Repress
The Acid Series Celebrates Over 10 Years Of No Way Back, With Music That Directly References That Experience. This Is The Fourth Volume In The Series, To Be Paired Withvol 3 By Jordan Zawideh. There Will Be Four More After This Pair, With Records By Tin Man & Ectomorph, Dona, Romans, And Pervocet (patrick Russell & Jasen Loveland) Yet To Come. They All Arrive In A Unique Sleeve Especially Created For This Series, Inspired By The Decorations Of Nwb. This Is The 3rd Collaboration Between Bmg & Derek Plaslaiko, Each Collaboration Has Been Inspired By No Way Back. For This One, Bmg Was Working On A Modular Based Acid Live Show For The No Way Back 10th Anniversary, And From That Vibe We Created These Songs. The A Side References Sonic's Rendezvous Band's Best Lost Single, They Were A Legendary Detroit Rock Band From The Mid 70s Featuring Founding Members Of The Mc5 And The Stooges. The B Side Was The Opening Salvo Of This 3rd Collaboration, A Day After A Detroit Party We Had Played Together. We Had Just Received The Terrible News About So Many Of Our Friends In Oakland, We Could Think Of Nothing Else. This Is Our Sonic Reaction. The B Side Concludes With An Open Jam Presented As A Bonus Beat, The Perfect Conclusion To These Feelings.
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The Acid Series celebrates over 10 years of No Way Back, with music that directly references that experience. This is the third volume in the series, to be followed by BMG & Derek Plaslaiko, and there will be four more after this pair, with records by Tin Man & Ectomorph, Dona, Romans, and Pervocet (Patrick Russell & Jasen Loveland) yet to come. They all arrive in a unique sleeve especially created for this series, inspired by the decorations of NWB. Jordan Zawideh's music perfectly reflects his personal migration from Detroit to Chicago. It somehow combines the raw elegance of a Larry Heard demo (listen to the demos of "A Path" or "Acid Dreams" and cry) with Detroit Techno and an unconscious take on the sonic exploration of Drexciya, showcased in songs like "Magellanic Cloud" and "Trails of Sophia". In Jordan's sound, the raw power of the cassette era of Chicago House combines with a Detroit Acid Dream. His debut record was on K Starke Records in 2014, and while he was working at the store,
the concept for "No One (Jacks The Box)" came together. Kevin Starke proposed a concept for a collaboration, using an old Chicago radio ad, so Jordan borrowed a 303 & 707 from Kevin and some gear from Beau Wanzer, but Kevin never made the session. Ultimately we had master editor Gay Marvine edit this instant lost classic. Jordan has also released on the Nation box set, and is part of the No Way Back family. Jordan lives like a monk, in total dedication to learning his machines and advancing his craft. He is also an accomplished DJ. BMG on his edit of "Magellanic Cloud" - this is my fantasy version of this jam, its so lost in it, like a cool mature Chicago take on Gerald's jam for the Silicon Ghetto series on Accelerate, or Mika Vainio's "Spirality".
Tel Aviv-based musician Eyal El Wahab uses homemade instrumentation, often made from repurposed household items and discarded junk, for his latest El Khat album Saadia Jefferson, which deconstructs Arabic musical traditions and examines his identity as a Yemeni Jew living in Israel.
In the digital age, words are no longer just symbols of communication, but a powerful tool that gives rise to meaningful interconnections between different universes.
Words have the power to transcend time and space, connecting two souls destined to meet.
Il Significato delle Parole (the meaning of words) is Adiel's new effort on her DanzaTribale, a crossover of two minds, generated together with musician Flavio Accorinti: techno sounds like the restless soul that pervades our days, deconstructed atmospheres like shattered generational dreams. The fusion of two cosmic currents, two ways of thinking and creating, characterized by an immanent power, pushing us to imagine new urban primitivism. Two creative processes, transcending individual boundaries to connect into a single overarching vision, to explore new forms of art and storytelling.
