Browse by Label: COMBINATION (GERMANY)

Artist:	CONSIDERATE BUILDERS SCHEME
Title:	Exit To Riverside
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	CORE 038CD

Justin De Nobrega from Cape Town, South Africa is experimental hip-hop artist The Considerate Builders Scheme. He has released IDM albums as Seven Ark on Neo Ouija, Detroit Underground and Colony. With Exit to Riverside, he is combining his love for hip-hop with a constant need for experimentation, delivering a meticulous, personal interpretation of hip-hop beats with a special eye towards construction and design. If you listen to as much of the Neptunes as you do experimental electronica, something like this is bound to happen -- a blend of hard-hitting hip-hop production, combined with a love of all things electronic, and you've got the building blocks for a newer, more progressive electronic sound. Following the sound of Prefuse 73 and Timbaland's instrumentals, Exit to Riverside clutters, stomps and slides its way through its 11 tracks, from the dense funk of "And Five" and the robot-drawl of "Back Space" to the street bounce of "Busted" and the fuzzy head-nod of "The Project." This is hip hop that's as much about where we've been as it is about a deep- seated appreciation of modern electronic music and the continual progression of the artform. So The Considerate Builders Scheme stands only accidentally -- due to their common South African origin -- in company with grime, but evidently in the tradition of artists such as Clatterbox or Beans of the Anti Pop Consortium. Though this is assuredly a hip-hop album, there are no rhymes like Snoop or Kanye, but there are enough beats and risky diatribes to satisfy. It's an album to sing along to, to nod your head and to dance to.

Artist:	GREED, DOUGLAS
Title:	Glue EP
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 039EP

This is the second 12" release on Combination by Germany-based Douglas Greed aka DJ Real. Possessing a daydream-like touch, Glue EP recalls trips to well-designed parks and sips from sparkling beer glasses. "Hypnotize" features a mesmerizing bass line before giving way to a breathy melody. After that, it goes onto the dead straight beats of Hemman & Kaden. The record closes with "Koto 125," a circular, barely-there, languid shuffle interrupted by purring throbs.

Artist:	VULVA STRING QUARTETT, THE
Title:	Out of Sight
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 040EP

"The Vulva String Quartett is the wonderful house-project of Hanno Leichtmann, who is better known as Static inside the electronica universe. Already last year, Vulva String Quartett has ecstasized experts with its debut 4-tracker. Leichtmann's trademark are those deep, glittering basslines, around which he builds quite playful house-tracks that nevertheless are containing a sort of song structure. Most of the harmonical backing (string loops) is made by sampling bits and pieces from classical records and/or soundtracks and pasting them together to form new material. 'Out of Sight' is an homage to a piece from M. Ravel (no, its NOT bolero!). Melancholic, happysad with a light, uplifting beat and beautiful string arrangements. The string section fits perfectly with the Roland SH101 sequence and the Fender Rhodes melody in the 3rd part of the track. The hi-hats, claps and snaps are played by Leichtmann himself. No expenses saved here! Leichtmann is also playing drums for Pole's live set and in a band with Jan Jelinek and Andrew Pekler called Kosmischer Pitch. So he asked Jelinek to do a Farben remix. 'Farben says: it's out of sight', is a Farben masterpiece, simple, tool-like, with a funky bassline and a stunning vocal line from the master himself. 'Algebraic Flowchart' is a darker track with a slight 80s feel and ironical synth sounds. Three different sequences flow around a deep bassline.but when the cowbell and the subbass start, this will lead you to higher states of consciousness."

Artist:	FLORES, MATT
Title:	Wookie Disco
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 041EP

This is Düsseldorf-based Matt Flores' fifth release for Combination. Wookie Disco shows a man with long-time club experience, with tracks that evolve from genres such as house and UK garage, composed with the depth and minimalism of high gloss soul dancefloors. Matt Flores' maxi-tracks are perfect for the house/techno-dancefloor because they feel different -- and that's what makes them the trump card of any DJ set. Fresh, unique timbres, high-class chords and minimal breakbeats get every hip shaking.

Artist:	SWIMMINGPOOL
Title:	Good Old Music
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	CORE 042CD

This is the long-awaited second album from Michael Scheibenreiter and Stefan Schwander (Antonelli electr., Repeat Orchestra), aka Swimmingpool. A good four years have passed since the producers from Düsseldorf landed their debut-coup, which spawned club hits galore and casually invented, according to Kompakt-authority Tobias Thomas, a new genre called "dubn'bass." Good Old Music brings the two very close to the dancefloor, which is a well known area for them, due to their reputations as experienced and well-versed dance music producers. Their diverse musical backgrounds may have been a subject on the first album, but Good Old Music is featured by audible and sensible homogeneity. During the production of the album they aimed for a clear, easy and uplifting flow. Typical sounds and sound-fragments are augmented with micro-musical set pieces; a guitar-lick here, a piano-hook there. The strings are plucked, the basses are dry and funky, as if they were played by Bernard Edwards himself, and the whole thing is embedded into a solid, softly powerful bassdrum. Good Old Music is an urban mixture of melodies, harmonies and atmospheres -- with its legs standing on a floor made out of colored, shiny squares. Almost every track on Good Old Music fits on the dancefloor, as it explores little breaths of techno. Even during midtempo moments, propulsion and determination are noticeable. Ambient minor chords give way to startling beats, but the final hidden track has the last say, full of mysterious beauty and profound contentment.

Artist:	SWIMMINGPOOL
Title:	Surrounded By Disco
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 043EP

Swimmingpool had the idea to do a Supermax remix while they were recording the original "Last Night" (on the album Good Old Music), because for them -- with its minimal funk -- it presented the perfect forward pass. This is the desired dose of retro-pop with a heaping helpful of beloved reggae music. "Bernard" hits the right note with straight minimal and soulful harmonies, while Lowtec remixes "Chic Plaza" into a deep, warm, straight n' easy house track.

