Genre: Rhythmic Industrial / IDM / Ambient

EO 01
01 Architrav - Bewegungsspielraum
02 Eretsua – Proto-Awareness
03 Rekt – Somebody Set Up Us The Bomb
04 Urusai – Slow Forward
05 Lucidstatic – Night Vision
06 Architect – Caine in the Brain (Displacer remix)
07 Distraub – Motion Sensor (REcalibrated)
08 Tzolk’in – Imix (Hidden Forms remix)
09 Totakeke – Power of Ideas (Hidden Forms Mix)
10 Talvekoidik - Hymn
11 S:cage - Unearth
12 Freeze Etch - Irrotator
13 Architect – Stairway (Stairwell Sidearm remix by Dryft)
14 Unterm Rad – On the Brink (Verge Mix by Dreams Are Maps)

EO 02
01 Flint Glass – Al Takwi
02 Ab Ovo vs. Flaque – Circle of Memories
03 Stendeck – Like Falling Crystals (Disharmony remix)
04 Freeze Etch - Stalwart
05 Atomatik13 – Traffic lights
06 Hecq - Moonkissed
07 Ginormous – Part of Him Died That Night
08 Nonplus – In Your wake (Lying Right Next To Me remix)
09 Phylum Sinter – Shadow Codex
10 Justin McGrath – The Last Thing You Said Was Fall
11 Displacer – Witching Hour
12 Flaque – Black Shadows In The Fog
13 Nebulo – Reverse (Remix)
14 Mnemonic feat. Qasot – Porous Dreams
15 Aural - Narcoleptic

Various Artists – Emerging Organisms is a compilation opening the new label Tympanik Audio that appeared in the US only in 2007 (founded by Synktank, a person behind Hidden Forms program as well), but already managed to take its firm stand within rhythmic industrial/ IDM/ Ambient scene owing to their choice of musicians and approach to music production that eventually formed their own style. Being only one year old, Tympanik Audio helped albums of 9 artists to see the light and issued two compilations in addition. There’re so many words to say about this release, but they run fast across my mind, collide with each other and finally cannot find the exit to be put into sentences and then in a well-composed text. So, let’s start with the outfit.

Emerging Organisms comes in a digipack that contains 2 CDs. The tracklists are placed in a smart way: when you open the first page, you see the CD and the tracklist on the opposite page. When you turn this opposite page, you see the second disk on its reverse and the tracklist in the very middle of a digipack. So you don’t need to waste your time searching here and there to see which track you’re listening to at the moment. Apart from that the pack is created in different tones of blue and white with some elements that look like made from metal on the front page. First it may look quite simple and not give you associations with rhythmic industrial/ IDM/ ambient, but later, when listening to music, you realise that this style of decoration fits perfectly the material presented on both CDs, as many tracks have a really transparent sound, serious, exciting music hidden under sometimes minimalistic cover.

As for the sound itself, as it was mentioned in above paragraph it changes from rhythmic industrial/IDM structures, sometimes with tribal and oriental elements (from such bands as Tzolk’in, a project of Flint Glass and Empusae and Flint Glass accordingly), heavy, forceful (Freeze Etch’s “Stalwart”) and noisy (as on the tracks from Urusai and Totakeke), a bit chaotic (like the track presented by HECQ) and sometimes dreamy and rather light (as the track from Ab Ovo and Flaque on the second disk), to darker ambient soundscapes, as the ones of Architrav (this duo has another band, Mnemonic, that was initiated back in 1994 and also took part in this compilation, on the second disk, featuring Qasot), reminding of cosmic journeys (like in the tracks presented by Rekt and S:Cage, probably due to those special sounds that are associated with calculating machines of the past) or just spreading the rich sound in all the directions (like in Distraub, Talvekoidik and Ginormous tracks). The rhythms change throughout the CDs, even within one track (a track by Lucidstatic can be a good example): here both straight rhythmic structures and broken ones feel comfortable, together.

There’re also remix tracks presented on this compilation as well as simply extraordinary ones like “On the Brink” from Unterm Rad. There’re two remix tracks of Architect (a project of Daniel Myer – mastermind of Haujobb, also a person behind Destroid) done by Dryft and Displacer (this artist also presents an own track on the second disk of this compilation), a remix of Stendeck’s “Like Falling Crystals” from “Faces” album performed by Slovakian dark electro band Disharmony in its recognisable manner and a remix of N0nplus “In Your Wake”, which has a slight post-punk touch.

As it’s clear from the above said, many established artists took part in this compilation as well as musicians that are just starting to gain popularity with the help of releases of such kind and sound up to “standard” determined by the artists that had the longer way in music. Those musicians are Phylum Sinter that is active since 2004, but has only two releases or Justin McGrath, active from 2003 and having only two albums not released on labels. The new generation of industrial artists includes IDM-focused Atomatik 13, Nebulo and rather ambient one - Aural.