The Slovak sonic sorcerer VooDooMan, based in Bratislava, one of the firm personas of the local noise/audio scene, revels in hypnotic aural fissures, disorienting journeys through mangled synapses, created in his own custom-built software. His prolific output counts numerous tracks, from 3 second to 80 minutes long, an endless stream of aural conscioussness. Some of his recent output can be checked via his podcast page, with a proper release expected in the near future.

Here are his descriptions:

This track is based on Acidmilk’s work. He did samples that are in the background. I used it to generate the sound. I concatenated 7 Acidmilk’s samples together, while the first is at the end of the song again, therfore the word “mix” in the name of the song. I used 128-bit float precision in rendering process. You can notice that 2 effect structures are in a lag compared to the samples, this is because there is longer buffer for counting average frequency of Acidmilk’s work that the effects mimic. Random-like clicks are caused by intentional imperferfection of schmitt trigger gate that is responsible for turning on and off the constant-frequency oscillator.

I’d like to mention this track is not about growing old, but about particular momentary state of your mind rather. Like you had stopped the timewatch and took a snapshot, though the picture is still in movement in your mind. I chosed name ‘freewheeler’ since the generator structure of the original sound that passed through was actually adjusting itself like a freewheeling system. I would like to dedicate this song to neutrinos, since I feel the colors of the resulting sounds in this song are like the neutrinos are penetrating the matter withouth (mostly) affecting it, or interacting with it.

Listen to our radio interview with VooDooMan here /in Slovak/.

Listening to the Slovak producer Stratasoul is like a hot air balloon ride – floating and sinking into a magic aural stratosphere, bumping into a chunk of beats here, catching on a string of clinks and clanks there…so easy and carefree.

“I remember feeling fascinated when I first heared a sampled amen loop on an Atari ST computer,a gift from granddad. Without any musical knowledge or experience I set myself a goal to make music, out of fascination with something indescribable, which grew inside of me and I still could not explain, but I’m getting some hints now.”

Rarely does one come across a beatmaker whose music in not overtly dominated by the beat. It serves more as a backbone, a gentle anchor pulling together the invisible strings of infinite ethereal sounds and melodies that form probably the most pleasant sonic chaos your ears have ever met.

“Usually I’d start with some synth and basic sound design which fits my current mood, and then I’d search for chords with my shitty piano skills. I usually make a sketch instantly, and then edit it in a MIDI sequencer. Here suddenly I find myself in a process which is not of this world anymore and everything comes naturally. It actually takes a short time, but to me it seems like forever until a sketch of a track is made. Then the obsessive disorder takes place and fine-tuning of arrangements, etc.”

Stratasoul’s compositions feel like a dreamy stream of consciousness – a risky modus operandi, for it is only too easy to lose the listener on a trip where the next step is a surprise even to the guide.  Here, however, you press play, and before you realize, you find yourself lost in the subtle, yet firm hold of this hypnotizing sound.

What’s the trick? I believe it has to be love, and the sheer joy of creating and perceiving music without burdening this two-way process with a heavy message or complex meaning. This simple, unconscious way of expression has detail and depth that gets richer with each listen.

“When I write my music I feel overwhelmed by something. It’s as if I feel connected to some stream of calmness. I try to give an expression to what I feel at that moment, and that is why I value the very presence. It may sound megalomaniac, but I feel it in an intimate way. My music is an expression of my attitudes, sometimes naive, unsafe, you know luvly isles, honestly just sharing with people.”

Like so many other electronic musicians these days, Stratasoul is mostly drawing the vocal part of his works from 90’s soul and r’n’b classics. Funnily enough, it is the interpretation of this already clichéd source that happens to be the most characteristic and unique trait of his sound. Instead of looping whole words, phrases or riffs, he deconstructs voices into fragments and sifts them through multiple effects. The result is a heavenly love message pronounced in an unknown muffled language, chipped and clumsy and shy, but full of warmth and sincerity.

