Downbeat | Electronica | Leftfield 224 Items

This highly anticipated LP release is the second installment in GeG's playlist album series, following "Mellow Mellow ～ GeG's Playlist vol.1～," which includes the smash hit "Merry Go Round feat. Basi, Tsubaki, Vigorman, Wilywnka" that has amassed over 60 million streaming plays. As the title suggests, the overarching theme of this album is "mellow." However, "Mellow Mellow ～GeG's Playlist vol.2～" introduces a new "danceable" element as its additional focus.

A standout track exemplifying this is "eden feat. Nishina, Tsubaki." This track, created in collaboration with rapper Tsubaki, who previously featured on "Merry Go Round," and the rapidly rising new-generation musician にしな, is marked by its up-tempo beat and enchanting soundscapes, vividly showcasing GeG's latest "mellow & danceable" style.

Across all 10 tracks, this album features a diverse array of rappers and singers sharing their verses over tracks that boast a somewhat ephemeral and emotional sound. This ambitious and lavishly produced work is one that only GeG could bring to life!

My studio is my shelter, I feel comfortable there, surrounded by wonderful inspiring machines. A small cosy room where ideas emerge, mature, morph, and solidify into their final shape. 'Studio' is the result of spending time in that space. The album's intention is simple: Presenting a beautiful personal musical journey. The creative process in itself matters to me, the interaction with my instruments, the accidental discoveries, the successful execution of a vision and anything in between.
Most of the tracks on this album got revised countless times, and then even more, once I knew in which context and order I wanted to arrange them. I have been living with my music for months now, listening, thinking, changing, diving deeper and deeper into each piece.
I love albums, they are a beautiful long-form format where each part has its place, a journey from the start till the end. Each piece has its own story, its own flavour and history.
Some of them have been with me since a while already. There is material which I created years ago for installations and music derived from previous audiovisual works, all completely ripped apart and rearranged multiple times. During their creation my pieces often turn into something completely different, they repeatedly shift from one state to another until they become solid. What I consider a core element at the beginning might be later discarded completely, and a little detail in the background might become the essence.
Many explorations ended in the trash bin before the results had a chance to be part of 'Studio'. Things did not fall into place, did not feel right.
Other compositions had to fill the void instead, some created quickly in a rush of inspiration, some slowly, shy, questioning their significance. This album did not come into existence in a hurry, it took as long as it needed. I used the time to walk around my creations, to listen to them from the distance, physically, mentally, with friends, in all kinds of different contexts. I tried to understand what I just did. I started to see patterns, hidden motifs, things that were buried in between too many layers of sound. What is essential? What is ornament? I reduced, rearranged, added again.
The closer I got to the final state of 'Studio' the more clarity I found. The inherent doubts and the nagging voices from the inside got more quiet, and a sense of achievement started to manifest itself. More and more details just fell into place. And now it is done. After making electronic music since almost thirty years I don't care anymore about genres, about how to label things. It is music, my own personal music, and that's it. Call it electronica if you wish.
Process Notes
The music on this album has been constructed in Ableton Live. Most of the sounds have been created with my collection of beloved hardware synthesisers and effects, often further processed until something completely different did emerge. Sometimes I spend days in the studio just recording sounds or creating new presets, without already having a composition in mind. A few selected musical instruments contributed significantly to the palette of this album; a New England Digital Synclavier II, which also served as inspiration for the artwork, a Sequential Prophet VS, which is present on all Monolake albums since 1996, a Yamaha SY77, Linn Drum, and the Oberheim Xpander. And then there is Operator in Ableton Live, which I developed in 2004 and still love to use, and a lot of the other effects and instruments in the software. And of course my Granulator III instrument, and the PitchLoop89 audio effect. The final sonic world is often the result of radical processing of these elements, via filtering, pitch shifting, time stretching and other types of processing, both in Live and with my hardware. The good old Alesis Quadraverb deserves an honorary mention here, so does the AMS RMX 16.
Artwork
The cover combines a few complex elements. A composition of various lichen photographs, and a computational noise field that cuts rivers into the structure, where the inner artwork of the album shines through: The inside of the CD package and the gatefold vinyl cover shows a non-existing musical instrument, based on the user interface of the Synclavier II. I've always been fond of its futuristic button matrix with red LEDs, which conjures a sense of nostalgia for early computer systems. But I wanted more than just a photograph of it. Instead, I created a collage that not only consists of its existing controls but also integrated additional features it never possessed, though it might have in a subsequent iteration. In essence, I crafted a vision of a future that never materialized.
Geeky detail: When a Synclavier II is turned on, and the connected mainframe computer did not boot yet, the LEDs in the buttons light up in random patterns. The imaginary version of it does the same.

