it was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now – anthony burgess, a clockwork orange after their lps “ike yard” (also known as “a fact a second” factory america, 1982) and nord (phisteria and desire, 2010) ike yard delivers their last album “rejoy” on noiztank, 2018 as the culmination of their recent years reinvented sound. as the perpetual flag bearers of the cutting-edge post-punk spirit, the nyc- based band shows muscle in a lp fully loaded with abrasive synth pads, scrap metal percussions, and whispered vocals. following the previous criteria of “sacred machine” 2017, it is worth to remark the inclusion of external vocals in the pieces “sister m” and “beyondersay”, which feature yuki osaki and maya. the nine tracks move through different atmospheres, tensions and moods that would perfectly represent a new contemporary soundtrack of the s. kubrick film “a clockwork orange”, a major influence and source of inspiration for the group this time around.

every cell is telling me, run ...but what would i be to you then? – zanias lyrics best remixes happen when the initiative comes from the very own remixer, instead of by commission. this denotes admiration and respect to the original artist, as well as a necessity to provide your own vision to an already consolidated work. berghain s resident kobosil delivers strong dancefloor instances blending his unique understanding of the berliner techno with zanias s vocals. agency is the new solo project of half of operant band august skipper. his debut track offers a mature evolution that guides the listener from a percussive beginning till a high pressured synthed end. in case one track is not enough to be remixed, dax j s raved version increases the bpms in a mixture of -follow the body- and -in eternal return-. the closing track is signed by unhuman and brings the original ebm atmosphere back to the record.

ike yard recombine their music looking across decades of post punk, electronic, soundtracks and come out with some of their best yet and enough to last the next 20-30 years (in ike yard s very own words). originally founded in 1979 new york city, members michael diekmann (keyboard, guitar, vocals), kenneth compton (programming drums, synths arrangements, bass, guitar, vocals) and stuart argabright (programming drums, synths arrangements, distortion bass, keyboards, metal perc) reformed the band once in 2007 and again in 2010. each time different and with new ambitions. this time ‘sacred machine’ ep is defined by detailed drum layers supported by multiple basses and keyboards, some off-timing beat patterns that turn in a second of synchrony into a straight four on the floor kick and first time vocal collaborations.

restive plaggona is the music project of the corfu-based artist dimitris doukas –also producing under matriarchy roots, leftina osha and plaggona-. after releasing a series of cassettes in different labels along 2016 and 2017 –including his own several minor promises- “leaving the body” arrives as an electronic composition of beats and synthesizer bodies disguised as a sense of provocation and mystery. each of the seven pieces offers more than a smattering of interesting textures separated by spans of great decline, but a master class of permutations in-between accompanying sounds, stretching rhythms and viscera-and- violence noises. driven by a deeply expressive narrative, restive plaggona makes a strong statement about his post-industrial vision adding technoid inclinations in a delightful dystopian world.

moving around a particularly powerful blend of noise, technoid rhythms, synths and sparse vocals that is always kept in a state of high tension, “the future of the sun” presents two pieces that project the listener into a frenetic urban journey. black swords is the result of a spellbinding collision between black rain (stuart argabright) and brussels-based industrial enfant-terribles orphan swords (yannick franck & pierre de mûelenaere).

nothing lasts but nothing is lost – terence mckenna first solo ep by zanias after her keluar and linea aspera projects. this evolution culminates in a mature but radical project. radicalism has never relied completely on the means to deliver it. it also requires a relationship to society, to culture, at any given time. a solid background must be included in the formula as well. once certain stability is reached, there is no other way more than taking additional risks in order to produce new work of interest. finding different mechanisms to corrupt the methodical linearity that underlies artistic production. corrupting means finding possibilities to create an accident, possibilities to contradict, to prove anomalies within the frame of reference of that new thought is actually possible.

music is about discourse: it’s about ideas, about the intellectual project. anyone can build a “beat”, but not everybody can produce an interesting argument for it. this implies the idea of romanticism as a notion of tradition and respect for certain rules. romanticism understood as virtuosity in the manipulation of art production tools. virtuosi of their own methodology. certain pedigree of virtuosity is definitely needed…but in many regards it also remains an extremely conventional formalism, which is at the core of every artist. it doesn’t matter if you have to piss around in the subterranean electronic music trenches for over two decades. a true pioneer simply has to live with that sort of dichotomy. here there are two good examples.

i cannot make you understand. i cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. i cannot even explain it to myself.
- franz kafka, 1915.

ontals work excites many conflicting emotions. exuberant, convoluted and theatrical plots define the watchwords attached to the serbian duo. they represent one of the most paradigmatic examples of how industrial/techno can still offer a wide range of pleasant surprises. a visceral understanding of the scenic rhythm space vs. void establishes a metamorphic composition in short of an almost baroque sensitivity. always moving around an unstable fringe of intuition-rules-over-eclecticism, together with an attitude of total irreverence against the old aphorism, but keeping at the same time an incredible discipline of sophistication, produce a situation where anything touched by them have to be immediately placed at the top of the evolution line of the electronic music. “pietà” simply shows this feeling at their best.

under a permanent commitment of self-challenge and a continuous attitude of nonconformity against the banal, damaskin presents two of his multiple faces under a single pack. bucolic and grotesque tendencies meet aggressiveness in order to melt in a disparity conversation within the unconventional. framed as a story, * propaganda* and *entrance* define the protocol of a progressive formalism only interrupted by the massiveness of the overwhelmed * ancient communications* and *catacomb*

the vienna based imprint noiztank delivers the second statement of his design sound manifesto. label head zosima supplies three original tracks accompanied by a remix of industrial-esque pioneer kareem of zhark recordings. a lady from siberia moves around the cutting-edge agenda of current techno aesthetics. driven by an aura of melancholy and depression, only fragments of drama and uncontrolled violence break the stimulus of chaotic stubbornness.