The EP, mixed by Donato Dozzy and mastered at Rome's Enisslab Studio by Giuseppe Tillieci, starts with Nulla Resta, a defragmented, dreamlike, ascending climax markedly cyberpunk: dense with references to 90s Progressive Dream, Nulla Resta, with its dulcet melodies, transports us to an artificial reality, a spiritual reality albeit dominated by technology. A reality suspended between fantasy and materialism.
Suspended, like the second track (Sospesa): dark trip-hop's echoes adorned by the voice of Jordie Devlin Mcmorrow. "Shadows on the walls orchestrate our downfall." Dystopian futures intertwine with mysteriously dreamy pasts in a fatal spiral of redemption.
But words remain the catalysing element of this EP.
Parole(words) represents a communicative rare faction that embraces tribes near and far. Black drums echo in the distance in an intimate ballad, in an epic ride, in an ethereal metaphysical journey to the dissolution of the boundary between time and space, between memory and perception.
Notturna, on the other hand, is the epilogue we all deserve; a solemn twilight, a lysergic, dragging escape from the objectivity of the real world.
The images of life do not simply exist in a vacuum. They are defined by the energy that surrounds them, and it is the explanation behind each of these words that we must find if weare to truly understand them. Thanks to the meaning of words, sooner or later, we will be all united again.
After the demise of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Lydia Lunch launched her solo career with Queen Of Siam, arguably her greatest LP. In true No Wave style, the album is a mishmash of irritants, but her palette is far broader here, lurching from slow dirges, excessive feminist exhortations, and raucous personal purges to a touch of disco and lounge music exoticism, as conjured by Voidoids/Lou Reed guitarist Robert Quine, Contortions bassist Jack Ruby, and John Cale’s drummer, Douglas Browne. Spirited, surprisingly broad and defiantly dissonant, Queen Of Siam’s dense layers were designed to provoke and inflame; listen closely to fully decode.
Bonzai Classics is thrilled to announce the highly anticipated release of the 3rd installment of the Bonzai Power Vinyl series. This 2 x 7" vinyl set comes in a stunning orange color and includes Phrenetic System's "Wayfarer," Aqua Contact's "Cinderella," B.W.P Experiments with "Organic," and Cyberdelia with "Deconstruction”.
This vinyl set is essential to any electronic music lover's collection. The tracks have been remastered for optimal sound quality and are presented in a beautiful gatefold sleeve. Be sure to grab your copy and experience the power of the 90s again!
- A1: Difficult Machinery (Sonic Boom Remix)
- B1: Honesty (I Don't Wanna Know) (Vanishing Twin Remix)
French electronic post-punk/krautrock trio Veik recruit Sonic Boom and Vanishing Twin to reimagine tracks from their 2021 debut album, 'Surrounding Structures'. Both remixes have been pressed to wax by Fuzz Club, due out June 9 2023 on a heavy clear-blue 7" limited to 250 copies. On the A-side Sonic Boom (aka Pete Kember of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum) takes album-opener 'Difficult Machinery' and deconstructs it into a spaced-out, oscillating drone. Shifting gear on the B-side, 'Honesty (I Don't Wanna Know)' was already a piece of throbbing and discordant proto-punk and on this remix London psych-pop experimentalists Vanishing Twin turn it into an even more abrasive and unpredictable beast. Now being revisited via these remixes, Veik's 'Surrounding Structures' album was rooted in avant-garde krautrock and 70s no wave and inspired by brutalist and modernist architecture. It came highly praised by the likes of Loud & Quiet, Line of Best Fit, Louder Than War, BBC 6 Music, KEXP, France24, France Inter and more.