“I think we are the kids of the onset of information and globalization age, so we are getting connected more and more through other aspects than our geographical or traditional cultural affinity.”

Indeed, Stratasoul’s music does not seem rooted in any realia – be it cultural, ethnic or social. In fact, it does not have anything to do with Earth at all. It is the sound of angels making hip hop on an imaginary island floating in the sky – hip hop from heaven. 

by Snezhana Bezus, find her at her blog Beatbucket.

Night-time Bratislava - Kamenné Námestie

We’ve already given praise to Bratislava’s electronic scene in the past and the truth is, the good things are still going on. Be sure to check this triple combo of excellent releases from Slovakia’s capital Bratislava.

Stroon - Triple Farewell (Exitab, 2012)

Not much has been written about the third solo EP of Bratislava’s multinstrumental talent Stroon. As with his previous releases, Triple Farewell sees Stroon in his moody and cinematic shape, with tracks deeply influenced by music ranging from dub-techno to emotive synth-based post-dubstep.

This remarkable EP is by far Stroon’s biggest achievement. Its lush but menacing synthscapes overflow into psychedelia, and together with Stroon’s spellbinding bass and hypnotizing beats offer a glimpse into the unique and original world of bass electronica re-imagined by a musician trained both in contemporary composition and hardcore growling.

Triple Farewell is an under-valued masterpiece and easily manages to stand out amongst the recent downpour of strong releases on Exitab - the loop-based ambient of Casi Cada Minuto harnessing its strength from both post-rock aesthetics and Lopatin’s hypnagogia, the fledling Ink Midget’s trap and juke inspired global-bass debut Re-Leave or the gloomy and derelict urban synth & beat psychosis Glass Lip from Bratislava’s UK expat Aches.

MRKVA / BOLKA (ZVUKOLOM, 2012)

This is High-frequency trading music. Split-second samples and micro-management of frequencies and loops, the release showcases the post-intuitive side to contemporary composition, the one based on algorithmic synthesis, mathematics and code. Produced in software enviroments like Supercollider the brainy sonics of Mrkva swarm in and out of the aural space, defying the monolithic stereo setup and creating convoluted spaces of miniscule sounds that fluidly morph into series of highly (dis)organized enviroments.

Even amongst the coldly generated soundstorms, moment of familiarity and beauty arise. Be it field-recordings - sounds of dripping water and electromagnetic spectrums on INUITIS or the mesmerizing and somewhat tragic drone of Mrkva’s last track ANDERS, decomposing in repetitions of abstract mathematical formulaes.

Bolka’s part starts in a barely perceivable way of sparsely floating debris of frequencies, but then his ghastly freq residuums break into moments of flourishing drones that develop over fragmentary sonic landscapes that remotely resemble a chopped & screwed version of abstract breakcore of Xanopticon’s seminal LP Liminal Space.

MRKVA / BOLKA marks the first music release of Mrkva’s LOM label after its initial compilation featuring several established and upcoming experimental electronica musicians from Slovakia. In between music releases the label serves as a platform to present Mrkva’s and other label member’s custom built hardware and software for electronic musicians.

Poo - Kappa-Opioid Gain remixes (Pre optimal order records, 2012)

The chaos magick masters, the wizards of osc~, the meticulous scientists of the apocalyptic dark-ambient drone, Bratislava’s Poo, are no newcomers on the scene. Fuelled by alienizing effects of global capitalism and its ofshore/near-shore outsourcing and the many flavours of exotic psychedelics, its TIHKALs and PIHKALs, Poo and their complex yet enthralling sonics descend into the consciousness with a visceral capacity to overthrow and re-program. Sound is the law, sound under will - this paraphrase of Alesteir Crowley’s saying could be considered almost emblematic for the output of this contradictory duo. 

Their latest release, distributed online, was the Kappa-Opioid Gain single, a doomsday, abstract and vile dub-noise Poo offered for remixing. Now, a year later the remixes are here and surprisingly, they feature only Bratislava-based producers Mrkva, Acidmilk and DNC. For those curious enough - follow this link and say “333” 333 times to dwelve deep into the desolate, derelict but succulent spaces of Poo.

