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LP
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PLAYRJC 078LP
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It's dark in the forest. Especially in the "northwest". You have to adjust all your senses. But once you have, the forest will take you in his arms. The forest will protect you. Just like Daniel Herrmann's first album for Live At Robert Johnson will protect you. Herrmann is far from being unknown in the world of music -- let alone in the art or photography world. In the music field, he is probably much more known under his Flug 8 moniker where he released five albums on Disko B, Doxa Records, Ransom Note, and Acid Pauli's Smaul Recordings. Under his given name, Daniel Herrmann's relationship with LARJ's label boss Ata Macias goes way back. As an artist and photographer Herrmann was the only one allowed to take pictures inside Ata's Robert Johnson club, thus creating an iconic series of pictures of clubbers and club life in general. Herrmann's pictures of the partying punters themselves were presented as wallpaper all over Robert Johnson back in 2002. With Enroute Herrmann enters new territory: It is his most ambient work up to today. And yes, it is a piece of work created during the lockdown. Herrmann's studio is situated in the outskirts of Frankfurt, near the forest -- a quite remote place already in-between the Taunus Mountain range. Imagine life during the lockdown in such a place -- this is where Herrmann set up his former basement studio in the large living room with a variety of instruments besides a cozy fireplace spending warm light and warmth. A warmth that despite its seemingly rather "cold" atmosphere can be heard all over Enroute. Once you soak in the sounds (or get soaked into the sounds) of the first tracks like album opener "northwest", "Fly By Wire", or the eleven-minute "Dark Trace" you might feel this warmth too. A cold warmth you could say, yet a warmth that only modular systems and synthesizers can create. There is a change of mood with "Intercontinental" -- literally as it seems that Herrmann indeed is on an intercontinental journey here despite the strolls and long walks in silence through the Taunus Forest. This is also the place where Herrmann took many photographs of the forest and its trees, including the picture on the cover: this spooky yet fragile high seat in the mist in front of those trees. Yet darkness alone is not dominating this album. Even during these dark days, there was a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. And it shows in the beauty of "Bouncing Rays". Enroute is done all alone and in total isolation. But it also invites the listener to be a part of this lonely world.
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CD
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DB 169CD
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Looking back, it seems like Daniel Herrmann aka Flug 8's musical career was destined to be. His grandfather was an organ builder. There was hardly a single room where not one of these instruments stood, on which he was already strumming ardently in his younger years. Phases in punk, heavy and Krautrock bands followed and consequently, the first synthesizers. A project in art school, a combination of old Super 8 recordings from his parents and his own material, gave birth to his artist name, Flug 8. His second love belongs to photography. The feeling for the right moment, the intimate instant, he proved inter alia in the photo project "12x672," a collaboration with Tobias Thomas. At the famous techno club Robert Johnson not only was the photography ban put aside for him, he even met Acid Pauli after a long evening studio session. "A Little Nightcap" was followed by the first 12", Taunus in 2008, and the barely-apprehended album Lösch dein Profil in 2009, both on Acid Pauli's Smaul imprint. Another highlight surely was the year on tour together with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose first live LP he configured with his photo shots. These are only a few of the cornerstones Herrmann has chiseled his initials in. And now, his debut on Disko B: Trans Atlantik is way more than a collection of tracks, it is the pure essence of all these images, impressions and emotions Daniel Herrmann gathered during the sometimes endless and lonely hours of travelling. "Zeitraffer," "Trans Atlantik" and "Android" are reminiscent of tracks on important electronic labels such as Sky or Brain and stand in the tradition of great artists like Klaus Schulze or Kraftwerk, without remaining in the past, but looking straight forward into the future. One highlight is the cooperation with N.U. Unruh, who not only hammered the appropriate sounds in Einstürzende Neubauten but also for "Musik aus Metall." As a result from the collaboration with the Danish artist Kristina Kristoffersen aka Mono Girl we receive the fragile electro-pop beauty "Watch Me Grow" and the Gothic hymn "On a Spear." Of course, his signature sound in the shape of Krauty-house-y techno is not to be missed -- the dancefloor shakes under the influence of "Konsumprodukt" and "Zukunft." If there is a constant in the Disko B universe, then it is broadening the label family with unique artists.
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2LP+CD
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DB 169LP
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Gatefold double LP version with free CD version. Looking back, it seems like Daniel Herrmann aka Flug 8's musical career was destined to be. His grandfather was an organ builder. There was hardly a single room where not one of these instruments stood, on which he was already strumming ardently in his younger years. Phases in punk, heavy and Krautrock bands followed and consequently, the first synthesizers. A project in art school, a combination of old Super 8 recordings from his parents and his own material, gave birth to his artist name, Flug 8. His second love belongs to photography. The feeling for the right moment, the intimate instant, he proved inter alia in the photo project "12x672," a collaboration with Tobias Thomas. At the famous techno club Robert Johnson not only was the photography ban put aside for him, he even met Acid Pauli after a long evening studio session. "A Little Nightcap" was followed by the first 12", Taunus in 2008, and the barely-apprehended album Lösch dein Profil in 2009, both on Acid Pauli's Smaul imprint. Another highlight surely was the year on tour together with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose first live LP he configured with his photo shots. These are only a few of the cornerstones Herrmann has chiseled his initials in. And now, his debut on Disko B: Trans Atlantik is way more than a collection of tracks, it is the pure essence of all these images, impressions and emotions Daniel Herrmann gathered during the sometimes endless and lonely hours of travelling. "Zeitraffer," "Trans Atlantik" and "Android" are reminiscent of tracks on important electronic labels such as Sky or Brain and stand in the tradition of great artists like Klaus Schulze or Kraftwerk, without remaining in the past, but looking straight forward into the future. One highlight is the cooperation with N.U. Unruh, who not only hammered the appropriate sounds in Einstürzende Neubauten but also for "Musik aus Metall." As a result from the collaboration with the Danish artist Kristina Kristoffersen aka Mono Girl we receive the fragile electro-pop beauty "Watch Me Grow" and the Gothic hymn "On a Spear." Of course, his signature sound in the shape of Krauty-house-y techno is not to be missed -- the dancefloor shakes under the influence of "Konsumprodukt" and "Zukunft." If there is a constant in the Disko B universe, then it is broadening the label family with unique artists.
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