Genre: Electronica / Ambient / Techno

Tracklist Vinyl:

A1 Fred Mann - Cometh
A2 Fred Mann - Gate
A3 Fred Mann - Remains

B1 Fred Mann - The Plains
B2 Fred Mann - Abundance
B3 Fred Mann - Fuming

C1 Fred Mann - What A Pity
C2 Fred Mann - Horizon
C3 Fred Mann - Ease

D1 Fred Mann - Welcoming The Familiar Dream
D2 Fred Mann - Zenith
D3 Fred Mann - Entropics



Full Info:

'In Thy Domain' is a concept album and audio-visual work by British artist Fred Mann. The 12-track, double-vinyl album is a cinematic voyage tracking the evolution of mankind, key themes of human advancement, technology, life after AI, and beyond.

The album traverses multiple genres - including ambient, electronica, broken-beat techno, and experimental drone - to create an immersive musical experience that mirrors the dynamism of human evolution.

The work aligns with the latest scientific knowledge, drawing inspiration from the tipping points of human civilization and the defining timelines that have shaped our species. The music is complemented by a series of artworks and scrapbook images, visible in the vinyl gatefold, which symbolize each track and its corresponding era.

Many of the tracks feature additional production, synthesizers, flute and clarinet by Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear / Warp), and additional production and drum programming by Inland (Ed Davenport / Counterchange).

Fred Mann premiered ‘In Thy Domain’ live in Prague, October 2019, alongside Alessandro Cortini for Dietl Archive x Polygon.

The album version comes presented on heavyweight double vinyl in a gatefold sleeve designed by the artist himself.




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Genre: Techno / Electronica

Tracklist Vinyl:

A1 Magna Pia - Epilogue
A2 Magna Pia - Qizil
B1 Magna Pia - Venus M
B2 Magna Pia - X

C1 Magna Pia - Gudanna
C2 Magna Pia - Astarte
D1 Magna Pia - Qut
D2 Magna Pia - Epilogue

Full Info:

Magna Pia, a.k.a seasoned producer, DJ, and composer Hüseyin Evirgen, announces his second full-length album, ‘QUT’, arriving on Inland’s Counterchange label in March on double vinyl.

After 2 steamrolling EPs of club tracks on the label - now entering its tenth year of action - Magna Pia presents his most complete and advanced body of work to date, weaving a dense narrative of drone, figurative synthesis, bass-heavy electronica, and abstract techno.

Over eight tracks each referencing his rich cultural and musical background, we are treated to a unique overview of a producer at the crest of his art. The word ‘Qut’ is an ancient positive affirmation, in one short word encompassing all that is sacred, pure and good. The Old Turkic term meaning not only ‘good fortune’ and ‘joy’, but in shamanic circles, the ‘wonder of the heavens’, permeates the roots of Evirgen’s multi-heritage history.

That Evirgen expresses his interpretation of this central theme through the marriage of bewitching melodies with atonal, experimental and rumbling electronics is a conscious comment on the distortions and mutations of our Modern Era. We now exist in the digital age of the Technosphere for better or worse, and must seek beauty wherever possible.

The opening ‘Prologue’ invites the listener into a futuristic yet organic sound world, where lush stereo processing goes hand in hand with rumbling bass and subtly detuned drone languages. From the echoes of traditional Uyghur folk music, translated via synthesizers into a glistening slow-diving opus (‘Qizil’), to churning dub-techno adorned with a symphony of evolving sine-waves (‘Venus M’), Evirgen then deploys ‘X’ - a haunting experimental piece composed predominantly with his voice and electronic processing.

The interweaving synth lines of ‘Gudanna’ pierce the fog with a radiant and transcendent club-techno bounce before the ode to the ancient Bronze Age goddess ‘Astarte’ unfolds its snare-driven broken-beat formations. The title track ‘Qut’ embodies by far the heaviest club track of the album, in a deadly, stripped-back moment of future-techno hypnotism. Dancing flames of purple-tongued synthesis are held (just) in line by a wonderfully tough throb of drums.

With his ‘Epilogue’, Magna Pia allows the spectral ideas and concepts laid out across the LP to connect and travel full circle, confirming our suspicions that this could be one of the most coherent and exciting works to emerge in the brave new field of introspective, and sensitive techno-electronic language.


