songstress Zoe.LeelA describes her music as "New Plastic Soul," and to be honest I can't think of a better category to put it in. This 6-song EP, appropriately titled Queendom Come, is a bold statement of feminist energy and sexual tension. Zoe already has quite a following in Germany and France, but it remains to be seen whether her very European sound will translate well across the pond.

Krakenti: Mice Plan

I was familiar with Krakenti’s work in the context of heavy industrial music – kind of like Trent Reznor in his angrier days. While I do like industrial, I find that most independent industrial albums can get very same-y after a while. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Krakenti’s latest release on Bumpfoot, Mice Plan, was described as a mix of “various styles,” industrial blended with trip-hop and ambient. I wasn’t disappointed.

Jimmy Behan – In the Sudden Distance

Jimmy Behan is one of those artists I kind of discovered accidentally. I had a couple of his releases on my hard drive, but they were mixed in with a lot of other things I'd downloaded at approximately the same time, so I didn't really notice they were there. Then occasionally a track would pop up on shuffle, and I'd think, this is great, who is this? I'd look at the name, and nine times out of ten it would be Jimmy Behan. So I dug his releases out and gave them a proper listen.

Bangguru – Bang the Guru! EP

For those born in the '70s, or even youngsters who just foster an invented nostalgia for what it was like to be a kid in the '80s, there's a certain timeline of sounds that inevitably weave their way through the collective memory. Portuguese electropop band Bangguru have a sound that embodies all these elements within a single package, and not only is this the kind of music I like to listen to, these seem to be exactly the sort of people I'd like to hang out with.

netBloc 13

"Color in a world of monochrome" is the tagline for the thirteenth netBloc compilation release from blocSonic, and there couldn't be a more appropriate way to describe this collection of photos, artwork, and of course fantastic free music. A feast of visual and audio delights, there's more than enough here to keep you interested for the long haul, and to make you want more.

Erdbeerschnitzel helps clean out your ears with Pathetik Party

A lot has happened in recent years that is making me give electropop another chance. You might think there's only so much that can be done with dancey club-type music, but the advent of IDM as a distinct "listening" genre (i.e. stuff you might actually play at home) has really opened doors for musicians like Tim Keiling, also known as Erdbeerschnitzel, to spread their wings and explore a bit.

Ten and Tracer’s Tsotsitaal – hurry and jump on the very slow bandwagon

Ambient music is one of those things that people either hate or really hate, and I used to be in both those groups until an ambient-loving friend of mine sat me down to set me straight. "You don't have to have songs shoved down your throat," he said. "Just close your eyes and float, and you'll find that music is all around you." At the time I rolled my eyes at the tree-hugginess of it all, but really I do take his point.

Bankai “Quarter Circle Punch” – a real electro feast for your ears!

If you think Bankai is a word that sounds like a positively explosion, then you and Will Dayble, the creative mind behind the electronic music Bankai, have one thing in common. According to Will, the stage name is from an anime series called Bleach, where characters perform the Bankai, a sort of “final ultimate power realease”. The Bankai results in huge explosions and, it goes without saying, sends the opponent off to lick his wounds. That exact same power is probably what you’d get after hearing to Bankai’s music.