The Berlin-based label Kuboraum Editions, a hub for extravagant eyewear, events and music releases, once again demonstrates a keen instinct for musical boundary-pushing with its second Sound Residency compilation. There’s never a dull moment. Instead, a multi-layered panorama of individual forms of expression unfolds, ranging from experimental to pop.
South Korean producer bela kicks things off with hypnotic vocal experiments. Cosimo Damiano from Rome follows on with modulated vocals and electronic textures, before Marina Herlop once again shapes the human voice into a fascinating soundscape. Despite the stylistic diversity, all the tracks are united by a glamorous yet sombre underlying mood that runs like a common thread through the compilation.
It ranges from the dream-trap of Significant Other to Emiliano Maggis’s lullaby »Fury«, distorted with tape echo. The reinterpretation of the title track from Ziúr’s album Home – featuring cellists Martina Bertoni and Sara Persico – also comes across as even more haunting and sharply defined than the original.
Romain Azzaro, Lord Spikeheart, Lucrecia Dalt & Alex Lázaro, Lee Gamble, Paul St. Hilaire and Low Jack broaden the spectrum with further distinctive contributions. None of them seek to align themselves with established stylistic conventions. Instead, there are 19 distinct sonic worlds that experiment consistently without becoming unwieldy.
