Various Artists ”Clear Memory 010“ – frohfroh – electronic music from leipzig

Clear Memory enters the tenth round! And with a compilation. This time Milium, Alley X, 0341 Hills, VR-System, Varum and Robyrt Hecht will be there.

The Leipzig record label Clear Memory has been involved for a while. It has been releasing its own records since 2019 and has one of Leipzig’s most talented electro crews. The new compilation was released last Friday.

Milium presents the first track of the EP. “Lidl Darknet” is raw, uncompromising, modular. Mechanical sounds and soundscapes are held up here – and have a hypnotic effect. Hally vocals and old-school synths, strongly reminiscent of electro labels from the late 1990s and early 2000s, prepare the mood for the EP.

Because: “Clear Memory 010” moves in more atmospheric directions, despite the elements of harder electro. On the one hand this is due to the slightly softer tracks, but also to the choice of mysteriously mysterious pads, melodies and moods. This is also evident on track 2. “Alley X – I Got Mail” is groovy on the one hand, and on the other hand the sound is reminiscent of cheesy spy films from the 1990s. That vibe works really well here. Also because small glitch sounds and vocals are arranged in such a way that they get space sparingly but in the right places.

Track number 3 “0341 Hills – No Sense” didn’t really pick me up. Under the overarching theme of distortion, acid lines with distorted kicks and distorted snares as well as hi hats are featured here. etc combined. So distortion en masse. That sounds pretty bad, but the spark doesn’t want to jump over. The acid bass is given a lot of space here. For my taste there is too little movement, too few surprising elements.

But track number 4 “VR System – S.Tek.VO” is the highlight of the EP. The contrast between heavier drums, brute bass and the later pads works best here. The result is an interplay of straight-forward sounds, which establish themselves in atmospheric realms in combination with dreamy synths.

This atmosphere is definitely continued in track 5. “Varum – Dusky” puts emphasis on the synths, the sub-bass that keeps bulging. In contrast to the other tracks, drums seem to be further back in focus. It’s worth listening very carefully: Various melodies go playfully in and out of focus – but don’t seem so overloaded that it gets annoying.

The EP is rounded off by the Robyrt Hecht remix of Aizr’s “Ultrafunk”. Definitely funky.
Many moods work together here, which have already been in the previous tracks
came up. Spherical pads, groovy percussions and, above all, the game between the dark at first
and later a happier vibe.

Summary at the end: The tenth release of Clear Memory turned out really well. The
Songs allow more time to take effect. This is particularly noticeable after several listens, where more and more small, interesting sounds can be discovered.