KRAKE is an annual Berlin based festival for challenging electronic music. Krake means - octo- pus' and the festival is organised in a comparable way: reaching out to selected locations during one week presenting the best in electronic music whatever style it is. The festival is not huge, not expensive, does not have big sponsoring deals or four different colour are passes. It's just a good and so far successful try to bring back the focus on artists who dare to step off the beaten tracks.
KRAKE 002 contains mostly exclusive tracks of artists who played at the Krake festival in 2013. The A-side starts with a dark ambient drone by DÄMMERN, followed by a pop-fueled two-step hit by PHON.O. Next in line is Irishman EOMAC with a warm and deep IDM track already char- ted by none less than Thom Yorke of Radiohead, followed by - Resolution', a little melancholic stepper by BILL YOUNGMAN.
The B-side is being opened with a techno track by grandmaster MONOLAKE in his most typical dubby percussive style. For the next track FRANK BRETSCHNEIDER reduces the sounds to the max again to deliver a percussive track as minimalistic as can be. Legendary techno producer CRISTIAN VOGEL, known for his constant search for new values, closes the compilation with an avantgarde piece of noise and drones.
Outstanding, we'd say!
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Soma Holidays infused NYC electro / hop hop sound with the French New Wave sensibility, which made 'Shake Your Molecules' such a unique dance floor hit. This is a remastered reissue of Soma Holiday's cult classic. Soma Holiday was a Franco-American duo consisting of Jean-Marc Vallod (FR) and Jane Honicker (US), based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn back in the early 1980s
Limited Clear Vinyl Pressing! Produce by Karl O'Connor & Juan Mendez!
The Hamburg based Hannes Rasmus released a record in 2013 called "Analog Ist Besser" on Gold Panda's precious label Notown which also featured Luke Abbott from Border Community. This put him on the map for minimal electronic melodic music with a lot of tastemakers and friends of melodic techno. Hannes Rasmus who can be described as a shy person who has eveloped a big knowledge for vintage synthesizers over the years. His challenge has been to write music with hardware, sequence und synths. This may sound not so much of a challenge but for "people who know" the analog sound can bear as much beauty as it can be disastrous since it can be pretty much unpredictable and hard to handle as well. So we are talking here about a person who really loves and lives with analogue g
Time led him through various forms/genres of electronic music making, going step by step towards minimal electronic techno and house music. Meanwhile his aim alongside writing music is to build in Hamburg according to his personal demands, so this is as much of a process as doing music and time as he says. When he is not making music you can see him with a soldering iron building synth
with DIY kits or fixing old synths.
His EP on Traum "Musik Für Fünf Maschinen" refers to the equipment he used to write the music... the tracks however refer to swimming pools.
Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.
Optimo Trax is an offshoot label of Optimo Music for tracks aimed at DJs/dancefloors. Yes, we know there are too many record labels already, but we felt an overriding desire to start another one as so much music that didn't seem quite right for Optimo Music (i.e. music that was specifically designed for dancing) kept coming our way. Like the parent label, Optimo Trax will release music by new artists and excavate forgotten classics.
Michele Mininni is from Southern Italy where he says people are not interested in his type of music so he was forced to reach out to Glasgow where it turns out some people most defintely are. Citing his influences as kraut, post rock, new wave and electronic amongst others, this is his debut release and most accomplished it is too. Lowering the tempo somewhat compared with previous OT releases, Tupolev Love is a sub 100bpm cosmic trancer while Telekomdisko raises the tempo and heads off into sun drenched space territory. The EP is completed by Michele's fellow countrymen, Boot & Tax's great acid-inflected remix of Tupolev Love.
Dutch DJ, producer and Wolfskuil label boss Darko Esser is to self-release his sophomore album, Anipintiros, in April 2014. The eight track album comes four years after his debut and is his first as Tripeo, the techno leaning alias he has been working under most often in recent times.
Working as Tripeo has reinvigorated Esser, who under his own name has been producing his unique take on electronic music for a decade now. 'It was liberating to have another persona take over,' says the man himself. 'I have been so inspired and productive ever since that I woke up one day with the thought 'I'm ready to do another album' and started straight away that day.'