Written & Produced by Magna Pia, Berlin, 2022
Mastered by Inland
P & C Counterchange 2023
COUNTER034

DJ Feedback

Efdemin:
Fantastic music! I like it a lot. Warm, but driving, micro-tonal and yearning.

Rodhad:
Nice. I really like the sound design… Great stuff. Congrats.

Svreca:
This LP is outstanding. I enjoyed the whole thing, loving each track from the electroacoustics to the experimental techno. Full support.

Laurent Garnier:
GREAT release. Full support.

Dimi Angelis:
Great album! So many good stuff inhere. I hear Boards of Canada vibes all over, which is a good thing! :)

Marcel Fengler:
Will be played! Thanks

Headless Horseman:
This release is beautiful from start to finish. Thank you for sharing!

Claudio PRC:
Amazing work, complete and engaging, full support!




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Genre: Techno

Tracklist Vinyl:

A1 Inland - Hallen
A2 Inland - Spair
B1 Inland - Namsan
B2 Inland - Tower Hamlets

Short Info:

4 new undeniable club burners from Counterchange label head Inland.

Full Info:

Inland’s seventh solo release on his home label is the latest in a decade-long legacy of enduring productions under the Inland alias. All tracks operate at 138 bpm, exploring biting synth lines, psychedelic overtones, tribal techno attitude, and mechanical rhythm programming.




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Genre: Techno / House / Ambient

Vinyl tracklist:

A1 Efdemin - Mono
A2 Efdemin - Subconscious Dub
B1 Efdemin - Sequence 100 (Johanna Knutsson Remix)
B2 Efdemin - Sequence 100 (DJ Skull Remix)

Short Info:

2 new organic, runaway tracks by one Berlin’s most understated and influential techno artists - Efdemin - including remixes by DJ Skull and Johanna Knutsson.


Full Info:

Counterchange celebrates its 25th release with a special 12’’ by much loved Berlin techno-sound-artist and Berghain resident Efdemin aka Phillip Sollmann, featuring two brand new productions, plus remixes of ‘Sequence 100’ (taken from Stream State, COUNTER014), by DJ Skull and Johanna Knutsson.

‘Mono’ steers an organic, runaway synth line (courtesy of the classic Korg Monopoly), along a sleek, 136 bpm set of modernist rails. In contrast, ‘Subconscious Dub’ bows to a dusty lo-fi house alter, while bouncing to a funky, techno-centric and contemporary pulse.

Chicago’s DJ Skull is a revered member of techno and house history who continues to provide slinky bangers that joyfully evade pigeon-holing. Skull’s mix of ‘Sequence 100’ reshapes the cascading polyrhythms into an effervescent, summery deep-house stomper.

In beguiling contrast, Malmö-based Johanna Knutsson channels sensitive storytelling and blissful tonal formations, ushering Efdemin’s original through a verdant forest of post-club ambience and subtle harmonics.




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Genre: Techno

Vinyl tracklist:
A1 Integer 1
A2 Antennae
B1 Eratosthene (feat. Inland)
B2 Alexia

Short Info:

Second EP from Frankfurt-based Macedonian producer Stefan Alexis, featuring a collaboration with label founder Inland aka Ed Davenport.


Full Info:

Following his debut on the label in 2019 - ‘Mind Dweller’ (COUNTER013) - Frankfurt’s Stefan Alexis is back with his next chapter of four atypical, undulating club tracks.

The EP features ‘Eratosthene’, a shimmering up-tempo weapon in collaboration with label founder Inland, alongside three other diverse cuts highlighting some of the Macedonian psychotherapist’s favourite modes of play: filter-funk, acid, broken-beats, sampling.

This release comes on 180g 12’’ vinyl and digital, featuring artwork by Berlin-based Norweigan painter Tyra Tingleff.




