Suche:the human hands

As humans living on the planet today, we have become so removed from our original, natural habitat—the forest—that we forget our wild roots, our primal, animal origins. Music is one of the things that can bring us back to that place, that can put us in contact with a felt world of instinct, immediacy, and presence: a world where language and the problem-solving mind are not needed, where the music keeps your mind and body in the present moment, and the point of dancing becomes the dance of our inner wildness and animality itself. Hans Berg's Sounds of the Forest Forgotten affirms that music can bring us to a state of mind and body that can help us feel what we've forgotten from the forest. The overlaying project of the album is to conjure musical and conceptual resonances between mysticism and nature, summoning the incredible depth and force of nature that we usually miss, especially living in contemporary urban cities. Sounds of the Forest Forgotten channels the creativity, playfulness, and freedom of a life both before and beyond ours through the sounds of analog and digital synthesizers, a modular system, drum machines, and computers. Recorded between Hans's studios in Berlin and on the Swedish countryside, the album similarly shuttles between contemplative and ecstatic, between delicate and powerful, mixing sublime psychedelic techno compositions like 'Emerald Sea' with acidic dance-floor bangers like 'Storm' and 'Milk Thistle,' all nestled between contemplative and textural ambient compositions like 'Butterfly' and 'Glow Worm.' Berg is known for his enthralling productions and energetic livesets that capture dance floors with his particular brand of hypnotic techno, replete with angular lines, affecting melodies, pulsating basslines, and big drums. He also produces atmospheric scores and ambient soundscapes to accompany the video art and installations of long-term collaborator and celebrated artist Nathalie Djurberg. Berg's live sets have found a home in nightclubs around the world, with recent gigs in Berlin, Stockholm, New York, Tokyo, and Melbourne, to name a few. In addition to 2MR, he has released his solo work on record labels including Ian Pooley's imprint Montage, Klasse Recordings, and The Vinyl Factory. His ongoing collaboration with fellow Swede Johanna Knutsson - as Knutsson/Berg - has led them to start the label UFO Station Recordings, on which they release their own material. The duo also has released on labels such as Idle Hands, Default Position, Kann, and Random Island.

Pi Gao Movement presents their first and long awaited release of the HAdES (Humanoid Advanced Engineering Society ) Network concept on vinyl. Originally released as a digital download, Descendants of Starfish Prime introduces Majestic 12 as a genre - blending mavericks of electronic music. Much like the name implies, Descendants takes a still landscape and captures it in time as it is violently uprooted, stripped to it's base elements and becomes something foreign, something unimaginable, something beautiful. This four song release takes the listener through a journey offering little consolation and no apologies; using varying tempos, patterns, structures, and vocals as operators on a clean canvass. What is the HAdES Network Series The HAdES or Humanoid Advanced Engineering Society Network series will be a collection of works from various artists presenting obscure and diverse facets of electronic music. Man creating machines to replace the human being. Who is Majestic 12 Majestic 12 is not a who, but a what. There are no names attached to this conceptual group. It is a cluster of concepts that have been carefully selected through experimentation. Strains have been extracted, combined, and developed

Domestic Exile are proud to present the devastatingly deplorable and malevolent recordings (that are sure to corrode yet electrify your ears) by Glasgow's very own KLEFT.

KLEFT aka Vickie McDonald is rooted in and has actively propagated the underground DIY radical queer punk and feminist movement here in Glasgow. Their projects have included the skull crushing sludge doom of Cartilage, the unflinching and infamous multi- membered hard core stars that were DIVORCE and the sacrificial, druid drone glitch of MOURN. Alongside these projects they have uncompromisingly disrupted, motivated and facilitated collective endeavors to take down the capital power structure of the dominant system of patriarchal club venues and abhorrent fuckers in this town.

For this record 'H+ Sexualis', KLEFT explores the neo-modern space where flesh is left behind. Negotiating, analyzing and tearing to shreds the relationship and balance between flesh and technology. KLEFT's expansive and palpable sonic offerings delve into themes of transhumanism and body hacking and seep into our collective skin begging the question; can flesh ever be created digitally. Does a lack of physicality alienate human experience in a post transhumanism society Are we all destined to be skinless yet digitally connected Will the body become superfluous Toward "the utopian dream of the hope for a monstrous world without gender," as stated on Donna Haraway's essay ''A Cyborg Manifesto.'

From the opening track 'Ossein' the listener grasps a foreboding lethargic build up, lurking out of the spatial ritualistic shadows into a sea of suffocating nothingness. A void where there is no gravity. Skeletal and brittle shattering rhythms which echo DMZ / Skull Disco dubstep alongside the more frozen, glacial ominous explorations of grime are often felt proving KLEFT is an artist whose inspirations run deep and wide and generally exist in the darkest recesses of our subconscious. These fearful, disjointed rhythms are set against weightless atmospheric oscillated synths, as if roaming through bleakly opaque, claustrophobic narrow corridors on a first person survival horror video game such as Resident Evil.

