quête:ae

Thomas Urv and Miss Mostly's Norwegian techno imprint PLOINK drops the second in its trilogy of releases celebrating the brand's 20-year anniversary.
Following on from the first release that featured renowned Scandinavian artists such as Prins Thomas, Mental Overdrive, Urhaug, Nordenstam, Christian Tilt and Hutmacher, the label's next outing sees five more
members of the local scene make appearances.
First up, promising newcomer Saftronic drops the chuggy 'Exit', incorporating soaring synths and spellbinding atmospherics, before PLOINK founder Thomas Urv, who's also preparing the label's debut album, delivers a dense low-end and infectious whirrs in 'Set Lucky'.
Known for his longstanding contribution to ambient and techno with releases on Beatservice, Club Craft, Berserk Fabric, Diametric and Silent Season, renowned Norwegian producer Mind Over MIDI crafts intricate
arpeggios and echoing effects in the arctic inspired 'Ice Plains'.
Releasing on PLOINK before, KSMISK, who are also known as Trulz & Robin, conjure up a sinister production named 'Yme' that features dusky aesthetics and twisted nuances, until Argentinian born CementO concludes the package with the undulating 'Nordisk Skjønnhet'.

Who would have thought that Gerd Janson and Phillipp Lauer, aka The Tuff City Kids, delivering a 'Rocker' mix for Alter Ego, wich is not only one of their best up to this date remixwork, but also probably one of the biggest electro-summerhits in 2016. The Tuff City Kids production work is quite similary eclectic like in Roman Flügel and Jörn Elling Wuttke's original version. They know exactly how to juggle with different styles, until they come up with a fresh new sound that transforms an ordinary rave into an unforgettable happening. In this case they are mixing real performed krautrockdrums, 90's prototrance-balearicstrings and an unexpectedly new, enthusiastic way of working with Alter Ego's trademark melodyhook. This melody-theme is dripping formally out of every programmed bass and synthesizer line without beeing to cheesy, superficial or over the top. Even their 808 electro-remix for the track Gate 23 is keeping to the premise of the legendary New York punk rock band The Ramones, that a good party track should not illustrate the effects of psychedelic drugs, the music has to be the pill itself. The rich details and playfulness of the mixes are showing Gerd Janson and Phillipp Lauer as real fans of the original versions.In the same spirit, they are trying to melt pop-appeal, art-sensibility and clubhit-function in one piece of vinyl.

James K is a stranger to obviousness. Over the past few years the New York native has quietly honed her sound and peculiar aesthetic. Equally organic and electronic, her sound is a combination of odd dreams, industrial beats and vocals, both incomprehensible and appealing, with a thick layer of glitter on top of it. James K is a concentrated dose of emotion mixed with sorrowful iciness, which in turn ties together ripped, broken, morphed and enchanted samples. James K stands for a fusion of visual and sonic elements, deeply rooted in conscious art practice and downright freak-out. James K creates a mythology of her own.
'PET,' her first LP due out in early 2016, will be a co-release with Dial and her own label, She Rocks! A special edition of the album with added bonus tracks and interludes with be released on cassette through Canadian label 1080p.
In James K's words: 'The underlying desire of 'PET' divides into two parts: an escape into ethereality and a mischievous denial of my own experience. It narrates my search for honest expression by means of the premature denial- a childish excursion into a world of monstrosity and innocence.
PET reflects my mental state during its production - as a person, I was owned, objectified and hurt by other, and that wound I then unwillingly internalized. I turned to my music as a way to dissect these thoughts. The product became my possession, or 'pet.' In retrospective, this process gives me strength over myself; love—knowledge and wisdom enacted. The arrangement of the music and the PET itself relates to my endless struggle, namely, my attempts to reclaim myself.'
Her 'Sokit' 7' is a double track single for her album, which she released last Spring. James K is featured on the recent compilation released by Dial Records for their 15-year anniversary, and a mini LP of her noise pop project SETH (along with producer Gobby), was also recently released by label 1080p in June, in cassette and digital form. She rocks.

We are glad to introduce 'FAREED' half part of the French duo 'SOCIETY OF SILENCE' for his first solo Ep on a label. With the 'Phausis Ep', Fareed offers an interesting balance between emotional melodies and organic textures, raw sonorities : the result is full of tension and very personal : another point of view on the Techno. We choose three original tracks and ask to our friend Voiski to work on a aerial and refreshing remix which sticks perfectly with the original project. Enjoy ...

Resin label head & Avian affiliate Pris launches UNBEKNOWN white label series. Pris offers up a floor-focused five tracker, hot on the heels of his debut on Shifted's Avian imprint. Where "This Heavy Heart" explored a more subdued aesthetic: tense, widescreen exercises in Drone & reduced, heads-down club fare, UNBEKNOWN01 is fiery & immediate. Three rolling 4x4 recordings open the EP, followed by a brooding half time dirge that segues into a noisy ambient cut to close. Released 15th March.

