Norbergfestival 2017: A Labour of Love for Audiovisual Miners

The 18th edition of Norbergfestival was held between 27-30 July. Norberg is somehow totally out of time and space, a tiny forgotten Swedish town with a rich industrial heritage dating back as far as the 6th century, where iron ore mining once used to be the main activity and provided jobs for most of the inhabitants up until 1981, when it was no longer deemed profitable. After the depression kicked in and life slowly disappeared, Norbergfestival has put the town back on the map, starting in 1999. All in all, Norberg was industrial way before industrial was cool (hello Berlin!).

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Yair Elazar Glotman & Mats Erlandsson – Ceramic Relic

Miasmah Recordings recently released "Negative Chambers", a collaborative project between Berlin-based Yair Elazar Glotman and Stockholm-based Mats Erlandsson, which «draws on their respective musical backgrounds to create an imaginary, dislocated "folk" music for the current dark ages».  We are premiering the video made for the track "Ceramic Relic" taken from the album. The video and the paintings were made by Laslo Antal who's also member of the dark wave band Sixth June.

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INTONAL 2017: Marlena Lampinen Mix & Festival Recommendations

Marlena Lampinen is a visual artist as well as a sound artist and DJ based in Stockholm. She’s known for releasing eclectic mixtapes, ranging from frail and beautiful soundscapes to more body and mind-twisting waves and beats. Marlena will play at this year's Intonal Festival in Malmö – which starts today! She will play on Friday 8PM in the Red Light Lounge. As a warm-up, she made a special mix for us and she also shared 5 recommendations of great acts you shouldn't miss at Intonal.

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5 tracks that Vladimir Ivkovic might or might not play at Intonal Festival

One week left until the splendid Intonal Experimental Music Festival starts in Malmö – it's time for a little warm-up. We asked Vladimir Ivkovic, one of the performing artists to give us a taste of what you might or might not hear during his DJ set on 28th April. Just to be on the safe side, go and find out for yourself!

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PREMIERE: Selffish – As The Leaves Fall

Serein presents their first release for 2017 by Latvian artist Andrejs Eigus aka Selffish. The Welsh label is known for carefully curating their roster, quality always over quantity – and this is not different in this case either. 'He She Them Us' is a remarkable aural work with a strong storytelling. It will be released on 21st April and we are now premiering a previously unheard mysterious gem from the album to introduce you to the magical word of Selffish.

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TRAILER VIDEO: Ellen Arkbro – for organ and brass [Subtext]

For the latest Subtext Recordings release from Ellen Arkbro, the Swedish electronic musician/sound artist/composer is experimenting with intonation, tuning and harmonic modulation through her Organ and Brass composition. The record is being released today and you can watch the trailer video for the album.

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INTONAL: Experimental Music Festival, 27-30 April 2017, Malmö

Finding festivals in Sweden with a proper line-up - when it comes to experimental electronic music - is still not the easiest task. However, there are a few more than trustworthy events every year, which never seem to disappoint. One of them is Intonal Festival in Malmö, which celebrates its 3rd edition this year with an immense line-up. We teamed up with them to bring you closer to the artists via interviews, guest mixes etc.

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Best of 2016: Final Part (11-1)

Here are our 11 favourite albums from last year. Agree, disagree but never stop listening and discovering.

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Best of 2016: Part #4 (22-12)

Welcome this new year with another batch of fantastic records from last year. Now we can be sure that there won't be any releases sneaking in after our list have been finalized. Although most certainly we have missed lots of gems that didn't make it on this list, just like every year. But let's enjoy those that did make it.

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Best of 2016: Part #3 (33-23)

Here is the third batch of the selected records we've really enjoyed this year. 11 more fantastic albums to dig in.

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Best of 2016: Part #2 (44-34)

The beat goes on: less text, more music. We picked 55 albums that we've really enjoyed this year and we're illustrating them with a GIF + one track we think you should start with! They are all amazing records, so nevermind the numbers – we just love countdowns so much.