Moving through to 'CMBR', KLEFT's dissonant, degrading soundscape ferociously ascends. The resilient kick drum is propulsive and pulverizing akin to 'ardcore tekno - or intense gabba if you have the guts to adjust the tempo up to +8 - aesthetics that overwhelm and agitate finally revealing it's grotesque biological / amorphous bio structure. Elevating the repetitive 4/4 kick to a destructive, distorted banger of a track as layers of converging atonal noise and sound design simultaneously further enhances the sense of imminent radioactive contamination.

Next is 'Writhe, Squirm, Broken' continuing the convulsive, nauseating permutations of the prior track but reconfigured like a mangled, gruesome Cronenberg-esque parasite that has infiltrated an open wound, excruciatingly feeding off of the inner anatomy of it's hosts body from within. Repulsively reformulating the shape and dimension. The intro is akin to a panic stricken bouncy ball contracting and expanding, the spring reverb building momentum and traveling further away in distance and speed.

'Hackfleisch Deluxe' is a muuurrderous stomper and is one of the more grime / bass orientated tracks that deconstructs and disrupts the tempo familiar to sub-low producers on Black Ops / Jon E Cash / DJ Dread D. The crawling, plummeting frequency of the synth is a nauseating rush of coagulating blood to the heed; a deep throbbing sensory depravation in sharp, paradoxical contrast with the driving harmony layered on top which proves to be infectiously addictive. Furthermore are splintering programmed vocal samples that gives a sense of artificial disorientation, mind over matter, a possible hint at our evolving sentient cognition within a nightmarish simulated, augmented reality

Second to last we have 'Keratin' which is filled with the near fatal dissolving thud of Djax-Up acid that gives the impression that you're a biologist peering through a microscope into a petrie dish and witnessing the rapid and furious genetic cellular replication of bacterial and viral organisms.

Culminating in 'Bruised and Bleeding Hands' where the squashed density of a deflated and depressurized helium filled balloon and elastic umbilical cords, barbed wire and copper wires grind n' coil around the lens of a zooming camera. Taking no prisoners, this is a punishing grime weapon. A phat, surgical kick drum bulldozes its way thru causing carnage, syncopated punching snares after every rave stab and dizzying third beat. It won't be long until ye hear this on Silver Drizzle's youtube channel in the near future.

This record transports us to the hyperkinetic mutation scene on the cult cyberpunk film Tetsuo The Iron Man where the organic flesh / mechanical rust of the Iron Man metamorphoses with the Metal Fetishist during the rebirth sequence and we say 'LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH!''.

Bruce - Aka Larry Mccarthy - Is Set To Release His Debut Album Sonder Somatic This October On Uk Imprint Hessle Audio. The Album Packs 11 Singular Uk Club Tracks That Evoke A Distinctly Emotive And Dense Energy, Channelling Detailed Sound Designs, Tangled Textures And Club Anthems For 2018 And Beyond.

The Record Is Deeply Varied In Styles, Ideas And Tempos, From The Tight Rhythmic Groove Of Album Opener 'elo' To The Weaponised Onslaught Of Ominous Club Cuts 'what' And 'cacao' - Through Drifting, Meditative Techno And The Skeletal Sound Design Of 'ore' And 'baychimo.' Each Track Shifts The Tonal Mood In Subtle And Distinct Ways, Whilst Retaining A Consistent Icy Sound Palette Infused With Colour And Human Warmth.

The Shapeshifting Hessle Audio Imprint Is Run By Pearson Sound, Ben Ufo And Pangaea. For Over Ten Years, Through Their Combined Tastes They Have Continued To Unravel And Explore The Edges Of Sounds And Ideas From The Wider Dance Music Scene, Across The Boundaries Of The Functional And The Experimental, With Consistently Innovative Results. As A Long Time Follower Of The Label, Bruce Wanted To Craft An Album That Continues Their Singular Attitude And Approach, Incorporating Vibes From Uk Soundsystem Music As Well As Music From His Home Town Of Bristol.

"from Being A Fan Of Their Work From The Very Beginning, It's Not Only The Music They Have Released That Has Informed My Taste/work, But Also The Journey They Have Formed Through The Application Of Their Attitude And Approach." - Bruce

Much Of Sonder Somatic Was Shaped By Bruce's Own Understanding Of Club Culture As A Whole, And Predominantly His Personal Relationship With It Both Professionally And Recreationally. The Album Was Partly Written As An Attempt To Capture That Rare Transformative Feeling That Can Cause You To Fully Lose Yourself In A Club Space, Disconnecting From Your Immediate Environment For A Short Time.

