Leibniz takes no prisoners for his return to shtum. His new EP sees the Leipziger by choice in best form. Harsh but fair. ''Grind'' is a masterpiece in the matter of building up tension with only few but proper elements. Amen to that drumming and when the strings come in the dance floor is probably already burning. ''Foolish'' is no less effective with its ultimate kick drum action and the way the pads are manipulated. Romantic Leibniz. On the flipside you get the vibrant ''This Is'' in two versions. The ''Brecht Mix'' screams RAVE in capital letters with the bleepy synths and hard snare drum while the ''Scuff Mix'' trawls through dark and unearthy Techno territories. No-nonsense music. The artwork comes courtesy of DJ Shape and Carl-Johannes Schulze.
More

shtum strikes back with another fresh talent straight from Leipzig's basements. With only two releases so far, Leibniz' sound is already pretty forward thinking. On "shtum 004" he explores beats between dusty House, his Hip-Hop roots and off-the-grid drum patterns. The record starts with "YouAndMe" which showcases dirty percussion work and a cracking sample over an unstoppable piano melody. "Feli" is a House killer track through and through. And when that chord changes hands are up! Based on spooky synths "PukPukPuk" sounds like nasty Ambient with heavy beats. That tune surely cuts its own path on the dance floor. Finally, "Stumm" feels like one single Rave build-up. But with understatement it denies the climax. Once again, the illustration on the B-side label is by Aram Haydeyan.

More

Funk The System! The recipe is simple: Dig deep, listen to your heart, record everything you got on a dusty old desktop computer, leave it to simmer for the time of a pandemic, and if it's still fresh, serve it up on the finest plate of black wax! This collaboration started in Duesseldorf in the year 2018. Locked up for a week in the Flanger Studios, Wolf Muller and Credit 00 recorded everything: from the jaw harp to smartphone apps, chopping up GDR Jazz breaks and squeezing the Funk out of every synthesizer and drum machine at hand. You will hear the open mindedness towards all sorts of musical influences from the first note. Each of the five tracks showcases a wild mix of flavours: Disco Reggae, B-Girl Breakbeats, Protest Folk, Subway Funk, Tabla Rhythms, you name it... they'll take it and shake it! It is obvious these two got sonically socialized and educated by the multiculturalism of Hip-Hop in their early days. After the first Recording Session, the tracks fermented for some time until they were cracked open again. This time in Leipzig at Credit 00's Westend Workshop. That's also where Rizmi from Birmingham joined the team and lent her voice to the title track. She reinterpreted the lyrics of the obscure German 1980s Workers' Rock Song, that Wolf digged out for the Intro Skit of ,,Funk The System". A long time in the making, Rat Life is very happy to finally publish this EP! More

Humans have to drink! They went down to the pond to quench their thirst. Sipping from the cool wet while being on all fours, they saw the reflection of their own faces for the first time. This must have been the beginning of the ongoing struggle of mankind dealing with self-consciousness. Anna and Ole (Das A&O) also met at the water point and much like the myth of the first human couple "Adam and Eve" they ate too much poisoned apples but instead of getting obsessed with one's ego, they wrote some beautiful Synth Wave music together! Immortalized on a seven-inch piece of wax, the results are now available on Rat Life Records. More

For a couple of years, there has been a lot of data transfer between the thief and the rat. After the first bytes got exchanged, it was clear they speak the same code: Communication on the basis of rhythmic structure! After some interferences and transmission drop-outs, we can finally announce the transfer is complete and will materialize in form of a 12" vinyl record. Data Theft is a six piece strong selection of Rhythm Beat Master ship. It will be difficult to find more bang for the bug anywhere else. You can now own this magnum opus that is Rat Life Records 20th release! More

Rat Life Records is back with more music to accompany the end of the world. Here are six tracks by Roman citizen Alessio Di Mezza (also known as Religius Order) that make you feel like it's the Fall of Rome all over again. Excellent timing, considering the state of modern civilization on this planet right now. Luci Nere is the perfect soundtrack for your Apocalypse Afterparty! More

Transmission incoming from Mr. Incognito's secret lab. Rat Life presents eight psycho acoustic models made by the low key East German producer. You probably never heard of him, but he is doing this thing since half an eternity. Rather than playing a lot of shows he focuses on studying the craft of electronic sound manipulation and what else can be said that: he is on top of his game! He shows us that it is still possible to create sonic structures that are beyond the usual by just using classic devices such as the TR 808 rhythm composer and a TB 303 monophonic synthesizer. Next level funk composing at various tempi! More

