Cerca:ghost machine

Black Rain returns with Computer Soul: the final part of a sequence of Blackest Ever Black releases that began with 2011's Now I'm Just A Number: Soundtracks 1994-95, and a first glimpse of the project's richly imagined future. For this outing Stuart Argabright (Ike Yard, Dominatrix, Death Comet Crew) is joined by BR founder member Shinichi Shimokawa as well as more recent recruit Soren Roi and Zanias (vocalist on 2015's Dark Pool) - making for the most most group-oriented iteration of Black Rain since its earliest days. Sonically too, there is a sense of evolution but also of coming full circle: the cyberpunk techno of Argabright's celebrated William Gibson soundtracks (compiled on Now I'm Just A Number) and extrapolations of Dark Pool's neuromantic yearning cut with glimpses of the thrash and industrial rock energies that animated Black Rain's incendiary live shows - and sought-after tapes for Kombinat and TPOS - in the early 90s. More than ever, Black Rain is propelled by a powerful science fiction impulse, whether responding to the themes and characters of Gibson's Sprawl or the Blade Runner universe (particularly K.W. Jeter's spin-off/continuation novels which extended its mythology, and timeline, further). It's not news that many of these works' most powerful predictions and prophesies have come to pass - the replicants are already living among us - so Computer Soul projects further into several possible unforeseen futures, its events 'set' in the second half of the current century, fifty or so years after those of Dark Pool. The hyperpopulated metropolises of Dark Pool are no more; the apartments are empty, haunted by ghosts of AC current, devices and machines running lonely without their owners...a melancholy internet of things. Where has everyone got to Gone but perhaps not gone. Oblivion beckons - always does - but on the other side of that, something else... another time, another place, a river....and a new way of living.

Fresh from releases on his own Polymath Records, as well as Natura Sonoris and Sodai, that have seen support from the likes of Maceo Plex, Bicep, and ANNA; UK producer Third Son debuts on Dusky's 17 Steps imprint with the 'Machine Love' EP.

The synth laden 4 tracker utilises electro, acid, techno and breakbeat influences to provide a rugged and bold reflection of the current clubbing landscape; one that is set to melt underground dance-floors this autumn.

'Machine Love's squelchy synths and gritty percussion build towards a chopped and skewed finale, that has proved a ferocious piece of club artillery in Dusky's sets this summer.

Next up is 'Bloodsport', a dance floor primed roller that consists of dusty breaks, squealing atmospherics and a meandering baseline. 'I Hear Laurel' follows, a cosmic alliance of ghostly vocals and hard hitting distorted synths that feels like meditative ode to rave music of the past. Closing the EP is 'Ambiturner', stacked with syncopated drums and twisting synths that scatter across the stereo stacks.

Todd Osborn. For Many, The Name Conjures Up Myths, Tall Tales Told Within The World Of Electronic Music. Todd: Makes Hovercrafts, Repairs Motorcycles Out Of His Garage, Fixes Vintage Jukeboxes, Creates Handmade Components For Espresso Machines, Flies Fighter Jets, Is A Lego Expert, Owns A Record Label With His Son That Releases Music By Aphex Twin, Madlib And Underground Resistance, Has A Stunning Collection Of Rare Whiskeys. True All Of It, Of Course. Reviewing A Cv Of The Varied Styles And Sounds Of Todd Osborn Is Like A Museum-grade Survey Of Records From Electronic Music's Ultimate Outsider Artist. Yet, Todd Osborn Has Never Been Outside. From Releasing Jungle On Rephlex With Tadd Mullinix As Soundmurderer & Sk-1 To House And Jacking Club Music As Osborne On Ghostly International, To Bright, Chiptuned Boogie As Superstructure, Todd Osborn Has Done It All. From There We Haven't Yet Scratched The Surface. For Over 20 Years, Todd Osborn Has Been A Permanent Fixture In Music, Touring Internationally At Music Festivals, Warehouse Raves, Gabber Parties In Fields To Giving Lectures At Red Bull Music Academy And In Turn Hosting The Most Diverse Programme On Red Bull Radio. To Boot Todd Osborn Opened The Best Record Store In The Usa, In Ypsilanti, Mi. Portage Garage Sounds Is Thrilled, Humbled, To Present This Three Song Ep, Superdisc.