Sonder Somatic Follows Eps For Timedance, Livity Sound, Idle Hands And Hemlock, And Comes 4 Years After His Debut Ep 'not Stochastic' For Hessle Audio. The Album Pushes The Boundaries Of What Club Music Can Be Whilst Expertly Refining His Work As Both A Club Producer And An Experimental Sound Designer. With A Unique Sense Of Flair That Sets Him Apart, Sonder Somatic Is Set To Raise Bruce's Profile Across All Corners Of The Dance World.

Portland, Oregon resident Mary Sutton's solo debut materialized in the wake of a performance she gave at a clothing-optional soaking-pool sauna: 'I had never composed for synth before but wanted to make something people sitting motionless and naked in hot bubbly water would want to hear.'
It was while in this headspace that she reconnected with Satie's entrancing cyclical motifs, particularly the way 'he subtly spins melodic fragments, and pivots harmonies and phrases so the repetitions feel new and surprising yet soothingly familiar, as if casting a spell.'
The nine intuitive instrumentals comprising The Deep End accomplish exactly that, threading complementary shades of soft-hued hypnosis, dazed modal introspection, icy amusement park reverie, and lunar lullaby into a prismatic suite of contemplative melody and synthetic communion.
Sutton's songs are active rather than ambient yet their structure is more suggestive than scripted, full of lulls, asymmetries, and daydreams. Each track was written specifically to be played live on an analog synthesizer, with no overdubs or post-production wizardry. The sound of Saloli is one of warm-blooded wiring, turned on and tapped into, emotive and electric, storied machines speaking through all too human hands.

Planet Mu are excited to announce Ital Tek's 'Bodied', the follow up to his acclaimed 2016 album 'Hollowed'. Stepping in a different direction from that album, It's as if Hollowed's detailed world has been fleshed out and filled with the spectre of human voices.

As on his last album, the sounds on 'Bodied' are highly designed, but this time barely a whisper of dance music remains. Instead it's built around acoustic elements and ghostly choral arrangements, refracted and transformed into atmospheric, alien forms which are given the time to settle and transform. Rhythm is used only as a tool to give his world a sense of dark, mechanical momentum.

Alan explains; "After completing 'Hollowed' I had over a year away from writing any of my own material. I was working, composing music for a video game and a number of different projects. I needed to find a way back in and I rediscovered the joy of music being a release as opposed to a job. I was getting up really early and sketching out lots of ideas very fast, squeezing in quick bursts of writing at the beginning or end of long studio day spent working on other musical projects."

"It was important for me to define the world that the album was going to inhabit before taking it any further, so I put a much greater focus into the sound design and palette than I had before. I wanted to make the music sound very physical, geometric, and monolithic, as if it inhabited a physical space."

"On 'Bodied' the music focuses on the interplay between the minuscule and the vast, beauty and brutalism. With this album I was much more concerned with dynamics and the discipline of holding tension; the use of space and silence to provide a counterpoint to the intensity."

"Most importantly, I was keen for there to be a human acoustic foundation, so I did a lot of live recording of cello, violin, harp and guitar - anything I could get my hands on. I was certain that I wanted there to be a greater vocal presence - nothing lyrical or at the forefront but to give it an underlying organic quality - to impart some humanity into the music."

As Ital Tek moves further from his roots, he's creating new sounds and spaces in which his music can exist. It's up to the listener to decide what kind of world 'Bodied' evokes, but it's certainly one that's beautiful and rewarding to spend time in.

As we celebrate the 25th year of V Recordings, it couldn't be a better time for another release from DJ Patife & Vangeliez. One of the OG's of Brazilian D&B Patife teams up with fellow countryman Vangeliez (formerly one half of Human Factor) once again. Fresh from their last single, as well as features on last year's very well received 'Viva Brazil' compilation released in conjunction with SUNANDBASS, this duo has definitely found their own lane!

* On 'Living Together' they link up with two of the most recognizable voices in the D&B, MC Fats and Stamina MC to create an uplifting summer anthem, that spreads the positivity of music across the globe. These two vocalists need little introduction, but in case you don't know, they are behind some of the most seminal moments in our genre's history, classics like Calibre's 'Drop It Down' , DJ Hype's 'Peace, Love & Unity, DJ Marky & XRS's 'LK', D Kay's 'Barcelona' and so the list could go on... Basically with the coming together of these four names you're in safe hands! 'On The Floor' continues to push a euphoric feeling, but adapts a sub low bass that could tear through any system!

* Teaming up with Manchester's finest for vocals on 'Ain't That Bad', the tracks follow in the vein of their previous collaboration on Soul-R, and DRS delivers a stellar vocal performance that brings the track to life, and is again full of good vibes, definitely something you can never have enough of! 'Unexpected' is dripping with original liquid vibes - think Carlito & Addiction, Calibre, D Bridge Big Bud, Solid State - with a 21st-century twist - one for the those who like it deep.

* Drum & Bass as a genre now has so many different sounds and styles, but one sound that has ridden the waves of fashions and emerged as timeless is on display here as the duo deliver 100% organic, funk-filled Drum & Bass music for the soul.

