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Recorded Between The Release Of Sand (1977) And Lost Secrets(1981), Symphonic Songs Is A Formerly Unreleased Work That Chronicles The Dynamic Shift And Development In Experimental Swedish Composer Ragnar Grippe's Canon.

Following His Seminal Release Sandin 1977, Swedish Experimental Composer Ragnar Grippe Worked On Various Art And Performance Commissions, Often Returning To Stockholm During The Summer Months To Focus His Efforts On His Compositional Practice. It Was There At The Famed Ems Studioswhere He Began Employing The Buchla Synthesizer And The Facilities Multi-tracking Capabilities As New Instruments To Map His Mining Of Sound And Movement.

During The Late 1970's, Grippe Formed A Creative Collaboration With Choreographer Susan Buirge, Specifically Writing Compositions For Her Works restes And tamis, Thus Pushing Grippe To Start Working In A More Intricate Studio Environment. These Passages Inspired Grippe Into A More Complex Layering Process That Focused More On Placement And Structure, Rather Than The Aural Floods And Flourishes Of His Previous Sand Album, Eventually Germinating In His First Full 24-track Composition Entitled orchestra.

After Debuting orchestra In 1980 At The Electronic Music Festival In Stockholm, Grippe Holed Up At Ems Studios With Those Lessons And The Fussy Buchla Synthesizer, In Which Grippe Affectionately Recalls needed To Be Tuned And Calibrated Every 20-30 Minutes. He Emerged With A New Commission For Susan Buirge Later Formally Titled Symphonic Songs And Used In Her Avant-garde Theater Piece ci-déla Which Debuted In Paris In 1981.symphonic Songsshowcased Grippe's Sound Au Courant, Pushing Dense Against Sparse, Calm Into Cacophonous, Using Each Track As Its Own Intersecting Plane. Using The Machinations Of Studio And Structure To Drive Symphonic Songs' Voice, Grippe Culled A Haunting, Often Cinematic Electronic Work That Dots And Darts Into Unexpected Corners With Curious Aplomb.

Listen To The Words, Both Terms Have Their Root In Classical Music, But Not In Its Form But Because Now I Had So Many More Stems Or Voices That Could Be Played Simultaneously Compared To My Earlier Pieces. Coming From A Classical Background, But With Big Nostrils For Pop And Jazz Music, I Can Now See A Thread In Which Classical Got A New Costume, Dressed Up In Buchla Synthesizer And Real Bass Sounds Grippe Says. Since Its Live Theater Debut Over 37 Years Ago, Dais Records Releases For The First Time Symphonic Songs, One Of Grippe's Most Ambitious Compositions, As A Deluxe Double Vinyl Lp (with Limited Edition Color Variants) And On Digital Formats. Artwork Packaging By Artist J.s. Aurelius (ascetic House) With Reflective Linear Notes By Ragnar Grippe.

Boum Boum Boum! 25 years of KOMPAKT. When a record label still thrives after a quarter of a century thanks to a focus of what was expected to be a short lived music phenomenon called TECHNO, then it stands to prove two things; that it techno has taken its place amongst serious, multilayered musical genres like rock'n'roll, pop and folk music. And that KOMPAKT has never been only for techno, but KOMPAKT stands as a broad-minded, genre-defying entity that has set out to cross-pollinate all kinds of musical inventions within the realm of electronic music. Through its course, KOMPAKT has sent 'Around The World', all kinds of sub-genres, concept series and crossover adventures based on the non- negotiable 4/4 beat. And back again.

Without a doubt, the 100% kickdrum-free POP AMBIENT series is the most endearing and enduring concept that I have had the pleasure to curate. From the start, I felt there was a strong need to add a certain pop- elegance - ensouled by discourse as much as hedonism - to a sound that was recognized as 'Chill Out' music that could be heard in seedy techno club back rooms and forgotten festival areas. Over the years, I like to imagine that POP AMBIENT has crystallized into a highly recognizable trademark sound and a multi-facetted musical universe of its own.