The California-born, London-based producer Rrose is well known for taking dancefloor techno into the uncharted depths of experimentalism and psychedelia while also paying homage to artists of the 20th century avant-garde such as Marcel Duchamp, James Tenney, and Eliane Radigue.

"Beware of Shells" (the first solo Rrose release of 2018) is a diverse five track EP that goes to extremes of both aggression and tranquility while remaining strangely cohesive. The EP opens with machine gun bass drums that slowly disintegrate into a swirl of undulating tones and ghostly resonances. Next comes "Incisors" - the most solidly dancefloor track of the EP - which establishes a primal, skeletal rhythmic base upon which snake-like analog synth lines interweave in unpredictable ways. "The Swelling" follows with a short, sparse study in feedback, bent into uneasy melodic patterns. Side B opens with a previously unreleased 2013 remix of the Los Angeles band Deathday, and is perhaps Rrose's most overtly "industrial" track to date, with buzzing, dissonant synth tones that sound somewhere between a foghorn and a distorted guitar. The EP finishes on a contemplative note with "Pecking Order," a microtonal, ritualistic affair conjuring the spirit of Wendy Carlos's little-known masterpiece "Beauty in the Beast."

With a string of resonating releases and progressively improvised live-shows, ANNANAN have been expanding and refining their stylistic range across gritty Acid psychedelia, explosive, dark-waving Electro and a raw blend of Techno and House that is as fierce as it is fragile. The duo's first album on their own imprint MACHINE JAZZ does take all of this into account - and yet it's crucially different to everything else they've put out so far. - You' is a captivating electronic pop adventure, an experimental amalgam aligning Anne Ghost's polymorphic lead vocals with Tom Aaron's vast and versatile analogue productions in unexpected ways. Dominated by reduced rhythms and a carefully crafted melodic shape, the result of this dialogic fusion are irresistible, forceful songs that draw from diverse contemporary and traditional sources: you'll even hear Trap fragments, an R&B trained voice, reminiscences of the Knife as well as cinematic synth excursions. While exhibiting a broad set of moods, claims and longings, the LP attains emotive poignancy from beginning to end through its bold openness. Annanan's first album is stripped down, immediate and full of surprises - but don't you worry, there's no lack in bang either!










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A girl stands at an arcade machine, her eyes fixed on the glowing screen with her back turned on the world. She seems to be alone, somehow lost and yet at one with herself. The cover art (by Carmen Alt-Chaplin) for Peter Zirbs' debut album as a solo artist conveys escapism - being totally immersed in another reality, in the virtual world. His equally futuristic and retro-futuristic aesthetic is permeated with melancholy. What if we really don't exist

Peter Zirbs himself also knows how to escape: how to hunker down in the studio, hide from the outside and lose himself in the music. He emphasizes that such an escape is healing, leading to the world of the romantic. The Viennese musician and producer has always felt most comfortable straddling genres, whether techno and rock in previous band projects, or now as a solo artist combining post-minimalist dramatic synth/piano ("Firmament") with modern wave pop ("Are You Reality") and poignant ballad-kitsch ("Dreamescape"). Here there are subtle changes in emphasis gracing otherwise repetitive harmonies; there a true appreciation of pop. Ten songs - five with lyrics, five without - some threatening, some heartbreaking, all stirring. They project a world - sometimes concrete, sometimes abstract - in which can be found beauty and disquiet, love and fear, failure and perseverance. A world one is happy to get lost in while the cinema in one's head tells its own stories. (by Manuel Fronhofer)

As part of the Viennese rave and techno scene of the 1990s, multi-instrumentalist and electronic producer Peter Zirbs has released music under several pseudonyms, produced and remixed various artists, and scored a range of experimental films. He has broken down genre boundaries over the years with the variety of his output. The circle closes now. In 2018 Peter Zirbs finally steps into the spotlight as a solo artist.

