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12"
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MIDWICH 009EP
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"Magas's limited-to-200 4-track spring 2017 12" EP Explanatory Denial opens A1 with 'Shipping Container', a rough, minimal stomper, offering plenty of bounce, but no padding or instructions. A2's 'New Dawn' opens the door to a brightly-lit and concrete alternate reality. B1's 'Sky Castles' keeps bodies moving while synthesized strings whisper false reassurances of easy days and high pay. The closer, 'Indelible Mark' is an atmospheric lo-fi Casio and Rhodes lounge-funk spy groover that smells of Holiday Inn wood-paneling, dripping with Benson & Hedges Ultra-lite 100s. Deploying a variety of primitive electronic techniques, Explanatory Denial is a testament to the power of diligent synth-hunting and decades of basement refinement. Explanatory Denial is the 7th record by Chicago-based electronic producer Jim Magas under his longtime Magas moniker. In the '90s, he fronted unconventional 'no wave'-ish bands Couch and Lake Of Dracula. In the early 2000s, he recorded for material for Ersatz Audio and did a few remixes. In the Twenty-teens, he focused on instrumental productions for his own Midwich imprint and composing music for director Asia Argento's 2014 film, Misunderstood. In early 2017, Magas premiered new material during a U.S. tour in support of band Joan of Arc. Explanatory Denial is the first entry into Midwich Red, a series of no-frills, minimally-packaged, club-friendly, limited edition 12"s."
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12"
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MIDWICH 002EP
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"Midwich is proud to present MAGAS's Heads Plus, the first proper vinyl release from James Marlon Magas since 2009's Violent ARP. For the past several years, Magas has been concentrating on instrumental production, eschewing vocal histrionics of previous work, in favor of moodier, more open-ended composition. This focus has resulted in the bombastic and hallucinatory Heads Plus, an all-instrumental wallop that fuses howling ARP Odyssey, capricious Juno funk and fuzzed Rhodes anchored to the ever-present throb of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. Freed from vocal constraints, Heads Plus conjures a cinematic ambience where light and dark wrangle for dominance in a dystopian post-techno near-future. Plowing ahead with gleeful abandon, this 5-track EP is a take-no-prisoners statement of intent. Heads Plus is mastered by Ruud Lekx (Rude 66) and cut by Josh Bonati at Bonati Mastering in NYC and comes housed in a eye-popping full-color UV gloss jacket featuring artwork by renowned sci-fi illustrator, Mark Salwowski, with layout by designer Beth Hall. A digital download code is included with purchase."
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CD
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EZ 025CD
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"Magas is James Marlon Magas. His new album Friends Forever proves he is an unstoppable force in today's underground music scene. This new album is....electronic, it's rock, it's no wave. It's great driving music, and great dancing music. Who cares what you call it. It's simply great music. Listen to this 11 song album, and get ready to be revived. The beats are thick. The synths are vindictive. And the vocals will send shivers up your spine. Unlike many musicians, Magas gives to the music community in two unique ways. First, with his up-tempo minimalist songs, racing towards annihilation. And second, running the influential record store Weekend Records & Soap (Chicago) with his wife Bridgette Wilson. Magas is that unique individual who can simultaneously operate a successful specialty record shop and still create music that is uncontaminated by the hordes of records that move through his shop each week. He uses his knowledge of record releases to create a sound that is both fresh and educated. Magas has always been on the outside of any one style or genre since his beginnings in music, from Couch to Lake Of Dracula and The Many Moods of Marlon Magas. Friends Forever is the follow up to the ground-breaking 12? EP Bad Blood on Ersatz Audio last year. As with Bad Blood, Magas once again employed the co-production assistance of Adam Lee Miller of Adult., and together they produced another fantastic album that will surely stir the waters."
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