quête:interactive

Schneider TM is the multidimensional music project of Dirk Dresselhaus which has been operating since the mid 90's. His latest opus is also his first for release for Editions Mego.

With an extensive catalogue under his belt, one may wonder where this one takes us? The 8 of Space orbits the realm of "pop" more overtly than the project has done for 14 years, residing in the line of works that temporarily ended with "Skoda Mluvit" from 2006. In the age of scattered streaming listening habits The 8 Of Space champions the classic album format with connected tracks that act like chapters adding up to what could be framed as an 'audio-movie'. The 'plot' revolves around a post-dystopian landscape which posits the make up of reality in the future.

The vessel is electronic pop music but one which takes inspiration from the spirit of a multitude of musical forms absorbed into a trans human sound world where biological & technological elements complement each other (We are NOT The Robots!). The music unifies the analog world of acoustic and electric instruments with electronic & digital possibilities that range from heavily processed acoustic & electric guitars and bass, tube organ, analog modular synth units, acoustic drums and percussion, analog & digital drum machines & effect units, hardware and software processing. Experimental & extended musical techniques build a world of musical elements that is sometimes upside down and mirrored. Electric guitar becomes rhythm machine & modular system, voice becomes sound object & synthesizer, effects are used as instruments, acoustic guitars are being modulated by voices etc. Reality and illusion are getting mixed up. One can hear short moments of longer recordings in the tracks which are snapshots of bigger musical pictures that lurk behind what's actually audible. Generative music, audio spirals like clockworks create ever changing musical combinations; thrown-in sounds, polyrhythms & cascades based on the concept of chance attributed to the service of the SONG.

The lyrics are a key component. Holistic, associative poetry acts as interactive trigger points for the mechanisms of existence in times of a paradigm shift that are open to the listeners discretion. Autobiographical elements combine with science fiction and dreams, protagonists shift where the 'I' or 'me' is not necessarily the voice of the artist, nor even the same person. Alongside a more naturalised voice another protagonist appears represented by a processed voice. This character, named iBot, evolved around the start of the millennium and has appeared on some previous Schneider TM recordings. It can be seen as a post-human, or even a trans-human character, a combination of human & technology, uncertain of the future, which lends iBot it's melancholic tone.

In the opening song "Light & Grace" iBot appears in an advanced form of AI, which managed to hack & hijack a commercial space travel program (eg, Virgin Galactic) to invite those rich, who profited most from the destruction of planet earth, for a holiday trip into space to unknowingly fly them directly into the middle of the sun. In this episode it seems to have developed higher ethics than humanity itself with ambition to save the planet with as much of its cooperative life as possible."Light & Grace" serves as an intro / opener for this album to be followed by 7 other tracks featuring different windows of consciousness represented by diverse characters & protagonists.

All the elements on The 8 of Space, the music, sounds, vocals and artwork fit together as a whole, creating a dazzling electro pop future questioning it's own certainty. This is experimental electroacoustic pop music featuring glorious melodies dancing along human/machine voices, each track is a small universe that triggers the physical mind and tickles the subconsciousness.

This summer, multidisciplinary producer, designer and 3D artist Raynor de Groot serves up Future Static, his debut full-length on Atomnation as Coloray. More than simply a collection of music, the record will be presented in an all-new virtual space where each track is a portal to a different world.

Dutchman de Groot has proven himself as an accomplished conceptual artist who draws together many different creative fields. He has released everything from lush synth-pop to deep techno, and has real songwriting ability. 2019's 'Can't Stop' in collaboration with Eagles & Butterflies proved that as it crossed over multiple scenes and became one of the year's standout tracks thanks to support from heavy hitters as diverse as Hunee and Four Tet. Âme & Dixon have also regularly supported Coloray's music and asked him to release 'Gazing Eyes' on their Innervisions label.

Two years after his Real Life Cinema EP on Atomnation, Future Static finds de Groot open a new chapter that explores a more conceptual sound. The album "translates the concept of man and computer creating a new reality where logic and emotion seems to be at odds with one another." Its 12 tracks have club-ready grooves, but also exquisite synth designs that are edgy and uptempo. They will be translated to a live show and interactive music experience in VR, on your phone and desktop. In the show, online visitors will be able to get lost inside the mind of an AI and watch and interact with a Coloray performance.