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Best of 2016: Part #1 (55-45)

This year we are doing this whole thing a bit differently. Less text, more music. It's been a strange year, we did not have time to listen to even 0,1% (or even less?) of all the released goods, but that doesn't mean we don't have our favourites. We do and here they are.

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EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Araya – Acid Ambient 6 (Filter Dub Version)

The festive holiday season is upon us, and with it comes endless money-spending, gifts that no one will ever use, lack of snow, infinite amount of food, family and the thing that unites us all: music! So here is a useful present from us to you, an acid ambient track from Daniel Araya, which he created exclusively for Sounds Of A Tired City. This piece is part of the same series of tracks that he recently released on Kontra-Musik, but it's a special, slowed down and filtered version.

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PREMIERE: Matt Robertson – False Sense

Does Matt Robertson's name ring a bell? How about Björk and The Cinematic Orchestra? He worked as a musical director for them. Did synth work for Emilíana Torrini and The Prodigy, orchestrations for Bat For Lashes, bass and engineering for Lamb. The versatile composer, synthesist and producer has a new album coming on 7th October entitled 'In Echelon' via Tape Club Records. We are premiering 'False Sense', one of the most delicate pieces from the album.

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Rick Holland, Micro Fiction for Fis’ From Patterns to Details LP

Rick Holland is an English poet who has collaborated with the likes of Brian Eno for various albums and most recently Jon Hopkins for his 'Late Night Tales'. Rick was shook by the works of Fis, and wished to share his poems about the cinematic experience that lead his emotive visions. Fis' upcoming album 'From Patterns to Details' will be released 23rd September on Subtext. Rick Holland wrote one poem for each track featured on the LP. Read on and get yourself lost in the details.

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Marconi Union – Sleeper

Marconi Union are back with their ninth studio album 'Ghost Stations', which will be released 12th August on London-based Just Music. The masterful trio consisting of Richard Talbot, Jamie Crossley and Duncan Meadows are not afraid at all to push their limits once again, and nothing demonstrates this better than 'Sleeper', which is the ten minutes long opening piece of the new album. We are premiering it together with its video to prove it!

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ALBUM PREMIERE: Liminal/Aires – Liminal/Aires

Even though it's Saturday, we have something special to introduce you to: the perfect soundtrack for your weekend thanks to Prague-based tape label and music community Genot Centre. Their next release is a limited split cassette by Liminal and Aires, simply entitled Liminal/Aires. The official date is 1st of August, but you can stream the whole album here ahead its release. What should you expect? Ephemeral, soothing ambience with a melancholic virtuosity.

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ALBUM PREMIERE: Siavash Amini & Matt Finney – Familial Rot

Tehran-based drone master Siavash Amini's name should not be unfamiliar for the readers of Sounds Of A Tired City. His debut album 'Till Human Voices Wake Us' was released on the excellent Mexican label Umor Rex in 2014 and now he returns to his roots again with a powerful collaboration with Matt Finney. 'Familial Rot' was mastered by Lawrence English and will be released on July 22nd. Luckily, you don't need to wait anymore, since we are so generous that you can stream the full work right here.

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Sonae – I Know A Fish (Cétieu Remix)

Sonia Güttler aka Sonae released her debut album ‘Far Away Is Right Around The Corner’ on Monika Enterprise last year. 'Far Away... Remixed' was released on June 10th and it contains 4 special remixes of the original tracks accompanied by 4 music videos. We have the pleasure to introduce you to Cétieu's version of 'I Know A Fish', which comes together with Alisa Berger's experimental film collage.

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PREMIERE: Outblinker – Walter Peck

You must be familiar with that feeling when your favourite musician/artist is physically not able to produce enough tracks to keep you satisfied but you cannot help yourself to want more and more, as soon as possible. We found ourselves in this situation after Blanck Mass' last album 'Dumb Flesh', and nothing could fill the void until we discovered the Glasgow-based Outblinker.

