TRACKLIST
1.1 Soft Opening Machine
1.2 Liquid Sound Waves
1.3 Limitations
1.4 M And A
1.5 Gummi Twist & Crawl (Die Koffer sind leer)
1.6 Sunglasses
1.7 Orion Stars
1.8 Back From The Primitive Galaxy
1.9 Cheapo Sounds
1.10 Afterhour


Stefan Schwander hat bereits eine unglaubliche Fülle an Musik geschaffen und ist ein fester Bestandteil auf der berüchtigten Achse um den Düsseldorfer Salon Des Amateurs. Mit seinem Projekt Harmonious Thelonious erforscht er seit mittlerweile 12 Jahren die Welten von panafrikanischen, südamerikanischen und nahöstlichen Rhythmen in Kombination mit einem minimalistischen Electronic-Sound, aus deren Zusammenspiel er mittlerweile seinen ganz eigenen Groove destilliert hat. Für sein neues Album mit dem herausfordernden Titel "Cheapo Sounds" wendet sich Schwander von bereits erprobten Rezepten ab. Eine musikalische Neuausrichtung, die zunächst in der Veränderung der Produktionsweise selbst begründet liegt: So ist die gesamte Platte unter Verwendung nur eines Instruments entstanden, der Monomaschine, die den Klang der 10 Stücke mit ihren sehr physischen Sounds erheblich prägt. Es stehen nicht mehr polyrhythmische Tracks im Vordergrund des Geschehens, sondern das Verweben von mehreren Melodien und Akkorden über einem Grundgerüst von spröden, simplifizierten Beat-Konstrukten und schroffen Basspulsen. Bei genauem Besehen ist dies mitunter eine neue Vision einer alten Herangehensweise: Standen in Schwanders Proberaum zwar auch alte Verstärker, die primitive Rhythmusbox, die programmierbare Drummachine oder Synthesizer wie MS-20, kamen diese jedoch auf "Cheapo Sounds" nicht zum Einsatz. Allerdings ist die Idee, mit der dieses Instrumentarium assoziiert wird, eng mit der DNA dieses Albums verwoben. Als der New Wave den Punk und die letzten Rockismen abgelöst hatte, entstand jener spezielle, neue Geist, den Stefan Schwander in den neuen Stücken einfangen wollte. Eine WavePlatte mit dem Verständnis von Techno. Und tatsächlich ist es ihm gelungen, damit auch den Bogen zu der grundlegenden Idee des Projekts Harmonious Thelonious selbst zu schlagen: Eine Art von Dance-Musik, die wie eine gute Clubnacht nicht nur zu einer schablonenhaften Formel verkümmert oder GenreErwartungen bedient, sondern das Publikum herausfordert und in sich sowohl Jazz, Krautrock, Industrial, Punk, Dub und Disco verhandelt.

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We're delighted to kick off our 10th anniversary celebrations with a release from an artist we've long admired, Dusseldorf's Harmonious Thelonious. His explorations into minimalism and polyrhythms have been staples in our sets since we were first connected via the Salon des Amateurs, and we couldn't be happier to welcome him into the Highlife fold with one of his brightest sounding records yet - documenting his musical adventures in Uganda.A1. Versteckte Muziek, A2. George Villa ft. Leo Palayeng, B1. Company, B2. It Never Rains In Jinja ft. Ocen James

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The new tunes, condensations of the 2016 album: the waist-deep sway Blinky - the title may be read as a tribute to the artist Blinky Palermo - and the pumping Shark Dance. Walkmen set too loud, ghetto-blaster too quiet, crosstalks in the bazaar, sun-bleached fabrics shimming in the Mediterranean wind. Tolouse Low Trax's Rivera Remix drags on a hoarse scratch, relentlessly spurring on in the rhythm of approach, into the distance, a sand fortress, where a yearning horn is calling, promising comfort. Wolf Mueller's remix of RFS (Vol. 3) does not detour, and takes no prisoners. Breaking straight into the aluminum can factory and shreds what he can find. Love actually, of course. A four-fold rattling and clanking, overdriven speakers, the groove is dirty. Dancers rub against each other and on the walls. The disco machine is a human.
Tracklist:
A1. Shark Dance
A2. Rivera (Tolouse Low Trax RMX)
B3. Blinky
B4. RFS (Vol. 3) (Wolf Müller_RMX)