So once again, I had the pleasure to put together this year's edition by plowing through an ocean of sonic jewelry that had been submitted from all over the world by new and old friends. The task was clear: for this special edition, I must create a homogenous listening experience that would both appeal to our trusting followers, to continue our tradition while integrating new micro facets , variations and influences from neighboring musical universes as possible. Obligatory while being innovative. Conspirative while being cosmopolitan. Albeit the headline 'Ambient' might sound a little too humble for a compilation that encompasses aspects of neo classic, atonal music and the most beautiful aural kitsch imaginable, it still helps as a necessary means of orientation in the best possible sense. Same goes for another dear tradition: Veronika Unland's abstract-floral cover design that keeps on pleasing our sore eyes year after year.

Although each and every POP AMBIENT edition doesn't shy away from diving into the relevant question of 'What is contemporary discourse music' - in the end it all boils down to that elevated moment where all theory dissolves into ambient air, into a higher state of cosmic bliss. POP AMBIENT is sacral music for non-believers.

Wolfgang Voigt Cologne, October 2018

Bum Bum Bum. 25 Jahre KOMPAKT. Wenn ein Musiklabel, das seine inhaltliche Ausrichtung im Wesentlichen auf den anfangs als schnelllebig und vor allem kurzlebig apostrophierten - hype' Techno setzt, nach 25 Jahren in jeder Beziehung immer noch voll im Saft steht, dann zeigt das zwei Dinge: Das erstens mittlerweile jeder bemerkt haben du¨rfte, dass Techno eben kein kurzftristiger hype ist, sondern vielmehr ein vielschichtiges, ernstzunehmendes Genre, das sich ebenso wie Rock'n'Roll oder Schlager fest in der Musikgeschichte etabliert hat.

Und zweitens, dass KOMPAKT nie nur ein reines Technolabel war und ist, sondern ein nach vielen Seiten aufgeschlossenes Experimentierfeld, das sich von Anfang an der Grenzu¨berschreitung und dem musikalischen Erfindungsreichtum verschrieben hat. U¨ber die Jahre wurden unter dem KOMPAKT-Signet etliche Subgenres, Konzeptreihen und Crossoverwagnisse auf Basis der unverhandelbaren geraden Bassdrum - around the world' und wieder zuru¨ck geschickt.

Eine der wohl scho¨nsten und nachhaltigsten Konzeptreihen du¨rfte wohl die bassdrumfreie POP AMBIENT-Serie sein, die ich als KOMPAKT-- Altvorderer' nach wie vor die ja¨hrliche Freude habe, zu kompilieren. Dabei hat sich u¨ber die Jahre aus dem anfa¨nglichen Bedu¨rfnis der seit den fru¨hen 90er Jahren in den sogenannten - Chilloutrooms ' grossra¨umiger Technoclubs, - Lounges' und - Muzakkneipen' entstandenen - Entspannungsmusik' etwas entgegenzusetzen, eine eher von Pop-Eleganz, Diskurs und Hedonismus beseelte, eigene Spielart ambienter Musik, eine vielschichtige programmatische Musik mit hohem Widererkennungswert entwickelt.

So hatte ich auch im Jubila¨umsjahr einmal mehr die Qual der Wahl, aus den aus aller Welt kommenden, grossartigen Klangpreziosen guter alter sowie neuer Freunde die subjektiv besten zu einem homogenen Ho¨rerlebnis zusammenzufu¨hren. Dabei ist mir immer sehr wichtig, einerseits den Erwartungen der treuen Ho¨rerschaft im Bezug auf Traditionsverpflichtung gerecht zu werden und andererseits auch immer mo¨glichst viele Mikrofacetten, Varianten und Einflu¨sse angrenzender Stile und Universen aufzugreifen. Innovativ und verbindlich. Konspirativ und weltoffen. Auch wenn der U¨berbegriff Ambient, fu¨r eine Kompilation die sowohl Aspekte von Neuer Klassik, Atonalita¨t und Kunstmusik mit den allerscho¨nsten Seelenkitschklangwelten zu vereinen sucht, zu eng gefasst ist, so hilft er doch bei der notwendigen Orientierung im besten Sinne. Ebenso wie die Tradition gewordenen, wunderscho¨n abstrakt-floralen Kunstblumenwelten der von Veronika Unland gestalteten Cover, die ein ums andere Jahr auch die Augen in Verzu¨ckung versetzten.

