New Releases for May 2008

Index of New Releases for May 2008

HYPERCOLOUR (UK)

Artist:	AUTUORI, PHILIPPE
Title:	7 Peanuts EP
Label:	HYPERCOLOUR (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	HYPE 009EP

"Hypercolour unearth another hotly-tipped talent for our latest release, this time in the form of Philippe Autuori. Philippe may only have a handful of releases to his name (notably on Poker Flat's Vol. 5 compilation, as well as contributions to French labels Battle and Dialect), but he's been spinning in his native South Montpelier district, and his adopted Berlin home. '7 Peanuts,' featuring the vocals of his Autuori friend Thomas Myers, is a woozy, darkly-tinged lurcher, with stripped-back beats and disorientating bass slurs providing a sinister backdrop for Myers' oddball lyrics. It's remixed by Nic Fanciulli and Andy Chatterley in their Skylark guise, where the pair beef up the kicks and inject a few sweet melodic flutters between the grooves. In a slight departure from their previous work, the pair's mix offers stylish techno thrills alongside that all-important dancefloor pulse. Meanwhile, 'Redemption' returns to Autuori's lop-sided minimalism, this time working a propulsive hi-hat pattern over scraping, atonal organs and snatches of weirdo vox. Like '7 Peanuts,' it's engineered for the foggiest corners of the dancefloor, and is ideally experienced at a time when you know you probably should have gone home. Rounding off the package, 'Shenoda' turns out a deeper, heavier rework of 'Redemption.' Taking his cue from the digital tribalism of nu-housers like Andomat 3000, 'Shenoda' tweaks the freak factor on the sharply-pickled vocal, transforming Philippe's moribund original into a straight-up club winner."

HYPERDUB (UK)

Artist:	DARKSTAR
Title:	Need You/Squeeze My Lime
Label:	HYPERDUB (UK)
Format:	12"
Price:	$10.00
Catalog #:	HDB 010EP

On their first release for Hyperdub, Darkstar donate two slices of juicy, tingling, infectious vocoder love that will have you leaking oil everywhere. "Need You" showcases their refined ear for a catchy melody -- a vocal earworm with some serious robot romance and silicon sadness. UK garage meets Daft Punk meets Roger Troutman, or a body-popping 1982 Burial. "Squeeze My Lime" is a tangy synthesis of dub and hip-hop from another dimension. Darkstar has the Hyperdub seal of freshness.

IMPORTANT RECORDS

Artist:	FRIEL, DAN
Title:	Ghost Town
Label:	IMPORTANT RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	IMPREC 187CD

"Ghost Town is the first full-length solo release from Parts & Labor singer/electrician Dan Friel. Characterized by its anthemic melodies, complex electronic arrangements and huge distorted beats, Ghost Town is an indie record the noise kids will love and a noise record that'll inspire the indie kids to pick up some busted electronic gear and strive for immortality. Ghost Town is where everyone can meet in the middle and freak out about how insanely good this record is. Think Wolf Eyes playing In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and you might be on the right track. Dan Friel has been using toy keyboards, guitar effects pedals, walkie talkies and R/C car remotes to make a series of instrumental electronics EPs since 2001. Ostensibly a western, Ghost Town alternates between dense, distorted, beat-driven epiphanies, and haunting solos from a variety of makeshift instruments. Ghost Town also features the eye-popping artwork from renowned print/illustration artist Shawn Reed (Racoo-oo-oon, Night People Records)."

Artist:	FRIEL, DAN
Title:	Ghost Town
Label:	IMPORTANT RECORDS
Format:	LP
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	IMPREC 187LP

LP version. "Ghost Town is the first full-length solo release from Parts & Labor singer/electrician Dan Friel. Characterized by its anthemic melodies, complex electronic arrangements and huge distorted beats, Ghost Town is an indie record the noise kids will love and a noise record that'll inspire the indie kids to pick up some busted electronic gear and strive for immortality. Ghost Town is where everyone can meet in the middle and freak out about how insanely good this record is. Think Wolf Eyes playing In The Aeroplane Over The Sea and you might be on the right track."

Artist:	GRAILS
Title:	Take Refuge In Clean Living
Label:	IMPORTANT RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	IMPREC 190CD

"Opening with a nod to Syd Barret's Pink Floyd (Piper at the Gates of Dawn) Take Refuge In Clean Living begins with morse code and drops into one of the heaviest slow-burn grooves in the Grails canon. Sounding something like Hawkwind and Ravi Shankar scoring Blade Runner, it's lysergic and earthy for Grails in a new way. The rest of the record moves from blissful Eno-inspired ambience, to epic Morricone rock hymns, to an unexpected take on a Ventures tune that returns the listener back to the very beginnings of instrumental rock music. Take Refuge in Clean Living sees Grails pulling back their already-wide lens on multiple sonic horizons. Grails often take what seems like would sound over-ambitious on paper and make it flow sonically in a laid-back style. The band is defined by exploration and they've created a template for themselves where any style or method can be ingested to reap legitimate rewards. Take Refuge seems to suggest that Grails can't run out of ideas."

