quête:onc phil

This record is meant to be enjoyed like a seascape. It offers a Mediterranean journey, one that Ulysses, Aeneas, and Jason with his Argonauts charted first and Valencian artist, Pep Llopis, retraced and retread — from the islands of Menorca to Santorini. All of his experiences are aboard this vessel of sound: no format in mind, no course but the chasm within self. While Poiemusia La Nau Dels Argonautes materializes at this moment as an album, another object suits Pep's project: Lewis Carroll's Map of the Ocean' from his The Hunting of the Snark. It's a simple illustration: the thin outline of a blank rectangle that represents the sea with no trace of land. Carroll offers this empty space as an object that all can understand, a container for possibility. Likewise, Poiemusia offers a musical language that any listener can understand. Untethered to the meaning of words, one is set adrift and free in minimalist sound and traditional music. Llopis, who often composed for dance, originally wrote Poiemusia for a performance at the Poiemusia festival (the Greek contraction of poetry and music). Peer composers, Carles Santos and Wim Mertens, also participated in the festival, which took place over several days at the Teatro Princesa in Valencia. Llopis paired his newly formed avant-garde compositions with the poems of fellow Valencian, Salvador Jàfer.

In the studio presentation of Poiemusia, voices softly converse, only to evaporate. The poetry is incanted by the poet himself. Jàfer enunciates at the verge of song, drawing dimension from his Mediterranean travels. He is accompanied by Montse Anfruns' vaporous voice. She extends the roll of her r's and the hiss of each s as if casting a spell of Salacia. Pep bathes their conversational performance in slight delays and reverb, allowing their voices to dissolve into an ocean of sound.

Llopis was influenced by minimal American composers like Steve Reich and La Monte Young. He embraces the melodic sides of these masters in the winds of El Vell Rei De La Serp' and the tender piano on Nits de cristall.' You will find yourself submerged in tonality on tracks like Jardins Aquàtics' and La Nau Dels Argonautes' which have a kinship to Philip Glass or Daniel Lentz. Each piece extends from 5 to almost 14 minutes. The music gently laps against listening skin— sometimes placid, sometimes shimmering. Ripples of sound swell and quicken. Flutes like schools of fish. The spray of chimes. Taught strings break like the shore. Tingling, undulating synths. The record cover acts as a map, tracing the forms of the original art and providing the poems in Catalana and Spanish. Once bathed in these sounds one will emerge like Carroll's map: a perfect and absolute blank.' Poiemusia La Nau Dels Argonaute emerges in vinyl and digital formats on May 19, 2017 through Freedom To Spend.

The Outside Agency & Deathmachine - Today s Tomorrow / The Violence The Outside Agency have teamed up with permanent label fixture Deathmachine once again for yet another solid exercise in kick and snare torture. Today's Tomorrow and The Violence both serve as deeply philosophical explorations of human nature, with kickdrums and snares.

3xLP+CD Artbook
(en) - Nearly two decades after the last official GAS album release, Wolfgang Voigt returns to his iconic Ambient project with a brandnew full-length.
- NARKOPOP continues the classic GAS aesthetic of symphonic scope and subtle variation, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey to the depths of rapture and reverie.
- Available as luxurious hardcover CD incl. 24 pages booklet.

In the body of work of Cologne artist Wolfgang Voigt - who, like few others, has informed, shaped and influenced the world of electronic music with countless different projects since the early 1990s -, GAS stands out in particular as a saturnine sound cosmos based on heavily condensed classic sequences. Even after nearly 20 years, the sound of GAS doesn't seem to have lost any of its luster, as shown by the commanding success of Kompakt's fall 2016 re-release of the essential back catalogue as a 10xLP/4xCD box set.

The overwhelming feedback from a loyal international fan community and worldwide media outlets attests once again to the sheer timelessness of GAS. Which is why it will feel like hardly a day has passed since the release of the last official album 'Pop' nearly two decades ago, when Wolfgang Voigt resumes this specific creative path with the upcoming new full-length NARKOPOP.