Auch wenn jede Kompilation sich aufs Neue an den relevanten Fragen zeitgema¨sser Diskursmusik abarbeitet, so ist der erhabene Moment am Ende doch der, in dem sich alles zu Gunsten eines - ho¨heren, kosmischen' Ho¨rerlebnisses, im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes in ambiente Luft auflo¨st.

POP AMBIENT ist die sakrale Musik der Ungla¨ubigen.

Wolfgang Voigt / September 2018

Los Angeles - September 7, 2018 - Billy Idol's 1980's remix collection, Vital Idol, is getting a modern-day upgrade with Vital Idol: Revitalized, set for release on CD and digital by Capitol/UMe on September 28. A 2LP 180-gram black vinyl in addition to a limited edition, color variant will follow on November 16.
More than 30 years after his groundbreaking Vital Idol compilation cemented the vibrancy of the dance-rock remix genre in the second half of the 1980's, Idol's Revitalized collection features 11 brand-new remixes of his most classic and enduring hits. Lending their hands to the Revitalized proceedings are electronic dance luminaries Moby, The Crystal Method and Paul Oakenfold as well as current innovators including Tropkillaz, Shiba San, Juan Maclean, CRAY and RAC, who's remix of 'Dancing With Myself' debuts today.
Vital Idol, initially released in Britain in 1985 and subsequently issued in the United States in 1987, was the first remix record released by a rock superstar. Besides being certified platinum, Vital Idol was accompanied by a version of 'Mony Mony' that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, as well as hitting the Top 10 on the U.K. Singles chart.
Highlights found within the grooves of Revitalized include The Crystal Method's percussive, explosive stab at 'Rebel Yell,' CRAY's bass-and-keyboard-blessed 'White Wedding,' Tropkillaz's trop-house framing of 'Eyes Without A Face,' St. Francis Hotel's shimmering stop/start caress of 'Flesh For Fantasy,' and RAC's retro-harmonic, fist-pumping 'Dancing With Myself.'
Meanwhile, the digital version of Revitalized features four additional exclusive remixes, namely the brand new Billy Idol/Steve Stevens Remix of 'Mony Mony,' Paul Oakenfold's Extended Remix of 'One Breath Away,' Moby's 'Half Time Version' of his take on '(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows' and 'Save Me Now (Lost Dog Remix),' reworked by Billy Idol's son, Willem Wolfe with Brandon Rauch and Ed Bedrosian.

For its seventh offering, Sol Power Sound taps into the pulse of the French Antilles for Tambours de Martinique, a blistering EP of original and remixed versions of rare, drum-centric dance floor workouts. Licensed directly from the legendary Martiniquan label Hibiscus Records, the EP features cuts by Eugène Mona and Max Ransay, two of Martinique's most storied musicians. With reworks by Spanish DJ and producer Kiko Navarro and the Sol Power All-Stars, this one will be in the record bags of discerning DJs all summer long.

The A side features 'Lizo' by Eugène Mona, an essential figure in the folkloric music of Martinique based on the bamboo flute, bèlè drums, and the island's specific variant of Antillean creole. Lizo was originally released in 1990 on Mona's Blanc Mangé Blan Manjé LP and is anchored by frenetic percussion, a driving bassline, and house-evocative key stabs. Kiko Navarro's remix takes an already dynamic cut to deep Afro-space with thumping drums and a bubbling synth-bass groove that will put dancers through their paces.

