Left Blank return after a short hiatus with their first release of 2013 from Saa; a new project forged across borders between Asher Levitas of acclaimed shadowy London outfit Old Apparatus, and Norwegian avant garde musician/vocalist Linn Carin Dirdal. Taking cues from classic pop production of the 70's and 80's, the early 4AD sound of The Cocteau Twins et al, pastoral folk, along with contemporaries such as The Knife, Saa make gloriously intricate avant-pop, as exciting as it is unclassifiable. Levitas' high production values will come as no surprise to fans of the aforementioned Old Apparatus, and here his complex rhythm arrangements and delicate electronics perfectly support Dirdal's layered vocals, which range from upfront and powerful to moments of choral beauty. This is music as fresh as anything else you'll hear this year. "Dirdal?s voice is both soulful and full of personality, and a natural fit for Levitas? accomplished production (?) Saa have crafted a pop-abstracted space rich in dialogue and communication ? and one that crafts an enticing blueprint to build upon" - Dummy Mag"...the relationship between sparse beats and dark/light pensive electronics with a tender, pastel-flavoured vocal make for a delightful and soulful symbiosis. They feed off one another with an otherworldly underworld charm (?) it all feels so damn human" - The 405

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Vessel returns to left_blank with 3 tracks of mind bending house & techno for the labels 5th release. After inaugurating the label almost a year ago with his critically acclaimed Nylon Sunset EP, Vessel aka Sebastian Gainsborough went on to release a sold out split cassette with fellow left_blanker El Kid, and a stunning digital only set for A Future Without. As a result of this the all conquering Tri Angle Records snapped him up in early 2012 to release his debut album. This EP's title track Standard spans the length of the A-Side: 5 minutes of low-slung, smacked out death disco, coming over like John Carpenter meets Newworldaquarium, pure valium vibes. Merge on the B-Side is positively sprightly in comparison, all rattling and metallic before a drop at the halfway point brings a welcome dose of Detroit influenced machine funk. Zero closes the EP in abstraction, whirring and stumbling along while showcasing Seb's intricate sound design, a teasing glimpse at what's in store for his album later in the year.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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Not much is known about Myown - the artist behind LB004 - other than that he's 23 and he's from Russia, with his only previous release arriving courtesy of fellow Russian Anton Zap's Ethereal Sound imprint last year. Upon hearing his schizophrenic (slightly disturbing) music we decided it was probably best not to ask too many questions. 'Suromna' opens the EP with jackhammer beats and pitch black atmospherics; as it progresses elements fight to be heard, swiftly building to a crescendo before smashing into pieces and leaving you to wonder exactly what just happened. 'Vesna' continues the theme, slowing the pace slightly to what could (almost) be considered 2-step, were it not for the cacophony of vocal fragments, piercing hats, and trad folk instrumentation vying for attention over the top. Flipside 'You Can Stop Everytime' provides the calm after the storm, it's heavenly melody squashed and squeezed to excess over a bumping 4/4 for 216 seconds of sheer bliss. It's a soothing comedown after the preceding intensity, proving Myown to be an undeniable - yet restless - talent.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
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LB003 arrives courtesy of Bristol born, Brighton based producer Sam Kidel, aka El Kid. Following up his well received debut on Immerse Sam drops 3 tracks of wildly varied bass music. Beginning with the title track 'Hypnosis'; lush ambient pads and plucked guitar soon give way to fearsome bass swells and metronomic percussion, coming across like early Autechre remixed by Floating Points. Second track 'Mud' drops the pace for a noisy house workout, reminiscent of fellow Bristolians Kowton, and labelmate Vessel. Kachinja on the flip is the straightest - and darkest - of the lot, a lurching warehouse techno cut that wouldn't sound out of place on Ostgut Ton. Finally Hyperdub wunderkid Walton contributes a rough & ready funky dub of 'Hypnosis' to round out the EP.

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WAS - Word and Sound Medien GmbH
Liebigstrasse 2-20
DE - 22113 Hamburg
Germany
Conatct: [email protected]More