Coming from a diverse background of equal amounts hip hop and rock, the producer behind the alias of nrl:ndr got into dance music late in his musical career. After playing in kraut-oriented bands like So Many Mammals, parts of that group reformed into the live techno outfit Tren Ne´, with the goal of fusing techno elements with live drums. Playing for illegal raves with a punk-like energy, nrl:ndr has cemented his relationship with his machines in service of the dance floor.

But his solo debut on blundar is quite far removed from that scene. To understand this music, one should be aware of the conditions under which it was manufactured. Reluctant to consider himself an artist in the traditional sense, nrl:ndr makes his music free of anticipation and without apparent goals. To glean into this outre´ musical space is like putting one's ear to the boarded up windows of the photograph that adorn the front sleeve.

The album makes extensive use of the Roland JV-2080, a sample-based synth rack from 1996 with a distinctly clean sound. Our producer dives deep into the expansion cards (labeled after genres like “Hip Hop” and “World”) for curious and sometimes cheesy samples. But he also forces the JV-2080 to do things which are not its forte, like the arduous task of programming decent kick drums.

Another technique that is testament to his experimental view on music making, is the idea of using sketches of unfinished tracks with different time signatures, and mash them together into something new - of which the results of one of these experiments can be heard on the closing track and its bilingual conversation between ambient and tribal.

Full of stunted rhythms and eerie melodies, the unclassifiable nature of the music of nrl:ndr lies somewhere in the vicinity of IDM, classical avant garde and private press synth. From the epic opening track - echoing the post-kraut drumming style of Michael Shrieve - to juggling with chopped up vocal samples and treading into almost trap-like territories on A4, he crosses into a multitude of genres without getting his hands too dirty with nostalgia.

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The duo of Kolorit are probably best known through their respective solo careers - Jens Kuhn under the guise of Lowtec and Gunnar Wendel as that of Kassem Mosse. That the two would have a duo together should come as no surprise, as Wendel has had numerous releases on Kuhn’s label Workshop through the years.

The Kolorit project took shape sometime in 2017 following a night in Bristol where they were both booked for live shows and - on a whim - decided to combine them on stage and see what happened. This laid back and playful attitude would later manifest into the Workshop-released debut album the following year. Crafting unclassifiable mutations of house and techno through live improvisations, the two could join the dots between experimental urges and a dancefloor potential into a vision of crisp drum machines and wobbly melodies.

Lowtec being no stranger to the blundar label (his untitled album of 2015 would be the label’s first,followed by a 12” and a cassette in 2020) it would seem fitting that the duo would continue their journey here with a 2-track 12” further exploring their work. Both tracks here are proper club tools, making this a more compact and focused release than its predecessor. Yet the improvised flavors are present: on the A-side propelled by a jazzy keyboard jam that explores the room like a dancer loosening up their joints. The B-side, while maintaining a crisp motorik beat, bubbles with flourishes of synthesized flutes - somehow both euphoric and unhinged in direction - pierced by the steadfast punctuation of a Brazilian cuica.

It is evident that Kolorit are playing with the color palette of deep house, yet taking things just a notch further with a dry European sense of humor. Exuding humidity and pulsing with heat, these jams utilize the inherent qualities of the right machines without the need for an abundance of filters - making for a stripped down yet fully fleshed out aural experience.

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Across these 7 untitled tracks (as is the modus of all blundar releases) the producer known as Unfinished Portraits crafts a coherent album experience that is equal parts empty space and density. Working in a seemingly collage-like fashion, the opening track juxtaposes rhythmic elements that just barely fit together; declaring upon entrance that all expectations from here on out are futile. Tension builds through a sparse palette of sounds both tactile and atmospheric. Dry, isolated clicks of digital clean trickling through a humming industrial space. Segments are abstract on their own, but stitched together still form an elegant whole. Just when you think you’re getting lost into avant experimentation, something cuts in to surprising effect. It feels “live” in a way only improvised music can.

And there is a conceptual sense of humor in letting the seams of the process lay bare. A string section builds only to be cut short upon completion. A field recording is audibly (i.e. intentionally) looped. The listener is made aware of the illusion and manipulations that ‘music’ creates in the same way Martin Margiela handled ‘fashion’ - with a postmodern kind of wit.

Hailing from Cairo but residing in Argentina, Unfinished Portraits could easily exude upon a dual exoticism in nationalities and climates. This is however not on the agenda, as for where this artist truly resides, is in the hypertextual realm of late capitalism. Identity loss, internet culture, the aesthetic of sadness and the Warp Records catalogue all come into play.

No matter what city, the urban landscape is always concrete and glass. And as the sleeve photo suggests - a picture of a former park turned to rubble in the process of housing developments - all cities are essentially unfinished.

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STL machine groove strikes back “blundar” imprint: 180g 12” EP, dub and house rooted cuts, and the expected locked surprise.

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A sacred grove is a place in a forest thought to hold spiritual powers. Throughout history, these sites have been places of worship and ritual. Since the rave boom of 89’ - a new generation has found an alliance with nature steeped in hedonistic abandonment. So it is a befitting alias for the Malmö-based producer Teodor to use in order to serve us these spiritual excursions into ‘open air’ territory. While he has previously donned this mantle to provide atmospheric lo-fi techno on the Japanese label City-2 St. Giga (then as a duo with his friend DJ Natto) - here he hits closer to the deep house palette of his 2017 album ‘Neo Geo’ under the alias Fyodor The DJ.

For the 8th instalment on blundar, the artist has worked closely with the label in picking out the right tracks from his vast archives. While the tempo sometimes staggers well towards BPM levels of hardcore techno, the touch remains gentle and soft. This genre-defying characteristic owes a lot to video game music, and especially Japanese games, where Teo finds a lot of his inspiration.

The first track bathes us in tropical field recordings before tripping off into a relentless tribal groove - countered by meandering new age flutes. A2 is a fluid and complex piece, vibrating with a warm tenderness all the while maintaining a minimal progressive path. A3 deals in crunchy breakbeats and layers upon layers.

On the second side, B1 builds through a hazy fog of tape hiss, pierced by the bouncing thud of sped-up bongos and an arpeggio that escalate it all into transcendental euphoria. B2 goes ‘off the grid’ for a heady trek of slippery beats that spill out into small flecks of breaks, all the while gleaming through the doorway to a sombre ambient jazz score. Closing off this 12” is a chilling high-speed chase through a neon-flashing night, propelled by a numbingly hard hitting drum machine sequence.

The artwork for BLUNDAR8 is as always photographed by mutantexture. The photos - which were taken during a hot summer by the Western Harbour of Malmö - were picked out by Teo as this is a place of great significance for him. A place for the daydreams of sun-dazed ravers

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Repress!
After Lowtec, Alex Cortex, STL and iridescence; Swedish label ‘blundar' presents Benjamin Brunn 11th solo album, 20 years after his debut.
BLUNDAR7 comes as a 10 tracks / 38 minutes long-player, coloured cover on a 180g black vinyl. Artwork by ‘mutantexture’

Brunn wrote and produced all tracks between 2017 and 2018; In contrast to most releases that were limited to one or two synthesisers, this time a whole array of instruments was used: tELHARMONIC, Music Thing Modular Chord Organ, Doepfer A-111-3V Precision VCO, 4ms STS, Yamaha DX7, Clavia Nord Modular G1 & G2. The long-player comes after a collaborative album with Dave Wheels out on Sushitech early this year, and will be followed by one together with Move D, via Smallville in 2020.

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German techno champ Alex Cortex hasn't released an album since 2011's Kihon on Pomelo, but the prolific and long-serving artist is rarely resting on his laurels. Having released just one other EP from Lowtec, Blundar now presents a new untitled LP from Cortex that should satisfy fans of his leftfield approach to techno in all its forms. "Track 2" is a masterclass in how to work breakbeats into techno without sounding forced or false, while "Track 4" blooms from delicate ambience to snagging broken beat with the grace you can only find with such a seasoned vet. Spanning many moods, tempos and rhythms, this is a perfect demonstration of the many engrossing approaches Cortex can attempt and succeed at within the many-sided realm of techno.

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STL's dream-state modulations, arhythmic takes and that machine groove signature strikes #mutantexture imaged blundar third release.


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Recorded at Wania#1 and Neues Deutschland studios. DJ Sotofett ( Wania, Sex Tag Mania) on Side I, and SVN ( Sued, Acido) on Side II, revised BLUNDAR2 and BLUNDAR5 respectively. 12” 180g 45 RPM, 500 copies.

TRACKS
UNTITLED (DJ Sotofett's Subcortex Mix)

UNTITLED (DJ Sotofett & E-GZR's Subcortex Mix)

UNTITLED ( SVN’s Total Tape Mix) Clip 1

UNTITLED ( SVN’s Total Tape Mix) Clip 2


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Workshop's Lowtec with a stunner for blundar! 12” 180g 33? RPM 300 hand numbered copies.

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After 19 years in the game, techno veteran Jens "Lowtec" Kuhn is still going strong. While he's recently been in a nostalgic mood - as reissues of early material prove - Kuhn is still capable of producing fresh, high quality material. There's much to enjoy about this first EP for new Malmo label Blundar, from the loud tape hiss, spooky melodies and weirdo ambient dub intent of "Track 2", to the moody, early Autechre throb of Skam-ish closer "Track 4". Dancefloor-minded thrills come in the shape of hypnotic opener "Track 1" - all unsettling, one-note chords, restless rhythms and distant electronics - and the hard-to-pigeonhole madness of the schizophrenic "Track 3".



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