With its powerful combo of urgent brass and ensemble vocals, Max Ransay's 1988 recording of the traditional Martiniquan folk song 'Ti Kanno' fills the B-side. 'Ti Kanno' was previously recorded by Ti Émile, Ransay and Mona's legendary forebear. Full of surprises, Ransay's version is a sonic melting pot of hand percussion, horns, unexpected synth lines, and bass. The Sol Power All-Stars edit fills out the low-end thump and teases out the groove for maximum impact.

Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin.

Hana's first and self-titled LP was recorded in Autumn 2010 at Facta non Verba and consists out of 5 tracks which are techno oriented with disposal of experimental and abstract elements.

Reviews

OMG Vinyl
Hana s S/T LP is easily the best promo records we ve gotten in months. This Greek duo has somehow, almost entirely below the radar, released one of the most exciting electronic records of 2011. Their wobbly brand of techno sometimes chugs ahead at full-speed, other times easing back into a wider waver, almost resembling some weird, warped IDM. I will be shocked if this record doesn t get wider appreciation very soon. Whether that happens or not, we fully recommend it, track one down.

Cyclic Defrost by Oliver Laing
Granny Records duo Hana come correct with their first album, offering a refreshing take on techno and IDM variants in the vein of Jan Jelinek, Raime, Actress and hints of the mighty Chain Reaction label. Mastered at Berlin s Dubplates and Mastering by none other than Rashad Becker, a name that often appears in the run-out groove of artists who inhabit a curiously funky techno-not-techno netherworld Hana s debut self-titled release grows in stature and listening enjoyment with every spin. With a sense of fun and adventure inhabiting the grooves, Hana (who are also part of label-mates, Good Luck Mr Gorsky), explore experimental timbres and ghostly vocalisations with a lightness of touch that belies their recording credentials.

Starting off with an abstract, Clicks and Cuts style intro, Liv slowly finds the sweet spot between mutant Detroit electro funk, a hint of the indie/dance territory of Matthew Dear and the abstract, yet rhythmic 12 releases on the Beatservice label, by Norwegian duo Information from the mid 90s. Obermaier implies the groove to begin with, until a wrong-footed man-with-two-left-feet rhythm leads into minimal acidic flourishes. Album opener SM heads in a Ricardo Villalobos vs. Nonplace Urban Field direction, as the lopsided rhythm and sepulchral vocals add a haunted edge to proceedings. CR80 uses beautifully syncopated live drums and urgent female vocals, and adds a driving, belligerent synth riff falling somewhere in between DMZ and Gary Numan. Echoic, boingy sounds threaten to derail the beat, but somehow it manages to maintain, reminding me of Shed and A Made Up Sound; more in overall feel than in the specific sounds. For those that enjoy abstract electronics that work just as well on headphones as on the dance floor, Greece s Hana are a duo to watch.

Textura
Hana's self-titled debut album arrives saddled with a (literally) cheeky front cover one would more associate with a 70s band like Wild Cherry than a Greece-based techno outfit formed in Thessaloniki last summer. Recorded in fall 2010 at Facta non Verba, the five-cut release finds Good Luck Mr Gorsky members Thanasis Papadopoulos and Thanos Bantis hunkered down in their chemical lab concocting formulae to go along with their material's stripped-down techno beats. Using analogue synths, samplers, and sequencers, the duo brings a decidely experimental edge to their productions, sprinkling as they do liberal doses of burble and flutter over bass-heavy techno rhythms.
The opening track, Sm, sets the scene with a heavy low-end pulse thudding alongside a steady kick drum and joined by acidy synths and percussive effects that suggest a lighter being repeatedly flicked open. On a slightly more aggressive tip, the B-side's Cr80 adds truncated vocal yelps to its bleepy, elephantine throb. A dubby dimension emerges in the track, too, when echoing waves drift repeatedly across the huge bass that slithers across the track's underbelly. The album's most elaborate track comes last. Liv opens beatlessly with flickering shudders and what could pass for the amplified workings of an ant community but then progressively fills in the dots with an insistent beat pattern, voice fragments, and even the demented meander of accordion playing. Though Hana hardly rewrites the techno guidebook on the release, it's nevertheless a pleasurable listen, in part due to the multi-dimensional experience provided by the vinyl format and the always superb mastering work done by Rashad Becker at Berlin's Dubplates & Mastering.

