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Deliberately breaking all the rules Mr. Hornby once famously outlined regarding the creation of homemade (tape) compilations, Saroos’ members indeed had the term “mixtape” on their minds while working on their latest full-length – albeit in the hip-hop sense: a sonic snack box, interconnected shots from the hip, something that just came together and immediately felt right.

Whereas hip-hop folks nowadays often use the vacuous term “project” in order to steer clear of the ontological debate caused by the almost synonymous use of album/mixtape, Florian Zimmer, Christoph Brandner, and Max Punktezahl, otherwise busy with The Notwist, Driftmachine & Lali Puna, stick to the classics: their new 16-track project “OLU” (Off Label Use) is, officially, still an album. But it’s wild and vibrant like a mixtape, interwoven like its cover: a seamless burst of ideas, impulsively combined to form a split-screen snapshot of recent moments and momentums.

Re-appropriating the term “Off Label Use” – which actually means: using prescription drugs in ways that aren’t mentioned on the instruction leaflet – in their own “off-label” way, Saroos never sounded more loose-limbed and elastic. Whereas the trio’s earlier releases were rather conceptual and homogenous, “OLU” indeed has a more loose, spur-of-the-moment feel, a spontaneous force at its core. Checking the weighty sci-fi inspirations at the door, they use that Bomb Shelter-type of freedom to reinvent themselves at every turn, chasing sounds that happened to emerge in the group’s triangular energy field.

Kicking it off “with a killer, to grab attention” (Hornby/Cusack, after all), the massive reverb-stumblin’ adjustment between beats and bass of opening track “Quarantaine” cross-fades smoothly into “Humdrum Rolloff,” an early hint at the group’s off-label practices: the underwater creepers floating around here were really voices (mostly). From majestically built oriental sound-pieces (“Looney Suite Serenade”), synth-based “End House Mario” and a triptych of speaker-boxxxing gas lamp experimentations entitled “Cord Burn 1-3,” Saroos have rarely sounded this playful and unrestricted: there’s a new energy at work that welds all the different sonic playing fields together to create one continuous 40 minute mix.

For the B-side descent, “Tatsu Jam,” at less than 4 minutes still the longest cut, billows over the kind of sizzling hi-hats you’d expect to hear on real trap tapes from Hotlanta. A prelude to a bunch of quicker-paced instrumentals (“Scratch Pets”, “24h Love Gumbo”) and ambient sun showers, until the next “Plateau” (Mo’Wax vibes!) brings the beats to the fore once again (“Tomorrow’s Kudos”), and the ultimate “Whirligig” sounds like a mix of Oktoberfest 2020 and Johnston’s “Casper The Friendly Ghost” coming apart at the seams.
Whatever you wanna call it – album, LP, mixtape, project, who cares? –, it’s definitely a double A-side tour-de-force.

To Celebrate The 5th Anniversary Of The Agency, Rotate Has A Hefty 2xlp Compilation Coming, Featuring Its In-house Artists As A Follow-up To rotations I' From 2016. In The Meantime, The Imprint Prepared A 10" Split-ep Teaser, Appropriately Named mini Rotations I', Featuring Cleymoore And Loopdeville. This Release Will Also Kickstart A Series Of Split 10" Records For In-house Artists To Explore Their Solo Music Identities. The A-side 'how Far Would You Go' Brings Cleymoore Back To Rotate, And While It May Sound Very Different From What He Has Been Creating Over The Years, His Extended Storytelling Techniques, Attention To Detail And Peculiar Mind-body Targetting Are Still Identifiable, And Slightly Matured. Deeply Swung Basslines, Echoes Of Detailed, Syncopated Drum-arrangements, Nostalgia-drenched Pads And Spellbinding Melodies Are His Ingredients For Hypnosis, Bending Time, Space And Musical Genres. Loopdeville's 'why So Dark' Fills The B-side With A Lighter, More Playful Tone. Sparkling Modular Glitches, Synthesizer Stabs And Vocal Snippets Fill The Space Like A Micro-cosmos That Is As Colorful As It Is Dreamy, While The Roaring Bassline And The Tight, But Slightly Shuffled Hi-hats Keep Everything Groovy And Strangely Jazzy. Echoing Piano Loops In The Background Ensuring The Mind's Need For Something Organic And Warm, And Further Enabling The Effectiveness Of Syncopated Dance Moves So Familiar To Micro-house Aficionados. "mini Rotations I" Is A Versatile Start For This Series Of Split 10" Eps Where Artists Can Be Themselves, Loyal To Their Own Sound And Their Very Distinct Personalities. Artwork And Design By Max Binski.

