STANDARDS & PRACTICE News

Five years on from its first outing, Standards & Practices returns with a second volume of Out of Practice that assembles a roster of exclusive, unreleased material that moves between broken techno, electro, dub techno and bass-heavy experimentation. The strength lies in its range: in this third 12" instalment, Patrick Russell's opener brings meditative dub pressure, Ghost Warrior's 'Second Wave' is a sparse, suspensory underwater world, Pessimist layers deft percussion into fractured rhythm science and Blood Music's 'Figures For Laser' has a cascade of 8-bit melodies adding futurism to jazzy, off-grid drums in what is an eerie and engaging closer. A snapshot of a label finding new ways to bend electronic music's tried and tested boundaries.

Standards & Practices like to take musical risks and adventure into uncharted techno waters with their compilations and this latest one, split across three EPs, is a testament to that. Out Of Practice Vol 2 (part two) opens with moody, sub-aquatic dub from Izzy Vines that is alive with the clanking of distant shipping lanes and vast propellers. Matthew Patterson Curry's 'Not Weird At All' is glitch-step and hyper futuristic, then Jeff Pietro melts your mind with the syncopated loops of 'Mass Hex' (version), which has an eerie celestial glow. Brendon Moeller does what Brendon Moeller does best to close - fathom-deep dub class.

If you're looking for some hi-fidelity techno that is about atmosphere and sound design as much as muscular rhythmic power, this one is for you as Standards & Practices returns with more thoughtful tackle across three EPs. Electro, half-time, dub and breaks are all chucked into the mixer here with Karim Maas opening with the unsettling emptiness of 'Positive Beliefs.' Stave & Grebenstein's 'Live Room' is a collage of texture and static with only the merest suggestion of rhythmic form, and Sandwell District offer a supple and deep techno vision on 'Le Coq Sportif.' Negative Affect's 'Sleep Walker' has menacing swagger to shut down a proper decent selection.

Standards & Practices returns after an extended hiatus with its first release for 2020 and the label's first-ever compilation. Showcasing six exclusive tracks from a variety of musically like-minded allies both new and established, "Out Of Practice Vol. 1" finds some of the most talented artists currently working in electronic music refining their sound and pushing their craft in exciting new directions.

Stave and Grebenstein's "Rack 4", their first collaboration since 2018's acclaimed "Live From Frankfurter Strasse", kicks off the proceedings with a view into a bleak, dystopian sonic landscape, while Italian producer VSK, known for his excellent EPs on Mord and 47 (among others) delivers "Pendulum", one of his best tracks to date - a visceral, unrelenting, broken-beat behemoth. Closing side A is Chicago native Todd Mattei 's contribution, "Lake Charles", a beautifully textured Frippian soundscape.

Kristian Jabs, better known to most as Pessimist, opens side B with "Rut", a sleek, stripped-down, techno track that positively drips with moody atmospherics and tension. Overlook and Karim Maas's contribution, the dense and claustrophobic "Chalk", is an ultra-heavy breaks track with hoovers and enough sub-bass to shatter blocks of granite. "7th Recording 29", an ambient piece which represents Jonathan Krohn's first recorded collaboration with long-time friend and associate Benjamin Mjolsness since their work together in the group Male - closes the compilation.

The first release on Standards & Practices since the widely acclaimed remixes of Talker's 'Battle Standards' EP (by Surgeon / Regis / Broken English Club) from late last year, 'Live From Frankfurter Strasse' represents the first recorded collaborative effort from Jonathan Krohn (Stave, also 1/2 of Talker) and Jan Grebenstein (Downwards, Horo).

Culled from recording sessions following several successful improvised live performances in San Francisco, Los Angeles, & Berlin, 'Live From Frankfurter Strasse' is 3 tracks of seismically powerful, industrial dub music that represents a new direction for the pair and is unquestionably some of their strongest material to date.

The twitchy, pared-to-the-bone opener 'Alfa' is at once vast and frighteningly claustrophobic, recalling the brutal, clinical precision of Mika Vainio & Ilpo Vaisanen's output, with a brilliantly tricky arrangement that continually pulls the rug out from under the listener - it's vertigo-inducing twists and turns are simultaneously disorienting and endlessly hypnotic. On the flip, the brooding, scorched-earth 'Stirn' & 'Verstarkerstufe' work at a much slower tempo, uncurling like a plume of smoke with a spacious, cerebral quality that occasionally brings to mind early Gescom.

The first release on Standards & Practices since the widely acclaimed remixes of Talker's 'Battle Standards' EP (by Surgeon / Regis / Broken English Club) from late last year, 'Live From Frankfurter Strasse' represents the first recorded collaborative effort from Jonathan Krohn (Stave, also 1/2 of Talker) and Jan Grebenstein (Downwards, Horo).

Culled from recording sessions following several successful improvised live performances in San Francisco, Los Angeles, & Berlin, 'Live From Frankfurter Strasse' is 3 tracks of seismically powerful, industrial dub music that represents a new direction for the pair and is unquestionably some of their strongest material to date.

The twitchy, pared-to-the-bone opener 'Alfa' is at once vast and frighteningly claustrophobic, recalling the brutal, clinical precision of Mika Vainio & Ilpo Vaisanen's output, with a brilliantly tricky arrangement that continually pulls the rug out from under the listener - it's vertigo-inducing twists and turns are simultaneously disorienting and endlessly hypnotic. On the flip, the brooding, scorched-earth 'Stirn' & 'Verstarkerstufe' work at a much slower tempo, uncurling like a plume of smoke with a spacious, cerebral quality that occasionally brings to mind early Gescom.

After unanimous praise for Talker's "Battle Standards" and play from the likes of Ancient Methods, Headless Horseman, Sunil Sharpe, Mumdance, Shifted and many others, Standards & Practices returns with a powerful set of remixes from iconic UK techno artists Surgeon, Regis, and Broken English Club.

Anthony Child kicks off the proceedings with his first remix in a year, and it's one of his best to date. His version of "Battle Standard" takes the track in a radically different direction, building a hair-raising wall of sound culminating in an unforgettable melodic refrain-beautiful and brutal in classic Surgeon fashion. The A2 track is a special bonus: a Talker cut only previously available on a limited edition CD compilation. Entitled "My Favorite Color Is Gold", this is a dark and cinematic ambient take on "(Gold) Standard".

On the flip, Oliver Ho delivers a remix of DJ favorite "Snub Nose" under his Broken English Club alias. His overhaul is nothing short of remarkable - only retaining a segment of the original drum track, he adds a post-punk-esque vocal while a vicious, monotone bassline snarls underneath, sounding like it slithered off of a Big Black LP sometime around 1985. Regis closes the EP with his brilliant broken-beat take on "Battle Standard", stripping the original to its essentials for maximum dancefloor impact.

As with the label's previous EPs from Stave and Talker, this package features stunning full-color sleeve art from acclaimed graphic design studio Common Name, and a limited number are pressed on silver colored vinyl.

Following the blistering inaugural release from Talker comes the
second release on the Standards & Practices imprint from label
co-founder Jonathan 'Stave' Krohn, who returns with 5 tracks of dark,
visceral electronic music for the discerning listener. 'Black Hills'
and 'TASC US' kick off the proceedings in fine style - pummeling
drums underpinning harsh blasts of noise and bleak, greyscale
atmospherics, while 'In/Human' and 'B5' on the flip take a different
approach - 2 tracks not aimed at the dancefloor, but both retaining
that cold, claustrophobic feel that characterizes much of Stave's
work. The brooding and sinister 'Stave 17' closes the EP, moving into
exciting new territory with an intensely cinematic sound