In The Loop : Episode 21

The latest episode of In The Loop is a special entry that looks at some of the albums and EPs released either through other labels or independently by some of our roster and alumni.


April 29th saw The Oscilloscope self release his new album "Secret Chamber". It's a fantastic album from the Swiss based producer, who just keeps getting better and better. By now, it's well known that The Oscilloscope is an advocate of finger drumming and this release sees him sticks to his guns. Well rounded, technical, rhythms are supported by electro undertones and lots of acid variations. The mixture of analogue and digital recording methods brew up a space age style that runs throughout and keeps things interesting.

Listen to Rec B8 below and check out the full album over on his bandcamp.






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Edinburgh techno specialist Willy recently released his debut EP, "Organo", through French label Carceres Records. Four tracks of supremely well executed warehouse techno. Thumping, but intricate, perc work and dark techno melodies sit side by side on industrial tinged sound palettes. More than worth checking out.



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Sleep Maps released on the label back in 2015. Contributing some stunning post rock compositions to two of our compilations in our first year in the form of "Biologic Trust" on our Various Artists Volume 2 release and again at the end of the year when he specifically wrote "The Brief Sun" as his entry for our special Winter Solstice release. Since then he was quiet on the output front, but it's been worth the wait. March saw the release of his latest album "No More Good Dreams". The tagline is "We Are Not Always Who We Think We Are" and that rings true in an album of deep and evocative post rock soundscapes. A lot of time and effort has went into the release and it's clear to here in the quality of the sounds.

Check out "The Lonelies" below alongside the full album stream





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"Seltrac" is the latest offering from International Debris. An album, partly inspired by travelling on the Docklands Light Railway, that was released on Third Kind Records last month. Personally, here at Bricolage, Ross Baker is one of our favourite producers. One that's always able to perfectly find the mark between experimentation and listenability. "Seltrac" does exactly that. The music itself is a stirring concoction of cinematic electronica bursting with enviable synth work and pinpoint melodies that will no doubt invoke feelings of nostalgia in listeners of a certain age. It's available as digital or limited edition cassette through the Third Kind Records bandcamp.

Stream and DL links below.



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In The Loop : Episode 9 (Advent Calendar Part 4)

The penultimate round up of our digital advent calendar over on facebook means more audio surprises.

December 16th

Mute Branches - Crappy Hissmas

A beautifully drowsy and blurry sounding unorthodox lo-fi Christmas track from Mute Branches. It's his entry for the Drowned in Sound "Official Christmas Song Challenge 2015".


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December 17th

Sleep Maps - The Sword Beyond The Veil

A recent posting of an old track from Sleep Maps. "The Sword Beyond The Veil" is an epic post-rock excursion that's more than worth retracing over.


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December 18th

Gabriel Simao - Misty Mountains Cold

A simply stunning violin cover of The Hobbit theme "Misty Mountains Cold" by Gabriel Simão.


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December 19th

Akwalek - Kesselse Pauwen (The Next Commuter remix)

A very unique and personal remix from The Next Commuter which featured on a collaborative release through Xtraplex Records. Click the link and read a bit more about the track. It's got field recordings, a live jam and peacocks. All good!


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December 20th

Hiramatsu Toshiyuki - Flag EP

The "Flag" EP from Hiramatsu Toshiyuki on Hz-records is an outstanding collection of his glitch inspired electronica and just a glimpse of what he's capable of creating. We'll hopefully bring you something new from him next year.



Stream and download "Flag" in it's entirety here

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Our final 4 day countdown to Christmas continues on our Facebook at 10am until Thursday, be sure to catch it....

BRICOLAGE : VA "The Longest Night" Winter Solstice Compilation (bc005)

The Winter Solstice occurs little more than a week away from now on the 22nd of December.

The shortest day and the longest night of the year where the dark almost completely takes over the light and winter truly arrives. Here at Bricolage we're providing an early Christmas present, in the form of our own personal solstice soundtrack, from us to you. Back in November I asked the artists on the label if they would like to encapsulate, in music, what the solstice means to them. The results are nothing short of beautiful. 11 different tracks created specifically for the yearly phenomenon. It's free download at our bandcamp as always. There's a track by track breakdown below and some streaming links to bandcamp and soundcloud.



You can stream a preview a minute or so of each track from our our soundcloud below.



1. Liapei - If You Asked
Liapei start off the compilation with crunchy winter footprints, chirping birds and a beautiful solstice inspired spoken word piece. Warm synths soon appear alongside a calming drum track. The youthful Glasgow accent makes this track all the more poignant. The perfect opening track.