“Every time you do acid it’s different from the last, but it’s still got a unique signature to it,” says Michael J York. It’s roughly analogous to the way in which the music of Teleplasmiste – his duo with Mark O Pilkington – can be experienced. Their music is lush and layered like a rainforest floor, a complex lattice of sound that moves in several directions at once. Some of those movements are under the surface, buried purposefully low in the mix “so they can surprise you when you’re under different conditions,” as Pilkington puts it. “Like psychedelics, we like to think that people can return to the music in different moods and different frames of mind, and that different things will appear in their hearing.” It fits the cosmic experimentation that the duo have explored on previous albums such as To Kiss The Earth Goodbye and Frequency is The New Ecstasy, and acts as an adjunct to York’s previous work as part of Coil, and currently alongside Steve Davis and Kavus Torabi in The Utopia Strong.

Following his debut EP tttwoface from the Belgian label Urban Waves in 2022 and 1st full album from P-vine in 2023, Tokyo based electronic musician Yanaco has released his 2nd full album! He has defined their sound, focusing their wide range of influences into what is no doubt one of the finest ambient albums to come out of Japan in recent years.

Samples, programmed electronics, and synth pads are layered with care and precision to create an ineffable serenity that calls to mind the works of both Hiroshi Yoshimura and Aphex Twin, while still being distinctly Yanaco. The album vividly expresses the theme of life from 'Leaving' to 'Arriving' through expressive songs, and is a complete album in itself, not to mention the quality of each song.

Marbled (white & black) vinyls + 7"

20 years after its release, Wax Tailor's cult album, which made him a household name the world over, is back in a marbled 2LP collector's edition with the bonus single ‘Seize the Day’ (previously unreleased on vinyl). Long unavailable due to its success, this eagerly-awaited repress offers the chance to discover once again this essential work of the trip-hop scene.

This exceptional box set includes two marbled vinyl records along with an exclusive 7-inch single of Seize The Day.

The demotion of Pluto remains a topic of controversy more than a decade and a half later, but the now dwarf planet is hardly alone way out on the fringes of our Solar System. On their first collaboration, Transneptunian Planets, electro-acoustic composer J. Peter Schwalm and guitarist/composer/mathematician Stephan Thelen journey beyond the beyond to draw inspiration from the outer limits of the cosmos. Due out June 3rd via RareNoiseRecords, Transneptunian Planets further evolves the already innovative body of work that both Schwalm and Thelen have created for the label. Schwalm's relationship with RareNoise began in 2016 with the release of his entrancing album The Beauty of Disaster, followed by the sound sculptures of 2018's How We Fall and continued through collaborations with electro-jazz trio Chat Noir, Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen and guitarist Markus Reuter. Thelen first came to RareNoise in 2018 with Vortex, which combined his minimalist quartet Sonar with the expansive guitarist David Torn. Two more meetings, Tranceportation Volume 1 and Volume 2, followed over the next two years. Under his own name, Thelen released World Dialogue in late 2020, collecting a decade's worth of his contemporary classical compositions performed by the renowned Kronos Quartet and Al Pari Quartet. Transneptunian Planets was built on a back and forth communication between the two composers, with each given complete freedom to build on, transform or mutate the other's contribution. The music is also enriched by contributions from Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset and British bassist Tim Harries, both regular collaborators of Schwalm's, and Swiss drummer Manuel Pasquinelli, Thelen's bandmate in Sonar.

Takuma Matsunaga, a musician based in Tokyo, grew up exposed to a wide variety of music, from classical and black music to ambient and electronic music, and began his professional career in 2021. His latest album, "Epoch," produced by Miru Shinoda, also known as a member of Japanese band "yahyel", took about a year and a half to create and is now being released by P-vine in physical format for the first time. The sounds on the album were recorded through real-time manipulation using both analog and digital synthesizers, resulting in a unique and pure work that blends ambient and electronic music with elements of hip-hop.

The Greek origin of the word "epoch," "epokhe," means "to suspend judgment, to hold on (epi) and to have (ekhein)." "Epoch" seeks to suspend ecstasy and intoxication within the everyday. It is both ordinary and extraordinary, real and dreamlike, or perhaps neither. "Epoch" embodies all of these states, suspended, reflecting the acoustic journey of Takuma Matsunaga as he navigates through them.

