Browse by Label: SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)

Artist:	SOLOTEMPO
Title:	ocd:ten
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	SM 007CD

"Switzerland's SpezialMaterial crew return once again with another new artist, another crushing EP and yet another packaging concept that leaves mouths watering without fail. These guys truly are a force to be reckoned with, having grabbed the attention of the Skam crew and electronic heads around the world, it's easy to see why anyone who comes across their obscure releases clamours for more. Solotempo's debut effort is a devastatingly crunchy electronic affair, all squashed beats and deep basslines, the kinds of atmospheric keys that Gescom delight in doing our heads in with...just the right side of futuristic bliss."

Artist:	VA
Title:	SM03 - A Spezial Materials Compilation
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SM 010CD

"Switzerland's Spezial Materials imprint has amassed a huge following in the course of its 3-year lifespan to date. Friends of the label, including Autechre's Rob Brown & Sean Booth, Gescom's Rob Hall, Plaid's Ed and Andy, Mark Broom and countless others have admired the label's ability to inject a freshness of attitude and aesthetic development to a genre that has always cut itself close to the edge. This is the third compilation on the label so far, and the first to be given a full commercial release. Split impeccably between a showcase of forthcoming attractions and a catalogue of remixers to die for, the emphasis lies from start to finish on innovation and collectability. A full line-up of core artists is present, from the developed complex crunch of Intricate's 'Tinizong' and 'Hund', to Softland's delicate piano and bass modulation, to Person's twisted digital hip hop grind and Solotempo's killer squashed beats and malfunctions -- leaving you with a good idea of how and why so many key artists volunteered their remixing skills for a project of this scale." Artists: Bitstream, Skanfrom, Team Doyobi, Made & Advanz, Gescom, Plaid, Plastique de Reve, Intricate, Staubsauger, Person, Monoblock B+ Nora Duster, Solotempo, Softland, Phonem. limited stock.

Artist:	BUNDOK
Title:	Cusp
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	SM 012EP

"Some real killers here as Spezial's American faction, in the shape of Josh Druckman, dons the Bundok mantle for some ill, deep, rocking electronic music. 'Meramec' has the grace of something like Arovane's 'Icol Diston', sweeps of melody up above and a surging, ultra percussive bad tune in the rhythm department. 'Ulyst' wears a darker, bluish light, the rhythm and melodic interest still right there...'Your Secret is Safe with Me' bears the faintest traces of dub, before a guitar motif ushers in one hefty electronic groover, really nice changes in the arrangement and a cultural sense of melodic progression throughout. 'Other Structures' is just classic Spezial Material, arresting electro with some majestic changes, and 'Vanishing Point' ties it all up in fine style with a night drive futuristic funk classic."

Artist:	INTRICATE
Title:	In Pectra
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SM 014CD

"Spezial Material is a label with a pedigree to be reckoned with, surrounded by a host of admirers and friends from Gescom to the Warp crew and beyond, redefining that most typical of electronic euphemisms 'collectable' into a statement about not only the scarcity of their releases, or the strikingly inventive and sublime use of artwork and packaging, but also to the formation of some of the most advanced intricate (ahem) electronic stylings you'll hear this side of Autechre. Thomas Federspiel & Fabian Stübi are longtime SM crew operators -- In Pectra is their debut full-length release. This album has been a long time coming, taking time to deploy its deep mass of chopped, squashed and downright spannered beat arrangements : 10 tracks of sheer brilliance that terrify with a demented hip hop aesthetic and an insistence on puncturing demented tweaks and rhythmic malfunctions with every turn. If you've been impressed by Team Shadetek or any of Scott Herren's many incarnations, or even the longtime percussive re-inventions of Autechre, In Pectra is just for you."

Artist:	HP_STONJI
Title:	Metic EP
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	SM 015EP

"Hans Platzgumer and E Stonji return to their HP Stonji moniker to deliver this killer new 6-track EP for the Spezial Material collective. 'Metic' opens at a giddy height, classic style eighties electro-funk drums, topped with the most dramatic, mind altering waves of sound, crazy noises set to dose digital block parties everywhere -- it's just one of those massive sub-breaking cuts you just cannot mess with...at all. Platzgumer is a long time Patrick Pulsinger collaborator with his own releases on the futuristic Cheap label, and has collaborated also with DJ Hell, Richard Dorfmeister, Gerhard Potuznik, Evan Dando and many others."