* LABEL MARKETING: Features on V Recordings Podcast, Dedicated newsletter to 85,000 V Recordings subscribers. 80,000+ Facebook reach through label controlled Facebook and Twitter. Press on websites across the globe.

Moscow Is Mythologized For Its Grandeur And Gravity But Its Parable Pleasures Offer Splendor And Even Absurdity. Over The Ten, Symmetrical Pieces Of For, Kate Nv Scores Her Native Urban Environment With Just Enough Whimsy To Gurgle Through The City Cracks And Grow Psychotropic Foliage. Each Sound Assumes Its Own Personality, Moving Through The Album Metropolis Like Miniature, Mutating Molecules Viewed From Nv's Apartment Window.

Alternately A Guitar-wielding, Post-punker And One Within The Multitude Of Moscow Scratch Orchestra's Avant-garde, Nv Is A Versatile Artist That Maneuvers Instinctively In Whatever Musical Environs She Finds Herself. Nv's Second Solo Album Is An Even More Abstract Endeavor Than The Hybrid Pop Of 2016's Binasu. Inspired By Casual Moments Of Ephemeral Sound From Within And Beyond Her Apartment Walls, The Record Has A Clarity Arrived Altogether And From Right Under Her Nose. Recorded At Home, Nv Says It Was As If The Music Was Not Written By Herself, But Her Chair.

For Inhabits A Stage That Piero Milesi & Daniel Bacalov, Ann Southam, Or Hiroshi Yoshimura May Have Written Music For And Dresses It With Viktor Pivovarov's Psychedelic Depictions Of Moscow - Contorting Bodies, Flying Pencils, And Multi-dimensional Faces Dance With Subtle Arpeggiations, Conversational Voice Synthesis, And Anthropomorphic Midi. Animating Objects Is Essential To The Album. Like A Surreal Still Life, Each Piece Is An Alien Arrangement Of Common Elements That Extend The Everyday Ritual Into An Eternal Landscape Of Unconscious Activity. Somewhere Along That Landscape, Kate Awaits And Greets With Apples For Hands And Fish For Feet.

Like The Album Title, Each Composition Contained Within Is Represented As A Three Letter Word, In Russian And English. The First Half Of For Was Written In The Spring. Starting With yxo Ear,' Previously Released On The Peaceful Protest Compilation Cassette In 2017, Melodies Meander And Lollygag. a Two' Incorporates Human Breath Played Like Notes On A Pump Organ. Oak' Offers A Warm Tune To Tango. How' Loops Curious Notes That Bump Into Each Other With A Chirpy Acknowledgement. You,' The Only Track On For With Lyrics, Sets A Wassily Kadinsky Poem To Song.

The Second Half Of The Album Was Written In The Autumn. The Feathery Edges Of One' Extend Like Watercolors Bleeding Off A Rubber Scroll. See' Is A Subdued, Shadowy Variation Of How', As If The Same Song Were Played In Different Weather, Dimmer Light, Or By Kate's Devious Doppelganger. The Electronics Unravel And Unwind On Dog' Until The Final Track, Who,' Ends With Vague Solemnity And Rattled Metals.

A Short Online Film Series By Shura Kulak Will Accompany The Release Of For. The Films Follow A Solitary Figure Performing Ordinary Tasks Through A Slow, Warped Lens — Each Song Enacting A Daily Habit: Waking, Dressing, Reading, And So On. In Her Live Performances Around The Album, Kate Nv Will Play Each Song From Memory, Allowing For Variation From The Recorded Tracks, And Scenes From The Films Will Be Re-created And Improvised In The Moment.

to Me, Sounds Have Always Been More Interesting Than Words,' Says Agnes Obel. i Love It When The Voice Becomes An Instrument And You Almost Forget It's A Human Voice.' Never Is This More Apt Than On This Beautifully Programmed And Bewitching Selection Of Music.

Agnes' 2010 Debut Album Philharmonics Went Platinum In France And Belgium And, Unsurprisingly, Quintuple Platinum In Her Native Denmark, Where She Also Won Five Danish Music Awards (equivalent To The Brits) In 2011. The Follow-up Aventine, Released In Late 2013, Was Imbued With The Same Measured Calmness As Her Debut. It Went Platinum In Belgium And Gold In Denmark And France.

For The Mix You Have In Your Hands It Feels Almost As If Agnes Has Scoured The World Looking For Kindred Spirits - Or Kindred Songs. There's A Quietude About It All, The Antithesis Of A Rush Hour, Like A Frozen Lake On A Sunday Morning. This Is Aided By A Veritable Cornucopia Of New Obel Material, Including A Haunting Reading Of Danish Song 'glemmer Du', Inger Christensen's 'poem About Death' Set To Original Music, And An Agnes Original, 'bee Dance'.