"What If We Do not Exist" by Peter Zirbs is released on 19th October 2018 by Fabrique Records. Guest vocalists include Monika Heidemann (Heidemann, The Phenomenal Handclap Band, The Juan MacLean / DFA Records), Tom Walkden (Wolventrix) and Gerard McNeice.

It was like a bird of rarest-spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now - Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange

After their LPs 'Ike Yard' (also known as 'A Fact A Second' Factory America, 1982) and Nord (Phisteria and Desire, 2010) Ike Yard delivers their last album 'Rejoy' on Noiztank, 2018 as the culmination of their recent years reinvented sound. As the perpetual flag bearers of the cutting-edge post-punk spirit, the NYC- based band shows muscle in a LP fully loaded with abrasive synth pads, scrap metal percussions, and whispered vocals. Following the previous criteria of 'Sacred Machine' 2017, it is worth to remark the inclusion of external vocals in the pieces 'Sister M' and 'Beyondersay', which feature Yuki Osaki and MAYa. The nine tracks move through different atmospheres, tensions and moods that would perfectly represent a new contemporary soundtrack of the S. Kubrick film 'A Clockwork Orange', a major influence and source of inspiration for the group this time around.

2x12" Reflecting on a career spanning three decades, Luke Slater is a true dance music legend. The British producer has not only been pivotal in the rise of techno but his work continues to play a vital role in driving the genre forward, particularly under his Planetary Assault Systems name. Following its launch in 2006, Slater's L.B.Dub Corp moniker has been responsible for refreshing house music on labels like Mote-Evolver and Ostgut Ton, with the latter hosting the pseudonym's debut album in 2013. 'Side Effects' is the project's first body of work since then. "I wrote the tracks over the last year between being on the road as P.A.S. and playing a few L.B.Dub Corp house sets, which naturally evolved into 'Side Effects' almost accidentally" - Luke Slater Crashing stabs and a rolling hook inaugurate the album in 'Reel One' before the meandering 'Night Time Hawk' demonstrates effervescent effects and bursts of white noise. Commanding kicks and a moody bassline make up the robust 'Edge 7' whilst 'IELBEE' exhibits a bouncy aesthetic complete with intricate melodies. 'Float When You Can' is dark and ominous from the off but an echoing note sequence adds a glimmer of light, making way for the reverberating mechanics of 'Bass Machine' before leading into the twisted sounds and ghostly air of 'Forever In A Day'. Nearing the end, 'LBEES Jam' is the most lighthearted track on the album with its twinkling lead melody until Slater rounds off the release with a soulful and vocal driven affair 'All Got To Live'.

A new duo launches by the name of Ghost Vision. Joining forces with an introspective, uplifting debut slice on Kompakt, the pair are two well-known figures Thomas Gandey aka Cagedbaby, member of Matom alongside Matt Edwards, and Daniel McLewin, half of UK-based production duo Psychemagik. Fruit of these blissful moments when no imaginary wall obstructs the vision and the stream of consciousness gives up to the entrancing magic of the creative flow, 'Saturnus' is an upright mano a mano between two musicians and their gear, unchained from all preconceptions and biases; real (machine) talk as the hip-hop heads would say.

Straight soul oration poured off the cosmic scapes generated by a good old Moog Voyager, '70s string machines', Oberheim OBXA, 303, Space Echo and the too little-known and equally little-used Korg Lambda, Ghost Vision's debut EP traverses remote kosmische-indebted expanses but hits close to the core with its deft mix of slow-burning spectral funk, textured outerspace pads and further stirring heart-searching harmonics. Subtly arranged yet leaving maximum room to the lively force of its original layout, it is a lovingly crafted piece of emotive and psychedelic magnitude that's seamlessly given birth to. Enter the greater deep and important world of Ghost Vision.