Artist:	SOLOTEMPO
Title:	Egoist
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	SM 016EP

"Solotempo are Jean-Claude Langensand and André Senn. This is a devastating twelve, able to bang with the best of them, fracturing a hip-hop phenomenon into a block stopping electroid mash up, capable of destroying weak-hearted systems. Enlisting remix support from Raf & Superdefekt feat Mark Boombastik, the result is a rampaging, careering party tune, jiggered, body-moving bass, laptop hiccups and joy, whistles! No one trick tune this, as the crowd participation swells to a frenzy, the bass annihilation begins, uncategorizable, delirious madness....Solotempo's own remix of the tune opens the flipside in fine styles. A pensive padding crunch allows a moment of recollection, splintering sounds only part prepare us for the roughest piece hardcore around right now. Digitally created, the bass is immense, the surges reminiscent of a legendary, occasional phenomenon like the Gescom acid set. Vocals splinter even further, perhaps enacting the words in a totally fresh way -- no piledriving monotony, just purest liquid hard digital funk."

Artist:	HP_STONJI
Title:	Melaina Chloe
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SM 017CD

"Hans Platzgumer and E Stonji return as HP Stonji to deliver this mighty, complementary album to their well received 6-track EP for the Spezial Material collective. 14 tracks in all, and with ten exclusive to this release, this CD encompasses fully the collective's penchant for digital artistic and musical exploration, with some splendid additional features for MAC & PC. Stonji are of course at home in the warehouse or arthouse, but the dirty fat breaks, whomping basslines and dark atmospheres align them most accurately with the former. 'Errorbeauty' was elevated to Breezeblock bomb status and a big nighttime Radio 1 favorite with the late great John Peel. It lashes benign waves of melody to a tuff bass drum which guarantees devastation for the brave, and sounding more deadly than ever in digital format. 'Metic' operates from a giddy height, classic style eighties electro-funk drums, topped with the most dramatic, mind altering waves of sound, crazy noises set to dose digital block parties everywhere -- it's just one of those massive sub-breaking cuts you just cannot mess with...at all. Awesome. 'Mith' again enjoys a crystalline production, synapse impulses cut to wax, rolling stuff to be sure -- proper club tackle for biggest systems only. 'Hagry' harks back to a golden era -- simplifying matters into a Miami infused glide out, then lulled into a complacent sense of security -- proceeds to dismantle and fully decimate the whole thing, totally and utterly. Probably the definitive Spezialmaterial release so far."

Artist:	SOLARIUM
Title:	Olari
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SM 018CD

"Martin Wigger's second album departs significantly from the predominantly ambient and soundscape leanings of I-XIV released back in 2002. Martin's preoccupation here is with beat constructions, as intricate as some of his label mates but sacrificing none of the flow and rhythmic coercion for which the label is gathering a plethora of advocates. Each track is named after a disassembled piece of the word Solarium -- and what we glimpse here is a related set of pieces, readily involved with serious bass-lines and chattering, implosive beat constructions. The format is unabashed and electronic, 'Olar' subscribing to some of the best tenets of the much maligned IDM genre, 'Ulr' is brave enough to takes the beat squarely into holy territory, looking to revive the adrenaline rush on hearing Autechre's seldom surpassed 'Tri Repetae' for the first time. 'Muir' settles on a refined, subtle take on the Spezialmaterial sound, built specifically for rocking European underground venues to their very foundations. The sounds here are developed, considered, dark and light, more abstract perhaps than Solarium's previous work."

Artist:	UNKNOWN
Title:	Just Don't
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SM 019EP

"You seem to like these mystery releases as much as we do, so here's a REALLY good one for you. Artist and label wish to remain anonymous on this one, but the clues are all there if you look long enough, and the answer to the puzzle will make you take extra good care of this twelve. What you get for your hard-earned is a totally mashed up slab of intricately jacked-up hip hop decimations, a gargantuan monster ripping into a certain rap classic from Cold Chillin's most dangerous hardcore rapper and a barrel load of crunk rap and r'n'b heroines. This ain't no simple blend type shiz -- think pure advancement that crushes all comers into a messy pulp -- Dancefloor bombs mix with gutterized head mash acid hop. Massive seven tracker."

