quête:c est moi

The Analog Africa label delves into the amazing history of music from 1970s Benin and Togo.
This compilation highlights forgotten raw and psychedelic Afro sounds, and the well-researched liner notes tell fascinating stories to accompany the mind-blowing music. The essence of Analog Africa is clear, searching in dusty warehouses for forgotten music to keep the sound alive!

Gwendoline werden nicht gern in Schubladen gesteckt. Wir tun es dennoch: Nu Wave with wit, Synthwave with edge, Postpunk with Pop. Als wenn Benjamin Biolay Molchat Doma vorstehen würde, ,I'm Not In Love" (Chrystal Castles) auf ,Anyway" (OTO) trifft, Ladytron mit DAF in den Urlaub fahren würden. Seit 2017 verfolgt das social medial scheue Duo Micka (a.k.a. Mikoune) und Pierre (a.k.a. Daniel) im eher verborgenen ihre Cold Wave-Vision. Das Debut wurde in reinster DIY-Manier zu Hause im Keller aufgenommen und ohne Umschweife in kurzer Zeit produziert. Lange Zeit gab es kaum was zu Gwendoline zu googlen, aber an den Kennnern ist es natürlich nicht vorbeigegangen. Das spanische Label Dead Wax Records fand das so super, veröffentlichte digital und sehr limitiert auf Vinyl, ein Reissue gab's auf bandeigenem Label 2022. Nun sind sie bei Born Bad gelandet und dabei in bester Gesellschaft mit Vox Low, Frustration und Bracco. Was macht Gwendoline einzigartig? Sicherlich ihre Wut und gleichzeitige Zurückhaltung, die sie mit Selbstkritik, Ironie und Humor vermischen, was sich in den Texten wie auch im Sound wiederspiegelt. LP-Version in klassich schwarz mit Download Code und Digipack-CD.

Repress !

2 black LPs in gatefold sleeve with CD included T
A relentless vinyl collector and a fervent connoisseur of Anglo-American culture, the founding painter of the Figuration Libre movement (with Di Rosa, Blanchart and Boisrond) in the early 80's, Robert Combas has always connected his art with rock music. The two are always intertwined and fuel his inspiration. During his exhibition Sans Filet, Robert Combas made an essential encounter: the artist and video maker Lucas Mancione, also from the town of Sete, and decided to make the leap. Together, at the start of the decade, they created the band Les Sans Pattes. Notre Renaissance is a dazzling discharge, a geyser of cold and searing emotions, a conscious search for a unique and extreme experience. The tension in each track is palpable, as constant as it is pregnant. This band is full of character. Sometimes electronic, often a bit punk, always particularly rock'n'roll. Raw and physical tracks, compact and heady. Les Sans Pattes always lean towards psychedelics and repetition.

Diese neue Gainsbourg-Compilation ist als psychedelische Pop-Reise zwischen London und Paris konzipiert. Schon ab der ersten Studio-Session in London 1963, hat Serge Gainsbourg erkannt, wie wichtig der Sound ist, der hier im Entstehen ist und London in den musikalischen Mittelpunkt der späten 60er-Jahre rückt.

Diese Zusammenstellung enthält 24 Titel, darunter viele seiner großen Hits: Initials B.B., Bonnie and Clyde und selbstverständlich Je t'aime moi non plus, im Duett mit Jane Birkin

This is France in the Mitterrand years: fashions fleet as fast as governments. In the early eighties, the happy-go-lucky gather the nectar of each and every new release.
Believing in a bright future for videotex, and loosened up by the sexy talks broadcasted on the budding pirate radios, the new generation dreams of dance floors and holiday clubs. French Boogie, which preserves the spirit of these years of boodle and bunkum, is the ideal soundtrack to their dreams.

What the web now refers to as French Boogie is some synthetic funk reflecting the spirit of those days when nothing was impossible, or so it seemed. Its syncopated flow heralded the dawning of French rap. Often considered as some kind of post-disco, inspired as much by black music as by new wave, this carefree pop music with bawdy lyrics indulged in simple pleasures: holidays, swank and sun were recurrent themes. Totally in tune with its time, it incidentally glorified luxury, success, and a certain consumerism embodied, for instance, in Bernard Tapie.