Limited to 75 Tapes

Hippie Priest returns to Argot to release his second album, See It Through. Having made great strides at dialing in his production and strengthening his songwriting since the release of Gaia Variants in 2016, the young Champaign-based producer focuses his sophomore longplayer around a narrative approach. 'See It Through is a day in the life of a lioness", says Hippie Priest, 'Beginning with the soft ambience of waking up in the morning, leading up to an intense hunt in the middle, and into evening revelry and eventual slumber". The album's 11 tracks cover a large stretch of sonic ground to tell this story. Its glowing opener, 'Umbrella Keeper' gives way to widescreen stompers 'Thorn' and 'Quicksand' that clear the way for more contemplative moments like 'Crystal' or 'Cherry Blossom". One can't help but imagine a dramatic hunt while listening to 'Are You Okay' or carnivorous displays on 'Desire". Even tender scenes are possible with closers 'Tanuki' and 'Tired Lioness", gorgeous movements in which Hippie Priest's melodic profficiencies shine brightest. Vital Sales Points: - Second album from the up-and-coming young producer from central Illinois

This Rough Guide features deeply cool cumbia influenced by 1960s Western rock and the hippy movement, spanning the spectrum of psychedelic cumbia from the 1960s pioneers to today's innovators. A classic selection ranging from the vintage Peruvian recordings to classic contemporary bands from Colombia, Chile, Mexico and beyond highlighting how cumbia was reborn in the 1960s to make it relevant to the younger generation.

Includes a FREE download card allowing you to download the full album

Peru has had its share of great electric guitarists bending strings to the rolling beats of cumbia - from Enrique Delgado to José Luis Carballo - who came from its own important domestic tradition of criollo guitar music as much as rock). So it's not an exaggeration to say cumbia peruana (and regional variants at times referred to as cumbia andina, cumbia selvática, and more recently chicha) has had the lion's share of Carlos Santana influences evident in the mix.

Interestingly the Peruvian psych sound so prevalent in the early 1970s had a profound effect on the originators of cumbia; hence we offer the two fine examples from 1970s Colombia that follow. We round out the mix with a gaggle of contemporary artists from Chile, Mexico, USA, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, and Germany, bringing the psychedelic tropical vibe up to date while still retaining the trippy trappings of yesteryear.

After a strain of jungle releases, Myor Massiv enters 2017 with two slices of piano infused breakbeat hardcore.

On 'Love Flows' Coco Bryce blends the old with the new by fusing 92-style pitched vocals and piano chords with crisp sounding, stripped down production techniques in the best of post-noughties traditions.'Fools Gold' features a more throwback-heavy approach; gritty rave stabs, filtered gabber synths, a cut-up airhorn and pitched vocals of both the singing diva as well as the rapping tough-guy variant.

Earlier this year, Subwax Bcn made an important contribution to the electronic music community by having the timeless dub techno compilation Vibrant Forms II by Fluxion remastered and reissued. First released in the year 2000 on Chain Reaction, Earlier this year, Subwax Bcn made an important contribution to the electronic music community by having the timeless dub techno compilation Vibrant Forms II by Fluxion remastered and reissued. First released in the year 2000 on Chain Reaction, Vibrant Forms II is widely considered to be one of the greatest achievements in the genre. As it turned out, Vibrant Forms II became one of the last records to be released on Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald's classic label - a suitable swan song if there ever was one. And that's it, right

Well not quite.