Even in the here and now, the unmistakable vibe of GAS immediately hits home, taking the listener on an otherworldly journey with the very first sounds, drawing him or her into an impervious sonic thicket, down to the depths of rapture and reverie. From wafts of dense symphonic mist emerges a floating and whirling feeling of weightlessness, before the listener steps into an eerily beautiful forest of fantasy, pulled in by the allure of a narcotic bass drum.

While earlier GAS tracks were often based on the hypnotic effects of looping techniques, the 10 new pieces on NARKOPOP unfold their magic in a more entwined manner, sometimes with the sonic might of an entire philharmonic orchestra, sometimes as subtle and fragile as the most delicate branch of a tree with many. A main characteristic of Voigt's oeuvre, the coalescence of seemingly contradictory stylistic aspects such as harmonious and atonal, concrete and abstract, light and heavy, near and far is also a decisive feature of NARKOPOP.

In accordance with the transgressive spirit of his collective work, Voigt carries the aesthetic conceptions of his music over to the realm of the visual. Based on his abstract forest pictures, the GAS artwork addresses Voigt's artistic affinity to romanticism and the forest as a place of yearning. For the first time, a closer look at the cover of NARKOPOP reveals signs of architectural fragments which hint at another, maybe parallel world behind Voigt's forest. Truth is the prettiest illusion.
(de) - Fast zwei Jahrzehnte nach dem letzten offiziellen GAS-Albumrelease kehrt Wolfgang Voigt mit einem brandneuen Langspieler zu seinem legendären Ambientprojekt zurück.
- NARKOPOP setzt die klassische GAS-Ästhetik zwischen symphonischer Grösse und subtiler Variation fort, eine Reise zu den Untiefen von Rausch und Entrücktheit.
- Erhältlich als luxuriöse Hardcover CD- Erhältlich als luxuriöse Hardcover CD inkl. 24-seitigem Booklet.


Aus dem Gesamtwerk des Kölner Künstlers Wolfgang Voigt, der mit seinen unzähligen unterschiedlichen musikalischen Projekten seit den frühen 1990er Jahren wie kaum ein Zweiter die elektronische Musikwelt geprägt, gestaltet und beinflusst hat, ragt sein Projekt GAS, ein auf stark verdichteten Klassiksequenzen basierendes, düsteres Klangkunstwerk, in ganz besonderem Maße heraus. Dass der Sound von GAS auch nach fast 20 Jahren scheinbar nichts von seinem Zauber und seiner Kraft verloren hat, zeigte eindrucksvoll der große Erfolg des im Herbst 2016 als 10xVinyl/4xCD Box auf Kompakt wieder veröffentlichten Backkatalogs.
Die überwältigende Resonanz, sowohl seitens der treuen internationalen Fangemeinde als auch der weltweiten Presse, bezeugte einmal mehr die schiere Zeitlosigkeit von GAS. Daher fühlt es sich auch an, als sei kaum ein Tag vergangen, wenn Wolfgang Voigt nun mit NARKOPOP genau da den künstlerischen Faden wieder aufnimmt, wo das letzte offizielle Album »Pop« ihn vor fast zwei Jahrzehnten hat fallen lassen.


Auch hier und heute verfängt der unverwechselbare Geist von GAS unmittelbar und nimmt den Hörer bereits mit den ersten Tönen mit in eine andere Welt, zieht ihn hinein in ein undurchdringliches Dickicht aus Klang, hinunter in die Untiefen von Rausch und Entrücktheit.
Aus dichten sinfonischen Nebelschwaden entsteht ein Schweben und Taumeln, ein Gefühl der Schwerelosigkeit, bevor der Zuhörer von der Anziehungskraft einer narkotischen Bassdrum wieder hinunter in den schaurig-schönen Fantasie-Wald gelockt wird.

Während frühere GAS Tracks oft auf der hypnotischen Wirkung des Loops basierten, entfalten die 10 neuen Stücke auf NARKOPOP ihre Magie auf verschlungeneren Pfaden, mal mit der klanglichen Wucht eines ganzen Philharmonieorchesters, dann wieder so zart und zerbrechlich wie der feinste Ast eines weit verzweigten Baumes. Das für Voigts Arbeiten so typische Ineinanderfließen scheinbar widersprüchlicher stilistischer Aspekte wie harmonisch und atonal, konkret und abstrakt, leicht und schwer, nah und fern ist auch auf NARKOPOP essenziell.

Im Sinne seines grenzüberschreitenden Schaffens, überträgt Voigt die ästhetischen Konzeptionen seiner Musik auch auf die Ebene des Visuellen. Das auf seinen abstrakten Waldbildern basierende GAS Artwork thematisiert Voigts künstlerischen Nähe zur Romantik und dem Wald als Sehnsuchtsort. Wer einen genaueren Blick auf das Cover von NARKOPOP wirft, der wird erstmalig Andeutungen architektonischer Fragmente entdecken, die eine andere, vielleicht parallele Welt hinter dem voigt'schen Wald erahnen lassen. Wahrheit ist der schönste Schein.

New fully remastered re-release of Soul Jazz Records’ ‘The World of Arthur Russell’, the seminal collection of Arthur Russell’s essential music is being released on limited-edition heavy deluxe triple vinyl and deluxe CD edition.

This album brings together some of Russell’s best-loved and most accessible works including his wide-ranging music both solo and in groups including Dinosaur L (the essential ‘Go Bang’), Loose Joints (the equally classic ‘Is It All Over My Face’) as well as rarities such as the 7” only ‘Pop Your Funk’, Indian Ocean’s ‘Schoolbell/Treehouse’, Lola’s ‘Wax The Van’ and more.

Arthur Russell’s music effortlessly crossed musical boundaries making it timeless. His dance music credentials are faultless and this collection features mixes from Larry Levan, Françcois Kervorkian and Walter Gibbons. Similarly, his song-writing, musicality and performance skills are equally cherished as composer Philip Glass wrote, ‘this was a guy who could sit down with a cello and sing with it in a way that no one on earth has ever done before or will do again.’

When Soul Jazz Records’ The World of Arthur Russell first came out in 2003, Russell’s music had slipped into near obscurity. Nearly 15 years later there are over a dozen releases of his music, reissues of his original albums and more. ‘The World of Arthur Russell’ is the classic first collection of his work available once more.

“Arthur Russell fused the avant-garde with disco and sounds like nothing else on earth.” The GUARDIAN

“Russell is the great enigma of the New York music scene” THE WIRE

“Simply one of the best compilations of this or any year.” RECORD COLLECTOR

When faced with the decision to take a different direction at the risk of getting lost in a synthetic sound or to further explore the same musical path, Vaudou Game didn't need to consult the oracle for very long when putting together their new album. Since their first acclaimed album, Apiafo and its irresistible single "Pas Contente", these Lyon natives never turned down the heat on over 130 stages across Europe, Africa, America and Asia. Peter Solo has displayed his amulets, charisma and yellow pants around the globe.When time came for them to harness their Afro-Funk sound for the second time, they turned their attention once again to their analog strengths. Vintage material, instruments produced in the 70's and cassette tapes were the "grigris" (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption of their music and return them to a tight-knit group with a solid groove.This unbeatable trance rhythm, inherited from James Brown and Fela, icons of Funk and Afrobeat, becomes trident when joined by Mawu, the creative voodoo divinity hidden in each of the group's notes. This inspiration transcends their spirit of communion, plunges them deeply into Mother Earth and results in the telepathic trance which is directly connected to Togo Peter's native Togo.Each song then becomes a celebration where the listener becomes the group's voodoo doll, embraced by the rhythm, submitting itself to the mercilessly metronomic cutting of guitars, struck by the copper-colored flashes of lightning forged by the African voodoo deity Hevioso, pierced by the psychedelic visions generated by the organs and a six-string guitar, cheerful songs, and hypnotic incantations.KIDAYU means "sharing" in Kabye, the language spoken in northern Togo. Sharing, is the philosophy of Vaudou Game - both in their recorded music and on stage.Vintage African funk tinged with voodoo chanting: Togolese Peter Solo and his fellow musicians from Lyon electrify us in a frenzied ceremony" - Télérama

Phil Collins revisits a career that can boast over 100 million sales and numerous worldwide #1 albums. Both Sides will be remastered by Nick Davis, who earned a Grammy nomination for Best Surround Sound album for his work on the Genesis '1970-1975' box set. Davis has also worked on all of the Genesis retrospective reissues.

Entirely curated and compiled by Collins himself, his idea for the 'Take A Look At Me Now' concept is to examine how his songs have evolved over time, with the majority of the additional content throughout the series focused on live versions of the tracks. By contrasting the original studio versions of the material with later performances, the series demonstrates how Collins' songs take on a life of their own once they're freed from the confines of the studio.

Collins returned to #1 in 2010 with 'Going Back' which represented his first studio album since 2002's 'Testify'. 'Going Back' was a personal labour of love project that found him faithfully recreating the soul gems that played such an influential role in his musical life.

The concept, he said at the time, 'Was not to bring anything 'new' to these already great records, but to try to recreate the sounds and feelings that I had when I first heard them.' That objective was achieved with the help of special guests including three surviving members of The Funk Brothers: Eddie Willis (guitar), Bob Babbitt (bass) and Ray Monette (guitar). 

'I decided to call this version of 'Going Back' 'The Essential Going Back',' he explains. 'In retrospect, I included too much music on the original version, and I believe that too much is not always a good thing. Hence this trimmed down selection of my favourite Motown songs.'

Heavyweight soul providers Fat Freddy's Drop are about to take flight once again with the worldwide release of new album Blackbird on 24th June 2013. Blackbird is the third full-length release from the New Zealand band and will see Fat Freddy's Drop exceed half-a-million album sales worldwide, the result of playing over 800 shows in their career-to-date, clocking up 412 appearances in Europe, 27 Australian Tours and over 300 shows in their homeland.

Fat Freddy's Drop celebrate a decade of European touring by releasing Blackbird in East London. The already sold-out show at Village Underground attracted over 4,000 hopeful ticket ballot entries in just 24 hours for only 500 lucky spots.

Featuring nine tracks, Blackbird was written and recorded at Bays, the band's own studio, which was one of the last vinyl pressing plants in New Zealand and then an apostolic church. Fitchie says, 'What you hear on the album is the sound of Bays, the room itself, the vibe of the place and the performance we can get out of the band in there.'

'Blackbird is truer to FFD's musical philosophy than anything else we've done', says Chopper Reeds. 'The song structures are open and unruly - just like our live shows - whilst we've pushed ourselves to deliver rich and deeply layered arrangements that showcase Joe Dukie's exceptional voice. We feel totally at home melding together this unholy mix of disco, rootsy dub, blues, soul and electronic funk - it's what we do.'

Fat Freddy's Drop have released two studio albums, 'Based On A True Story' (2005) and 'Dr Boondigga & The Big BW' (2009), two live albums, 'Live At The Matterhorn' (2001) and 'Live At Roundhouse' (2010) and a stash of limited edition vinyl singles, including the now legendary 'Midnight Marauders' and 'Hope For

Munich's Zenker Brothers arrive on Index Marcel Fengler for the first time with Pollioni, a four-track EP that captures the unique style that has brought the duo acclaim over a string of releases for Tresor and their own Ilian Tape label since they combined their considerable production talents as a dual force in dextrous, charismatic techno.
Each of Pollioni's tracks eschew the standard four-four in favour of insistent beat patterns that service a maelstrom of rave era-indebted synths and tumescent basslines, working themselves into grooves with their own personality and once again showing the Zenker ability to forge techno that rises above the standard DJ tool style into something more characterful and lasting.'Night Hustler' opens the A-side with a swinging, low-end-heavy groove that opens up for a sinister melody in the its second half. It's followed by 'Bias', which builds rolling tribalistic drums around a slowly rising degraded synth line. B1 'Karma Lounge' mines similar territory in the duo's collaboration with Ilian Tape colleague Philipp Von Bergmann, before 'Neunkeu' closes the EP by establishing its place in the continuum with its hardcore stabs and a sci-fi acid backbone.