Among Them, There's The Enigmatic Jamaican Singer Nora Dean Who Weighs In With The Hypnotic And Slinky Duke Reid Production, 'ay Ay Ay Ay (angie-lala)' And The Sparse, Sardonic 'party Girl' By Michelle Gurevich, So Good It Inspired The Eponymous French Movie. There Are The Plangent Voices, The Bulgarian Folklore Choir, Nina Simone, Ray Davies And Agnes Herself, Ringing True. Somehow, Ms Obel Makes Even Makes The Electronic Tracks Bow To Her Needs As With Yello Whose 'great Mission' Is More Martin Denny Than Underworld And Cult Greek Composer Lena Platonos' 'bloody Shadows From A Distance' Pulses Gently Rather Than Throbs And Can's Recently Rediscovered 'obscura Primavera', Unusually Hushed.

"i Was Surprised At How Much Time I Ended Up Spending On This. I Collected All The Songs Together With My Partner Alex And We Just Spent Time Listening To Records, Trying To See What Would Fit Together. Some Of The Music I've Included Here Is On Mixtapes We Made When We Were Just Friends As Teenagers. Each One Of The Tracks Produces Stories In My Head." - Agnes Obel, February 2018

The fourth installment in John Osborn's DRED RECORDS series will be from fellow UK producer Harsh Puri who goes under the moniker Reformed Society. DRED 004 consists of six tracks in total - three that will appear on the vinyl release, followed by another three that will be digital-only exclusives. Harsh Puri aka Reformed Society debuted in 2015 with this being his sixth consecutive release in order. Harsh's productions caught John's eye, or rather ear, after being sent to him last year and resulted in this release of six solid prime time deep house stompers. Packaged in an understated matte white sleeve with a black and white picture of Brahma (the four headed Hindu god of creation) handstamped on each cover by the label owner himself, this being a continuation of the human skull DRED logo. 'ONE LIFE' opens the 'DIMENSIONS' EP and is the track given to label boss John Osborn for deconstructing and remoulding into his own specific vision - each release will contain a rework from Osborn. If you are familiar with John's previous work you will immediately recognize his characteristic resonating percussion, the tune being a deep house sci-fi storm expedition driven by a full luscious kick covering the tracks of chords from unsettled pads. The EP's title track has ambient sonic rays flowing through it, being aptly named 'DIMENSIONS' - it is also the record's warmest adventure; distorted percussion juggles sparse subaqueous melodic moments, and from here we go into the 12s final moment, 'CHASING TITANOID". Reformed Society goes in with full yet silent force on this one. A warped bassline co-creates the groove with a particularly bouncy beat with sharp strings piercing though.

As Weekend Circuit approach their 20th release, Argentinian duo YYYY return for their second full length EP on the label to celebrate this benchmark.

The YYYY modus operandi is already familiar to the initiated - expressive, raw techno experimentalism from the outer reaches. 'Carry This Blood' is a collection of 4 moods and sounds, carved out with emotion soaked ambience, synapse flaring distortion and machine fracturing rhythms.

'Repent', as the title suggests, takes no prisoners, leaving no survivors in it's wake, it is a glimpse into a tear in the time-space continuum where chaos rules. 'Hands Towards The Giver' is epic, glacial, spacial widescreen techno. Dramatic and urgent, the soundtrack to a doomed planet collapsing from within.

'Carry This Blood' bestows an eerie, cold feeling. An atmosphere of regret and loss hangs over it like a thick fog on a hillside, punctuated only by a heartbeat mimicking kick drum offering a human touch. 'Of Thrones And Comfort' snaps us out of the haze, the fog clears and we are faced with the frenzied electronics and thundering kick drum of this most sinister of tracks.

KUF create emotion-laden dialogues across layers of time and dimensions of sound. Voices recorded in private are chopped up and brought out center-stage to sing with beats hammered out right here and now. Glowing synths push forward. Basslines rise to grab the melodic role of a track while a vowel is truncated and locked into a grid, driving the rhythm. Voices move within the frame of a sample, performed by hands pushing keys, guided by the ear, immersed in a trio session's deep flow... A vortex of quirky hands, responsive ears and glowing circuits. Since Thomas A. Edison first recorded the human voice in 1877, the recording arts have changed music forever. Musicians have explored the endless possibilities of bouncing their input onto layers of tape, off the walls of an echo chamber or the circuitry of electronic helpers - technology that modulates, spatializes, shifts, divides or multiplies the work of human hands and mouths. An era of sampling offered a cubistic analysis of the recorded past and DJs took dancers onto intricately fractured time travels. This is the historic foundation that KUF keep probing. Just like the sampler and the DJ before them, they found new ways to re-allocate where machine and man stand when making music together. Most importantly, they turn the resulting friction into sparkling bursts of energy. 'Universe' digs deeper into the android vocal chords. The album offers sweeping melodies, different beats and persistent bass. Immerse in the intimacy of the voices, probably recorded in trains, backstage areas and at late night private parties during Berlin Lichtenberg warehouse rehearsals. By striking the keys, KUF squeeze out and serve up all