Presented with an artfully designed gatefold sleeve, Future Static is a groundbreaking project from Coloray that pushes creative boundaries while offering an immersive listening experience.

Indie Retail Exclusive Water Spirits color vinyl LP More Energy Fields, Current is a definitive new peak in the recorded continuum of prolific producer/percussionist Carlos Niño. Featuring contributions from more than a dozen exciting voices in the creative music constellation of Los Angeles (of which Niño's has been a central force for over 2 decades), including Sam Gendel, Nate Mercereau, Jamael Dean, and Jamire Williams, the album collects 10 pristine gems of collaborative communication helmed by the Southern Californian sage, elegantly presented in his unique "Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage" style. The album is ripe with "ambient" passages that function like open portals between moments of consonance and clarity, and epic post-hip hop opuses like the heavy/heady "Thanking the Earth." But even in the occasional absence of drums, there is a powerful pulse implicit in the program's frequency of consciousness. It's a testament to Niño's foundations as a DJ. His distinct ability to craft a kinetic, cinematic sonic experience from dozens of independent, often rhythmically-ambiguous improvisational memories is more fluently displayed on More Energy Fields, Current than anything we've heard from him to date. It resonates, lucidly, with the way Niño's mentor Iasos - who is known to the world as an original founder of New Age music - has described his work: "Real Time Interactive Imagination, Flow Texturization." On More Energy Fields, Current, Niño immerses us in the watery depths of his world, spiriting us like a submarine through exotic nether-leagues of untouched sound. And when we arrive at the final, bookending piece "Please, Wake Up." (an extended version of the opening theme, featuring saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings), it's like a return, safely to shore.

Repress

Released in August 2020 to much acclaim, as well as receiving many accolades as one of the best albums of 2020, Duval Timothy present Help (2021 edition).

This new and limited edition will be released independently by Duval Timothy’s Carrying Colour label, fashion brand and shop. It comes on 2 x 140g milky clear vinyl, with new 2 x 12" square posters and shrink-wrapped.

Help was recorded in London and Los Angeles, and reveals the artists' experience traversing the meshes of the music industry, mental health, YouTube self-help videos, and the healing he discovered through friendship and collaboration. Co-produced by Rodaidh McDonald (King Krule, The XX) and Marta Salogni (Bjork), with collaborations from Lil Silva, Melanie Faye, Vegyn, Desta Haile, Mr Mitch, Dave Okumo, and Twin Shadow amongst others.

Duval Timothy is a multidisciplinary artist, whose practise is centred around colour and involves the use of music, photography, textiles, painting, sculpture, design, cooking and video. In between delivering a celebrated cookbook for Penguin Books, and an interactive installation at Tate Modern Turbine Hall, Duval makes music, which is sampled by the likes of Solange and Loyle Carner and collaborates frequetly with cktrl, Vegyn, Kwes, and Mr Mitch.

Limited Edition Double Transparent 12″ Vinyl including streaming AR (Augmented Reality) application (only for iOS/iPhone) and a 16 pages booklet. Celebrating the release of ENTKUNSTUNG’s firth record, this AR app brings the vinyl’s booklet to life and showcases interactive visuals by Berlin-based artist Herwig Scherabon. The app creates a unique listening experience of the eight-track album “Fun ist ein Stahlbad” which deliberately oscillates between Ambient and Techno. Written & Produced by Felipe Duque Mastered by Cem Oral at Jammin Masters – Berlin Art Direction by Maximilian Mauracher Design by Maximilian Mauracher & David Rindlisbacher AR Animation and Images by Herwig Scherabon App Development by Refrakt Limited Edition of 300 copies | 45rpm

Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi score the music to the highly anticipated actionadventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Ilan Eshkeri is a critically acclaimed film, television and video game composer. Eshkeri has been nominated for a BAFTA, an Ivor Novello Award and a International Film Music Critics Association Award. Shigeru Umebayashi is an internationally acclaimed composer who has won numerous awards. He has scored the music for many notable films including ‘True Legend’, ‘Rise of the Legend’ and ‘The Wasted Times’. Triple black vinyl set with tri-gatefold sleeve and printed inner sleeves. Specialist marketing activity.

Linus Hillborg’s solo debut Magelungsverket lures listeners through despaired soundscapes of justly tuned electroacoustic orchestral arrangements seeped in rich harmonic synthesis.

Magelungsverket is a rendering of materials from Hillborg’s own computer game hacking project, Orphan Works, where an obsolete game engine was modified to create an interactive installation in which participants drive through the purple midnight streets of a decrepit and abandoned Stockholm. The game's generative soundtrack interacts with the player’s haphazard navigation of a ceaseless digital void of factories, housing projects, run down bars, ditches and lakes. Displaced, uncanny narratives and depictions of both real and semi-fictional locations in Stockholm that could have existed - but do not - procures distinct sequences of sound constructed with the Buchla 200 system, programmed synthesis, bowed cymbals, metal clarinet and tape machines.

The rendered pieces on Magelungsverket have been adapted from Orphan Works’ interactive and generative material into separate, fixed compositions, bound by duration, each one named after a location in this fictional, virtual Stockholm. For instance, Vårbergsobservatoriet (The Vårberg Observatory), draws its name from an artificial mountain that exists in the outskirts of Stockholm, amidst the sprawl of residential areas far beyond the sparkling city center. It was built from garbage scraps left behind after the underground metro system was constructed in the 1970s. In this fictional version, a public observatory was wishfully imagined to have been built on top of it. However fictitious Hillborg has imagined these locations, it is a bittersweet reflection and fragmented mental image of a Stockholm that never existed. Magelungsverket will be released on the 4th of December in a limited run of 200 black vinyls and across digital platforms.

Linus Hillborg (b. 1989, Stockholm) is a composer, musician and sound artist based in Stockholm, operating in numerous fields, ranging from experimental musics and audio-visual installations to post-punk and noise formations.

Trumpet genius Booker Little appeared on many seminal records such as Max Roach's "We insist", Eric Dolphys' "Far Cry" and John Coltrane's "Africa Brass". Recorded in 1960 for the Time label, this is Booker Little's second album as a leader (there would only be four) and a major statement in his too short career. A dynamic and yet relaxed session with Little as the only horn in the band, a fine quartet featuring Winton Kelly or Tommy Flanagan on piano, Scott LaFaro on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. A highly interactive combo inspired by Little's unique trumpet approach. "Little's immediately recognizable melancholy sound and lyrical style are heard in top form" as Scott Yanow stated in his 4½ stars album review.

Following the last Ma.to's EP we joined forces with two artists taking care of music and artwork on the 4th release. The first one delivered by the infamous Italian legend Miki 'aka' Major Hypnotic Key Institute. His resume and collaboration's list are known and long enough to establish him as a pioneer and precursor of electronic and rave music since the 80s. 4 tracks ranging from slower hypnotic rhythms to speed-up marched techno/trance.

And for the occasion on the artwork we collaborated with friend and genius Conxi at Ivvoki Studio, the result speaks beautifully for itself. Proudly presenting this 4 track Ep with included a repress of an old work from Miki on Interactive Test and a Re-Edit of miki and 2Volt of an early work from the Italian synthpop electronic band A.T.R.O.X.

Well balanced music, techno / trance / minimal spreading pure 90s vibes from both sides but sounding so contemporary.

A Must! have.

“Requiem” is the name of the new Cold Beats Records release. The reference number 14 of the catalan label is written by L´Avenir, the cold synth side project of veteran electronic musician and sound artist Jason Sloan. Known throughout the space and ambient music scenes for his contemplative electronic soundscape work for close to two decades; Sloan founded L’Avenir in 2012 to explore his long time love of synthnpop and dark minimal wave music created purely from analog and vintage equipment. While still retaining the atmosphere of his solo records, the music of L’Avenir is rooted in the tradition of the minimal, analog, synthesizer music of the late 70′s and 80′s ( Fad Gadget, Depeche, Click Click, Chicago’s Wax Trax Records scene etc…). Growing up through the original scene while it was happening, it’s no suprise that Sloan’s music would eventually move in this direction. While releasing over a dozen solo albums and E.P.’s under his own name, Sloan has played live all over the US, Canada and Europe including the influential Live Constructions radio program at Columbia University, STEIM in Amsterdam and Philadelphia’s The Gatherings concert series, one of the country’s oldest continuing ambient and electronic music series. Sloan is a Professor teaching full-time in the Interactive Arts department along with being the founder and program coordinator for the Sound Art concentration at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. L’Avenir returns with Requiem, the fourth, full-length album for Barcelona’s Cold Beats Records. Requiem finds L’Avenir visiting themes of postmodernity, alienation and spiritualism while expanding the sonic palette far beyond his minimal synth beginnings. The music of L’Avenir has, at times, been compared to 4AD era Clan of Xymox or mid-period Depeche Mode. But while echoes of the former can be heard, L’Avenir brings a uniquely fresh perspective unheard in other bands of the genre. Requiem features eight new songs and is available on limited edition blood red vinyl. Requiem is L’Avenir’s sixth release was written and recorded between February 2018 and January 2019 in a Minimal Space, (Baltimore). Limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 140 gr. high quality red vinyl and digital album.

The record you are holding in your hands is a previously unheard masterpiece of Israeli multimedia artist Ami Shavit. As a professor of both philosophy and art and established kinetic artist in the 1970s Shavit was fascinated with new and interactive technologies. While mostly focusing on visual art and mixed-media installations, a trip to New York in 1972 introduced him to synthesizers and triggered his curiosity to do some explorations into the world of music or "sound" as he preferred to call it.

Ami's research was focused on the concept of meditative music that would help people to relax and create a cosy mood associated to the alpha brain waves and biofeedback. Before starting his artistic career, like all Israeli citizens, he had to serve in the army to his personal regret. Shavit had an operational position, which meant a high probability to get involved in a so called 'hot situation'. When in 1973 the Yom Kippur war broke out, Ami was enlisted again and got the unfortunate opportunity to encounter, in Hanoch Levin's words 'the dead'. Being an operation officer he was in charge of evacuating Israeli wounded officers from battlefields to hospitals. Some 6000 injured men passed through us during that war, he recalled one year later in a newspaper interview.

'I witnessed some sights that I can hardly forget. On the one hand I felt that as an artist I had to express the war events, on the other hand I felt that this is an almost impossible mission. Only Goya and Picasso, in his Guernica, addressed this topic successfully.'

Yom Kippur is the final and seminal of Shavit's sound experiments ever recorded and now finally available to the world. We believe that this is an extraordinary strong piece in which the hectic moods and terrific experiences of war are deeply transmitted to the listener. May all soldiers, who are often forced to go through traumatic experiences beyond their own will, find ways to artistically digest and process the unwanted memories.

Ami Shavit was born in 1934 in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Known as visual artist, his work involves in creating virtual environments with optic and kinetic art, including structures worked by electricity, moving tubular configurations illuminated by colored lights. He published In Alpha Mood in 1977 on Amis records, his own record company, at 500 copies, republished by Finders Keepers Records in 2015 and Neural Oscillations And Alpha Rhythms in 2018. Yom Kippur is his ultime recordings.

Following a self-titled EP last year, Dario Rojo Guerra aka Natureboy Flako is set to release his second album 'Theme For A Dream' on Five Easy Pieces on 20th July 2018. Exploring the boundaries of music, science and spirituality through a prism of colourfully synthesised-sound, heart-pounding rhythm and cinematic soundtracks; the core essense of 'Theme For A Dream' is the exploration of the human inne space, the balance of musical energies and music's healing capabilities. 'Theme For A Dream' is a more electronic sounding record than his debut. Guerra makes extensive use of old and new analogue equipment such as the Juno 106, Korg's MS-20, ARP Odyssey or Roland's SH-2000 synthesisers, alongside recordings of vocals, guitars and other instruments. This serves to create a dynamic and eclectic sound spectrum, all unique to his musical handwriting. 'Theme For A Dream' will be accompanied by an experimental and interactive website that allows users to preview music while being an immersive, unique multi-sensual 4D xperience of its own. Snippets of the music from 'Theme For A Dream' become audio visual poetry and an immersive exploration of state of the art technology and oneself. 'I don't think technology necessarily means not being natural. Technology can be very much in balance with nature, since it is mostly just trying to imitate or trying to understand something from within nature. Around recording 'Theme For A Dream', Guerra also co-produced/co-wrote and engineered Kutmah's recent debut and Jitwam's forthcoming album, as well as produced almost half of Fatima's follow up album to 'Yellow Memories'. He is currently working on a film project with a London based production company and is already working on a new album, which is expected to bring back his vocal talent, previously released under the moniker Dirg Gerner.

There is no end to composer Peter Broderick's creative output, and so we present to you his new album titled All Together Again — available worldwide on November 17th 2017 via Erased Tapes.They say music takes you on a journey, and this collection of commissioned work by Peter quite literally does that. From a ferry boat ride in Istanbul, to walking down the aisle at a wedding, these songs were created for particular situations, yet Peter found a way to work without any sort of limitations and on his own erms. The result is an assortment of works from the past ten years, coming together as one: Peter's new album. Words from Peter, October 2017: Ever since I started releasing records in 2007 (10 years ago now!), people have contacted me periodically to ask if I'd be interested in making music to accompany their projects. Most of these projects have been things like films, dance pieces and theatre plays . . . but every so often I get the odd request for something a little different. Peter, would you write a song for my wedding My one year anniversary A ferry boat ride
In early 2015 I was asked to perform 12 minutes of music during a runway show as part of New York Fashion Week. I agreed and began composing a 12-minute piece which I could perform on my own with a few different instruments and some looping pedals. I made a recording of the piece and sent it over to my contacts at the fashion show . . . but a few days before I was to fly out to New York, they wrote back and told me they actually just wanted me to play a few older songs that they were already familiar with. Feeling slightly disappointed, I shelved the other piece, giving it the title If I Were A Runway Model.It is with great pleasure that I now present this piece in a collection of commissioned works spanning the last decade . . . it's All Together Again. This group of oddball works does indeed include a couple pieces written for weddings (Our Future In Wedlock and The Walk), and a song someone asked me to write as a gift for his wife on their first year wedding anniversary (Emily). And indeed, there's a 17-minute piece written to accompany a ferry boat ride in Istanbul (A Ride On The Bosphorus). A few of the pieces were written for films (Robbie's Song, Atlantic and Seeing Things), and one for a kind of interactive installation (Unsung Heroes).In my early days of recording, I took pride in playing all the different instruments myself and doing the recording myself as well. And then at some point I started branching out, working with other musicians and recording engineers. But this record is very dear to me in that it's a return to that original approach . . . playing all the different instruments myself, working with my limits on each one, and my own limits in recording and mixing. I've always held a broad curiosity for all different instruments and all different styles of music, and if nothing else I hope this record will portray that curiosity, and my pure love for this thing we call music. Can you dig it The cover art was made by Peter himself in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, by cutting and sticking different coloured paper fragments to depict the individuality of each track.

The debut vinyl release from label Supervoid Records, out August 21st, 2017, has already made some waves, with two of its three tracks finding their way onto several prominent mixes, including Ben Sims' Run It Red' and Resident Advisor's 513th podcast, performed by Markus Suckut. The release has also been given the nod by other heavy-hitters, including members of the Droid Behavior crew and a Berghain resident. Label owner and artist Dustmite has been remixed by Audio Injection and long ago, Distance. His track Bare appeared on Photek's DJ Kicks.

The music of 7073 was largely inspired by the experience of an intimate, 6+ hour set by Jeff Mills in a US warehouse some years back. There is a feeling one can get in such a setting, with the right sound, the right DJ and the right people - a feeling that anyone who is reading this is probably familiar with - where at some point in the night, when people are in their own worlds, it feels as though at any moment the building could just lift into the sky. Simply put, the track entitled '7073' is Dustmite's attempt to capture some of that magic. Tracks 'Advanced Persistent Threat' and 'Lightwall' stand out as fast, sci-fi-inspired techno drivers, a modern take on early 2000's fast-paced, irreverent but melodic bangers.