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Genre: Electronic / Soundtrack (O.S.T)

Vinyl tracklist:

A1 Ritual Bells
A2 The Island
A3 Fust’s Song
A4 Erotica
A5 Purification
A6 A Glimpse of the Other Side

B1 Fust’s Song (Shackleton’s Orignal Version)
B2 Athens
B3 Small Doses
B4 Holy Soap
B5 Irinia Takes Over
B6 Gatoula Mou Mikri (feat. Maroulita del Kol)

Short Info:

The original Soundtrack to Greek-German director Nikias Chrssos’ new feature, ‘A Pure Place’, scored by John Gürtler (Eigenlicht, COUNTER019), with his studio partner Jan Miserre, and featuring a track by chameleonic British artist Shackleton.


Full Info:

The script for A Pure Place had a dizzying effect on John Gürtler & Jan Miserre; their minds reeling with the possibilities.

From Persian sheep bells, Chinese sheng, prepared trombone, quarter-tone piano, a beaten-up cembalo, hand percussion, and a room full of synthesizers, embryonic compositions and experiments came to life early on in the project.

An electro-acoustic extravaganza, the soundtrack for A Pure Place takes a deep bow towards the many magnificent composers and scores from the late 60s and 70s where orchestral arrangements met with tape loops, psychedelia, and instruments from across the globe. Listening to that era of film music, anything seems possible.

The minimalist tones of ‘Ritual Bells’ set the dial to weird in the opening sequence of the movie, whilst ‘The Island’ makes use of ambient vocals recorded through an oil drum, gently introducing one of the score’s main themes with a distant quarter-tone cembalo.

Acclaimed British artist Shackleton’s eerie original version of ‘Fust’s Song’ (also included) was a tonal keystone for the entire soundtrack. Gürtler and Miserre translated his psychedelic electronic blueprint, layering acoustic instruments and bottom-heavy percussion in their ‘Paradox Paradise’ production style. The vocals, written by Chryssos, and sung by the cast on set, capture the sonics of the actual crypt-like space where cult leader Fust addresses with his following.

‘A Glimpse of the Other Side’ speaks of love and death in a 70s-indebted composition reflecting John and Jan’s shared love for melancholic and suspenseful chord progressions. Meanwhile, the sparkling synths of ‘Athens’ - the children discovering neon-lit civilisation after years confined on the island - transplant us to an entirely different era.

Greek artist Maroulita del Kol features heavily throughout - her choir of vocals on ‘Erotica’ were recorded late at night in the studio foyer, capturing its unique tiled reflections and concrete reverb.

On ‘Purification’ Maroulita’s voice guides us alongside a Moog bass drone, building to an ecstatic climax, whilst she also features in the film’s disco-centric ending credits on ‘Gatoula Mou Mikri’.

//

Written & Produced by John Gürtler, Jan Miserre & Shackleton 2020-21
Mastered by Wolfgang Loos at Traumton
A film by Nikias Chrysoss
Artwork by Ed Davenport
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Vinyl Only
Tracklist Vinyl:

A1. Emulation feat. Vera Brothers
A2. MC Loops
B1. 91.6
B2. M_File


Short Info:

Sampler for the debut LP from Paraguayan producer P. Lopez, ‘Asunción,’ featuring the triumphant, ‘Emulation feat. Vera Brothers.’ Up-tempo brain bouncing techno, power-house, washes of electronic-soul, and Latin American tribalism.



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Counterchange presents ‘Eigenlicht’ by Portuguese-German multi-instrumentalist, producer and award-winning film composer John Gürtler. Gently teetering between krautrock-influenced synth mantras and saxophone improvisations, down-tempo electronica, sound design experiments and moments of rich ambience, ‘Eigenlicht’ is a diverse album of electro-acoustic music. The 11 tracks were recorded between two studios and on location at Berlin’s infamous Teufelsberg, the abandoned Cold War era US spy-radio and radar outpost named ‘Field Station Berlin’, surrounded by forest to the west of the city.


Genre: Electronic / Ambient / Electro-acoustic / Experimental

Tracklist 12":

A1. Eigenlicht 05:06
A2. Scattered Souls 02:07
A3. Russia Falling 04:08
A4. Suchend 03:41
A5. Old Devil's Hill 03:07

B1. M5 05:51
B2. Xephaed 02:46
B3. Synthetics 03:36
B4. Enter / Sleem 00:50
B5. Drontheimer Straße 03:13
B6. Five Voice 02:46



Short Info:

Counterchange presents 'Eigenlicht' by Portuguese-German multi-instrumentalist, producer and award-winning film composer John Gürtler.

