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LP
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BB 307LP
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LP version. One of the greatest things about pop music is that rules can be summarily ignored. Ninety-nine times out a hundred, however, there is a tendency to stick to those very same rules, failing to break the chains of market forces or stem the tide of expectations. Whatever. Station 17 are not amongst those who follow well-trodden paths. This band, all too often referred to as a "project", can look back on a richer history than most, amassed over thirty years. To mark this anniversary, a new album entitled Ausblick is set to appear alongside a retrospective, Werkschau (BB 315CD/LP). The new record is a twin of sorts to Blick (BB 285CD/LP, BB 298LTD-LP, 2018): a collection of exciting collaborations. Created in a remote studio in the tranquil environs of Niebüll, northern Germany. From kraut legends such as Günter Schickert and faUSt to the friendly countenances of electronically inclined musicians like Schneider TM and Ulrich Schnauss, all the players have one thing in common: they have seamlessly aligned themselves with the production and composition techniques of Station 17, embracing the spontaneity of the situation here and now rather than seeking to impose their own methodology on proceedings. "The town is a blur before your eyes" ("Die Stadt verschwimmt vor dem Gesicht") is one line on "The Midday Sun Freezes" ("Die Mittagssonne Friert") and it is astounding to note how similar the images evoked by the music are to the images painted in the supremely intelligent lyrics, bordering on the wise. Directness is at the heart of Ausblick, a light-hearted obfuscation of distance which works equally well in doped up dubs and out-there krautish electro tracks. The inobtrusive sounds never feel forced. Everything flows, yet every song stands on its own -- as an agent of experimentation and pop, of aimlessness and barely articulable precision. Only a band who know exactly what they are doing are capable of such feats. Ausblick features Pyrolator, Günter Schickert & Schneider TM, faUSt, Datashock, Harald Grosskopf & Eberhard Kranemann, Andreas Dorau, Andreas Spechtl, Ulrich Schnauss, and Günter Schickert.
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LP
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BB 315LP
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LP version. Anyone who has followed the progress of Station 17 over the past three decades will know: the only constant in this band is change. Evolving, stretching musical parameters, testing limits -- these are the guiding principles of the band founded in 1988 by a group of mentally handicapped residents -- Wohngruppe 17 -- in Hamburg. Kai Boysen, an independent musician working with them as a curative teacher, started up the collective as a creative and social project, the first of its kind in the alternative music scene to bring together musicians with and without disabilities. Eleven official albums (if you count two remix albums) have been released since then. Over the years, Station 17 have increasingly emancipated themselves from the basic idea of a socio-creative project and advanced to the status of an internationally acclaimed combo in the experimental indie rock sector, conjuring up their own mix of electronic, krautrock, disco, noise, and pop. This long and emotional journey has seen the collective play more than 800 concerts all over Europe. Two extensive documentaries have presented their story on screen. The roll call of renowned guests and collaborators includes Holger Czukay, Fettes Brot, Gudrun Gut, Andreas Dorau, DJ Koze, and Die Toten Hosen, to name just a few. The anniversary compilation Werkschau offers a wonderful introduction to the cosmos of these pioneers of inclusive music production.
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CD
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BB 307CD
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One of the greatest things about pop music is that rules can be summarily ignored. Ninety-nine times out a hundred, however, there is a tendency to stick to those very same rules, failing to break the chains of market forces or stem the tide of expectations. Whatever. Station 17 are not amongst those who follow well-trodden paths. This band, all too often referred to as a "project", can look back on a richer history than most, amassed over thirty years. To mark this anniversary, a new album entitled Ausblick is set to appear alongside a retrospective, Werkschau (BB 315CD/LP). The new record is a twin of sorts to Blick (BB 285CD/LP, BB 298LTD-LP, 2018): a collection of exciting collaborations. Created in a remote studio in the tranquil environs of Niebüll, northern Germany. From kraut legends such as Günter Schickert and faUSt to the friendly countenances of electronically inclined musicians like Schneider TM and Ulrich Schnauss, all the players have one thing in common: they have seamlessly aligned themselves with the production and composition techniques of Station 17, embracing the spontaneity of the situation here and now rather than seeking to impose their own methodology on proceedings. "The town is a blur before your eyes" ("Die Stadt verschwimmt vor dem Gesicht") is one line on "The Midday Sun Freezes" ("Die Mittagssonne Friert") and it is astounding to note how similar the images evoked by the music are to the images painted in the supremely intelligent lyrics, bordering on the wise. Directness is at the heart of Ausblick, a light-hearted obfuscation of distance which works equally well in doped up dubs and out-there krautish electro tracks. The inobtrusive sounds never feel forced. Everything flows, yet every song stands on its own -- as an agent of experimentation and pop, of aimlessness and barely articulable precision. Only a band who know exactly what they are doing are capable of such feats. Ausblick features Pyrolator, Günter Schickert & Schneider TM, faUSt, Datashock, Harald Grosskopf & Eberhard Kranemann, Andreas Dorau, Andreas Spechtl, Ulrich Schnauss, and Günter Schickert.
