Shackleton > any other musician working in electronic music right now. Bold statement? Sure, but I can’t think of one artist who is able to exist outside of the hyperbolic pendulum of modern electronic music as well as Shackleton is. There also isn’t a better artist to listen to while watching the TV.

“Shackleton was the most apt soundtrack for any time I had the TV on. (In fact, do yourself a favor, chuck on a Shackleton recording while you read the following, if you wish to read the following… ) The US squandered their hegemonic decade (perhaps their last one, but who knows really?) on two ruinous military misadventures and the succession of bubbles that burst like boils full of empty numbers and empty wallets and houses and blossomed into a full-blown chronic crisis (can crises be chronic?), and now, still, in spite of or because of that or who knows really, millions of Americans prefer to tune in to Fox News to hear some shrill nutjob scream about how Obama ought to restore America’s pride. Governments around Europe have saved the banks and socked it to the people, and Goldman Sachs are paying bigger bonuses than ever.” (mnml ssgs)

As described in a Resident Advisor review, “Shackleton’s loopy drum programming and ink-stained bass…are pushed to psychedelic extremes. Rather than seeking a way out for his music, he found new ways to burrow deeper.”

DVA Damas – Taylor Burch and Joe Cocherell – is a group tightly affiliated with Tropic of Cancer, reigning from producer Regis’ Birmingham label Downwards (currently operated by Juan Mendez). DVA Damas released their first EP in 2010, a collection of songs that represented the successful marriage of post-punk and industrial techno. The release bred a change in the label’s subsequent releases, which adopted penchants for warped new wave instead of typically heavy electronic music. Damas has released the EP Nightshade as well as a single, Le Face.

Live at Boiler Room:

Tropic of Cancer is a duo consisting of Camella Lobo and Juan Mendez (otherwise known as Silent Servant). Lobo’s music is dark, delicate, and melancholy, evoking themes of solitude and morbid romanticism. Though the group does not fall cleanly into any specific musical category, it is reminiscent of shoe-gaze, techno, goth, and minimal synth wave. If you are interested in exploring bands in a similar vein, you can look into other producers signed to Lobo’s label (Blackest Ever Black), which is currently based in Berlin and offers groups with similar new wave and goth-inspired electronic tropes.