If one would search for Fluxion - Vibrant Forms III, Discogs would come up empty and Google would treat it as a misspelling. Until now.
Konstantinos Soublis, aka Fluxion, and Subwax Bcn have decided to pick up the banner and release Vibrant Forms III as a CD as well as four individual 12" records under 2016. It contains everything you could hope for and more: The massive, booming basses, the clicks and hisses, the atmospheric thunderstorms, the opium smoke-scented streaks of reverb and dub echoes. The warmth. Yes, above all else the warmth: Sometimes moist and dripping as in Safe Harbour, sometimes blisteringly dry as in Variant. It's no easy task, giving cold, dead machines warm breaths. And no-one quite does it like Fluxion.

The Reissue of Vibrant Forms II was an act of cultural preservation. It reminded us about the legacy of the Basic Channel label family, in which Chain Reaction played an important part. Without this legacy, the contemporary body of electronic music would look different and make very different sounds. With the Release of Vibrant Forms III, Subwax Bcn takes it one step further. Fluxion's Vibrant Forms III album remind us of the timelessness of truly great music, never mind the genre.

The new Analog Solutions 018 , label owned by the Spanish producer Eduardo de la Calle, will be released in May.This time presenting a various artists, by Kristina and ORBE, that combine an ep with a personal character, full of floating arrangements and inherently techno flavor, but sophisticatedly Dub. It seems that the label Analog Solutions will take refuge next references on collaborations lauching a series of various artists so better to be alert .

Different artists will take the place like Japanese Takairo Oishi, already on catalog reference 015 from the spanish label, and also appear in the reference 019 coming soon.

On side A we have 2 tracks of ORBE, the first A1 titled "Modern Cicles it is certainly an exercise in resilience and compromised to the authentic,
where Fernando Sanz aka ORBE develops a track infinite and penetrating where arrangements certainly exemplify the finest and purist made in Spain techno.

The second ORBE track A2 , entitled "Beyond The Ubiquity" reflects the good moment that Madrid based producer ORBE is going on with , and drops certainly an epic ideal for closing sets track with melodic nuances and highly useful for high voltaje DJ,S .

The novel but solid Kristina opens side B1 with his tool "Hydragea", where again, based dub elements, manages to build a disciplined rhythmic atmosphere , at the same time delicate, and that will delight lovers techno more fluctuating.

In the side B2 kristina it attack with "Dicentra" .A extremely funk track with multiple hi hats variants, and where the first minute of listening past, one enters a deep cerebral hypnotism .Dicentra is without any doubt one of the highlights of the record, where Kristina synthesized based revers again and again succulent and repetitive sounds, which make the reference number 18 Analog Solutions certainly Essential to find a place in the case of any dj.

(en) French duo THE SILENT ONES aka Aalik and Fred Traverso have specialized in their own brand of indie-infused electronic pop, putting a modern spin on vintage cold wave and minimal synth influences. MAGICAL PARTY is a prime example for their distinct melange of swirling melodies and catchy songwriting, an iridescent piece of dreamy musical drama with lots of charm. Known as incurable romanticist, fellow countryman JONAS BERING was the obvious choice for a remix, finally returning to Kompakt after his 2008 release CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU (KOMPAKT 172) - his immersive rework successfully trims the vocals and transplants the original's delicacy into a deep, but buoyant mover geared up for the distinguished floor. Pushing for a trance-inducing throb, the BEN WATTS mix is a fitting companion cut, promoting a slightly bouncier approach and seasoning its propulsive beats with tension-building synths for that special whiff of epic broadness.
(de) Das französische Duo THE SILENT ONES alias Aalik und Fred Traverso hat sich auf eine eigene Variante von Indie-geprägtem, elektronischem Pop spezialisiert, eine zeitgemäße Übersetzung von klassischen Cold-Wave- und Minimal-Synth-Einflüssen. MAGICAL PARTY ist ein herausragendes Beispiel für ihre individuelle Melange aus wirbelnden Melodien und mitreissendem Songwriting, ein irisierendes Stück verträumtes musikalisches Drama mit viel Charme. Bekannt als unverbesserlicher Romantiker, ist ihr Landsmann JONAS BERING eine offensichtliche Wahl für einen Remix - eine langerwartete Rückkehr zu Kompakt nach seinem 2008er Release CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU (KOMPAKT 172). Seine einnehmende Neubearbeitung stutzt die Vocals zurecht und verpflanzt die Zartheit des Originals erfolgreich in einen deepen, aber lebhaften Schieber, bestens gerüstet für anspruchsvolle Tanzflure. Dank eines grossen Interesses an Trance-induzierendem Pulsschlag entpuppt sich der BEN WATTS Mix als ein äusserst passender Begleiter der eine eher federnde Gangart einschlägt und seine treibenden Beats mit spannungsgeladenen Synthies abschmeckt - für das gewisse Extra an epischer Breite.