In popular clubs such as La Main Bleue in Montreuil, or L'Echappatoire in Clichy-sous-Bois - where Micky Milan could be seen behind the decks - an enthusiastic audience discovered this new sonic wave, influenced as much by French pop as by Sugar Hill Gang or Kurtis Blow. The artists who first launched the movement engaged in it wholeheartedly, but as often the case with new music trends in France, humour and casualness quickly became a decoy to impose a new style. This explosive mixture, in which startling and typically Frenchy French lyrics go along New-York-style tunes, is sometimes reminiscent of the kinky comedies directed by Max Pécas or Claude Zidi. On this prolific scene, partly originating from the Jewish community, everybody was looking for success, trying to hit the jackpot with what was to hand. Famous media personalities, one-hit wonders or John Does in quest of fame, all had a go at French Boogie - more or less successfully. Apart from « Vacances j'oublie tout » by Elégance, « Un fait divers et rien de plus » by Le Club, or « Chacun fait ce qui lui plaît » by Chagrin d'amour (produced by Patrick Bruel), very few songs became hits: the story of funk in France is that of a half-baked robbery.

In this myriad of new musicians, the very young François Feldman and Phil Barney pioneered a fresh and hybrid style. Other well-known artists like Gérard Blanc from Martin Circus (Attaché Case), Richard de Bordeaux (Ich), or Jean-Pierre Massiera (Anisette, Pirate Scratch Band, Mandrake, Scratch Man...) added an eccentric touch to this sound-wave, making it often entertaining, and sometimes showy.

Capture d'écran 2015-10-26 à 12.55.43Singers like Agathe (the author of 'La Fourmi' and of the hit song 'Je ne veux pas rentrer chez moi seule') were far more than just window dressing. They even tried to give an ironic and subversive twist to this rather harmless genre. The very vindictive rebel Gérard Vincent shared in this spirit, but as a whole, French Boogie became associated with nonchalance and sauciness. Thus, Stéphane Collaro, Gérard Jugnot, Alain Gillot Pétré and other TV clowns would clumsily contribute to this French variation on funky sounds. In a few but intense years, French Boogie gave all the tips to party with style.

If some hits made it possible for the happy few to get a real house under truly exotic palm trees, the wave actually ebbed away very quickly, leaving quite a few musicians stranded on the shore. Whether they were sincerely motivated, or simply opportunistic, they had failed. In 1984, French Boogie was already breathless, and got merged with other genres: on the one hand, rap and breakdance adapted its flow to a more urban world, especially with Sydney's show, H.I.P.H.O.P, and Dee Nasty's broadcasts on Radio Nova; on the other, italo, new beat and house began to rule over dance floors, even more strongly asserting the will to develop music for clubs.

Squeezed in between the age of disco and that of modern electronic music, French Boogie was a transitional phase, but it remains an amazingly refreshing testimony to the intermingling of pop and underground cultures. The genre was hastily categorized as anecdotal in spite of its pioneering synthetic groove and matchless bass lines. An attentive ear will discover the poetry of the ephemeral beyond the eccentricities of the genre, as well as a certain unexpected avant-gardism. At the origin of major music trends, always cheerful and catchy, French Boogie is what you need to party.

Sueño Stereo is the final album recorded by Argentine rock band Soda Stereo. By 1995, it was clear that the band was the most important Argentinian group of the decade. The album went platinum in 15 days and Rolling Stone considered it the fourth-best album in Latin rock history.

The album is a true reflection of the times, blending Britpop, dream pop and electronic music. Next to that the band named The Beatles as a major influence on the album's structure. Inspired by The Beatles did the band end the album with a medley on the D-side. This gives the album a strong conceptual feel.|

Sueño Stereo is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on transparent vinyl, is packaged in a gatefold sleeve, and includes an insert.

A Frauta de Pã, released in 1975 when Carlos Walker was just 19, stands as a cult masterpiece of 1970s Brazilian music. An album where MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) sophistication meets jazz-fusion virtuosity and psychedelic imagination.

the album features an all-star cast of musicians, including João Bosco, Hélio Delmiro, José Roberto Bertrami (Azymuth), Gilson Peranzetta, and Roberto Quartin, the record delivers a rich, orchestral sound that continues to captivate collectors and DJs worldwide.

A Frauta de Pã is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on smokey smarble vinyl.

After “Messin plutôt que français / Enfonce-toi dans la ville” and “Gloire à Satan,” Noir Boy George, an iconic artist from Metz and a key figure in the French underground scene, unveils a new album: “Polytoxicomane de toi.”

