utopia cloak arrives on film with six track ep, marina gardens. utilising both electronic & acoustic components, the british producer crafts hazy, dynamic electronica with a decidedly emotive bent. the music explores a curious production aesthetic - at once half sunk and at the same time gloriously crisp and direct. caustic drum machine hits underpin the majority of the work, compete with polyrhythmic rolls & glitches, while softly warping synth lines occupy the majority of the remaining sonic space. rather than working explicitly with nostalgia, utopia cloak makes more subtle references to the classic sounds of yore - riffing on downtempo & idm with gentle and considered nuance, eking out arcane hooks & rich melodies with a pleasing focus on compositional structure & songcraft. contrast is the key here, though - and utopia cloak works hard to find the balance between metallic per-cussion strikes and wide-angle instrumental elements, avoiding chaos in favour of a lush, rewarding lis-tening experience.

electro madness on machine jazz

3am spares is a new collection of australian electronic dance music compiled andras and instant peterson that encompasses the darker sounds and later nights of the 1990s and beyond. following on from forerunner compilation midnite spares, this double lp draws from local 12? releases, cdrs and the archives of community radio station 3rrr fm to make a diverse and pumping scene audible once more.