- A1: The Good Vibes Intro
- A2: Penthouse Elevators
- A3: Nature At Work
- A4: Jungle Developments
- A5: Ice Cold Coolers
- A6: Bounce Keepers
- A7: Another Two4
- A8: Smoked Cookouts
- A9: Bands Jukes
- B1: The Bad Vibes Intro
- B2: Intended Mayhem
- B3: Leeches
- B4: Dgf
- B5: Short Tempers
- B6: Problems And Solvers
- B7: Dead Ringers
- B8: Angry Cosmos
- B9: Unbeautiful
Following in the footsteps of his famed brother Madlib, Oh No has become one of the most celebrated independent hip-hop artists of the 21st century. His storied career has included not only rap success but an impressive resume behind the boards, with production credits for Mos Def, Freddie Gibbs, De La Soul, Action Bronson, Talib Kweli, Ab-Soul, and more. An innovator in the art of sampling with a history of exploring diverse source material, Oh No is now back with Good Vibes / Bad Vibes, a new instrumental album deconstructing the work of iconic vibraphonist Roy Ayers. A split collection with two thematically distinct halves, the album is entirely constructed from the early, jazz-centric realm of the Ayers archive. Good Vibes is "light and vibrant, with colorful layers radiating under the sun shine,” Oh No explains, while Bad Vibes contains “dark murky atmospheric tones for the angry moments, those times when it’s necessary to step in the mud.”
- 01: Un P'tit Je Ne Sais Quoi
- 02: L'amour C'est Aimer La Vie
- 03: Moi Je Pense Encore A Toi
- 04: Baby C'est Vous
- 05: Dansons
- 06: Le Loco-Motion
- 07: Les Vacances Se Suiven
- 08: Gong Gong
- 09: M’amuser
- 10: Comme L'été Dernier
- 11: Est-Ce Que Tu Le Sais (Ep Version)
- 12: Nous Deux Ça Colle
- 13: Madison Twist
- 14: Aussi Loin Que J'irai
- 15: Je Suis Libre
- 16: Tout Au Long Du Calendrier
- 17: Le Petit Nascar
- 16: Qui Aurait Dit Ça
- 17: Fais Ce Que Tu Veux
- 20: Ne Le Déçois Pas
Sylvie Vartan's most wonderful songs beautifully remastered by Mr. Nick Robbins at Sound Mastering... Super cute, lovely, yet Rock n Roll artwork by Mr. Allan NoMan
Detailed liner notes by M.Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe, author of the acclaimed, beautiful, and definitive book "Ye-Ye Girls of '60s French Pop"
Imagine..if you will...a world in which your dearest chic girl pop singer guests a couple of humour records, goes on to have hit after hit, is all over TV and media, with the coolest radio shows and magazines for youngsters being almost fanzines for her. Then she gets her own TV shows and um, marries Elvis, and does a multi-night stand at the Paris Olympia where The Beatles are supporting HER! That world existed, it was early 1960s France, a marvellous, self contained world of music, film and art, where Vince Taylor was not a weird guy in leather pants who never really clicked with the kids,but the major star he was in his own head! And..Well, obviously, it wasn't really Elvis, but the French-World analogue Johnny Hallyday (handsome, good hair, and a great dancer!), so..in France it WAS!... But the hits? The TV shows? And the magazines and radio? Yes! Those really happened....and The Beatles did support her (and it was a big and lucky night in their career!)...Now, don't you wish we were there, in that world? A bizarro technicolor mix of....I don't know, Viva Las Vegas/HELP!/Les Demoiselles de Rochefort? I certainly do...or maybe pop this record on and let's pretend? Oh, I think so, yes...
After the success of their first full length album Midnight Ensemble, it's now time for a massive remixpack divided in 2 EP's; Part 1 followed by Part 2 (which will be follow soon after this).
The Dynamic duo asked some of their close friends, label residents and inspirators to rework all of the tracks taken from the original album.
On Part 1 you will find remixes from DJ Nobu, Rrose, Jeroen Search on the 12" added by 2 Digital Bonus tracks bij Pyramidal Decode and Hitam.
Expect a diverse range of techno cuts and ambient drones as you are used to
from Dynamic Reflection.