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Harmonious Thelonious's ethnomusicologic journeys to the African continent continues with a burning package of 3 rhythmic tracks inspired by American minimalist music and African rhythm patterns. A primordial soup of polyrhythms and dense harmonics hypnotise the body into movement, transporting the origins of dance music to neoteric audiences.

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The world is spinning, and so is HARMONIOUS THELONIOUS, the latest project by Stefan Schwander (aka Antonelli). The Düsseldorfer's 2010 album "Talking" conquered new rhythmic worlds with Afro-Industrial music fueled by dizzying sequencer patterns, garnering much praise for its global mixture of sound.

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In a time fixated with genres, Ved have kept defying definition for over a decade, their hypnotically repetitive music constantly crossing the borderlands of post?-punk, art rock, musique concrete and minimalism. So far, vocals have been sacrificed for the sampled voices of anyone from Uri Geller to Yngwie Malmsteen. However, on their fifth full-length album, If The Door Is Opened, It's Opened From The Outside, the group brings a new, literary dimension to their eclectic music by letting two of their four permanent members emerge as lyricists with wildly contrasting vocal styles - one confrontational, the other introspective - on ten songs all springing from collective improvisation. So, what are they singing about? Refrigerators, airports and excrements - or is it capitalism, transcendence and rebirth?

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The evolution of Andreas Tilliander's moniker TM404 has reached its third stage. The first TM404 album was a heavily self-restricted concept album, live recorded with classic Roland machines. The subsequent album had a more playful vibe, shaped by Tilliander's extensive live touring. This third TM404 album on Kontra-Musik simply tells the story of what he's been up to since. The third part of a musical diary, initiated in 2013. The TM404 venture might have started out as a dreamy acid dub project, more suited for the chill-out than the main floor. But by popular demand Tillander found himself touring big clubs around the globe and the TM404 sound adapted organically. As a result, the album features tracks like Vactro and Rymdeko: fast paced acidic techno tracks in the same vein as classic Plus 8 releases, but with more space echo. Much more. But never fear, fans of the classic warm and bubbling TM404 sound. You'll certainly get yours as well. A substantial portion of this album was recorded in a studio flat in Berlin as part of an artist residency. For obvious reasons, Tilliander could only bring a small portion of his studio gear to this German sanctuary. As a consequence, this album has a more stripped down vibe than its predecessors, which creates more space for Tilliander's glowing melodies. The last track on the album, a loving homage to Kontra-Musik's label boss, is a sublime example. And for the Instagram generation, here's the short version: The album is called Syra. That translates to Acid. You're welcome.

