In its early days in the late 60s and early 70s, electronic music served as the soundtrack of a generation that was ready to conquer space. Neil Armstrong has just set his foot on the moon, and artists like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Jean-Michel Jarre defined the open horizon of a completely new kind of sonic adventure that was about to become the real "classical" music of the 20th century. The genre evolved into myriads of styles, and most of them are defined as Ambient music these days.

The Italian composer Massimo Ruberti brings back this classic space sound on his latest release "Autour de la Lune"; and if you happen to read a book every now and then, you might already have realized that this is also the original title of the well-known science fiction novel "Around the Moon" by Jules Verne, the story of three brave astronauts, who embark on a five-dray trip to the moon (which they never reach by the way). Massimo Ruberti put their adventures into music, and together with his musical "partners in crime" Fabio Leonardi, Roberto Mangoni, Alessandra Donati, Sandro Nullo Vincenzoni Sainati, and Laura Lo Conte he delivers a breathtaking soundtrack to the book. Warm analogue sounds are everywhere, sweeping around your head and guiding your imagination into space.

But Massimo and his crew don't just pretend to be true to the original spirit, they even used a bunch of classic synths from that "space era" like the Korg Polysix, the Sequential Circuits Pro-One, or the rare Concertmate MG-1. On one track, Massimo Ruberti even plays a Theremin, which is regarded as one of the first electronic instruments of all time - no good (or bad) SciFi movie from the 60s and 70s could do without its howling sound.

"Autour de la Lune" is a masterpiece of its genre and without any doubt one of the best releases of the year. If you're ready for some sonic adventures, you simply can't afford to miss it. Jean-Michel Jarre would kill for it, I'm sure.

Massimo Ruberti - Autour de la Lune | Massimo Rubert's website | Massimo Ruberti on MySpace

... tweet. I don't know about you, but I'm surrounded by good music each and every day, because I dedicated my life to listen to music, write about music, and even produce music. But when you've buried your head long enough into your own magic sonic sand, you sometimes run the risk of losing out on the really exciting stuff out there, because you're too busy with articles, releases and your drooling digital audio workstation.

Thus I was pretty happy that my friend Eric 'HipGnosis' Young shot a link to a smooth mixture of bouncing Hip-Hop beats and groaning Electronica synth sounds under the name of 'The Wires EP' by an Oregon based guy who calls himself 'The Great Mundane'. And you know just how shallow-brained I am sometimes - I fell in love with the cover artwork and thus gave it a try and was ... a-m-a-z-e-d! And I was even more happy to find out that The Great Mundane trooped his creative super powers once again this very October to release another complete EP called 'This is So You'.

But let's hear what the artist writes about himself, because who could say it any better? "Video game deprived and pop culturally challenged, The Great Mundane grew up in a southeastern Michigan home where TV was made of cardboard boxes, the tree in the backyard was his best friend, and the words “I am bored” were household blasphemy. Aside from occasional piano lessons, he passed time deep in his own imagination and on spontaneous road trips, a.k.a his mother’s famous mystery van rides, that seem to have provoked his current state of restlessness. Itching to hit the road, The Great Mundane left his Hip-hop roots in Michigan to delve into Chicago’s House/Techno scene before arriving in the Pacific Northwest. Now based in Portland, Oregon he takes listeners on a journey exploring the complexities and intricacies of his minimalist and innovative approach to beatmaking. He invents fractured, heady instrumentals laced with lush synthesizer work that navigate the terrain of forward thinking Hip-hop and Electro/House, all while exhibiting genuine emotion and talented production skills. Each arrangement is collaged with friends, found sounds, synthesizers, and samples meticulously programmed to convey what it might feel like to fall in love with a tree, travel through a wormhole, or to never be bored again."

