I’ve been slacking on the Free Shit a little bit. There’s a perfectly valid reason for this though – I’ve been… picking up some CDs here and there for very cheap. I have a few dozen I still haven’t even listened to yet, so I will have to set the netlabels aside for a while before I start paying full attention to them again. Also, there’s been a general lack of really standout, solid, and interesting releases lately. At least within my scope here. However, the two big electronic netlabel heavies Mono211 and Kahvi have finally put out releases after a bit of a dry spell.

#242a-242i Meso / Tunga [stream] A new guest artist – Meso – arrives today with a nine track ep. A little more hardcore idm in places than previous kahvi releases, Meso brings out the colder and darker side of life in Eastern Europe with the arovane-esque ‘around 492’, a classy imitation of lackluster style in ‘canadian 2’, and my personal favorite for its curious composition ‘jenapart6’ (check out the percussion!). Brusque, exciting and interesting, ‘Tunga’ is an intriguing and well produced ep, a worthwhile addition to the kahvi collective. leave feedback download whole ep as ogg (.zip) whole ep (.ogg) mirror download album art download whole ep as mp3 (.zip) whole ep (.mp3) mirror

around 492 [main download] [mirror] boab [main download] [mirror] canadian 2 [main download] [mirror] crnk [main download] [mirror] into winter [main download] [mirror] jenapart6 [main download] [mirror] sakartvelo [main download] [mirror] sava [main download] [mirror] 574 somnambulists [main download] [mirror]

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Date		Release Id		File info		Artist		Title
06/04/08		mtk.mp3.200		8 tracks, 30 minutes, 31.3mb]		Chromatic Flights		‘Heavy Stars Will Fall’
Message>>
Monotonik has made it to its 200th MP3-based release (and probably somewhere over its 400th overall release, counting sublabels and .MODs), and this milestone comes in the form of Chromatic Flights’ second release for the label, ‘Heavy Stars Will Fall’.Florida-based Kyle Wyss follows up his ‘Memories From The Audible Color Wheel’ Monotonik debut with more vaguely psychedelic, beautifully phrased idm, strangely strung out but wonderfully put together. It starts with ‘Found Glow’, all spaced out groove and smiling pauses. Other standout tracks include ‘Fish Follow Shine’, with pulsating top notes and a strangely offkilter groove, and the echoing strange beauty of ‘Blue Supergiant’, although any of the 8 tracks can be sampled on its own for much enjoyment. A fitting release for the milestone!
Download Chromatic Flights’ ‘Heavy Stars Will Fall’ from:
1. “Found Glow” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 2. “Moon Heated” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 3. “Fish Follow Shine” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 4. “Heavy Stars Will Fall” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 5. “Blue Supergiant” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 6. “Star Hop Pt. 1” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 7. “Star Hop Pt. 2” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 8. “Preparation Anxiety…” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org)..or download the entire release [.ZIP link], stream, or review the track at its Internet Archive release page.

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Honestly though, even these releases fail to interest me, though you [DEAR READER] may enjoy them, as they are actually good, just nothing totally fresh in my opinion.

Japanese doujin arranger Sabao pays tribute to Virt in his recently-released cover of the Stage 1 Jungle theme from Contra 4, which is itself a remake of “Vile Red Falcon” from Jake’s Konami-styled chiptune album FX2.

Grab the goods from his MP3 page (or here if you prefer a direct link), and be sure to check out his other stuff too!
I’ve actually highlighted Sabao before in a previous Spotlight about his jazzy “Demon Seed” arrangement, but I felt he deserved a second round of kudos for this ROCK’N remix. Thanks to Nitouhei for providing the heads-up on his excellent blog.

OHOK

14. Mar 08
the_hardliner_-_wasted_love_–_studies_in_melody_harmony_ texture_and_a ffect-(20k270)-2008.
the hardliner is back from his gabber expedition, dropping the most
beautiful compositions for at least some hundred years. it’s a full
album with twelve tracks, of which most are encoded at even less than
20kbps. priceless, timeless.
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[CAM0101] Nigel Samways – Mestre fullstop

date march.11.08

Our first release of 2008 comes from UK’s Nigel Samways. Mestre fullstop is 20 minutes of marvelously intricate movements; deep, murmuring field recordings, dischordant crackles and faint mechanical remnances lay naturally underneath bright, gazing wails and pads that trickle gently down on us, inviting us to venture into Nigel Samways’ mysterious and blurry tones, memories and images. After such a winter, this is the perfect soundtrack to the slow and creeping growth and reanimation of the fauna.

Total time : 19:33

Download the release in .zip format

Music by Nigel Samways

Cover art by 143

artwork included in zipfile

Tracklist

01 – The last few days | 06:31

02 – Ghostface has gone | 02:09

03 – Held together with strings | 07:47

04 – Sama yo eru tamashii | 03:06
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07.03/2008	release #240: pictures in sound by abyssal plains
26.02/2008	release #239: gizikomori and other fluffy animals by nova viator

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16/03/08		Delayscape	“VCOs or DCOs EP”
			[mtk.mp3.199]
24/02/08		Jet Jaguar	“Biddy Bids”
			[mtk.mp3.198]

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082 – kj lamb – may I?

