Browse by Artist: MURMUR

Artist:	MURMUR
Title:	Section EP
Label:	MEANWHILE (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	MEAN 005EP

"Offering up the kind of subterranean exploration that Jules Verne could only dream about, this fourth appearance by Murmur on the shockingly consistent Meanwhile label is a micro masterpiece. Taking the techno/house teachings of Deepchord and Basic Channel, Murmur have injected a spaciousness and soul into their recordings that has been left untouched for years by the aforementioned labels. Maybe this is down to their recording techniques; using all analogue gear and avoiding the digital fetishism that has plagued recent techno recordings, or possibly it is down to their obsessive attention to harmonic and melodic parts which makes the tracks so impossible to forget. Kicking off with the sublime rolling tech-house of 'Section' it is easy to see why Murmur are at the top of their game. Thick warm pads, punctuated by a no-nonsense 808 groove make this track an absolute winner. 'Gradient' on the flip side continues this theme effortlessly, before the 12" closes with 'Nub,' an abstract slice of underwater dub. Don't sleep on this, it is only a matter of time before the name Murmur can only be mentioned in hushed tones at the stroke of midnight."

Artist:	MURMUR
Title:	Undertone
Label:	MEANWHILE (UK)
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.50
Catalog #:	MEAN 009CD

2007 has been a year defined by the imperceptible merging of dub and techno, and the UK's Murmur land with a debut album sure to connect on every level of this musical and cultural phenomenon. The submerged hip-hop-tinged swaying of "Pansula" starts off proceedings in fine form, bringing to mind Detroit at its best, but before long, the album is whisked onto a plane, flown half way around the world and dropped straight into the heart of Berlin, where this detailed and glorious sound design really belongs. "Mesh" could almost be the sound of a synth factory being flooded; every echo dissipating into layers of murky liquid, never to be found again. By the fourth track, "Flex," the water has settled and the soiled, grey walls of a warehouse loom over an after-after-party dancefloor where tired feet are revitalized and rejuvenated until the crowd throbs in unison. As "Bloodclot" trickles from your speakers and into the inner coils of your ears, comparisons to Basic Channel are inevitable. But this isn't some idle rehash of the past -- Murmur belong to a new breed of techno connoisseurs, leading the way with other less-is-more pioneers: think fondly of recent amazing output from the DeepChord axis, Scion Versions or the Styrax family -- artists such as Redshape, Sven Weisemann or Quantec, all showing increasing empathy with the Murmur sound. There's a massive emotional pull in this music, nestled between an obsessive love of analog hardware and an intuitive knowledge of what can make a track work both on the floor and as a repeat soundtrack to many a late-night headphone session. As all around us, "dance" artists are making steps into album territory with varying degrees of success, Murmur (and Meanwhile) show how it should be done. With Undertone, Christmas comes early for the dub-techno faithful.

Artist:	MURMUR
Title:	Fume EP
Label:	MEANWHILE (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	MEAN 019EP

First new tracks from Murmur since 2008, backed with a mix from MLZ under his PCB guise. "Tangle" is house music for bubblers -- one for those who know how to build a true dance music session from the ground up. Murmur give the machines a thorough going-over on the title cut "Fume," ever so restrained and beatless. Miles Whittaker and Gary Howell's mix is a beautiful, controlled and yet understated rub. For fans of Uzuri, Convextion, Horizontal Ground, etc.

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