Future Brown greifen auf Themen wie digitale Interkonnektivität, globale Reisen und eine vitale weltweite Künstlergemeinschaft als Inspiration zurück. Von regionalen US Rap-Varianten zum UK Grime, von Dancehall bis Reggaeton - Future Brown spinnen eine zutiefst durchdachte Ästhetik, die intuitive Verbindungen zwischen diesen eigentümlichen Sounds aufbaut, um dann den individuellen Kollaborateuren eine Stimme zu geben. Kollaborationen wie mit Shawnna, Kelela, Johnny May Cash oder Sicko Mob schlagen Brücken über musikalische Grenzen und Klüfte hinweg, während Future Brown zur selben Zeit den eigentlich geographischen Abstand zwischen den einzelnen Künstlern bewusst machen wollen.

This release blows the trio's instrumental palette wide open for a single continuous piece.
Begun as a one-off collaboration in 2009, the trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi has now become a solid working group, refining its craft through a series of annual concerts at Tokyo's legendary SuperDeluxe.  Much of their recorded work has focused on their intense, ritualistic take on the rock power trio of electric guitar, bass and drums, with last year's 'now while it's still warm let us pour in all the mystery' (BT09) containing a series of instant compositions of stunning power and concision that demonstrated how familiar and attuned to one another the three have become.

Presenting the entire first set of the trio's March 2013 concert at SuperDeluxe (the second set will follow on Black Truffle later this year), 'only   wanting to melt   beautifully away is it a lack   of contentment  that stirs affection   for those   things  said to be as of yet unseen', their fifth release,  blows the instrumental palette wide open for a single continuous piece focused on acoustic strings, synth, flute and percussion. Featuring one of Haino's most delicate and moving recorded vocal performances, the opening section of the record takes the form of a spare duet between O'Rourke's 12-string acoustic guitar and Haino's kantele (a Finnish variant of the dulcimer), behind which Ambarchi provides a hovering backdrop of wine glass tones. While on previous releases the listener has often sensed that Haino was firmly in the driver's seat, here O'Rourke takes centre stage with an acoustic guitar performance that takes the lyricism of John Abercrombie or Ralph Towner and refracts it through the free improvisation tradition of his mentors Derek Bailey and Henry Kaiser. The atmosphere of meditative, abstracted song is reminiscent of some of Haino's greatest recordings, such as the legendary 'Live In The First Year Of The Heisei' volumes recorded with Kan Mikami.

Ein wahrer Überraschungserfolg in unserem 2014er Release-Kalender, führte VERMONTs gleichnamiges Debüt-Album die Hörerschaft an eine überraschend andersartige Seite des musikalischen Schaffens der beiden Projektgründer MARCUS WORGULL und DANILO PLESSOW (aka Motor City Drum Ensemble) heran. Ein Langspieler voller abenteuerlustiger Jam-Sessions und schnittiger Synthie-Klanglandschaften, berief sich 'VERMONT' lieber auf kompositorische Neugierde und einen informellen, kollaborativen Geist als auf den laser-ähnlichen Fokus, welcher den Club-Produktionen der beiden Künstler zu eigen ist.

