The name of Marie Dior has lingered long enough on my list. With a fourth successive release this year the act was prone to featured here sometime and tonight is the night. The man behind the moniker is Diogo Correia, a Portugese producer now residing in Berlin. Once started with the basic freeware, he has now developed an own sound and style. This was partially thanks to the move to the German capital, where likeminded producers found each other more often. It comes to no surprise that this is yet again an artist, who has released work under the Aural Sects umbrella.
Now returning to Marie Dior. As mentioned earlier Correia has put out several releases this year alone. Of which Euphrates should definitely be named as recommendation, due to its excelling atmosphere. In one sentence: There is no pulse is to be found, like a corpse in a morgue, but the gloom of the dead will carry you to another reality.

Antitheist opens with its title track. It may not leave much of a mark, but it does enough to drag you into that distorted world Marie Dior exceeds so well with. Then Confusion Is The New Irony’s lighter tone comes around the corner, spiralling and hypnotizing you calmly into submission. The pacing of the tracks differ yet there’s a common denominator: Correia’s aloof atmosphere. It is infused in every track, but it most clearly displays itself in the third track. Weekend At Your Place may have a futuristic tribal setup, there is still that haunting element present. The place mentioned is possibly an off-road cabin in the middle of a forest. Remember 2011 sticks to the aggressive rhythms, although its casual intro may not show it immediately. It is another vibrant track by making use of a similar trip like Confusion Is The New Irony. Although its added effects make it a stronger track. The EP ends Final track 7’23″ (For Special Agent Dale Cooper). It is an ode to the marvellous world and a great character of Twin Peaks. The 90s series created by David Lynch has been an inspiration for this genre’s music for years already. This particular track is an ambient piece filled with remote activity, reminiscent of scenes from that Lynchian world. The distant waves in the back for instance remind of the moment Laura’s killer puts her to water.

Overall Antitheist showcases the evolution Diogo Correia has made. There’s room for both uptempo as downtempo on the condition that the tracks lean on the creation of an excellent atmosphere, which cascades throughout the record.

Listen to the album below or download it at Bandcamp:

Starting off with the laidback Pistol Syrup, RAJA takes his listeners through the motion of pace. Dipteres Pt. 2 has a distant intro, but easily uncoils in a beat-laden rhythm. Panthera Bengal has a similar approach, but executes it with more swerve. Fourth track He Won’t Pay Me features Vijay Iyer. The jazz pianist is of high acclaim and his work on The Rubies connects well with RAJA’s beats. The same goes for the I do not know where I am lyric, which echoes throughout the track. Globe In My Room is a more calm endeavour, but summons more paced elements halfway. It works, Lord RAJA has created a world in less than 20 minutes. I Really Love You comes as bonus and will be treated as such. After the first five remarkable tracks, this one closes the lot well. It is a dream, passing by as you lay in a red meadow brazed with a purple sky.

Listen to the Rubies EP below or download its zipfile over at Ghostly.

First single Stay Here can already be heard. It features elements from both EPs, although it leans more towards the efforts of Our Loving Is Hurting Us. Starting out with a somber atmosphere, vocals attune to the sound ensure that the track resides in that characteristically distant world of oOoOO.
Listen to Stay Here below:

These tracks didn’t make the cut due to lack of quality.  The reason lays with the pacing, all of them have an upbeat nature which doesn’t fit with the overall tone of Lights. It makes Random Signal Analysis a collection of B-sides, undeserving of the letter, because these are all top-notch tracks. At times they don’t share the same weight, present on the debut, but the sound is incredible. The first two tracks (Initial Phase and Procyon) immediately comes to mind. The opener has a good balance between tempo and atmosphere whereas the second track would fit on your average IDM night. Aquila and Luminance (of Lights) have similarities, but the producer wisely chose one. Distant Focus and Stellar Wind are atune to the spirit of Lights as well. Their brooding nature along with low pace allow a revisit to the island, build in Lights.
Arc’s The Knife-esque intro is soon forgotten when the Ukranian producer unleashes a tidal wave of beats, which crushes all it finds on its path. The final two tracks are delicate remixes. Both artists (Lon Springer and Medkit) add a  luminous feel to the remixes. A sound in which one might find hope. Now we wait for Tineidae’s sophomore album.