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Sebastian Mullaert has always been a seeker and an innovator, so naturally his long awaited debut solo album, "A Place Called o Inkonst" presents an unique artistic concept and a thoughtful exploration of the relationship between sound and space. For several weeks, Mullaert spent most of his time at Kontra-Musik's home base Inkonst, an old chocolate factory turned cultural hub in the busy urban area of Mollan, Malmo city. Working in solitude outside the venue's usual hours, he built his live rig in front of the PA, right in the middle of the dance floor. This figurative role reversal between a dancer and performer allowed him to fully immerse himself in a perspective as close as possible to that of the audience during the process of creation. Mullaert's recording studio lies deep within a beautiful forest in the south of Sweden, a setting which has increasingly made its mark on his music: lush, green and spacious. It's a lovely place that makes for equally lovely music, but contentment is art's worst enemy. The complete displacement during the recording process of this album has affected his music profoundly. Mullaert's usually wide horizon of green hills and tall beech wood is more condensed and focused here, taking the form of urban patterns of life. Shades of longing and melancholy run through the album and those hazy ambient parts are no longer modelled on morning mist, they are exuding from smoke machines. The album is an exploration of improvisation, an approach that has become far more than a method for Mullaert: For him this is a way of encountering the present. The tracks are expressions of chance; collisions and collaborations of sound waves caught in the moment by Mullaert, like snapshots of fleeting harmony. The thematics are always distinct but at the same time ever morphing, pulsating and breathing like living entities. As the music changes we accordingly change with it. New patterns of movement and thought emerge and we improvise to keep up. This is the concept of dancing in its purest form, but also of meditation. A place called o Inkonst is made for both. A place called o Inkonst is Sebastian Mullaert's hommage to improvisation - an approach that is central to his work as a musician, as well as his critically acclaimed Circle Of Live event series concept he launched last year. The here and now is always in a state of flux, so improvising is the only true way to experience the present.



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Andreas Tilliander released his first album as Mokira at the very turn of the Millennium on almighty Raster Noton. 11 years later, the latest Mokira album Time Axis Manipulation was issued on Ulf Erikssons Kontra-Musik and now it's time to pick up where we left off with 'Chill Out'. There's an air of happy retrospect and light solemnity surrounding the new album - enhanced by the fact that it marks Kontra-Musik's 50th release. With 'Chill Out', Mokira attempts to bring back the dreamlike state from those magical late nights of his youth spent in front of MTV's Chill Out Zone; to go back to his ambient roots using contemporary techniques and perspectives. The result? Well, imagine Lee Scratch Perry and KLF enjoying an episode of Stranger Things on a crappy vintage TV after being hard at work burying old tape recordings in Perry's tropical garden. Imagine them sitting together totally at peace in a big, cosy sofa while a heavy haze is building up in the room, pleasantly affecting the eerie images on the screen. We always knew Kontra-Musik's 50th release had to be something quite out of the ordinary. As expected, Mokira didn't disappoint us one bit. The vinyl LP is accompanied with a download code for a mixed version of the album, containing almost double the amount of tracks. The mixed version makes it easy for the Chill Out listener to just sit back and let go of reality for a while, just like Mokira did 25 years ago in front of his old TV.



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A long time ago, at a festival far, far away, the members of the legendary Borft trio Frak were just going to bed in their tent when something caught their attention. Now, this was well before Frak's rise to international fame - in fact, this moment was Swedish music history in the making, because what they heard was someone playing a Frak tune. That someone turned out to be Kontra-Musik's own Ulf Eriksson and once their paths had crossed, there was no turning back. Frak has since released five highly sought after records on Kontra-Musik and Kontra-Musik White Label. When it was time for a 10-year anniversary gathering in Ulf Eriksson's private garden, Frak of course turned up together with other Kontra artists like TM404 and Rivet. For those present - we few, we happy few - this turned out to be one of the most magical summer nights in living memory. The Swedish word for porch is altan, and so, to honour this wonderful experience of the whole Kontra-Musik family coming together, Frak decided to name their brand new album Altan Gathering. Another great friend of Kontra, Henrik Jonsson aka Porn Sword Tobacco, made the album cover and we wouldn't have it any other way. His aesthetic choice of tin foil is on point: Listening to Frak is a lot like biting into a fresh falafel wrap without first removing the aluminium foil holding the delicious mess together; it's mouth-wateringly warm and moist but at the same time intensely harsh and tough to chew. This might seem like a far fetched analogy but if you've ever went partying in Kontra-Musik's home town Malmo you'll know the feeling. And if you've never been to Malmo, well do stop by someday. It seems, when the stars align, the gatherings here can be the stuff both legends and albums are made of.