Tripeo music is aimed squarely at the dancefloor, and there sure are some full blooded cuts on the album, but so to are there concessions to the listening experience, meaning deep, dark passages and more leftfield experiments help tie the whole thing together into one cohesive and coherent whole. 'Like all albums, this is a very personal statement,' explains Esser. 'It's just me trying to translate the overwhelming inspiration I feel right now into sound. That, and making the record as diverse as possible without losing the purist identity of Tripeo.'
That identity shines through right from the off on the album, which has been made using a knowing blend of both soft and hardware. 'Anipintiros #1' is a firmly rooted, rubbery bit of deep techno that works you into hypnosis and comes detailed with plenty of otherworldly ambiances. From there, Tripeo explores gallivanting techno run through with celestial pads on 'Anipintiros #2' and tripped out, ever shape shifting and dusty minimal sounds on 'Anipintiros #3'.
'Anipintiros #4' channels the widescreen and pumping techno of Detroit's finest whilst 'Anipintiros #5' is a more industrial and muscular track of the sorts that would sound perfect in the bowels of Berghain. 'Anipintiros #6' is one of the busier and more kinked techno rhythms with punchy drums and fax machine like melodies, before 'Anipintiros #7' thumps with real menace and 'Anipintiros #8' hums and hisses, spits and stutters like the suitably epic and melodic comedown you need after such a captivating ride.Everything, though is backed with serene synth work and an otherworldly sense of alien spirit that runs through all great techno.
There is plenty to get lost in throughout Anipintiros and it proves once again that Esser is someone able to coax far more feeling out of his machines than most.
DJ FEEDBACK
Early support from Blawan, Rødhåd, James Ruskin, Reeko, Exium, Mike Parker, Ben Sims, Rolando, Pfirter, Craig McWhinney, Cadans, Sandrien, Nuno Dos Santos
Bavaria is John Tejada and Kimi Recor. While We'll Take a Dive is the first for the duo's newly cemented partnership they have appeared as guests on each other's releases for nearly a decade. The duo decided to exclude any extraneous instrumentation so that Tejada could focus solely on his modular synth programming while Recor took on the role to provide that all-too-vital human element by way of her silky vocal delivery. In theory We'll Take a Dive might sound like an exercise in minimalism, which couldn't be further from the truth. The album highlights the duo's deftness in getting maximal use from their instruments of choice while creating a superb darkly-hued electronic pop album that showcases its own unique strain of affecting tension and restraint.
Richie Hawtin, Someone Else, Amine Edge, Transmit Promo Radar, Luca Doobie, Mariano Mateljan, Guido Durante, Herck
Ceryx, Ovidiu Adrian, Indy Lopez, Edgar De Ramon, Javi Alvado & THC, Pantany, Claude Solis, Alessan Main , Elchinsoul, Michel De Hey , Marco Carola, Dirty Culture...
In time, Plusculaar has become an indispensable asset to our label so it is only fair that we kick off this Esemtrax Limited vinyl series with his "Rumänische" EP. After the massive success "Stai Jos" on Enough!Music, it is our turn to "take advantage" of his talent so we asked for some top quality tracks. The result is mind blowing! It contains his finest work yet, a blend of techno and minimal, the very well known "romanian sound".
France proves to be rich pickings once more for the Minimal Wave label with this absolutely superb collection of "ritualistic minimal electronics" from French duo DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield. Crossing paths in Paris in the early 80s, Christian Dezert (DZ Lectric ) and Michel Lecamp (Anthon Shield) bonded over a mutual appreciation of The Stooges, Throbbing Gristle and Suicide and went on to record numerous albums together over a five year period. The focus of Minimal Wave's attentions on the Lickin' LP is the cassette Confessions D'Un Masque the pair released in 1985, with eight tracks lifted and remastered from the original reel to reel tapes. DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield's sparse yet manic approach, described as "challenging and hypnotic" by Minimal Wave, will appeal to fans of CHBB.
As per our collective minds; music is a universal language which is spoken and written around the globe. With his backpack loaded with records and his mind full of ideas, Tagtraumer has been exploring foreign countries and undiscovered sounds. Eight years have passed on his seemingly endless journey. Through different people, extraordinary situations, adventurous experiences and unknown vibes an elixir of magic is created. It is the engine and the resource that drives his artistic inspirations.