Cryosleep is the debut album from Null + Void, the alias of prolific New York producer Kurt Uenala. It's an album of contrasts and tension, where darkness is pierced by blinding light, and where moody new wave bleeds into stark electronics. In one moment, joyful memories give way to isolation and regret, and in the next, Cryosleep explores the catharsis of crowded dancefloors. Throughout the record, Uenala matches his dynamic production with incredible vocalists-from Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan and the inimitable Shannon Funchess, to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and The Big Pink. Null + Void's take on dark pop meshes with his love for Detroit electro, poignant synth melodies, and cold atmospheres. With the cinematic opener 'Falling Down' and brooding instrumentals like 'Come To Me", Cryosleep can feel like the soundtrack to a lost space epic. No doubt, the album evokes Blade Runner, dystopian landscapes, and the splendor of far-off galaxies. As Uenala puts it, Cryosleep is inspired by 'classic sci-fi stuff,' images of futuristic machines sustaining humans frozen in a dreamstate. The melancholy 'Foreverness' explores what they might be thinking: 'A collection of fragments, memories of a life lived-preserved, but incomplete and jumbled.' Meanwhile, 'Into The Void' paints a peaceful, otherworldly picture, 'like soaring towards a white light.'

2024 Repress

Hotel Record is the second release from the duo/couple of crys cole and Oren Ambarchi, following on from Sonja Henies Vei 31 (Planam, 2014). Where their debut recording presented a disquieting portrait of the erotic dimension of romantic intimacy, the follow-up continues to explore the pair's simultaneously musical and romantic relationship in a more subtle fashion, presenting four long-form pieces that touch on the variety of forms the life of this couple takes: as a musical duo, as a pair of travelers to exotic locations, as opponents in a game of cards...
Each of the double LP's four sides presents a distinct sound-world, yet each manages to attain the same suspended, half-sleeping feeling, outlining a space where improbable combinations of the electronic and the acoustic, of extreme closeness and amorphous distance, occur with the gentle insistence of a dream.
The opening Call Myself calmly unfolds a fabric of long tones from electronic organ and guitar, combining the sliding, aleatoric effects of classic David Behrman with a more hands-on feel. Over the top of this slowly shifting tonal bed, cole's voice mutters unintelligibly into a Buchla synth, teasing the listener by suggesting a meaning that remains always out of the ear's reach. Francis Debacle (Uno) builds on the foundations of a heavily amplified session of the titular card game, overlaying vocal murmurs and exhalations and mysterious room-sounds to create an impossible aural environment. On Burrata, a palette of vintage 1980s digital synthesizer sounds combined with guitars create an irregular texture of lush chords and bubbling melodic details, into which cole's voice processed by a vocoder, is interwoven, reading fragments of romantic correspondence. Finally, on Pad Phet Gob, field recordings made in Thailand become an ambiguously acoustic/electronic rainforest, eventually giving way to a mysterious, wavering electronic tone-field punctuated by sibilant, popping mouth-sounds.
Carving out an intimate and human sonic space across a diverse array of compositional approaches, sound sources, fidelities and textures, Hotel Record is the latest dispatch from the continuing explorations of a unique duo. Ambarchi and cole reimagine electro-acoustic music, not simply as 'abstract' sound, but as a diary, a love poem, a dream.
Deluxe gatefold sleeve with photography by crys cole and LP design via Stephen O'Malley
Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin February 2017

children are laughing and playing in the back, a baby screams happily: handsome field recordings welcome the listener to the final chapter of fred p's fp-oner trilogy for mule musiq.
the opening tune is called smiles, so children's laughter fit the mode. the idea is that smiles and cries are natural for children and as they grow to adulthood the reality becomes more, therefore the duality of life itself is obvious in the mood of the song.
the new york city native that is working on his very own music for almost 20 years explains about the beginning of his new album that features eleven tunes for deep meditative club use and beyond.
it brings the listener house music full of cosmic realities, odd jazzing moments, japanese spoken word pop, synth spheres for ambient use and an overall outer-national atmosphere, that handsomely dances between roughness and subtle tuned in deepness.
i chose to base this project on numbers in order to impart a bit of depth and substance. 5, 6 and 7 have a meaning in both the literal and esoteric sense. we as a species are a combination of matter and energy, so it is a matter of relating the two in harmony.
my experience as an artist expresses this. it's like a testimony to the human condition and how we relate to treat and mistreat one another. this view is the base of a philosophy that is close to me, be-cause art imitates life.
so rather than doing a project that highlights ego posture, my intent is more about what can i give to the listener. as a human being, as an artist, what can i share it's a part of a philosophical tug of war that goes a lot deeper than the expectation of what one might think a dance album or rather an elec-tronic music album should be.
it's food for thought, not candy and a soft drink, but real substance that stays with you.he reveals about the profundity of his trilogy. at large it is a journey inward, compelling, mesmerising and en-chanting.
for the final chapter fred p mostly produced in his studio in berlin on various synths and with a bunch of mysterious samples, all later organized and programmed in ableton. this project has a beginning mid-dle and end. the record 5 was intended to introduce a meditative energy within a rhythmic construct as the number 5 represents the dynamic and unpredictable.
the whole album carries the energy of that ilk. the album 6 is of an earthly and more harmonious dis-cord. i attempt to bring the inner conflict in the form of natural unnaturalness. the raw energy of the search in this project i think is self explanatory, which is the point i believe to show how flawed one can be but express very specific themes honestly.
finally, with 7 my goal is to merge the two into balance, as one focused state of mind as 7 is the thinker beyond understanding or beyond the illusion. this is my hope people take away from this: a feeling of growth, optimism and positive energy. we are dealing with vibrations every person resonates with, so the idea is where do you want to take that
what do you want to do with that as an artist you can do some good or some harm. for me i choose to give the best that i can and i hope that the people that participate get a sense of that.' true words by a kind and gentle soul that loves to speak in music.
they explain much and then leave things in the dark too, as he basically says: let the music play. so listen deeply, open your doors of perception, dance the atomic mess around, stay small, be true and don't forget: fp oner's music is a traveling zone with a universal meaning. it can mean many things to different people. but thus is the purpose of art.