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Following the warm reception of The Dance 2xLP Album + live CD recording last year, Kontra-Musik now presents The Dance remixes The Dance Remixed 2 features an ever-growing remix by Efdemin - peak hour material without being boorish, just the way Kontra-Musik likes it. Wa Wu We and Voices From the Lake follow up with two tropical jungle expeditions: Wa Wu We's version of "Fusion" is feverishly humid and hot while Voices From the Lake takes the nocturnal route; brooding darkness, heavy rain and strange creatures of the night squirming away from the flashlight. Finally, Northern Electronics' own Ulwhednar (Abdulla Rashim & Varg) takes the listener to completely different latitudes with a hyperborean remix filled with chilling harmonies and gangrene-inflicted beats.

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What would it feel like to have your naked body slowly submerged in a pool of steaming acid? One would expect unbearable pain, of course - beyond the limits of our imagination - but with his Acid Ambient Vol. 1 on Kontra-Musik, Daniel Araya proves us wrong. The EMS Studio Engineer and producer adjusts the intricate PH levels of this corrosive bubblebath with infinity skilled hands, making the experience thoroughly pleasurable - on the verge of erotic even. Your skin melts away with a sweet sensation of laxity and your muscles and tendons dissolve sensually slow. At the end, nothing will remain below the surface but the pleasure center of your now diffused brain, pulsating with unrestrained satisfaction. So come on in, the acid is fine.

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Sebastian Mullaert and Kontra-Musik have been involved in a love affair for quite some time - an affair that even resulted in an offspring called The Dance that came out on Kontra-Musik last year. Sebastian Mullaert is of course first of all known as half of Minilogue, a duo so influential in the hypnotic field of Techno that Korg recently named a synthesizer after them. Lately, Sebastian has focused on his solo path under the Wa Wu We moniker, releasing stripped back and personal music on his own Wa Wu We label, the cryptic S.E.L.F label and now on Kontra-Musik. On the title track Travellers, Sebastian Mullaert uses a straight up techno formula that may surprise listeners who haven't followed his move into Wa Wu We territory. You almost get the impression Sebastian buried a recording destined for a rigid techno label in a deep forest back in the 90's and has now decided to uncover it again, finding that the track has matured under the black soil. The sharp edges are now covered in smooth moss and the soundscape is immensely deep and moist. But it's still a vibrant and very much effective track. Above all, it has loads of free space to let the listeners make up their own journeys as travellers into the world of sound created by Mullaert. We float, on the flip side, is a beautiful and meditative ambient piece. It's also the fastest way for the urban dweller to find him or herself floating in a serene lake surrounded by strong, green trees instead of floating in a sea of stress and anxiety. A set of headphones and this new release from Kontra-Musik and you're there.



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Joey Anderson, Markus Suckut & Wa Wu We remixes! The Dance Remixed 1 features an amazing Joey Anderson track that sounds like Vangelis on a jackin' acid trip, as well as a sinister Markus Suckut remix that brings his own no-nonsense techno label SCKT to mind, but still manages to retain the entrancing qualities of the original track. You'll also find two exquisitely stripped back versions from Wa Wu We, focusing on the bare necessities without losing an inch of the musicality and magnetism of the original tracks. the remixes part 2 features Efdemin, Voices From the Lake, Ulwhednar & Wa Wu We. Tip!!



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To celebrate Kontra-Musik Records hitting the ten-year mark, founder and label owner Ulf Eriksson has put together a collection of some of our finest releases.

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As an encore to the mesmerizing CCC: BB: BBB: JJ release on Kontra-Musik, Tyler Friedman brings out his version of what he thinks "DJ techno tools" are. This is music for the dancefloor alright, but it's a dancefloor from a strange and slightly uncanny dream. Tyler explores the sonic field between the chillingly precise and the vivaciously warped - the disciplined and the untamed. He thrives in that space, creating an eerie microcosmos of evolving harmonies and rhythms that seem to have lives of their own - like music coming out from a haunted clockwork. A suiting apparatus for a label unconcerned with the conventions of time.

