Blackdaylight (Thomas McCauley) has graced the net-label community again with a third release on Stigae Music, The Nin9. Consistent with his previous releases (The Second Season Mix, Live, Attack Of The Extravagant Minimalist) is Black’s ability to pull of “easy listening” with sonic heaviness – the perfect compromise for those who love both ambient and beat driven music. A down-tempo drudgery of pulsating 808s amidst thick chords and textural noise makes The Nin9 akin to sinking in an ocean of velvet. Personal favorite selections include “October Rain” and “Noveaux Vertigo”. Close to home are the use of samples from Lokua’s Water-Rock on tracks that are basically retitled remixes (”Climate Of Chaos”, “Into The Oblivion Of Acheron”, “(While She Slept) He Dreamt”).

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Searchl1te and The Abominable Twitch are two of the most prolific and forward sounding producers (as well as DJs and performers) I’ve heard in the windy city. Together they have teamed up as CHICAGO SEWER, “that chunky ill shit that incessantly flows below the surface”. The following p/a was recorded at the weekly series Heartbeats @ Morseland.

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Every Wednesday Lokua of Moment Sound hosts the event Heartbeats @ Morsland, a night featuring a wide array of DJs and live performers from all walks of Chicago’s electronic music spectrum. Here we have two recordings from one of those nights. First is a live p/a from K-rAd, who immediately brought the dance-floor to life with an excellent cross of his own live material and DJ trickery. After that we have a completely improvised, synth-heavy set from the creator of Shiku Garu Projects, Dreamlogicc. Special shout out to M50 and Slowchildren for closing the night out, and to Gravity-Max who provided the live visuals, good times. Painting / Photo by J. Beckman