Artist:	SEBA
Title:	Don't Wanna Lose You/Morning Glory
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 044EP

Before Seba's last maxi, Broken Silence/Elektro Squad in November 2004, there was no pure drum & bass music on Combination. Seba is still looking for innovation inside drum & bass and therefore he uses it to strike a new path, leaving the prevailing style towards functionality alone, without getting too abstract and top-heavy. The Swede is presenting two straight, breaky and harmonic drumfunk-tracks to be used on an advanced dancefloor -- that claims a great future for itself.

Artist:	GREED, DOUGLAS
Title:	E=W=M=3
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 045EP

Mr. Greed attests on E=W=M=3 that darkness can include a good deal of hope. His recipe: 4/4 with decency, depth, thoughtfulness and the will to start every new day as a newborn. On the first track, the Sigmund Freud of dance/electronic has his techno-couch placed in nature. "Schwarzteemagen" reveals rough subtlety in heavenly, reflective grooves. "Reviermarkierung," sounds like Greed reincarnated as the Kate Bush of rave and bass. Definitely "Hounds of Love" that are "Running Up That Hill!"

Artist:	KABUKI
Title:	Fever Pitch/Lunar Phase
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 046EP

Kabuki from Hanau is a German drum & bass veteran with a preference for elaborate tracks with a lot of melody, well-balanced harmonies and a comprehensive rhythm-structure. "Fever Pitch" is a hammering surprise and shows a great deal of Kabuki's love for old funk and soul music. The bass is slapping, reminding us of good old Bristol-breakbeat-jazz and -- because of the seductive vocals -- the track sounds like a major hit. "Lunar Phase" has an electronic toughness that forces the hips to rotate while the cold atmosphere recalls great 1997 productions from electronic heroes like Matrix. Dancefloor charm in manifold brilliance.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Traffic III Vol. 1
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	10"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 047EP

This is the first of a new, four-part compilation entitled Traffic III. Detroit-techno and breakbeats were the coordinates of Traffic II, the last compilation which was released three years ago. On the first 10" with Matt Flores, Ada and Glagla, the sound clearly moves in a 4/4 direction. As always, the musical language is more melodic than straight. Ada presents an almost sweet, Christmas-like atmosphere with "Sternhagel." "Nightlife" is Glagla's debut on Combination. With its melodies and its dancefloor brilliance, it's a track that really calls for remixes. Matt Flores is the man with an atypical bassdrum who single-handedly composes kicking sketches of garage and minimal. "Autorock" is so minimal, its dry -- as if it comes right out of the fog machine.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Traffic III Part 3
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	10"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 049EP

This is the third part of Combination's Traffic III series. Part 3 is a split 10" by two producers who approach house and techno in very different ways. Lowtec and Dazko (aka Daze Maxim) both show what can occur between two bass drums without overloading the tracks with effects. "Chord Memory" is a deeeep, endless elegiac house-tune that incorporates the use of piano, basses, strings and rough hi-hats. Dazko kicks an ultra slick future-funk with a groove that thinks outside the box and is held together with some very sexy vocals. Thoughtful, timeless stuff.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Traffic III Part 4
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	10"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 050EP

This is the fourth and final part of a series of 10"s of Combination's compilation named Traffic III. The A-side is reserved for Bülent Gürler and his project Bee-Low. "The Hidden Noise" is a neo-Detroit-screw in the Plus 8-Hawtin school in a very popular plank of minimal-rave. Antonelli presents "Random Aficionado," a handful of melodies deep under a rave, removing the snare completely in favor of more immediacy. Martin Hirsch aka Deer contributes "Beyond The Breeze," a piece of house music whose title couldn't be more precise -- this piece of music rightly doesn't care about where the wind blows.

Artist:	VULVA STRING QUARTETT, THE
Title:	Cranberry Song
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.00
Catalog #:	CORE 051EP

Berlin producer Hanno Leichtmann (aka The Vulva String Quartett, Static) rolls out the house-carpet once again in order to redefine the discredited word "pop" in a fresh, new way. The Vulva String Quartett showcases sharp-witted, poppy-house sounds with 4-to-the-floor beats, agile electronic tones and deep atmospherics. "Cranberry Song" shows off some warm melodies and thrilling disco-funk, "Roundabout" accentuates house with buzzing acid-power, while "Cloudseeding" is more laid-back, with discreet guitars, atmospheric soundscapes and a sweeping synthy melody that sounds like digital dance-folk.

Artist:	ROCKFORD KABINE
Title:	Italian Music - 31 Invalid Movie Themes
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	CORE 054CD

This is the debut full-length release from Germany's Rockford Kabine (Anthony Sharas and Marlon Marlon). Italian Music -- 31 Invalid Movie Themes is instant-gratification snippet-pop -- the song format of astonishing efficiency. Clear and brief, but with each composition as short n' sweet as the pearls on a string, this release is the perfect soundtrack for smoky nights. Each loopy arrangement sounds like an Italian Spaghetti Western or a giallo thriller/soft-core porno score. Hypnotic beats, rock-without-rock, organic bass grooves and psychedelic guitar slivers draw from a cineastic parallel universe that waits for the appropriate visualization. Minimalistic old school downbeat and breakdance beats also provide an acoustic blueprint -- that's why Rockford Kabine sometimes describe their own sound as "acid smurf," working in small, intensely-packed batches to ensure the entire outcome is a huge, alluring travel-adventure.

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Artist:	JUST, CHRISTOPHER
Title:	Charleston
Label:	COMBINATION (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$8.50
Catalog #:	CORE 052EP