- 01: Begin The Ceremony - Dionysus Disciplined
- 02: Ascensus Christi Ad Inferos
- 03: Taboo And Exogamy
- 04: The Waiver Of The Flesh
- 05: The Impossibility Of Transcendence In The Eyes Of An Operating Thetan Lviii
- 06: Salix Babylonica
- 07: Repentless
- 08: Expulsion At Old Calabar
- 09: The Cry Of The Curlew
- 10: Existential Dreg
- 11: Romance Llc
This is a Double LP Gatefold Silver plate !
Bacchus Harsh is the alias of Melbourne based multi-disciplinary artist Christian Bishop. Predominantly known in international music circles as Australian breakcore pioneer Xian, Bishop has expanded his already widescreen musical horizons to embrace an even broader creative cosmos under this new alias. Bacchus Harsh is the sonic embodiment of occult-themed electronics and deconstructed club music. De-territorializing exotica, occult psychedelia and industrial techno with polyrhythms and distorted blast beats, Bacchus Harsh confuses the dance floor.
Caveat Tumultum is an expansive double LP of icy post-breakcore industrial heaviness, where hallucinogenic cinematic atmospheres collide with sample-driven mania and complex mechanical rhythms. The resulting album is a 60-minute masterclass in foreboding electronic production, dystopian sonic manipulation and the thrillingly visceral experience of true underground party music.
This work takes its origin from the collaboration of C. Rocchetti with the Parma-based Fondazione Lenz, a contemporary theatre research collective/organization. Inspired by the writings of Hölderlin and Calderon de la Barca, and orbiting around the concepts of ›memory‹, ›sedimentation‹, ›presence/absence‹, Rocchetti produced several hours of music, a selection of which is collected in this album, that marks the 5th entry Die Schachtel’s series »Decay Music«, perfectly fitting its mission, which is to explore the ›intangible‹, ›decomposing‹ borders between experimental sound and ›proper‹ music with a special focus on the more interesting experiences of the contemporary Italian scene.
Autokinetic’s techno roots reach back to 1993 when Mike McClure and John Golden formed Auto K in Minneapolis, forming the vibrant MPLS rave scene alongside Freddy Fresh, Woody McBride, and DVS1. Auto K then changed their name to Auto Kinetic, and now Mike McClure is ripping hypnotic modular techno in hyperspace solo as Autokinetic. These tracks have been secret weapons in DVS1 sets for the past couple years.
“great stuff as always” - Decoder
“Very cool” - Justin Cudmore
“It bangs!” - CMD
“Really good” - 2Lanes
“Great release!” - PlayPlay
“Sounds great!!” - Golden Medusa
“Big blend potential with these trax!” - Escaflowne
The A side consists of “Sidewinder” and the cheekily titled “Didgeradont”. Both of these are bonafide heady techno hits. I mean, the production on these…higher consciousness inducing dancefloor rolling mania. For the old ears and fresh feet alike.
The B side opens up with “File003”, which has a robotic restraint and up-beat bassline to keep you locked in for the never ending tunnel ride of a track. “Wakeword” ends the EP with a proper, slightly acidic challenger to meet all late night crowds with taste. But no chin scratching here. This is techno at its tastiest. Mike is a pro who knows how to kick and punch with full peak euphoric power. He’s been in the game for three decades at this point, and is still pushing his craft and himself to new heights.
300 copies pressed worldwide. Not to be missed out on.
Produced and performed by Mike McClure in MPLS, MN USA
Mastered by Dietrich Schoenemann.
Design by Nick Owen.
Distributed by One Eye Witness.
Here comes round 2 of Dimitri From Paris and Chatobaron’s live sessions on Le Heartbeat records. In a clear departure from their Silly Not Silly debut “I like (The Music That You Play)” the 10 piece crew returns with a slightly more trippy mid-tempo groover.
“Chez Madame La Baronne” nonchalantly mixes highly skilled musicianship with vintage lo-fi recording. Here, Chatobaron echo the sound of West Coast Jazz-Funk, as if trapped in a French sexploitation flick - imagine the Mizell Brothers visiting heady Baroness Brigitte Lahaie’s mansion, and you get the picture.