2. Sleep Maps - The Brief Sun
Another Sleep Maps track, another epic. "The Brief Sun" picks up the pace nicely with bright melodies, resonating guitars, rumbling bass and precision drums that throw up images of the low December morning sun.

3. Fragile X - Yalda
"Yalda" is an Eastern tinged instrumental guitar piece with it's roots firmly in lo-fi shoegaze. Swathed in echo and delay, the guitars simmer along gently and are paired with swirling melodious feedback remains to create a gentle winter calling. It's worth noting that "Yalda" is the Iranian term for the solstice, where families and friends come together to eat, drink and read poetry. It's a fitting title.

4. Mute Branches - (I'm Dreaming Of A ) Severe Weather Warning
A woozy and dreamy take on the solstice with chopped up vocal samples, experimental sounds and beautifully dazed sounding effects. The layers keep building in this intricate instrumental.

5. Chairman Cow - Dark Morning
Perfectly picked guitar notes and some flashing chords give way to a booming bass that has a dance hall feel. It's winter reggae! A wonderfully performed dub infused rhythm section and one hell of a hook on the most feel good track on the album.

6. International Debris - Daylight Sector 9999 [Further Verification Required]
A mysterious, spaced out number from our very own expert in that particular field. It's progressive keys are hypnotic and come across as almost symphonic. There's a mystical sounding element throughout that only serves to add to the enigmatic vibe.

7. Roy Or Bison? - Night Vision
An eerie hum and a thundering bell start off the darkest track on the compilation. Primal noises and atmospherics flutter their way in and out for the duration. Shadowy drones, murky electronic sounds and a load of tenebrous effects round off this ghostly track. Don't listen to it alone in the dark.

8. Jazzdefector - The Edge Of A Winters Night
A stunning drone based effort that drifts along flawlessly. Full of wonderful textures and emotion, it's a soaring and grand ode to the longest night of the year.

9. Microvolt - A Calm Place (For Jules)
This ambient track provides you with breathing space. It's a quietly vast piece that transports the listener to a very comfortable place. The sounds have been expertly sculptured and restrained to the absolute optimum level. A slow burner that you'll never want to end.

10. B-Side Boy - P*ssholes In The Snow
B-Side Boy is a new name on the collective. He's another pseudonym of the aforementioned Chairman Cow. Here, the guitar is once again his main weapon of choice but that's not all.....it starts off a little more melancholic than "Dark Morning" before taking a sharp turn into harmonica and glockenspiel based territories. It's by far and away the most Christmas type song on the release and the compilation is all the better for it. Someone get the mince pies!

11. Merriman's Ghost - The Shortest Day
A beat wanders along nicely, the atmospherics fade in and out in perfect harmony and then it lifts off with delayed guitars that provide a thermal glow. It's an introspective and poetic piece of music. Heartfelt and ethereal. A fitting ending to the compilation.

Major thanks go out to all the artists involved in making the release possible.

In The Loop : Episode 6 (Advent Calendar Part 1)

In The Loop episode 6 shares with you the first 5 days of our Bricolage Advent Calendar that we started over on our facebook page earlier this week.

December 1st

Slow Deep Breath - "Datasette Shred"

A hypnotic and experimental track from Slow Deep Breath. It's one of the first pieces of music he created back in 1991. Utilising a shoebox tape recorder and a portable TV nonetheless!



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December 2nd

Lo-Jacker - "Unprofessional" EP

Lo-Jacker recently released his very first official EP on Phat New Beats. I seriously can't recommend this mini album enough. Any listeners of his Bricolage podcast from September will recognise some of the sounds on show here. "Oslo" is my stand out track and one that I've played in many a set over the last few years. Follow the links on his soundcloud page for purchase details.



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December 3rd

Mogwai - "Hunted By A Freak (get-effect remix)"

A cracking remix of the Mogwai classic "Hunted By A Freak" by get-effect. Free download of the track at his soundcloud page.



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December 4th

International Debris - "Thursday Morning, Taylor Swift"

A taster of the new "Thursday Morning, Taylor Swift" EP from Intl. Debris. The EP drops on Bricolage on the 28th of December. Perfect end to the year.



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December 5th

Jazzdefector - Falling Sunlight On The Sleeping Land

"Falling Sunlight On The Sleeping Land" is a gorgeous and restrained sounding 60 second instrumental from Jazzdefector. A song for the winter....



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Be sure to check our facebook page at 10am every morning for the rest of your digital advent calendar surprises.

Introducing The Collective: 18-20

It's with great pleasure that I can announce we have a second installment of our VA compilation coming out on the 16th of November. The release will consist of work from some new members and act as an introduction to their sounds.

So without further ado, let's meet them.