A year after their impressive last album Burn It Down, Detroit techno legends Octave One are back with a nine track double EP that again shows they are masters of big hypnotic grooves.

Entitled Love by Machine, the album's name is a nod to the fact that the Burden brothers are such revered masters of their hardware. Both in the studio, where they cook up atmospheric house and techno with soaring synths and vocals and also in the live arena, where they are celebrated as one of the most accomplished and forward thinking performers in the game today. That is all the more impressive when you bear in mind they have been active since the '80s, most often releasing on their own 430 West label, which is where they appear again here.

Say Lenny: We've been exploring the theme of connection with this project. How technology gives us the illusion that we are closer to each other more than ever. At some point humanity crossed a line where the devices that we created to bring us together are the same devices that are blocking us from organic experiences.'

Technology is only a tool, which we also had in mind during the recording process.' Adds Lawrence. We decided to go back to how we used to make our records, when we didn't have so many 'sophisticated' audio devices. Back to when we interacted in the studio together as musicians.'

Things open up with the loose metallic percussive line that is In Mono, which sets the machine made tone and is filled with promise. Locator then immediately gets to action with a gallivanting techno kick and various synth lines wrapping round each other as you get sucked into the groove. Just Don't Speak (Midnight Sun Redub) is a more deep and house leaning track with big feel good piano keys and slithering synths that will get hands in the air. Proving they have real range, 7 B4 Dawn is a moody and reserved cut with subtle acid pricks, hip swinging claps and a spaced out dead of night feel.


The second half of the album offers peak time business in the form of the spectacular Bad Love II, the whirring and cosmic Sounds of Jericho and the big loops and fluid grooves of (Where) Time Collides. Pain Pressure is a wonky number with big bassline and a focus on percussive patterns as well as some vocals with real attitude and last cut 8 B4 Dawn ends things in a downbeat and sombre way with sad chords and emotive strings. It is pure Detroit, much like the whole album, and rounds out another fine release from these most revered veterans.

Reaching the milestone of its 100th single/EP release, Circus Company welcomes back Aquarius Heaven with a new EP of poignant, uplifting house music loaded with a meaningful message for these transient times. It's nearly three years since Brian Brewster delivered the Parallela Mundi 12', and in that time he has been on a relentless mission to spread his unique blend of house music, Caribbean roots and psychedelic magic across the globe in a whirlwind of live performances and collaborations. In a manifestation of his well-travelled soul, these new pieces call upon traditional influences in amongst the modern motifs that Aquarius Heaven has been built on, while lyrically dealing with the pressing issue of refugees escaping conflict, poverty and famine. The proud drum throwdown and carnival bleeps of 'Bato Chargé' conceal the seriousness of its theme. In Brewster's native tongue Creole, bato chargé translates as overloaded boat. With the Caribbean as equally rooted in the history of displaced humanity at the hands of sinister powers, the groove of 'Bato Chargé' takes on a defiant, hopeful tone directly inspired by the traditional percussive music style Gow Ka. '50 Drops' by way of contrast takes on a noirish tone with its gritty, street-weary tale and nocturnal melodics played out through enchanting arpeggios and warbling leads. Cooling off the tempo and heading into a digi-dub skank that plays off Brewster's roots in reggae and dancehall, 'Marie Galante' takes those same warm synths and runs them through a low-but-heavy stepping landscape; the perfect backdrop to the vocalist's dexterous ramblings on the mic. It's not often you hear Creole New Release Information delivered in contemporary electronic music, with a rare exception being the legendary work of Tikiman et al with Rhythm & Sound in the 90s.