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PREMIERE: Gainstage – Elevated Noise [Portals Editions]

Portals Editions are a relatively new Berlin-based collective of sound artists consisting of Shaddah Tuum, Ketev, Circular Ruins, Gainstage, Noumeno, Consulate etc. They are focusing on intense industrial sounds, heavy-doomy noise and everything else you can imagine inbetween... and their tracks got some remix treatment by Orphan Swords, Cut Hands, Kerridge and Dadub! They have six releases in their quickly expanding catalogue so far, and we have the pleasure to premiere their seventh − you can listen to Gainstage's 'Elevated Noise' in full-length on Sounds Of A Tired City.

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PREMIERE: Stream ‘Byn’ from Gidge’s Upcoming Album ‘Lulin’

Have you ever wondered what does Swedish nature sound like? Really high up north in the subarctic climate, where winters seem to be everlasting and cruel... where the landscape is quiet and peaceful, where every lonely tree and little hole has a story to tell, where every sound is living its own life. Sounds are present even in the least expected places, either you want them or not. It's up to you to use their mysterious power and turn them into something otherworldly. Just like the Swedish duo Gidge did it with their second album entitled 'Lulin'. Below you can stream 'Byn', a haunting yet soothing track off the LP.

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WATCH: We Like We – Tisina

'Tišina' means 'Silence' in Slovenian. If we're pronouncing it right it’s a beautiful word, but it's so much more than that. It does not only contain the 'sssch' sound (which you use when you want to silence someone), but it also has an inexplicable, serene touch to it. Last but not least this mysterious silence is the main focus of We Like We's instrumental composition for which Danish visual artist Stina Resting recently made a spellbinding video. Take a deep breathe and surrender yourself to silence.

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Delicatessen: Matt Dunkley – Cycle 5 (Clint Mansell Remix)

If you check out Matt Dunkley's IMDb page, your jaw most probably is going to drop. He's been involved in more than a hundred films as orchestrator and conductor. ‘Inception’, ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Black Swan’ just to mention a few titles... He also worked with artists such as Patti Smith, Nick Cave, Massive Attack and Kronos Quartet. It was about time to release his debut artist album: 'Six Cycles' is coming on 11th March on Village Green. Sounds Of A Tired City got the honour to premiere a remix of one of tracks from the upcoming album, which has been made by none other than our favourite Clint Mansell.

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PREMIERE: Elusive – Sand Dunes on Mars

Every now and then you hear music that feels so cozy and homey that you find it hard to believe that you haven't heard it anywhere before. The California-based Elusive's new album entitled 'Textures' is an exquisite example: it surprises your body and mind in the right places. Warm layers of jazz, funk and soul, clicky percussions, soft drums, samples and synths are aligned for your listening pleasure. Sounds Of A Tired City got the exclusive premiere of 'Sand Dunes on Mars' off the new album, which is a slightly futuristic journey into the past. We cannot guarantee that you won't feel like dancing.

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Be the Sound of the Tired City!

We are looking for a curious intern to join our team and help us with interviews, event reviews and other relevant and fun content for our website. We don’t care about your whereabouts, the most important thing is that you love writing and sharing your ideas, you are innovative and want to gain some (more) experience in music journalism within our platform.

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PREMIERE: dotwav – Panic Room

Berlin-based label and artist collective KONFLKT recently released the follow up to dotwav’s debut who continue their exploration of percussion-fuelled techno with 2 sides of frenzied broken-rhythms and murky piercing tones. 'Schmerz', which translates as 'pain' in German, lives up to its name with 2 sides of dislocated techno complemented by equally mangled remixes. The EP marks KONFLKT’s entry into the physical market with a vinyl release on January 15th, which is followed by a digital release on February 12th. Here comes a little Q&A with the artists who are currently on tour in South America. While you are reading, check out one of the tracks entitled 'Panic Room'.

