Electronic Musicians of the World Unite: Dark Paradise Records I6 Breaks Borders and Boundaries
“This habit of hunting for music on the net began in 2004. Now I’m an uber-heavy user of SoundCloud. That’s where I found almost all the artists featured in this album. They may not have massive exposure or influence on the social media; but the one thing they have in common is that they are all mind-blowingly awesome." — Sonic Deadhorse, producer.
Dark Paradise Records, a Taiwanese independent electronic record label, has been releasing electronic compilation albums since 2015. This year’s Dark Paradise Records I6: Royal Beluga, their sixth comp album, is delivered to you from the masterful hands of electronic producer extraordinaire Sonic Deadhorse. And for the first time, the scopes have been expanded far and wide to include more hidden talents from all over the world. We take great pleasure in bringing to the Taiwanese audience electronic music masterpieces as impactful and diverse as these.
First artist on our list is Kei Toriki from Keio University, Japan. The active guitarist in several post-hardcore bands brings us a wonderful blend of breakcore with tear-jerking riffs and clusters. Next up is Ghost of 3.13 (Romania), who excels at incorporating Eastern European folk into his work, with delicate touches of glitch and gothic dark wave. Achun (Macau) is matched by producers to collaborate with Hakka electronics singer Jill Stark from Taichung. The unexpected pair clicked from the start and gave birth to a groovy dance number that’s part Afro, part footwork, and part traditional Hakka. Dutch E Germ, drummer from experimental combo Gang Gang Dance, brings us his solo project, a fascinating experimental microtonal piece. The work by Broken Thoughts (Kunming, Yunnan), first discovered by a German label, is consistently minimalist and elegant, yet emits stormy quality with powerful bass.
“The pieces included are all by artists that I really like and have long admired. Maybe in this age of information explosion, the visibility of truly killer music is getting lower and lower; and it is getting harder and harder to come across amazing works through diggin." — Deadhorse Cheng, producer
The beats of ZZY (Lisbon) are always beautiful with the use of fragmentation to cover all styles of music. Master trumpeter Yannick Barman (Switzerland) uses layers of his instrument to stack and build a warm and moving construction. Japan’s IDM star Umio crafts his work with a variety of elusive glitch beats hidden in the fascinating melody. Producer Sonic Deadhorse joins the lineup not only with one of his works but also teamed up with saxophonist Minyen Hsieh to form the impromptu combo ‘Non-Confined Space’ to churn out a number that combines experimental electronic and contemporary jazz.
Dark Paradise Records I6: Royal Beluga track list:
01. A room without walls, and the horizon – Kei Toriki
02. Inevitable Silence – The Ghost Of 3.13
03. Persuading Song (feat. Jill Stark) – Achun
04. cheche – Dutch E Germ
05. Things Kept Falling – Broken Thoughts
06. Diplura – ZZY
07. Colour Darkening – Yannick Barman
08. untitled#1 – Non-Confined Space
09. No End in Sight For The Rain – Sonic Deadhorse
10. Hangnail – Umio
Release date: 27 August 2018
Visit https://www.darkparadiserecords.com/shop/i6-royalbeluga to purchase the physical copy.
*Now on all major digital platforms.