Matt Karmil STS371 – 7th Level Music

Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 20 – 16

We’re into the top 20 albums of 2020 (out of the nearly 80 new albums I reviewed last year). Who made the cut? Read on…

#20: Matt Karmil – STS371

This EDM record is full of throbbing bass, oil slick beats, and ambient / psychedelic synths. It works its way under your skin and moves your bones.

#19: Ultraflex – Visions of Ultraflex

Cover that looks like a 1980s New Age CD? Check. Synthwave keyboards that could fit right into a sci-fi film? Check. Sexy Replicant vocals? Check. Visions of Ultraflex manages to be both a neat synthwave album and one of the best make-out records of 2020 at the same time.

#18: Oh Sees – Metamorphosed

This album is “only” five tracks in length, and the first three are under two minutes each. The other two, however, make up for the rest of the album’s time length of over forty minutes. It’s a mix of punk rockers and prog-psych-krautrock jams that shows how deftly Oh Sees can move back and forth between styles.

#17: Holy Wave – Interloper

Holy Wave came back with a fine addition to their catalogue. Interloper blends psychedelia with some shoegaze and surf elements and is full of songs about not fitting in or being comfortable anywhere. That alone could sum up 2020.

#16: Oh Sees – Live at Big Sur

Yes, two Oh Sees albums in this list. Live at Big Sur was their second live-streamed show of 2020. They played at the Henry Miller Library and dove deep into their back catalogue to play stuff they hadn’t played live in years. The encore was a barrage of covers, many of them Black Flag tunes.

We’re over halfway through the list! Come back tomorrow for more!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Matt Karmil – STS371

UK producer / DJ Matt Karmil‘s new album, STS371, has an enigmatic title and equally intriguing song titles and cover (Are those worms? Fish? Amoebas?). The music is just as fascinating because it’s some of the best electro-house released so far this year.

The opener, “Smoke,” starts with chopped vocal samples and scratchy record sounds before dance floor beats and bass subtly drop into the track. “Hard” beings with dreamy synths that pulse like a heartbeat and then that sweet bass drops in to get you and, I would venture to guess, your lover moving.

You might think that a song called “Snail Shower” would be a slow, mellow cut, but it’s the opposite. It’s a bright, refreshing track with looped synths. “PB” was the first single released from the album. It’s a bold track with synths that hint at anger but drums and bass that hint at being a cool cat…until that wicked high hat comes in and gets you in the mood to move.

As someone who is studying the French language, I love the title of “Still Not French” – a peppy house tune that I can envision hearing while on the train in Paris. “Congo” is as steamy and mysterious as its namesake, with beats that are so layered they almost seem to trip over each other. “SR WB” could be the theme to a lost sci-fi show from the 1980’s.

“Breezy” continues the dance beats (and, wow, that electro-high-hat!) and adds poppy synths to the mix. “210” ends the album with more bright beats, sizzling synths, and body-moving grooves.

Even after listening to STS371, I’m still not clear on the meanings of the album’s and songs’ titles, but that’s okay. We don’t have to know everything. We can just play an album like this and groove to it while we undergo self-isolation.

Keep your mind open.

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Matt Karmil releases “210” from his upcoming album.

Acclaimed UK producer and engineer Matt Karmil will release his new album, STS371, on March 27th via Smalltown Supersound, and today presents a new single, “210.” Following lead single “PB,” “210” opens with shuffling synthesizer, later quickening with a muted, staccato beat.

“210 is named after a hotel room in Amsterdam,” says Karmil, “although not one I’ve ever stayed in. I like the way the chord hangs in the air and it’s, to me at least, somehow both intimate and urgent.”

Listen to Matt Karmil’s “210” –
https://soundcloud.com/smalltownsupersound/matt-karmil-210

STS371 is Karmil’s most concise album to date, with his signature mix of minimalism and reverb-drenched house still being the backbone of his warm, rich, atmospheric and melancholic sound. It was made largely while Karmil was traveling in a nonlinear process of recording. Anticipating the completion of his music studio in The Cotswolds in England, Karmil favored “on the fly” production methods to finish his album.

While his works fit within the tradition of techno’s timeless anonymity, Karmil’s highly personal music is anything but a xerox on dance music’s previous life. As Karmil puts it – minimally, simply and functionally: “I made a conscious effort to up the energy, and found a collection of tunes that felt coherent to me.”

STS371 follows 2018’s Will. Since the release of Will he has co-produced and mixed Kornél Kovács’ acclaimed Stockholm Marathon. He has also worked with, among many others, Matias Aguayo for Crammed Discs and Talaboman for R&S, as an engineer, mixing and mastering.

Listen to “PB” (lead single) –
https://soundcloud.com/smalltownsupersound/mattkarmil-pb

Pre-order STS731 –
smarturl.it/sts371-preorder

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

Matt Karmil unleashes wicked new single, “PB,” ahead of his full album “STS371.”

Acclaimed UK producer and engineer Matt Karmil is pleased to announce his new album, STS371, out March 27th via Smalltown Supersound, and today presents the album’s lead single, “PB.” STS371 is his most concise album to date, with his signature mix of minimalism and reverb-drenched house still being the backbone of his warm, rich, atmospheric and melancholic sound.

STS371 was made largely while Karmil was travelling. Anticipating the completion of his music studio in The Cotswolds in England, Karmil favored “on the fly” production methods to finish his album. “It was not a linear process of recording,” says Karmil, “and in the end the majority of the work was to arrange and choose the right sounds and vibe.”

While his works fit within the tradition of techno’s timeless anonymity, Karmil’s highly personal music is anything but a xerox on dance music’s previous life. As Karmil puts it – minimally, simply and functionally: “I made a conscious effort to up the energy, and found a collection of tunes that felt coherent to me”.

Of “PB”, Karmil states: “I made ‘PB’ over an extended period, having made a 120bpm tune with the same texture and then resampled it and upped the tempo one evening in Cologne. I wanted to make a committed acid track that draws you in and worked hard to get the drums, percussion and main melody working in harmony, but swapping roles a little.”

STS371 follows 2018’s Will. Since the release of Will he has co-produced and mixed Kornél Kovács’ acclaimed Stockholm Marathon. He has also worked with, among many others, Matias Aguayo for Crammed Discs and Talaboman for R&S, as an engineer, mixing and mastering.

Listen to Matt Karmil’s “PB” –
https://soundcloud.com/smalltownsupersound/mattkarmil-pb

STS371 Tracklist:
1.Smoke
2. Hard
3. Snail Shower
4. PB
5. Still Not French
6. Congo
7. SR/WB
8. Breezy
9. 210

Pre-order STS731 –
smarturl.it/sts371-preorder

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]