The cornerstone track from Chloe´'s new album, an adventurously dark landscape dotted by Montreal rock band Suuns' singer Ben Shemie's vocals, Recall deserved this long-awaited quartet of astounding remixes, which serve as extensions of her latest full-length Endless Revisions' second single, released last October on Lumie`re Noire, the label founded by Chloe´.Moire´, Matthew Dear's latest signing to his Ghostly International label (which released the London artist's debut album in early 2017), retained a smattering of Ben's syllables, setting them to a captivating retro- futuristic remix that straddles two worlds, along the milestones of a restrained beat in a mesmerizingly ethereal and ghostly road trip that could last forever.German Crosstown Rebels signee Jonathan Kaspar's version is a more banging techno version, rounding out the EP's wide array of moods and genres. Over a formidably progressive build-up, the mood remains dark thanks to Ben's stretched-out vocals, and Recall's original universe is made more dynamic with a sped-up tempo, added percussions, and a concluding harmonisation finale that brings it all into the light. Douglas Greed, previously remixed Chloe´'s Driven (released on BPitch Control back in 2015,) similarly chops up the vocals, but takes them down a different road, reassembling the original's elements to create a different track, resulting in a fascinating free-form re-reading, an adroit upcycling, a long detour through the German producer's favoured poetic techno backroads - possibly inspired by the surroundings of Jena, Greed (a.k.a. Mario Wilms') hometown, and homebase of the Freude Am Tanzen label, the serious stable of geniuses directed by the incomparable Robag Wruhme.In a more motoric register, Autarkic's re-imagines Recall via a different narrative lens, re-populating and grounding it all at once. The Israeli Red Axes accomplice, who released an excellent debut album (I Love You Go Away) on Disco Halal last April, has a knack for propelling fanatics of rock urgency straight to the dancefloor. A gang of machines amplifies Shemie's voice, highlighting its minutiae of suffering and pleasure, leading the listener into dawn.

Tadd Mullinix first made a name for himself as Dabrye in the early 2000s with a pair of instrumental albums combining the rhythmic finesse of Detroit hip-hop with the ingenuity of electronic music. But instrumental beats were only a temporary goal, a way for Mullinix to catch the ears of MCs. On Two/Three, his second Dabrye album for Ghostly International, Mullinix brought together a formidable crew of local and national talent to make the statement he'd always intended. Released in 2006, Two/Three o-ered a fevered vision of rap's future that remains just as intoxicating a decade on. Ahead of the long-await-ed conclusion of Dabrye's hip-hop trilogy in 2018, Ghostly is reissuing Two/Three.

Dabrye's move towards rap began in 2004 with the album's first single, 'Game Over' featuring Jay Dee and Phat Kat. An early inspiration of Dabrye's, Jay Dee invited Mullinix to his crib in 2002 for a listening session during which he picked the 'Game Over' beat to rap on. Crucially everyone involved was in accord that despite perceptions of their respective work this would be a hardcore rap song. Together with Kat, Jay delivered a one-two lyrical punch on 'Game Over' that no one saw coming. Detroit made the world go round and everyone's head spun. 'Game Over' set the tone for the album and, over the next few years, became a Detroit anthem — shortly after Jay's passing in 2006 the audience at Movement Festival sung his verse.

Moody, propulsive, and above all ambitious, Two/Three emerges from a sonic stew of Detroit and UK dance music, Jamaican sound clashes, and hip-hop sampledelia. The guests, a who's who of the mid-'00s underground rap scene, engage in a raucous rhyming session that pays as much attention to the realities of the streets as it does world events. MF Doom, Wildchild, Vast Aire, Beans, and AG represent for the various coasts while local talents — Waajeed, Ta-Raach, Invincible, Finale, Kadence, Guilty Simpson, Big Tone, Phat Kat, and Jay Dee — bring Two/Three alive with an infectious energy. In between bursts of raw rap and hard beats, Dabrye showcases detailed instrumentals that evoke bleak industrial futures, underwater meditations, and smoky late night sessions. With Two/Three Dabrye placed himself at the forefront of hip-hop's new wave, throwing a Molotov cocktail into the rap world as uncompromising as the head-twisting cover art from WK Interact. The independent press praised Mullinix's audacity. Over the following years the impact of Two/Threewas felt in slow increments as Dabrye's music became central to the sonic makeup of a new generation of producers. As this beat scene grew and moved away from rap, it showed Mullinix the influence of his work and the value of his vision for Dabrye as his own brand of Detroit hip-hop.

