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LP
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ATMV 080LP
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Pascal Terstappen, aka Applescal, has released his new artist album, Diamond Skies on Atomnation. The nine-tracker is a collection of expertly-produced, instrumental melodic house with lush, ambient soundscapes and a nod to the analog sounds of the '90s. The album has received heavy support from key names in underground electronic music community and is Applescal's sixth studio album to date. Terstappen has been running Atomnation full-time since his early twenties and has shaped it into one of The Netherlands' leading independent labels and a home for an eclectic mix of electronic music including signed artists such as Gidge, Polynation, Tunnelvisions, and Sam Goku. Diamond Skies exemplifies the vibrant sound of Atomnation, a lush, colorful album which journeys through melody, ambience, and emotion while offering an occasional surprise to the senses. The album was written and produced through 2019 and completed in the early days of March 2020 when dark skies were looming. Diamond Skies represents a creative optimism and brings a sense of something to look forward to. Applescal has created a musical dreamworld for a listener to step into as an antidote to troubled times. Diamond Skies is an album which feels uplifting and effortless, a confluence of melodic house, occasional breakbeat, and ambient energy; the sound of a producer at the height of his powers.
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12"
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DGTL 005EP
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Atomnation label-head Applescal crafts out three tracks, all coming from one single studio jam. "Harmony One" is a dubby and bass heavy track with a subtle vocal sample. It steadily builds up towards a more energetic part with synth stabs, heavy snares, and atmospheric pads. "Harmony Two", previously part of an Atomnation sampler, it built around an arpeggio that playfully progresses and intensifies towards the break, where a raw synth is layered on top for the climax. With hard-hitting synth stabs and a rolling bassline "Harmony Three" sets itself apart as the heavier hitter of the three.
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CD
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TRAUM 022CD
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The Netherlands' Applescal presents a hotly-anticipated second full-length album for Traum. These new tracks are cinematic, with moods ranging from uplifting and joyful to dark, melancholic and claustrophobic ones. Working on a stronger conceptual level has allowed Applescal to pull all the tricks out of the bag. "The Curle In Me" is a driving, quirky drum and bass sort of track that works with a disturbing deepness and melancholy. "A Former Curse" is a short interlude which sounds like a falling star, tumbling and spinning around its own axis until it is burned out. "Dialeague" is a heavy and mighty grinding caterpillar of a track, and "The Key Of Genes" features a superbly-composed melody with unearthly, Aphex Twin-like attachment. "MC Iron" feels like a trip through an impenetrable jungle, full of beauty and tension, while "IB OK" is full of droning noises, engine-like, heavily spinning until it gives up its life. "Roofs Of Heaven" is a piece of heavy, Detroit-touched psychedelic rock with great organ parts and feedback. "The Flop" feels like a hard and edgy piece of metal and its beat is like a smack in the face. Hard to imagine that it it turns to Krautrock after that. "Black Spirals" is almost a piece of easy listening with very sweet moments and hilarious changes of patterns and dynamics. "Door Weer En Wind" has a cinematic soundtrack feel -- almost classic electronica a la Terry Riley. A Mishmash Of Changing Moods has the fresh and lively spirit of handcrafted electronica, with an incredible analog sound.
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CD
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TRAUM 021CD
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This is the debut full-length release from The Netherlands' Applescal. Even after releasing only one 12" on Traum, the label is confident that this young artist embodies the new wave in indie electronic dance music -- a hunch now given some weight after Applescal was voted "Producer of the Year" in his home country. On A Slave's Commitment, he combines melodic electronics and dance tracks with grunge, creating an almost live-band sound. There is a lot of explosive youthfulness here, reflecting newer heroes and influencers like Apparat and Extrawelt, rather than Richie Hawtin or Ricardo Villalobos. The CD starts off with the beautiful track "The History Of Love," making the world feel like it's twisting in slow-motion. "Nottingham Hobbits" transports and extends a similar emotion, whereas "Ugly But Nasty" introduces dirty acid bass lines, reminiscent of his Traum 12" track, "Monster." "In The Mirror" has a bit more of a band approach, sounding like The Cure, My Bloody Valentine or Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, and carrying a ghostly atmosphere with chords and feedback. "Music For Her Ears" is the ambient piece... a bit of a sad and melancholic track that somehow connects modern electronica with piano. "I Can't Stand" also works with ambience, but rocks away into a sort of a shuffle beat. "The Forms Of Abstract Life" is a masterpiece, intimately visualizing the beauty of flowers and nature. "The Red Dress" is a noise interlude -- psychedelic, alienated and strange. "Funk and FC" is a grinding acid track that starts quiet and works with a classic build-up, getting frantic and noisy. Applescal also remixed a track by the Dutch band Local Daddies, using the vocals and bass of the original and changing everything else around it, giving it a Portishead twist. The album closes with "Reeeer," a melodic and comic track that swallows everything in its path, like a colorful and happy/sad Aphex Twin.
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