On their fourth proper studio album Ruckus, Galactic wholeheartedly move not so much away from their past as a bad-ass New Orleans jazz & roll band, as they move toward another of its traditions: Voodoo funk.

Not merely content to stick to Mardi Gras or Dr. John esthetics, Galactic points firmly toward the technological present with their primordial groove machine music. Bass, bass, and more bass is the order of the day, and strange keyboard sounds come bubbling under like some lost Lee Perry session gone digital. Ruckus is a spooky ride to the other side of midnight. That moment in time when anything is possible.

This is musical rebirth of a band. Galactic was made all the better for its brave new direction. Ruckus is a album packed with ass-burning grooves and was produced by Dan The Automator.

Ruckus has not been available on vinyl more than 2 decades, and now it's finally out again as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on yellow & green marble vinyl, and includes an insert.

For his sixth solo album, Ezéchiel Pailhès returns with a new collection of songs infused by a sunny wandering spirit.
Within each of the twelve songs on SOL is a thread of melancholic happiness that has permeated much of Pailhès’ music and songwriting. He addresses love, the passing of time, hope, lost illusions, fleeting moments of grace, the temptation of forgetting, a need to escape, and desire. All this is
insulated by understated orchestrations that blend acoustic and electronic instrumentation with deft confidence.
The Portuguese and Brazilian concept of saudade—a form of melancholic longing and nostalgia— pervades, thanks in part to Pailhès decision to record the album in Rio de Janiero and to reinterpret some of the finest works of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). In particular, he revisits a handful of
lesser known classics from the mid-century samba and bossa nova era—originally written or performed by talents including Vinícius de Moraes, João Gilberto, Tom Zé, Dorival Caymmi, João Donato, Os Tincoãs, and Ataulfo Alves.
The shift from Brazilian Portuguese to French and the decision to adapt rather than perform a straightforward cover versions, allows Pailhès to invent a form of prosody and euphony (the musicality and harmonious combination of words) that feels vibrant and unlike anything else in today’s French
chanson landscape.
“Some lyrics are simple translations from Portuguese, in what I’d call an expanded version. For others, I started from a single word or a single phrase and embroidered an entirely new text that carried me elsewhere,” explains Pailhès. “I allowed myself great interpretive freedom, while preserving the humanist dimension of the original songs. I’ve always been deeply moved by the way Brazilians transfigure reality through heightened emotion. I love this visceral and spontaneous country, which always seems to live through emotion. And above all, I love its music both popular and unifying,
bringing together all social classes. In that sense, it’s very political music, but even more so utopian, made by the people and for the people.”
On this new album, however, the French artist was keen to avoid cliché. Each song is therefore built around a carefully balanced interplay between Pailhès’ piano and synthesizers, alongside restrained arrangements of percussion, brass, bass, and cavaquinho (a small four-string plucked guitar). These parts were recorded in Rio de Janeiro with two musicians who regularly perform alongside the legendary Caetano Veloso—Kainã Do Jêje and Alberto Continentino—joined by Thomas Harres, Antônio Neves, Eduardo Neves, and Gabriel Loddo.
Since the 1960s, France and Brazil have shared a long-standing cultural and musical relationship. Some Brazilian artists, most famously Gilberto Gil, took refuge in France during the dictatorship years (1964–1985). But above all, French chanson quickly fell in love with the richness and ingenuity of
bossa nova and samba, translating and reinventing them in the language of Molière. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, albums and hits by Henri Salvador, Georges Moustaki, Pierre Barouh, Pierre Vassiliu, and Claude Nougaro all drew from the MPB repertoire.
Fifty years later, with SOL, Ezéchiel Pailhès reinvents this rich Franco-Brazilian musical legacy, bringing to it a personality and modernity that stand confidently alongside those of his forbears.