From Conrad Schnitzler in the 1960s to the pioneers of Detroit techno in the 1980s, experimental sonic artists were often inspired by the metallic noises of industrial factories. Schnitzler wanted to recreate the sounds he heard in his apprenticeship as a locksmith with musical instruments, and the sons and daughters of the midwestern automobile-industry generation programmed the motown soul into Japanese electronic music equipment. With his new piece The Metal Beat EP, Credit 00 wants to get in line with this tradition of transforming factory sounds into music. Each of the three tracks reflects on the role of the human being in an industrial environment. The never-ending movement of the machine becomes the rhythm, while the melody embodies our forlorn voices in the vastness of the factory site. The blues played by machines--modern work songs for a post-industrial society! More

Rat Life Records presents Serial Error a Project by Credit 00, Jacob Korn & Sneaker. This outfit was brought to life in 2013 when Red D called for some New Beat style tracks for his "Our Beat Is Still New" Compilation. Flying a bit too low under the radar ever since Rat Life decided to reissue Drum Abuse on a Super Sound Maxi Single. The Track was made in Jacob Korn's headquarter studio / synthesizer museum. The task distribution was hit quickly: Jacob squeezing the acid out of his huge Formant modular system, Credit 00 beating the drums on the Boss DR 660 and Sneaker throwing his unique vocals on top! More

We got Cuthead on Rat Life Number 12. You probably know this guy. He is respected worldwide for his one of a kind House and Hip-Hop productions. Lately he said, he got a bit bored with all the soulful jazzy sampling, the groovy shuffles and the catchy hooklines. So, he decided to do something a little different for Rat Life Records. Well, thank you Sir! Happy to present these five variations of banging sounds! More

Little is known about Konstantin Tschechow, the first and last time we met was around the turn of the millennium in the small city of Koenigsbrueck in the far east of Germany. It was during one of my regular night strolls through the countryside, when I ran into him accidentally. He was standing there in the middle of nowhere leaning on the fence of a train yard where he was, as he said "recording silence". I found that very interesting and we got to talk to each other. After a long conversation about everybody and his dog we found out that we were both Grandsons of Afrika Bambaataa. We planned to hang out more often so we exchanged phone numbers and he gave me a CDR with some of his recordings before he disappeared. A couple of weeks later I called him up to ask if we could meet, but he told me that he had to leave the country because the local authorities found out that he illegally immigrated from Aldebaran. Before I could say "to hell with this fascist state!!!" the connection was interrupted. I tried to call again, but he must have dumped his phone to make sure nobody could track him down. That was the last time I ever heard from him. A few years ago, there were rumors of him being the sound man for reincarnated John Lennon on various tours around Galaxy Mt23, unfortunately I could never afford tickets to find out. One lucky day in 2015 I found the CDR that he gave me on our first and only meeting ever. I discovered 5 tracks and instructions to release them in the year 2016 during a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. You can now own these rare sonic documents pressed on 12" vinyl record. (If you read this Konstantin, get in touch!)

More

Mono Junk delivers four pieces of pure Finnish melancholia for Rat Life's 7th release. This guy is a true European techno originator and like no one he reflects the darkness of the long, cold and lonely winters of suomi in his music. While listening to these tracks you will find yourself wondering: are these voices coming from the speakers or are you listening to your own morbid thoughts? Perfect soundtrack for your winter depression. Can't understand what you say! More

Sneaker is going deep with his interpretation of Rai music on RAT 6. ''Rai is a type of Algerian popular music that arose in the 1920s in the Algerian city of Oran, back then known as ''little Paris'', it was a melting pot of various cultures, full of nightclubs and cabarets, it was the place to go for a bawdy good time. Out of this milieu arose a group of Male and Female Muslim singers, who rejected the refined, classical poetry of traditional Algerian music. Instead, to the accompaniment of pottery drums and end-blown flutes , they sang about the adversity of urban life in a raw, gritty, sometimes vulgar, and inevitably controversial language that appealed especially to the socially and economically disadvantaged.'' sounds like the definition of Rat Life! Put some drum machine patterns on top of it and here we go: long overdue Sneaker solo EP on Rat Life Records! More

Rat Life returns with The Pagan Rites on Catalog Number 4. Little is known about the band from Sweden, first Signals were received in 2010 when they submitted their track 03 to the IFM Demo Contest. In October last year Rat Life sent out a submarine to search the Swedish coast line for the small Hut where the duo records their songs (Apologies to the Swedish authorities at this point, who confused our research with a Russian military threat). All four tracks are packed with bittersweet melancholia, reflecting the neverending darkness of cold Scandinavian winter, still the midnight sun is always in sight on the horizon! Already recorded between 2008 - 2013, Rat Life Records is very happy to finally make this music available on vinyl. More

Three is the number, Basement Toolz the titel. Once again Rat Life Records is taking Mickey on a night out to the sewer. Here are two tracks made by Credit 00 with a borrowed TR 909 drum machine. Side A is called Korg the Groove, as the title already reveals, it's inspired by a classic Detroit Techno cut. Can you tell which one it is? On the Flip side you will find 909ish, one drum machine and one synthesizer, which is not much but all you need and more, plus there is extra noise on the clap to amplify your face slapping pleasure.

More