* if you can read this, go here: http://www.monocromatica.com/netlabel/newsletter/newsletter_011_oct2007.html *
test tube news ~ #011 ~ oct 2007

test tube news ~ #011 ~ oct 2007

OCTOBER NEWS

Good friends,

September was the time for a couple off-kilter - for test tube - releases. We had the return of Clorofila Azul with the second volume in his collection of all-time hits and we had the amazing full-lenght from the german goth-industrial outfit meta:Human, with a fabulous dark-but-danceable album full of great songs. In the not-so-off-kilter side, we had Hugo Paquete with a great debut of experimental/noise electronics and closing the festivities we had also The Jack Bohlen Book Club with the single piece 'Lion & Lamb', an ultra-minimal excercise of electro-acoustic drones. Great stuff for all tastes!

We didn't had our 4XT top this month because of a freakish server database reset. Computers... oh hell. Anyway, during September we gathered another month of statistics and already have the new 4XT. Check out the main news page.
In other news, my good friend Adam Crammond - a.k.a. c4 - from Toledo, U.S.A. has set up a nifty new netlabel called Proc-Records and he's putting out loads of new releases from all over the planet. Check it out! And if you're a musician as well, why don't you help Adam to build a great catalogue, by submitting your works? Adam will treat you as family, because he's a great guy! Love you Adam! :D

This will be a helluva month, folks. Lots of work to do because we'll have 6 (yes, six) new releases! The first one is already out, a great improvised acoustic/electronic album by new york duo Fraufraulein. Further down the road we'll have another test tube new artist, french guy Davy Douhine with his outfit Omas FGT, delivering great obliquous IDM electronics. After that we'll have two excellent new releases - yes two - from Daniel Catarino (remember Landfill?). This time he picked up his cowboy boots and went to the desert. This is his own version of 'Paris, Texas', complete with outlaws, bags full of dollars and tequila! Next, our most british portuguese friend Organic Anagram with his own freakish version of 'London by Night'. Creepy experimental stuff full of hilarious twists and turns. Yeah, and to end the month with a bang, yet another new kid on the block - The Turtle -, bringing us the next big thing in hardcore electronics, called "flashcore", a new urban style it seems, of vertiginous and agressive beats. 'Dark Towers Of Terrorpine' is the name of the beast.

Keep it real, people! See you next month!

Peace,

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September 25, 2007

JACK BOHLEN IS A SCHIZO!


tube'|092 - The Jack Bohlen Book Club - Lion & Lamb

«Yay! Another new artist here at test tube HQ. Kevin Murphy comes from the U.S. of A. and mainly works around ultra-minimalistic compositions based on drones and electro-acoustic frequencies. The unusual alias he has picked up - The Jack Bohlen Book Club - was probably taken from a Philip K. Dick sci-fi novel called 'Martian Time-Slip', where the main character's name is Jack Bohlen and is a skilled repairmen and recovering schizophrenic. The story takes place on planet Mars around the year 1994. Why would there be a Book Club with his name? I honestly don't know. Perhaps it has something to do with the story coming from a book... Well, maybe Kevin Murphy didn't took his moniker from Philip K. Dick's book but I thought it was cool to put it here as a reference anyway...
As for 'Lion & Lamb', it's a 39 minute two-dimensional drone trip. Not much happening here if you don't appreciate this kind of minimalist compositions. For those who get high with this kind of sound, hell, just crank up the volume and trip your way into mars of some other planet! Get this!» - Pedro Leitão

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September 22, 2007

PROC-RECORDS NEEDS YOU!

Our good friend Adam - a.k.a. c4, one of test tube's artists - has set up a new netlabel called Proc-Records. He's determined to release the best netaudio out there on every bitrate possible or imaginable. He asked us to spread his desire and availability for new submissions, so, if you're an artist, be sure to check out Proc-Records and drop Adam a few lines. Thanks a lot for your support!

Peace,

'|

September 19, 2007

STUBBORN ABSTRACTION


tube'|091 - Hugo Paquete - Commutative

«We proudly welcome another portuguese musician working with a laptop and analog machines. Hugo Paquete from Porto brings us 'Commutative', a short EP with experimental ambient sounds consisting mostly of grey noise and dense drones as sound bases. Hugo works them from there with the help of signal processing machines, delay pedals, frequency analyzers and other hardware. Conceptually, Hugo explores the relation between space and communication, with complex sound textures that bring listeners towards recognition of the sounds they hear as matter. Paquete has explored the various sonorous phenomenologies, beginning by stripping records and frequencies of radios. But now he tries to build his own aesthetic in surrounding noise of 'musique concrète'-like music and minimalist physical space, and on the relation between the two dimensions. He is also developing an interest in the visual arts and sound installation, exploring the complex relation between man and reality and their paradigms of language, perception and technology.
As for 'Commutative', the piece 'Stubbornness' is my favorite. It goes around a heavy drone throughout the track, with some touches of improv. sequences and subtle voice sampling to good measure. I'd like it to be a tad longer 'though :)
Really good and consistent EP from Hugo. We hope to see more of this in the long run... perhaps even a long player, why not?» - Pedro Leitão

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September 12, 2007

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE


tube'|090 - meta:Human - The Dark Ages of Technology

«Ok, time for something completely different. Meet meta:Human, a kind of an Industrial-Techno-Goth-IDM trio from Germany. 'The Dark Ages of Technology' is their own post-apocaliptic manifest. This releases is something of a 'best of', put together by the guys from 3 full albums of previously unreleased material.
We have deliberate anti-capitalist, anti-globalisation, anti... well... anti-human lyrics sung in a style not too distant from Peter Murphy's Bauhaus or Dave Gahan's Depeche Mode. We have programmed IDM/industrial beats with an old-school techno feel to them which fits very well with the singing and the post-apocaliptic mood. They call their own style 'Cyberdelic Electropunk', whatever that is...
The best moments (personal choices) of this release are: the opener 'Deadliest Species' with its dark-sci-fi mood and low-key vocals; 'Like Fire', the closest song to the Bauhaus universe, in my humble opinion; 'Rivers of Dawn' for its heavy dramatic mood; 'Catching Up' because it reminds me a lot of Depeche Mode and 'Magnitude' because it's a damn good track. There are plenty of great tracks in here. meta:Human and Esc.Laboratory (the group's organization) have plenty of other works around the web, like this one for Earth Monkey Productions.»
- Pedro Leitão

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September 08, 2007

NO TOP TEN

Yes, we're sorry but we have no 4XT for you this month. Due to a server misconfiguration, we lost all previous website statistics. After this unwanted reset, we need to gather a full month - september - of info before we are able to filter stats for the next Top.
See you next month for a new 4XT, then.

Peace,

'|

September 05, 2007

CHROLOPHYLL'S BLUES II


tube'|089 - Clorofila Azul - Revisitado (sem Voz)

«Hugo Santos returns as Clorofila Azul for the promised second volume of his 'golden oldies' collection. This time we took several CDs worth of instrumental material, beats, experiences and whatever, to build up what we believe to be a worthy release.
Again, we can track most of Clorofila's strongest influences to be under the IDM and downbeat file, or even, why not, Trip Hop. 'Instrospecção' is a very good example of all of them. But Clorofila Azul is much more than that. It seems that Hugo was looking for his own trademark sound among the ruins of his oldest works, covering pretty much all available styles between past and present. From what I was able to peek into his newest work, I think he did find his own path. But that's subject for another release, I hope.
Happy listening.» - Pedro Leitão

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