E-Live is an annual event held in Europe featuring live performances by an international selection of electronic musicians.
Groove Unlimited (a Netherlands EM label) has released anthology CDs that feature exclusive tracks by attending musicians.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: E-Day 2009 (limited edition CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2010 offers 71 minutes of electronic music.
An anthology release offering unique tracks by...
John Dyson: Pleasant electronics and sprightly rhythms with a stately disposition.
Gert Emmens: Airy textures provide an astral backdrop for a series of interweaving electronic cycles. An optimistic keyboard theme takes center stage and engages in cosmic variationsÉonly to be supplanted by a dramatic void that eventually allows a more mechanical passage to surface and mature into a fresh melody comprised of crisp e-perc and haunting chords. (A left-over track from his When Darkness Falls upon the Earth album from 2005.)
F.D. Project: Sedate electronic threads spin themselves into a dreamy lattice with a mounting loop that develops into an enticing melody. Auxiliary electronics provide non-impact rhythms, coaxing the tune into sparkling vivacity. Conventional e-perc enters the mix, soon joined by quasi space guitar chords.
(Another piece by) John Dyson: Languid pulsations coalesce around a nucleus of regal keyboards.
Human Metronome: Breezy atmospherics swirl into definition, blend with rising electronics of a gentle nature, then set course for a remote cosmic location. Soft percussives are encountered en route to an ambient destination, along with moody incidental effects.
Stephan Whitlan: Delicate oscillations muster strength as they pass through zones of blooping sounds and nimble loops. Keyboards establish an engaging theme that spirals to lofty heights. Crisp e-perc help supply propulsion. And a delightful selection of novel effects occur during the ascension.
(A third contribution by) John Dyson: A longer dose of Dyson's congenial electronics. Airy tones usher in a passage of majestic keyboards that evoke a remote outpost guarding the edge of a celestial frontier. Percussion lends drama to the lonely sentry duty, while fanciful electronics offer winsome distractions.
33 Tetragammon: Glittering ambience punctuated by bell-like notes and wavering tones. Resonating to this pleasant finale, the listener gains a suitable vantage on a blissful void.
An excellently representative introduction to the music of these fellows.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: E-Day 2010 (limited edition CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2010 offers 60 minutes of electronic music.
An anthology release offering unique tracks ...
David Wright & friends (Andy Lobban, Niel Fellowes, & Nigel Turner-Heffer): A very Pink Floydish piece with sultry keyboards, astral guitar, and sedate percussion. Tasty melody and slick performance make this a wonderful excursion through pastoral realms leading to a cosmic destination. (An alternate version of a track from an upcoming Code Indigo album.)
Erik Seifert: Sinuous electronics and zephyr textures lead to busier territory wherein snappy e-perc and bouncy keyboards define an alluring tune littered with buzzing effects.
E.R.G. (Allard Krijger and Ruud Peeters): Heavy use of theremin in conjunction with strummed guitar establishes a classic mode for this melancholic short piece.
Free System Projekt (Marcel Engles and Ruud Heij): This long piece occupies half of this sampler CD, affording the tune the opportunity to slowly evolve from a passive opening of gurgling diodes and haunting texturals into a pastiche of gentle electronics. While sedate in tone, the music moves through several stages in which the understated electronics engage in mild variations, finally reaching a sequencer laden liveliness at mid-point that builds in density without becoming obtrusive. Layers undulate and stretch out into an expansive ambrosia that is tempered by intertwining auxiliary low-key riffs.
Code Indigo (David Wright, Robert Fox, and Dave Massey): Luxurious electronics mingle with reserved guitar while elegant rhythms provide courteous locomotion. The guitar soon loses its gentility and commences to offer searing riffs, as the electronics are seasoned by piano threads that evoke a dreamy beauty. (A remix of a track from Callisto's 2004 TimeCode album.)
Fans of David Wright and Free System Projekt will thrill to the exclusive gems offered by this collection of tracks.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: E-Live 2009 (limited edition CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2010 offers 61 minutes of electronic music.
An anthology release offering tracks ...
Stephan Whitlan: Surging pulsations are peppered by spiraling tones, leading to a wondrous vista of mesmerizing keyboards that gradually flourish in velocity and complexity, ultimately reaching a satisfying pinnacle.
Faralley: Reedy keyboards establish a dreamy opening that slides into a rhythmic territory flavored with shrill electronics and snappy e-pe...and then reverts to a pensive mode for the track's conclusion.
Brendan Pollard & Hashtronaut: This collaborative piece occupies half the bulk of this CD. These guys favor the slow-build mode, starting with abstract electronics which slowly gain cohesion and density until a sparkling spectacle of sequencers is achieved. Nimble-fingers goad keyboards to produce cycles that merge and form riffs of mounting drama. Then an outburst of space guitar enters the flow, boosting the music to cosmic proportion with its dazzling growl. A spacey electronic interlude ensues, leading to a return of agile keyboard loops and another dose of celestial guitar pyrotechnics. Eventually, the glory retreats into a tranquil finale.
Der Spyra: Bewitching pulsations immediately captivate the listener and immerse them in a realm of surging delight. Dreamy textures give way to an agitated expanse of effervescent cosmic electronicsÉwhich persists in evolving into enchanting variations marked by enticing verve. Percussion lends oomph as the flow continues to unfurl a series of attractive surprises.
A very worthwhile collection.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: E-Live 2010 (limited edition CD on Groove Unlimited)
This release from 2010 offers 59 minutes of versatile live electronic music.
All tracks are culled from the E-Live Festival in 2010.
Nattefrost: "Near UFO" Airy keyboards establish a dreamy pastiche seasoned with sprightly tones. After a sedately dramatic opening, blooping sounds usher in more lively electronics which generate a contemplative milieu.
Picture Palace Music: "Help Murder Help 2010" Featuring a more rounded sound (electronics, guitar, and drums), this tune embodies a delightful marching theme that captivates while motivating with mounting tension.
Mark Jenkins: "The Ceremony of Innocence" Female vocals blend with heavenly chorales and sustained tonalities, leading to a lyrical passage of rich masculine vocals fronting delicately twinkling electronics.
Picture Palace Music: Midsummer's Morning" This track embodies a lighter, almost ambient mood with twinkling electronics and jittery effects.
Airsculpture: "Exploration Drive" This piece is the longest on the CD, at 19 minutes, affording the fragile music to gradually evolve from simplistic patterns into lush riffs of complex electronic beauty.
Picture Palace Music: "Array of Fading Flowers" Here, chugging beats and whispered vocals blend with fluid electronics to create a mesmerizing tune.
Nattefrost: "In a Forgotten Time (Dezeptive Remix)" A beat-heavy (albeit using temperate tempos) piece that emphasizes reverse introspection to achieve a soothing effect.
A well-rounded selection of tuneage.
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