Formaviva October Selection 2020

A regular on Joachim Spieth’s excellent Affin label - very active here on Formaviva with the highest number of releases on the platform to date - Toki Fuko’s latest EP goes deep into the ethos of his futuristic, perfectly spaced electronic Dub sound. Bismuth is our pick with its stunning sense of space, addictive stepping groove and synthesized sonar pings.

Munich based producer Polygonia aka Lindsey Wang, a multi-talented artist, photographer and graphic designer, is a very active member of the Formaviva community with over 20 releases and mixes on the platform. Her new track, Foxfire, a beautiful melodic tribal excursion, is available as a free download - giving something back to the community. The snaking percussion layers and rippling bell-like synths nestle within a throbbing bassline while high frequency bird calls and jungle atmospherics transplant us to distant mountain vistas.

Performed on the monolithic Macbeth Systems M5 modular synth, overlaying sequenced patterns with live solos played via wind controller, Berlin film composer and under-sung talent John Gürtler invites us into his uncompromising post-jazz, freeform electronic world.

File under: Fourth World / Jon Hassell / Electro-Acoustic / Experimental

The toughest cut from his new EP on prolific Korean label Oslated, Giuseppe Falivene channels the rushing urgency of the night into ‘sunSET.’ Climbing steadily above a rolling bassline and washes of intense euphoria, the track remains expertly controlled, holding the tension throughout. A majestic moment of high-energy hypnosis.

Colombian-born, Northallsen label curator Aleja Sanchez opens up a window to her inner-self with this intimate exercise in ambient techno. Set to a joyfully resonating scale of melancholic yet uplifting synth pads and mallet timbres, The Language of Silence is a stand out track from a producer and label owner intent on doing things her way.

A well established expert in contemporary mind-control, Simone Bauer contributes a rumbling sci-fi epic for the first release on new label Different Exhibition. The Concerto EP is an ode to Italian Baroque master painter Caravaggio.