18. SLEEP MAPS



Sleep Maps is the solo project of California based musician and producer, Ben Kaplan. The project began in Los Angeles before Kaplan moved to Broolyln, NY. There he formed a 4 piece band and released the record 'Fiction Makes The Future' to critical acclaim. Performing live in NY for several years, Kaplan moved again, back to CA where he released 'We Die For Truth' the most ambitious Sleep Maps record yet. Featuring passages of quiet contemplation and sections of brutal heaviness, the Sleep Maps project tries to tread the line between post-rock and metal without straying too far into either. Latest album "We Die For Truth" ponders the question, "With advances in technology, should human beings be allowed to live forever?"

Sleep Maps (Facebook)

Sleep Maps (Bandcamp)

Sleep Maps (Soundcloud)

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19. OSCURITO


Oscurito is the pseudonym of Glaswegian electronic musician, Ciaran McIntyre. Oscurito uses hard grooves and light, uplifting melodies to create a uniquely, dark, but catchy and funk filled take on house and techno. Originally picking up the guitar at the age of just 6, he had been introduced to music at a very early age. By age 14, Ciaran was recording and producing his own rock and metal demos in his fathers music studio just outside of Glasgow. Through these experiences he learned the tricks of the trade and what it takes to make pristine production. Since his formative years he has journeyed through many musical genres until he found that his passion truly lay in electronic music, thus providing us with Oscurito. With gloops of thick textured rhythms and big melodies abound, he's another fine homegrown talent to be able to add to the Bricolage Collective.

Oscurito (Soundcloud)

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20. GLASS MAMMOTH

Glass Mammoth is the alias of Birmingham based producer Peri Mani. Peri is another whose love of music started at an early age, taking up guitar at 14 before progressing onto many different instruments and then onto production at age 18. Now 21, he has become heavily involved in the electronic music scene and is currently working on a full length album. His sounds veer from drum n bass to soundscapes and the more chilled side of electronic music. An exciting combination.

Glass Mammoth (Facebook)

Glass Mammoth (Soundcloud)

Glass Mammoth (Twitter)

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You can expect more introductions to some more new members in the coming weeks leading up to our second compilation. Stay tuned.

In The Loop: Episode 4

In the 4th episode of In The Loop we catch up on what Lo-Jacker, H.ICH, Jazz Defector and Chairman Cow have been doing recently.



Lo-Jacker is currently working hard on a plethora of new material and 3 weeks ago he shared a new track of his that's currently in the works. "Lemon Cake" has that trademark Lo-Jacker feel. The chiming bells, the glitchy beats, quietly pulsing bass and mellow synth work. Time after time he comes up with crisp production, catchy melodies and hooks that I'll never tire of and "Lemon Cake" is another one to add to my list of LJ favourites. *insert pun about icing on the cake here*


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Yesterday, H.ICH uploaded a clip from a forthcoming track of his titled "Xel. Us". Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether or not you're going to like a song from listening to a 2 minute long clip but not in this case. I was hooked after the first kick. It follows on from where "Holy Tresor" left off. Steady, metallic rhythms and no nonsense bass. A kinda eerie bleep that acts almost like a warning signal soon makes an appearance to add to the tension before the clip comes to an end. I, for one, am looking forward to hearing it in it's entirety.



Hugo (H.ICH) is also a member of the trio "Nord Church" who have a habit of blending electronica, elements of rock and trip hop into one big melting pot of sounds.

Have a listen below to their debut self titled EP and if you like it then head over to the Nord Church bandcamp where you can grab a download at a "pay what you want" rate.



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Jazz Defector has just shared two very short but poignant guitar soundscapes. A live feel coupled with his incomparable sense of melancholy result in "Sketches In Blue 1" and "Theme For An Imaginary Detective Romance Film". Two tracks that are the perfect way to showcase his talent on 6 strings.





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Last month, Chairman Cow shared a long lost track that had been hibernating and trapped in the "untitled" territory for just under 3 years. The track in question was a collaboration recorded by Mr Cow and Fragile X in the winter of 2012. The quiet, delay soaked, guitars at the beginning and placed intermittently throughout were provided by Fragile X and the spoken word whispery samples, heavier tones and drums by Chairman Cow himself. By the time the conclusion of the track comes around both men have traded chunky guitar lines over a riotous wall of sound. This quiet/loud combination created a monster of a post-rock track which has now been christened " Living Beyond His Dreams". After many futile attempts at shortening the track it was decided that it was best left as a 10 minute opus.



Any long time Fragile X fans may recognise one of the guitar lines in the midst of the track. It was subsequently use as the intro to the track "We Stared At The Clouds Until They Burst" from his November 2013 EP "...And When I Opened My Eyes There Was A Thousand Lights".

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