SATELLITE SELECTS - November 2020: New Music From Pole, Monolake, Kiln, and More
Each monthly Spotify playlist, ordered by premiere date, focuses on showcasing at least one song from forward-thinking electronic music released during that timeframe.
Keep up to date - follow our Spotify playlist here
Welcome to another edition of SATELLITE SELECTS. Following up a music month like this past October is quite the challenge, yet November somehow lived up to it. Though falling short to dethroning last month as the best of 2020, it delivered promising new albums and EPs every week from all edges of the electronic world and continued one of the strongest Q4 release windows we have seen in years.
We were lucky enough to contribute new content to this list with Tsone's "Airmass EP." Our label's fourth release is out now on all major platforms.
Pole - Fading (Mute Records)
Released on November 6th, 2020 - support on Bandcamp here
Stefan Betke of Pole has helped cultivate the niche dub techno genre for over two decades now, providing a discography full of mastered minimalism. He now returns five years after his last solo album with a lovely journey through what best describes his work: shy ambiance, woozy downtempo, and glitchy bits scattered around the the stereo space.
Favorite tracks: Tangente, Tölpel, Röschen
Monolake - Archaeopteryx (Self-Released)
Released on November 6th, 2020 - support on Bandcamp here
If you have not heard by now, Robert Henke is one of the creators of Ableton Live - and if you have ever wondered how being a main developer of the most popular digital audio workstation translates to making music, dive into the world of Monolake. The German producer is well-known for his demanding take on dark, minimal techno fused with rhythmic influences from jungle and dubstep - his newest album contains over an hour and a half of it.
Favorite tracks: Dirac Onyx, Alu Minimum, Specimen Fractal
Fiesta Soundsystem - Rites Of Passage LP (Shall Not Fade)
Released on November 13th, 2020 - support on Bandcamp here
One of the hottest club music labels in recent years has to be Shall Not Fade. Their overall output of high-quality projects is almost overwhelming - just this month, we have four tracks of multiple new releases from them! One that stood out was the debut album of London-based producer Fiesta Soundsystem. The album is packed with nearly an hour of club-ready breakbeat and jungle tracks, all encompassing a familiar vibe of ethereal, atmospheric soundscapes that we have grown to love.
Favorite tracks: Ghyr Habitat, Outskirts, Ornate
KILN - Astral Welder (Ghostly International)
Released on November 20th, 2020 - support on Bandcamp here
Neighboring our Chicago HQ is Michigan-based trio KILN, known for their distinct take of fusing guitar with golden-age electronica. Seven years after their last album, they return to Ghostly International to deliver a new record full of nostalgia-inducing beats. Their attention to detail can be heard among every instrument and field recording, continuing their renowned ways of ushering emotion through sound, while progressing as musicians in other aspects.
Favorite tracks: Mud Dauber, Beachglass, Koi
ASC - Isolated Systems (Samurai Music)
Released on November 20th, 2020 - support on Bandcamp here
U.K. born, San Diego-based producer ASC is widely known for the sheer amount of releases he constantly puts out, boasting well over 100 individual releases in his discography. Touching on everything from pure ambient projects to his more profound dark techno tracks, the multi-faceted artist returns with a new full-length jungle album on Berlin label Samurai Music. His aggressive breaks and eerie ambiance are both easily recognizable and well-suited to be dancefloor weapons for the modern DJ.
Favorite tracks: Hostile Intent, Cautionary Tales, Static Charge
We hope you enjoy our selection of new music to discover; a typed list is provided below for archiving purposes as the Spotify playlist is updated each month to showcase new releases.
SATELLITE SELECTS - NOVEMBER 2020: TRACK LIST (ARTIST - TRACK NAME)
D'Arcangelo - Atomik 2
Pole - Tangente
Sachi Kobayashi - Helpless
Suumhow - Encore
Laksa - Fire Kit
Monolake - Specimen Fractal
Interplanetary Criminal - Loss of Self Identity
Martyn & Om Unit - Passenger
Itoa - Glow Coma
Subtle Mind - Glamp
Vellum - Style Wars
Buunshin - No Match
Alix Perez & Halogenix - Unlustrous
Private Caller & Mani Festo - You
Legowelt - Live in Transnistria
Fiesta Soundsystem - Ghyr Habitat
Mark Pritchard - Be Like Water
Joni Void & N NAO - Géométrie Sacrée
Krust - Space Oddity
Richard Devine - Sinscur
Subp Yao - Lost (Floating)
Kiln - Mud Dauber
Thys & Amon Tobin - Ithaca
Tsone - Regelation
ASC - Cautionary Tales
ALYS - where r u heading to?
Biome - Torah
X-Altera - Maximum (Love Eachother)
DJ Crisps - Diamonds
Harrison BDP - The Powerful Play
Earth Trax - Flux
Facta - Doves
Bruit Fantôme - Robert Smith
Etch - Distrust
San - Cleanse
Le Motel - Ay Chica
Fearful - XINF
Batu - SYX
Man From Sol - Gestalt Logic Constellation
Surgeons Girl - Intimate Advance