The third release of the vinyl only label Another Earth is upon us and it's all about techno. Esther Duijn combines 2 acts together in a Split EP series which compliment each others sound. For this release Esther selected two notorious European techno producers she adores, Opuswerk and Lee Holman. On the A side Opuswerk delivers 2 deep driving techno tracks. RF Thruster basically expands from beginning to end. This constant propulsion has a deep impact on any dance floor. He drew inspiration from Jeff Mills and Planetary Assault Systems for this particular track. EmDrive starts with an atmospheric intro and morphs into one epic build up that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. On the flip side Lee Holman bangs 2 deep and firm techno grooves like there is no tomorrow. While Adaptive Optics is rough on the edges it does pay attention to small details which make the track very dynamic. Absorption Lines puts the emphasis on a warmer atmosphere. With this track you can transform anything into a pulsating hot mass, according to Esther

The final part of the SchleiBen series brings the contrast of heavyweights for a special collaborative release featuring Colin Potter (Nurse With Wound), Alessio Natalizia (Walls/Not Waving) and Guido Zen (Brain Machine), backed up on the flp by a rising name, the (another) world ambience of Cass. Emotional Response completes the SchleiBen series, bringing together the legendary Colin Potter with two of Italy's best experimental / drone / industrial producers in Alessio Natalizia and Guido Zen for a one off special recording, plus again highlighting one last Dusseldorf affiiated project, with the Osnabruck based, beautiful ambient touches of producer Niklas Rehme-Schluter aka Cass. When the idea of the split series was born, one of the aims was to get producers who have worked with the label to come together and record special pieces. However, it was not until the fial release that this fially occurred and who better in which to do this. Having seen a number of reissues come out in the last 18 months - one of which on the distant relative label, Sacred Summits, Colin Potter has brought him in to the orbit of two
artists closely associated with Emotional Response in Mr Natalizia and Mr Zen. The assimilated Parts 1 and 2 provide a perfect marriage of methods. Percussion hinting at Industial and Techno is explored, while the constant Drone inflx and disintegration grab your attention, overlapping with rhythmic repetition deeper and deeper. To end is the ambience of Cass. Taken from the limited 'Hiding Place' cassette only album, the pieces here are the perfect completion. Found sounds, loops, piano, synthesis, all intertwine and overlap to bathe you in pause, a one last time call to stop and (un)listen.

Emotional Response starts 2015 with a 4 part split (Schleissen) series aimed at highlighting artists pushing the sonic boundaries of electronic experimentalism. Starting with ErB001, featuring Abul Mogard and Harmonious Thelonious.
Emotional Response is pleased to announce a special 4 part, split series of LPs that explores the further reaches of ambient, drone and rhythmic percussion, known here as Schleissen. To start the series is 2 artists long admired by the label. The music of Abul Mogard has stayed pretty much under the radar. Hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, retired factory worker turned drone specialist, Abul has released 2 solo and 1 joint cassette-only albums on Steve Moore and Anthony Paterra's (Zombi) VCO label. A big favourite of the label, Dizziness That Shakes Rivers And Mountains is near 19 minutes of pure, modular beauty. Play loud for full o.o.b.e effect. On the flp, a more well known name in Stefan Schwander's percussion based project, Harmonious Thelonious. First catching the label's attention with a series of drum heavy EPs before moving more towards the dance flor on his most recent releases. On a visit to play the infamous Salon Des Amatuers for the Musiccargo album launch in late 2013, Stefan kindly passed on a CDR of "more experimental pieces" and on hearing these, the idea of Schleissen was first born. 2 pieces of Steve Reich inspired minimalist explorations weld to become an incessant psychoacoustic cycle, melodically deconstructing and reconstructing to create a continuous harmonic movement. A series then created for the more discerning ear, so empty your mind and (un)listen.