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– style: Trance
– prog : Reason 3
– date : 15 mar 2008

081 – Psyjuntan – The Great Gig In The Psyche

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– style: Ambient
– prog : Cubase/Reason
– date : 8 mar 2008

080 – theGarbs – Subtraction Station Six

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– style: Electronica / Trance
– prog : Fruity 7
– date : 1 mar 2008

079 – Platonist – White-Stained Gong

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– style : PsyElectronic/Lofi Stuff
– prog : Impulse Tracker 2.14
– date : 23 feb 2008

Took 3 weeks off [oops!] but now I am back. Fear!

12. Jan 08	Ne-q-baan’_-_Medali_EP-(20k267)-2008. Ne-q-baan’s (side project by soundtester & Ru_Galochkin) debut ep is a dedication to russian shitpop star Ivan Panchenko. it features some remakes of his song ‘medals’, which is all about army and girls waitin’ for their dudes’ comeback. folks, this is some really glorious shit, for real.
30. Jan 08	MC_Ayrton_Senna_-_How_i_drive_with_40kbps!-(20k266)-2008. speed merchant vocalist MC Ayrton Senna is challenging his first rhyme race. postmodern gimcrack lyrics giving you the shit, in both english and swiss german. 100% success is guaranteed due front-seat passenger dj jimmy slaughter and his super-funky disko-beats.

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ansi040) ]
at sea
[24.3 MB | 12:38]

‘at sea’ is inspired by terry riley’s ‘in c’ and the ideology of the impressionist musicians.

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[NMA001] Kaneel – Ma douce mÈmoire enfantine

date feb.06.08

What better way to start New Module Adventures than with a sweet, sweet ep by Kaneel. Kaneel’s been on the modscene for a long time now, releasing on sunlikamelo-d and ogredung all those years ago, releasing his popular Inside it module ep on camomille and participating on great demos with Bypass. An adequate taste of reinvented nostalgia, Guillaume uses the tracker masterfully and makes us dream of bubbles and childhood moments. An epic Kaneel release, and while we wait for his upcoming album on apegenine, a great taste of what delicious sounds Kaneel can stir up and has been stirring up for us in the past 10 years.

Download the release in .zip format (artwork in included )

Music by Kaneel

New CD album on apegenine ‘ Kaneel – I’ve sketched it a while ago ‘ . Buy here.

Cover art by 143

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#237a-237d Alessandro Pintus / Make Space EP [stream] We’ve got another guest artist entering the Kahvi ranks today – italian by name and italian by style, we’re used to well dressed italians, presentation being everything and this is reflected in this well presented, polished and finished ep from alessandro pintus. analogue warmth with extremely subtle micro-melodies throughout, perhaps slightly autechre by design but 100% pintus by nature. interesting, thoughtful and chilled. welcome to mr pintus.

leave feedback	download whole ep as ogg (.zip)	whole ep (.ogg) mirror
download album art	download whole ep as mp3 (.zip)	whole ep (.mp3) mirror

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[p&j#002]–2008-02-07
El zoolÛgico is proud to present: The Jungle & The Aquarium
Some words about it:

Your favorite zookeeper is back from the petite&jolie zoo!

We, at Petite&Jolie, are excited to present you the second release
of petite&jolie and not only because it’s a wonderful travel
through poptronics, melodies of “joie de vivre” and, let’s dare saying
so, zoomotions, but also because it’s not everyday we’ll be releasing a
double EP.

Indeed, El ZoolÛgico is back at Petite&Jolie with his concept of
catching the “essence” of animals through small’n’catchy tunes,
classifying them by ecosystems.

Await emotions driven through pitzacattos and fuzzy synths, get ready
for cuteness, fasten your belt, and don’t believe what they are saying
around you, it’s really cute and fancy animals you see jumping all over
your head when you’re listenning to this sweet release from El
ZoolÛgico.

download and enjoy:

[track 01] El zoolÛgico – Camina
[track 02] El zoolÛgico – Hippo
[track 03] El zoolÛgico – Mr. Frog
[track 04] El zoolÛgico – Snake
[track 05] El zoolÛgico – Monkey
[track 06] El zoolÛgico – Brother Bear
[track 07] El zoolÛgico – Nada
[track 08] El zoolÛgico – Octopus
[track 09] El zoolÛgico – Penguin and Sealion
[track 10] El zoolÛgico – Seahorse and Starfish
[track 11] El zoolÛgico – Jellyfish
[track 12] El zoolÛgico – Whale

download the whole release here
download the whole artpack here
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DOWNLOAD
PXTONE TO LISTEN TO THESE RELEASES!

2008.01.26	(PS029) [Frux] – Viridian
Three colors, three songs with chips and beats.

2008.01.15	(PS028) [Jon Baken] – Candlelight
5 astounding tracks from beatmaster JB.

