The underground Electronic scene has been immense this year with various new net labels & numerous new artists creating stunning new music & supporting each other in the process. In amongst all of this are what we like to call champions to the Electronic cause! One such champion is Mr Tom Byrne who this year created a music hub for unsigned & underground talent called ‘New Music Directory’. He also created 2 new radio shows. His first is called ‘Open Eye Signal’ which he broadcasts on his own online radio station RadioAktiv //Underground aka ‘RAUG’ & has created waves on the Electronic scene. RadioAktiv//UnderGround is a Radio Station, Music Website and Video Channel dedicated to showcasing unsigned and small label artists across several musical genres. His second radio show, ‘The Sentient’, he created for Primal Radio & since its conception the show has garnered great respect from the underground Electronic fraternity as a whole and has introduced a new set of fans to its dark, glitchy & infectious musical undertones. His show ‘The Sentient’ with Primal Radio goes out fortnightly on Thursday nights at 9PM Uk and again at 9PM EST USA. Tom took time out from his busy schedule to list off his top 5 releases of this year:
Dublin’s Eoin Smith, who sometimes goes by the name Taper Jinx is one of my favourite discoveries in a long time. On Plate Cluster Eoin manipulates a turn table in ways I’ve never heard before. An impressive sonic experiment reminiscent of Amon Tobin.
Lemolo is the music of Seattle’s Meaghan Grandall whose impressive debut album The Kaleidoscope returns with a powerhouse new album Red Right Return. Meaghan’s beautiful harmonised voice cuts through the melodic piano led noise like a restrained Wye Oak. One to watch for the future.
Any track by Corvus Mae from 2015 could have made my list. The modern acoustic folk led singer songwriter has one of the most magical voices I’ve heard and writes lyrics that linger long after you’ve heard them. Tsunami however is a different direction entirely for the Canadian songstress who teamed up with her partner (Trev) to produce this nine minute long piece of electronic joy .
4) Romeda Records : Process; A Romeda Records Restore Point.
Since discovering Romeda Records in 2014 I’ve been spoiled by the wealth of truly original music coming from this creative hub. Process serves as a look back on Romeda Records (named after the Boards of Canada song Orange Romeda) first year in operation. The compilation focuses on each release over that year and offers a new exclusive track from each of the artists involved with the label. 2016 promises to be another impressive year for Romeda Records so now is a good time to familiarise yourself the label and to get ready for a great year of music.
5) Snake Robot : Sound:Fire:Silence vol 1
I had originally selected another release from Snake Robot, but the Philadelphian beat smith has blown me away yet again with the first instalment of his new trilogy of albums Sound:Fire:Silence. Everytime I hear new material from this artist I’m amazed by the expanse of his style. A combination of meditations merged with a desire to bring both beauty and harsh industrial scape’s together always startles me. Download this album and keep your ear to the ground for its sisters.
LINKS:
The Primal Music Blog 
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