Second album from Richie Culver due on Friday. This follow-up release builds on the limited-edition debut by offering a diverse mix of soundscapes. The record shifts seamlessly from the raw, intense noise assault of Army Crawl to the sparkling techno energy of Dream Pills, and it also delivers a robust warehouse vibe in Docker, reflecting the artist’s expertise as a DJ. The album’s most captivating moments are found in its central tracks, where Death Happens Here creates a sublime ambient tension that hints at transformative euphoria, while At Your Worst presents a rich, gothic ambient atmosphere. Overall, the album takes the listener on a compelling journey through varied electronic landscapes, blending intense energy with refined, immersive textures.
Flutter Ridder
March 08, 2025
Recorded in the coastal town of Hvisten in southeastern Norway, Espen Friberg and Jenny Berger's debut collaborative full-length is a duet on Serge modular and pipe organ that lands somewhere between Kali Malone and BoC.
There's a familiarity to this one, and that's not a bad thing by any means. As soon as the first tones of Below A Layer Bend Aside emerge, there's a feeling of comfort from hearing a well-worn synth alongside the hum of an old church organ. Friberg and Berger think of the instruments as siblings and they're not wrong; they met when Berger contributed to Friberg's debut solo album Sun Soon and enjoyed the process so much that they decided to take it a step further, retreating to the Norwegian coast to take advantage of Hvisten's pipe organ. And although there are plenty of organ-electronic fusions out there right now, there's an undeniable warmth to this one that makes it attention worthy.
Harnessing the relationship between air and electricity, Friberg and Berger often obscure the instruments by blending them so thoroughly. On The Sun The Fog, the fluttering Serge tones follow the organ's breathy whine before the two instruments split apart majestically, the pipe organ scattering into dramatic folk phrases and the synth splintering to remind you what you're hearing. Even on Bright Colored Armor, where the Serge takes more of a traditional role, circling the kosmische canon with skipping, resonant sequences, the organ replies with majestic Jarre-esque compliments. And they reverse the roles on Sibling Horses Heart, with the organ playing synth-like sequences and the Serge accompanying it with quivering drones.
Flux Updates
March 08, 2025
I have added new endpoints to the Flux templates to fully leverage Juggernaut Base Flux LoRA by RunDiffusion. This serves as a drop-in replacement for Flux [Dev], providing sharper details, richer colours, enhanced realism, and complete compatibility with all LoRAs.
I improved font optimisation on my blog by adding a pre-connect link to
my fonts, which sped up font loading. I also preloaded the critical
font subset to ensure quicker rendering of important content.
Additionally, I simplified the @font-face declarations by removing
unnecessary unicode ranges, which reduced HTTP requests. I considered using
variable fonts or custom subsetting to further reduce file size.
ChatGPT 4.5
March 05, 2025
This long-awaited model is now rolling out to Plus users. I gained access about two hours after the announcement, which I’m quite pleased about. However, I’m concerned about the rate limit, which is reportedly set at 50 requests per week. I assume this restriction is due to the model’s extremely high operational costs.
Updates
March 05, 2025
I've added a function that displays the number of tokens used per query, separated clearly from the text output. Additionally, I compressed the CSS on the blog for improved performance.
Currently testing Tom Ford's Fucking Fabulous Parfum. This is a revitalised edition of the original which launched quite a few years back. Honestly, I really dislike the fragrance's name — I find it controversial simply for controversy's sake.