In case proof was needed that the recently posted “netlabel checklist” isn’t a required purity test for inclusion on this site, check out the netlabel lpnl.altervista.org, which doesn’t follow numerous of the rules: it doesn’t stream its releases, it provides no information on its artists, it isn’t iPad-friendly (the internal scrolling is broken in Safari in iOS), it has no RSS feed, and on and on. Technically, it does provide streaming, but that’s over at soundcloud.com/lpnl, with no consistent, self-evident link between the sites. However, one thing the lpnl netlabel does do is focus on excellent work, notably this self-titled track by fvsf:
The track is a real treat. It has, in essence, two elements: a slow rhythmic pulse and a flute sample. Both at various times and to varying degrees, sometimes simultaneously and sometimes in strict contract, undergo effects that alter the sound. That rhythm, barely a metronomic prick at the start, swells until the beats are so engorged that they overlap with each other and form one solid band of undulating bass. The flute is snipped and truncated, echoed in a manner that brings a metallic aridity to it, like it’s being reflected in shards of a broken mirror. The combination is something to behold. Though not even four minutes in length, it lends itself to repeat listens (I’ve played it for hours at a time in the background).
It’s downloadable as a Zip file (via lpnl.altervista.org), and streaming at soundcloud.com/lpnl/fvsf. The Zip file, in a manner not dissimilar to how the hexawe.net netlabel functions, includes both the MP3 and one of the brief loops that comprise the piece.