#onium

8DPromo · Various Artists - Discordian Dreaming 9 (Harmonious Discord Recordings)

Harmonious Discord continues its 20-year celebration with the ninth installment of the Discordian Dreaming sampler series. Over the years, Discordian Dreaming has been the vehicle to introduce new artists to the community but also to feature selections from established HD names. This year, label is going big with 12 forward-thinking selections covering shades of deep house, techno, urban bass, electro, and more. Listeners are sure to find a mood for all purposes, with a steel-thread of abstraction and musicality throughout. New faces to the Harmonious Discord roster like Jon Glez, The Stoned, and Edwin Watson offer a taste of full projects slated for later in the year. Familiar friends Visions of Glosters, Lucas Ray, Elevotion, Josiah Fontenot, and Vuérs prove that their musical mastery is not contained to a simple sound definition. While HD core artists 1981US, Patchen, Onium, and Tobor Rellik offer you a glimpse into the diverse nature of their upcoming albums and extended EPs. Harmonious Discord encourages DJs to dive deep into these artists as their devotion to exploding through boundary norms are all in service of bringing innovative music to the planet. This promo features 7 highlights from the 12 song compilation. To peep other tracks, visit hdrecordings.com.

Nick Warren (Hope Recordings) – “Some great tracks here.” Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “Loving the slightly retro feel on some of these. All are very enjoyable with some standout tracks here.” Strat3gy (House Afrika Records) – “Really diverse yet consistent release.” Kosta (Vibe FM) – “Smooth. A very nice compilation.” Klaus Benedek (Fortunea Records) – “I like the tracks by The Stoned and Vuérs here.” DJ Firefly (Couch Dancing) – “Great variety here from some super talented cats.” Hober Mallow (Mighty Reel Show) – “Love the variey here. Some great warm house tunes and more washed out ones as well. Perfect for my show. Thanks for the great music.”

8DPromo · Jake Beautyman - Shadow Them Hills (Harmonious Discord Recordings)

Harmonious Discord is excited to welcome Suffolk-based producer Jake Beautyman (Bosh, Bombis, Damolh Records) to the label with an abstract-leaning dance record focused on disorienting melodies and sharp percussion. “Shadow Them Hills” is a tense and satisfying exploration of audio signals and sonic creepiness. Label mainstays Tobor Rellik and Onium provide a pair of fantastic remixes. “Shadow Them Hills” tempers warehouse drum construction with carefully-placed sampling. Escalating arpeggios dance around each other as siren sounds move the music forward. Theremin-esque haunted leads sweep through during the multiple reprises. “Shadow Them Hills” is a fantastic tool for turning up the energy and setting sail for darker waters. Tobor Rellik puts forth an amazing bass-driven rework. Focusing on the processed effects and rumbling sub-bass, the rework is guaranteed to wake the neighbors. Onium dives deeper with a dub techno re-imagination. Swirling pads settle the sampled material and the raw techno elements are preserved but rolled in with precision. Jake closes out the project with a fitting b-side called “Release and Guidance.” The selection features a similar focus on the abstract now accompanied by vocal samples and detuned modular plucks.

Colin Dale (Abstrakt Dance Records) – “Excellent EP. All cuts are rocking. A+” Lcaise (Tanztone Records) – “Strong release. Tobor Rellik and Onium remixes for me, but the originals are also great. Will play for sure.” Al Mackenzie (Great Outdoors) – “The Onium mix is really nice.” Brian Busto (Serious Soul) – “Excellent tracks all around. Full support on this one.” Lee Guthrie (Wiggle / Click Therapy) – “The Original of Shadow Them Hills is for me here.” Dean Facer (OurHouse Magazine) – “A truly excellent release.” SimonG (Volcano Radio) – “These are some solid late night beats.” Brandon Bass (Aspect Ratios – KMET Radio) – “I really dig the Tobor Rellik remix. Supporting.” Rob Zile (Brain Food Radio Show) – “Great deep, techy beats.” Rob Pearson (Sinefm.com) – “Lovely EP here from Jake. The title cut stands out at first listen, but I’m looking forward to working with all of these cuts.”

The Harmonious Discord label ceremonially introduces each year with a new installment of its Discordian Dreaming series, previewing what the label has in store over the coming months. This eighth edition features an abstract collage of sounds fitting for an evening of mindful expansion and dance floor excursions. Included are label mainstays Dorian, Onium, Tobor Rellik, and Josiah Fontenot plus appearances by new artists Triptique and Joshua Davidson alongside the return of legacy legend Litex. This set will offer a shine of interest to every tech-house collector. Onium begins the release with dub laden saxophone serenade. Crisp percussion and tense atmospheres collide with dense melodies. Dorian resets with an afro-cuban-inspired percussive techno journey. A beautiful mixture of celebration and energy, “Run Run Run” is a full narrative told in music. Joshua Davidson makes his debut on the label with a pensive, deep tech-house performance. Warm accents roll through this cut and Josh shows that his talent for creating complex moods is polished. Josiah Fontenot follows with a non-typical linear techno composition. With a strong focus on character and warmth this tracky bicep beat continues to deliver. Dallas native Tobor Rellik moves us onto the dance floor with a plucky tech-house tune with automation into filthy territories. Triptique then provides a nightclub-favored alternative with hypnotic sweeps and Moroder-esque bass lines. HD001 artist Litex returns with a heavy and driving track that flows into spacey progressive territory but stays crisp with technique.

