Spinner

This is one of the albums I've enjoyed most in my life. Over and over again, in various moods and states. Always something new to find here.

Brian Eno is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.

Jah Wobble is a mad scientist with a bass.

Eno / Wobble - 1995, Spinner
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.

Arovane @ DIN

This is Arovane's input in legendary DIN, a now inactive Hardwax-related label run by one of my heroes in obscurity Torsten Proefrock (nowdays one of Monolake and releasing his solo stuff as T++, sometimes just pure black label 12"s).
DIN played an important role in the european scene during the late '90s - early '00s, being the deep and experimental electronics branch of the Basic Channel tree, while other related labels sticked closer to the techno - deephouse - dub amalgam (now seemingly typical yet still unsurpassed).
There was released mostly stuff by the owner in various guises, Robert Henke as Monolake and the first 12" (if I remember correctly) of Pole. And several 12"s of Arovane, which later were compacted in these two CDs. 'Icol Diston' actually contains older stuff, the first 12"s released during 1998-1999, 'IDM-ish' electronics dipped in Berlin's melancholy, not some extravaganza ground-breaking stuff. Simply good experimental trippy music for urban landscapes. Enjoy.


Arovane - 2000 Atol Scrap
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.


Arovane - 2002 Icol Diston
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.

Some more DIN info here.

Dancer

We dance We dance We lose control

VA - 2002, Dancer - the Italic collection
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.

Antonelli info here and here.
Daniel Varga info here, here and here.
Italic info here and here.

VocalCity

A lot of people I talk to lately haven't even heard this album. How can this be I don't really know. This is the record that alongside Motorbass' 'Pansoul' and Daft Punk's 'Homework' changed the course of modern House music in general. And bred a few sub-styles (like Micro- or Mini-House, you know) in particular, as DeepHouse or TechHouse seem too poor a tag for a work like this. Also it put Northern Europe on the map again (at last...), long before the Viking disco wave or the Trentemoeller-Martinez-etc invasion (which incidentally owes a lot of credit to this one).
Out in Forcetracks label (the older incarnation) in 2000, it's a collection of three 12"s that impacted on dancefloors and chill couches alike from the one and only (tah-daaah) Luomo aka Uusitalo aka Sistol aka Conoco, named Sasu Ripatti yet mostly known as Vladislav Delay, the prodigy child that managed to stand out even in labels like Chain Reaction and Mille Plateaux. And he's a great guy too from the little I've got, friendly and sort of low-profile. Luomo is the more accessible project, Uusitalo goes towards experimental Techno territory, all other stuff is mostly pure and good listening music, minimalistic deep and spacious excursions into the unknown, with a sentimental anchor here and there to keep the balance.
Right now he's putting out some new stuff and reprinting his discography and stuff with AGF and others in his own label Huume, so go there and buy everything. Even in MP3 it's worth it and it's for a good cause, trust me.

Just listen to 'Synkro' or 'Tessio'. A true classic.

Luomo - 2000 VocalCity
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here.

P.S. Links were erased without notice, probably by Huume. Well, go there and buy it.

Solid State

Another one for the more listening-oriented ones out there (I try a lot to stay clear of the IDM tag, eh?).
Most of you must be familiar with Funckarma, or Quench. Back then I wasn't, just knew the name and had a good vibe from the DUB compilations which I kept in track with, although mysteriously I missed the 'Parts' CD. But not this one, and I'm happy about it.
In my mind there are obvious similarities between this album and Arovane's 'Tides' or other Berlin electronics artists (Lux Nigra, Morr, etc.), in a sense that they all draw from the 'Incunabula' and early '90s AFX trickery and feeling, yet they're more relaxed affairs concerning avant-guardisms. As if they laid back and tried to make out their way first, they explore new territories without rushing in. Almost indistinguishable from the 'normal' electronic sounds, a lot of natural instruments blend in the mix, while drum samples roll and groove without showing off. Similar ideas (not style of music) were developed by the excellent Murcof (and many others actually, I just like his work a lot) and Leaf label.
Still the chemical tease under the tongue is there, under all the vibes and pianos, so don't think it's sweet chill-out comfy crap electronica. In loud volume it gets wider, weirder, just better actually. After all DUB is a Clone sublabel, right?

Funckarma - 2001, Solid State
Part 1 - Part 2
Info here and here.

Actually, I think I'll post these compilations later on.

P.S. I still don't have the 'Parts' CD, anyone does?