Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, aka Para One, has always been an hyperactive guy. He first started as no-nonsense hip-hop producer in the mid-nineties, making beats for undeground rap artists. His recording studio was actually his one-room apartment in Southern Paris, where MCs were coming on a daily basis, crammed around a mic, an MPC and a battered convertible.
At the turn of the century, he began producing his own instrumental tracks and soon got in touch with the TTC people, then at the core of the burgeoning French indie rap scene. This was the beginning of a new exploration in sound for him : from traditional rap, Para One switched to IDM and techno-infused beats, fizzing with 8-bits FX and deconstructed grooves.
After TTC's first LP Ceci n'est pas un disque, in 2002, for Ninja Tune's rap sublabel Big Dada, Para produced L'Atelier's (an indie rap supergroup) album for seminal Parisian label Institubes, with his boy Tacteel, whom with he also started a live electronic project named FuckALoop.
In 2003 came the massive " Beatdown EP ", and then TTC's 2nd album in 2004, Bâtards Sensibles, two records that definitely proved how rap attitude and electronic wizardry could be melt into one single sound - an idea many people didn't quite buy at the time. In 2005, Laubier graduated from the FEMIS film school, and found the time to start working on his first solo LP, the critically acclaimed Epiphanie, that came out in 2006 on Institubes.
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks.
This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach.
It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
Side B :
1. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
2. You
3. Albatros
4. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
5. The Talking Drums
6. Empire
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
At the turn of the century, he began producing his own instrumental tracks and soon got in touch with the TTC people, then at the core of the burgeoning French indie rap scene. This was the beginning of a new exploration in sound for him : from traditional rap, Para One switched to IDM and techno-infused beats, fizzing with 8-bits FX and deconstructed grooves.
After TTC's first LP Ceci n'est pas un disque, in 2002, for Ninja Tune's rap sublabel Big Dada, Para produced L'Atelier's (an indie rap supergroup) album for seminal Parisian label Institubes, with his boy Tacteel, whom with he also started a live electronic project named FuckALoop.
In 2003 came the massive " Beatdown EP ", and then TTC's 2nd album in 2004, Bâtards Sensibles, two records that definitely proved how rap attitude and electronic wizardry could be melt into one single sound - an idea many people didn't quite buy at the time. In 2005, Laubier graduated from the FEMIS film school, and found the time to start working on his first solo LP, the critically acclaimed Epiphanie, that came out in 2006 on Institubes.
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks.
This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach.
It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting:
Side A:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
Side B :
1. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
2. You
3. Albatros
4. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
5. The Talking Drums
6. Empire
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
More records from para one
1
Para One - A2. Shin Sekai 5:16
2
Para One - C1. Alpes 5:10
3
Para One - C2. Yret 5:46
Genre: Electronic, Soundtrack, Ambient, Minimalism
DLP: 180g vinyl, Heavy Sleeve, UV Spot Varnish, Sticker
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Vertigo 4:32
A2. Shin Sekai 5:16
A3. Virtual Satori 6:17
B1. Sundial 3:44
B2. Atlantique 4:56
B3. Fauna 4:03
C1. Alpes 5:10
C2. Yret 5:46
C3. Silicon Jungle 5:39
D1. Ars Nova 5:41
D2. Futatsu No Taiyo 4:28
Info
WRWTFWW Records is happy to announce the release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, available in half speed mastered 180g double lp housed in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
Machines of Loving Grace, the new album by Para One, whose real name is Jean-Baptiste de Laubier could be called fiction. It is an object freed from constraints, formats, genres, territories: the gospel of a new world. Six years after Club, eight years after Passion, his previous LP, this lover of electronic music, who has also been putting his sensitivity to the service of movies (soundtracks for Céline Sciamma in particular) opens with this record a new dimension in his artistic career. “I needed to break away from patterns and systematisms of formats, and take unexpected turns. To do so, I had first to allow myself to do so”.
Allow oneself and maybe above all confront oneself – with one’s childhood, with one’s childhood’s ghosts, and what fantasies, ideals, memories, and grey areas they harbor. He had to go back – without giving up on his position as an adult, as a full-fledged artist – to the sources of his imagination, to the moment when music was holding almost mystical power. And then revisit it to make something new out of it. Just like Sanity, Madness & the Family (the feature film directed by Para One that he just finished and of which it is a consubstantial part), Machines of Loving Grace has an investigation around a family secret and the father figure as its starting point. “When you go down the path – of a work, of a person, of the past – you never really find out what was. You find yourself,” explains Para One. For the musician/producer, this personal, identity quest doubles with a quest for sound. Machines of Loving Grace is both the story behind and the result of it.
After defining the structure of the album, Para One went exploring the sounds, and the figureheads that shaped his sensibility as a musician: soundtracks of Japanese anime watched hundreds of times; Indonesian drums and gamelan; the peculiar harmonies, on the verge of dissonance of Bulgarian Voices; Steve Reich’s minimal music; or Detroit techno music. Several trips, to Bali, Japan, and also Bulgaria, have thus fueled the album, clashing with and shaping the electronic architectures of Para One.
In Bali, he went deep into the jungle with the Suar Agung Group, who play jegog, a particular form of gamelan, to record the astounding « Silicon Jungle ». In Sofia, he met with the Mystère des voix Bulgares group. “I have long been fascinated by their peculiar, and voluntarily borderline off-key harmonies, between the East and the West. The text they sing is an invented language. The idea was really to create a traditional, cosmic song from another planet.” The choir illuminates « Shin Sekai », one of the most beautiful tracks in the album, that could be seen as a manifesto: like some emotional and cultural overlap, it blends percussions recorded with KODO on the island of Sado in Japan, violin played by Arthur Simonini, treated as if it were Arvo Pärt, and a very trance-like electronic arpeggio – which has become one of the signatures of Para One’s over the years.
It is also representative of the multiple weaving, between machine and human hand, acoustic and electronic textures, ritual practices and contemporary arrangements, which run through the record and make up its mystery, its oddness: the instruments used (guitar, marimba...) are taken away from the folk or pop sound imagery to which they are usually associated and re-processed by the producer. “I really come from electronic textures and I own it. For the first time, I tried my hand at acoustics, with real instruments. This is a difficult mix to dose out. It’s like a ridge line you have to be able to tread.”
In eleven tracks, the record that opens like a thriller with « Vertigo » – a theme full of danger, and anguish lurking in the winding curves of Alpine roads – takes the listener on a breath- taking journey, a constantly surprising, mystical odyssey. One crosses continents, dives in apnea to the ocean floor for several minutes (« Atlantique » gives the sensation of bringing Steve Reich, Rolando and Drexciya together in one room), then catches one's breath while listening to mysterious children voices as they chant their memories on the more atmospheric « Fauna », and goes back briefly to The Orb or Massive Attack (« Alpes »). After a dark night in the middle of the jungle (« Silicon Jungle »), there comes the time of light, of renewal. This is « Futatsu No Taiyo », which means “two suns” in Japanese, the final bravura on the record. Two fires that join their forces, their energies and give birth to new and truly transcendent music. One that gives access not to the divine but to a liberated self, freed from the weight of the past. A true rebirth.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, soundtracks, ambient, experimental, environmental, minimalism, avant-garde, synth, Detroit techno, gamelan, Kenji Kawai, Midori Takada, Steve Reich, The Orb, Drexciya, machines with humans emotions, epiphanies and rebirths.
- Official vinyl release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, in full audiophile experience: double LP with half speed mastered 180g vinyls in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, Pierre Barouh’s Le Pollen, John Carpenter’s Dark Star Soundtrack, Grauzone’s Eisbär…), label founded by Olivier Ducret of Mental Groove (Miss Kittin, Orbe, Donato Dozzy...) and Stephan Armleder of Villa Magica Records (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Christian Marclay, Stephan Eicher, John Armleder, Sylvie Fleury…)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
DLP: 180g vinyl, Heavy Sleeve, UV Spot Varnish, Sticker
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Vertigo 4:32
A2. Shin Sekai 5:16
A3. Virtual Satori 6:17
B1. Sundial 3:44
B2. Atlantique 4:56
B3. Fauna 4:03
C1. Alpes 5:10
C2. Yret 5:46
C3. Silicon Jungle 5:39
D1. Ars Nova 5:41
D2. Futatsu No Taiyo 4:28
Info
WRWTFWW Records is happy to announce the release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, available in half speed mastered 180g double lp housed in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
Machines of Loving Grace, the new album by Para One, whose real name is Jean-Baptiste de Laubier could be called fiction. It is an object freed from constraints, formats, genres, territories: the gospel of a new world. Six years after Club, eight years after Passion, his previous LP, this lover of electronic music, who has also been putting his sensitivity to the service of movies (soundtracks for Céline Sciamma in particular) opens with this record a new dimension in his artistic career. “I needed to break away from patterns and systematisms of formats, and take unexpected turns. To do so, I had first to allow myself to do so”.
Allow oneself and maybe above all confront oneself – with one’s childhood, with one’s childhood’s ghosts, and what fantasies, ideals, memories, and grey areas they harbor. He had to go back – without giving up on his position as an adult, as a full-fledged artist – to the sources of his imagination, to the moment when music was holding almost mystical power. And then revisit it to make something new out of it. Just like Sanity, Madness & the Family (the feature film directed by Para One that he just finished and of which it is a consubstantial part), Machines of Loving Grace has an investigation around a family secret and the father figure as its starting point. “When you go down the path – of a work, of a person, of the past – you never really find out what was. You find yourself,” explains Para One. For the musician/producer, this personal, identity quest doubles with a quest for sound. Machines of Loving Grace is both the story behind and the result of it.