Colin Dale (Abstrakt Dance Records) – “I really like Joshua Davidson’s “Hue”. Deliciously different.” Atish (Desert Hearts) – “Some really nice sounds in this package.” lar3n (Noir Sessions) – “Solid EP with great tracks. It’s difficult to chow the best one, however Hue is the one that stands out for me.” Dubinski (Opossum Recordings) – “Very nice and versatile package. I especially like the dubby vibe of Onium’s “Held Tight”, but will surely play others in here.” Michael Sarafini (Gramaphone Records) – “Dorian – Run Run Run is a solid, melodic track.” Al Mackenzie (Great Outdoors) – “Dorian’s track is ace!” DJ Firefly (Couch Dancing) – “Impressive showing of variety and creative talent.” Simon Kirk (Stag Beetle Radio Show) – “Very hot release. Every track is quality. Onium – Held Tight is particularly awesome.” Sumsuch (Colour and Pitch) – “Sounding brilliant!” Jon Fugler (Fluke) – “Tricky to choose a favorite from a compilation of this quality. Loving all the techy tracks, and Inner Malfunction reminds me of a previous life … very cool. Held Tight is my immediate fave.”

From the seedy depths of dub-infested marshes comes the sound manipulations of Onium, a tenured producer with a handbag of pseudonyms and secret projects. The man behind the moniker, Stephen Moon, uses this alias to focus heavily on expanding the 'dub techno' genre. Always pushing the edge while seemingly staying true to the dub framework, Onium partners his vast knowledge of song creation with a deep understanding of what makes dub techno amazing. Harmonious Discord first featured Onium in the Discordian Dreaming series which resulted in a call to headquarters for more. Delivering on that promise, the label is proud to present Onium's debut full length, the Immix EP, with remixes by artists forging ahead in sound like Echo Conscious, Bleupulp, and Hemipetra. The journey begins with a deep breath of relief stretched into a progressive build of elastic dub melodies. Lulling the listener in, "He Breathes" creeps along before busting out later in the tune with heavier techno attributes. "Opslo" follows in a similar unwinding fashion with two key dub themes that dance in-between each other as subtle percussion scurries intriguingly. Echo Conscious -- real name Brad Dale -- is first up on remix duties with his cowbell-laden groover. Brad elevates the mood to be more relevant on the dance floor, turning the subtle original into an attention grabber with bright bells and a smoothly shifting bass line. From there the release takes a dive into the subversive depths of cerebral techno with contributions from Hemipetra and Bleupulp. Rumbling echoes of dissonance converge as these two selections travel into strange soundscapes. This changes with "Piped," a melodic tech-house experiment still heavily swamped with dub effects that does a great job of balancing dub techno purism with real world feet fodder. A worthy book-end, "Sharing Light" takes dub chord construction to new levels, paying special attention to revolving melodies. It's a meditative windstorm ready to drift the listener into the outer reaches of the stratosphere. Thus the journey ends ... for now.

Anthony Pappa (Red Light District / Bedrock) - “Cool EP … the best track for me is ‘Opslo.’” Nick Warren - “Wow, this is fantastic! I love the originals and those are some great remixes.” Terry Francis (Wiggle / Fabric) - “The Echo Conscious remix is the one for me.” Orde Meikle (Slam / Soma) - “Cool tunes … I’m liking this.” Tyler Stadius - “Lovely tracks here. It’s tough to pick a favorite. Perfect headphone and late night grooves.” Stacey Pullen - “This is cool.” John Templeton (Great American Techno Festival / Emote Music) - “Very solid release. The originals have a lovely lush dub sound that is very appealing.” QuestionmarQ (Red FM / Vision Collective) - “Outstanding stuff … I’m loving all the tracks. The Echo Conscious remix put a big smile on my face.” Satoshi Fumi (Klik Records / Plastic City) - “I love the Hemiptera remix of ‘Opslo’.” The Zars (Till2012 Records / Progrezo Records) - “Really warm pads and strings.” Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Great EP. The Echo Conscious remix is great from the remix selections, but the originals are the picks for me. ‘Sharing Light’ in particular is superb … really feeling the darkness there.” Myxzlplix (Subdivisions Global) - “Dreamy and well constructed.” Adam Collins (Euphoria Records / Omni A.M.) - “So musical and out there. Super good for the Burning Man crowd. Good stuff.” Demarco Electronic Project (Soul Industries, Argentina) - “Excellent release! Nice sounds and ambiences and a great remix by Bleupulp.” Danuta Kurkowski (Acid Ted) - “Gorgeous dub techno with impressive remixes! What’s not to like?”