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Ubeboet
Bleak EP

«Bleak EP, by Ubeboet, is one of those kind of releases that lives on lasting relationships and on constant reintegration processes, achieving ‘that’ multidimensionality (big word) typical of the acoustic universe, giving so much freedom to the listener, that he (or she) will diminish or amplify the particular singularities of the sound particles that go in and out of the brain.
This work could be very easily integrated into the art of installationism, although never leaving the ‘soundscape’ genre. A constant struggle to arrive (or at least try to) an ideal of ‘musique concrète’. Holding itself to the capturing of sound landscapes, submitting them to a low-frequency treatment, Ubeboet breathes a comforting ‘less is more’ ambient, (re)created and integrated into unhabited sound habitats, or sometimes directly injected into the overcrowded urban territory. Ubeboet rests in the complex world of the ‘anti-fast listening’, where the perception and the raw and naked power of the music are intimately connected. A not-easy, not-clear and not-resolved world, into which we are forced to submerge and seek for the unknown. Highly recommended.» - Bruno Barros

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Lanolin
Untitled EP

«This is a textural music, filled with abundant and microscopic details which force the listener to a very focused listening. The abstraction level presented herein is constant, an almost complete minimal sound environment.
When in search of a profundity, of a body or even of an organic character, we can conceive Lanolin very close to an Oval(esque), or an a-musik aesthetic. The Cage(an) silence is always present, always absorbing its own vortical emptiness, and the passing by digital computation sounds delivers massive white noise blocks to our brain.
Fact is, should we listen to this work with a low volume setting, we get close to what is widely recognized as ‘ambient music’, but with higher settings the assimilation process is revealed, feeding on itself.
Lanolin is a truly rewarding experience.» - Bruno Barros

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:Papercutz
Nighttime at the Playground

«Behind the alias :Papercutz is Bruno Pinto, a 25 year old computer engineer, who started getting into electronic music in 1999, with a project called Oxygen, together with friend Nuno Maciel. Bruno has been evolving and learning to work with new tools ever since. While Oxygen was clearly electro-pop oriented, on :Papercutz Bruno reveals itself as a pop song composer, where singing takes an important place on this new work, thanks to the voice of Marisa Pinto and Bruno himself.
Impecably produced, the sound ambients on this 5 track EP range from sweet flavored IDM beats to cinematic instrumental piano pieces, giving ocasionally space for some experimentation with static and glitch processing, all wrapped up into a kind of Keyboard Pop, with a catchy and candid feel, and aestetically very appealing.
Nighttime at the Playground could easily be coming from Warp or Morr Music catalogues. Just download it and try not to use 'repeat all' too many times.» - Pedro Leitão

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Rui Canelas
Holotape vs Micron Dude

«Holotape's slow pacing and cinematic IDM-ish beats, open up this new release from local producer and slotcar racer Rui Canelas. Oh, and subtle voices echoing, opening space for some breakbeats near the end, completes this somewhat industrial, somewhat techno and somewhat chillout track. Holotape evolves slowly, gathering bits and pieces of lost beats and ambiental hiss throughout the journey, but at the same time fooling the listener into thinking that it never comes to an end. And it never comes, in fact, to an end.
Then, D'n'B patterns find their home almost since the beginning of the second and last track of this release, curiously entitled Micron Dude. Again, the voice samples give body to the this instrumental piece, letting the beats flow freely all the time, making it a very good example of a well succeeded ambient approach to IDM. Slotcars, even when stopped, go faster than this.
Remember kids: It's techno flavoured and easy to the eyes.» - Pedro Leitão

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Kenneth Kirschner
June 18, 1995 et al.

«New York musician Kenneth Kirschner is known in the scene for his atmospheric electro-acoustic and experimental electronics. He has released with Con-v, Sub Rosa (with Taylor Deupree) and 12k Records truly engaging and excelent works. But this release for test tube leaves the fuzzy electro-acoustics away and gives in to spiraling percussion experimentation.
June 18, 1995 et al. is full of metal-work. Just listen closely and pay attention to all the beautiful details... feel the wood and metal notes articulating together, building up tribal rhythmic structures that appear to go nowhere, leaving the listener behind picking up the pieces and trying to make them fit together.
The apparent cacophony is gently laid on a ambient lo-fi bed, covered with ethereal sci-fi like sound tapestries, reminding us that music is, ultimately, the builder of human dreams. Just let it flow.» - Pedro Leitão

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Pitch Boys
Random Teleports I

«Pitch Boys is my good friend and self-taught musician Nuno Meneses, a Portuguese citizen. It was kind of difficult to make a selection for his first release on test tube, because Nuno has many, many hours of really good unreleased material, ranging from dub to hip hop, from cerebral techno to psy-trance, from dark moods to chillout tracks. That's why it will be the first of a series of releases called 'Random Teleports'. It's pretty random stuff.
This first volume explores seven downbeat instrumental tracks, evolving dark hip-hop moods and one or two of more folkish electronics. This is a great mini-LP. You could almost dance a bit while listening. Fresh and groovy.» - Pedro Leitão

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Phoebus
Peri Sable EP

«Phoebus brings us a minimal work of guitar chords repeated in a digital mantra, like small grains of sand falling down the dune portrayed on the cover. He also added some noise and glitch layers to give the music that extra emotional texture.
'Peri Sable' is a very beautiful exercise on repeated patterns. An ambient work along the lines of those of Akira Rabelais, Rafael Toral and other minimalistic guitar players. Highly recommended.» - Pedro Leitão