Pick it up at CRL’s bandcamp or preview it below:

As the first sounds of Aurora pass, a gentle lalalala lalala floats by. Then a distant beat takes over and both elements mingle cleverly. This immediately sets the mood and you’ll feel slowly feel entranced by the aerial track. It finishes in the same way as it started. Then Poison takes the stage. Although it stays true to the atmosphere, it has a different setup. This is because it uses synthesizer intervals in guerrilla-like fashion, which will make your blood rush. The soaring vocals are great and quite the added effect. Thus making it a standout track.
Grail on the other hand is a track for the wanderers. It breathes with a similar atmosphere and pace as their first EP. Its lyrics are wrapped in a lacklustre sound and lead you to a place devoid of light as the seconds go by. Skies has more pace and even returns to the earlier outburst of synthesizer sounds. It would definitely do well in any rave noir set. Next to the likes of the earlier-mentioned Crystal Castles.
Pegasus relieves all momentum and drifts off amid the clouds, just like a mythical creature would. It stays far away from the mortal world. Its vocals aren’t easy to pick up, but nevertheless fit well the general tone of the track. Soulmates remains in the timid atmosphere, set by its predecessor. Its title echoes throughout the track and the careful listener will learn that this is in fact a Placebo cover. However if the lyrics didn’t give it away to you, there is also the string section, which the Portugese have kept intact. Concluding, it makes an incredible closer for an excellent release.

Download Cocoon at Aural Sects’ Bandcamp or directly preview the EP below:

The album starts calmly with Laika setting the mood. Then Damage transforms the track with a pulsing rhythm, which dies out at the end of it. Soon 010x takes over and subtly draws its listener towards the dancefloor. Its pacing is definite and the piano loop gives it that typical ‘time to move’ feeling. There is no interlude to bridge the different styles, Damage simply leaps from one to the other. From this dancefloor anthem, the more aggressive Delirium Tremens sets the room on fire. From the get-go it is clear that the third track will play the role of hypnotic banger. The lyrics at the beginning are Exhibit A. And as the beats take over, it is clear they will be known as Exhibit B. Unfortunately there is no real strength. A producer such as Perc would punish your eardrums for raising the volume, Damage’s track on the other hand leaves nothing but a brief ringing. Next up is Extrusion, this pulses deeper than its predecessor, but has no spite. It is deep house infused with garage elements to give it a danceable allure.
Next up are two cleverly placed interludes, in order to drift along the music. Together is a short swaying track. Whereas Spirals has a darker edge to it with its IDM-esque vibrations. However this part of space is never as disturbing as the areas found in Access to Arasaka’s repertoire. The final four tracks do fit together. Spirals is sending out a signal in well-built sequences, which will draw you back onto the dancefloor. End Days starts off with a latent vibe of Severant, which it revisits further along the track, passing by yet does not venture as far as Kuedo did. Then Light Year responds the call from Spirals and puts you under stroboscopes and flashing lights. It has a dub-layered beat which paces excellently. Swarm immediately recognizable as the first sounds of the track rush in. This is perhaps the second most accessible track of the album – lightweight ox10 most-likely bears that title. The single released before the album has a clear imprint, befitted to the atmosphere of the album. It is a clear-cut floor filler. Heliopause rounds the album up well. Damage lets the ambient have the upper hand as he incorporates distortion into the closer.

Heliosphere is an album filled with variety. Damage seeks out multiple types of tracks (e.g. interlude, banger) and lets them play a part in his created world set to the universe. Unfortunately unlike its setting Heliosphere is far from vast. Damage plays it safe, a banger such as Extrusion lacks malice and his ambience does not go as deep as weathered producers. This puts a smear of missed opportunity on the album along with its good sound and atmosphere. The latter is possibly an envy to a share of IDM producers.

Listen to snippets of  Heliopshere here or listen to Swarm below:

