NETVERK – September 2012

With regret, let's kick off this month's NETVERK with a grumble about SoundCloud. Now, I don't want to give the impression that I am anti-SoundCloud – far from it. I spend a good portion of each day on the site, checking out new music. I link to it in nearly every article, review and post that I write. I'm pro-SoundCloud – I even went on a panel at the 2010 SoundCloud meetup in Glasgow to sing its praises, and you'll see more than a few bands mentioned this month who use the site as their principle method of communicating with fans and listeners.

The grumble is this – like Twitter, SoundCloud has follow limits. I found this out, to my surprise, when I tried to follow my 2001st account on the site, only to be informed that I was 'following too many people.' Why should this be a problem? Three reasons – one, following people back when they follow you is a cornerstone of building an audience. So in addition to the artists you follow because you admire their work, you need to follow everyone who admires your work. Two, I use the site professionally – I check the 'Incoming Tracks' feed every day and favourite tracks to talk about in NETVERK and elsewhere. Limiting the amount of accounts I can follow inhibits this. Three – I pay for the service (I have the Solo plan, which costs 9 euros a month). It's fair enough for Twitter to impose limits on my following – it's a free service, and their follow-limits are dictated by the number of followers a user has. If you gain more of a fanbase, you can follow more people. Not so with SoundCloud – even if I paid for the 500-euro-per-year Pro account, I still couldn't follow more than 2000 artists.

This seems insane, and is my first real criticism of the service. If it's a server issue, then SoundCloud need to sort it out. If it's a policy with sound reasoning behind it, they need to explain that. Why do I need to follow 2000-plus people on SoundCloud? Well, quite frankly, it's because there's just so much excellent music out there, waiting to be discovered. I can't bear the thought of missing out on anything! For instance, there's the dark, brooding goth-house of Psychic Rites, who I discovered thanks to a tip-off on the NETVERK Facebook page (shout-out to @BunnyTheCreator). And that's just the tip of the iceberg...



There's space here to mention one act NETVERK has only ever encountered on SoundCloud – brilliantly-named Italo-enthusiasts 80s Stallone, whose laidback, retro take on electro is a thing of sublime and wondrous beauty. If it weren't for the 'Cloud, we''d never even have heard of these guys – thank fuck we didn't find them 2001st.

Perhaps the finest piece of electronic music to grace the NETVERK stereo this month comes courtesy of VS//YOUTHCLUB, who we touched on briefly in last month's column. A duo from 'The North' (of England presumably, although as we all know, lots of planets have a north), they make melancholic but uplifting electro-house with distinct shades of 80s electro-pop and progressive trance – but no such genre-tag-wielding could really do justice to the beauty of their stunning track 10245. Whether it's the upward sweep of the synth line or the gorgeously louche lyrics that get you (“Twilight / Summertime / The city is my ecstasy...”), you'd have to be made of stone not to be feeling this.

(NB. This is a re-recorded version of 10245 - the original is still available on the compilation mentioned below...)

I discovered this track on the excellent Fluorescent Records' Summer Vacation compilation, which also features tracks from NETVERK favourites like BL▲CK†CEILING, Pe† Ceme†ery and The Ceremonial Dagger. This free compilation is a who's who of up-and-coming dark electronic acts, with a good split between ambient noise, woozy techno, electro loveliness and dark-as-pitch instrumental hip-hop. You can get VS//YOUTHCLUB's debut EP from Aural Sects – it's a fantastic release, although short, clocking in at just four tracks (It would have been too short at 12 tracks.... I love this band).

Staying with Aural Sects, there were two solid releases from the label in August, in the shape of 90s breakbeat-wielding Aussie hipsters Rachel Haircut, whose debut EP Reserve caused some serious waves in the netlabel scene, particularly the mercilessly infectious Make U Move.

The second release to catch NETVERK's attention was the industrial synthpunk of Los Angeleno ▲NDR/\S, whose INVINCIBLE EP goes from strength to brutal strength, peaking with the tough-as-nails title track.



On a similarly 90s-themed tip, the wonderful folks at legendary prototype netlabel AMDISCS unleashed the chiming, chunky piano stabs, breakbeats and vocals of Finally Boys on the world in August with the Feelings EP, and fair fucks to them for turning what could have been viewed as a guilty-pleasures-inspired dip back into 90s Eurodance tropes into a solid, dancefloor-targeted four tracks of E-d up euphoria.



Closer to home, Glasgow's seminal i AM club night dipped their toe into the netlabel scene recently with a free EP by instrumental hip-hop merry-makers MIRRORS, and a damn fine piece of work it is too, aptly named the Superior EP. It's definitely worth catching these guys live the next time they pop up – we'll try and give you a heads-up when that happens.

Electro-punk / EBM agitator NANCY came to our attention via his EP The Gay Rage, which eventually found a home at Aural Sects. It was an instant win, with one particular highlight being an evil-as-fuck, Nine Inch Nails-indebted drag cover of Tori Amos' Me and a Gun. His follow-up, the excellent, attitude-filled Violent Boys EP is available now, exclusively through his Bandcamp. The title track in particular is full of hormonal vocal angst and blistering, shredded electro riffs.



NETVERK was lucky enough to get a secret sneak preview at the latest EP from damn-fine San Francisco-based netlabel Tundra Dubs. The debut EP by TOMBZ is full of Satanic, witchy samples, with the spines of the tracks alternating between cold, claustrophobic dubstep, spectral ambient and doom-laden, sludgy hip-hop. You can order the EP from Tundra now.



Another shout-out for a local lad – CUR$ES, who we mentioned last month, has been releasing exclusive tracks on his Soundcloud for the last few weeks, with a particular highlight being the ambient-into-blissed-out, lo-fi techno of Urge.



Confrontational sonic terrorists Black Circle Records are another Glasgow-based netlabel mob, featuring artists such as The DDN and Elizabeth Veldon. Their challenging, drone-heavy, often bleak noise-based output is even more enjoyable when witnessed live – watch out for upcoming shows from them at places like Glasgow's 13th Note.

A big thank you also to the blog Synth Glasgow, which turned us on to some local talent we had previously been unaware of. Covering the underground and experimental electronic scene in Scotland's largest city with diligent care and unbridled passion, this excellent site gave us the stately, majestic dream-pop of Holobeams and Broken Machines, whose excellent albums and EPs are all available free from their Bandcamp page. A particular highlight by HB&BM is the gorgeous Head in the Clouds, from their most recent 2-track release, Clouds / Sunrise.



There's also the fantastic Inkke, whose science-fiction influenced, lo-fi psychedelic synth and beat-based hip-hop excursions take you deep inside a mysterious, menacing and futuristic innerspace. Their fantastic Pink Dot EP is available free via their Soundcloud.



Another new find this month comes courtesy of Sixties Guns, whose EP Haunted Dope nicely combines witchy electronics, indie-pop vocals and shimmering, distressed synth tones.



Just space left to mention two very exciting releases from the NETVERK-affiliated Black Lantern Music label, in the form of Wild West hip-hop concept album Hills Run Red, by US artist Mild Maynyrd. MM filters the mood of Shadow's seminal Pre-Emptive Strike-era tracks through a collage of samples from old Western movies, to stunning and immersive effect.

And finally, the welcome return of one half of legendary Edinburgh hip-hop crew Penpushers, now trading as Immaculate Emotion Engines, whose album The Truth Loves To Dance Naked has gained critical adoration from no less than BBC Radio 1's new music gurus Ally McCrae and Jen Long. It's psychedelic, philosophical hip-hop in the Last Vestige Of Holism (Penpushers' well-loved debut album) tradition, and utterly essential for fans of homegrown hip-hop and intelligent pop.



That should do you for this month – come back in October when we'll be carving pumpkins, bobbing for apples and dressing up in disguises while we raid the back shelves of Bandcamp and SoundCloud for goodies and treats. Remember to Like us on Facebook for updates and track exclusives in between columns!