Artist:	INTRICATE
Title:	Dori Doreau (ON)
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	12"
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	SM 020EP

"Thomas Federspiel & Fabian Stübi are central members of the Swiss Spezialmaterial collective. Compared favorably to Prefuse 73, Team Shadetek and Autechre. 'Matix' continues their thread of devious low end and beat arrangements -- the half-speed hip-hop headnod bass thump is used adroitly to showcase a kinetic percussive line, and a surprising heartfelt melody. 'Presense' wields another mighty beat, and severed vocal loops revolve around a crushing rhythmic progression. 'Obregad' opts for a messier, shattered beat approach, and begins to reveal a slightly more European synth sound entering Intricate's work, like Gescom on crunk. Saving the best 'til last, 'Tense' is the indisputable classic here -- biggest bass and drums gradually and imperceptibly increase in velocity, until the tune has transformed into an unstoppable techno juggernaut, a dirty bass-line and high speed rave effects, make for dancefloor detonation every time."

Artist:	SOFTLAND
Title:	War Againstt Error
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	SM 021CD

"Softland is a solo project with a determined do-it-yourself mentality. War Againstt Error is Zürich-based Christof Steinmann's second album, after his debut One Is A Very Small Crowd (2003), and consists of six longer, experimental vocal pop songs written between 1997 and 2005. The stylistic bandwidth spans melancholy lo-fi pop songs and chanson parody to bewildering soundscapes, unexpectedly morphing into intricately arranged electronic tunes in full cinemascopic format. There's a common and particular tendency towards eclecticism, apparent in opulent, playful song structures and an almost outrageous combination of stylistic influences drawn from imaginary folk, electroacoustic or minimal music. The CD-version adds several more tracks and broadens the spectrum of the six core tracks by interlacing them with field recordings and weaving the whole into a soundtrack-montage, considerably exceeding the length of a standard pop album. Using field recordings as a basis, the tracks combine acoustic instruments such as double bass, harmonium, recorder and voice with synthetic sounds derived from analog sources and digital processing. In his exploration of unusual timbres, sounds and harmonies, Softland uses a limited instrumental technique as consciously as chance algorithms, software abuse and an alchemical trial-and-error strategy within his compositions. By layering, filtering, cutting and pasting, what seems initially like a lack of precision, grows into a dense structure of intricate rhythms and complex harmonies. The end result retains both pop and club culture as core reference points, while at times stretching the boundaries of these genres beyond recognition."

Artist:	INTRICATE
Title:	Captain Trunk
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	SM 022EP

"The core act in Switzerland's Spezial material roster returns. Features an awesome remix from Mark Broom. 'Back to Black' nearly fades to grey, a wicked little half stepping drum break unspools under finely diced whispers and rumours, 'Bends' skips with woozy chords and the brimming, brisk beats and confidence of prime 'Atol Scrap' period Arovane, somewhere close to Tascel 7 -- no bad thing, we think you'll agree. 'Form Forward' crunches then breezes, like a nonchalant pre-teen thrashing around in a float tank filled with wotsits, in spite of a dismayed woman's warnings the piece proceeds quite a lick, never sacrificing onwards momentum and proving eerily prescient of the seismic flip side. And so we come to the Mark Broom sad remix -- courting the minimal warehouse vogue for bumptious tracks with the jack, some reversed sounds snag the hips, while a big man makes a big sound with the largest piece of aluminum sheeting he can find -- an immense piece of techno-warning!! 'Letague' pauses for a moment to collect itself -- then shuddering block party machine-tooled beats roll like billy-o to a victorious conclusion. Fat product, naturally."

Previous Page Index of Labels Next Page

Artist:	TRAJECT
Title:	Strengir Hrynja
Label:	SPEZIAL MATERIAL (SWITZERLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SM 013LP