Lucky Dragons is a music group from Los Angeles consisting of members Luke Fischbeck and Sarah Rara. Both their recorded material and their live material are created with the aid of computers. Their recorded material, which sounds mixed using a computer, is able to maintain a very “organic, earthy” feel. Recombining the “old” and the “new” is a vague theme, but Lucky Dragons' albums attract me a great deal because of their “minimalism” and “psychedelia”. “Sparse” structures, droning polyrhythms, trance inducing. The two live shows I have been to consisted of blissful, lush drone with Sara singing in a wordless operatic vein and Luke working the computer, processing the atmosphere and subtle yet powerful, endless rhythms. Their performance flows smoothly into the “Make a Baby” portion, which involves audience participation. Long wires connected to the computer are given to audience members and the rest of the audience is encouraged to touch those members, creating body chains to complete a circuit that produces a gorgeously modified, ecstatic pentatonic scale that shifts tones based on movement. .. feature :: by George Glikerdas

I have been following the Singing Knives label, with a fervent eagerness over each new release, since I first picked up an LP in the shape of Stephanie Hladowski's "The High High Nest". Each recording since has traversed continents of inspiration and topography of familiar, yet distinctly idiosyncratic properties. Recently Pekko Kappi's LP stirred an insane resonance I hadn't felt since first hearing Ghédalia Tazartès's "Check Point Charlie" record. The gathering storm of UK musicians found a home in Sheffield, that culminated in a throng of wonderment at Singing Knives All Day Event, seemingly many moons ago. For me the label has both inspired, moved and given me a chance to meet and liaise with interesting and dynamic people. It also does that wonderful thing, like Nyoukis's Chocolate Monk label; it's like a personal aid, searching the planet for essential noises... feature :: by Peter Taylor

Multiple cables rolled like strips of kelp from three tables that barred the audience from a trio of vacant seats. Seats soon to be engaged with bottoms spanning the Far East. Concrete cold underfoot reflected skewed candlelight, waning to muted tones; too dark to make out through the mass of people. An inquisitive crowd poured over a spider web of wires and Hankil’s intricate clockwork contraptions. Desk lamps – the staple of improv/laptop performances, bedecked the stage like curious herons; abeak to instrument. The smell of coffee and Amaretto wafted sickly in the air, invisible yet tangible... feature :: by Peter Taylor

Near Tapes is a cassette label based in Australia run by Matthew Hopkins, member of goth pop group Naked On the Vague and the more experimental and electronics based duo Hotchman and Hopkins. I was initially turned on to the latter of the two for its weirdness but either way Hopkins is doing great stuff, also fitting in time to make gallery based installations and other visual art in the Sydney community. In this interview Hopkins touches on the relationship between his two different music projects, between his visual and the aural creative outlets, and what kind of creative community Sydney is brewing... feature :: by George Glikerdas

With the commercial Music world having fully adopted the digital revolutio0n and its working practices, the experimental underground seems to be hesitating on the step before the brink. Eschewing this new form seems to be the norm, many people coming off as vigorously high-horsed against it. There seems to be a lack of real understanding out there with how the system can work in an artist or a label’s favour. Diogenes are, in their own words, “a small and dedicated digital ‘hub’ for experimental and underground music labels. Eric Namour takes some time out from Diogenes to shed a little light on their goals and how they operate. .. feature :: by Scott McKeating

Install is an independent record label owned and operated by David Tagg and Brian Grainger. The label started releasing music in Autumn 2007 and specializes in many forms of beatless experimental music, free improvisation and field recordings. Install strives to bring a modern unification of visual art and sound into consumers’ living spaces and public areas. Sporting streamlined designs by David Tagg, with a growing catalog of works by dozens of artists, Install exists so that experimental musicians may be given accessible exposure and distribution and be adequately compensated for their work, distinguishing the label from hundreds of others that only seek to capitalize. Install offers a wide selection of high-fidelity music, on formats such as CD, CD-R, 3” mini CD-R and vinyl. All items are obtainable via the label’s mail order catalog, accessible on Install’s official website, and delivered conveniently and confidentially to your home. Install is also kindly distributed overseas by Norman Records in the United Kingdom, Art Into Life and Meditations in Japan, and SoundOhm in Italy. Occasionally, titles may be available elsewhere within the United States, at shops such as Boomkat, Infraction, Ear/Rational and Aquarius as well... feature :: by Dave Miller

Noveller is the solo project of Brooklyn-based sound artist and filmmaker Sarah Lipstate. She has created music with One Umbrella, Parts & Labor, Nancy Garcia, Cold Cave, Rhys Chatham, and Glenn Branca. Lipstate recently opened several dates for The Jesus Lizard on their European and U.S. reunion tour, and will be supporting Xiu Xiu for several weeks on their U.S. tour in March. Noveller currently has a CD out on No Fun Productions and a split LP with Nadja’s Aidan Baker out on Divorce Records. .. feature :: by Dave Miller

Beyond the fringes and boarders is placed the inventive chrysalis of North West England’s Lotus Birth. Beautifully created, sonically engaging, idiosyncratic selection and vision entwine, in the quiet, from this obscure micro label. This is predominantly a tape only label, releasing units from a subterranean network of the obscure. Artists including Serfs, Chora and Nautilus have graced home forged cassettes. Infinite Light hold a permanent abode, releasing frequent solo and collaborative efforts; being the creative mind behind the label itself. Throughout the new millennium Lotus Birth have quietly provided a small service to the underground and 2010 sees the label growing with quiet rhizomes that tease their limbs into new and unexplored creative sources... feature :: by Peter Taylor

After more than ten years of silence, ex-Harry Pussy guitar player Bill Orcutt released ‘An New Way To Pay Old Debts’, an acoustic hardcore blues record that sounds heavier than all the eclectic guitar records in your collection. It was the best album of 2009... feature :: by Joeri Bruyninckx