Last week Poo released yet another appetizer for their long-awaited second LP - the first of the nine drony chapters of “The Sounds of Mana” series. Click & disappear here.

Slavo Herman has been part of the Bratislava scene for a while, most of the time involved in activities of the collective Noize Konspiracy, an ever changing group of individuals in love with extreme and alternative forms of music. But Slavo’s stuff has always been different, unravelling the more deep, abstract and softer side of the musical region which contrasted with the brutal and lo-fi noise experiments of projects like Gule Tvojho Fotra or Žebrota, and also keeping himself more distanced from the social activities of the core group. A couple of his tracks were available on the Noize Konspiracy compilation including collaboration with the tragically passed away underground legend Cadillac Face, or the more hip-oriented project Jesus Stickers, while still lacking a more compact and official release.

In White Rooms, released by the Exitab label (at the moment the biggest and most influential label connecting Slovak alternative music scene) is an EP which has been in creation for some time and it is a clean proof that Casi Cada Minuto didn’t decide to start making music three months ago. The maturity of the EP is obvious after couple of minutes of listening. This is not an album which is trying to keep up with current musical trends. It is a typical drone/ambient record with all the general specifications and structures. However, the approach of Casi Cada Minuto is not narrow minded or conservative, he is wise enough to accept and penetrate other musical influences borrowing from the dreamy synth sounds of the Emeralds, or Oneohtrix Point Never and combining them with repetitive loops, slowly evolving into differently coloured oceans of sound. The sound itself is not static, Casi Cada Minuto has a good ear for melodies and harmonies as well not afraid to use field recordings and instruments. He avoids the kitschy sound, capable of stylish arrangements. The resulting atmosphere (a crucial factor in releases of this kind) is here developed into a dreamy and sentimental level, with a tenacious background keeping the listener curious to discover another layer and evolution of Slavo’s soundscapes.

Here Slavo talks about his new record and his music on our weekly Radio Wave show.

The sound is beautifully designed and mixed (also thanks to the ::.: aka Danky), the atmosphere is deep and immersing, but if you are expecting a breakthrough album in the field of this genre, you might be disappointed. It is just a really well made ambient album, with a more-than-once listening value. But that is just the proof that Slavo doesn’t want to follow any current trends and he does what he likes and knows best. In White Rooms finally fills out the huge gap on the map of Slovak experimental music and it’s filled by one of its founding members and pioneers in this genre. A solid release to accompany the impending foggy autumn mornings in Bratislava. And ‘solid’ is possibly the best word to describe this in one word. 

by Andrej

Learn more about the Bratislava underground music scene here. 

Bratislava-based visual artist Boris Vitázek aka Stix is a well known VJ working mostly with the post-dubstep producer Stroon. Stix is also the main force behind the techno nights Trashold in the now legendary venue Subclub. Claiming a new role, his project Subspecies documents his first ventures into the domain of music production.

Stix’s first track was premiered on the dAdA ACTa compilation in the february of this year. Take was a solid 105bpm knackered techno pounder, and it seems Stix enjoyed doing it.

Subspecies owes much to the sounds of techno. The record’s solid, pounding beats and organic structures are meant to be an interpretation of an animal race, whose communication is based on sound. They live on the border of complex caves and rainforests and their society shows the first signs of rituals and burial ceremonies. This is the story behind the sound made by Stix.

Initiation by stixo

Despite its purely electronic nature, the EP has a really organic and fuzzy feel. Interesting rhythmic structures and atmospheres are surprisingly satisfying for a first release. Sometimes some deeper arrangement of the tracks themselves is missing, but it is easy to get lost in the music when you don’t focus enough. Overall, Subspecies is a good start for a complete beginner in the field of music, and has got the potential to evolve and possibly overgrow even Stix’s visual work.

Listen to the EP or get it for free from Subspecies’s bandcamp:

by Andrej