Having worked in the video game industry for over a decade, Dustmite has taken a unique approach to pushing his vinyl-based label apart from the rest: each record has its own unique QR code, which, when scanned, will contribute to the unlocking of bonus content via a modern, interactive visual experience on the Supervoid website. Not only does this mean each record has its own distinct identity, which can be used in interesting ways, but those who purchase a future Supervoid release will have a singular narrative across their collection, which the label can use as a seed for generating content, experiences and rewards, unique to each individual.

Tropical Odds is the second album by White Sea, the solo alias adopted by gifted American singer, songwriter and producer Morgan Kibby of M83
Born in Alaska, and now a resident of Los Angeles, Morgan fronted The Romanovs before joining acclaimed electronic music group M83 in 2007, co-writing, arranging and playing keyboards on the albums Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, as well as completing several world tours.
As White Sea, her first solo album In Cold Blood arrived in 2014, a dramatic debut praised by Billboard for its 'canyon-sized hooks, knowingly grandiose melodies and succulent vocals' and judged 'pop's newest break-up classic' by Flavourwire.  
Outside of M83 Morgan has also collaborated with artists such as Greg Kurstin, Panic! at the Disco, Mark Ronson and School of Seven Bells, remixed Ellie Goulding and Britney Spears, and composed the award winning soundtrack to Eva Husson's provocative 2016 movie Bang Gang (une histoire d'amour moderne).
New album Tropical Odds stems from an interactive project launched via White Sea's website featuring digital singles and videos released at regular intervals throughout 2015 and 2016. Explains Morgan: 'Generally being able to create and mix and master my solo material within days has given me the direct freedom to share songs I want people to hear. In short, if I write something that I like, I put it out!'
Now gathered together in album form, the musical moods on Tropical Odds range from the sombre reflections of Gangster No. 1 and Yesterday to the hedonistic rush of Stay Young, Get Stoned and Never a Woman, high drama on Bloodline and Arcadia, and heartbreaking balladry on Secret, One Bad Eye and Lessons.

&apos's music veers between abstract, experimental compositions and more beat driven tracks, all held together by a defined aesthetic of sonic impurities and random patterns thrown up by algorithmic computations. In &apos's music compositional decisions are not merely reliant on himself but also on a range of processes from constrained randomness to full fledged neural networks. That is to say, the 'instruments' he creates have -to a certain extent- a mind of their own. There will always be a dynamic between the musician and something else that triggers, proposes or decides what will happen to the music.It is exactly from this human-machine interaction that &apos extrapolates his musical ideas that are both intricate and detailed while never losing an overall sense of emotional value.
His first solo project 'Lichtdrank' is a selection of four tracks made during his time studying Sonology at The Hague's Royal Conservatory and the time following. It is the third and final installment of bepotel's startupLabel trilogy. Previously, he has released music together with Walrus and Sagat under several musical projects like smaakwaterval and bepotel. The artwork of the Lichtdrank EP is based on screenshots from an interactive multiplayer video game where the musical universe of &apos can be explored.

From the ruins of the birthplace of techno ...
Detroit Underground returns with this, their twenty second release, in a catalogue that has come to define the outer limits of experimental electronics while still adhering to dance floor basics.
This edition sees DU label boss Kero return to the spotlight in collaboration with LA based sound designer and interactive director Drasko Vucevic, aka Drasko V of Los Angeles based DRASTIC Music + Technology. Drasko has recently created, among other things, sound design for a promotional featurette for the Academy Award nominated film Gravity.
Given the label's long time fascination with the intersections of music, art and technology the collaboration is as fitting as it is fruitful.


Side A ups the collaborative ante as this 12'' comes blasting out of the gate with two very strong remixes, Exponent is the subject of a relentless 4/4 treatment from LA techno exponents Drumcell while Superheavy gets an acid-style work out from Canadian producer Jesse Somfay's Borealis project.


It is not until the second side that we hear the original versions of Exponent and Superheavy, both of which reveal themselves to be undulating masses of hip hop tinged beats over dark, bass rich undertones, with the latter offering some brighter tones as well - in other words pretty much what you might expect out of a Drasko V and Kero collaboration.


Side B is further rounded out with a couple of remixes from England's Si Begg and Valance Drakes the former coming in with a super compressed, squelched out, electro inspired take on Exponent while Valance Drakes chills us back out with an impossibly mellowed out version of the same