1
Memotone - Measure for Measure
2
Memotone - Moving Shadows
3
Memotone - Niigghht
4
Memotone - DroneX-7 (Extended Mix)
5
Memotone - Blackcap Crossing
6
Memotone - New Peace
Bristol multi-instrumentalist and producer William Yates combines electronic jazz, bass, beats, loops and samples in the masterly ethereal and hypnotic way.
More
More records from Memotone
1
Memotone - Catherine, On Fire
2
Memotone - Circle of Ants
3
Memotone - Following
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Memotone - Practical Joke
5
Memotone - The Bus
6
Memotone - When the Bakery Has What You Want, and it's Cheap
7
Memotone - Too Much Syrup
8
Memotone - Trees Bullied by the Wind
9
Memotone - Fever of the World
Following releases on Sähkö Recordings and The Trilogy Tapes, "Fever of the World" is the Soda Gong debut by Memotone, the nom de plume of UK-based multi-instrumentalist Will Yates. As a collection, it is both intimate and expansive, like the feeling of gathering one's thoughts before setting off on a long journey or committing to an irrevocable course of action. Throughout, Yates' talents as both player and sound designer are on full display, as are the sonic signatures that have come to characterize the Memotone catalog: low-lit, ECM-inflected noir; evasive and evolving loop-based accretions; and mellifluous mosaics of keys, guitar, reeds, and percussion. It is patient and focused music, built around production techniques and compositional ideas that have been perfected both in studio and in live performance over a period of several years. "Catherine, On Fire" sets the scene, one of two languid, longform selections, and develops slowly from a spare, harmonic-laden guitar loop into a bed of rippling textural ambience and woozy clarinet filigree. Later, "The Bus" and "When the Bakery Has What You Want and It's Cheap" conjure images of rain-streaked windows, fanciful baked confections, and grey skies broken finally by sunlight. Warm, generous, and comfortable in its own skin, this is music that reminds us that when it feels easy to resign ourselves to world weariness, we should pause for a moment and listen to the rustle of the leaves. The wind knows not to linger.
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1
Memotone - Paradise Drips
2
Memotone - Open World
3
Memotone - Forest Zone
4
Memotone - Glow In The Dark
5
Memotone - Carved By The Moon
6
Memotone - Canteen Sandwich
7
Memotone - Lonehead
8
Memotone - Walking Backwards
Bristol multi-instrumentalist, producer and nature freak Will Yates offers a new record from his Memotone alias, an expansive, hypothetical revue titled How Was Your Life?
Launching from terrains recognizable to fans of Will’s extensive, restless discography, How Was Your Life? packs up his penchant for baroque druid folk, homespun electronics and weightless woodwinds and explodes them into glistening, fractal star dust.
Instigated by the purchase of an antiquated Y2K era guitar synthesizer, the record was produced over the first half of 2022, in a large part a result of in-studio improvisation and carved by equipment that offered both possibilities and parameters that Will relished and explored to the nth degree. The Roland GR33 not only provided sublime guitar sounds but also empowered the guitar to convincingly mimic fretless bass, tabla and a vast percussive array, also summoning an artillery of uniquely outre atmospheres over the course of the record. The resulting concoction sounds familiar yet subtly, unshakeably otherworldly, shaping up as perhaps the most honed, energized and beatific Memotone album to date.
Paradise Drips gently lifts off with wobbly guitar, randomized sequences and unidentifiable percussive elements situating us somewhere in an unearthly realm, before Open World zaps the serotonin receptors and gushes with ecstatic warmth, it’s quietly insistent soft disco shuffle and levitational fretless driving towards a totally blissed and very soft “drop”. Forest Zone sees Memotone deep in the green, with a loose, propulsive groove and dancing flutes stumbling into a medieval ritual in the clearing halfway through, and Glow In The Dark deftly bounces between spacey ambience and an undulating no wave vamp. Carved By The Moon is a delightfully melted classical cut, while Canteen Sandwich offers the record’s most explicitly nod to modernity in the form of a nimble drum workout with samurai synths and melodic percussion that heaves towards a genuine peak. Lonehead immediately backs right off, viscerally melancholic clarinet and bubbling fx making for the records most hefty introspective moment, before Walking Backwards simmers all the way down on an wistful arpeggio, rooting back in earthly reality with charmed rhythms and jazzy tunings. Catharsis complete, Memotone is onto the next incarnation.