In a career spanning over 20 years, Todd Sines has released music on some of 89:Ghost's favourite labels, such as Peace Frog (we heart you, .xTrak!!), Planet E, 7th City and Rawax.. We are very proud to present "Internal Dialogue", with all it's spasmic hardware rhythm, blurred horizon waves and bleeping, snapping, machineyfied funk. We hope you enjoy twitching to these trax as much as we do. Peace. 89G x

A great strong man with a brush in his hand once said: everything you can imagine is real and art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. So is making music just another form of keeping a diary In terms of Ana Helder, the Argentinian girl with the special twist, the answer is: maybe. More than two years after her last release on Cómeme she is back with a hand full of tracks. Five to be precise. She got more, but this is what the Müstique's received. They are mean, dirty, harmful, amorevolous, seductive and addictive. Surrender tunes from a producer and DJ that does not think in boxes. Her three Eps 'El Groove De Tu Corazón', 'Fiebre De Marte' and 'Beating PC' mark some warped grooving heights in the edgy catalogue of Matias Aguayo's label Cómeme. Also on the French label Astro Lab she already dropped the 12inch 'Soy Canalla' with a playful psyche tune, that additionally got remixed by folks like Les Disques De La Mort seducer Ivan Smagghe or the mysterious West-German ghost-(w)rid(t)er Frank West. Furthermore, she re-tuned tunes from Chilean friends like Alejandro Paz or Mamacita and sang on songs of colleagues. For Müstique she now looked into her always-growing production crate and found some post-punk waving funk odes, which want more than just to dance this mess around. They bring soulful LSD-melodies for Jazz lovers with techno legs that like to get high on Liquid Liquid. They are electronic but yet so organic. And they move deeply while spreading the feel of a meditative rest. When Diagnose heard them first, he came to the idea of writing a script for a flick that tells the story of a music-making machine, which has more to offer than answers. It forms sound with no traces of reality, but is so human that humans fear it. Why did he think that way Only because of what Ana Helder recently got to say Well, let the music play...

Dark Entries Editions is proud to reissue Ghost Town' the 1984 debut 12' single by Mono Band from Italy. The project was conceived by producer Rene 'D'Herin and Massimo Fantinatiti aka Fantenax. They teamed up with songwriter and guitarist Luigi Venegoni aka Svengile who had previously worked with progressive and jazz-rock bands Arti & Mestieri and Venegoni & Co. as well as cosmic disco group Stratosferic Band. Treading the lines between Italo Disco and the darker side of New Wave, the trio crafted a mysterious sound. Melancholic arpeggiators, a throbbing baseline, stuttering samples, and the classic Linn drum machine run throughout the track. Vocals were handled by an uncredited Carlo Rossi who raps about a ghost town filled with fear. When female vocalist Elena Sansonetti begins to softly whisper the chorus one might get goose bumps. The trio were joined in the studio by DJ Mike aka Michele Paolino of Make Up/Mike Up, DJ Moody, Fabrice Bellini of Art Fine and producer Miceli. The song was recorded in a few days at Dynamo Sound Studio in Turin and originally released on the popular Discomagic Records. This reissue includes the original vocal version, backed with a longer dubbed out instrumental Ghost Version' on the B-side. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The 12' is housed in an exact replica of the original sleeve with an astrological photo the planets orbiting the sun. Each copy also includes a 2-sided postcard.