One of the most popular French TV extracts of all time is the black and white image of a young and extremely nervous-looking Françoise Hardy being given a firm dressing-down by Mireille Hartush (the famous music teacher who ran La Petite Conservatoire de la Chanson in the 1960s). Presented here is her debut studio album Françoise Hardy (issued as The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris! in the USA). It was released in France in December 1962 by Disques Vogue with the catalogue number LD 600-30. Originally issued with no title, except for her name on the cover, the album has therefore colloquially become known by the title of its most successful song, Tous les garçons et les filles, and later reissues added this title. This sensational album compiles the twelve original French versions from her first three EPs released by Vogue during 1962. Hardy would also record versions of songs from the album in Italian (1962, four tracks released on singles have been added here as a bonus), English (1964) and German (1965). The iconic LP combines rockabilly, folk, jazz and blues, and has been noted for its simplicity, featuring a minimalist jazz percussion, bass, and both acoustic and electric guitar. 180 GRAM - GATEFOLD COVER - LIMITED EDITION

An elusive cult gem resurfaces through Glossy Mistakes. Originally released in 1986, L'Empire Des Sons is an otherworldly blend of synth pop, folk experimentation, and cinematic percussive layers-dreamlike, poetic, and wildly ahead of its time. L'Empire Des Sons was a fleeting yet powerful transmission from the fringes of the French underground-an album that blurred genre lines and evaded easy classification. Fusing experimental folk, lo-fi synth pop, and avant-garde textures, the record exists in its own sonic universe: poetic, layered, and fiercely independent. Formed in Saint-Étienne by percussionist and composer Dominique Lentin (Dagon, Fille Qui Mousse) and first-time vocalist Bipé Redon, L'Empire Des Sons emerged from the vibrant DIY spirit of the early 1980s. Their paths crossed during the interdisciplinary project L'Opéra Quotidien, and what followed was an intuitive, deeply collaborative process. "I would bring in lyrics and my voice," Bipé recalled, "and Dominique would shape the music around the atmosphere or rhythm suggested by the words." The result is a collection of songs that feel both meticulously constructed and completely free. Ethnic percussion, marimbas, xylophones, and synthesizers dance around Bipé's surreal, fragmented lyrics-little sonic postcards from imagined worlds. There's a theatricality here, but it never feels forced; rather, it's playful, intimate, and raw. Despite their inventiveness, L'Empire Des Sons remained a well-kept secret-circulating only in select avant-garde circles and eventually becoming an extremely sought-after collector's item. Now, thanks to Glossy Mistakes, this lost artifact returns to the world with new life: remastered from the original tapes, pressed on vinyl for the first time with extended liner notes. L'Empire Des Sons was never meant to be boxed in. Like the quote from Brian Eno that opens their liner notes-"For the world to be interesting, you have to be manipulating it all the time"-their music resists stasis. It evolves, shifts, surprises. And now, it finally gets the audience it always deserved.

- Channel Tres releases his debut album Head Rush via RCA Records.

The album, which features the previously-released singles "Berghain" featuring Barney Bones and "Cactus Water" is the culmination of Channel's steady ascent since he first broke through to public consciousness with his cult-classic debut single "Controller." Head Rush features all of the sounds that have come to be hallmarks of Channel Tres songs, but finds him incorporating musical influences not heard in his prior catalog, as evidenced by "Berghain" and other songs from the album including the Ty Dolla $ign-featuring “Holy Moly,” a visualizer for which is out now. The album arrives on the heels of two recent head-turning Channel Tres collaborations as well -- his contribution to KAYTRANADA's "Drip Sweat" and Jay Worthy, DāM FunK & ATrak's "105 West" alongside fellow LA legends Ty Dolla $ignand DJ Quik exemplify his versatility. Head Rush is a richly layered record, but one that feels totally intuitive, without a trace of doubt or self-consciousness.

The way “I’m Him” shimmers is balanced by the Estelle-featuring “We Hungry,” which nearly growls; the spare, percussion-forward Ravyn Lenaeduet “Need U 2 Know” (the stylization of its title a nod to Prince, one of Tres’s major influences) at delightful odds with the easy ride of “Gold Daytonas.” Head Rush shows the staggering array of styles Channel Tres can evoke. But that versatility is not the point in and of itself—the point is that all these component parts can be reassembled into something that feels uniquely personal, and honest. Through his career, Tres has blended recognizable genres, textures, and points of view into a truly singular form all his own. Longtime listeners will recognize in Head Rush the hallmarks of a Channel Tres record: a mastery of rhythm, the rare ability to make songs sinister and fluorescent at once.

