"It feels fitting to start with a track by the grandmaster of Audiotool, Andre Michelle. Andre's tracks leave me feeling like a child playing with power tools. His discipline and dedication to theme always inspires. This track has got some serious roots on it, the filter techniques and delay work speak to the style's origins in the studios of Jamaica's Dub masters while the chord stabs and percussion have got that classic Basic Channel vibe. This one's a history class for sure."
"Opaqity is one of my favorite AT artists. I don't understand how he makes his tracks so smooth and jazzy while claiming to know nothing of jazz composition. From the moment I heard his tracks, the sheer classiness of Opaqity's productions immediately blew me away. His attention to detail and worshipful approach to melody and harmony never fails to impress."
"Hud. is one of the dopest sample manglers Audiotool has ever produced. There's just something about the way his tracks fit together that is so polished yet so unbelievably raw at the same time. His tracks are like the best samurai movies, they synthesize the unspeakably beautiful with the unimaginably bleak in sublime proportion. About the track: that bass..."
"Another super raw track from another of AT's finest outsiders. The use of noise and ambiance in this track is so good it hurts. The way the kick and the distorted toms duck that main loop is just ridiculous. Lo-fi at it's lo-finest. VLTRA's got that "so sloppy it's tight" sh*t down to a science."
"Torn (as is the case for many people, I think) was one of the first "big names" in the AT community to give me the time of day. In addition to being one of the most original and emotive artists on AT, he is also a major supporter of emerging artists; and seems like a wicked nice dude to boot! The mood of this track is amazing, super grimy. I can feel the air rippling like water in the heat of the sun when that trumpet sample hits. "
"One of my earliest fav's as an AT user. The way that delirious bass-line pulls the groove along is incredible. The delicate use of space in this track is perfect. For me, the "true artistry" (a phrase that generally leaves a bad taste in my mouth) in minimalist music is in the creation of a theoretical multi-dimensional space that all the instruments exist in, and then the subsequent subtle manipulation of said space to create a sense of change and movement. This is all that and more. "
"This track completely blows my mind. So loose, yet so much groove, and the harmonic structure is utterly merciless. This track is an excellent example of a production style that I like to call "manipulating the 3rd thing" whereby the artist manipulates a finished work by carefully selecting seemingly disparate and en-harmonic inputs and uses the listener's experiences, feelings, thoughts, etc... to generate the perceived diatonic output (finished work) which really only exists post-ear in the individual listeners head. I guess actually, that kinda describes all music... this is just a really good track."
"I don't 100% know who this is. Appears to be an alternate account, and I suspect I may have already put one of this person's tracks on this list. But what the hell, this track is way too good to pass up. I've learned that it really takes a lot of confidence and vision to take a track as simple as this from start to finish. It's way too easy to start second guessing and asking the "to much/to little" question early on in the creative process, thus destroying the sense of naturalness and spontaneity that keeps this style fresh. днa's got it just right here, minimal enough to evoke a sense of starkness, but enough textural and groove development to keep heads nodding."
"This track really does it for me for some reason. Daniel's use of texture is as always, just spectacular! The little reverb automations on the percs sound like steam floating out of some massive mystery machine and the way the groove hits @
1:35
is just so awesome. I love the physicality of the tone from the conga sample, I can just feel the groove undulating at the edges of my perception like some sort of freaky, incomprehensible beat-snake."
"Finally the great Lewi-Astro. This track is just way too cool for school. Perfect mixing proportions, so much detail, amazing use of repetition and subtle manipulation. Definitely one of the chillest tracks on AT, this beast clocks out at
12:42
and feels more like a short set than a single track. I'd also like to take a moment to thank Lewi for the amazing sample collection that he has made available to the AT community."
"I don't know if this dude's still making tracks, but he/she/it has a bunch already that are excellent. I especially love the idea of tracks inspired by the periodic table. Support the AT underground, check it out!"
"I've been doing a lot of 4 on the floor lately, felt like switching things up a bit. I'm really happy with the marriage of the kick drum and bass in this track, wish there was a little more action in the air-bands though..."