Some weeks we really have to dig to find worthwhile music for Tracks, and some weeks (like this one not so coincidentally) there’s an absolute embarrassment of musical riches to partake in. The deluge of late 2017 releases is just over the horizon, and we’re bracing ourselves for the onslaught, and hoping to keep our heads above water. Of course we’re keen to revisit some of 2017’s other releases as we move gradually towards considering our EoY contenders, although it’ll be at least three months before any of that gets set in stone. Day in, day out, the ID:UD wheel keeps on turnin’. Turnin’ to Tracks as it so happens!
Ides Of Gemini are staying off social media to avoid spoilers for "The Castle Of Ortanto"
SØLVE, “The Falling Tower”
As has become tradition Brant Showers (of ∆AIMON fame) has released a new track from his SØLVE project to mark his own birthday, September 2nd. The percussion based ritual electronics you expect from the project are here in full form, but we’re also noting the slightly expanded lyrical palette of the track, in contrast to the minimal repetition that has generally been the project’s MO. Although Brant has said that he wants people to download the track and save their cash, he’s also generously donating any proceeds people send his way on Bandcamp to Suicide Prevention charity Hope for the Day. Happy Birthday B!
Human Performance Lab, “Black Widow”
Despite the relocation to Berlin, Emad Dabiri of SΛRIN has managed to keep all of his various ducks in a row, and is prepping a new Human Perfomance Lab 12″ for release on aufnahme + wiedergabe. The collaborative project with his partner Matthew Cangiano of Toronto’s Vierance has always leaned slightly more bouncy and less strict than Dabiri’s other work for a+w or his own home-brewed Deth Records tapes, but plenty of the harsh neo-rave realness we’ve all come to love and expect from his brand is on display here.
Randolph & Mortimer, “Citizens (Schwefelgelb remix)”
If you read the site regularly, you’ll probably have read our recent enthusiastic reviews of EP releases by new school body music acts Randolph & Mortimer and Schwefelgelb. This instance of the former remixing the latter certainly lives up to the promise inherent in the team-up, with the distinctive sample-work of R&M married to one of those punchy basslines that the Schwef fellas do so well. You can snag this on that Some Have to Dance… Some Have to Kill compilation from Mecanica records, which also features tracks from L-Sedition and Millimetric.
Ides of Gemini, “Heroine’s Descent”
Looking for some full-bore goth rock, with a big helping of Siouxsie splashed across the salted prow of our patron saint Rozz Williams? LA’s Ides Of Gemini (including Scott Batiste of ID:UD ride or die faves Heart of Snow) are taking us all to church on third LP Women, and this cut should have enough brazen razzmatazz to make us all think about recounting, if not repenting, our recent sins.
Mala Herba, “rusalki”
A tip of the ID:UD cap to ol’ Claus Larsen of Leaether Strip for hipping us to one-woman darkwave act Mala Herba recently. Although the Austrian project only has two songs available at the moment (both of which will eventually seen light as part of a cassette release), we’re incredibly taken with the powerful vocals and their contrast with the gritty electronics. “rusalki” is as strong an intro to a band as we can recall in recent memory, and we’ll certainly be keeping close tabs on them based on it. Very promising stuff.
Drab Majesty, “Oak Wood”
Lastly, a touching tribute from Drab Majesty to the memory of Them Are Us Too’s Cash Askew. The Dais fam has been resolute in their love for their fallen sister, and the plain spoken lyrics of the A-side of this 7″ are a testament to Cash’s legacy and the continuing pain of her absence. “Where was the rain / We won’t forget.” Cash Askew Forever.