A. Ayaléw Mèsfin ft. Black Lion Band - Ghedawou

Ethiopian dance floor Funk rarity originally released on Kaifa 7' (KF 31) in 1976. Hand claps, guitar lines and call and response lead vocals punctuate the driving bass line and understated drum groove.

Mesfin played primarily at the Lumumba Club in Addis Ababa's red light district and released many 45's and cassettes during the mid seventies.

He worked very closely with the Black Lion Band (or Tequr Ambessa Orchestra)


AA. Mulatu Astatke ft. Feqadu Amdé-Mesqel - Asmarina

Laid back, drum-heavy, Ethipian jazz taken from the legendary Ethio Jazz' LP on Amha (AELP 90). Typifies the sound of the country and the period, truly classic stuff.

Mulatu will be touring heavily in 2016, which we are very much looking forward to.

Due to popular demand; a double A side from the one and only, Marcos Valle. This is the second time he has appeared in this Brazil 45's series LINK'Democustico' is a lush, uptempo MPB constructed from guitars, rolling percussion and soaring woodwind. Taken from his 1972 LP 'Vento Sul' on Odeon Brazil.

'Freio Aerodinâmico' is an uptempo piano driven, bossa/MPB, laden with hooky vocals, strings and horns, underpinned with a funk drum groove. Aeroplane sound effects thrown in for good measure! Taken from his 1970 self-titled LP on Odeon Brazil.

Sheffield DJ/Producer Louis 'Taiko' Robson has consistently agitated the boundaries of dubstep music, manipulating eclectic influences in to his productions with bold, original arrangements, intricate percussion, experimental instrumentation and unforgettable subs, and he's not held back with ALBION002.

Title track Splinted dons the A Side of the release and sets the standard high with its heavy sub, percussive melody, and string lead. Robson has taken inspiration from contemporary orchestral composers such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich initiating the creation of the drums and percussion, which add a rich analogue sound to the track, and with that an almighty atmosphere. Folk-like scratchy strings take the lead which is a theme set for the EP and highlights Taiko's tenacity for sound design and disregard for convention. Each eclectic element of the track compliments the next resulting in a guttural, energetic dance floor cut, with dark undertones making the listener feel agitated or anxious. A pulse raiser strictly for sound system use.

Over on the flip side, starting with the outer, Taiko offers a much warmer vibe throughout Fractal, flexing another experimental set of instrumentation, this time round building rhythm with an accordion sample. An enormous rolling sub bass instantly becomes dominant after the short intro and meticulous percussion exaggerates the astounding impact from the drums. In the break expect a much murkier tone with a grimey string sample leading to the second drop. Robson achieves a certain level of feel-good whilst maintaining a dark and aggressive tone in his unmistakably raw track.

Nickel takes the inner side on the flip, following form to the prior with its accordion sample adding a distorted guitar drone for the melodic intro. The acoustic instrumentation couples up with irregular drum work solidifying the EP's 'live' aesthetic, whilst maintaining a dance floor orientation. Tonnes of energy meets masses of bass, Nickel is a recommended set opener and a great close to the EP.

Madeira-born Robert S makes his Konstruktiv debut after appearances on Sleaze, Arts, Planet Rhythm and his own Robert Limited imprint.

Moderna is straight shooting techno, hard-hitting with hints of rolling funk and a bleak contrast to the sun-drenched Portuguese setting that saw its inception.

The synth stabs of EP opener Moderna steadily rise and open up, driving the track forward while low-slung drums keep the beat in check. Label-boss Rekord 61 drops in on A2 with his remix of the title-track. The original stabs take an aerial backseat and a compact beat powers through vapor and wear.

Trilha Acida sets things straight from the first second on the flip. A threatening acid line pummels the listener with mechanical consistency while a startling chord rehearses a monosyllabic monologue. Black Jocker, the fourth and final cut closes on a dystopian note, with austere drums and a dark souvenir triggering arpeggiator.

