Article
2012 Artists' Picks

Albums
36
The Alvaret Ensemble
The Boats
Dadub
Day
Enduser / The Teknoist
Alejandro Franov
Christoph Funabashi
The Inventors Of Aircraft
Kostis Kilymis
krill.minima
Lau Nau
Madera Wind Quintet
Todd Matthews
Lubomyr Melnyk
okamononoriaki
The Outside Agency
Oyaarss
peterMann
Pleq + Philippe Lamy
Roach & Metcalf
SaffronKeira
Martin Schulte
Jay Shepheard
Tape Loop Orchestra
Techdiff
TM404
Yard

Compilations / Mixes
Darkroom Dubs Vol.3
Petre Inspirescu
Pop Ambient 2013
v-p v-f is v-n

EPs / Cassettes / Singles
Alis
Arkaik
Babi
Bee Mask
Bungle
drcarlsonalbion
Fescal
Fluorescent Heights
William Ryan Fritch
Greyghost
Junction 12
Lind and Loraine
Alessan Main
Martinez
Mikal
Show Me The Future
10 Yrs hhv.de 45 Vol. 10
Wolf Cub

Alis: Azimuth EP
Don't Be Afraid

Who's Alis? Italo-Bulgarian Londoner Sabina Plamenova, known for her Subeena productions but now issuing tracks under a new alias that's intended to offer a more personalized and vocal-led take on her music. It's certainly punchy—the opener “You Can Try” hits hard from its first moment. Plamenova's vocalizing does give the piece a distinctive character and bright synths also add radiance and colour, but it's the track's crushing groove that really catches one's attention. The acid-house throwdown “Azimuth” is as pile-driving, especially when the drums and synth patterns kick in, while the remix of same by D'Marc Cantu shifts gears for a deep and clubby treatment that polishes the original's funky house sheen with obsessive fervor. “Imperium” revisits the trippy attack of the opener by supercharging radiant synth flourishes with a disco-styled pulse that grooves as hard as anything else on the release. A non-stop flow of energy, ideas, and imagination bursts from the EP material, making for an amazing set that leaves the listener wanting more.

February 2013