Ekoplekz

STM 024 is a sublime musical compilation, recorded live solely from vinyls recently released by notable artists like Chris Watson, Mark Van Hoen, NHK, and Vatican Shadow, among other skilled talents.

The author of this mix is experimental electronic music artist Nick Edwards (born 1969), widely known as Ekoplekz. Living and working in Bristol, England, Edwards began exploring sound in the late ’80s using a primitive, hardware-based studio setup, recording directly to a four-track cassette. Edwards has maintained his creative principles throughout the years. After releasing a few records in the early ’90s, he disappeared from the underground scene, only to return a decade later as the prolific music blogger Gutterbreakz (active from 2003 to 2009). In 2010, Edwards reemerged as a musician and live performer, forming several projects, including EKOCLEF. In his brief yet active period as Ekoplekz, he has released numerous records and cassettes on various labels such as Punch Drunk, Mordant Music, Further Records, Public Information, Perc Trax, and Plant Migration. His formative influences span early electronics, radiophonics, ’70s dub, industrial, krautrock, leftfield dance music, and the post-noise experimental vanguard. Regularly performing live improvisational sets across the UK and Europe, Edwards is increasingly becoming a mysterious figure within the intellectual music scene. His latest release, the double cassette Skalectrikz for Mordant Music, reflects his musical ideology, and he has an eagerly anticipated album set for release on the esteemed Editions Mego label in September.

Records and connections

STM 024 is a foundational musical compilation consisting of 18 pivotal records. The mix is divided into two parts. The first part is beatless, built on expansive atmospheres woven with mesmerizing field recordings and avant-garde sound fragments, more cinematic than a casual radio playlist. In the second part, rhythmic structures gradually blend into the vintage electronic backdrop, culminating in a cohesive, powerful ending. Elements of abstract, ambient, techno, house, and experimental sounds intertwine, creating an authentic soundtrack that defies easy genre classification. Edwards’ presence in the mix is unmistakable; his choice to forgo pre-made audio effects and recording edits adds a vivid, unfiltered listening experience. It’s a mellow, theme-free selection that unveils his mature musical vision, opening wide the doors of his curated vinyl library.

STM 024 resembles a mystical Wassily Kandinsky painting, like Dark Freshness, where asymmetric lines and shapes form an enigmatic cosmic structure, floating in the zero gravity of an infinite, abyssal sphere.