'Sidetracking - Part 1: Prologue' is the first vinyl taste of Jona's de- but album project for Alex Niggemann's forward-thinking AEON la-bel. The musical puzzle will be completed in February 2016 with the release of a second vinyl instalment, featuring 6 more original tracks, and the full 10-track album on CD format. Created over the course of two highly creative years, the concept for 'Sidetracking' was for Jona to invite some of his musician and producer friends to collaborate with him in the studio and compli- ment his album's solo productions. This impressive coming together (to be fully revealed over the coming months) features Varoslav (Rue de Plaisance, Paris), Usio (Studio Barnhus), David K (Cocoon), Bo- livian percussionist Daniel Aguilar, Italian pianist Giovanni Verga, and Edinburgh-based producer The Reverse Engineer. Driven by his desire to explore new sound perspectives and ideas, Jona has carefully forged his career path by consistently creating exciting and forward-thinking music. His previous label outings: 'Traffic' on 'Lost Tapes Volume 1' (AEON010) and 'Gemini EP' (AE- ON016) have seen him fine-tune his own unique sound. By incor- porating a wide range of styles into his tracks, Jona strives to break down unnecessary boundaries and explores new ideas and ways to ignite that hallowed dancefloor flame. It is therefore no wonder that his collaborative creations for 'Sidetracking' have yielded such stimulating aural delights. Fittingly, the album prologue opens with a track whose style is heav- ily influenced by the jazz music that Jona was so in love with dur- ing his formative years. Calling on the somewhat mysterious Usio (whose 'Kuwa Huru' LP on Studio Barnhus should be checked by everyone) to join him in a studio jam, has resulted in 'The Chase', an utterly compelling afro-beat influenced percussive groove, topped with swirling funk-fuelled stabs and strings, mesmerising chiming piano, and a large helping of pure, hip-swinging goodness. Taking 'The Chase' on an entirely different and yet perfectly com- plimentary twisted trip, AEON family members Simone Sinatti and Marco Paladin (aka Speaking Minds) conjure up a futuristic technoid disco demon that is all about throbbing energy, sweat, darkness and hissing smoke machines - perfect ingredients for an unforget- table strobelight serenade. Changing the mood entirely and cutting the tempo to a dublicious skank, 'Transmission Breakdown' sees Jona's experimental creative juices in full flow, as he teams up with Edinburgh-based digital com- poser and sound artist Dave House (aka The Reverse Engineer) for a delightfully hazy downtempo jam. Both as an artist and a DJ, Manchester's Marcus Intalex has been at the forefront of soulful, musical drum & bass for what seems like forever. A passion for techno has always run deeply through his music and under his Trevino moniker he is also a powerful creative force (check his recent 'Front' album to get the full picture). Here, he takes 'Transmission Breakdown' on a magical excursion, filled with subtle, hypnotic, evolving energy, anchored with an irresistible pul- sating bassline throb - a perfectly synergetic interpretation to round off Jona's 'Sidetracking' album prologue in style.

Martinez on the 7th release, no need to introduce the Danish producer. Now head of the Concealed Sounds imprint. "Unsaid" is a dubby organic journey that covers the A side for a 12 min trip into deepness, while on the B side "Untold" offers us a bumpy floor shaking track tailored for club. On B2 we found Lowris for the remix of "Unsaid", co-owner and founder of aeternum Music, resident dj & artist of CONCRETE Paris, here first appearance on his imprint, bringing a minimal action to the original track and closing this complete EP which offers 3 differents moods. Martinez on the 7th release, no need to introduce the Danish producer. Now head of the Concealed Sounds imprint. "Unsaid" is a dubby organic journey that covers the A side for a 12 min trip into deepness, while on the B side "Untold" offers us a bumpy floor shaking track tailored for club. On B2 we found Lowris for the remix of "Unsaid", co-owner and founder of aeternum Music, resident dj & artist of CONCRETE Paris, here first appearance on his imprint, bringing a minimal action to the original track and closing this complete EP which offers 3 differents moods.

Mental jacktrax by Gerry Read. Easy to resist these non-formulaic jack tracks in the days of conformist dance music cause its not the tunes that will make your crew do the fist pump thing during the weekly big headliner rave... but we like!! Mr Read is funky as fuck and reminds us a bit of dutch Techno punks Unit Moebius (which is always a good thing!!).
Some feedback from family and friends:
Moxie Feeling the darkness of this and the percussive beats. Thanks'
Leon Vynehall really great'
Mosca Ur Head and The Grand National are wicked genreless things'
marcel dettmann thx'
Aera I love the romantic melodies. Will definitely play on my next wedding party!'
Ambivalent I've been a big fan of Gerry Read's stuff for a while. His stuff definitely doesn't sound like anyone else. I love Tango, Woosy and Ant Eater Robot. Thanks for sharing!!'
Danny Daze freaking huuuuuuuge gottttt daaaayum!!!'
Vin Sol WIld ass trax! Woosy gonna make it's way in to my sets'
RANDOMER Enjoying 'Tango''
Arttu Bonkers! and I LOVE all of it!!! :D'
Paul Woolford Truly demented in all the right ways. I'm going to play 'Stand By...' out for sure.... Thank you !'
Marco Bernardi liking this mad shit'
DJ Haus BIG'
DJ Deep Dope!'

Anonymous Edits return with Vol 3 picking 3 tasty cuts and reworking them for 2016. Limited Pressing act fast.

