Sad news to start this week: Don Buchla, the American engineer and synthesiser pioneer, has died at age 79. A man who began his career in 1963 with the release of the modular synth Buchla Series 100 (commissioned by Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender), his legacy within electronic music in undeniable, with his machines fuelling the output of the likes of Suzanne Ciani, Alessandro Cortini and Donnacha Costello. A silver lining: at least in recent years he was able to see a modern-day resurgence with his inventions. Vale.
If you’re anything like me (god I hope you’re not), 2012 meant late, late, late nights getting down to Fort Romeau’s track Jack Rollin’ (taken from his debut album Kingdoms). Hell of an apt title, that one. Anyway, if that’s the case, you’ll be stoked to hear that the head is making his debut voyage to Australia. Since those early days he’s gone onto release a second full-length on Ghostly International, an EP on both Running Back Records and At Robert Johnson, and a split EP with Ostgut Ton’s Nick Höppner. He’s also performed at the likes Detroit’s Movement Festival and Berlin’s Panorama Bar. Don’t miss him at Glamorama on Friday October 14.
Anna Müller and Paul Wallner AKA HVOB are coming our way. One of the most intriguing electronic acts to emerge recently, their album Trialog was released last year to critical acclaim from the likes of LR8R, Resident Advisor, i-D and ARTE. Since then, they’ve been taking their live show across the planet, with stopovers including Cape Town, New York, Hong Kong and New Delhi. Catch them as part of Melbourne Music Week on Saturday November 19, venue TBA.
Tour rumours: y’all can lock in a tour from The Field in March. Same goes for the Australian debut of Mind Against. Also, a return from DJ Koze in the near-future is well on the cards.
Best releases this week: oh dear lord Thomas Brinkmann’s A 1000 Keys (on Mego) is just so, so good. Otherwise make sure you spend some time with Levon Vincent’s Tubular Bells (Oldfield) (on Novel Sound) and Wolfgang Voigt’s Ambient Grunge (on Profan). Also, Daft Punk’s whipper-on-tick-addict cousin who tries to crack onto your girlfriend at the club post-3am Justice just announced that they’re returning with a new album on Ed Banger, and the lead single Randy is just fucking deplorable. 2007 were dark days.
Releases to look forward to: regular readers of this column will know that I’m a massive fan boy of Giegling. Basically, the Weimar-based imprint is currently the best thing happening in electronic music – I will fight anyone who says otherwise (not literally, I’m weak as shit). Anyway, they’ve just announced a heap of upcoming releases and I’m stoked as fuck. In November they’ll be releasing Mind Over Matter, a 14-track compilation that sees the release of DJ Metatron’s State of Me (bloody finally) along tracks from the likes of Edward, ATEQ, Vril, Kettenkarussell and Legov. Later this month they’ll also release a remix 12” of Kettenkarussell’s 2014 full-length Easy Listening (with Losoul, Vril and Ezekiel Honig serving up their own rubs), alongside another remix take by Huerco S of Olin’s recent record From Iceland. Stoked.