Indistinct Face starts with a steady pace, laying down a conditional atmosphere in which its listeners may well spend the first hour of their lives. It is however until the last part of Three Different Worlds in which you are jerked into this world. Third track Simply Ask and the title track follow as ordered. They build a city in thought during its nightly hours. The grey concrete walls surround you while you appear to be the only one to be awake amid the darkness. Our Desires rummages in our subconscious and leads us past one skyscraping building after another, never remembering the signs or notices behind glass windows. These are mainly black, as there is no reason for light to shine upon inactivity within. Stones stays with these thoughts until you near a corner and hear something unusual: a hint of life, in stop motion fashion. You round the corner  and find an empty merry-go-round. Although in colour. Colourize is its distorted soundtrack, as it spins out of control. Then the realization of being part of a dream submerges. A calm floods your mind, but still the merry-go-round is there toying with you. A feeling of bliss is awakened by Hope In His Eyes, transforming the sleeping city into a living one. However it is merely a vision. Just like the following track, I Will Show You These Places, tells of the reason why the city has lost colour. When? is the struggle between these two visions, using the earlier calm for relief while the sound of Hope (In His Eyes) motions you forward. As the album nears its conclusion, When? floods the senses before Distinct Premonition takes over. The final track concludes with an open ending. The rising string section creates serenity while the industrial beats cause the fuss. It is uncertain where Indistinct Face leaves its listener.

Overall the album feels like a night-walk through a dead city. Little of life can be detected and the same goes for humanity. Indistinct Face tells the story of indifference and its consequence: stagnation. It summons a vulnerability within its listener when journeying through the dark. As for Tympanik Audio, it is good start for a promising year.

Preview the album below:

From the start a dark fog spreads out and carries you towards the woods with a subtle rhythm wandering behind. The air is heavy, the foliage thick. Soundwise the music reminds Mushy’s last album as both producers blend the elements of drag with those of ambient. Second track Wounds is lighter, but remains in the same haunted vein, which calmly allows for blood to trickle down to nourish the ground. The reason is heard in the fourth track, but first Night Skies and City Lights recalls civilization by using a more aggressive approach. The track is like a lucid dream where the droning atmosphere of the present is upheld while piano sections and distorted vocals take control. Then you return the gloom of the forest with Cold, gradually. Its introduction is suble, almost lovely, but sooner than later it drags you into the freezing night of the lightless coppice. Vocals return, this time drowsy. Just Ghosts takes you further down the path, where the forest becomes more lightless and more hopeless with every step you take. It loads the atmosphere with a haunting combination of synth and drone. The vocals are more clear, but far from comforting. As the final lines from Just Ghosts subside, a ray of sunshine penetrates the dim world. Deep Breath is the kind of track which envisions to untangle the clouds and in turn allows you to face a new day. In fact as the last notes of Deep Breath reach your ears, you may be craving for more.

Edit: Thank you to W0LCNUM, for clearing up the title.

Virescit Vulnere Virtus is proof that Drag may still play a role in 2013. From start to finish the record keeps you enticed with its dark atmosphere. The EP can be downloaded for free via Aural Sects’ Bandcamp or preview it below:

In the wake of Karen Drier Andersson, multiple female-voiced acts, who reside in the sonic darkness of (synth)pop, have emerged. Think of iamamiwhoami, Planningtorock and Austra. Still the alter ego of Elizabeth Walling deserves an article as her latest EP is a solid effort.

The Mammal EP features three originals and four remixes, which all capture a graceful sound of the night. Starting off with the slow I Turn My Arm, which drags you to the darkest corner of the room. From there on Heartbeat consolidates. It’s This Is My Hand which stands out mostly out of the three: keeping the atmosphere intact, Walling’s voice guides you down a light-less tunnel uncovered by slow drone. Then the remixes takes over. Clint Mansell‘s version of This Is My Hand takes off where the original stopped, but becomes heavier and stays in line with the course set out. It is however up to Kuedo and Alixander III to shine. First the Englishman makes an excellent combination Walling’s vocals and his own typical sound. The result is that the sci-fi world of Kuedo gets a voice for once and works magnificently. Alixander III has a different approach and finishes up with turning I Turn My Arm into a hypnotic floor-filler.

Listen to the whole EP below:

The EP starts with the haunting eerieness of the X-Files soundtrack. It proves to be a sufficient introduction, because when Back To H3LL takes over the last remnant of humanity is expunged and Strange VIP goes his inhumanly way. Organ sounds set the mood to gloom and the lyrics do the rest. Take Me From Heaven is a hybrid of Strange’s own septic ways and a Cradle of Filth classic. The riffs dominantly rage through the track while drum patterns and occasional screams from Dani Filth arise to be looped endlessly by The Captain. When I Die continues the horror scenes made audible. This time the drums claim dominance and Strange VIP is dropping them like body parts in a sky burial. No One Left gives the EP a suitable ending. Imagine a serial killer leaving a house imbued with murder scenes. To reap and sow another day in another slasher movie.

Listen to the whole EP here: