quête:k sub

Sascha Ring aka Apparat’s work as a producer, artist, musician, live act and DJ has always been in a constant state of metamorphosis, while simultaneoulsy always managing to stay true to his trademark musical sound.

There is a unique spirit that lives within his projects and productions or rather they all have this special vision of music which becomes more distinctive with every release and spans his ‘Multifunktionsebene’ and ‘Walls’ albums on Shitkatapult, his ‘Moderat’ album made together with the boys from Modeselektor on Bpitch Control and his DJ-Kicks mix for !K7.

Following on from Kode9 and his friend James Holden, Apparat offers a wonderful mix and insight into the tracks that have influenced and roused his passion for club productions over the years as well as his current favourites in his box.

The mix includes an exclusive track ‘Sayulita’. Together with this mix, it also symbolises a nice reference point in an important chapter in Apparat’s own history – club music. This is a chapter that is by no means finished, for the more he succeeds in re-writing the narrow parameters of techno music, the more important it remains as the driving force in his life.

1st solo album in 5 years, recorded, produced and written by Richard H. Kirk, founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, the album was constructed at Western Works, Sheffield, over a three-year period. Work began with recording on midi and analogue synthesisers before guitar and vocals (Kirk's first use of vocals in 10 years) were added. Kirk explains, A lot of time was spent on post-production, editing and then living with the material and I think it benefited from stepping back and then revisiting after doing other things.'
Although not an overtly political album, it's hard not to hear a reaction to recent years' world events in the overwhelming urgency of 'Nuclear Cloud' or '20 Block Lockdown' or in 'New Lucifer / The Truth Is Bad'. When questioned Kirk admits, It's not really a political album, but over recent years - during the recording - all manner of horrorshow events have cropped up and now we seem to be in a rerun of the Cold War with Russia back as the Bogeyman.' The album's title, Dasein (a German word meaning being there' or presence', often translated into English as existence'), is a fundamental concept in existentialism. Kirk explains culture succumbs to nostalgia in much the same way that an individual looks back wistfully to adolescence or childhood - the nostalgia is partly for a time when he or she wasn't nostalgic, just lived purely IN THE NOW.' In 2014, during the recording period, Kirk began work on Cabaret Voltaire live and so the two projects coexisted in tandem. Although Kirk's varied projects have always existed separate to one another, says Kirk, in the past some solo works served as a blueprint for what I did later with Cabaret Voltaire'. Billed as a performance consisting solely of machines, multi-screen projections and Richard H. Kirk, Cabaret Voltaire recently announced the first UK performance in over 20 years at the Devil's Arse Cave (aka Peak Cavern) in Castleton, Derbyshire on Saturday 29 April. Kirk will perform entirely new material for a performance relevant to the 21st Century with no nostalgia. RECENT PRAISE FOR RICHARD H. KIRK One of the UK's pioneering electronic agitators' - Electronic Sound In five decades of key-bashing and knob-twisting, Richard H. Kirk has remained at the vanguard of electronic music' - FACT ...decades of electronic innovation, forged in Sheffield' - Uncut
Kirk was toying with distorted realities from 1970s onwards' - Record Collector

Repress

Arnaud le Texier (Cocoon Records): "Top quality! Really nice.." 10/10
Cio D'Or (Telrae): "An amazing double Vinyl of different interpretations from some music friends in techno for Hypnus! Thank you!" 9/10
David Att (ATT Series): "SUPER VARIOS ARTIST. THANKS: D" 10/10
Deepbass (Informa Records): "Great remix package here! Will be using most of them, a true showcase of the love for Hypnus" 10/10
Etapp Kyle (Klockworks): "Edit Select and Mike Parker are winners!" 8/10
Exium (PoleGroup): "Great stuff, thanks!" 8/10
Francois X (Dement3d): "Perfect Package of Remix!" 10/10
I/Y: "wow.. really good.. too many of them to choose one favourite" 10/10
Kwartz (Shapeless Records): "Congratulations for this great work, I love every song of the release" 10/10
Mattias Fridell (Gynoid): "This is a very solid compilation congrats." 8/10
MTD (Sonntag Morgen): "AMAZING release! hard to choose a favorite..." 10/10
Mod21 (Prologue): "No words for this release.. Hypnus is flying high!!" 10/10
Nima Khak (H-Productions): "Great bits! The Ness mix is outstanding, but a lot of great stuff in this package! Will play for sure!" 9/10
Nobody Home (Home Records): "Very nice release with many of my favorite musicians! Thank you very much :-)" 8/10
Reggy van Oers (Affin): "Some crazy stuff in here! love it!" 9/10
Samuli Kemppi (M_REC Ltd.): "Fan boy likes. Brilliant release. Full support." 10/10
Svreca (Semantica Records): "Excellent release. Full support." 8/10
Takaaki Itoh (Phobiq): "what a great trks. im sure to play all of them. full support!" 10/10
Terence Fixmer (CLR): "Top release, difficult to choose a favourite here...all are nice." 10/10
The Noisemaker (Par Recordings): "Hypnus is going to be one of the best label on earth! full support! all tracks have his own personality and are well designed.. top for opening a djset" 10/10
Tommy Four Seven (Stroboscopic Artefacts): "Big!" 8/10

Also supported by:
Dimi Angelis, Unam Zetineb, Antonio de Angelis, Artefakt, DARS, Gianluca Meloni, Jonas Kopp, Hector Oaks, Juho Kahilainen, Vilix, Eric Cloutier, Brendon Moeller (Echologist), Iori, Jose Pouj, VSK, AnD, Rasmus Hedlund, Victor Martinez, Antonio Vazquez, BLNDR, Luigi Tozzi and many more.

The Vinyl Debut Of Microm Records Is A New Era For Negocius Man And Microm Records N.e.g.o. They Are Very Special Songs With Different Styles Of High Quality Electro. It's My Cover Letter Around The World Hard, Raw, Dark, Robotic Vocoders, Detroit Sounds And Drexciyan Moments, Galactic Funk, Minimalist Atmosphere With Effects. They Are My Different Facets Making Electro But Not All, I Have A New Sound For 2019, Stay Alert And Enjoy!!! For Me Is A Timeless Disc, I Like It And I Always Will, All The Tracks Are Me: N.e.g.o.

After a pleasing start to the New Year, 2 same night sell outs on lathe cut 45s and a single afternoon sell out of the recent Gabe Knox LP, Polytechnic Youth continue their relentless release schedule with 2 more awesome full lengths. In their own ways, both totally unique but very much befitting the tried and trusted synth / electronic PY blueprint.

First up is the fabulous 'Where comes the Dark' debut full length from shadowy, underground producer The Slow Engineer. 'An album of sculpted synthsonics and Eldritch electronics originally released on a limited run, blink and you'll miss it cassette which sold out in 24 hrs. Heavy on basslines, with driving rhythms and tweaked synthesisers, it's a record which openly acknowledges it's nod to horror scores and the work of the Radiophonic Workshop whilst pulling off something uniquely and freshly new, with an assembled array of wayward equipment stored at his Analogue Hades base.'

British horror actor Laurence R. Harvey adds suitably menacing narration in places, and across 10 fabulous tracks this is a richly, deliciously diverse electronic record which comes hugely recommended to fans of John Carpenter, not to mention label mates The Heartwood Institute and Dream Division.

A one time pressing of 300, destined to sell out pretty swiftly.....

At first, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes Our Girl so special, or why the Brighton-formed, London-based trio's music stands out within a busy crowd of fellow guitar-wielding-types. But if an explanation didn't jump out when they first emerged with a debut EP of mighty fuzz-soaked songs in November 2016, it surfaces with 'Stranger Today', a debut album of personal, emotional juggernauts that could have only been made by these three people: Guitarist / vocalist Soph Nathan, bassist Josh Tyler and drummer Lauren Wilson.

Since forming in Nathan and Tyler's Brighton home four years ago - Wilson joining as a late recruit when she was wowed by a demo of their self-titled debut track, and 'Stranger Today''s opener - Our Girl's members have only had pockets of time to work together. A day booked in a local studio here, a soundcheck there, full-time jobs and other projects meant the three rarely had a concentrated, collective patch. This changed in September 2017, when they stayed in Eve Studios in Stockport for a week, recording with Bill Ryder-Jones. Their week in Stockport became a crucial catalyst for what would follow. Ryder-Jones is a guitar virtuoso himself ('He did stuff neither me or Soph had ever seen anyone do before,' Tyler remarks), and he became an unofficial fourth member of the group.

'Stranger Today' is a special debut for several reasons: First, because it's the sound of a band beginning to grasp their own value and place in the world. Secondly, because you can hear the trio's hunger to finally get in the same room and put to tape years' worth of scrapbooks, half-finished ideas, and a slowly-forming feel for how their first album would actually sound. 'What band isn't itching to make their debut But it's quite frightening, knowing you're about to do it,' Wilson remembers.

