Free Shit: Ansiform, Malty Media, Monodrive, Juri, Plugexpert, Sefiros

Lots of good stuff for you this week! My sources have pulled through to create some fantastic material. Read on to see.
ansiform – qetoret (gong fog)
Starting the column out with some great ambient. Clocking in at 16 minutes 15 seconds, it’s the longest single track on ansiform to date. Which is good, because ambience should usually last at least that long 😀 It’s an ominously-toned track, a soundscape filled with a mix of ancient Chinese and tribal Australian textures. Highly recommended if you’re familiar with ambient or the ansiform label, also if you want to try something new and unusual. This is now one of my favorite releases from the suspiciously anonymous ansiform group. I also recommend “Artroom,” “Have You Seen Me?” and the”Memories EP.” And yes, you’re not supposed to know who actually created the ambience. Personally that concept appeals to me, which is why I have a release on ansiform. Guess which one!

Malty Media – Bracken Bed EP
h0l/Simon tells us this is a collaborative effort between familiar mono artist Aquaboogie and a “long-time electronic musician and Japanese resident” Jet Jaguar. Well, right off the bat, it’s certainly an interesting combination. You’ll find that, for some reason, the EP starts off like a drunken country music performance at a cheap bar, somewhere deep in the American heartland. Malty Media, take that for what you will :). It quickly evolves into the familiar-to-monotonik-fans crazy IDM that you’d expect from someone like Khonnor, with oddball sample mangling [for texture!] being the key element of the music. The focus is on being weird in this EP, for sure, and it makes for a fun listening experience. If you enjoy this I would recommend a few other releases on Monotonik, by Grandma, Khonnor, and Gaza Faggot [hint: same person].

Monodrive – Follow the Wind
EU Mirror (thanks to GaMeBoX)
US Mirror (thanks to SGX)
The newest Reunion Studio release is by Monodrive. It’s labeled “dnb” but despite that, is quite subdued and more like a quick chillout, with light, airy synths and beats. “Follow the Wind” is a very suitable title for this breezy track.

Juri – Thought it was Love EP
“This ep is similar to a short story, sad and beautiful at the same time. If you have read “White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, then you know what this is about. -Juri” Ah, Electronica / Other, the best kind of music! Even though Electronica isn’t considered the real term for electronic music [but Traxinspace and Myspace do, for some reason]. I find myself drawing comparisons to one of my own EPs, “The Sky Is Never Dark Anymore EP [also free!],” which has a similar tone and style, but of course my music sounds much more “stripped down” and minimal, as usual. Unfortunately it’s not downloadable, though I asked Juri about a download and am currently waiting for a reply. For now, though, it’s available to stream on his myspace page.

Sefiros – Under the Roots
Sefiros is a bit of an enigma to me. For reasons different than his music though. Actually, his music is pretty straightforward. If you want a quick description, it’s a blend of epic orchestral and electronic patterns layering and unlayering themselves at a kind of droning pace, with high quality and a full sound. This album is no different, except for the fact that this shota version of Trent Reznor improves with every release. Give it a try.

45 Min Plugexpert Backup Dj Set
This is a link to the thread on the Renoise board, which contains a tracklisting and download link. If you can’t get to the board, here’s the link. Basically just a quick and dirty DJ set plugexpert mixed up to make sure there was something to play if he fucked up during a live set. Fun mix of glitch, jungle, and breakbeat.

That’s all for this week, but boy that was a lot! It should at least last you until next Sunday night, when – who knows – my latest album might be done and [of course] freely distributed. Tell yo friendz!!!!