1700 Monkey Ninjas: Ahb Seshun

There is a lot to me said for the succinct track in electronic music. Way back when, I remember when Underworld started doing these magnum opus pieces (and there's a place for that), and ever since then, it has been very difficult to find tracks that are statements unto themselves that are under the five minute mark.

1700 Monkey Ninjas released their latest single, Ahb Seshun, which is exactly that the doctor ordered. Straight from the upcoming 1700 MN album, Know That Music Is My Life Blood, Ahb Seshun starts off as a fantastic piece of mathematic recursion, followed by a low and rumbling beat - building to a fevered and intricate composition and then, just before you think the fuse is going to go off and you're anticipating an explosion...there is nothing.

Fin.

Silence.

I can read too much into this, like how your synapses become very aware of what potential thought and energy really are, leaving you with no recourse but to transform that into the kinetic - but those words still fall short of  what I was experiencing each time I listened to the track. It's very difficult to sit and tease apart the layering of this composition, because by the time it reaches terminus, sitting still is the last thing I want to do. That is a very visceral thing that only a few artists are capable of doing to me.

1700 Monkey Ninjas is Ed Purchla, who thinks outside of the conventions and is willing to break anything we've become all too comfortable with over the years, while also distilling electronic music to its roots.

To get an idea of the concepts Ed Purchla has in his mind, one should study his art, and if you meditate on that for a good, long time, you may be able to extrapolate that to comprehend his music. I enjoy a good rubric, and the tracks present in Know That Music Is My Life Blood, and the earlier release, You Are The Storm, engage listeners and challenge them to actually think about the music and how they respond to it.

To find out more about 1700 Monkey Ninjas and Ed Purchla, you should check out this excellent interview from Weekend Notes.

Sonic Radiation - Ionized

For those familiar with Sonic Radiation, you know he's been putting out new and innovative electronic music since 2003. The Dallas-based artist never forgets his roots - drawing from classic industrial groups like Front Line Assembly and Front 242, and being able to use that to forge new territory, seeing where the state of the genre is now, and what it could (and should) be.

Sonic Radiation's music can be found on Amazon and iTunes, and having heard the new track, Ionized, I can say that I'm a convert. This is the type of music I want to be played at clubs, and this particular track has many intricate layers - the type of music I would listen to for dancing, contemplating the sky at night, or even as a background soundtrack for playing Tempest 2000.

If you want to learn more about Sonic Radiation, and listen to more of his music or see some of the awesome videos, you should head on over to the official Sonic Radiation site, now, and prepare to nuke your mind.

Radical One Presents: The Melting Pot EP

For lovers of electronica and world beats, Radical One just released a new EP, The Melting Pot. From the very first track forward, this EP shows off Radical One's skills as both a composer and a producer.

You can listen to the entirety of Melting Pot here. Initially, Fudge was going to be my highlight track, because I like the use of the noise envelope -  but with each listen, I find more nuances and it becomes harder and harder to pick a favorite because they all work together so perfectly.

I've listened to this three times in a row, and I find it interesting how each track contains instrumentation respective to each region of the world that inspired it, plus rhythm that calls out to each region - at the same time fusing hip-hop, edm, soul, and Latin beats that fill a spot in my library that I haven't heard since the likes of Stereolab, with hints of Cibo Matto and Underworld.

You can find Radical One on Soundcloud and BandCamp, and you can follow the release of the Melting Pot EP as well as future projects by following Radical One over on Twitter.

Definitely good stuff, and you all should be listening to this!