The real clincher, however, is Our Girl's dynamic, and how it plays out across 'Stranger Today'. Best friends in person, the trio share the same close kinship and chemistry on record. On one side is Nathan's visceral lyricism, which has a habit of detailing and chipping away at precise moments; the first heart-flutter of a new crush; the moment a long-term friendship begins to ebb away. Around her, Tyler and Wilson's rhythm section carefully mirrors each feeling Nathan conveys. When she sings pointedly about love ('I Really Like It'), she's backed by a major-key afterglow. When the subject turns on its head ('Josephine'), out steps a wall of taut, earth-shaking noise. They each 'serve the song,' in Wilson's words, moving in sync but with their own personal slant. Not least on the closer 'Boring', where all restraint is thrown aside and the trio let out one final, violent thrash. They inhabit a space bigger than the first loves, sleepless nights and growing pains that define this record.

Nathan remembers being in Brighton four years ago, shortly after Our Girl formed, and realising, 'I was finally in the band I wanted to be in.' Almost half a decade later, and this eureka moment is sewn up on 'Stranger Today'. It's the sound of three friends totally at ease in their own space, discontent with being anywhere else; a vibrant document of what it's like to be young, invigorated and amongst people who feel the same.

Second Circle is proud to announce it's tenth release to date with a new EP from L.A. producer Benedek. 'Earlyman Dance' was recorded at Benedek's studio in Koreatown, Los Angeles and fuses mechanistic rhythms and synth work as well as live percussion and trumpet played by friends Chris Parise and Anthony Calonico.
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With five vibed out compositions of coyote jazz, dance floor fusion and canyon bangers, 'Earlyman Dance' is an ode to the urban and natural landscapes of LA, late night noir and early morning sunrises, accented with Benedek's signature chord progressions, bouncing bass lines, meticulous drum programming and dubbed out trumpet.

Enjoy the new and unformated dub style from Concrete Elephant... Sound builder of the everyday life... Sampled and replayed through the filtaz.

Ark & Pit Spector continue their inspired journey with an extended EP full of groovy jams and absorbing rhythms for Hold Youth. The Frenchmen have formed a potent alliance with a series of expertly-crafted, high-quality releases dropping over the last couple of years. On this new EP they go deeper into their sound explorations with five original works and a remix from their Parisian buddy and Hold Youth member, Le Loup. First up, we go into bumping jazzy territory with 'Chauffage Central', a mesmerising cut with swirling pads, soulful vocal clips and a jaunty b-line. Straight up after that, Hold Youth rudeboy Le Loup gives 'Chauffage Central' a funky little rework, throwing live sounding percussion, Nubian vocal clips, trumpet parps and a pumping bassline into the mix which gives a totally different identity. The final track on side A, is a cheeky teaser called 'Petite Ondée'. Rolling out for just under two minutes the track has a muffled, jazz-esque feel to it with a warm rolling bassline and bright, sparkling piano keys.

On the flip we kick off with 'Air Conditionelle', a lush, retro feeling with those oh-so-familiar heavy-hitting eighties snare licks. The bassline takes you to a New York City street and the whole atmosphere is that of an old school NYC neighbourhood, while a spoken-word sample adds a human touch just before the track comes to an end. 'Sub Tropical' goes a little leftfield with an unusual combination of sounds in tandem with a pulsating low end, occasional sax licks and punchy percussion to give it plenty of energy. 'Averse Et Contre Tous' closes out the EP with a slothish ride into the sunset - Ark and Pit Spector show their experimental side presenting an odd union between blues samples, gruff electronic sounds and piano keys.

Another triumphant effort from Ark and Pit Spector, in fact, some of the finest work to date. Make sure you check it out!

Following a summer of fifth birthday celebrations, Tom Trago's Voyage Direct label returns to action with a brand new 12' from Amsterdam scene stalwart Simon Weiss.
Although a new member of the Voyage Direct family, Weiss is no newcomer to the scene. He's previously delivered high grade EPs for Rush Hour, Deepermotions and Home Taping Is Killing Music, and his contribution to First Mission, Voyage Direct's fifth anniversary compilation, was one of the undoubted highlights of that set.

It's that track - the gloriously positive 'Tele-Vision', and it's cyber-house fusion of darting synthesizer arpeggios, Detroit-influenced percussion, and thrusting acid bass - that heads up Weiss' first EP for Voyage Direct.