Gone with the flow - after a little break the German musicians Julius Steinhoff and Abdeslam Hammouda revived their musical adventures and left all electricity untouched this time. For their new acoustic project the duo has chosen the alias Tonight Will Be Fine - a name that is familiar to those who followed their work in the past years. As Steinhoff & Hammouda they used the name for their first 12" on Smallville Records, the worldwide acclaimed house and beyond label and record store that Steinhoff co-runs. Now they reheated the phrase and chose it as the alias for a bittersweet acoustic singer/songwriter project. Their wonderful, captivating new musical venture came into life due to happenstance and old ferventness. After their trips into house music the duo parted geographically. Hammouda moved away from Hamburg while Steinhoff strengthened his label Smallville, built up a global DJ career and produced acclaimed house records on diverse labels - solo" and with his buddy Dionne as Smallpeople. In all the time Steinhoff and Hammouda never stayed out of touch, bound together through deep friendship.

At some point they met again for musical missions and started to record music that had nothing in common with their prior work. Steinhoff re-activated his self-taught guitar abilities and entered the studio of his friend Lawrence in the back of the Smallville record store to capture some steeldrums and vibraphone sounds. Hammouda brought more instruments like a banjo, a violine and tablas and they just started to record sketches and songs. Hammouda's musical backround leads to a widespread range of influences while growing up, before he got into producing hip hop and electronic music. For Steinhoff, the transformation from an electronic music producer into a singer/songwriter wasn't that new too, as his first musical steps have been routed in band music. Until his late teenage years, when he discovered house and techno, he played drums in a local indie group in Freiburg and for Tonight Will Be Fine he now also freed his old drum kit from cellar dust.

After the duo felt that their musical communication elevates into something more profound then a session thing, they provided themselves with additional instruments like new guitars, claves, an accordion, a piano and more. Initially the songs were very rough and sketchy. Musical ideas that did not have a real song structure. Then we started to arrange the tracks and added our voices and lyrics.' both reveal. Their charming singing covers almost the whole album with a characteristic sense of deep winking melancholy. Their lyrics are exercising the possibilities of words and are inspired by life, the world and all the those questions a human can ask in his time on earth. At some point both started to show their new songs to some friends and they liked it and encouraged the duo to move on. Somehow one of the tracks landed in Toshiya Kawasaki's mailbox. He instantly fell in love with it and asked if they would like to do an album for Mule Musiq. They did what was asked and after some reformatting and reinventing Tonight Will Be Fine originated 13 songs full of sweeping acoustic guitars, airy rhythms, piano melodies, gloomy accordion emotions, touching voices and a bunch of other exotic instruments, done without the help of electronics. They all form Elephant Island' - an incredibly inspirational place where impressionistic lyrics dance gently with kinetic acoustic music that comes out of plain jamming fun. The melange of a structured song base and free improvisation injects all songs a loose feeling. And shows two handsome fellas carving out their own musical utopia. It is a warming one, full of hope and musical freedom powered by an unabashed instrumental playfulness.
nstrumental playfulness.





É a5 | soliloquy

This next release demonstrates exactly what can happen when you merge a formidable heavyweight with one of the genre's most promising talents. Jaguar Skills needs little introduction; he's infamous for his ninja-like DJing skills with years stacked behind the decks.

As a result, it was no surprise the artist tried his hands at production alongside Chord's impressive musicality. Already unstoppable from its conception, 'Lust' could only be released on an imprint known for its high quality. And RAM Records is proud to unleash this toe-tapping, catchy piece of sonic artwork on the dnb community...One that's already taken the radio airwaves by storm.
Opening with a rhythm that curls itself around your aural senses, prepare to be pulled into 'Lust' by its funky groove and well-chiselled hooks. The vocal delight of Matti Roots really brings light to the seasonal feel this track creates; an arpeggio of notes underpins each high-hitting voice crescendo. Bright but not without substance, Chords' production style is instantly recognisable. This debut from Jaguar Skills serves as a perfect platform for the high standards this mix-maker is about to set, as well as the benchmark which Chords has already carved.

On the flipside, Break holds onto the A-side's sunny disposition, yet throws down a riddim that hits as heavy as a freight train. The foundations laid by the producer are slightly different, as it rattles forward with clinking percussion, alluding to the kind of drop Break is renowned for. With his distinctive, boundary-pushing drum rolls and bouncy, booming and concise hits, there's no mistaking a sound which adds another dimension to the remixes' original.

You're also served up with another dish which is vastly different from house-guru Monstro. like the previous edit, the record's humanism winds up within the first thirty seconds, however the seismic impact of its drop rolls out into a house-bassline that thumps with every bar. A genre transition which doesn't fall short of the original's production prowess, prepare to hold onto your seats because this serves as the optimal way to wrap up two striking remixes of an already impressive track list.
Dominating playlists for years to come, this release from RAM is yet again taking the genre to another level. But considering the parties involved, there was no other direction for this record to take.