'This is So You' is another mighty proof of The Great Mundane's ever growing creativity. If you're searching for some sluggish yet extremely funky grooves and the fattest synth bass sounds you can think of in a Hip-hop-esque environment with some naughty 8-bit-playfulness and Electronica-style naughtiness, then this is definitely your release. I just love the surprises it contains each and every minute, so you'll never know what's around the next beat's corner. Therefore be prepared to see those six tracks falling apart every now and then, shimmering like a sweet box of jewels, stuttering like your sick Toyota, stopping altogether, only to be gathered again to a frolic bouncing ball of musically weird fun.

And while you're there (downloading your lossless FLAC or ALAC versions of this fine collection of extravaganza), don't forget to explore The Great Mundane's other releases on his Bandcamp page. That's what I'll do right now, and I hope you'll follow me into the direction of more good music.

The Great Mundane - This is So You | The Great Mundane's Website | The Great Mundane on MySpace | The Great Mundane on Facebook

Black Era has been one of those bands that dragged me into the uprising netlabel scene a few years ago, and they are one of the reasons why I call myself a Creative Commons evangelist ever since. The motivation behind the Italian band is deeply rooted in a spirit of sharing and collaboration, and Black Era is also one of the few bands on the scene that doesn't shy away from calling itself political.

I had the pleasure to talk to Blob a while ago, who's responsible for the synths, sounds and the recording process within the trio. He confirmed that "the name, the iconography, and most of all the emotions that fuel the band are deeply political driven." But Black Era doesn't want to represent a certain movement or political direction: "Our point of view is quite simply honest and human", he explains.

The members of Black Era are also part of a team of dedicated musicians and music lovers who founded one of the finest netlabels around, the wonderful 'A Quiet Bump' label, five years ago. Since then, 'A Quiet Bump' has become one of the leading sources on the scene, focusing on Trip Hop, Dub and Digital Roots. You won't regret exploring their awesome back catalogue, which also holds six releases of Black Era by now, and I can't recommend every single one of them more.

Their latest one brings back the soulful vocals of Dy Darshan, Black Era's wonderful lead-singer. She didn't work with the band on their "Mute EP", which was released almost exactly a year ago. And although the production was as good as ever, I certainly missed Dy's warm, hypnotizing way of singing, which also acts as a kind of counterweight to the electronic arrangements of Blob and Alfuzz, who is playing all the guitar parts on the band's releases.

"How Pierced?" showcases Black Era in top form, celebrating their digital Trip Hop with some dubby and Electronica-esque borrowings, sharp lyrics and deep vocals. Like all of their other releases, "How Pierced" shines with the band's extraordinary drum programming skills and deep, organic bass play. I really like the fact that all of the five tracks reflect an almost traditional songwriting style. Combined with the unique sound programming of Blob (among others, he uses an old Juno 106, whose OSC is broken and thus spits out the weirdest effect sounds you can think of), Black Era's sixth release is a highly approachable yet original piece of music, that perfectly fits into the band's line of works, but also manifests its power to reinvent itself even stronger than ever.

Black Era clearly continues to be one of the flagships of the netaudio movement. Don't miss any of their releases, especially not their latest one.

Black Era - How Pierced? | Black Era | Black Era on MySpace

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Update: You'll find an in-depth interview with Black Era on my digital magazine audiovoltaics.cc now. Please come over!

Being a part of a successful rock band isn’t always easy. For Marianne, lead-singer of the French Electro-Punk sensation Shane Cough, it meant being trapped in a routine of performing the same songs and vocal style in the same musical context over and over again. So she quit the job in 2006 to lock herself up in the intimacy of her own studio in Paris. After four years of freeing her voice, programming some unique sounds and beats, and writing a bunch of her own songs, Marianne is back under the moniker of Clytem Scanning. And she’s more creative and addictive than ever.
I had the chance to talk with Marianne about leaving a well-established rock-band, developing her own, unique approach to music, and keeping her alter ego Miss Lois Iron in check.

Read the in-depth interview with the French Electro-Rock chanteuse over at audiovoltaics.cc ...