But this LP also opens a new sonic world, one rife with unexpected terrain and hairpin turns—see the way “Type” takes what sounds at first to be a simple romantic boundary and stretches it out into an alien landscape. Or take “Berghain,” a song that nods to the kinetic live shows that became must-see events—a crescendo of interest that included his momentous Coachella 2022 performance and culminated, at least symbolically, with his early 2023 set at Berghain, the legendary Berlin club that has long been a musical hub of the Western world. “Berghain” is delirious but thumps almost impossibly hard, in line with the album as a whole—always molting, always ready to turn from the claustrophobic to the communal, as the pivot on “Joyful Noise” accomplishes so seamlessly. Head Rush also features some of Tres’s most deeply felt vocals to date, like the veritable bloodletting on “Two Ways.” And so the record, which also features Ty Dolla $ign, Thundercat, Teezo Touchdown, Watr, Barney Bones and Toro y Moi, marks a new era for Channel Tres, personally as well as artistically. “I’m older now, and the things that I’ve accomplished tell me I’m ready to do this,” he says. “You’ve worked your whole life for this, you’ve been able to do these shows and walk into these rooms and make these songs. There’s no reason you have to live by the same insecurity that you had to use in years past.” Shedding that baggage accomplished exactly what it was meant to—lightening the load so we’re free to get heavier than ever

Collected by Charles Aznavour is a wonderful collection of hits and classics by the French chansonnier, that touches your soul at every moment. It’s an overview of his work during the sixties, seventies and duets with Johnny Hallyday on “Il Faut Savoir” and with Frank Sinatra “Young At Heart”. Also his English versions of “How Sad Venice Can Be”, “The Old Fashioned Way”, “She” and four more English songs are included on this deluxe Trifold 3LP album.

In the early 1950s a man of short stature attempts to win over his audience. With a hoarse voice he delivers songs that do not catch on. People jeer at him. Tomatoes fly through the air. The Frenchman with Armenian roots slinks off the stage, but does not quit. Ironically, the song that makes him a household name is the song in which he recalls his agonising trial. The audience reacted indifferently when Charles Aznavour decided to try out his new song on stage. But when he went on to greet the audience for one final time they all stood and gave him a thundering standing ovation.

In the sixties, hits and classics succeed one another. Nobody is bothered any more by his husky voice, by his small stature or his rugged characterful face. The croony “For Me Formidable” (1963), the heart breaking “Et Pourtant” (1963) and the nostalgic “Hier Encore” (1964) confirm his standing as a fan favourite. “La Bohème” (1965) and “Emmenez-moi” (1967) turn Aznavour into a superstar. In “La Bohème”, there are impressionist painters strolling in the shadows of the Sacré-Coeur, the compelling “Comme Ils Dissent” (1972) is the first chanson after Vichy France to overtly endorse homo sexuality and in the present “France Of La Manif Pour Tous” (the movement that opposes gay marriage), does it again to sound particularly topical. “Camarade” (1977) was about the nomenklatura, the ruling elite in the Soviet Union and is a social and historical topic. “Avec Un Brin De Nostalgie” is an Aznavour grand cru, maybe even the best he has made over the last thirty years.

Charles Aznavour Collected is available as a limited pressing of 1000 individually numbered copies on gold vinyl. The package includes a 4-page booklet with liner notes and photos.

Proudly presenting, ‘Калі ты запытаеш (If You Ask)’, a brand new, blissed-out pop production with a ‘70s AOR touch, by the ever-on-point SOYUZ (СОЮЗ). Coming at a period between albums, the single features guest appearances from the sensational musicians, Biel Basile (O Terno, Sessa) and Anthony Ferraro (Toro Y Moi, Astronauts, Etc.). Friends of the band, they add their signature touch on the drums and synth respectively. To complete the package, SOYUZ back the title track with a short but sweet, Wurlitzer-laden, MPB-tinged number, ‘Tenório’.

‘Калі ты запытаеш (If You Ask)’ tells the story of lost dreams. A track that can be interpreted either as a bittersweet longing for childhood times, or for a native place you can’t return to. For the writer Alex Chumak he suggests, "In my case, as in the case of many Belarusians, it’s both".

For this song, Alex chose to sing in his native Belarusian tongue. As he explains this language "to me feels underrepresented in pop music, also it’s a beautiful legacy and sonority that I wanted to share with the listeners of our project around the world". One of the key inspirations was a Belarusian band “Песняры” (“Pesniary”), who produced a host of great progressive folk, jazz fusion and AOR, from the ‘70s to the ‘90s, predominantly sung in Belarusian.