Gently teetering between krautrock-influenced synth mantras and saxophone improvisations, down-tempo electronica, sound design experiments and moments of rich ambience, 'Eigenlicht' is a diverse album of electro-acoustic music. The 11 tracks were recorded between two studios and on location at Berlin's infamous Teufelsberg, the abandoned Cold War era US spy-radio and radar outpost named 'Field Station Berlin', surrounded by forest to the west of the city.

A document of Gürtler's development, many of the pieces here were first laid down in his bunker-like former basement studios at Drontheimer Straße in north Berlin, before he eventually elevated above ground - both physically and musically - building his current Paradox Paradise studio and becoming an established film music composer. In 2019 John won the European Film Academy Award for Best Score, for his soundtrack for Nora Fingscheidt's debut feature 'Systemsprenger' (System Crasher).

In recent years John collaborated on a number of projects with acclaimed German producer and composer Phillip Sollmann aka Efdemin, performing live and releasing the 'Gegen Die Zeit' EP on Sky Walking, a subsidiary of Dial records where he also remixed Efdemin's 'Parallaxis' under the moniker The Borderland State.

In part an ode to the Macbeth Systems M5 modular synthesizer, with its three oscillators, much of the album features the towering instrument, whose uniquely rich tone and rumbling, pure bass end characterises tracks like 'Eigenlicht', 'M5', 'Synthetics' and 'Five Voice'.

"The M5's built in spring reverb and huge sliders and faders - as opposed to all the tiny knobs on Eurorack synths - make it as playable as any acoustic instrument."

John's primary background is in acoustic music, coming from woodwind and keyboard instruments, improvisation and composition. The leap into working with computers and electronic instruments found him exploring ways to make synths and samplers sound as organic as possible.

One of the first analog synths John bought was a polyphonic soviet-built Electronics EM-25 (??????????? ??-25) that he had shipped from Uzbekistan. It was cheap, but built like a tank and sounded like something between an organ and a Roland Juno synth. You can hear it on 'Russia Falling' - just like the title, the softly detuned chords descend as the track builds to its howling peak.

Part of John's ongoing search took him to amplifying synthesisers in unusual spaces, from the vast basement corridors outside his old Drontheimer Straße studio to the 12 second-long reverb spaces of the Teufelsberg Station. The track 'Old Devil's Hill' is a spontaneous composition played on saxophone, recorded in the middle of Field Station Berlin's highest dome.

"I was driving up there regularly with a friend, dragging instruments and battery powered amplifiers up the hill, through holes in the fence and all the way up a tiny staircase to the highest point above Berlin, just to get that amazing sound. It's such a strange reverb because it tunes every single note into near perfect pitch."

Through connecting different kinds of old and new wind controllers, John was able to play synthesizers with a controller similar to a saxophone or clarinet, that would recognise lip pressure and intensity of breath. You can hear the M5 brought to life on 'Eigenlicht', a tribute to the synth's Scottish creator Ken Macbeth, as John plays it with a breath controller, layering intertwining patterns before opening up into a joyous solo.

"The faders on the M5 are so wide that I'd stick a tape beneath them and draw lines for certain notes, creating scales I could play with without using a keyboard, like on the track 'M5'. I had brought a lot of old leaves, branches and plant seeds into the studio to create an earthy drone bed for the track. It also features a Santur which my parents brought back from Tehran as they fled back to Europe on account of the revolution in '79." Most of the tracks feature improvised performance elements, often allowing a certain 'first take' magic.

For a period John had an original Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 at the studio. 'Suchend' is a first take, one take recording.

"I love the way there's this rhythmic warbling coming from the synth, it almost sounds like an old record. I used to pass up this kind of track for being unspectacular, but looking back it's the spontaneous and simple ones that (still) stand out to me…"





Vital Sales Points:


- Award-winning film composer (Systemsprenger / System Crasher) and regular Phillip Sollmann / Efdemin collaborator John Gürtler presents his most accomplished work yet, in an 11 track long-player, 'Eigenlicht'.

- Partly recorded on location at Berlin's Teufelsberg - the infamous former Cold War US 'listening station' - Field Station Berlin.
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