A feast of IDM with: notsure, Kodomo, and Mattr #IDM #Electronic #AmbientTechno @itsnotsure @mattr_music @kodomoremix
A triple bill of IDM electronica from notsure, Kodomo, and Mattr.
notsure describes himself as a “(former) idiot who can occasionally make music.” notsure is in fact the alias of New Jersey-based electronic music producer Aleks Fedoriw.
The featured track is For Nothing taken from his new four-track The Ambience Of Others EP which came out yesterday. This is unashamedly experimental. This embraces a wheezy and crushed approach. You sense there are vocals, guitar, and maybe even a bit of piano in there somewhere. But the sounds are mangled, crushed, and glitched almost out of recognition.
There’s a real joy in the possibilities of electronics here. And that’s what makes this track, nihilistic as it is, so thrilling. That and that it manages to retain a semblance of a tune in the wheezy whooshing, alongside some bashed dustbin lid beats.
Indulge your experimental side.
The Ambience of Others EP
Staying in the USA for AcidTed returnee Kodomo. This is electronic music producer and composer Chris Child. His work has roots in IDM, minimalism, techno, and various styles of ambient music. “Kodomo” (子供) is the Japanese word for “child” – both a reference to his surname and the fact that he grew up in Japan.
Kodomo has a new Three Spheres (Remixes) EP out. There are eight remixes are taken from Kodomo’s 2021 release Three Spheres, from which I’m featuring a remix of Spinfoam by Felix Fleer. Germany’s Fleer is founder & Co-Owner of Raw Imprint, member of ‘Environ,’ and ‘Landwehr & Fleer’.
The original of Spinfoam is a gently harmonic track with angular awkward beats. A study in contrasts. Fleer’s remix sets it on a more obviously IDM path by reversing the focus of the track. The centre of the track and your attention is held by the jerky tumbling beats and percussion while synths gently throb away in a 90s German ambient manner.
Despite the flailing beats this manages to have a delicacy that belies that description. It delivers a sonic beauty and purity like the best of 90s IDM.
Mattr is Matthew Clugston, a producer and DJ from Birmingham living in London. There’s a German techno quality to his work which makes it no surprise to find that Mattr moved to Berlin to study electronic music production. The featured track is Primary from a two-track release with Lando.
Primary has lots in common with people like Max Cooper and Fourtet. This is IDM but of an unashamedly precise and composed nature. This doesn’t try to crush sounds together or even sound particularly distorted. It starts with a gently ambient palette and then layers up sounds and beats. The beats have a fleetness of foot that makes this terribly foottappable. And melody isn’t hidden away but celebrated.
This is a dark chilled track for hazy Spring days but it’s equally at home in a dark leftfield club inviting you to dance. And that’s no mean feat. Make your choice.
ACID TED 