After defining the structure of the album, Para One went exploring the sounds, and the figureheads that shaped his sensibility as a musician: soundtracks of Japanese anime watched hundreds of times; Indonesian drums and gamelan; the peculiar harmonies, on the verge of dissonance of Bulgarian Voices; Steve Reich’s minimal music; or Detroit techno music. Several trips, to Bali, Japan, and also Bulgaria, have thus fueled the album, clashing with and shaping the electronic architectures of Para One.
In Bali, he went deep into the jungle with the Suar Agung Group, who play jegog, a particular form of gamelan, to record the astounding « Silicon Jungle ». In Sofia, he met with the Mystère des voix Bulgares group. “I have long been fascinated by their peculiar, and voluntarily borderline off-key harmonies, between the East and the West. The text they sing is an invented language. The idea was really to create a traditional, cosmic song from another planet.” The choir illuminates « Shin Sekai », one of the most beautiful tracks in the album, that could be seen as a manifesto: like some emotional and cultural overlap, it blends percussions recorded with KODO on the island of Sado in Japan, violin played by Arthur Simonini, treated as if it were Arvo Pärt, and a very trance-like electronic arpeggio – which has become one of the signatures of Para One’s over the years.
It is also representative of the multiple weaving, between machine and human hand, acoustic and electronic textures, ritual practices and contemporary arrangements, which run through the record and make up its mystery, its oddness: the instruments used (guitar, marimba...) are taken away from the folk or pop sound imagery to which they are usually associated and re-processed by the producer. “I really come from electronic textures and I own it. For the first time, I tried my hand at acoustics, with real instruments. This is a difficult mix to dose out. It’s like a ridge line you have to be able to tread.”
In eleven tracks, the record that opens like a thriller with « Vertigo » – a theme full of danger, and anguish lurking in the winding curves of Alpine roads – takes the listener on a breath- taking journey, a constantly surprising, mystical odyssey. One crosses continents, dives in apnea to the ocean floor for several minutes (« Atlantique » gives the sensation of bringing Steve Reich, Rolando and Drexciya together in one room), then catches one's breath while listening to mysterious children voices as they chant their memories on the more atmospheric « Fauna », and goes back briefly to The Orb or Massive Attack (« Alpes »). After a dark night in the middle of the jungle (« Silicon Jungle »), there comes the time of light, of renewal. This is « Futatsu No Taiyo », which means “two suns” in Japanese, the final bravura on the record. Two fires that join their forces, their energies and give birth to new and truly transcendent music. One that gives access not to the divine but to a liberated self, freed from the weight of the past. A true rebirth.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, soundtracks, ambient, experimental, environmental, minimalism, avant-garde, synth, Detroit techno, gamelan, Kenji Kawai, Midori Takada, Steve Reich, The Orb, Drexciya, machines with humans emotions, epiphanies and rebirths.
- Official vinyl release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, in full audiophile experience: double LP with half speed mastered 180g vinyls in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, Pierre Barouh’s Le Pollen, John Carpenter’s Dark Star Soundtrack, Grauzone’s Eisbär…), label founded by Olivier Ducret of Mental Groove (Miss Kittin, Orbe, Donato Dozzy...) and Stephan Armleder of Villa Magica Records (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Christian Marclay, Stephan Eicher, John Armleder, Sylvie Fleury…)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
2LP BEC5161964 UPC: 5060281619648 Territories: World ex UK /F
Special Remarks: 2LP + CD included
Tracklist: A1 Lean On Me (Video Dub) / A2 Vibrations (Live Mix)
B1 You Too / B2 Albatros (Club Mix) / B3 Wake Me Up (Remix)
C1 Sigmund (Bootleg) / C2 The Talking Drums (Dub) / C3 Mother (Dead Mix)
D1 Animal Style (Club Edit) / D2 Compute Feat. Surkin (Rave Mix) D3 When The Night Feat. Jaw (Acid Mix)
The loyal composer of all the original soundtracks for Céline Sciamma's movies, Jean Baptiste de Laubier aka Para One offers to "Bande de Filles" 9 instrumental pieces and the track "Slow Down" featuring Frida Sundemo.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Special Remarks: 2LP + CD included
Tracklist: A1 Lean On Me (Video Dub) / A2 Vibrations (Live Mix)
B1 You Too / B2 Albatros (Club Mix) / B3 Wake Me Up (Remix)
C1 Sigmund (Bootleg) / C2 The Talking Drums (Dub) / C3 Mother (Dead Mix)
D1 Animal Style (Club Edit) / D2 Compute Feat. Surkin (Rave Mix) D3 When The Night Feat. Jaw (Acid Mix)
The loyal composer of all the original soundtracks for Céline Sciamma's movies, Jean Baptiste de Laubier aka Para One offers to "Bande de Filles" 9 instrumental pieces and the track "Slow Down" featuring Frida Sundemo.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
UPC: 5060281618634 Release : 16.06.2014 Territories: World, ex F,UK,US/NZ/AUS
Special Remarks: 2LP in gatefold sleeve + CD included
Tracklist: A1 Lean On Me (Video Dub) / A2 Vibrations (Live Mix) B1 You Too / B2 Albatros (Club Mix) / B3 Wake Me Up (Remix)
C1 Sigmund (Bootleg) / C2 The Talking Drums (Dub) / C3 Mother (Dead Mix) D1 Animal Style (Club Edit) / D2 Compute Feat. Surkin (Rave Mix)
D3 When The Night Feat. Jaw (Acid Mix)
Short info:
Among a thousand projects, Para One is back on the dance floor with "Club", a new album which was not meant to be one, but believe it or not: it's serious stuff! "The 'Passion' album is the background for this, as I decided to reshape it for my live act, explains Para One. I've rebuilt the tracks entirely, making live versions for festivals and bigger clubs. Then I found myself with a totally different album. It's not a live album. The tracks have been modified and reinterpreted. It's my tribute to Soulwax's "Night Versions". Subtlety was not really an option, it had to hit kind of hard. The tracks had to sound real in a club situation and people are now meant to dance to them! It's also a 'treasure hunt' kind of record with many references. It sounds like my DJ sets, when I mix many things and styles, old and new, because that's how a club should sound. It's a place where memories belong."
The pop, melancholic and highly danceable "Passion", was meant to be listened to at home or on quiet dance floors, but "Club" only retains the melodies and vocal hooks. It smells like sweat, joy and abandoned bodies. Packed with English acid house piano, huge beats, elegiac vocals, references to UK Garage, EDM filtered french touch and house, "Club" dives into the heart of dance music. It's a 3.0 rave emblem, a daring record to make people dance without selling out.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Special Remarks: 2LP in gatefold sleeve + CD included
Tracklist: A1 Lean On Me (Video Dub) / A2 Vibrations (Live Mix) B1 You Too / B2 Albatros (Club Mix) / B3 Wake Me Up (Remix)
C1 Sigmund (Bootleg) / C2 The Talking Drums (Dub) / C3 Mother (Dead Mix) D1 Animal Style (Club Edit) / D2 Compute Feat. Surkin (Rave Mix)
D3 When The Night Feat. Jaw (Acid Mix)
Short info:
Among a thousand projects, Para One is back on the dance floor with "Club", a new album which was not meant to be one, but believe it or not: it's serious stuff! "The 'Passion' album is the background for this, as I decided to reshape it for my live act, explains Para One. I've rebuilt the tracks entirely, making live versions for festivals and bigger clubs. Then I found myself with a totally different album. It's not a live album. The tracks have been modified and reinterpreted. It's my tribute to Soulwax's "Night Versions". Subtlety was not really an option, it had to hit kind of hard. The tracks had to sound real in a club situation and people are now meant to dance to them! It's also a 'treasure hunt' kind of record with many references. It sounds like my DJ sets, when I mix many things and styles, old and new, because that's how a club should sound. It's a place where memories belong."
The pop, melancholic and highly danceable "Passion", was meant to be listened to at home or on quiet dance floors, but "Club" only retains the melodies and vocal hooks. It smells like sweat, joy and abandoned bodies. Packed with English acid house piano, huge beats, elegiac vocals, references to UK Garage, EDM filtered french touch and house, "Club" dives into the heart of dance music. It's a 3.0 rave emblem, a daring record to make people dance without selling out.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Para One returns will the next single from his brilliant album 'Passion', following on from previous single EP 'Lean On Me'. 'When The Night' is a slice of futuristic, soulful disco.
'When The Night' will be released on December 3rd, with a vinyl EP release complete with remixes from his Parisian peers Logo, Discodeine and DVNO.
Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, aka Para One has long crossed the borders between house, techno, electro, R&B and hip-hop. From his Parisian base he's made a rich and influential career (alongside peers such as Justice, Sebastian and DJ Medhi) out of music suffused with a hyperactive intensity.
Tracklist:
A1. When The Night (feat. Jaw)
A2. When The Night (feat. Jaw) [Logo Remix]
A3. When The Night (feat. Jaw) [Discodeine Remix]
B1. When The Night (feat. Jaw) [DVNO Remix]
B2. When The Night [Instrumental]
B3. When The Night (feat. Jaw) Acapella
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
'When The Night' will be released on December 3rd, with a vinyl EP release complete with remixes from his Parisian peers Logo, Discodeine and DVNO.
Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, aka Para One has long crossed the borders between house, techno, electro, R&B and hip-hop. From his Parisian base he's made a rich and influential career (alongside peers such as Justice, Sebastian and DJ Medhi) out of music suffused with a hyperactive intensity.
Tracklist:
A1. When The Night (feat. Jaw)
A2. When The Night (feat. Jaw) [Logo Remix]
A3. When The Night (feat. Jaw) [Discodeine Remix]
B1. When The Night (feat. Jaw) [DVNO Remix]
B2. When The Night [Instrumental]
B3. When The Night (feat. Jaw) Acapella
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Para One, - Ice Cold
2
Para One, - Wake Me Up
3
Para One, - Every Little Thing (feat. Irfane and Teki Latex)
4
Para One, - Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5
Para One, Jaw, - When The Night
6
Para One, - Sigmund
7
Para One, - Love Ave
8
Para One, - You
9
Para One, - Albatros
10
Para One, - Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
11
Para One, - The Talking Drums
12
Para One, - Empire
Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, aka Para One, has always been an hyperactive guy. He first started as no-nonsense hip-hop producer in the mid-nineties, making beats for undeground rap artists. His recording studio was actually his one-room apartment in Southern Paris, where MCs were coming on a daily basis, crammed around a mic, an MPC and a battered convertible. At the turn of the century, he began producing his own instrumental tracks and soon got in touch with the TTC people, then at the core of the burgeoning French indie rap scene. This was the beginning of a new exploration in sound for him : from traditional rap, Para One switched to IDM and techno-infused beats, fizzing with 8-bits FX and deconstructed grooves. After TTC's first LP Ceci n'est pas un disque, in 2002, for Ninja Tune's rap sublabel Big Dada, Para produced L'Atelier's (an indie rap supergroup) album for seminal Parisian label Institubes, with his boy Tacteel, whom with he also started a live electronic project named FuckALoop. In 2003 came the massive " Beatdown EP ", and then TTC's 2nd album in 2004, Bâtards Sensibles, two records that definitely proved how rap attitude and electronic wizardry could be melt into one single sound - an idea many people didn't quite buy at the time. In 2005, Laubier graduated from the FEMIS film school, and found the time to start working on his first solo LP, the critically acclaimed Epiphanie, that came out in 2006 on Institubes.
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks. This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach. It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting CD:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
7. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
8. You
9. Albatros
10. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
11. The Talking Drums
12. Empire
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks. This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach. It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting CD:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
7. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
8. You
9. Albatros
10. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
11. The Talking Drums
12. Empire
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
More records from marble
1
Para One, - Ice Cold
2
Para One, - Wake Me Up
3
Para One, - Every Little Thing (feat. Irfane and Teki Latex)
4
Para One, - Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5
Para One, Jaw, - When The Night
6
Para One, - Sigmund
7
Para One, - Love Ave
8
Para One, - You
9
Para One, - Albatros
10
Para One, - Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
11
Para One, - The Talking Drums
12
Para One, - Empire
Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, aka Para One, has always been an hyperactive guy. He first started as no-nonsense hip-hop producer in the mid-nineties, making beats for undeground rap artists. His recording studio was actually his one-room apartment in Southern Paris, where MCs were coming on a daily basis, crammed around a mic, an MPC and a battered convertible. At the turn of the century, he began producing his own instrumental tracks and soon got in touch with the TTC people, then at the core of the burgeoning French indie rap scene. This was the beginning of a new exploration in sound for him : from traditional rap, Para One switched to IDM and techno-infused beats, fizzing with 8-bits FX and deconstructed grooves. After TTC's first LP Ceci n'est pas un disque, in 2002, for Ninja Tune's rap sublabel Big Dada, Para produced L'Atelier's (an indie rap supergroup) album for seminal Parisian label Institubes, with his boy Tacteel, whom with he also started a live electronic project named FuckALoop. In 2003 came the massive " Beatdown EP ", and then TTC's 2nd album in 2004, Bâtards Sensibles, two records that definitely proved how rap attitude and electronic wizardry could be melt into one single sound - an idea many people didn't quite buy at the time. In 2005, Laubier graduated from the FEMIS film school, and found the time to start working on his first solo LP, the critically acclaimed Epiphanie, that came out in 2006 on Institubes.
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks. This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach. It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting CD:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
7. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
8. You
9. Albatros
10. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
11. The Talking Drums
12. Empire
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Intense touring years followed, both as a DJ and live act, all over Europe, North America, Japan, alongside other Institubes artists such as Surkin and Bobmo. He played at Coachella twice, Pukkelpop, Calvi on the Rocks, Primaverra. Reknown for his heavy technical skills, he also became a hot remixer (Daft Punk, Bloc Party, Justice, Boys Noize, etc.) and a hot producer (Birdy Nam Nam, Slice & Soda and now Mickey Green). In 2007, he composed the soundtrack for his Femis friend Céline Sciamma's movie Water Lilies, and directed his own film in 2010, It Was On Earth That I Knew Joy. After the demise of Institubes in early 2011, he and his mates Bobmo and Surkin set up a new imprint called Marble, for which Para already produced or co-produced a dozen tracks. He simulteanously worked on his second album, called Passion, that'll be out in a few weeks. This a new shift again in Para One's career : the album feels much warmer and confortable than his previous work. It's also much poppier and has a fine number of true hits, complete with vocals from Tekilatex, Irfane and Jaw.
The Euro-neurotic's tension is still there sometimes, but the muscle softened and the flesh took over. This is basically uptempo, futuristic R&B with an unmissable sexy touch : it's teeming with round-shaped sounds, wet textures and gentle aural strokes. The whole movement is mid-paced and light-headed, and it's clearly a home-listening, or even bed-listening, slow jam album. The tenderness often gets spaced up or angularized, though. The beats sometimes manage to sound both smooth and rough, easy and intricate, and ghosts of Para's rap training can be heard everywhere.There's also hints of 2-step, deep house, IDM and boogie funk, yet it's a singular, idiosyncratic record, made with an extremely cohesive approach. It's an almost serene effort, and it's certainly generous and loving in the way it unfurls its numerous ideas. This is an album you get deep into, but there's nothing dramatic to it - it's just unadultered, voluptuous pleasure
Tracklisting CD:
1. Ice Cold
2. Wake Me Up
3. Every Little Thing (feat Irfane and Teki Latex)
4. Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)
5. When the Night (feat. Jaw)
6. Sigmund
7. Love Ave (feat. Additional vocals by Jaw)
8. You
9. Albatros
10. Lean On Me (feat. Teki Latex)
11. The Talking Drums
12. Empire
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Customers who bought this also bought this
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2LP R&S and Apollo Records present an official vinyl repress of this most classicand timeless album The vinyl uses the 2013 re-masters made from original DAT tapes cut by Matt Colton and presented in original artwork.
All time favourite Aphex Twin Album. Nice and accesible experimental techno. Originally released in 1992. What else could be said here, we finally are stocking copies on arguably the most important and influential electronic album of album time, Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85–92. You will always need this!!!
Tracks: A1 Xtal
A2 Tha
A3 Pulsewidth
B1 Ageispolis
B2 i
B3 Green Calx
B4 Heliosphan
C1 We Are The Music Makers
C2 Schottkey 7th Path
C3 Ptolemy
D1 Hedphelym
D2 Delphium
D3 Actium
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
2LP R&S and Apollo Records present an official vinyl repress of this most classicand timeless album The vinyl uses the 2013 re-masters made from original DAT tapes cut by Matt Colton and presented in original artwork.
All time favourite Aphex Twin Album. Nice and accesible experimental techno. Originally released in 1992. What else could be said here, we finally are stocking copies on arguably the most important and influential electronic album of album time, Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85–92. You will always need this!!!
Tracks: A1 Xtal
A2 Tha
A3 Pulsewidth
B1 Ageispolis
B2 i
B3 Green Calx
B4 Heliosphan
C1 We Are The Music Makers
C2 Schottkey 7th Path
C3 Ptolemy
D1 Hedphelym
D2 Delphium
D3 Actium
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Label:London Records
Cat-No:LMS1725578
Release-Date:07.11.2025
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP Excl
Label:London Records
Cat-No:LMS1725578
Release-Date:07.11.2025
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP Excl
Rights: World excluding FR & UK
Packaging: 2 x White Vinyl, 5mm spine sleeve, 2 x printer inner sleeve, marketing sticker
SHORT BIOG & KEY POINTS
- Goldie's 1995 debut Timeless is often described as one of the greatest dance music albums of all time. As one of the founders of Metalheadz, one of the most influential drum and bass labels, Goldie helped shape the sound of a generation, and a genre that has spanned over 3 decades.
- "Listening to Timeless is like taking an adventure. If the limits of music are the limits of society, then Timeless is going to create new worlds. It's a record that travels from darkness to light across electronic oceans, across streetsoul, ambience and jazz."
- London Records celebrate 30 years of Timeless with limited edition vinyl formats, re-imagining the original white sleeve and putting the album on double vinyl for the first time since '96, with new liner notes from Tim Carr. Remastered audio.