2015 sees the return of Welsh psychedelicists White Noise Sound with their second album 'Like a Pyramid of Fire'.After honing their craft across the UK and through Europe - with the likes of Super Furry Animals, The Warlocks, Spectrum, Mark Gardener (Ride) and members of Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and The Brian Jonestown Massacre - WNS completed their debut album in 2010 with the assistance of Pete Kember (Spacemen 3 / Spectrum / E.A.R) and magician Cian Ciaran (Super Furry Animals). Released by cult California based label Alive Records (whose back-catalogue includes releases from The Black Keys, Beachwood Sparks, Iggy Pop and James Williamson and The Soledad Brothers) in 2010 (US) / 2011 (UK), the eponymous debut was greeted with widespread critical acclaim and WNS toured through Europe in its support. 'Like a Pyramid of Fire' sees the band take their trademark wall of sound - at once relentlessly pulsating and blissed-out - and conjure from it a sonic palette with range and depth. WNS worked closely with producer / DJ Phil Kieran and again with Cian Ciaran and the result is a metronomic and hypnotic onslaught of melody, groove and exploration which goes beyond the standard tropes of psychedelia.

White Noise Sound will be playing a special London show as part of the Convergence Festival on Monday 16th March 2005 (with label mates Eat Lights Become Lights and guest DJs Andrew Weatherall and Ben Osborne)

Supporting Jesus & Marychain in Cardiff on 22nd February.2015 sees the return of Welsh psychedelicists White Noise Sound. This single is taken from their second album 'Like a Pyramid of Fire' out in April 2015.After honing their craft across the UK and through Europe - with the likes of Super Furry Animals, The Warlocks, Spectrum, Mark Gardener (Ride) and members of Spacemen 3, Spiritualized and The Brian Jonestown Massacre - WNS completed their debut album in 2010 with the assistance of Pete Kember (Spacemen 3 / Spectrum / E.A.R) and magician Cian Ciaran (Super Furry Animals). Released by cult California based label Alive Records (whose back-catalogue includes releases from The Black Keys, Beachwood Sparks, Iggy Pop and James Williamson and The Soledad Brothers) in 2010 (US) / 2011 (UK), the eponymous debut was greeted with widespread critical acclaim and WNS toured through Europe in its support. 'Like a Pyramid of Fire' sees the band take their trademark wall of sound - at once relentlessly pulsating and blissed-out - and conjure from it a sonic palette with range and depth. WNS worked closely with producer / DJ Phil Kieran and again with Cian Ciaran and the result is a metronomic and hypnotic onslaught of melody, groove and exploration which goes beyond the standard tropes of psychedelia.
White Noise Sound will be playing a special London show as part of the Convergence Festival on Monday 16th March 2005 (with label mates Eat Lights Become Lights and guest DJs Andrew Weatherall and Ben Osborne)

Scott Mou, known as one half of the duo Jane - the folk techno drone duo he had with Panda Bear - aswell as part of Manhattan's famous record store Other Music, debuts with his Soloproject Queens. 

Johan Jacobsen describes the wonderful music of Queens "in oxymorons; "colorful monochrome," "myopic depth," "sad joy," "driven slowness," "enlightened darkness," "universal intimacy ' , "ethereal earthboundness" ... As it should be. Queens is one of those wonderful artists who are hard to catch on the fly, who escapes easy definition. His music is an unexpected and unimagined universe ready to be explored, and it's a universe that is wonderful to be in."

When Dial Records' David Lieske and Peter Kersten listened to a performance of their New York based friend in 2009, it was one of those unforgettable unique experiences you only have once in a long while these days. The idea of releasing an album was born. The production of "End Times" involved other labelmates such as Phillip Sollmann aka Efdemin (recording), Kassian Troyer (mixing) and Hendrik Weber, who once joined a life performance on stage with Scott Mou in 2012.