Will Yates has been making music as Memotone since 2010, releasing music on labels like Black Acre, Disktopia and Accidental Meetings, also releasing music as O.G. Jigg and Half Nelson. He’s worked as a producer, session musician and live performer on a broad spectrum of projects, and recently provided source sounds that made up Batu’s “Opal” on Timedance.
How Was Your Life? was written, produced and mixed by Will Yates. It was mastered by Chris Wang. Art and design by Hugo Bernier. More
Launching from terrains recognizable to fans of Will’s extensive, restless discography, How Was Your Life? packs up his penchant for baroque druid folk, homespun electronics and weightless woodwinds and explodes them into glistening, fractal star dust.
Instigated by the purchase of an antiquated Y2K era guitar synthesizer, the record was produced over the first half of 2022, in a large part a result of in-studio improvisation and carved by equipment that offered both possibilities and parameters that Will relished and explored to the nth degree. The Roland GR33 not only provided sublime guitar sounds but also empowered the guitar to convincingly mimic fretless bass, tabla and a vast percussive array, also summoning an artillery of uniquely outre atmospheres over the course of the record. The resulting concoction sounds familiar yet subtly, unshakeably otherworldly, shaping up as perhaps the most honed, energized and beatific Memotone album to date.
Paradise Drips gently lifts off with wobbly guitar, randomized sequences and unidentifiable percussive elements situating us somewhere in an unearthly realm, before Open World zaps the serotonin receptors and gushes with ecstatic warmth, it’s quietly insistent soft disco shuffle and levitational fretless driving towards a totally blissed and very soft “drop”. Forest Zone sees Memotone deep in the green, with a loose, propulsive groove and dancing flutes stumbling into a medieval ritual in the clearing halfway through, and Glow In The Dark deftly bounces between spacey ambience and an undulating no wave vamp. Carved By The Moon is a delightfully melted classical cut, while Canteen Sandwich offers the record’s most explicitly nod to modernity in the form of a nimble drum workout with samurai synths and melodic percussion that heaves towards a genuine peak. Lonehead immediately backs right off, viscerally melancholic clarinet and bubbling fx making for the records most hefty introspective moment, before Walking Backwards simmers all the way down on an wistful arpeggio, rooting back in earthly reality with charmed rhythms and jazzy tunings. Catharsis complete, Memotone is onto the next incarnation.
Will Yates has been making music as Memotone since 2010, releasing music on labels like Black Acre, Disktopia and Accidental Meetings, also releasing music as O.G. Jigg and Half Nelson. He’s worked as a producer, session musician and live performer on a broad spectrum of projects, and recently provided source sounds that made up Batu’s “Opal” on Timedance.
How Was Your Life? was written, produced and mixed by Will Yates. It was mastered by Chris Wang. Art and design by Hugo Bernier. More
25-year old Bristol based multi-instrumentalist Memotone (aka William Yates) returns with a bleak, beautiful and politicised new album, set for release on electronic mavens Black Acre in April. His new album "Chime Hours" follows his stunning debut LP "I Sleep. At Walking." A master of 11 instruments, Memotone comes from a family of artists and grew up on a diet of grunge, minimal classical compositions and electronic music. Yates is also an illustrator and film composer (he recently sound-tracked a horror serial produced by Eli Roth), something that runs deep within his avant-garde productions. Creating an otherworldly sate of mind with sonic soundscapes, the albums roots twists around rural horror, techno and neo-classical sounds mixed with field recordings documenting archaic seasonal ceremonies. From the spiralling darkness and crackled techno pulse of "Poison Arrow" to Memotone's ghostly melodies intersecting brutal electronics on "All Collapsed", the album buzzes with a variation of moods and ideas from an artist not afraid to run the full gamut of emotions. Emphasizing texture over tone, "CHIME HOURS" is heavily centered around the sounds of a analogue synthesizer, whilst also featuring live cello, piano, clarinet, violin, church organ, guitars/bass and trumpet that's given a distorted twist. The album also sees Memotone bring his voice further forward; creating brief flourishes of glimmering effects. On tracks "All Collapsed" and "You Saw the Future" Memotone toys with ideas surrounding a post apocalyptic world that's stripped bare by humans, whereas the rest of the album takes influence from The Middle Ages; rituals, civil war, gritty hand to hand combat and a fear of ghosts and the religion that surrounds them. Memotone recorded the rituals practiced at a folk celebration in a village near where he grew up, explaining that: "I thought, perhaps there is a reflection of our distant future in our past. Not only the middle ages but spanning human history. We have already lived, and more importantly survived; through times as hard as the ones we are self imposing now." The title "CHIME HOURS" is taken from English folklore, which believed that those born at certain hours could see ghosts. Layered with abstract noises, analogue electronica and snatches of fragile melody, "CHIME HOURS" evokes darkened alleyways and ethereal worlds, making for a deeply immersive album that's testament to a distinctively inventive artist.
