ELECTRO! Life (in the UK at least) is still weird and bizarre and makes little sense, so naturally, electronica is the safest place to go to for some stability.
Tony Njoku – ZORO (feat. Zoro Jackson)
A regular on our What’s Good feature, electro-experimentalist Tony Njoku shared ‘ZORO’ a couple weeks back, taken from his upcoming “KILLTONY” EP. Featuring close friend Zoro Jackson, ‘ZORO’ is the first full rap track from Njoku to date with his lyrics swirling around his signature expansive soundscapes like unshakeable pillars. Combining his experimental electro style together with ‘ZORO’s poised and on point rap is a match made in heaven, allowing you to get lost in the complexity of Njoku’s work, or to simply bop around to his killer flow. “KILLTONY” is set to be released February 12th.
CHAI – Action
SUB-POP signees CHAI continue the electro madness on their new single ‘Action’, taken from their upcoming LP “Wink” (out May 21st). Self-described as ‘combining their powerhouse musical prowesses with “pinkish punk” sensibilities’, CHAI’s style is eccentric and intoxicating. ‘Action’ skips from chunky synth loops to almost vaporware keys, before quickly jumping into house electro, caught in a fight between pop music and darkwave punk at times. It’s the type of song that would find itself perfectly at home in any electro-heads set as a real dance-starter.
Bergstein – Feels
Now it’s time for some 100% darkwave from Russian artist Bergstein. ‘Feels’ is the first track from Bergstein to feature vocals, fitting into the post-punk demeanour of brooding lyricism topped with a healthy dose of melancholy. Lo-fi to a point; Bergstein’s industrial style allows ‘Feels’ to sound 100x’s louder than possible, while his ear for catchy synth hooks masks his distressed vocals, to craft a track that sounds way more danceable than its dark sounding exterior would allude to. If you found Molchat Doma like me last year, or are a big fan of Eastern European post-punk style music, Bergstein will be the next addition to your list.
Halina Rice – Terrain
Experimental artist, Halina Rice shares the latest part of her New Worlds project, with the hypnotic ‘Terrain’. Explaining her New Worlds project as being ‘a series of tracks, each with their own visual identity and world’, it might not come as a surprise that ‘Terrain’ comes with some rather fascinating visuals. Courtesy of Jan Petyrek, ‘Terrain’ is cinematic electronica to the finest degree, amped up to house/techno levels, yet still durable enough that its fast pace sounds far more durable than usual club techno. Matched together with equally fascinating visuals, ‘Terrain’ is both an auditory and visual sensory delight.
L/F/D/M – ESP
The final track comes courtesy of the previously featured artist L/F/D/M, sharing ‘ESP’ taken from his “London Tunnels” EP, released earlier this month. Richard Smith, aka L/F/D/M, take on ’90s UK rave influenced techno with ‘ESP’, delivering an onslaught of samples and beat-shifts across five minutes of unstoppable energy. It’s the kind of track where you’d begin happily two-stepping or maybe being more adventurous, before realising that ‘ESP’ is going to out-pace you, way before you’ve even got in sync with its initial rhythm. Smooth, yet erratic and unforgiving, L/F/D/M is a techno/house lovers dream.
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