Once again, a lot of pleasure was taken by Dimitri From Paris who directed the proceedings, meticulously arranging the sophisticated material: drum breaks, solos and horny sections, leading to an orgasmic climax. It's lush but raw, and as enjoyable at home as it is effective in the club.
Long time friends The Idjut Boys join the party, deconstructing the original piece from the top down. Ripping it apart to hone in on its darker parts, they deliver a solid and psychedelic Fazz Junk Version in their signature dubbed out style.
With label partner & vinyl digger supremo Melik Ben Cheikh, Le Heartbeat Records continue their quest to bring the higher standards of yesterday’s music to today’s ears.
Early support from François K, Red Greg, Volcov, DJ Deep, Alex From Tokyo, Alex Attias, Hugo LX.
Die deutsche Post-Metalformation THE OCEAN veröffentlicht ihre neuen Albums "Holocene" im Mai 2023! Mit Holocene fügen The Ocean das neue und abschließende Kapitel in ihrer paläontologisch inspirierten Albumserie hinzu. Erweitert wird die Härte des Kollektivs diesmal um einige elektronische Dimensionen. Gegründet zu Beginn des Jahrtausends, hat die Gruppe von Musikern um den Gitarristen Robin Stapps auch nach über 20 Jahren nicht an Intensität eingebüßt. The Ocean kommen jedesmal zusammen mit der gemeinsamen Vision von grenzenloser Klangforschung, niemals stillstehend, genießt die Band einen hervorragenden Ruf in den Genres des Postrock, Progressive Metal und sogar Hardcore. Robin Staps kommentierte das abschließende Werk der paleontologischen Albumserie: "Holocene is an appendix to the 2 Phanerozoic albums and Precambrian, or the final and concluding chapter, making it a quadrilogy if you want so. It's tackling the Holocene epoch, which is the current and shortest chapter in earth's history, but it is essentially an album about the angst, alienation, loss of reason and critical thinking, rise of conspiracy theories and deconstruction of values in the modern age." Zum Entstehungsprozess und der elektronischen Basis der neuen Songs fügt er hinzu: "The writing process of every album we've ever made started with me coming up with a guitar riff, a drumbeat or a vocal idea. This album is different since every single song is based on a musical idea that was originally written by Peter (Voigtmann, synths). He came up with these amazing synth parts that were already sounding huge in pre-production, and he sent me some of those raw, unfinished ideas during mid lockdown 2020... and while it was all electronic, it had that definite Ocean vibe to it. It made me want to pick up my guitar instantly_ and so I did, and it didn't take long until we had an inspiring creative exchange that was heading towards totally unforeseen but very exciting places." Für Fans von Massive Attack, Lorn, Archive, Trentemöller, early Moderat, Portishead, Isis, Mastodon, Katatonia, The Pineapple Thief Gatefold aus schwarzem Spezialpapier mit Stanzungen, metallic inks und UV Spot Lack, Insert mit Kupferfolienprägung, 20seitiges Booklet, printed inner sleeve
Die deutsche Post-Metalformation THE OCEAN veröffentlicht ihre neuen Albums "Holocene" im Mai 2023! Mit Holocene fügen The Ocean das neue und abschließende Kapitel in ihrer paläontologisch inspirierten Albumserie hinzu. Erweitert wird die Härte des Kollektivs diesmal um einige elektronische Dimensionen. Gegründet zu Beginn des Jahrtausends, hat die Gruppe von Musikern um den Gitarristen Robin Stapps auch nach über 20 Jahren nicht an Intensität eingebüßt. The Ocean kommen jedesmal zusammen mit der gemeinsamen Vision von grenzenloser Klangforschung, niemals stillstehend, genießt die Band einen hervorragenden Ruf in den Genres des Postrock, Progressive Metal und sogar Hardcore. Robin Staps kommentierte das abschließende Werk der paleontologischen Albumserie: "Holocene is an appendix to the 2 Phanerozoic albums and Precambrian, or the final and concluding chapter, making it a quadrilogy if you want so. It's tackling the Holocene epoch, which is the current and shortest chapter in earth's history, but it is essentially an album about the angst, alienation, loss of reason and critical thinking, rise of conspiracy theories and