Mit VERMONT - THE PRINS THOMAS VERSIONS betritt nun ein weiterer, hochverehrter Held zeitgenössischer Tanzflure die Bühne: der norwegische Disco-Connaisseur und Bootleg-Experte PRINS THOMAS taucht mit drei brillianten Neubearbeitungen tief in die VERMONT'schen Klangwelten hinab und betont die rhythmischen Elemente der originalen Album-Tracks DYNAMIK, ELEKTRON und MACCHINA - ohne jedoch deren zurückgelehnten Grundgestus zu verraten. Er tut dies unter Zuhilfenahme von luftiger angelegten Varianten klassischer Tanzmusik-Stile - Techno, House, sogar eine Prise Dub Reggae - und lässt diese die Hauptbeinarbeit versehen. Das Ergebnis präsentiert sich dementsprechend so drängend wie nötig und so entspannt wie möglich.

2024 Repress

Hurray! PROFAN is back from the future to complicate things again. But let's have a look back in the past: in the mid-1990s, Wolfgang Voigt, under his innumerable aliases (M:I:5, Digital, Grungerman, Wasserman …), unsettled the minimal world and its straight grooves with his right-at-the-threshold-of-pain abstract techno. As a DJ, you sometimes even thought that the vinyl was scratched. "Distort the listening habits until they break up" has always been the leitmotiv of this exceptional artist from Cologne. In 2000 however, after having created another promising trademark: WASSERMANN - W.I.R. that - in spite of or because of its unconventional structure (abstract beat, German vocals) - ranked among the number one hits in any important club and DJ charts and which was even remixed by Sven Väth, Wolfgang Voigt decided to discontinue the label for a while. PROFAN produced two sublabels each devoted to the refinement of specific minimal variants: STUDIO 1 and FREILAND. FREILAND in particular was and still is one of Voigt's projects that manifests his artistic and deconstrucivist approach to the aesthetics of techno beats. FREILAND's concept is radical: the only reference to techno is the bass drum and a sound reduced to the utmost that is moving around it. No wonder that now, eight years after the last PROFAN release, Wolfgang Voigt is back under his alias FREILAND. With KLAVIERMUSIK (piano music), Voigt continues his way towards atonality and electronic art music. The straight bass drum still is the only pulsatile instrument and sometimes it is not even that. WOLFGANG VOIGT / FREILAND - KLAVIERMUSIK is radical, puristic, uncompromising, elegiac, difficult, defiant, true and absolutely necessary. The record, including artcover designed by Wolfgang Voigt is strictly limited.. Greed sucks.

Kaspi & Stride is a new project from Justin Tripp, best known as one half of the Georgia equation. Leanings has its origins in rigorous yet laid back studio sessions, dual personal practice sensibilities that seem to get at Tripp’s creative ethos as well as any descriptors might. The material here was born out of collaborative studio sessions with multi-instrumentalist Jimy Seitang (Conga Square/Stygian Stride) - the “Stride” of K&S. The music from these sessions has been reworked and recontextualized by Tripp to form the eight tracks found on the record. These compositions are heady and diverse, anchored by infectious drum patterns and intricate electronics, capably occupying a somewhat hard to define space between “club ready” and “home listening.”

“Vishing” throbs with a wide-eyed intensity, infused with the type of deceptively rudimentary synth stabs and bass swells that wouldn’t be out of place on an early Hype Williams record. With contributions from Mary Lattimore and Jon Leland, “Kaptoxa” charts a more ethereal, if no less dizzying, course. Indeed, this is an album that navigates dense, tactile passages and airy, celestial planes with aplomb, making a case for Tripp’s prowess as both composer and arranger with equal priority. The most important thing is to keep moving.