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LCC’s (Las CasiCasiotone) Favourite Things in 2015

Although we're already deep into the new year, we've got one last summary taking a glance back at 2015 from the LCC (Las CasiCasiotone) girls. They have released their first LP ‘d/evolution’ on Editions Mego in 2014, and they were busy with preparing new sounds, plenty of guest mixes and lots of gigs. Next on their agenda is performing at Art's Birthday Party in Stockholm, Sweden, where they will also spend a week at the legendary Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) to work with the Buchla and Serge synthesizers. This is one more reason to look forward to their next releases!

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PREMIERE: Multicast Dynamics – Outer Envelopes [Denovali Records]

Samuel van Dijk is an electronic music producer, sound designer and media artist from the Netherlands, having released electronic music under a variety of projects, namely, Mohlao and VC-118A. With his current project Multicast Dynamics he creates ever-evolving sound textures culminating in intriguing soundscapes while preserving a tranquil cinematic atmosphere. His new album 'Outer Envelopes' will be released on 26th February on Denovali Records, therefore we have the pleasure to share an exclusive stream one of the tracks featured on the album. Here comes 'Sonar'!

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Best 50 Albums Of 2015

End-of-year lists became something like a plague these days. Like a constant mass of unrequested baby pictures or wedding photos on social media – you know they are coming sooner or later, but you are aware of the fact that you cannot really hide from all of them. Secretly, you also admit that eventually all this is more than okay if they make someone happy. Let it flow. It’s basically the same thing with these lists – we’ve been pregnant with these albums for at least 12 months, and now that another year is coming to end, we would like to share these experiences with you.

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Best of 2015: Part #5 (10-1)

Here it comes... the fifth and final part of our extensive list of the Best Albums of 2015. Our 10 favourite records this year. What could be in here? Perhaps Samuel Kerridge? Peder Mannerfelt? Maybe some Benoit Pioulard? How about Alessandro Cortini? Let's not forget about Kreng either... Oneohtrix Point Never? Sorry to disappoint, no OPN this time.

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Best of 2015: Part #4 (20-11)

Since we don’t publish (or hardly ever read!) reviews throughout the year, this list has been composed out of honest passion and the utmost respect for all the labels and artists who worked hard to provide a special aural dessert for us. Keep up the great work, because someone is out there and listening! Be it techno, ambient, modern classical or shoegaze – we tried to collect our favourite sounds for your listening pleasure. The list could be longer but it could be shorter as well. Consider it as a guide if you like. We hope that everyone can discover at least 1 album they missed before. Then it was already all worth it.

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Best of 2015: Part #3 (30-21)

Getting closer to the end... it's time to take a look at the third part of our best-of-the-year list. Now that the year is definitely getting to the end, we can make sure there will be no new releases popping up in the last minute. Enjoy our selection featuring recent works of Moon Wheel, Christina Vantzou, Jasmine Guffond, Kangding Ray and others.

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Best of 2015: Part #2 (40-31)

Here comes the second part of our end-of-the-year best of list including recent works of Shuttle358, Fjordne, Off The Sky, Markus Guentner, Nils Frahm and then some more!

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Best of 2015: Part #1 (50-41)

End-of-year lists became something like a plague these days. Like a constant mass of unrequested baby pictures or wedding photos on social media – you know they are coming sooner or later, but you are aware of the fact that you cannot really hide from all of them. Secretly, you also admit that eventually all this is more than okay if they make someone happy. Let it flow. It’s basically the same thing with these lists – we’ve been pregnant with these albums for at least 12 months, and now that another year is coming to end, we would like to share these experiences with you.

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Sonae: Five things I decided in 2015

Picking Sonae's 'Top Five...' wouldn't help too much because she did not have the capacity to listen to enough albums or see enough films. Maybe she didn't have much spare time – but 2015 was exciting: her debut album came out, she went back back to university for doing a Master's, she's been playing concerts on a regular basis, organising a concert series in Cologne and installing a monthly come-together for female electronic artists. Sonae is sharing 5 important ideas she realized this year, this being the most personal feature that's ever been published on Sounds Of A Tired City.