Another key influence was the music coming out of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in the ‘70s, drawing inspiration from the sentimental and harmonious music of Beto Guedes, Lô Borges, Fernando Oly and Wagner Tiso.

Having parted ways with their drummer Anton, SOYUZ needed to find a new way to produce songs. The answer was to go remotely. Alex contacted the brilliant Biel Basile, who had recorded Sessa's contemporary classic ‘Estrela Acesa’, in which Alex also participated. Utilising Biel and Sessa’s newly built studio in São Paulo, SOYUZ had Biel record the drums directly to tape to get the rich sound they were after. Adding the final magic into the mix, California’s Anthony Ferraro provided a beautiful Solina String Ensemble synth arrangement, with drummer/recording engineer Albert Karch expertly assisting with the production.

To capture the essence of the single visually, Alex and the Brazilian one-man-industry visual artist Gabriel Rolim, spent a blazing sunny May day in Berlin shooting film and stills – one of which became the perfect cover image. We hope you enjoy this little nugget of SOYUZ mastery, a sweet taster to savour while the new album is recorded.

Eaux proudly announces a new collaborative mini-album from label boss Rrose and Polygonia. Containing six tracks and over 40 minutes of music housed in a fully printed sleeve with artwork by Jon-Paul Villegas, the record focuses squarely on the dancefloor while infusing it with the kinds of psychoactive drones, intricate polyrhythms, and relentless modulations that have come to identify both of their approaches to sound. Featured heavily are their shared interests in sonic shapes that resemble natural forms and conjure tactile feelings, in this case related to themes of skin-like surfaces and circulatory systems experienced simultaneously on a micro and macro level. While several of the tracks hover in a flexible tempo range between 125 and 130 bpm, "Stretcher" reaches up to 142, and the closing track "Vena Cava" trades the kick drums for spectrally processed percussion and endlessly diverging high-frequency pulses.

The story behind the release starts in 2022, when Rrose reached out to Polygonia after noticing that her tracks were appearing in their sets more frequently than any other artist. Never before had Rrose proposed a collaboration with someone they hadn't met before, but there was such an obvious connection in their approach to sound that it felt necessary. As it turns out, Polygonia had only become interested in techno after hearing Rrose perform at a festival in 2018. It all made sense, and they began sharing sketches and unfinished ideas with each other, trading them back and forth until they reached completion. Without any announcement of their collaboration, the two artists have since been asked to share the stage together several times. It seems there are other people out there sensing a connection...


Bios:

RROSE

Rrose is an alias of the multi-disciplinary artist Seth Horvitz, born and raised in California, and currently based in London. Active since 2011, the Rrose project explores the intersection of hypnotic techno, experimental composition and psychoacoustic phenomena with a meticulous touch. The first major breakthrough was 2012's "Waterfall" for Sandwell District which followed "Motormouth Variations," a collaborative project with composer, improviser, and activist Bob Ostertag. After the shuttering of Sandwell District, Rrose established Eaux, a home for further solo productions and collaborations. Building on his studies in electronic composition and history at Mills College, Rrose's electronic pieces blur the lines between thrillingly claustrophobic club tracks and destabilizing sound art explorations. In 2015, she released an extended version of James Tenney's postcard composition "Having Never Written a Note For Percussion" for solo gong, and in 2018 collaborated with Charlemagne Palestine on "The Goldennn Meeenn + Sheeenn" for two grand pianos. These works overlapped with the development of Rrose's singular techno: EPs like "Vanishing Pools," "The Ends of Weather" and "Arc Unknown" as well as 2019's debut LP "Hymn to Moisture" and last year's follow up "Please Touch." Rrose is also active as a touring DJ and live performer, equally comfortable commanding sweaty warehouse dancefloors and seated audiences in historic concert halls. Appearances include Unsound, Atonal, Semibreve, Dekmantel, Mutek, Sonic Acts, Nuit Sonore, Mostra, Parallel, Theatre Graslin, Nextones, and Berghain.
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POLYGONIA

Polygonia represents a multidisciplinary music and art project conceived by Lindsey Wang from Munich, Germany.

She draws inspiration from her many years of practicing various acoustic instruments and her keen interest for other cultural forms of expression, which she translates into the digital language of electronic music and art.