The next chapter in Shaw Cuts comes from Russian duo Poima, who celebrate their debut record 'Twin Blades of Doom' - a fierce revenge mission and hunt after the infamous Ghost gang.
The pursuit opens with 'Triglau', its linear machine groove levelling a fraction of the Ghost Gang. Heads roll on a crimson floor.
Teaming up with mysterious masked warrior Inland, 'Triglau' morphs into a hypnotic trip. Pushing drum rhythms and swirling pads combine with nasty noise elements, propelling the hunt.
The remaining enemy members are already hatching their next evil move. On the way to Lu He Village where the Ghost Gang plans its next assault, analogue break-beat punches and swinging percussions weave a menacing tapestry of sound, crushing the 'Bones' of rogue creatures in its path.
Serbian slayer Regen arrives in force for the final showdown at Qi Dou Town where the Ghost Gang plans a huge heist. Armed with atmospheric pads and a soaring drum crescendo, his interpretation of 'Bones' ends the Ghost Gang tyranny in one fatal sweep. And the saga goes on...

Into the mystic. Crank up the amp and drop the needle on the record. Exclusively on vinyl only, it's the cross-genre collaboration everybody's talking about - between the don of drum'n'bass and one of the godfather's of grime. Goldie and Skepta share a birthday, an elemental connection and an impeccable taste in beats. Upstart is the blistering outcome of their studio sessions together - a fierce, futuristic alchemy of tense horrorshow melodics, street-level rhymes and bangin' breaks. Minted somewhere between Blade Runner and A Clockwork Orange, it's for the kind of kids who want to ram-raid tomorrow, become a ghost in the machine, a contagion that cannot be stopped.

A great strong man with a brush in his hand once said: everything you can imagine is real and art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. So is making music just another form of keeping a diary In terms of Ana Helder, the Argentinian girl with the special twist, the answer is: maybe. More than two years after her last release on Co´meme she is back with a hand full of tracks. Five to be precise. She got more, but this is what the Mu¨stique's received. They are mean, dirty, harmful, amorevolous, seductive and addictive. Surrender tunes from a producer and DJ that does not think in boxes. Her three Eps El Groove De Tu Corazo´n', Fiebre De Marte' and Beating PC' mark some warped grooving heights in the edgy catalogue of Matias Aguayo's label Co´meme. Also on the French label Astro Lab she already dropped the 12inch Soy Canalla' with a playful psyche tune, that additionally got remixed by folks like Les Disques De La Mort seducer Ivan Smagghe or the mysterious West-German ghost-(w)rid(t)er Frank West. Furthermore, she re-tuned tunes from Chilean friends like Alejandro Paz or Mama- cita and sang on songs of colleagues. For Mu¨stique she now looked into her always-growing production crate and found some post-punk waving funk odes, which want more than just to dance this mess around. They bring soulful LSD-melodies for Jazz lovers with techno legs that like to get high on Liquid Liquid. They are electronic but yet so organic. And they move deeply while spreading the feel of a meditative rest. When Diagnose heard them first, he came to the idea of writing a script for a flick that tells the story of a music-making machine, which has more to offer than answers. It forms sound with no traces of reality, but is so human that humans fear it. Why did he think that way Only because of what Ana Helder recently got to say Well, let the music play...

Acid Test continues their journey with the return of Achterbahn D'Amour. On their first proper release in three years, Jool & Iron Curtis patiently craft an intricate sound world - with the opening track, major-key pads hearken towards a bright future, hi-hats rustle like leaves and on "Dehaveland," percussive elements fall into beautiful, random unison like factory machines staging an after hours dance. Samuel Van Dijk's vaunted VC-118A project steps up for a remix, turning in a taut techno version that unfurls smoke pillars of ghostly ambience. The duo wraps up the four-tracker with an unexpected dreamy electro turn, "Don't Talk To Me." Throughout Acid Test 13, they remain in lockstep with the label's ethos - to bend, hammer and flatten acid lines into new, imaginative shapes.

Silent is the new single by Miruna Boruzescu aka Borusiade from Bucharest. Silent is a suffocated cry. Silent as in silence that is hard to take. Sitting and waiting in silence, while exploding on the inside. Silent as in silence before the storm. An intense track that recalls industrial spaces, hedonism, sweat, sex and disconnection from the outside world. The rattling sound of ghost train passing by, or big reverberated factory machines unleashed. Body music 2017.
The B side features a remix by the project Khidja , also hailing from Bucharest, and is driven by the track's bass synth, a neurotic now school electro rapture take on the original.
Silent will be part of Borusiade's debut album that will be unleashed next year via Co´meme.