6th Borough Project are back with the follow up to their 2011 debut One Night In The Borough. A hectic couple of years have been lived out by Graeme Clark and Craig Smith during the making of this LP with Graeme continuing to play week in and week out as Revenge and setting up his new imprint Roar Groove whilst Craig has established the brilliant Fifty Fathoms Deep label. Studio time has been tight to say the least but that
hasn't stopped the duo from pulling out all the stops and ensuring that this LP surpasses the already sky-high benchmark set by it's predecessor. Followers of 6th Borough Project will be pleased to hear that all the low-slung, loopy, hypnotic vibes we've come to
expect are present and correct whilst the duo have still made sure to push things forward with their sound, bringing a minimalist, housier edge to many tracks.
Things kick off with the Intro setting the mood, coming on like a bizarre dream that's over in a flash but seems to include an entire episode of your life and succeeds in encapsulating the sentiment of the entire LP in 40 seconds! Soul, Beach, City, Gig, Party,
Energy, Relaxation.... It's all here.
On Our Love we find a brilliantly lop-sided shuffling groove laying the foundation for some classic 6BP-style vocal chops, easing us in gently with the warm up vibes. Things take a slightly darker direction on U Know U with this heads-down track, a crisp, stripped-back beat being joined by filtering pads and a distant vocal for company. Think It Over and In Your Arms follow seeing the boys building things perfectly and increasing the party
atmosphere with two floor-friendly tracks which look set to be just a couple of the DJ's favorites from the LP. Dropping things down a notch we're treated to the beautiful slow-mo gem entitled Through The Night before heading deeper still on the tripped out, dark and dubby The Call Back.
Back 2 Black picks up the tempo again for a percussion heavy workout with just a hint of Africa emerging through the echoing stabs and sub bass. The party continues with Read
My Mind which brings us some brooding, up-tempo warehouse vibes to get immersed in before F.E.E.L and a brand new LP version of previous single The Vibes pushes further still in a darker, more abstract and clubby mood. Finally, we wind down with Walk Away, making the perfect close for a brilliant, fresh and original LP from a highly talented couple of producers whose passion and knowledge of music shines brightly here. Difficult
second LP clearly not an issue with 6th Borough Project!
DJ HAUS'S FIRST MIXTAPE OF 2013 HAD EVERYONE FROM SKREAM, DISCLOSURE, HUD MO, BREACH & KODE 9, BICEP, CANING THE SHIT OUT OF IT... MUCH TO EVERYONES SURPRISE.. PLUS RAVE REVIEWS ACROSS THE BOARD DJ HAUS RETURNS WITH A MINI 4 TRACK EP INTRODUCING THE SPACE JAMS SERIES - WOW!!!!
a1. Music Is Your Medicine (Aux 88 Original Mix) 7:08 - Detroit's AUX88 welcomes singer, 'Samara' on to the big stage with big sound. All the elements of a anthem ride within the track, as 'Samara' holds her own ground in this premiere collaboration.
a2. Medicine (Nubian Mix) 4:43 - Flat-Out/The intro IS magic sprinkled around 'Ms. Samara's' voice, calling to the listener,
'Don't stop the music....let it be your medicine'. A delighted mix to a well-written lyric of rejoice & bliss to the dancefloor.
b1. Medicine (Detroit Manipulation Mix) 5:21 - Minimalistic, big Motown techno stabs join the vocal in this engaging taste of sound and texture. Medicine for your soul; Indeed.
b2. Medicine (Detroit Institute Mix) 5:28- Traditional, rich strings play hide & seek with the stark sound of a drone-y bassline for full-on effect. Punchy kicks, dreamy chords, great song....your cured.
Showcases acts who have performed at Something Cold over the years, + friends & allies. North America's minimal DIY synth explosion is represented by bands from East coast to West. LTD 200 repress.
