KAZUKI KOGA “The Salathé Wall” (Apothecary Compositions)

To me, “The Salathé Wall” feels like an electronic album that a fair amount of work was put into. The album is very detail oriented, and presents a lot of experimental sound design with a style similar to arca, lotic, m.e.s.h, etc. The heavy moments of the album feature mangled percussive samples underneath the pretty synthetic sounds being played on top. The album flows as one piece, and changes slightly at specific points to keep the listener off guard when following repetitive moments. The twisted, repetitive sample manipulation on this album keep me interested. I’d be fine with this album being twice it’s length, and I’d say this album has made me anticipative of a new Kazuki Koga release.

https://apothecarycompositions.bandcamp.com/album/the-salath-wall

-- Lucas Martinez

NAVA LUVU “Transport” (Apothecary Compositions)

Nature influenced IDM. The duo of Ashley Daw and Sami Blanco are Nava Luvu and they want to offer something more than simple danceable songs. The pulsing backbeat and lots of looping are the production techniques of choice throughout the 26 song effort. There are moments where they captured my attention, such as the title track “Transport” and “Sight Can’t even”. Unfortunately, the time in-between the best tracks felt like filler. As a listener I found myself zoning out then being dragged back in as opposed to actively feeling engaged the whole time. Cut the thing in half and I probably would have liked it a lot more.

The tape itself has some awesome packaging. You get a cool booklet, fancy twine tied box, and a bright gold cassette that complements the pinecone j-card art.

Stream + Buy: https://apothecarycompositions.bandcamp.com/album/transport

-- Roy Blumenfeld