Altered Zones

For the past couple of months, we've relished in the ECM vibe heard on Harmonizer's most recent LP, World Complete, but on this remix of "Landline," Matthewdavid trades the track's deep world beat for a warbling glacial drone that burns as brightly as the original. --Ric Leichtung, Altered Zones

Harmonizer: "Landline (Matthewdavid Remix)"

Pick up World Complete from Mexican Summer

I had a lot of great things to say about Harmonizer's World Complete EP last week, but only one word-- the one word to rule them all?-- can truly sum up their suite of electronic atmospheres: vibes. So we can continue vibing as hard as Greg Davis and Toby Aronson, they've graciously assembled this mix of all-stars that cover the spectrum of global jazz fusion, light pop, ethno-techno haze, and ECM explorations. You'll feel it from the ambient works of Eno & Friends to the suave dad-rock of Steely Dan while gaining a glimpse into some of the records that inspire and enliven this talented duo. --Matt Sullivan, Altered Zones

Harmonizer's Altered Zones Mix

Stream the Software debut, World Complete, here

The constrictions inherent to most instruments-- their range, possible timbres, volume, whatever you can think of-- seem less intrusive to a synthesizer. There's something instinctive about toying with raw sound that allows one to channel the natural or supernatural despite the instrument's man-made origins and futuristic implications. VT-based synth gurus Greg Davis and NNA Tapes head Toby Aronson-- aka Harmonizer-- put that paradox into practice with their latest EP for Daniel Lopatin and Joel Ford's Software imprint, World Complete. It's a collection of primordial imagery via modern aesthetics, and whether it's exploring a pastoral nook in the clouds ("Cloud Bank") or recreating a spiritual, ritualistic sacrifice ("Derdeba"), its mix of primal percussion and absorptive ambience is sure to entrance. This is a work as complete as the super-saturated, conjoined continents of the album cover, and not one to be missed. --Matt Sullivan, Altered Zones

You can scoop World Complete from Software

MP3: Harmonizer: "5th World (Excerpt)"

Harmonizer is available now via NNA Tapes