Buzz Kull of Avant! Records puts together an hour-long mix of his all time favorite music, with plenty of EBM, darkwave and techno gems to ease your isolation.
Buzz Kull of Avant! Records puts together an hour-long mix of his all time favorite music, with plenty of EBM, darkwave and techno gems to ease your isolation.
Marc Dwyer’s Buzz Kull project has been around since 2010, gaining more acclaim with each new release. Although it’s usually labeled as “darkwave” or “EBM”, Dwyer’s music is also a thoughtful, often harsh blend of minimal synth, post-punk and industrial. Its distinctive dark undertones may stay within the realm of the familiar influences, but continuously raise the bar higher. For this reason, and Dwyer’s deeply personal, therapeutic relationship to his work, Buzz Kull is hard to place in any particular scene. After a few singles and releases he put out over the years, his first LP “Chroma” was picked up by Australian label Burning Rose back in 2017, followed by a sophomore album “New Kind of Cross” that was released across three platforms - Burning Rose, Funeral Party, and AVANT!. Latest from Buzz Kull is the catchy track “Last In the Club”, an enticing hommage to the psychology of clubbing that he included in this conflicting and emotionally charged mix he recorded for our journal.
STM 300 is one of those unpolished mixes that always have a place on our journal because their raw immediacy brings unpredictable twists to the musical journey. Mostly composed of contemporary minimal synth, industrial, and techno, STM 300 treats every track as a small, separate universe, played almost to the full to accentuate its subtle shifts and unique moods. These small units of sound then collide with others in a messy, intuitive exchange that recreates a special familiarity of living with our most beloved tracks and the plentitude of contexts in which we play them.
Unlike Buzz Kull’s releases, the mix starts with no special introduction. It throws us straight into the groovy harshness of Nation Unrest’s track “Below” followed by Phase Fatale’s recent uneasy posh masterpiece “Velvet Imprints“. The industrial metropolitan vibes are soon dispersed into Kris Baha's dreamy howls and sexy, robotic-yet-human coldness of my long time favorites Years of Denial. Throughout the mix, Buzz Kull constantly shifts between fast-paced, punishing tracks and comfort of softer ambient and goth-inspired tunes, showcasing both well-known artists such as Skinny Puppy or Lebanon Hanover and more obscure ones like Parole e Azioni. Highlights include Riki's sweet fresh retro track „Böse Lügen“, Tenses's „Versus Man“ and captivating frenzy of Crash Course In Science's „No More Hollow Doors“.
Appropriately enough, Buzz Kull closes the mix with his own recent track „Last In the Club“, a troubled and sensual rumination on the cravings that can't be sated. There is something endearingly teenage about it, and it haunts the whole mix. STM 300 reminds me of all those times I made playlists with careful consideration, back when isolation was just a choice, sometimes a product of social anxiety. I'd savor each track, surrounded by my records and spring sundown, holding on to that rush of inspiration, and it was enough. It was everything. This one is for all of us who still find thrill and comfort in being alone, no matter how imperfect. Dance to it, pout to it, play it loud.
This mix has been designed around my recent interest in sound and study and moving the current state of sound within particular scenes or on a much broader spectrum.
There are still many artists I would have liked to include in this mix who are working on new releases and I look forward to hearing and experiencing their new work.
These tracks are mostly spread out over the last 10 years and I am excited to see what comes from 2020 as artists today are really pushing some incredible boundaries. Some of those artists I am proud to call my friends.
01. Nation Unrest - Below (Total Control Collective, 2019)
02. Phase Fatale - Velvet Imprints (Ostgut Ton, 2020)
03. Kris Baha - Life, Death + Lust (Cocktail d’Amore Music, 2019)
04. Years Of Denial - I’m Still A Pill (Veyl, 2019)
05. Skinny Puppy - The Centre Bullet (Nettwork, 1985)
06. Riki - Böse Lügen (Symphony Of Destruction, 2018)
07. Skinny Puppy - Glass Houses (Nettwerk, 1984)
08. Lebanon Hanover - Du Scrollst (Fabrika, 2018)
09. Kontravoid - Too Deep (Fleisch, 2019)
10. Crash Course In Science - No More Hollow Doors (Schematic, 2011)
11. Parole e azioni - Ancora cento - (Detriti, 2018)
12. Phase Fatale & Silent Servant - Plastic Motion (Bite, 2018)
13. Tense - Versus Man (Disaro, 2010)
14. High Functioning Flesh - Rigid Embrace (DKA Records, 2014)
15. Paul Nova - Melancholy Heaven - (Exhibit One Records, 2016)
16. Fairmont - Frozen In Glass - (Bedrock Records, 2019)
17. Buzz Kull - Last In The Club - (Avant! Records, 2019)