deconstruction of values in the modern age." Zum Entstehungsprozess und der elektronischen Basis der neuen Songs fügt er hinzu: "The writing process of every album we've ever made started with me coming up with a guitar riff, a drumbeat or a vocal idea. This album is different since every single song is based on a musical idea that was originally written by Peter (Voigtmann, synths). He came up with these amazing synth parts that were already sounding huge in pre-production, and he sent me some of those raw, unfinished ideas during mid lockdown 2020... and while it was all electronic, it had that definite Ocean vibe to it. It made me want to pick up my guitar instantly_ and so I did, and it didn't take long until we had an inspiring creative exchange that was heading towards totally unforeseen but very exciting places." Für Fans von Massive Attack, Lorn, Archive, Trentemöller, early Moderat, Portishead, Isis, Mastodon, Katatonia, The Pineapple Thief Gatefold aus schwarzem Spezialpapier mit Stanzungen, metallic inks und UV Spot Lack, Insert mit Kupferfolienprägung, 20seitiges Booklet, printed inner sleeve
Die deutsche Post-Metalformation THE OCEAN veröffentlicht ihre neuen Albums "Holocene" im Mai 2023, wie üblich gibt es auch eine rein instrumentale Version des Werkes. Mit Holocene fügen The Ocean das neue und abschließende Kapitel in ihrer paläontologisch inspirierten Albumserie hinzu. Erweitert wird die Härte des Kollektivs diesmal um einige elektronische Dimensionen. Gegründet zu Beginn des Jahrtausends, hat die Gruppe von Musikern um den Gitarristen Robin Stapps auch nach über 20 Jahren nicht an Intensität eingebüßt. The Ocean kommen jedesmal zusammen mit der gemeinsamen Vision von grenzenloser Klangforschung, niemals stillstehend, genießt die Band einen hervorragenden Ruf in den Genres des Postrock, Progressive Metal und sogar Hardcore. Robin Staps kommentierte das abschließende Werk der paleontologischen Albumserie: "Holocene is an appendix to the 2 Phanerozoic albums and Precambrian, or the final and concluding chapter, making it a quadrilogy if you want so. It's tackling the Holocene epoch, which is the current and shortest chapter in earth's history, but it is essentially an album about the angst, alienation, loss of reason and critical thinking, rise of conspiracy theories and deconstruction of values in the modern age." Zum Entstehungsprozess und der elektronischen Basis der neuen Tracks fügt er hinzu: "The writing process of every album we've ever made started with me coming up with a guitar riff, a drumbeat or a vocal idea. This album is different since every single song is based on a musical idea that was originally written by Peter (Voigtmann, synths). He came up with these amazing synth parts that were already sounding huge in pre-production, and he sent me some of those raw, unfinished ideas during mid lockdown 2020... and while it was all electronic, it had that definite Ocean vibe to it. It made me want to pick up my guitar instantly_ and so I did, and it didn't take long until we had an inspiring creative exchange that was heading towards totally unforeseen but very exciting places." Für Fans von Massive Attack, Lorn, Archive, Trentemöller, early Moderat, Portishead, Isis, Mastodon, Katatonia, The Pineapple Thief Gatefold aus schwarzem Spezialpapier mit Stanzungen, metallic inks und UV Spot Lack, Insert mit Kupferfolienprägung, printed inner sleeve
Die deutsche Post-Metalformation THE OCEAN veröffentlicht ihre neuen Albums "Holocene" im Mai 2023, wie üblich gibt es auch eine rein instrumentale Version des Werkes. Mit Holocene fügen The Ocean das neue und abschließende Kapitel in ihrer paläontologisch inspirierten Albumserie hinzu. Erweitert wird die Härte des Kollektivs diesmal um einige elektronische Dimensionen. Gegründet zu Beginn des Jahrtausends, hat die Gruppe von Musikern um den Gitarristen Robin Stapps auch nach über 20 Jahren nicht an Intensität eingebüßt. The Ocean kommen jedesmal zusammen mit der gemeinsamen Vision von grenzenloser Klangforschung, niemals stillstehend, genießt die Band einen hervorragenden Ruf in den Genres des Postrock, Progressive Metal und sogar Hardcore. Robin Staps