V/A - Oxidized, Vol. 3

Artwork by Mocktail

The Oxidized compilation series is a charity project we have been working on since the inception of The Rust Music, with Oxidized, Vol. 1 being our very first label release in February 2017. At the end of each year we select a new charity, aid organization, or non-profit, to which all proceeds from the series are donated. In the past we have donated to organizations focusing on natural disaster aid, environmental restoration and preservation, as well as civil/human rights advocates and COVID-19 relief efforts on local, national, and international levels. Proceeds from the Oxidized series in 2022 and 2023 will be donated to support equal rights to healthcare and access to abortion.

Across the last 6 years, we've recurrently tapped into a network of both our roster talent and our close associates across the experimental electronic music spectrum to craft our first two Oxidized compilations. Now, for the final entry in the Oxidized Trilogy, we've brought together 32 producers, songwriters, and musicians from the US, the UK, Germany and Georgia to craft 28 tracks that cross through a medley of motifs in Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Downtempo, and more. Please relax and enjoy this curated selection of moods and attitudes, courtesy of The Rust Music and our extended kinfolk.

maingot. - umami.

More from maingot.

In an epoch of instant uploads, self-releases, and numerous operable streaming platforms, faceless producers and creatives have the opportunity to navigate their own artistic projects through relative anonymity. As a soft rule, it's often those anonymous musicians who have a penchant for churning out hype-free, dialed-in compositions that feel a bit like buried treasure when you first discover it for yourself. Nesting in the center of that dynamic is maingot., and they've come to the table with another fresh iteration of smooth hues and discerning grooves; the umami EP.

Who's under the maingot. mask is irrelevant in a conversation about their musical output, as the mask has been firmly in place since their debut. What is evidentially apparent, however, is their command of rhythm and their stoic knack for charged-up songwriting. Combining subtle glitch palettes with jazz and R&B fundamentals, the 5-song package oozes with the sort of grounded, tangible cadence that makes instrumental music so palatable in the first place. Generous chord phrases stack up against sharp, transient percussion and subdued downbeats, giving each song the characteristics of a modest 4-piece act against a noir backdrop. Whether you're a return customer or a recent convert, maingot. has continued to deliver on their reputable sensuality in sound through the umami. EP, and is poised to continue delivering indefinitely into the future.

lxsh - Flora

Artwork: Justin | @cyberart_by_justin

While it's infusion can be felt throughout numerous contemporary catalogs, jazz as a vehicle for glitch music is often surprisingly sparse of the key inflections and rhythmic shakeups that dominate the better offerings of the genre. Taking a sample-collage approach with an emphasis on happy accidents, the multifaceted producer Ixsh has polished off the finishing touches on his latest collection of lush jazztronica, the Flora EP.

A brassy, fluid blend of neuro synthesis, staccato percussive play, and full blown runs through the pocketed corridors of jazz modes and motifs, Flora paints with wide brush strokes of technicolor hues, preserving the charred, tinny nostalgia of old stereophonic recordings with modern production and transient downbeats. The folding of layered harmonies and blaring horns into new, novel phrases and arrangements pairs graciously with the overt audio fragmentation and spurts of vicious low end, pushing past the natural glass ceilings of traditional instrumental compositions. If you're looking for a fresh and audacious take on the notes between the notes, Ixsh's Flora is sure to leave a permanent and sensuous impression.