Pan:core - "Pour Carine" [EP]

Beautiful (10/10) If you like my music, i whould be happy to read some nice words on a postcard. just send it to maik sommer – hechtstr.47 – 01097 – dresden – germany Brilliant electronica. Very simple melodies, without experimenting. But beauty of these tunes is just breathtaking. I have only one complaint - it's too short. You can also download this album for free directly from the artist at his website in .mp3 file format. A lossless FLAC version has been removed. If you want it, ask in a comment. [mirror @ archive.org] [Artist's website]

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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Electro Method" [EP]

Not bad, but too ordinary... (5/10) Maybe some fans of space music or the sound of 80s will find this mini-album appealing, but for me the tunes are too ordinary. Not much here to keep my attention focused. [Artist's website]

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The Motyw (Wojciech Wszelaki) - "Analog Live"

Simple, disco-based synthpop - not my cup of tea (4/10) Primitive synthpop or - more precisely, electropop, as synthpop is usually based on rock music, use some guitars and rock expression, even if it is executed with electronic means. This album is definitely based on disco, dance, pop - the artist is very far from rock stylistics. And that's what I mean by "primitive": using the most simple, obvious and commercial-driven forms of artistic expression. Even in synthpop music there are works, which are highly original and thought provoking (Depeche Mode, for example). But not this time, ladies and gentlemen. Compared with this album, even Erasure or Pet Shop Boys write experimental music. Still, this is not a total flop. Many people love such "easy" music. That's why I described above what I mean by primitive - this isn't in any way primitive when it comes to production or performance. The artist knows how to write pop melodies, he has an acceptable voice with a nice timbre. And the issue of a chosen stylistics is just a matter of taste. If only such recordings populated charts in Poland, I'd be a happy man. Unfortunately, much worse acts gain a huge popularity. I would definitely prefer to hear this guy on radio instead of the highly successful Polish crap-pop band Feel. So, if you like such simple, "easy-listening" disco-based pop, check it out. By the way, here is a remastered and extended version of this album and some of the added tracks are much better.

Royalty-free music for professional licensing [Artist's website]

Technox PL - "Yobbo"

Very good drum & bass (8/10)

49 manekinow kitted with plastic drums in effect of what there is our first drum'n'bass's bent release. Marcin Gawron's project TechnoxPL splayed between Polish and German country presents a section through drum sounds with atmospheric bent. We'll hear ambient samples - Franziskaner Psychopath, house backgrounds In Teriparatid Injektion. Idm middle bodies native to Bpitch Control leaks with Switch Reloaded. A cherry on the cake is a title Yobbo which carry on his jazz ancestry with dignity and arouses yearning to Roni Size. Download, caper and look how the city flows breaking into coloured pieces. Very good drum & bass. Recommended for every fan of quality techno / electronica. The album has been released by the 49manekinow.net netlabel and is available for downloading at archive.org in mp3 format. [Artist's Myspace]

terenNowy.live - "Ambientnosc"

Impressive ambient (10/10) Project terenNowy it's an opened collective of creators that spontaneously develop motto: Creation through recreation, or the other way round. Multi-plot and differentiation of artistic statements become an basis for free multiplication of the idea of organics, meaning: each in self direction, but fun is for all. Co-influences and inspirations evolve into unexpected scenography-sound sets, creating the genuine sections such as terennowy.live, terennowy.kids, terennowy.movie and terennowy.art. There is no place for trials, or scenarios - each meeting generates own climate naturally adopted both to space and public, because these two elements are as vital to the project, as the collective itself. We say: interaction is an initiation of the creation. Or the other way round. Ambientnosc (Ambiency) is the ambivalence of the aesthetic tendencies. The oldest instruments of the humankind embraced in the improvisation process with newest technology create the indifferented music.

It is not a secret that ambient is not my favourite genre. Ambient works are often totally boring, because of the false apparent easiness of this genre. Some people think it is enough to break a constant drone with single notes once in two minutes to produce an ambient masterpiece. And in fact, it's quite the opposite. It is very easy to make a bad ambient recording. But it requires plenty of talent to make a good - not boring - ambient work.

The second cause of my somewhat ambivalent feelings for ambient is that these days the majority of ambient recordings are made on a computer, using only electronic sounds. There is nothing wrong with it generally, only that it becomes slightly boring after hearing a hundredth album with similar recycled sounds. One just starts to long for some decent guitar or real drums.

So it feels great to come across such album as this one. Such works convince me that with enough talent, you can make a masterpiece in every musical genre.

This is truly an outstanding recording. It contains improvised ambient music played on real instruments by a live band of very skilled musicians. The songs are full of mysterious strange sounds; very diverse, but never chaotic. All this improvised mess is in fact well thought-out and form a cohesive whole, despite including such different elements as synthetic sounds, reverbed human whispers and folk instruments. So much is happening throughout each track that you are never bored. So if you like ambient and/or experimental music, you cannot miss this one!

The album has been released by MegaTotal.pl, a social financing website similar to Sellaband. You can listen to the full album here or buy a CD for mere 5 euros. Unfortunately, they don't have English version of their website, but there is a Google Translate interface on the bottom of the page. I don't know if it is enough to really use this site without any knowledge of Polish, but I can assure you this album is worth trying. You can always drop me a line in case of any troubles and I will be glad to help you.

[Artist's Website / Myspace]

Ogg Vorbis - "No. 2"

Not bad but too chaotic (7/10) Quite good actually. Better than the first album. But too chaotic. Let's take, for example, no. 3 Space Aviator - what have we here? Jazz improvisations, strange electronic sounds, samples of an aeroplane, rap, funk, flamenco guitar, vocalise, atonal piano solo, slogan-chanting and many more - and all of this in under 6 minutes. It's almost like listening to a recycle bin of an audio editing program. I felt pity for all those samples that couldn't make it... Poor bastards. Maybe if they were shorter, you could fit another 50 or so? Please excuse my sarcasm - I like genre-mixing, but it's not enough to throw 100 samples into editor and press "save" button... Maybe you've done hard conceptual work here, but if so - you've missed it. The result is chaos. But quite nice chaos. :-) SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTISTS If you like this album and you can afford it, consider supporting the artist by making a donation.

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Behedos - "Arghh!"

Listen on mute (0/10) Absolutely terrible rock demo. It's not worth even the time required to write a review, so I will try to be brief. I suppose the band tried to take a parodical approach to several genres of rock music. But they failed, because of their absolute lack of skill. They are so totally inept, it hurts. They cannot sing, they cannot play, they cannot write music or lyrics, they cannot record. Change the hobby guys. Or at least don't record your sessions. Or - if you really have to record them - don't publish the results. Have mercy for humanity. The album has been released on Jamendo and is available for downloading in mp3 or ogg format.

[Artist's website]