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* Records store day only limited 300 coloured vinyl 7"
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Mika Vainio - Oleva
2
Mika Vainio - Stratostaatti
3
Mika Vainio - Kunnes
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Mika Vainio - Ohipumppu
5
Mika Vainio - Kaskaat
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Mika Vainio - Olento
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Mika Vainio - Mugwumb
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Mika Vainio - Throb-S
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Mika Vainio - Tutkamaa
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Mika Vainio - Hallitaajuus
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Mika Vainio - Tila
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Mika Vainio - Toisaalla
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Mika Vainio - Ilta
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Mika Vainio - Mennyt
Olento the second album by Mika Vainio from 1996 together with Metri is one of the seminal works for understanding Mika Vainio's core of work. Here Olento is reissued for the very first time available on vinyl.
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Egg Meat - - Milton/Earth (Massive Bereavement Mix)
2
Umfang - - Baby Blue (Drone Edit)
3
Disinformation & Savion Glover - - Doppelgänger Variations
4
Nuke Watch - - NWPJS Perc
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Georgia - - Mekael
6
Ana Fosca - - ANIMA (Novus)
7
Rafael Toral - - Mixed States Uncoded
CIRE NOIR is a compilation of contemporary electronic sounds by parallel thinking agents from Europe and US.
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Osmo Lindeman - Kinetic Forms
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Osmo Lindeman - Variabile
3
Osmo Lindeman - Mechanical Music for Stereophonic Tape
4
Osmo Lindeman - Is This the World of Teddy?
5
Osmo Lindeman - Tropicana
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Osmo Lindeman - Midas
7
Osmo Lindeman - Sunkist (TV Commercial)
8
Osmo Lindeman - Fin-Humus (TV Commercial)
9
Osmo Lindeman - Theme.......
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Osmo Lindeman - Ritual
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Osmo Lindeman - Spectacle
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Santaka - Burning Head
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Santaka - Love Kilimanjaro
3
Santaka - Kaukas
4
Santaka - Receiver
Written and produced by Manfredas Bajelis and Marijus Aleksa from Lithuania. Driving Vladimir Tarasov influensedpercussionist jazzfunk.
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Quiet Voices - Story of New Ancestors
2
Quiet Voices - When Computers Began to Misbehave
3
Quiet Voices - And Time Went By
4
Quiet Voices - Quiet Voices of the Ether
Quiet Voices is a collaborative musical and sound art project, mixing ambient & electronic music, cinematic atmospheres & spoken word, founded by Jean-Yves Leloup, featuring musical pieces he composed with Hélène Vogelsinger, Villeneuve & Morando, Wild Anima, François-Eudes Chanfrault and Maxence Cyrin. Most of the composers involved in this project are all working in the field of cinema. Jean-Yves Leloup is a Paris-based french sound artist/DJ, curator and music writer. He is the curator of various music exhibitions (Electro at Paris Philharmonie, London Design Museum and Düsseldorf Kunst Palast) and the author of various books such as " Digital Magma ", " Global Techno ", " Techno 100 ", " Music Non-Stop " and t " Ambient Music : avant-garde, new age, chill-out & cinema " (2021). He teaches sound in cinema at Paris Esra cinema School, and has released four albums with the RadioMentale duo.
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1
DDAA - - Now It's Time Now
2
Konstruktivists - - Opening Singns
3
Ramleh - - Black Ark
4
Neljän Seinän Jumalat - - TV-orgasmi
5
Corum - - Hecate's Swaying Garden
6
CLAIR - - Magick Garden Rebirthed
7
Jimi Tenor - - Ainon kyynel
8
Tasaday - - Il Rito
9
Odal - - Flaming Piano
10
Pekka Airaksinen - - Untitled
1
NBI - Night Howl
2
NBI - What About You
3
NBI - Long Distance
4
NBI - Balance
Warm acidic oldschool tehno and balearic downbeat from Italy.
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Death Poems - - Guilty
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Howes - - Double Well (Clover Mix)
3
Freestyle Man - - Locus Pullum
4
Bianca Warlord - - Bois de Pavel
21.
To the extent that necessity is socially dreamed, the dream becomes necessary. The spectacle is the nightmare of imprisoned modern society which ultimately expresses nothing more than its desire to sleep. The spectacle is the guardian of sleep. More
To the extent that necessity is socially dreamed, the dream becomes necessary. The spectacle is the nightmare of imprisoned modern society which ultimately expresses nothing more than its desire to sleep. The spectacle is the guardian of sleep. More
1
Basic House - Crown Ever Remain"
2
Basic House - Mechanical Nudes
3
Basic House - Alphabet (Swallowing Gold)
Stephen Bishop is a Newcastle based producer behind the label Opal Tapes. As a solo artist he is called Basic House.
Crown Ever Remain is a contemporary bass heavy magical masterpiece in a tradition of the black experimental electronic noise of the North England. More
Crown Ever Remain is a contemporary bass heavy magical masterpiece in a tradition of the black experimental electronic noise of the North England. More
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dj koze - DRIVEN
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2024 Repress
Tracklist
A. DJ KOZE- DRIVEN
B. ROBAG WRUHME - X-mop 198
Info:
Hart & Tief returns. Pampa's dark bastard. The Proverbial black sheep.
For the second statement from the label, we have the twin voices of DJ Koze and Robag Wruhme. Both are masters at remaining simultaneously identifiable yet surprising, and the freedom afforded by this fledgling label sees them push their respective milieus.
Driven see's Koze return to previously mined percussive tropes and plumb a new minimalist clarity of emotion through maximal means. The track thuds, clicks and pumps in a singular trajectory that belies its complexity and compliments its title.
Not to be outdone, Robag Wruhme provides X-mop 198, a slice of linear horror-techno that deftly re-contextualises its simplistic components in to a jagged and constantly surprising listen, creating a form of body music for the mind.
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Tracklist
A. DJ KOZE- DRIVEN
B. ROBAG WRUHME - X-mop 198
Info:
Hart & Tief returns. Pampa's dark bastard. The Proverbial black sheep.
For the second statement from the label, we have the twin voices of DJ Koze and Robag Wruhme. Both are masters at remaining simultaneously identifiable yet surprising, and the freedom afforded by this fledgling label sees them push their respective milieus.
Driven see's Koze return to previously mined percussive tropes and plumb a new minimalist clarity of emotion through maximal means. The track thuds, clicks and pumps in a singular trajectory that belies its complexity and compliments its title.
Not to be outdone, Robag Wruhme provides X-mop 198, a slice of linear horror-techno that deftly re-contextualises its simplistic components in to a jagged and constantly surprising listen, creating a form of body music for the mind.
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Dionne - Feel Da Rain (D'Pac Dub) (Full-Length Version)
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Dionne - Feel Da Rain (D'Pac Rhodes Dub)
Detroit 90s gem from KEVIN SAUNDERSON's KMS label gets a 2024 12" release from COLLECTIVE RHYTHM NETWORK. Featuring
unreleased, extended, and freshly remastered versions of the killer D'PAC dub mixes. The full-length version on the A-side and the
D'PAC RHODES DUB mix on the B-side. More
unreleased, extended, and freshly remastered versions of the killer D'PAC dub mixes. The full-length version on the A-side and the
D'PAC RHODES DUB mix on the B-side. More
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Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - Transport 07:28
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Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - Odyssey 07:28
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Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - Lightyears 06:08
4
Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - 2600 06:44
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Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - Merkur 04:09
6
Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - Riod 09:14
7
Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present - Zeolites 10:30
FORMAT 2LP 180g vinyl, printed sleeve, dl card
TRACKLIST
1. / A1 Transport 07:28
2. / A2 Odyssey 07:28
3. / B1 Lightyears 06:08
4. / B2 2600 06:44
5. / C1 Merkur 04:09
6. / C2 Riod 09:14
7. / D1 Zeolites 10:30
Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald – the two indispensable protagonists of the Electric Garden – plug back into the wilderness.
‘Transport’ – the full length effort brings together a set of studio-refined sequences aimed at colonizing some of the dark energy that
pulsates through those areas that are thoroughly electrified, even if not ‘on the grid’.
The Detroit-Berlin axis triangulated to a third point which, like the atomic particle that lives in two places at once, flickers between a
form of techno-charged ambience and a futuristic club-jazz which cannot be broken down into constitutive parts.
Borderland remains caught in a state of enraptured stillness, invisibly moving between every imagined future for electronic sound
making.
The result: a font from which springs serene and exhilarating musical ideas that vibrate with refined energy for sixty seconds in every
minute.
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TRACKLIST
1. / A1 Transport 07:28
2. / A2 Odyssey 07:28
3. / B1 Lightyears 06:08
4. / B2 2600 06:44
5. / C1 Merkur 04:09
6. / C2 Riod 09:14
7. / D1 Zeolites 10:30
Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald – the two indispensable protagonists of the Electric Garden – plug back into the wilderness.
‘Transport’ – the full length effort brings together a set of studio-refined sequences aimed at colonizing some of the dark energy that
pulsates through those areas that are thoroughly electrified, even if not ‘on the grid’.
The Detroit-Berlin axis triangulated to a third point which, like the atomic particle that lives in two places at once, flickers between a
form of techno-charged ambience and a futuristic club-jazz which cannot be broken down into constitutive parts.
Borderland remains caught in a state of enraptured stillness, invisibly moving between every imagined future for electronic sound
making.
The result: a font from which springs serene and exhilarating musical ideas that vibrate with refined energy for sixty seconds in every
minute.
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1
Grauzone - A1. Film 2
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Grauzone - A2. Schlachtet!
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Grauzone - A3. Hinter Den Bergen
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Grauzone - A4. Maikäfer Flieg
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Grauzone - A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
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Grauzone - B1. Wütendes Glas
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Grauzone - B2. Kälte Kriecht
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Grauzone - B3. Kunstgewerbe
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Grauzone - B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
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Grauzone - B5. In Der Nacht
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Grauzone - C1. Eisbär
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Grauzone - C2. Ich Lieb Sie
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Grauzone - C3. Moskau
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Grauzone - C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
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Grauzone - D1. Träume Mit Mir
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Grauzone - D2. Ich Und Du
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Grauzone - D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
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Grauzone - D4. Raum
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Grauzone - D5. Film 1
Double LP: Heavy 350gsm Sleeve, Liner Notes, Sticker
- Official reissue of Grauzone's album with 9 bonus songs including the megahit "Eisbär" and more, straight from the original reels!
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklisting Double LP Album
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Traüme Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.
The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".
Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.
This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.
Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, post-punk, new wave, cold wave, Swiss wave, no wave, Neue Deutsche Welle (Welle means wave!), synth, pop, industrial, proto-techno, 80s, Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Liaisons Dangereuses, Tristesse Contemporaine, Young Marble Giants, The Cure but weirder, Switzerland, romance, mountains, polar bears, contemporary art, wearing nice (white) shoes in dirty basement squats, and xerox machines.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Grauzone's Eisbär and Raum, Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, John Carpenter's Dark Star Soundtrack, Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Dominique Guiot's L'Univers de la Mer, Bernard Parmegiani soundtracks and more).
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- Official reissue of Grauzone's album with 9 bonus songs including the megahit "Eisbär" and more, straight from the original reels!
Genre: Post-Punk, Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklisting Double LP Album
A1. Film 2
A2. Schlachtet!
A3. Hinter Den Bergen
A4. Maikäfer Flieg
A5. Marmelade Und Himbeereis
B1. Wütendes Glas
B2. Kälte Kriecht
B3. Kunstgewerbe
B4. Der Weg Zu Zweit
B5. In Der Nacht
C1. Eisbär
C2. Ich Lieb Sie
C3. Moskau
C4. Ein Tanz Mit Dem Tod
D1. Traüme Mit Mir
D2. Ich Und Du
D3. Wütendes Glas (Maxi Version)
D4. Raum
D5. Film 1
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to reissue Swiss cult band Grauzone's self-titled album in an expanded 40 Years Anniversary Edition packed with the original 1981 album plus 9 extra songs, as well as extensive liner notes by Swiss music historian Lurker Grand. The 19-track album is available as a double LP vinyl in heavy 350gsm sleeve and a digipack CD, both sourced from the original reels and put together under the supervision of band member and all around legend Stephan Eicher.
The pioneering band from Bern (Switzerland) had a short-lived but highly-regarded career which birthed a cult discography that still fascinates and resonates today. Consisting of core members Martin Eicher, Stephan Eicher, and Marco Repetto, and on-and-off participants Christian GT Trüssel, Claudine Chirac, and Ingrid Berney, the elusive group broke new grounds in the early 80s, experimenting with punk and industrial music, early techno sounds, minimalism, new wave, pop, and various electronics. With an innovative and polished approach to design, visuals, performance, and all around style and philosophy on top of their superb music, the constantly transforming unit developed a whole experience - the Grauzone experience: wild and unpredictable, yet sophisticated and cohesive, or as Swiss music historian Lurker Grand would call it, "an Art band with a Punk attitude".
Completely rejecting the music industry rules and refusing to play the game of promotion, touring, release schedules, and TV appearances even though they had a multi-platinum international hit with the song "Eisbär", the band quickly disintegrated in full convention-defying glory, leaving behind an inspiring music legacy for the world to discover and discover again, one generation after the other.
This extended version of their debut (and only) album beautifully crystallizes the Grauzone miracle/accident - where pop and youthful experimentation meet at (new/cold/no) wave and industrial crossroads, and where classic hits ("Eisbär", "FILM 2", "Raum", "Träume Mit Mir", "Der Weg Zu Zweit"…) flawlessly mesh with unconventional deep cuts ("In Der Nacht", "Film 1", "Maikäfer Flieg"…). Very simply put: GOOD timeless music with an edge.
Stephan Eicher went on to be, arguably, the most successful Swiss musician ever, with an international career extending from pop chanson to experimental escapades and collaborations with Moondog, artists Sophie Calle and Sylvie Fleury, and author Martin Suter among many other luminaries. Marco Repetto flourished as a techno and ambient producer, releasing multiple projects including releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, post-punk, new wave, cold wave, Swiss wave, no wave, Neue Deutsche Welle (Welle means wave!), synth, pop, industrial, proto-techno, 80s, Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Liaisons Dangereuses, Tristesse Contemporaine, Young Marble Giants, The Cure but weirder, Switzerland, romance, mountains, polar bears, contemporary art, wearing nice (white) shoes in dirty basement squats, and xerox machines.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Grauzone's Eisbär and Raum, Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai's Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, John Carpenter's Dark Star Soundtrack, Ryo Fukui's Scenery, Dominique Guiot's L'Univers de la Mer, Bernard Parmegiani soundtracks and more).
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Ricardo Villalobos - 808 The Bassqueen (Queen Of Bass Mix)
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Ricardo Villalobos - 808 The Bassqueen (Extended Loop)
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Ricardo Villalobos - 808 The Bassqueen (Dubstar'z Shorthack)
We are very happy and honored to present you Ricardo Villalobos on his own RAWAX series!
You will find here past & present releases from the Mastermind, starting with the 25 Years
Anniversary edition of "808 The Bassqueen", formerly released on LoFi Stereo.
Special thanks goes out here to Christian Rindermann aka C-Rock! More
You will find here past & present releases from the Mastermind, starting with the 25 Years
Anniversary edition of "808 The Bassqueen", formerly released on LoFi Stereo.
Special thanks goes out here to Christian Rindermann aka C-Rock! More