TRACKLISTING:
A1. Inner City Life
A2. Pressure
A3. Jah
B1. Saint Angel
B2. State Of Mind
C1. Sea Of Tears
C2. Angel
D1. Sensual
D2. Kemistry
D3. You & Me
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Packaging: 2 x White Vinyl, 5mm spine sleeve, 2 x printer inner sleeve, marketing sticker
SHORT BIOG & KEY POINTS
- Goldie's 1995 debut Timeless is often described as one of the greatest dance music albums of all time. As one of the founders of Metalheadz, one of the most influential drum and bass labels, Goldie helped shape the sound of a generation, and a genre that has spanned over 3 decades.
- "Listening to Timeless is like taking an adventure. If the limits of music are the limits of society, then Timeless is going to create new worlds. It's a record that travels from darkness to light across electronic oceans, across streetsoul, ambience and jazz."
- London Records celebrate 30 years of Timeless with limited edition vinyl formats, re-imagining the original white sleeve and putting the album on double vinyl for the first time since '96, with new liner notes from Tim Carr. Remastered audio.
TRACKLISTING:
A1. Inner City Life
A2. Pressure
A3. Jah
B1. Saint Angel
B2. State Of Mind
C1. Sea Of Tears
C2. Angel
D1. Sensual
D2. Kemistry
D3. You & Me
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Label:Biophon Records
Cat-No:bio32lp
Release-Date:17.10.2025
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP
Label:Biophon Records
Cat-No:bio32lp
Release-Date:17.10.2025
Genre:Electronic, Electronica
Configuration:2LP
1
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
2
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
3
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
4
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
5
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
6
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
7
HIA & Biosphere - No Title
In October 1995, as part of the annual Polar Music Festival, Geir Jenssen of Biosphere and Bobby Bird of The Higher Intelligence Agency, were commissioned by Nor Concerts to collaborate together on a musical project to take place in Geir's home town of Tromsø, Norway. The brief was for them to perform three concerts, using sounds sourced from the area as the basis of the music - the machinery of the local mountain cable lift, the snow, the ice etc…
The performances from which this recording is taken, took place on top of a mountain above Tromsø, in a cabin reached by the cable car, in which the audience were transported up the mountain in turn.
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
The performances from which this recording is taken, took place on top of a mountain above Tromsø, in a cabin reached by the cable car, in which the audience were transported up the mountain in turn.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Nature has always been a source of inspiration, a place of strength and retreat for the artist Dominik Eulberg. Now, the studied conservationist releases his sixth album, entitled „Avichrom“.
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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Grauzone - Raum
2
Grauzone - Raum (Naum Gabo Rework)
3
Grauzone - Raum (Ata's Extended Edit)
4
Grauzone - Raum (Naum Gabo Rework - Radio Edit)
Maxi vinyl: 12" cut at 45rpm, 350gsm inside out sleeve with artwork by Stephan Eicher, handmade Xerox sticker
WRWTFWW Records is beyond thrilled to announce the first ever vinyl maxi-single release for "Raum", Grauzone's best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse/Klang/Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.
Tracklisting
A1. Raum
A2. Raum (Naum Gabo Rework)
B1. Raum (Ata's Extended Edit)
B2. Raum (Naum Gabo Rework - Radio Edit)
Info:
WRWTFWW Records is beyond thrilled to announce the first ever vinyl maxi-single release for "Raum", Grauzone's best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse/Klang/Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.
Initally released almost 40 years ago on the beloved compilation Swiss Wave - The Album (Off Course Records) alongside the band's massive hit "Eisbär", "Raum" is the biggest Grauzone track people have yet to discover. An über-infectious New York style bassline played by Christian "GT" Trüssel and frantic drumming by Marco Repetto blend with Martin Eicher's hauntingly hopeless lyrics and Claudine Chirac's saxophone escapades to personify post-punk heaven and all its wonderful anomalies. It's disco with an edge, pop filled with fear, it's The Cure infused with proto-techno and Swiss art chic. Or maybe, it's simply one hell of a song that will make you dance and shout. It's good!
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
WRWTFWW Records is beyond thrilled to announce the first ever vinyl maxi-single release for "Raum", Grauzone's best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse/Klang/Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.
Tracklisting
A1. Raum
A2. Raum (Naum Gabo Rework)
B1. Raum (Ata's Extended Edit)
B2. Raum (Naum Gabo Rework - Radio Edit)
Info:
WRWTFWW Records is beyond thrilled to announce the first ever vinyl maxi-single release for "Raum", Grauzone's best-kept secret and underground mega-gem from 1980. The four-track affair includes the full title track sourced from the original reels, as well as a club-ready rework by Naum Gabo (Jonnie Wilkes of Optimo and James Savage) with help from Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid, and an extended edit by legendary Frankfurt DJ Ata (Robert-Johnson club, Playhouse/Klang/Ongaku labels). The 12 inch vinyl is cut at 45rpm and comes with a never-seen cover art by band member Stephan Eicher and a handmade Xerox hype sticker.
Initally released almost 40 years ago on the beloved compilation Swiss Wave - The Album (Off Course Records) alongside the band's massive hit "Eisbär", "Raum" is the biggest Grauzone track people have yet to discover. An über-infectious New York style bassline played by Christian "GT" Trüssel and frantic drumming by Marco Repetto blend with Martin Eicher's hauntingly hopeless lyrics and Claudine Chirac's saxophone escapades to personify post-punk heaven and all its wonderful anomalies. It's disco with an edge, pop filled with fear, it's The Cure infused with proto-techno and Swiss art chic. Or maybe, it's simply one hell of a song that will make you dance and shout. It's good!
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Grauzone - Eisbär
2
Grauzone - FILM 2
3
Grauzone - Ich Lieb Sie
2024 repress
The First Authorised, Official Re Edition of this Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Post-Punk Classic, Personally Overseen by Stephan Eicher, Everything Original: Art, Tracklist, Cut on 45 rpm - Printed on 350 GSM Paperstock incl. Sticker!
WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone’s essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band’s formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.
Tracklisting:
A1. Eisbär
B1. FILM 2
B2. Ich Lieb Sie
Info:
WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone’s essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band’s formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.
Ich möchte ein Eisbär sein…Written by Martin Eicher after a nightmare in which he saw talking polar bears on the walls, and with music by the Grauzone crew consisting of Martin and his brother Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Christian "GT" Trüssel, and Claudine Chirac (on saxophone), "Eisbär" is the most recognizable title from the band, a sublime mix of ingredients reflecting the transitional era it comes from - the raw energy of punk music still palpable, combined with the audacity of early electronics, the warm groove of a disco gem, beautifully fragile lyrics, and one of the best basslines ever. It became a mega hit, totally unplanned, but how could you resist such a track?
"FILM 2" is the ultimate b-side monster, a menacing all-instrumental pre-techno masterpiece, slowly building to a magnetizing frenzy. An instant underground favorite, it was famously heard played at both speeds depending on the scenes and DJs you were frequenting, 45rpm as it was first intended, and 33rpm for the cosmic experience (search Daniele Baldelli’s Cosmic C75 1982 mixtape online for a great example of this).
The maxi single ends with "Ich Lieb Sie", a synth-pop meets doo-wop ballad, a true love song oozing with innocence. Simple, stylish, and just right.
At the crossroads of post-punk, new wave, pop, and electronic experimentation, the Eisbär maxi offers three songs that are technically different but hold the same spirit, the perfect embodiment of Grauzone’s music - wild, unpredictable, and youthful, yet sophisticated, catchy, and ingenious. The magic recipe for the good stuff.
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 John Armleder, 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.
Grauzone and WRWTFWW will continue to collaborate on the band’s 40th anniversary reissue campaign, with numerous projects planned for the year, including a vast selection of music, visuals, and literature never available before.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
The First Authorised, Official Re Edition of this Electronic, New Wave, Cold Wave, Pop, Synth, Post-Punk Classic, Personally Overseen by Stephan Eicher, Everything Original: Art, Tracklist, Cut on 45 rpm - Printed on 350 GSM Paperstock incl. Sticker!
WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone’s essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band’s formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.
Tracklisting:
A1. Eisbär
B1. FILM 2
B2. Ich Lieb Sie
Info:
WRWTFWW Records is very honored to announce the official reissue of Grauzone’s essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic "Eisbär", proto-techno beast "FILM 2", and romantic synth ballad "Ich Lieb Sie", just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band’s formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.
Ich möchte ein Eisbär sein…Written by Martin Eicher after a nightmare in which he saw talking polar bears on the walls, and with music by the Grauzone crew consisting of Martin and his brother Stephan Eicher, Marco Repetto, Christian "GT" Trüssel, and Claudine Chirac (on saxophone), "Eisbär" is the most recognizable title from the band, a sublime mix of ingredients reflecting the transitional era it comes from - the raw energy of punk music still palpable, combined with the audacity of early electronics, the warm groove of a disco gem, beautifully fragile lyrics, and one of the best basslines ever. It became a mega hit, totally unplanned, but how could you resist such a track?
"FILM 2" is the ultimate b-side monster, a menacing all-instrumental pre-techno masterpiece, slowly building to a magnetizing frenzy. An instant underground favorite, it was famously heard played at both speeds depending on the scenes and DJs you were frequenting, 45rpm as it was first intended, and 33rpm for the cosmic experience (search Daniele Baldelli’s Cosmic C75 1982 mixtape online for a great example of this).
The maxi single ends with "Ich Lieb Sie", a synth-pop meets doo-wop ballad, a true love song oozing with innocence. Simple, stylish, and just right.
At the crossroads of post-punk, new wave, pop, and electronic experimentation, the Eisbär maxi offers three songs that are technically different but hold the same spirit, the perfect embodiment of Grauzone’s music - wild, unpredictable, and youthful, yet sophisticated, catchy, and ingenious. The magic recipe for the good stuff.
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 John Armleder, 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.
Grauzone and WRWTFWW will continue to collaborate on the band’s 40th anniversary reissue campaign, with numerous projects planned for the year, including a vast selection of music, visuals, and literature never available before.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Yutaka Hirose - A1. Nova
2
Yutaka Hirose - A2. Slow Sky
3
Yutaka Hirose - A3. In The Afternoon
4
Yutaka Hirose - B1. Taiko
5
Yutaka Hirose - B2. Humming The Sea
6
Yutaka Hirose - B3. Through The Windows
7
Yutaka Hirose - B4. Epilogue
8
Yutaka Hirose - C1. Old Dream Spell
9
Yutaka Hirose - C2. Light Which Shakes Quietly
10
Yutaka Hirose - D1. One Day In Summer
11
Yutaka Hirose - D2. Shadow Of A Water Droplet
- Official double album reissue of Yukata Hirose's acclaimed and mysterious full length NOVA, originally released in 1986 as part of the Soundscape series commissioned by Misawa Home Corporation for use in their prefabricated houses.
- Beautiful 2 LP Edition with Gatefold incl. Expensive 2 Special Colours Process, Liner Notes Poster Inlay in English and Japanese, Sticker, Second LP consists of 50 minutes NEVER RELEASED BEFORE recordings.
- Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties
- Genre: Ambient, Environmental, Electronic, Minimal, Avant-Garde, Synth, Experimental
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Nova
A2. Slow Sky
A3. In The Afternoon
B1. Taiko
B2. Humming The Sea
B3. Through The Windows
B4. Epilogue
C1. Old Dream Spell
C2. Light Which Shakes Quietly
D1. One Day In Summer
D2. Shadow Of A Water Droplet
Info
WRWTFWW Records is blissful to announce the expanded reissue of one of the most fascinating Japanese ambient/environmental albums ever made, NOVA + 4 by Yutaka Hirose. The double LP includes the album known as Soundscape 2: Nova, sourced from its original masters, as well as 50 minutes of never-released-before recordings. It comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, packed with liner notes from the artist in English and Japanese. NOVA + 4 is also available on double digipack CD.
Initially released in 1986 as part of the Soundscape series* commissioned by Misawa Home Corporation for use in their prefabricated houses, Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties. Initiated around the enchanting landscapes of the two first tracks recorded for the project, "Nova" and "Epilogue", Yutaka Hirose's magnum opus serenely blends vintage synth with nature sounds, exploring soothing palettes and organic backdrops. For "Slow Sky", Hirose explains he "went for a pointillism-like sound, and tried to express a scenery of awakening, where the portal of a heart is opening up", while on "Humming The Sea", he "tried to compose a kind of music that expresses the daily, lazy life of child-like innocence in a summer vacation in some small town."
The bonus LP gathers four long unreleased pieces created around the same period of time for installations, described by Yutaka Hirose as "not music per se but rather sound sculptures", and including the haunting "Shadow Of A Water Droplet" which was recorded for an Ikebana exhibition.
All in all, NOVA + 4 is a transcendent experience of nature in the urban context, an oeuvre which, much like Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass or Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way, holds the power to appease the soul in turbulent times. As one inspired YouTube commenter once said when describing Yutaka Hirose's masterstroke: "I can't tell if the birds are singing inside or outside! Thank you!"
*The Soundscape series also includes Hiroshi Yoshimura's Surround album.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
- Beautiful 2 LP Edition with Gatefold incl. Expensive 2 Special Colours Process, Liner Notes Poster Inlay in English and Japanese, Sticker, Second LP consists of 50 minutes NEVER RELEASED BEFORE recordings.
- Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties
- Genre: Ambient, Environmental, Electronic, Minimal, Avant-Garde, Synth, Experimental
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Nova
A2. Slow Sky
A3. In The Afternoon
B1. Taiko
B2. Humming The Sea
B3. Through The Windows
B4. Epilogue
C1. Old Dream Spell
C2. Light Which Shakes Quietly
D1. One Day In Summer
D2. Shadow Of A Water Droplet
Info
WRWTFWW Records is blissful to announce the expanded reissue of one of the most fascinating Japanese ambient/environmental albums ever made, NOVA + 4 by Yutaka Hirose. The double LP includes the album known as Soundscape 2: Nova, sourced from its original masters, as well as 50 minutes of never-released-before recordings. It comes in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, packed with liner notes from the artist in English and Japanese. NOVA + 4 is also available on double digipack CD.
Initially released in 1986 as part of the Soundscape series* commissioned by Misawa Home Corporation for use in their prefabricated houses, Yutaka Hirose's NOVA has grown to become a mythical piece of the Japanese minimalist/ambient/environmental scene of the eighties. Initiated around the enchanting landscapes of the two first tracks recorded for the project, "Nova" and "Epilogue", Yutaka Hirose's magnum opus serenely blends vintage synth with nature sounds, exploring soothing palettes and organic backdrops. For "Slow Sky", Hirose explains he "went for a pointillism-like sound, and tried to express a scenery of awakening, where the portal of a heart is opening up", while on "Humming The Sea", he "tried to compose a kind of music that expresses the daily, lazy life of child-like innocence in a summer vacation in some small town."
The bonus LP gathers four long unreleased pieces created around the same period of time for installations, described by Yutaka Hirose as "not music per se but rather sound sculptures", and including the haunting "Shadow Of A Water Droplet" which was recorded for an Ikebana exhibition.
All in all, NOVA + 4 is a transcendent experience of nature in the urban context, an oeuvre which, much like Midori Takada's Through The Looking Glass or Satoshi Ashikawa's Still Way, holds the power to appease the soul in turbulent times. As one inspired YouTube commenter once said when describing Yutaka Hirose's masterstroke: "I can't tell if the birds are singing inside or outside! Thank you!"
*The Soundscape series also includes Hiroshi Yoshimura's Surround album.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Environment
2
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Elastic 1
3
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Quarks Minus
4
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Removing Infinities
5
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Elastic 2
6
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Interacting
7
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Radiation Mechanics
8
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Field 1
9
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Singularity
10
Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Ectopia Gravitation
2LP, limited edition vinyl + booklet
Tracklist:
A1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Environment
A2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Elastic 1
B1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Quarks Minus
B2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Removing Infinities
B3. HYbr:ID Ectopia Elastic 2
C1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Interacting
C2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Radiation Mechanics
D1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Field 1
D2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Singularity
D3. HYbr:ID Ectopia Gravitation
Info:
HYbr:ID Vol. 2 is the second installment of Alva Noto’sHYbr:IDseries initiated in 2021. The new album captures the music commissioned to score RichardSiegal's Ectopia performed in 2021 by Tanztheater Pina Bausch with Shooting into the Corner (2008-09) by Anish Kapoor. Building upon the captivating blend of immersive dub and electronica from the first installment, HYbr:ID Vol. 2 takes the listener on a journey into the realm of intricately manipulated digital production. These ten compositions delve into infinity, drawing inspiration from resonance and elasticity, concepts rooted in Minkowski's four-dimensional spacetime model. Throughout the album, Carsten Nicolai summons precise rhythmic patterns that gracefully hover, reminiscent of celestial bodies orbiting in perfect cosmic unison. The sonic landscape gradually unfolds with somber and brooding tones, incorporating spacious sound design, ethereal atmospheres, and cascading metallic percussions. These elements are delicately crafted with artistic finesse, set against a backdrop of expansive dub textures. At times, the music takes unforeseen turns, as melancholic chords skitter and meander through a digital haze, evoking an atmosphere of introspection and emotion. The ten compositions are accompanied by graphic notations informed by the album’s sonic and acoustic codes.
Album art designed by Carsten Nicolai / Nibo
Mastering by Bo @ Calyx
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Tracklist:
A1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Environment
A2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Elastic 1
B1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Quarks Minus
B2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Removing Infinities
B3. HYbr:ID Ectopia Elastic 2
C1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Interacting
C2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Radiation Mechanics
D1. HYbr:ID Ectopia Field 1
D2. HYbr:ID Ectopia Singularity
D3. HYbr:ID Ectopia Gravitation
Info:
HYbr:ID Vol. 2 is the second installment of Alva Noto’sHYbr:IDseries initiated in 2021. The new album captures the music commissioned to score RichardSiegal's Ectopia performed in 2021 by Tanztheater Pina Bausch with Shooting into the Corner (2008-09) by Anish Kapoor. Building upon the captivating blend of immersive dub and electronica from the first installment, HYbr:ID Vol. 2 takes the listener on a journey into the realm of intricately manipulated digital production. These ten compositions delve into infinity, drawing inspiration from resonance and elasticity, concepts rooted in Minkowski's four-dimensional spacetime model. Throughout the album, Carsten Nicolai summons precise rhythmic patterns that gracefully hover, reminiscent of celestial bodies orbiting in perfect cosmic unison. The sonic landscape gradually unfolds with somber and brooding tones, incorporating spacious sound design, ethereal atmospheres, and cascading metallic percussions. These elements are delicately crafted with artistic finesse, set against a backdrop of expansive dub textures. At times, the music takes unforeseen turns, as melancholic chords skitter and meander through a digital haze, evoking an atmosphere of introspection and emotion. The ten compositions are accompanied by graphic notations informed by the album’s sonic and acoustic codes.
Album art designed by Carsten Nicolai / Nibo
Mastering by Bo @ Calyx
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Microon I
2
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Reverso
3
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Halo
4
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Microon II
5
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Pionier IOO
6
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Ionoscan
7
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - By This River
8
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Naono
9
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Microon III
10
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - By This River – Phantom
11
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Monomom
12
Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto - Kizuna
Release Info:
Released for the first time in 2011, 'Summvs' is the fifth and final installment of Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto's V.I.R.U.S. series. The title 'Summvs' refers to the Latin word "summa" (eng. sum) and "versus" (eng. towards); it serves as a metaphor for the work being oriented towards a collaborative result. The album features "Microon" compositions containing recordings of a 16th tone interval tuning piano - Piano Metamorfoseador Carrillo en Dieciseisavos de Tono. The album also features two covers of the track "By This River," composed by Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius in 1977.
In the album's twelve compositions, Sakamoto's haunting piano arrangements coalesce with Nicolai's digital rhythms, creating a sonic aura as magnetic as it is meditative. Remastered in 2021 in collaboration with Calyx Studio, the album's recordings are accompanied by two new compositions titled 'Monomom' (released digitally in December 2021) and 'Kizuna.' Like 'Monomom,' 'Kizuna' is the studio version of the homonymous composition recorded during Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto's 2019 Australian tour and included in the album' TWO Live at Sydney Opera House" (2019, NOTON). The work 'Kizuna' means 'human bond' in Japanese and refers to the title of an animation piece by the Italian contemporary artist Valerio Berruti released in Japan in January 2011.
Album art designed by Carsten Nicolai
Mastering by Bo @ Calyx
Tracklisting
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Microon I
Playtime: 00:03:06
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719515
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Microon II
Playtime: 00:02:39
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719518
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Reverso
Playtime: 00:07:00
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719516
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Pionier IOO
Playtime: 00:05:47
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719519
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Halo
Playtime: 00:07:10
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719517
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Ionoscan
Playtime: 00:04:09
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719520
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 4
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: By This River
Playtime: 00:04:03
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719521
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: C // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Naono
Playtime: 00:11:20
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719522
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: D // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Monomom
Playtime: 00:05:31
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719525
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: D // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Kizuna
Playtime: 00:05:42
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719526
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: C // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Microon III
Playtime: 00:03:02
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719523
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: C // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: By This River – Phantom
Playtime: 00:08:14
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719524
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
Released for the first time in 2011, 'Summvs' is the fifth and final installment of Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto's V.I.R.U.S. series. The title 'Summvs' refers to the Latin word "summa" (eng. sum) and "versus" (eng. towards); it serves as a metaphor for the work being oriented towards a collaborative result. The album features "Microon" compositions containing recordings of a 16th tone interval tuning piano - Piano Metamorfoseador Carrillo en Dieciseisavos de Tono. The album also features two covers of the track "By This River," composed by Brian Eno, Dieter Moebius, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius in 1977.
In the album's twelve compositions, Sakamoto's haunting piano arrangements coalesce with Nicolai's digital rhythms, creating a sonic aura as magnetic as it is meditative. Remastered in 2021 in collaboration with Calyx Studio, the album's recordings are accompanied by two new compositions titled 'Monomom' (released digitally in December 2021) and 'Kizuna.' Like 'Monomom,' 'Kizuna' is the studio version of the homonymous composition recorded during Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto's 2019 Australian tour and included in the album' TWO Live at Sydney Opera House" (2019, NOTON). The work 'Kizuna' means 'human bond' in Japanese and refers to the title of an animation piece by the Italian contemporary artist Valerio Berruti released in Japan in January 2011.
Album art designed by Carsten Nicolai
Mastering by Bo @ Calyx
Tracklisting
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Microon I
Playtime: 00:03:06
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719515
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Microon II
Playtime: 00:02:39
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719518
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Reverso
Playtime: 00:07:00
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719516
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Pionier IOO
Playtime: 00:05:47
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719519
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: A // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Halo
Playtime: 00:07:10
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719517
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Ionoscan
Playtime: 00:04:09
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719520
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 1 // Side: B // Track: 4
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: By This River
Playtime: 00:04:03
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719521
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: C // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Naono
Playtime: 00:11:20
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719522
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: D // Track: 1
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Monomom
Playtime: 00:05:31
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719525
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: D // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Kizuna
Playtime: 00:05:42
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719526
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: C // Track: 2
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: Microon III
Playtime: 00:03:02
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719523
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Medium: 2 // Side: C // Track: 3
Artist: Alva Noto; Ryuichi Sakamoto
Title: By This River – Phantom
Playtime: 00:08:14
Explicit Lyrics: No
ISRC: UK6821719524
(P): 2022 NOTON
Country: Germany
Composer: Carsten Nicolai, Ryuichi Sakamoto
---------------------------------------------------------
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Para One - A2. Shin Sekai 5:16
2
Para One - C1. Alpes 5:10
3
Para One - C2. Yret 5:46
Genre: Electronic, Soundtrack, Ambient, Minimalism
DLP: 180g vinyl, Heavy Sleeve, UV Spot Varnish, Sticker
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Vertigo 4:32
A2. Shin Sekai 5:16
A3. Virtual Satori 6:17
B1. Sundial 3:44
B2. Atlantique 4:56
B3. Fauna 4:03
C1. Alpes 5:10
C2. Yret 5:46
C3. Silicon Jungle 5:39
D1. Ars Nova 5:41
D2. Futatsu No Taiyo 4:28
Info
WRWTFWW Records is happy to announce the release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, available in half speed mastered 180g double lp housed in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
Machines of Loving Grace, the new album by Para One, whose real name is Jean-Baptiste de Laubier could be called fiction. It is an object freed from constraints, formats, genres, territories: the gospel of a new world. Six years after Club, eight years after Passion, his previous LP, this lover of electronic music, who has also been putting his sensitivity to the service of movies (soundtracks for Céline Sciamma in particular) opens with this record a new dimension in his artistic career. “I needed to break away from patterns and systematisms of formats, and take unexpected turns. To do so, I had first to allow myself to do so”.
Allow oneself and maybe above all confront oneself – with one’s childhood, with one’s childhood’s ghosts, and what fantasies, ideals, memories, and grey areas they harbor. He had to go back – without giving up on his position as an adult, as a full-fledged artist – to the sources of his imagination, to the moment when music was holding almost mystical power. And then revisit it to make something new out of it. Just like Sanity, Madness & the Family (the feature film directed by Para One that he just finished and of which it is a consubstantial part), Machines of Loving Grace has an investigation around a family secret and the father figure as its starting point. “When you go down the path – of a work, of a person, of the past – you never really find out what was. You find yourself,” explains Para One. For the musician/producer, this personal, identity quest doubles with a quest for sound. Machines of Loving Grace is both the story behind and the result of it.
After defining the structure of the album, Para One went exploring the sounds, and the figureheads that shaped his sensibility as a musician: soundtracks of Japanese anime watched hundreds of times; Indonesian drums and gamelan; the peculiar harmonies, on the verge of dissonance of Bulgarian Voices; Steve Reich’s minimal music; or Detroit techno music. Several trips, to Bali, Japan, and also Bulgaria, have thus fueled the album, clashing with and shaping the electronic architectures of Para One.
In Bali, he went deep into the jungle with the Suar Agung Group, who play jegog, a particular form of gamelan, to record the astounding « Silicon Jungle ». In Sofia, he met with the Mystère des voix Bulgares group. “I have long been fascinated by their peculiar, and voluntarily borderline off-key harmonies, between the East and the West. The text they sing is an invented language. The idea was really to create a traditional, cosmic song from another planet.” The choir illuminates « Shin Sekai », one of the most beautiful tracks in the album, that could be seen as a manifesto: like some emotional and cultural overlap, it blends percussions recorded with KODO on the island of Sado in Japan, violin played by Arthur Simonini, treated as if it were Arvo Pärt, and a very trance-like electronic arpeggio – which has become one of the signatures of Para One’s over the years.
It is also representative of the multiple weaving, between machine and human hand, acoustic and electronic textures, ritual practices and contemporary arrangements, which run through the record and make up its mystery, its oddness: the instruments used (guitar, marimba...) are taken away from the folk or pop sound imagery to which they are usually associated and re-processed by the producer. “I really come from electronic textures and I own it. For the first time, I tried my hand at acoustics, with real instruments. This is a difficult mix to dose out. It’s like a ridge line you have to be able to tread.”
In eleven tracks, the record that opens like a thriller with « Vertigo » – a theme full of danger, and anguish lurking in the winding curves of Alpine roads – takes the listener on a breath- taking journey, a constantly surprising, mystical odyssey. One crosses continents, dives in apnea to the ocean floor for several minutes (« Atlantique » gives the sensation of bringing Steve Reich, Rolando and Drexciya together in one room), then catches one's breath while listening to mysterious children voices as they chant their memories on the more atmospheric « Fauna », and goes back briefly to The Orb or Massive Attack (« Alpes »). After a dark night in the middle of the jungle (« Silicon Jungle »), there comes the time of light, of renewal. This is « Futatsu No Taiyo », which means “two suns” in Japanese, the final bravura on the record. Two fires that join their forces, their energies and give birth to new and truly transcendent music. One that gives access not to the divine but to a liberated self, freed from the weight of the past. A true rebirth.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, soundtracks, ambient, experimental, environmental, minimalism, avant-garde, synth, Detroit techno, gamelan, Kenji Kawai, Midori Takada, Steve Reich, The Orb, Drexciya, machines with humans emotions, epiphanies and rebirths.
- Official vinyl release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, in full audiophile experience: double LP with half speed mastered 180g vinyls in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, Pierre Barouh’s Le Pollen, John Carpenter’s Dark Star Soundtrack, Grauzone’s Eisbär…), label founded by Olivier Ducret of Mental Groove (Miss Kittin, Orbe, Donato Dozzy...) and Stephan Armleder of Villa Magica Records (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Christian Marclay, Stephan Eicher, John Armleder, Sylvie Fleury…)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
DLP: 180g vinyl, Heavy Sleeve, UV Spot Varnish, Sticker
Tracklisting DLP
A1. Vertigo 4:32
A2. Shin Sekai 5:16
A3. Virtual Satori 6:17
B1. Sundial 3:44
B2. Atlantique 4:56
B3. Fauna 4:03
C1. Alpes 5:10
C2. Yret 5:46
C3. Silicon Jungle 5:39
D1. Ars Nova 5:41
D2. Futatsu No Taiyo 4:28
Info
WRWTFWW Records is happy to announce the release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, available in half speed mastered 180g double lp housed in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
Machines of Loving Grace, the new album by Para One, whose real name is Jean-Baptiste de Laubier could be called fiction. It is an object freed from constraints, formats, genres, territories: the gospel of a new world. Six years after Club, eight years after Passion, his previous LP, this lover of electronic music, who has also been putting his sensitivity to the service of movies (soundtracks for Céline Sciamma in particular) opens with this record a new dimension in his artistic career. “I needed to break away from patterns and systematisms of formats, and take unexpected turns. To do so, I had first to allow myself to do so”.
Allow oneself and maybe above all confront oneself – with one’s childhood, with one’s childhood’s ghosts, and what fantasies, ideals, memories, and grey areas they harbor. He had to go back – without giving up on his position as an adult, as a full-fledged artist – to the sources of his imagination, to the moment when music was holding almost mystical power. And then revisit it to make something new out of it. Just like Sanity, Madness & the Family (the feature film directed by Para One that he just finished and of which it is a consubstantial part), Machines of Loving Grace has an investigation around a family secret and the father figure as its starting point. “When you go down the path – of a work, of a person, of the past – you never really find out what was. You find yourself,” explains Para One. For the musician/producer, this personal, identity quest doubles with a quest for sound. Machines of Loving Grace is both the story behind and the result of it.
After defining the structure of the album, Para One went exploring the sounds, and the figureheads that shaped his sensibility as a musician: soundtracks of Japanese anime watched hundreds of times; Indonesian drums and gamelan; the peculiar harmonies, on the verge of dissonance of Bulgarian Voices; Steve Reich’s minimal music; or Detroit techno music. Several trips, to Bali, Japan, and also Bulgaria, have thus fueled the album, clashing with and shaping the electronic architectures of Para One.
In Bali, he went deep into the jungle with the Suar Agung Group, who play jegog, a particular form of gamelan, to record the astounding « Silicon Jungle ». In Sofia, he met with the Mystère des voix Bulgares group. “I have long been fascinated by their peculiar, and voluntarily borderline off-key harmonies, between the East and the West. The text they sing is an invented language. The idea was really to create a traditional, cosmic song from another planet.” The choir illuminates « Shin Sekai », one of the most beautiful tracks in the album, that could be seen as a manifesto: like some emotional and cultural overlap, it blends percussions recorded with KODO on the island of Sado in Japan, violin played by Arthur Simonini, treated as if it were Arvo Pärt, and a very trance-like electronic arpeggio – which has become one of the signatures of Para One’s over the years.
It is also representative of the multiple weaving, between machine and human hand, acoustic and electronic textures, ritual practices and contemporary arrangements, which run through the record and make up its mystery, its oddness: the instruments used (guitar, marimba...) are taken away from the folk or pop sound imagery to which they are usually associated and re-processed by the producer. “I really come from electronic textures and I own it. For the first time, I tried my hand at acoustics, with real instruments. This is a difficult mix to dose out. It’s like a ridge line you have to be able to tread.”
In eleven tracks, the record that opens like a thriller with « Vertigo » – a theme full of danger, and anguish lurking in the winding curves of Alpine roads – takes the listener on a breath- taking journey, a constantly surprising, mystical odyssey. One crosses continents, dives in apnea to the ocean floor for several minutes (« Atlantique » gives the sensation of bringing Steve Reich, Rolando and Drexciya together in one room), then catches one's breath while listening to mysterious children voices as they chant their memories on the more atmospheric « Fauna », and goes back briefly to The Orb or Massive Attack (« Alpes »). After a dark night in the middle of the jungle (« Silicon Jungle »), there comes the time of light, of renewal. This is « Futatsu No Taiyo », which means “two suns” in Japanese, the final bravura on the record. Two fires that join their forces, their energies and give birth to new and truly transcendent music. One that gives access not to the divine but to a liberated self, freed from the weight of the past. A true rebirth.
Points of interests
- For fans of electronic, soundtracks, ambient, experimental, environmental, minimalism, avant-garde, synth, Detroit techno, gamelan, Kenji Kawai, Midori Takada, Steve Reich, The Orb, Drexciya, machines with humans emotions, epiphanies and rebirths.
- Official vinyl release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, in full audiophile experience: double LP with half speed mastered 180g vinyls in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish.
- New release from WRWTFWW Records (Midori Takada’s Through The Looking Glass, Kenji Kawai’s Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack, Pierre Barouh’s Le Pollen, John Carpenter’s Dark Star Soundtrack, Grauzone’s Eisbär…), label founded by Olivier Ducret of Mental Groove (Miss Kittin, Orbe, Donato Dozzy...) and Stephan Armleder of Villa Magica Records (Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Christian Marclay, Stephan Eicher, John Armleder, Sylvie Fleury…)
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Alva Noto - Xerrox Topia
2
Alva Noto - Xerrox Sans Nom I
3
Alva Noto - Xerrox Sans Nom II
4
Alva Noto - Xerrox Ascent I
5
Alva Noto - Xerrox Ascent II
6
Alva Noto - Xerrox Sans Repit
7
Alva Noto - Xerrox Nausicaa
8
Alva Noto - Xerrox Xenonym
9
Alva Noto - Xerrox Ada
10
Alva Noto - Xerrox Arc
11
Alva Noto - Xerrox Kryogen
12
Alva Noto - Xerrox Isotope
2LP
A1. Xerrox Topia
A2. Xerrox Sans Nom I
A3. Xerrox Sans Nom II
B1. Xerrox Ascent I
B2. Xerrox Ascent II
B3. Xerrox Sans Repit
C1. Xerrox Nausicaa
C2. Xerrox Xenonym
C3. Xerrox Ada
D1. Xerrox Arc
D2. Xerrox Kryogen
D3. Xerrox Isotope
NOTON is pleased to announce the release of Xerrox Vol. 5, the final installment of Alva Noto’s Xerrox series.
For anyone who has been following the series since its inception in 2007, the concept of Xerrox no longer requires introduction. Originally, it aimed to create copies of images—both visual and acoustic—that are more memorable than the originals. The exploration of the relationship between the original and the copy, along with the invention of the copier, not only inspired the series name but also informed its underlying concept. In 2024, this series comes to an end, marking the culmination of a journey that began with the first recording in 2005/2006. Over nearly two decades, the five albums in this series have accompanied the artist's evolving perspective and conceptual approach.
Initially characterized by rawness and a conceptual focus on seeking resolution in white noise, the later works engage with themes of dissolution while shifting their emphasis toward acoustic particles. The copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition.
Nicolai describes this evolution as a journey encompassing buildup, exploration, and resolution, drawing parallels to the Odyssey and the stories of Jules Verne, particularly those featuring Captain Nemo.
The conclusion of this album holds a sense of finality for the artist. “I aimed to create a whole cycle of tracks that frame both the beginning and the end,” Nicolai explains. “The motif of the journey continues, but this time, the story reaches a dissolution through a conceptual object that embarks on its own journey into infinity. The word “dissolution” (“Auflösung” in German) is a wonderful concept. On one hand, you can solve a riddle, on the other hand, a pill can completely dissolve in water. Here, I am deliberately describing the process of dissolution.”
In crafting Volume 5, Nicolai has evolved his compositional process, eschewing samples in favor of original melodies. “This album probably took the longest to complete,” he reveals. “I first created melodic sketches, which became the foundation for the pieces. These recordings are created entirely from scratch. Based on these sketches, I constructed the process of copying, manipulating, and reshaping.”
Drawing from his recent experiences working with film and larger ensembles, Nicolai's approach to composition reflects a growing influence of classical instrumentation. “This experience of working with acoustic classical instruments has flowed into the compositional process for Xerrox Vol. 5. Certain instruments are designed with potential orchestral translation in mind.”
The sonic atmosphere of Xerrox Vol. 5 is one of profound dissolution. “I wasn’t initially interested in strong, emotional melodic aspects,” Nicolai shares, “but I realized that the fragment plays a central role.” This shift leads to an emotionally charged experience, imbued with melancholy and the bittersweet essence of farewell. The passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, an admirer of the series, has further deepened the album’s emotional resonance.
“Xerrox Vol. 5 has a lot to do with farewell,” the artist explains. "Not only the farewell to the series itself, which I’ve nurtured for almost two decades, but also there have been many farewells to people who were close to me. I believe these people are recognizable in the music. It’s a very emotional, personal album.”
Listeners can expect a visual dimension to the music, though Nicolai intentionally leaves this open to interpretation. “I prefer to allow the music to evoke personal experiences and images rather than dictate a specific narrative,” he states. The result is a layered listening experience that invites tenderness and introspection.
Xerrox Vol. 5 will be released as a limited edition vinyl, digitally, and on CD by NOTON on November 29, 2024.
Album art designed by Carsten Nicolai & Nibo.
Mastering by Bo at Calyx.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
A1. Xerrox Topia
A2. Xerrox Sans Nom I
A3. Xerrox Sans Nom II
B1. Xerrox Ascent I
B2. Xerrox Ascent II
B3. Xerrox Sans Repit
C1. Xerrox Nausicaa
C2. Xerrox Xenonym
C3. Xerrox Ada
D1. Xerrox Arc
D2. Xerrox Kryogen
D3. Xerrox Isotope
NOTON is pleased to announce the release of Xerrox Vol. 5, the final installment of Alva Noto’s Xerrox series.
For anyone who has been following the series since its inception in 2007, the concept of Xerrox no longer requires introduction. Originally, it aimed to create copies of images—both visual and acoustic—that are more memorable than the originals. The exploration of the relationship between the original and the copy, along with the invention of the copier, not only inspired the series name but also informed its underlying concept. In 2024, this series comes to an end, marking the culmination of a journey that began with the first recording in 2005/2006. Over nearly two decades, the five albums in this series have accompanied the artist's evolving perspective and conceptual approach.
Initially characterized by rawness and a conceptual focus on seeking resolution in white noise, the later works engage with themes of dissolution while shifting their emphasis toward acoustic particles. The copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition.
Nicolai describes this evolution as a journey encompassing buildup, exploration, and resolution, drawing parallels to the Odyssey and the stories of Jules Verne, particularly those featuring Captain Nemo.
The conclusion of this album holds a sense of finality for the artist. “I aimed to create a whole cycle of tracks that frame both the beginning and the end,” Nicolai explains. “The motif of the journey continues, but this time, the story reaches a dissolution through a conceptual object that embarks on its own journey into infinity. The word “dissolution” (“Auflösung” in German) is a wonderful concept. On one hand, you can solve a riddle, on the other hand, a pill can completely dissolve in water. Here, I am deliberately describing the process of dissolution.”
In crafting Volume 5, Nicolai has evolved his compositional process, eschewing samples in favor of original melodies. “This album probably took the longest to complete,” he reveals. “I first created melodic sketches, which became the foundation for the pieces. These recordings are created entirely from scratch. Based on these sketches, I constructed the process of copying, manipulating, and reshaping.”
Drawing from his recent experiences working with film and larger ensembles, Nicolai's approach to composition reflects a growing influence of classical instrumentation. “This experience of working with acoustic classical instruments has flowed into the compositional process for Xerrox Vol. 5. Certain instruments are designed with potential orchestral translation in mind.”
The sonic atmosphere of Xerrox Vol. 5 is one of profound dissolution. “I wasn’t initially interested in strong, emotional melodic aspects,” Nicolai shares, “but I realized that the fragment plays a central role.” This shift leads to an emotionally charged experience, imbued with melancholy and the bittersweet essence of farewell. The passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, an admirer of the series, has further deepened the album’s emotional resonance.
“Xerrox Vol. 5 has a lot to do with farewell,” the artist explains. "Not only the farewell to the series itself, which I’ve nurtured for almost two decades, but also there have been many farewells to people who were close to me. I believe these people are recognizable in the music. It’s a very emotional, personal album.”
Listeners can expect a visual dimension to the music, though Nicolai intentionally leaves this open to interpretation. “I prefer to allow the music to evoke personal experiences and images rather than dictate a specific narrative,” he states. The result is a layered listening experience that invites tenderness and introspection.
Xerrox Vol. 5 will be released as a limited edition vinyl, digitally, and on CD by NOTON on November 29, 2024.
Album art designed by Carsten Nicolai & Nibo.
Mastering by Bo at Calyx.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
1
Alva Noto - Ritual (04:39:00)
2
Alva Noto - Confrontation 1 (00:06:50)
3
Alva Noto - Village 1 (00:05:14)
4
Alva Noto - Confidential Information 1 (00:03:33)
5
Alva Noto - Confidential Information 2 (00:01:40)
6
Alva Noto - Confrontation 2 (00:05:01)
7
Alva Noto - Death Laguna (00:05:05)
8
Alva Noto - Information Policia (00:03:29)
9
Alva Noto - Sarayaku Hidding (00:07:52)
10
Alva Noto - Information (00:02:19)
11
Alva Noto - Demonstration (00:03:44)
12
Alva Noto - Info Resistance (00:02:55)
13
Alva Noto - Sicario (00:03:50)
14
Alva Noto - Village 2 (00:01:50)
15
Alva Noto - Storming Camp (00:03:10)
16
Alva Noto - Legal Process (00:02:10)
17
Alva Noto - Trail (00:03:55)
18
Alva Noto - Swat (00:01:40)
19
Alva Noto - Ritual Reprise (00:06:40)
2LP:
A1. Ritual (04:39:00)
A2. Confrontation 1 (00:06:50)
A3. Village 1 (00:05:14)
A4. Confidential Information 1 (00:03:33)
B1. Confidential Information 2 (00:01:40)
B2. Confrontation 2 (00:05:01)
B3. Death Laguna (00:05:05)
B4. Information Policia (00:03:29)
C1. Sarayaku Hidding (00:07:52)
C2. Information (00:02:19)
C3. Demonstration (00:03:44)
C4. Info Resistance (00:02:55)
C5. Sicario (00:03:50)
D1. Village 2 (00:01:50)
D2. Storming Camp (00:03:10)
D3. Legal Process (00:02:10)
D4. Trail (00:03:55)
D5. Swat (00:01:40)
D6. Ritual Reprise (00:06:40)
Release Info:
Alva Noto’s award winning score for the 2022 German documentary film ‘This Stolen Country of Mine’ directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese features nineteen compositions to be released on NOTON in April 2023.
The documentary film explores the question of a state's sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of an extensive part of the country's resources to Chinese investors.
Alva Noto's music subtly accompanies the struggle of a mountain village, immersing us into the film’s narrative and pathos. Across nineteen compositions, the music exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves, reflecting the dark shadows and the glares of hope of communal resistance.
The documentary was the recipient of the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022.
Focus track #19
'Ritual Reprise' is the closing composition of Alva Noto's award-winning score for the 2022 German documentary film 'This Stolen Country of Mine.' The piece merges minimal digital textures with emotional resonances, taking the listener to a sonic path filled with a serene tenor. The tone is set on the slow-burn haze of gloaming ambient-electronica scapes, compounding under a unified cinematic soundscape of warm digital ambiances and liquified electronics.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More
A1. Ritual (04:39:00)
A2. Confrontation 1 (00:06:50)
A3. Village 1 (00:05:14)
A4. Confidential Information 1 (00:03:33)
B1. Confidential Information 2 (00:01:40)
B2. Confrontation 2 (00:05:01)
B3. Death Laguna (00:05:05)
B4. Information Policia (00:03:29)
C1. Sarayaku Hidding (00:07:52)
C2. Information (00:02:19)
C3. Demonstration (00:03:44)
C4. Info Resistance (00:02:55)
C5. Sicario (00:03:50)
D1. Village 2 (00:01:50)
D2. Storming Camp (00:03:10)
D3. Legal Process (00:02:10)
D4. Trail (00:03:55)
D5. Swat (00:01:40)
D6. Ritual Reprise (00:06:40)
Release Info:
Alva Noto’s award winning score for the 2022 German documentary film ‘This Stolen Country of Mine’ directed by German filmmaker Marc Wiese features nineteen compositions to be released on NOTON in April 2023.
The documentary film explores the question of a state's sovereignty in the face of foreign powers. The film portrays Ecuadorian resistance fighters and journalists who oppose the sell-off of an extensive part of the country's resources to Chinese investors.
Alva Noto's music subtly accompanies the struggle of a mountain village, immersing us into the film’s narrative and pathos. Across nineteen compositions, the music exposes and holds back when the images and statements of the protagonists speak for themselves, reflecting the dark shadows and the glares of hope of communal resistance.
The documentary was the recipient of the German Documentary Film Music Award 2022.
Focus track #19
'Ritual Reprise' is the closing composition of Alva Noto's award-winning score for the 2022 German documentary film 'This Stolen Country of Mine.' The piece merges minimal digital textures with emotional resonances, taking the listener to a sonic path filled with a serene tenor. The tone is set on the slow-burn haze of gloaming ambient-electronica scapes, compounding under a unified cinematic soundscape of warm digital ambiances and liquified electronics.
Sicherheits- und Herstellerinformationen / safety and manufacturer info (GPSR)
WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Contact: [email protected]More