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078 – Ultraljud – Stick to this

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Discuss/Review

– style : Electro / Lounge
– prog : Logic & Ableton Live
– date : 17 feb 2008

077 – Haroon Piracha – Horizon Beyond

Download
Discuss/Review

– style : Melodic Progressive Trance
– prog : Pro Tools / Reason
– date : 13 feb 2008

076 – destructo – In Twilight

Download
Discuss/Review

– style : Jazz/Ambient
– prog : Reason 4 / Cubase SX3
– date : 09 feb 2008

075 – Candybag – Downtown Rumble

Download
Discuss/Review

– style : Drum & Bass
– prog : Reason 3
– date : 02 feb 2008

074 – Joshua Morse – Lost Signal

Download
Discuss/Review

– style : Drum & Bass
– prog : Various!
– date : 28 jan 2008

EDIT: Maybe it is happening. I dunno!

SPAMTRON will be playing live on the 22nd of March at 19:00 at “MC Firedrill’s Fortress of Pwn” I’m not sure where that actually is, but rest assured I will be there also, rocking out to Spamtron’s chiptunes and stuff. If you’re in the Northwest you need to come check this out. Spamtron is a CRAZY EXCITING DUDE and you’re missing out if you haven’t met him or seen him play yet. I may update this news post later with directions to the place, if you’re in the area and wanna come check this out.

Here is his MySpace [one of many].

In this week’s epsidoe of ThaSauce Cast, SgtRama
guest hosts along the starla. This episodes features a more structured
format that more closely resembles of traditional radio show such as
VGFrequency.
Starla and Rama discuss topics in the community
including Video Games Live, the upcoming Contra IV album by SnappleMan,
and the Freshly Baked reMixer Challenge on the OCRemix forums. They
also showcase some songs, new and old, from throughout the community
including a song off the Mega’s new album “Get Equipped!”, a new
original by RoetaKa, and a throwback original from DiscoDan circa 2002.

Shownotes forthcoming…

Another netlabel bites the dust!
http://www.kikapu.com/label/index.html
I dunno what the reasons are, but it’s sad to see another source of free shit go. Not that it contributed much in my column’s short life so far, but that’s probably why it’s no longer around. But not to worry! The old releases are all archived and it’s all on the front page. A lot went down recently, though. Hellven.org’s domain expired, Ronin Collective is now gone, though vinced is focusing on Apegenine Records now. Ansiform might be dead, I haven’t seen a new release from them for a while now…

The rest of these sources are still alive, but the cake may or may not be a lie.
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#235a-235e Brioskj / Pyramids [stream] Its a fine, cheerful welcome back to Mr Brioskj, our resident Italian artist. He creates some of the most fun and enjoyable tracks, no elements of darkness need apply. Just happy, easy listening and high power tracks of great quality and inspiration. This ep, inspired by the moods and senses of the east, features some truly excellent melodies – take the chorus in ghibli. Excellent and addictive!

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Date		Release Id		File info		Artist		Title
26/01/08		mtk.mp3.197		[3 tracks, 17 minutes, 23.2mb]		Muhr		‘A Lonely Gust Of Wind’
Message>>
It’s been in the queue for quite some time, but we’re proud to finally debut ‘A Lonely Gust Of Wind’ from Canadian artist Vincent Fugère, once known as Vizion but nowadays known as Muhr – a 3-track ambient EP of stark beauty and obtuse goodness. We start off, naturally enough, with ‘Part 1’, which drifts in and out almost entirely for the first half or so of the track, before laying into some repeated ambient phrased, before ‘Part 2’ starts to swell a little, laying on the almost orchestral waves – of one of the most ambient releases we’ve put out on Monotonik for a good while. Fortunately, the final track ‘Post’ turns up and bears fruit, kicking out a carefully charged ending that’s just slightly ornate but fully wonderful. Thumbs up to Muhr.
Download Muhr’s ‘A Lonely Gust Of Wind’ from:
1. “A Lonely Gust Of Wind – Part 1” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 2. “A Lonely Gust Of Wind – Part 2” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) 3. “A Lonely Gust Of Wind – Post” – (d/l support.nl archive.org scene.org) ..or download the entire release [.ZIP link], stream, or review the track at its Internet Archive release page.

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2008.01.26

(PS029) [Frux] – Viridian

Three colors, three songs with chips and beats. ———————————————————————————— 073 – Platonist – Piano Doll EU Mirror (thanks to GaMeBoX) US Mirror (thanks to SGX) – style : Electronic – prog : Schism Tracker – date : 24 jan 2008 072 – Candybag – Modjoloo EU Mirror (thanks to GaMeBoX) US Mirror (thanks to SGX) – style : Trance/Goa – prog : Reason 3 – date : 19 jan 2008 071 – Homo Neophilus – Moments Like This EU Mirror (thanks to GaMeBoX) US Mirror (thanks to SGX) – style : Ballad – prog : Cubase – date : 15 jan 2008 ——————————————————————————— There, that should keep everyone happy for another 2 weeks 😀

Activision’s Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the Wii shipped out with a bug that only produced mono sound – a big deal in a game that’s all about the sound. Luckily, they’ve fixed the problem and have set up an exchange program for those with buggy discs.

On Wednesday, January 16, Video Games Live announced an additional 40 shows on its’ already huge lineup. As well as some additional “special performances” to take place during big name events.
Here is the announcement from VGL’s web site: