Articles
2011 Top 10s and 20s
Spotlight 4

Albums
Akhet
Cory Allen
Alva Noto
Aun
Bass Communion
Alexander Berne
Birds Passage / Rosado
The Black Dog
BNJMN
Ursula Bogner
Cokiyu
Steve Coleman
Cubenx
Mats Eilertsen
Elektro Guzzi
eleventhfloorrecords
Ben Fleury-Steiner
Golden Gardens
Goldmund
Thom Gossage
Steve Hauschildt
Helvacioglu & Pancaroglu
Illuha
Larkian & Yellow6
Clem Leek
Mamerico
Milyoo
Hedvig Mollestad Trio
Nao
Yann Novak
Sasajima & Hirao
Scissors And Sellotape
Ryan Scott
Till von Sein
Shaula
The Silent Section
Scott Solter
Spheruleus
Talkingmakesnosense
thisquietarmy
Anna Thorvaldsdottir
tINI
Tycho

Newly Issued
The Beach Boys

Compilations / Mixes
Deetron
Mike Huckaby
Radio Slave
Rebel Rave 2: Droog

EPs
Thavius Beck
Niccolò Bianchi
Falko Brocksieper
Alex Cobb & Aquarelle
Deru
Everything Is
Ed Hamilton
Hammock
Herzog
Oknai
SlowPitch
Tracey Thorn
Damian Valles

Niccolò Bianchi: Estasi
Shabu Recordings

Estasi, the debut EP from Como-born electronic producer Niccolò Bianchi, augments three original productions with remixes by Vaghe Stelle, Angelo Battalani, and Shabu Recordings head Axel Helios, who founded the label in early 2011 as a home for Avus, Jesse Somfay, and others. Bianchi's genre-defying tracks thread analogue synthesizers and electronic piano into beat-driven tracks that touch as much upon dance music as krautrock and electronica.

The opening title track kicks into gear with a funky bounce, the music so heavily synthetic in design and so ornate it suggests it could be labeled IDM as much as techno or house—more Plaid than Plastikman, in other words. That's in keeping with Shabu label's own focus on electronic music that puts ideas ahead of genre considerations. The equally rich “Nebbia” pulls into its orbit elements of house, IDM, and kosmische musik for a transporting, seven-minute excursion through multiple climes, some rhythm-driven and others contemplative. Glimmering arpeggios illuminate Bianchi's third original, “Amata Phegea,” before a downtempo 4/4 drum pattern sends it on its merry way. The EP's sunniest track makes one feel as if one's hiking along a dew-covered country path on a gorgeous summer morn.

On the remix tip, Stelle's “Nebbia” remix doesn't stint on the track's beat-driven dimension but does darken it, resulting in a foreboding banger that oozes no small amount of dystopic flavour; Battalani's “Amata Phegea” makeover amplifies Bianchi's track with energized propulsion (there's also a “Drum Tool” version of “Amata Phegea” that inflames its kosmische and IDM qualities); and Helios himself takes the reins for a euphoric rave riff on the title track that, to be honest, might just be the EP's most striking track—“Estasi” indeed.

December 2011