Karmelloz Mix For The Astral Plane

In the sphere of internet-based art forms, the act of being prolific connotes more than just producing a large quantity of work. Prolificacy is often a comment on technology, means of production, industry habits and norms and much more than can be fit in these narrow pages. Adam Harper did a great job of surveying “The New Digital DIY Labels”, the web-focused outlets like 1080p, AVNL, Hoko Sounds which are all prime examples of this, for The FADER here. In terms of releasing a ton of music in terms of volume, hundreds of names could be railed off, but when you bring breadth of style, genre and form, the list narrows considerably. Oregon’s Karmelloz is one of the key names on the latter list, an artists who’s released on the aforementioned 1080p and Hoko Sounds and let loose more than a handful of albums, sketches and more through his own Bandcamp.

Whether he’s working in the confines of Hippos In Tanks-inspired hypnagogic pop, taking cues from percussive club forms or piecing together abstract sonic collages, Karmelloz’s work has come off as inspired and irresistibly candid. Almost always layered under levels of gauze and smoke, releases like Source Localization (for 1080p), Cearà (for Apothecary Compositions with C Plus Plus) and Bud Air could easily have been released under a half dozen different pseudonyms, but ignoring the possibility of historical revision, Karmelloz lets each and every piece, dating back to 2011, sit out in the ether. This allows the listener to sort through it on their own terms, following chronological directives or ignoring them altogether.

He lists his genre on Soundcloud as “psychedelic” and the Karmelloz sound often comes off as a tape edited version of the pages of your favorite magazine. Your favorite rap songs cut up and laden in echo effects, the kick pattern and breaks from a Bmore classic entering the fray and leaving just as quickly. It’s not a lack of patience that defines Karmelloz’s music, but an insatiable desire to filter, comment on and divulge the way he himself partakes in technological music and music technology. His Astral Plane mix is “based on a set I did at S1 in Portland last Saturday. Mostly special edits made at 140bpm with synths dropped out, and including a lot of unreleased/forthcoming material.” It’s reminiscent of much of Karmelloz’s past work and many bits will be familiar to fans, but like every successive release it offers a refreshing drive, this time by means of a concise tempo. Don’t expect him to fall into a 140 four-on-the-floor groove for more than a release or two, but for now this hat is fitting on Karmelloz pretty damn well.

1. Blastah & Karmelloz – “Crimewave” (Edit)
2. C Plus Plus, Karmelloz, Abraxas Wandering – “Faulty Encryption” (Club Mix)
3. Karmelloz – “Battery Acid” (Edit)
4. Matt Tecson & Tom Prilesky – “Clairvoyance” (Karmelloz Remix)
5. Karmelloz – “Naked Trak 7” (Edit)
6. Karmelloz – “Coming Up” (Edit)
7. Karmelloz – “Untitled”
8. Karmelloz – “Series of Seizures” (Edit)
9. Karmelloz – “Naked Trak 3” (Edit)
10. Shisd – “Colour Bars” (Karmelloz 140 Remix)
11. Karmelloz – “Returning a Different Person” (Edit)
12. Karmelloz – “Naked Trak 6” (Edit)
13. Karmelloz – “Program Glitch VIP”