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Christina Vantzou’s 5 favourite things in 2015

Indeed, it's THAT time of the year again. To spice things up a bit, we are going to publish a series of 'best of' lists composed by various musicians. Let's get started with Christina Vantzou who will lead us into the ever so exciting world of her travels, but we will also learn what her favourite performances were this year, and there are some great music documentary tips involved as well!

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PREMIERE: Gradual – Aton Tehen

Gradual are a Berlin based project of artists Lee and Michael. They embarked on a mutual sonic journey in 2008 to the thresholds of modern theatre and techno. Although they come from different ends of the sonic spectrum both were rooted in performance. Since coming to Berlin in 2013 they’ve developed their live project into something expressive and polished while maintaining the gritty influence of the city. They strike that balance in their intensive techno live acts by using drum machines, synths and modulars. We have the pleasure to present an exclusive stream of 'Aton Tehen', a track featured on their debut release 'Ipseity'.

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VIDEO: Robert Logan – Solanoid

Robert Logan's music is an intelligent fusion of influences from folk, medieval and classical to krautrock and electronica. He blends acoustic and electronic instruments and sound sources including voices and field recordings, and he has developed an intuitive and fluid use of digital production tools. His complex and restless rhythms carry an echo of his half Hungarian background and its rich musical history. With this new video created for 'Solanoid' from his new album 'Flesh', he revisits his Hungarian roots. Let's take this seven and a half minutes long industrial trip together.

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PREMIERE: Spaces – Two (incl. Mark Fell Remix)

Spaces returns with 'Two', the second in a trilogy of releases, hitting straight back with his unique blend of puncturing percussions and weird, compressed textures. To finish, this EP has the added bonus of a remix from Mark Fell (SND/Sensate Focus), an early supporter of Spaces' work.

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SIMULTAN Festival 2015: Talking To Strangers

SIMULTAN Festival is dedicated to media art and artistic experiment, cultivating the connections between different media. The 11th edition of this exceptional Romanian festival takes place between 7-10 October in Timișoara and you should definitely stop by if you're in the area.

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PREMIERE: Fink – Fall into the Light (Prequel Tapes Remix)

The trio known as Fink (Fin Greenall, Tim Thornton, Guy Whittaker) presents ‘Fall Into The Light’, a glitchy, echo-laden gem, released alongside three remixes that each lend a decidedly different flavour. We are proud to present one of the most special re-works made by Prequel Tapes.

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PREMIERE: Oiseaux-Tempête: ÜTOPIYA?

Oiseaux-Tempête's new album entitled 'ÜTOPIYA?' will be released on May 4th on Sub Rosa, but the readers/listeners of Sounds Of A Tired City can enjoy the free full stream of the album for a whole week.

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Crème de la crème: Intonal. Experimental Music Festival in Malmö (24-26 April, 2015)

What happens when Malmö (Inkonst), Stockholm (EMS), Krakow (Unsound) and Berlin (CTM) unite their forces? A splendid celebration of experimental music with a world class line-up, a whole weekend dedicated to sound, light and art in Malmö, Sweden. We are happy to announce that Sounds Of A Tired City will be the official press partner of the Intonal Festival, which means plenty of exciting news, reports and interviews coming up, just watch this space.

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PREMIERE: Kassel Jaeger – Silvaplana

After his brilliant 'Toxic Cosmopolitanism' on Editions Mego last year, the Swiss-French Kassel Jaeger returns with a collection of sounds from deserted places. 'Fragments' will be released in digital format only on 27 March, but the lucky readers and listeners of Sounds Of A Tired City will be able to hear one of the most impressive fragments entitled 'Silvaplana' right here, right now.