Dutch veteran and longtime friend of the family Dexter turns in a stunning remix, putting a well-placed boot up the backside of 'Tele-Vision' via speaker-shaking sub bass, kaleidoscopic electrofunk motifs and thumping techno rhythms. It's a stunning re-make, and one that takes Weiss' fine original to even greater heights.

Flip the record for two previously unheard Weiss productions. First up is 'Ghost', a supernatural house shuffler full of alien synths, wayward melodies, intergalactic electronics and crunchy drum machine hits. Weiss flips the script slightly on 'Super Sub', pairing his now trademark vintage synthesizer refrains and tumbling electronics with a heavyweight, bassline-driven groove. It's a sweet and evocative track, but critically also packs a punch.

The G man returns to his Phoenix G home with a somewhat special album release.
Where the usual MR.G sound is still present on this 2x12'' LP, Night On The Town showcases G's more adventurous works and exposes some of his more exotic infuences.
African Rhythm sections, hints to EBM and low tempo chugs make this album very actual yet unique. Night On The Town will be available on 2X12'' and will get a digital release a while later.

secretsundaze 017 comes from London based producer Endian. Releasing just 2 EPs in a few years on Nonplus and Electric Minds, Endian has nevertheless managed to turn the heads of the likes of Steffi who used one of his tracks for her Panorama Bar compilation and Boddika who also licensed a track for a various artists EP. Sounding like a producer far more experienced than the two releases would indicate, it came as no surprise that this is far from the output of a novice but the seasoned veteran George Levings aka Commix (Metalheadz).
Endian has been a regular at secretsundaze events over the years and a friendship developed with Giles and James. The project is an outlet for him to release the more technoey and house sound that he is increasingly inspired by.
Lead and title track 'Finish Me' is a stone cold killer. Ballsy, raw and over driven in the mix, a tribal breakbeat groove builds before brassy stabs sneak in. The peak of the track sees dramatic pads cut through for a moment of serenity before the drums drop back in. Joy Orbison used 'Finish Me' in his Essential mix late last year and its also been a highlight of secretsundaze's sets over last 6 months. 'Dusty' goes deeper with a layer of fuzzy warmth enveloping the track. Driving but definitely one for the later hours or early on with its hypnotising flow and subtle musical flourishes. Last up 'Sub Tropic' is a heads down, growling, low slung techno track with its deep sub bass. This is definitely a track you can imagine hearing in the bowels of Berghain well into Sunday daytime. 'Finish Me' is arguably Endian's best work to date and it's another fine addition to the secretsundaze catalogue.

Subdivision of Construct Re-Form, the purpose of Ars Mechanica is to explore a more mysterious side of the electronic music, an oniric and spatial travel, an endless dive into the sound.

For this second opus, we are pleased to invite the Dutchman Mike Storm, a very promising artist who explores Sci Fi techno sonorities.

He offers 4 powerful tracks to us : Interstellar journey

The latest incarnation for BLIQ comes in the form of Brazilian future primitive Thingamajicks and his lysergic quest through sound on 'Patrick's Last Trip', with Vernon Felicity channeling a different kind of synesthesia.
Drop out - turn on - tune in.

Three select cuts from the long-awaited Bass Junkie album 'Comply'! 'Sub-mission' is the first nu-school electro track to chart at no. 1 in the Street Sounds electro chart, and is soon to feature on the 'Street Sounds Nu Electro 1' album!

A classic reissued. “The Sublime” was the deeper side of Rick Lenoir and Larry Thompson’s (LNR) psyche. With additional keys from Aaron Smith (UBQ Project), the title fit the groove – simply sublime. “Bubbles” bring us back to the harder, tougher side of the Tikkle team.

Bubbles is both inspired and inspiring, paying homage to the deepest of Chicago grooves woven together for the dance floor.

STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series will feature fan favorites from season two of STAR TREK: DISCOVERY: Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock, and follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock and Number One in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the U.S.S. Enterprise, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. Drivers: * Focus track scored written, produced and conducted by Emmy Award winner, and 3 time nominee, Jeff Russo (The Man Who Fell To Earth, Legion, Fargo, Oslo, The Night Of, Umbrella Academy, Altered Carbon, Star Trek: Discovery, Short Treks, Strange & New Worlds, Picard series, Love & Death) * Jeff is a founder, lead guitarist and songwriter of 2x Grammy Award nominated, multi platinum rock band, Tonic. * Russo's main theme is a modern adaptation of Alexander Courage's original Star Trek theme, and includes a theremin as a way to foreshadow Courage's vocal arrangement of the theme. * Tracks taken for Season 2, episode 9, titled, Subspace Rhapsody