The second half of the Truncheon Cadence pairing kicks off with frazzled drum patterns on the A-side, while on the flip Smouldering Wilderness rolls out huge, over-driven kicks over a faltering melody. Rigid Pathetic Heaps closes the EP with a reduced tempo and minimalistic construction over a lurching beat
When James Donadio's Prostitutes project first emerged in 2011 he already had a history in Cleveland's underground noise rock scene. Having played in several bands, he developed his new moniker to explore the fusion of noise and techno. Shortly after debuting on his own imprint StabUdown, he released his outstanding Psychedelic Black album, followed by the Crushed Interior LP for Digitalis and releases on Opal Tapes and Diagonal.
It seems to be natural that he chose Mira, an outlet for more esoteric & experimental techno, drone, noise and industrial, for his next enterprise. Truncheon Cadence comes as a split EP with part one released mid-January and part two following shortly after. Both of these 10 inches feature four sizzling, propulsive workouts with a dry, precise minimalism, characteristic of Donadio's previous productions.
As per previous Mira releases, the artwork is done by Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant but this time comes with a whole new four colour jacket design to house the next five titles in this superb series...
LP is available on 180 GRM black vinyl The KVB release their new immersive and hypnotic album 'Minus One' on November 18th via A Recordings. The album follows hot on the heels of outstanding stand alone single 'Run Away' released on Ample Play Records last month. The KVB is the audio/visual project of London youngsters Nicholas Wood & Kat Day, who combine reverb heavy wall of sound guitars, minimal haunting strings and grinding bass synths, messed up motorik drum machine beats and delay drenched vocals with a backdrop of imagery to accompany the symphony, that's nothing short of life affirming. 'Minus One' is in fact The KVB's third album, their second full length LP 'Immaterial Visions' which came with an accompanying remix EP, featuring mixes from underground techno pioneers Regis and Silent Servant was only released in February this year. The KVB is a group with a sense of urgency about it, to do what they need to do, with full commitment and without delay. It's a tangible attitude that runs throughout 'Minus One'. Indeed this year they have undertaken more extensive touring, including shows in Russia & the Ukraine and November 2013 will see them playing the last ever ATP before supporting The Brian Jonestown Massacre across Australia in December.Dates For The UK 23 Nov 2013 Electrowerkz w/ Dead Skeletons, London UK & 29 Nov 2013 ATP Festival, Camber Sands UK
After her much lauded debut 'Playin' Me' last year, Cooly G returns with an EP that switches from songwriting mode to create extended, spaced out and rhythmic house tracks built for the dancefloor. 'Hold Me' starts with minor note stabs and Cooly's vocal refrain 'Hold me' over a punchy bassline. The rhythm slowly builds as the vocal becomes more dubbed out and the atmosphere more smokey. 'Oi Dirty', made with DVA, is a piece of wonky, rhythmically lopsided house with a cavernous elasticized bassline and lots of micro detail destabilising the track then bringing it back, pitching drums and mini breakdowns. 'Molly' is a slow burning 4/4 house track built around a static grid that gradually builds up, getting stiffer and more intense, with wobbly acid-like synth lines and hissing static stabs, underpinned by a one note bass kick. It's a masterclass in creating tension with sleight of hand production moves.
When James Donadio's Prostitutes project first emerged in 2011 he already had a history in Cleveland's underground noise rock scene. Having played in several bands, he developed his new moniker to explore the fusion of noise and techno. Shortly after debuting on his own imprint StabUdown, he released his outstanding Psychedelic Black album, followed by the Crushed Interior LP for Digitalis and releases on Opal Tapes and Diagonal.
It seems to be natural that he chose Mira, an outlet for more esoteric & experimental techno, drone, noise and industrial, for his next enterprise. Truncheon Cadence comes as a split EP with part one released mid-January and part two following shortly after. Both of these 10 inches feature four sizzling, propulsive workouts with a dry, precise minimalism, characteristic of Donadio's previous productions.
From the stuttering kicks on Unanswered to the whirring sounds of This Whole Affair Is So Fucking Unfair, part one serves as the deeper share of the release.
As per previous Mira releases, the artwork is done by Juan Mendez aka Silent Servant but this time comes with a whole new four colour jacket design to house the next five titles in this superb series...




