Artist:	CLUSTER
Title:	Berlin 2007
Label:	IMPORTANT RECORDS
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	IMPREC 191CD

"Cluster was formed around 1971 when Roedelius and Moebius left Conrad Schnitzler's group Kluster. Along with Kluster they have had a tremendous influence on the development of contemporary electronic music. Julian Cope has placed 3 Cluster albums in his Krautrock top 50 and The Wire included the first Cluster album in their list of 'One Hundred Records That Set The World On Fire.' Along with Neu! co-founder Michael Rother, Cluster formed the remarkable group Harmonia. Between 1976 and 1979 one of Cluster's most frequent collaborators was Brian Eno. Berlin 2007 was a monumental performance for the duo as it marked the first time that they had performed live in Berlin since their 12 hour concert in the Galerie Hammer in the Europacenter in 1969. The performance was a massive success as a sold out crowd cheered loudly for Cluster to return to the stage. Fortunately, the concert was preserved for posterity and is proudly presented here on Important Records."

INNERVISIONS (GERMANY)

Artist:	SCHWARZ & AMAMPONDO, HENRIK
Title:	I Exist Because Of You
Label:	INNERVISIONS (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	IV 015EP

"'A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.' (Desmond Tutu). Originally this track appears on Amampondo's forthcoming album Vibrations From The Motherland on Nanny Tango. Here we have two longer and more club-friendly versions of that track. Version one is a live recording of Henrik. The other is a much more stripped-down version by Dixon."

INSTITUBES (FRANCE)

Artist:	M.S.K.
Title:	Lunar
Label:	INSTITUBES (FRANCE)
Format:	12"
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	INS 12024EP

"MSK's peculiar brand of floor-packing techno is gloriously relentless, quite dark, even claustrophobic. After an innocuous bass 'n' beat prelude, 'Side Story' launches into the build-up to end all build-ups, a seething, snarling beast ostensibly in search for some innocent people to maul, for some buildings (hospitals and nurseries, preferably) to destroy. And when Das Glow shows up and reports for remix duties, whose side do you think he chooses to be on? Not ours. He's right up there with the demon-beast, taunting us puny humans with his own style of deft programming, acid synth lines and abrupt breaks."

INTACTO (NETHERLANDS)

ISLANDS & ISLETS (GERMANY)

Artist:	SUBLIMINAL KID, THE
Title:	Dancefloor Heat
Label:	ISLANDS & ISLETS (GERMANY)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	STHLMISLE 002EP

"We continue our introduction of new founded Islands and Islets, sub-label to Stockholm LTD. With releases on labels like Perspex, Still Music and Raw Fusion, The Subliminal Kid has already has a high reputation in the scene. The great feedback on his music is not only a matter of the club DJs. Gilles Peterson on his BBC Radio 1 show has called 'Chord Song' on Still Music 'His kind of music.' On 'Dancefloor Heat,' The Subliminal Kid invites his studio colleagues Van Rivers and Markus Enochson for a live dub and mix session. All versions of this song carry the same feeling of true analog recording and on-the-fly arrangement. They also work as perfect bridges between house and techno."

JNANA (CANADA)

Artist:	CURRENT 93
Title:	The Inmost Light
Label:	JNANA (CANADA)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$26.00
Catalog #:	DJ 033LP

"Durtro Jnana are proud to announce the release of one of Current 93's most ambitious and enduring projects: The Inmost Light trilogy. Originally issued in 1995/1996, this set, which originally announced itself as being 'Hallucinatory Patripassianist Song' reissues in their entirety the mini-albums Where The Long Shadows Fall and The Stars Are Marching Sadly Home, as well as the full length All The Pretty Little Horses. Current 93 became David Tibet, Steven Stapleton, Michael Cashmore and Joolie Wood for this album. Guest vocalists included Nick Cave, Jhonn Balance of Coil, Andria Degens of Pantaleimon and Shirley Collins. This series was inspired by such visionaries as painter Louis Wain and author Thomas Ligotti (to whom a track was dedicated), nursery singsongs and Christian heresies (most notably Patripassianism, otherwise known as Trinitarian heresy). In Current 93's hands, the traditional lullaby that lends the album its title, sparks an explosive torrent of bittersweet childhood memories and apocalyptic prophecies. The musical setting for Tibet's narrative is exquisite, kaleidoscopic music composed with twelve-string guitar, piano, string arrangements, flutes, bells, massed drones, children's voices and ecstatic recitations. A powerful and extremely moving listening experience."

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Artist:	POLDER
Title:	Poldermodel
Label:	INTACTO (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$20.00
Catalog #:	INTAC 001LP

Artist:	LAUHAUS
Title:	Downunder
Label:	INTACTO (NETHERLANDS)
Format:	12"
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	INTAC 013EP