Panorama Bar resident Nick Ho¨ppner gets to Work on his second solo album on Ostgut Ton, connecting the territories of House music with the ease of Alt-Pop.
Work as in labor. An axiom that fuels the capitalist system just as the Techno/House scene economy says that one needs to keep oneself busy to make a living. As a musician, things are complicated of course. It's a long way from the romantic idea of creating music simply for the sake of art to becoming a full time musician. Those who have accomplished this feat often find themselves in a professional loop of writing the music, producing it, promoting it (with an info text like this), releasing it and then hopefully selling it. After leaving his full time job as Ostgut Ton's label manager in 2012, Nick Ho¨ppner went fully freelance, focusing on his musically diverse, deep and dynamic DJing in and outside Berghain's Panorama Bar, but more importantly spending more time in the studio. The result was his critically acclaimed debut album Folk (Ostgut Ton, 2015), various 12' releases and remixes, and now his sophomore LP, Work, which, more than ever, lays out his refined production skills and his talent to work the machines until they reveal their inner ghosts: nine new songs that now dodge the dance floor, then fully embrace it.
Work as in body of work. A record is more than the sum of clocked up hours at the studio, but the result of an artistic-creative process. On Work, Ho¨ppner shows his everlasting lust for musical detail, his increasing technical skills and compositional finesse. Work is a very personal, soulful and deep record that breaks through the usual club/dancefloor narrative by documenting Nick's interest for hybrid sounds and combining elements from varying musical genres. Work's lead single 'All By Themselves (My Belle)' is a very atmospheric, intimate and steadily unfurling IDM piece with ethereal synth and vocal pads; on the album it's contrasted by 'Clean Living' with Tram 78, a modern Ho¨ppner club classic: powerful, kick-heavy, muscular, cheerful and uplifting. It's a very personal track resulting from a recent reencounter with an old friend. Having spent countless hours together in Berlin's clubs in ever changing states of mind a decade ago or longer, things have since changed for both towards a more - clean living'. Connecting to this musical vibe 'In My Mind' follows with a slightly darker tone putting emphasis on bassline, percussion and squeaky sound detailing. 'Hole Head' pays tongue-in-cheek homage to Nick's love for UK club music, when a dashing melody of synths and vibraphone is matched with clattering breaks and syncopation. The dubby, mesmerizing 'The Dark Segment' not only impresses with its hypnotic synth figurines, but also by morphing to a shuffling Jazz rhythm towards it's middle part; 'Forced Resonance' uses Oberheim synth brass stabs to dramatic effect; the percussion- and clap-laden 'Fly Your Colours' comes with an irresistible piano melody atop an energetic kick; and finally the album-closing, shuffling but rhythmic, noisy yet bluesy 'Three Is A Charm' featuring the duo Randweg on clarinet, cajo´n and acoustic guitar is a coherent departure heading towards Indie Pop territory. It sees Nick collaborating with acoustic instrumentalists for the first time in his ten-year- spanning Ostgut Ton release catalogue.
Work as in artwork. Staying in line with the Folk album, the visual companion for this record comes from German collage artist Frank Bubenzer. As with the artwork at hand, Bankentsunami, and his other works, Bubenzer cuts up print magazine advertisements and recontextualizes them into new motifs, removing all human depiction from the source material, here as a commentary on the world of business, big money and the banking crisis.
Work as in work it. As a slogan 'work' has always been one of the genre's most utilized paroles, coined and put on wax by pioneers like LNR, Blake Baxter or Steve Poindexter, to name a few. Not only calling for the crowds to get moving on the floor but also to fully express themselves and their unique individuality inside an all embracing environment. A mindset rooted in House Music that has been an integral part of Nick Ho¨ppner's identity as a DJ and producer from the beginning and all through his decade-spanning residency at Panorama Bar. Work it!