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PREMIERE: Marsen Jules – tlaslo

Ten years after his debut-album 'Herbstlaub', German ambient composer Marsen Jules takes us to his 'Empire of Silence', an impressing soundtrack to the epic power and beauty of Nordic snow and ice-landscapes. Although we are still quite a bit away from the Greenlandic scenery Jules is dedicating the album to, considering our Scandinavian mood and climate, we are proud to present one of the eight tracks entitled 'Tlaslo', which means snow that falls slowly in Inuit language. Exclusive premiere on Sounds Of A Tired City!

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PREMIERE: Bruno Bavota – Who Loves, Lives

Bruno Bavota is a Neapolitan pianist and composer – a romantic at heart. He invites his listeners to drown their sorrows in a beautifully shimmering sea of notes. We are proud and happy to premiere one of the most beautiful songs and Bruno's personal favourite from his new album 'Mediterraneo', which is going to be released on Dronarivm, 25 May 2015. Ladies and gentlemen: 'Who Loves, Lives'.

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PREMIERE : Mytrip – Empty

Mytrip is a dark ambient/drone act ran by Angel Simitchiev, a 26 year old musician and composer from Bulgaria. After about 8 years spent mostly performing live and publishing music on cassette tapes, Mytrip is finally releasing music on vinyl, which has its premiere on Sounds Of A Tired City.

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Steinbrüchel Competition: Win A Copy of ‘Parallel Landscapes’

Win a copy of Steinbrüchel's new album 'Parallel Landscapes'. The question is to identify (or guess as close as possible) how many different tracks have been used in Steinbrüchel's mix Sounds Of A Tired City #27. It’s not necessary to identify any of the artists and titles. The person guessing the correct (or closest) amount of tracks will win a copy of ‘Parallel Landscapes’, courtesy of 12k.

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Sounds Of A Tired City’s Best Of 2014

2014. It’s been a good year. Actually, it’s been an extremely good one, since earlier this year Sounds Of A Tired City didn’t even exist. Summarizing facts is not a complicated task, but epitomizing a year in music is a damn difficult one. We loathe to love and love to loathe end of year lists, since everything is so relative, highly personal and subjective, no one can argue with that. Even so, it can be a wondrously inspiring journey to sink into a list full of – supposedly – impressive, powerful, substantial releases. If someone manages to discover at least one record they haven't heard before, it was already worth all the effort.

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Best of 2014: Part #5 (10-1)

Hope you're all ready to discover the 10 most essential records this year. Because they're here on this page, you just need to keep scrolling down. This was the most difficult part of compiling this list, since numbers and ranks seem to be so irrelevant at this point. Let's just say that all of these records (so do the previous ones) deserve your utmost attention which should be carried on for many more years to come.

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Best of 2014: Part #4 (20-11)

We are slowly heading towards the end... Every day, in every way, getting better and better. In the fourth part you will find some gorgeous records by Richard Chartier's Pinkcourtesyphone, Yair Elazar Glotman's KETEV, Jenny Hval & Susanna, Ueno Masaaki, Saåad, Dalhous, Mica Levi's brilliant 'Under The Skin' soundtrack, and one of the most impressive debutants this year, Siavash Amini.

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Best of 2014: Part #3 (30-21)

Voilà, it’s time to take a look at the third part of our end-of-the-year best of list including recent works of Vessel, Opitope, Vladislav Delay, Andy Stott, Oren Ambarchi etc. If you missed the first parts, make...

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Best of 2014: Part #2 (40-31)

Here comes the second part of our end-of-the-year best of list including recent works of Lee Gamble, Chris Herbert, Robert Curgenven, Olan Mill, Loscil, Otto A. Totland and then some more.

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Best of 2014: Part #1 (50-41)

Summarizing facts is not a complicated task, but epitomizing a year in music is a damn difficult one. We loathe to love and love to loathe end of year lists, since everything is so relative, highly personal and subjective, no one can argue with that. Even so, it can be a wondrously inspiring journey to sink into a list full of – supposedly – impressive, powerful releases. If someone manages to discover at least one record they haven't heard before, it was already worth all the effort.

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