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Tyler Friedman returns to Kontra-Musik with a series of immersive wax maelstroms, adorned with the mind-melting artwork of Rafaela Drazic. Every track on CCC: BB: BBB: JJ is a controlled experiment in lysergic dance music; an examination of how far you can warp the constitutive elements of techno without loosing it's essential spine. The result is four evolutionary techno suites full of movement and life that make your brain move just as vigorously as your body. As the personal work of a composer creating soundtracks for artist projects - most notably as a long-term collaborator of The Otolith Group, the filmmaker collective spearheaded by pioneering Afrofuturist theorist Kodwo Eshun - CCC: BB: BBB: JJ sums up everything Kontra-Musik is about: dancefloor celebrations challenging the boundaries of expectation and genre.

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The Dance is the result of a long lasting musical love affair between Kontra-Musik's Ulf Eriksson and Sebastian Mullaert (aka Minilogue). As most love affairs, it started off as an exciting experiment: Ulf would play records and Sebastian would bring out his music gear and play a live set. As they were touring with this live concept, their sounds started to really integrate, and after one especially fine night at Trouw, Amsterdam, Ulf and Sebastian decided it was time to conceive The Dance. Once the decision was taken, everything else came naturally. The Dance was to be recorded live, in one take, at Kontra-Musik's home field Inkonst, Malmo, Sweden.



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With this release, Villa Abo (Frak) departs from the home planet of Borft to create Friendship Over Different Systems together with Kontra-Musik. Via twisted machine funk and a grand space opera of analogue synths, Villa Abo will Askew The Eternity. The steady pounding of drums and hearts through the Galaxy makes you want to keep your 1970:s X-wing ready for battle Between Doomsday And Now, but In The End we'll all dance together under a starry sky filled with debris from exploding Death Stars.



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After an acclaimed album on Soma and two releases on Echocord Colour, it's time for Italian producer and sound designer Roberto Clementi to join the Kontra-Musik family. With that kind of discography, you'd expect dub and lot's of it, but this in not your average dub techno record. With the use of tape and field recordings and an array of analogue machinery Roberto Clementi has created what we would like to call an "All nighter". The steady thumps and growling dubs of the title track Diodes is the perfect welcome to a dark and smoky dance floor, and the sweeping synths and life sustaining open hihat of the last track, Into, is the perfect goodbye. Between the open and the close you have have the analogue grit and amplitude of The Optimist for peak time purposes, as well as a refreshingly dizzy-making breath of fresh air from 15 years. Afterwards, as you stumble out in the bright morning light, your head will still be echoing with Roberto Clementi's exqu isite craftsmanship. From early to late, from late to early - Diodes is a round the clock musical treatment from Kontra-Musik.



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Limited edition 7-inch vinyl containing previously unreleased versions of the track Brevet Hem, taken from their new album - 2.



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TM404 aka Andreas Tilliander drops his first EP, after the celebrated debut album from earlier this year. TM404 is a project where Andreas Tilliander embarks on a conceptual journey through classic Roland machinery. In February we saw the light of his first album under the moniker and it is probably one of the best albums this year. Since then Andreas has toured the world with his huge bag of Roland gear, finally landing a gig at Richie Hawtins Enter club concept at Ibiza. This is no wonder. On the A-side of the Svans EP you can clearly hear the connection to Richie and his Plastikman project. The track 303/303/303/606/606 is heavy, slow grooving techno that brings the listener back to the dark emptiness of the Plastikman Consumed era. On the b-side the TM404 project is allowed elevated to new levels. With a Yamaha SY-1 and a Yamaha TG33 entering the machine park, TM404 for the first time, breaks his Roland oath and opens up the project to a future of new po ssibilit ies. During the development of the Svans EP this track actually went under the working title "the summer hit". Take a listen to the fine bassline, airy production and the Selected Ambient Works-inspired harmonies and sounds and you will know why. Welcome to over 12 minutes of pure old school bliss. To be played really loud on a very good soundsystem.



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