Limited White Vinyl Edition.
Includes OBI and insert.
Cover with a beginning seam split at the upper edge.

Markus Guentner returns to his longstanding label, A Strangely Isolated Place following the triptych of ‘Theia’, ‘Empire’, and ‘Extropy’, presenting eight inspiring collaborations on ‘Kontrapunkt’. Asipv050 Press info.rtf Collaborations are nothing new to Markus, but it’s hard to see beyond his strong singular presence as a pioneer of long-form ambient and drone. Collabs have punctuated his albums in various places over the years, and he is no stranger to working as a duo amongst other projects, with such a strong conceptual thread throughout his prior Asip releases, Kontrapunkt represents a literal pivot and counterpoint in his production approach. Instead of music encapsulating a strong conceptual narrative, Kontrapunkt sees Markus create a dialogue between himself and a collection of inspiring production partners. Kontrapunkt opens with ‘Vanish’, a widescreen cinematic odyssey created in collaboration with fellow German and Affin label-head Joachim Spieth, forming the perfect opener with its modest subtleties. Australian-born Karen Vogt, renowned for her voice layering and looping, brings a beautiful, and natural addition to ‘All Light Will Remain’. Sonae, who appeared on Asip’s early digital releases, demonstrates her evolution into experimental techno tendencies and a menacing, metallic approach to Markus’ foundations. Multi-instrumentalist Pepo Galán harmonizes beautifully with Markus on ‘Ancestral Images’, adding complex nuances to a slowly evolving euphoric piece. A master of synthesis, Arovane delivers a powerful display of supercharged electronics and coils of energy on ‘Utopian Fragments’. Benoît Pioulard's renowned expertise with guitars and tape distortion become a perfect counter to the electronics of Markus, blending styles seamlessly on ‘Father Of Waters’.

The 2015 edition of Winnipeg’s send + receive festival, focussed on rhythm, turned out to be a generative meeting of minds. There, Mark Fell encountered the music of Will Guthrie, a meeting that was eventually to result in the frenetic acoustic drumkit and digital synthesis pairing heard on Infoldings and Diffractions (2020). At the same festival, Limpe Fuchs first heard and appreciated the music of Mark Fell, planting the seed of a collaboration that came to fruition when Fell (along with his son Rian Treanor) visited Fuchs at her home in Peterskirchen, Germany in September 2022. Black Truffle is pleased to announce the release of the results of this extensive session in the audacious form of a triple LP, housing over two hours of music across its six sides. The collaboration might appear unlikely: what common ground could exist between Fuchs, classically trained pianist, legend of improvised music, instrument builder and sound sculptor active since the 1960s, whose group Anima Sound connected the dots between free jazz, krautrock and ritual, and Fell, proponent of radical computer music, known for his bracingly austere productions that twist remnants of club music into algorithmic stutters? For all their seeming disparity in technology, approach and background, the music on Dessogia/Queetch/Fauch makes it immediately evident the pair share a great deal in their essentially percussive approach and ability to, in Fuch’s phrase, ‘establish silence’. Recording at her home studio, Fuchs had the use of her entire array of instruments, found, invented, and traditional, and treats the listener to some that don’t often make their way to concerts, including extensive passages performed (with Gundis Stalleicher) on pieces of wooden parquetry. Alongside metallic, wooden and skin percussion of all kinds, sounded and struck in every conceivable way, we also hear bamboo flute, viola, and Fuchs’ distinctive free-form vocalisations. Fell also stretched himself, with his contributions ranging from characteristically fizzing pitched percussive pops to swarms of sliding tones and abstract digital noise. Showing both remarkable restraint and improvisational freedom, much of the music consists of duets between a single percussion instrument and a distinctive mode of digital sound, often lingering in one timbral-rhythmic space for minutes at a time. Improvisational forward momentum coexists with a free-floating, wandering quality. On opener ‘Dessogia I’, the shimmering almost-gilssandi tones of Fuchs’ enormous set of microtonally tuned metal tubes ripples across Fell’s rubbery pulse, which moves up the frequency spectrum as Fuchs becomes more animated and switches to horn. At some points, as on the metallic chiming tones that open ‘Fauch I’, only the unexpected dynamic behaviour of Fell’s sounds distinguish them from Fuchs’ acoustic instruments. At others, like on ‘Queetch Iii’, the waves of sliding tones and noise textures are bracingly synthetic, joined by piercing squeaks and scrapes from Fuchs’ metal objects. Epic in scope, immersing the listener in an entirely distinctive world of sounds, and thrillingly bold in its melding of the most ancient musical procedures with cutting edge technologies, Dessogia/Queetch/Fauch is an unexpected major statement from two of the great mavericks of contemporary music.

