In this week’s list of recommendations automatically and specifically handed to my by the all-serving algorithms of Spotify I found this newly released gem from Amsterdam-based Harm Coolen and Merijn Schotte Albers, aka Weval.

As usual these days, no doubt the result of me training the recommendation engine for god knows how many hours, it was once again correct in assuming I would like this. So thank you once again Spotify for showing me another gem that I would probably never have heard otherwise.

The songs on Weval range from blissed-out retro-chill-pop to more experimental trips into the land of 60s string reverb. Somewhat similar artists with this sound, at least in my mind would be Washed Out, WorriedAboutSatan and Chrome Sparks, to some extent. There are singing or pieces of singing on all the songs and it’s always run through some sort of effect, like pitch, phaser or harmonizer. The selection of effects heightens the overall retro-feeling on The Weight. It sounds 60s, but yet modern and fresh.

My favorite pieces of music so far are the title track, Are You Even Real, False State of Mind and Same Little Thing.

Released on Kompakt.

Finally the latest full-lengther from Apparat has been released. It’s a satisfying collection of beautifully contemplating ambient pieces built around the pleasant voice of Mr Apparat himself, Sascha Ring.

There are three tunes here that stand out above the other for me. The first one is DAWAN, which was the first single released a couple of months ago. Then we have CARONTE where Mr Ring’s voice is heard through a harmonizer effect supported by a whole section of cellos, violins, guitars and a slightly distorted bass sound. This is also one of the tunes on the album which most reminds me of the sound of Moderat, of which Apparat of course also is a part of.

My third favorite is IN GRAVITAS, the finishing tune on the album, which is the most, I suppose, dance-ish piece on LP5. All in all a great album which I will listen to again and again in the near future.

Found some interesting releases on Spotify the last few days, like DRIFT Episode 2, the latest EP from Underworld and Radio Scarecrow, a full album release from The Black Dog.

My number one favorite so far though comes from Yorkshire based duo Worriedaboutsatan and is called Revenant. It has six great synthesizer heavy tracks loaded with beauty and dark atmosphere. Released on Burning Witches Records.

Infinity, the latest EP on Drumcode by Igor and Dan aka Pig&Dan is the perfect example of what big room techno is all about at the moment. It has that unmistakable Drumcode sound that is not afraid to borrow themes from other genres, while still staying somewhat true to the techno spirit. There are some trance influences here that isn’t allowed to take over completely but just enough to add to the overall epicness of the four tracks. And those kicks…  Oh man. Devastating!!

Four Tet is one of my favorite producers of electronica so beautiful it almost hurts listening to it. 4TLR is a short for Four Tet Live Recordings, the moniker he uses for his live gigs.

If you haven’t heard his music already the album Live at Funkhaus Berlin,10th May 2018 is a great introduction. The live versions of the tunes differs so much from the original studio recordings that they almost sound like something brand new. This is an incredible set with lots of atmosphere. You almost feel like you are there at Funkhaus dancing to the amazing music of 4TLR.