Sunday, June 6, 2021

The Tron's Penultimate Sonic Ensemble of One

Hamilton-based retro-electro producer Terrorball has had a busy start to 2021, with four new releases uploaded to his Bandcamp page in the past couple of months. 

I've covered off a fair few of his releases in the past, but for an introductory ‘just who is Terrorball?’ overview, this Q&A (here) from back in 2016 is probably as good a place to start as any.

Or better still, download all four 2021 releases from the Terrorball Bandcamp page, and you’ll get some idea of what I’m on about. If you enjoy them, go back further and explore the rest of his (earlier) catalogue. Maybe even flick him some coin. The most recent releases are as follows:

BJRD (here) … or “bass jazz rhythm drop”, a ten track album, released in early April, with highlights including ‘Firebirds’ and the sample-fried delights of ‘Turntable’.

2010 – 2021 (here) … exactly what it says on the tin, if there was an actual tin, this is a 28-track sampler collection of tracks extracted from previous releases, spanning more than a decade. As such, this may actually be the ideal starting point for any newbies.

Dimension X (here) … I’ve listened to most of his work at some point or other over the past half dozen years, and I think this is one of his best sets yet. Highlights: ‘Horizon’, ‘Fiend Zone’, and ‘Tactical Strike’.   

Heavy Atmosphere 4 (here) … the fourth and latest instalment of his edit series where he adds a Terrorball spin to the work of others. As much as the world probably didn’t need yet another mix of The Shapeshifters’ ‘Lola’s Theme’ in 2021, this one is actually quite decent.

All of the above are well worth your time if you’ve got a weakness for all things funky and retro.