Music / Sound

ika ⚧

ika ⚧ @blueseaturtle

99 albums   1 podcast  

Sound Waves

ALEGRIA ARMADA [Music] Bandcamp NeoDB
ALegRIa ARmaDA
release date May 1, 2023
Taking its name from the title of the text "Armed Joy" of Alfredo M. Bonanno, this album works as the text worked in my psyche the first time I read it. A poetic and practical exercise on the dialectics of subversion, insurrectionalism and disturbance. "Revolutionaries are pious folk. The revolution is not a pious event."
RENEWER - FADING [Music] NeoDB Bandcamp
RENEWER
release date Dec. 12, 2022
RENEWER is a gloomy trio from Sacramento(Ca). They are masters of the art of Shoegaze & Post-Rock, creating spellbound lushness and beautiful heaviness.



Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Pat Hills at Earth Tone Studios in Sacramento



Vocals recorded by Richie Smith at Mantle Recording Studio



Piano on the song At Night performed by Evan Bailey



Cello on the songs At Night and (Otterley Intermezzo) performed by Pat Hills



(Otterley Intermezzo) is an homage to the beautiful song Otterley by Cocteau Twins
Maputo [Music] Bandcamp NeoDB
Nandele
release date Feb. 14, 2024
Mozambican live artist and producer Nandele kicks off Human Endeavour’s 2024 release schedule with ‘Maputo’, a musical ode to the city he calls home.



As a key figure in the capital’s electronic music scene, Nandele has earned a reputation for producing hypnotic analogue beats shaped by his wide-ranging tastes; spells in grunge bands, boom bap crews and hip hop collectives, and releases for Tresor, Cotch International and Already Dead Tapes, are just a few footnotes in a nearly 25-year long career.



Plans for a full body of work for Ransom Note’s sub-label have been in motion for some time - Nandele’s track ‘Incomati’ opened the label’s first ever release in 2022 - so this EP marks an important chapter in Human Endeavour’s journey.



Across the EPs six tracks Nandele weaves field recordings captured around Maputo with tense rhythms; at times they crawl and slither, at others they rumble and clatter.



Both ‘Sou Plastiko (Meu Lugar)’ and ‘Chapa 100’ are prime examples. Dripping with suspense, their rhythmic skeletons have been fleshed out with tripped-out synth lines, eerie, textural sounds and sharp, crisp percussion.



‘Nau603’, ‘Makonde’ and ‘Arquivo 16’ are equally trance-inducing but the tempo is raised. There’s frenetic beats and squelchy 303s; fizzing static and harsh, industrial sound design - all signifiers of Nandele’s imaginative sonic world.



‘News Day’ showcases another side of his production prowess; not only is he a master of beats but of synthesis too, as this beautiful, shimmering beatless composition proves.



“Maputo is my birth place and the project is an ode to the city also known as "Cidade das Acácias", and MPT for short. The capital is such a vibrant city, rich in culture, and all ethnicities of the country live in this amazing place.



“It's the people that make this place a wonderful place to live: the markets; the vendors on the streets; the Txova pushed around during the day with their different chants about the food or supplies that they are selling; the semi collective transportation called "Chapa Cem" with the "cobrador" saying the routes in a very peculiar tune. There is Music everywhere... that's Maputo!”: Nandele.
And Breathe [Music] Bandcamp NeoDB
Sephirot
release date Nov. 3, 2023
Album Preview Clips -



Introducing "And Breathe" - A Dub Techno Odyssey by Sephirot



Embark on an immersive voyage into deeper waters, one that navigates submerged rhythms and interlocking musical currents. "And Breathe," the debut Dub Techno album by Sephirot, invites you to lose yourself in a hypnotic auditory journey that seamlessly blends rich atmospherics and binaural field recordings with fathomless kinetic pulses straight from the darkest dance floor.

Drawing inspiration from the pioneers of Dub Techno, Sephirot's weaves echoes of legendary figures like Basic Channel and Rhythm & Sound into his compositions. Yet, his distinctive fusion of haunting soundscapes and oceanic baselines alongside more contemporary elements pays just as much homage to UK pioneers like Burial, creating an compelling convergence of Berlin's club culture and the innovative styles that have emerged in the UK over the past two decades.



Within each track, Sephirot's compositions echo the ebb and flow of the tides, with serene moments intertwining with pulsating crescendos, offering moments of introspection and dancefloor euphoria in equal measure. One minute degraded dub chords are interwoven with intricate hocketed patterns and captivating two-step hi-hats, the next vast new spaces are conjured with dense layers of sound recalling Ambient innovators such as William Basinski and Taylor Deupree, as much as they do late nights from Bristol to Detroit.

Throughout, “And Breathe’s” diverse tracks become gateways to different parts of this journey, from the shimmering textures of “Zero Zone”, to the driving mechanical rhythms and barely glimpsed duduk melodies of “And Again (One for Pie Eye)”, to the spring reverb drenched title track, and even "Frog Galaxy" blunted and skittering rhythms, each composition draws you a little deeper into the album’s magnetic pull.



"And Breathe" finds its home on Natural Expressions, the sister label of Drift Deeper - a hallowed sanctuary for seekers of sublime electronic discoveries. Whether you're a seasoned connoisseur of Dub Techno or a curious voyager of uncharted musical territories, “And Breathe” is a rewarding album that bears repeated listening.
19 [Music] Spotify NeoDB
dandelion hands
release date Jan. 1, 2017 publisher: 2017 Nicholas Heck / 2017 Nicholas Heck
Good God! [Music] Spotify NeoDB
Rio Romeo
release date Sept. 23, 2022 publisher: 2022 Rio Does Everything under exclusive license to frtyfve / 2022 Rio Does Everything
Bedsores [Music] Spotify NeoDB
atlas ivy
release date Feb. 22, 2023 publisher: 2023 3840283 Records DK / 2023 3840283 Records DK
i'll be okay [Music] Spotify NeoDB
sign crushes motorist
release date Aug. 5, 2022 publisher: 2022 sign crushes motorist / 2022 sign crushes motorist
Hurting [Music] Spotify NeoDB
sign crushes motorist
release date June 30, 2023 publisher: 2023 sign crushes motorist / 2023 sign crushes motorist
Created date: Oct. 1, 2025