Her productions' soundscape exudes a mystical, organic quality, featuring intricate and compelling rhythms. Polygonia's sound palette ranges from energetic, groovy Deep Techno, Downtempo, Grey Area to textural and/or harmonic Ambient. Besides, she is not afraid to include influences from the genres House, Drum and Bass, Electro etc.. In addition inspiration from nature play a major role in many of her productions. Exemplary for her style are for instance her 'Otro Mundo' EP (2023) on Bambounou's Bambel Imprint, her 'Bloom' EP (2022) on the American record label Sure Thing, the release 'Deformed Human Nature' (2021) on her own label IO, as well as the album 'Abbilder einer vergessenen Welt' (2021) on the Korean label Huinali.

Her DJ and live sets too reflect her passion for different genres. Depending on the time of day and setting, Polygonia shows a different musical side. What unites all her dance music sets is the hypnotizing effect that invites to completely lose oneself in the world of sounds for a longer period of time. Several voices from the audience also confirm that the musician always tells a complex story within her mixes, allowing for very clear highs and lows. In the same set there can be very harmonic passages, which provide emotional moments and on the other hand extremely texture-heavy dark tracks, which establish a connection with the subconscious and put the listener in a kind of trance.

Polygonia has already visited numerous of prestigious venues. She is now a regular at Tresor or Berghain in Berlin and additionally started her residency in 2023 at Munich-based BLITZ club.

Überkeine sets the tone of his own record label with four esoteric tracks, designed for the club. An obvious intention to establish a radical style with conceptualized sonorities, is revealed throughout the Ep. The sound materials are elaborate, and go straight to the point. Obsessing over the flow of creativity offered by his modular synthesizer, he delivers a very dense techno and already affirms a well-marked identity. Powerful and textured kicks, intricate synthetic sounds contained in an arrangement reduced to the essential. The tracks come to life as the forthright reflection of the thoughts of the producer. Guillotine Whistle instantly plunges into the unbridled world of the Ep. An ominous atmosphere hovers over our heads as it reveals organic and disconcerting tones. A gentle brutality emanates from this whistling guillotine that awaits to cut you up in two. Leading the way towards Drifting Data, a track inspired directly from Jungle Patterns. Überkeine is humbly trying to render DnB to a techno format. The dense, saturated Bassline sustains the idea of breaking the dancefloor in pieces. A hard hitting, broken beat environment accompanied by heavily filtered synthetic chaos. Third track’s the charm, the B side starts with Mirror Moist. A drop-down, wet and straightforward techno track with a carnal Bassline. As sensual as it gets, this track conveys a kinky loop urging intimacy and blasting heat throughout the club. Last but not least, Shaney’s remix of Mirror Moist. Picking up core elements of the original vibe and translating it into the off-beat techno nightmare it deserved to be. Full-on obscure dancefloor piece of equipment.

Chalybeate documents a month long stay by Tokyo based producer aus in Ikaho, one of Japan's most established Onsen (hot spring) towns, during autumn 2024.

Working from field-recordings captured inside multiple ryokan baths, aus synthesized the subterranean movement of the onsen's with local details: the bubbling of source water, the hoozuki lantern plants and wind chimes placed at each inn, and the surrounding insects and birds. Rather than portraying Ikaho as a landscape, the recordings trace the town's respiration.

The material was first presented on site as an installation unfolding across eight different baths, where visitors listened while soaking in roten-buro (open air hot baths). The project drew wide attention for proposing listening as a bodily act, inseparable from heat, moisture, and duration.

Chalybeate re constructs that installation as an album. The recordings were left to sit for a year within Ikaho's air and humidity, allowing the sound itself to slowly change. The title refers to Ikaho's iron rich mineral water, known as "Golden Water," which oxidizes upon contact with air and leaves rust colored traces in its baths. Following this process, the album's sound was repeatedly re submerged and re worked, gradually absorbing a corroded texture.

Tape hiss, gentle distortion, and subtle fluctuations rise quietly, like steam.
What remains is not documentation but residue.

Mixing was handed over to Manchester based producer The Humble Bee by Craig Tattersall, known for his work with The Boats and The Remote Viewer, after aus exhausted himself traversing Ikaho's steep stone steps. The exchange mirrors the work itself: from bathtub to hot spring, from sound to something that surrounds the body.

Woodwind like tape noise and the movement of water dissolve into one another.
The music does not arrive all at once. It settles slowly, as if lowering into warm water.