kommentierte das abschließende Werk der paleontologischen Albumserie: "Holocene is an appendix to the 2 Phanerozoic albums and Precambrian, or the final and concluding chapter, making it a quadrilogy if you want so. It's tackling the Holocene epoch, which is the current and shortest chapter in earth's history, but it is essentially an album about the angst, alienation, loss of reason and critical thinking, rise of conspiracy theories and deconstruction of values in the modern age." Zum Entstehungsprozess und der elektronischen Basis der neuen Tracks fügt er hinzu: "The writing process of every album we've ever made started with me coming up with a guitar riff, a drumbeat or a vocal idea. This album is different since every single song is based on a musical idea that was originally written by Peter (Voigtmann, synths). He came up with these amazing synth parts that were already sounding huge in pre-production, and he sent me some of those raw, unfinished ideas during mid lockdown 2020... and while it was all electronic, it had that definite Ocean vibe to it. It made me want to pick up my guitar instantly_ and so I did, and it didn't take long until we had an inspiring creative exchange that was heading towards totally unforeseen but very exciting places." Für Fans von Massive Attack, Lorn, Archive, Trentemöller, early Moderat, Portishead, Isis, Mastodon, Katatonia, The Pineapple Thief Gatefold aus schwarzem Spezialpapier mit Stanzungen, metallic inks und UV Spot Lack, Insert mit Kupferfolienprägung, printed inner sleeve
Mo H. Zareei (mHz) returns to Imprec/Cassauna with Proof Of Identity, an album of pulsating, pattern-based electronic pieces that evolve in ways reminiscent of Steve Reich's early work or Philip Glass' Music In 12 Parts. With Proof Of Identity, Zareei confronts issues surrounding identity and authorship in composition specifically when created by non-Western musicians. He simultaneously tackles orientalism and the normative take on identity politics.
Artist's Statement:
More than a decade ago, I made a piece of beat-based electronic music and titled it "Middle Eastern IDM" for a course assignment. After listening to it in class, my professor asked what was Middle Eastern about it. It was only a year after I had left Iran to study in the US, and I didn't know that I could say "I am. I made the piece". So I went back and superimposed a sample of Egyptian protest chants on top of the piece, to make it "sufficiently Middle Eastern".
What prejudiced conservatism and performative liberalism share is gatekeeping practices that box one in a preconceived state of otherness. While the former overtly regards that otherness as inferior, the latter exoticises it through patronising paternalism. To me, it is especially troubling when exclusionary practices are driven by some form of overzealous "diversity and inclusion" agenda. If you don't fit the diversity box they've made for you, too bad. It's your fault for being "insufficiently diverse". "Poor thing, you've been colonised!", they tell you, as they claim ownership over a collection of frequencies and rhythms. When you look at who gets to decide if something's indigenous enough, you see how decolonisation itself has been colonised.
When you listen to this piece, I'm very happy for you to keep in mind that it was made by someone from Iran. But I might need to clarify that this piece has nothing to do with sufism and the whirling dervishes, the interweaving patterns of the Persian carpet, the poetry of Rumi, or Islamic architecture. And if you hear those moments of "non-western" sonorities, that is because I have constructed this piece from samples of a piece of Iranian traditional music – an overplayed piece that was all over TV and radio while I was growing up Iran, one that I never found particularly inspiring or interesting. Here, I have tried to make it more interesting by completely taking it apart and reconstructing it through my personal compositional techniques, aesthetic preferences, and a wide range of musical influences. So in short, while this piece might not sound like your archetypical Iranian music, I assure you that it is Iranian enough.




