Ryuichi Sakamoto's first world release, released in 1987 and reissued in analog format.

This solo album, Sakamoto's seventh in total, was co-produced with Bill Laswell for worldwide release and features top musicians from different genres, including Sly Dunbar and Bootsy Collins. Based on an electronic sound, but fusing organic and ethnic musical elements such as Okinawan and Balinese traditional music, the album was recorded in Tokyo and New York, and released in more than 20 countries around the world, making it a milestone in his solo career.

Limited Edition. No. 0331.
Small light scuff on side 2.
Inculdes poster and DVD in NM condition.
Obi included with small tear.
Hardcover book as new with a dented corner.

Hidden Notes Records (Spindle Ensemble, Fran & Flora, Josh Semans) and Tardigrade Records (Cosmo Sheldrake, Howl) are excited to announce a unique collaboration to release ‘Selected Worlds’, the monumental and ambitious debut triple album by composer and pianist Daniel Inzani. Over the past 2 decades you might have seen Inzani performing with dozens of bands from Bristol’s underground alternative and avant-garde scene, blending classical, jazz, contemporary, improvisation, unusual harmony and rhythms as a band leader and collaborator. He’s released an avant-garde collaborative album with Alabaster dePlume, is the musical director and arranger for Cosmo Sheldrake’s 19 piece live band, leads his own critically acclaimed modern chamber quartet Spindle Ensemble and (the now disbanded) 8 piece Ethiopian Jazz meets Frank Zappa group Tezeta, He has toured worldwide as a keys player, collaborated with Canadian ensembles Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan and London Symphonia and co-founded Bristol’s experimental collective Bloom, leading to tours and releases with UK rocksteady favourites Count Bobo, the psychedelic space doo-wop of Dubi Dolzcek and many more. After years of recording, touring and eclectic composing he has gathered a trusted set of musicians who are both skilled improvisers and virtuoso players to record an instrumental triple album for release under his own name. The 3 vinyl discs act as albums in their own right, each with different sets of musicians, instrumentations, genres and intentions. The 3 discs were recorded live over 3 day periods in quick succession, with Daniel’s regular collaborator Cosmo Sheldrake engineering the recording sessions. It’s quite possibly the only album you’ll ever hear that starts with a neo-impressionist string quartet, goes on to merge avant-garde symphonic arrangements with group improvisation and ends with an 8 piece cosmic jazz band wigging out, yet Inzani’s voice is clear throughout making for a cohesive 2 hour odyssey from the mind of a composer whose idiosyncratic style thrives through variety.

Box set (incl. CD, Large white size long sleeve shirt, bag, and booklet)

The titular paradox of spalarnia's new album, Paradoks, lies in its ability to be both soft and intense. Incessant, hypnotic rhythms and massive synths are woven into a state of constant becoming, perpetually tense and earnest. Amidst these soundscapes—at times sparse, at times grandiose—spalarnia's voice oscillates between singing and speaking, seemingly calm and warm yet dark, like an underwater cave on a summer day where secrets can be shared. In his Polish lyrics, spalarnia delves into themes of love, pleasure, desire, and the accompanying fears, abandonments, and emancipations. He crafts a world that is deeply personal and intimate, yet communal, euphoric, and hopeful. Like all sincere emotional landscapes, it is a paradoxical world. spalarnia is the music project of Wojciech Kosma, a performance artist known for his intimate, quasi-theatrical works. Drawing inspiration from Eastern European spirituality, folk traditions, eurodance, and R’n’B, spalarnia creates a unique brand of hypnotic and poetic emotionality—both in his recordings and live performances, as well as in his many collaborations. He has performed widely, including at Tate Modern, Cell Projects, Camden Arts Centre, Galerie Molitor, 90mil, Ephemera Festival, Komuna Warszawa, and numerous DIY venues across Poland. His music has been released by Dym Recordings, enjoy life, ehh hahah, Alicja, and his own imprint Poza.

* Edition of 100 box sets (incl. CD, long sleeve shirt, bag, and booklet) * Jointly published by Gang of Ducks from Turin and the Switzerland-based Präsens Editionen * Artwork feat. illustrations by Polish artist Mania Łukaszewska * Including download codes