Mini Album Thingy Wingy are 7 brand new & exclusive tracks recorded by Anton Newcombe in is his studio in Berlin in 2014 & 2015. Running at over 34 minutes.,the mini album is co produced , engineered & mixed by Fabien Leseure . This release contains four self written songs by Anton Newcombe ,a co write of the band's first Slovakian song (Prší Prší) with Vladimir Nosal , another co write (Pish) with Tess Parks and a cover of the 13th Floor Elevator's track 'Dust' which features Alex Maas from the Black Angels on jug

Originally, Anton Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase, but his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK Shoegazing genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music.

This album brings the traditional Brian Jonestown Massacre sound mixed with eastern influences & bringing it up to date with the benefit of all the additional weirdness that's been discovered in the past 40 years.

Stephen Brown presents his next new Mirage EP for Mojuba sub label a.r.t.less. The Scotish techno mainstay who just released an EP for the magnificent Indigo Aera returns after his huge debut Illuminance EP with a killer techno tune called 2FM in finest Robert Hood / M-Plant tradition on the A-Side! The B-Side is a very emotional synth laden track that will work perfectly for those opening or closing set moments when everyone is in the zone, eyes closed floating on the dance floor following the funk created by rhythmic melodies!

It is certainly not a small feat to have an ambient compilation series running for over a decade and keep it fresh and interesting - especially when the core aesthetic idea is as well-defined as POP AMBIENT's. However, this didn't keep last year's instalment (KOMPAKT 315 CD 120) from finding a compelling balance between veteran contributors like JENS-UWE BEYER or LEANDRO FRESCO and new, idiosyncratic voices like MAX WÜRDEN or THORE PFEIFFER. They all return for POP AMBIENT 2016, joining a captivating cast that also includes heavy-weight soundsmiths, experimental composers and ambient confidants like THE ORB, ANTON KUBIKOV of SCSI-9 fame, MIKKEL METAL, GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH or STEPHAN MATHIEU.

Starting off with a surprise guest, POP AMBIENT 2016 presents electroacoustic composer and installation artist STEPHAN MATHIEU, whose highly textured opening drone APRIL IM OKTOBER bears all the hallmarks of a pop ambient classic, stealthily weaving in layers of sound and moving fluidly between territories. The man clearly knows what he's doing - after all, he has worked with luminaries like Taylor Dupree, Ekkehard Ehlers, Janek Schaefer or Sylvain Chauveau (see also Pop Ambient 2009). Meanwhile, THE ORB show off the full extent of their experience in the field and have their own little ambient collage opera going on in ALPINE DAWN - a slight detour from their beat-laden full-length MOONBUILDING 2703 AD (KOMPAKT 330 CD 124), but just on that same level of masterful sonic dexterity.

Moving forward, SCSI-9's ANTON KUBIKOV builds momentum with a sweet melody slowly evolving to the atmospheric backdrop of a light synth rain, while MAX WÜRDEN imagines a dreamy, yet twisted underwater world with lots of space to get lost in. He later returns for a collaboration with THORE PFEIFFER (not on vinyl), the other newcomer hero from Pop Ambient 2015, and the result is a fascinating amalgamation of both producer's distinct sonic sensibilities - the grittier, drone-based approach from Würden and Pfeiffer's penchant for roaming samples and skewed loops. Another dedicated collab comes from SICKER MAN & GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH who team up for string-infused, cinematic epic TURNS.

Longstanding Kompakt ally MIKKEL METAL presents the surging TITAN, followed by LEANDRO FRESCO's magistral rework of DAVE DK's VEIRA from his VAL MAIRA album (KOMPAKT 326 CD 121). A very special bonus adventure can be found in THORE PFEIFFER's "megamix" of WOLFGANG VOIGT's RÜCKVERZAUBERUNG (not on vinyl) - an entire concept series succesfully reimagined as one sweeping cut. JENS-UWE BEYER continues his expeditions into hypnotic, semi-acoustic soundscapes on THE BREMEN, transitioning into the windy mountaintops of LEANDRO FRESCO's mysterious, multi-layered CONFIGURACION DE ATAQUE (not on vinyl). THORE PFEIFFER has the honour to conclude POP AMBIENT 2016 with the appropriately titled IDYLL, a soothing, swirling synth study giving the listener ample opportunity to return to mundane reality at his own pace.

The Summer of Sangaile is a rare film that takes you by surprise with the honesty of its performances, the poetry of its narrative, and the crispness of its cinematography, which captures the beauty of the girls and the unique Lithuanian scenery equally well. Writer/director Alante Kavaite uses transfixing imagery and exquisite casting to bring to life her distinctly layered story of young love and big dreams. The end result is a rapturous film experience. The Summer of Sangaile won the 'World Cinema Dramatic' Directing Award at Sundance Film Festival - the worlds most important independent film festival and is featured globally in theaters over this summer /autumn. The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented by Taika Waititi to: Alanté Kavaïtéfor The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, The Netherlands (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) - Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, near her parents' lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and, in the process, finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly.