Alex Falk first showed up on our radar back in 2013 when his Terse EP dropped on Tennessee-based label Proper Trax. That record – specifically "PTR", which we pitched way down and turned way up – was a regular fixture on our platters, so we were stoked when the man in Knoxville got in touch with these groove-heavy, stripped-back floor fillers that now make up the Anjuna EP. More

Finale Sessions is excited about this release from Knoxville, Tennessee artist Alex Falk. He has been on our radar for some time now so we are pleased to share this with you! The A1 track "An Ever" is one of our favorite tracks on the EP, with dreamy pads and monstrous stabs making for a fantastic floor-stomper. Rounding out the A side is "Rrecs", a deep Techno cut with clattering chords and moving drums and claps. B1 track "What Is Free" is another solid peak time killer with thick stabs and cut-up vocals making for a perfect Finale Sessions release. Finally, "BR56" brings up the tempo while chilling out the vibe with dubbed-out chords, nasty filter work and a sound floating somewhere between Techno and House. More

Tennessee Techno: Alex Falk brings the sound in purified form. His approach has already piqued the interest of many influential DJs and producers, and the track "PTR" from his debut EP on Proper Trax is among the selections included on Hessle Audio co-founder Pangaea's Fabriclive 73 mix. Falk's previous releases have focused on punishing, pulsing, synthetic techno. For his CGI EP, we are treated to another side of Falk's sound as he allows a bit more 'house' into the mix. The release kicks off with "GF", a relentless assault consisting of little more than a repurposed vocal from a young pop star, distorted drums, and ceaseless energy. This beating gives way to the caress of "Foam Party", in which bubbling synth chords carry us to a place far away from the mindless EDM-raves from which the name was derived. Flip it over and the energy ramps back up with "BF", another strong track built around a pop-vocal edit. Liquid synth chords stab and mutate with the driving rhythm underneath, creating a truly brilliant dance track that's sure to fill any floor. The energy once again is calmed as we fall into “Miley's Plateau", a shuffled, dubby synth track coming across like a housed up Vladislav Delay, rounding out a truly diverse EP which, true to CGI's mission, finds cohesion in the contrast.
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This is the story of C POWERS. To understand OYSTERS, you must understand the man behind it all...THE UNITED STATES TERRITORY OF GUAM, ca. 1989
Abandoned at the island nation's only beachfront techno club as an infant, young Christoph (C POWERS) was adopted by the club's owner, Geraldo Powers. During Geraldo's time as a naval officer, he traveled the world throughout rave's formative years, secretly going to the underground parties when arriving to European ports after having originally fallen in love with early house music as a teenager in his native Chicago via roller-rink parties and the legendary Music Box headed by Ron Hardy. Rear Admiral Geraldo, outed as a gay homosexual during the discriminatory days of Ronald Reagan's U.S. military, was forced to retire, but spared a dishonorable discharge thanks to his roster of medals earning during his exemplary leadership for the invasion of Grenada in 1983. Throughout his three year stay at the local naval base, the now 30-something Gerry Powers had been struck by the natural beauty and unsettling mysticism of Guam and its peoples and made the choice to permanently set up shop on the island after his unexpected retirement. Taking his partner and newly-crowned Supreme Butch Queen of the New York vogue circuit--Amadeus Lector--with him and financed with $6669.69 in prize money, the new era of DAS POUNDHAUS LTD. was to begin. In 1990, Gerry founded the notorious Guamanian club DAS POUNDHAUS (the name of which was strongly influenced by a two-week long ecstasy and Polish speed-fueled bender during 1989's inaugural Love Parade in West Berlin). Located inside a decrepit lighthouse originally built during Spain's reign over the island, the club played host to a steady stream of closeted, Pacific-touring U.S. military personnel and later, the party-craving barons of the dot com bubble. Outed in private usenet circles for its off-the-charts hedonism, the club's infamous parties would inevitably lead to its perilous demise, and the eventual deportation of Gerry Powers and his family to the mainland. But there was one thing that could never be taken away from them......synesthesia...You see, young Christoph was diagnosed with the "disorder" as a pre-teen after having been exposed to nearly a decade of DAS POUNDHAUS first-hand and at such a young age. The youngster was like a fish in water during his childhood in Guam, but when the family was deported in 1999, he began to show signs of anxiety and depression. His ability to hear colors and see sounds had simply turned into a stream of incomprehensible, uncontrolled static. He was now a pariah among his peers. Shunned and admonished. Assigned to sit by himself during school lunch. One of "those" kids.
By this time, his two dads' relationship was on the rocks and would quickly unravel. Amadeus, frustrated with Gerry's incessant ramblings about bunkering in Montana because of the Clinton-Illuminati conspiracy to enslave the middle-class, decided to leave Gerry in an attempt to become a backup dancer for Madonna during her "Drowned World Tour" in 2001 (which would have provided a significant sum of financial security to the family, considering their life savings had been destroyed thanks to the toppling of the NASDAQ from its peak of 5048 in March of 2000--and thanks to those dot com baron stock tips, the Powers were all-in). However, Amadeus' unflinchingly "authentic" vogue style was considered obsolete, and he would go to die in a Reno Motel 6, a victim of drug abuse and that kind of thing apparently.
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After sweating out the winter heatwave generated by Chris Mitchell and Grey People with Proper Trax 4, Alex Falk distills a purified form of techno from the often unnecessary complexities of the style. Terse—the fifth limited twelve from Proper Trax--further solidifies the label's unflinching commitment to the rough 'n' tough sounds of the southern US underground. Don't sleep, as this one is aimed to take its place in the record bags of the globe's in-the-know heads. Measure one's approach for a drastic result.





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Will Azada is back for his third appearance on Proper Trax, and his first solo twelve- inch, with the appropriately titled Strictly Heat. Drawing from the success of the label's Split Personalities II, his collaboration with Piltdown Sound on the Wet Feet EP on Woods 'N Bass, and “Easy Does It” on the newly-minted Mystical Disco imprint, Will Azada continues to draw attention to his diverse style with three floor-torching cuts on PROPER-003. From the driven, hands-in-the-air piano house of “Pump That Shit,” to the queasy chords of the unconventional, yet highly mixable “Drunk Sequence,” to the relentless, searing arps of “For The Floor,” Strictly Heat is likely to induce near-strokes on dancefloors globally. Other info: Marbled color vinyl, red jacket, black sleeve; 200 copies available More

Proper Trax is proud to present its second 12" release--PROPER-002 - Split Personalities II--keeping true to its title with another double feature of raw house and techno cuts. Featuring a pair each from Proper Trax newcomers Piltdown Sound, and a reappearance from 001's Will Azada. Punching in for the second round, Will Azada brings it with a raw slab of dusty, chord-driven house in the form of "Let's Get Tight," followed by the melancholic, dubbed-out tension of its late-night cohort, "Let's Get Dubbed." No doubt, the A-side is focused on the house-heads and those who like it deep. On the flip, and making their wax debut after a series of stellar digital releases and remixes, Piltdown Sound takes you to the depths with the driving, dystopian madness of "Bom." Following up is a loopy bit of bass-driven, wonky minimalism in "Xanderplatz." With a knack for thoughtful sound design and production, Piltdown Sound has no qualms dirtying up for Proper Trax and our preferred medium--and we're pleased to have them on board. Staying true to its mission, Proper Trax is once again delivering focused, modern house and techno--with a pinch of nostalgic bite--built for the floor-minded listener.


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Proper Trax makes its debut with this four-track compilation showcasing the label's affinity for gritty, analog house, techno, and acid by letting loose the "Split Personalities EP." Featuring four of Tennessee's up-and-coming talents--Will Azada, The Funnel, Grey People and Lee Crowe. The A-side is a lush house and jacking tech-house highlight, while the flip focuses on the darker, driving sounds of techno and acid.


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