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CD
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BB 315CD
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Anyone who has followed the progress of Station 17 over the past three decades will know: the only constant in this band is change. Evolving, stretching musical parameters, testing limits -- these are the guiding principles of the band founded in 1988 by a group of mentally handicapped residents -- Wohngruppe 17 -- in Hamburg. Kai Boysen, an independent musician working with them as a curative teacher, started up the collective as a creative and social project, the first of its kind in the alternative music scene to bring together musicians with and without disabilities. Eleven official albums (if you count two remix albums) have been released since then. Over the years, Station 17 have increasingly emancipated themselves from the basic idea of a socio-creative project and advanced to the status of an internationally acclaimed combo in the experimental indie rock sector, conjuring up their own mix of electronic, krautrock, disco, noise, and pop. This long and emotional journey has seen the collective play more than 800 concerts all over Europe. Two extensive documentaries have presented their story on screen. The roll call of renowned guests and collaborators includes Holger Czukay, Fettes Brot, Gudrun Gut, Andreas Dorau, DJ Koze, and Die Toten Hosen, to name just a few. The anniversary compilation Werkschau offers a wonderful introduction to the cosmos of these pioneers of inclusive music production.
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CD
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BB 285CD
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Station 17 present their tenth album Blick. From the liner notes by Julian Bätz: "If their preceding album Alles Für Alle (2014) represented the band's first pure pop creation, Blick is a triple backwards somersault in style. This will come as no surprise to anybody who has followed their progress over the past 30 years, crossing musical boundaries as they go. Experimentation is in the DNA of the band founded by musicians with and without disabilities. For the Blick recording sessions, they decided to shake off the dust of the town and the modern world, ensconcing themselves in the Watt'n Sound Studio on the North Sea. Three weeks in the summery seclusion of this coastal idyll enabled the band to cast off the pop restraints of their previous album and enter the realms of free improvisation. No predetermined structures, no preconceived lyrics, the music should exist in the moment, live in the present -- not even a basic key was set as a point of reference. Thanks to this creative freedom, Blick developed into a work which, on the one hand, relates to some of the greatest exponents of krautrock like Popol Vuh and, on the other, is a more relaxed, warmer, less vocals-focused cousin of Die Entstehung Der Nacht (2009) by the Goldenen Zitronen. Allusions to the legends of experimental, improvisation-friendly electro-krautrockers are quite reasonable, given the roll call of collaborators featured on this album. Step forward Andreas Dorau, Jean-Hervé Péron and Zappi Diermaier of faUSt, Andreas Spechtl (Ja, Panik), Pyrolator, Grosskopf Kranemann, Datashock, Günter Schickert and none other than Ulrich Schnauss, now a member of German electronic powerhouse Tangerine Dream. Emulating the modus operandi of the aforementioned, Blick documents the immediate, unfiltered and unalloyed interaction between the Station 17 musicians. The spectrum of this 'dialogue' is extended through the musical guests -- and captured sonically by Dirk Dresselhaus alias Schneider TM in the engineering room. . . . Once you have opened yourself up to the positive magic of the nine tracks on Blick, you are sure to discover the honest power lurking in the music of Station 17."
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LP+CD
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BB 285LP
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LP version. Includes CD. Station 17 present their tenth album Blick. From the liner notes by Julian Bätz: "If their preceding album Alles Für Alle (2014) represented the band's first pure pop creation, Blick is a triple backwards somersault in style. This will come as no surprise to anybody who has followed their progress over the past 30 years, crossing musical boundaries as they go. Experimentation is in the DNA of the band founded by musicians with and without disabilities. For the Blick recording sessions, they decided to shake off the dust of the town and the modern world, ensconcing themselves in the Watt'n Sound Studio on the North Sea. Three weeks in the summery seclusion of this coastal idyll enabled the band to cast off the pop restraints of their previous album and enter the realms of free improvisation. No predetermined structures, no preconceived lyrics, the music should exist in the moment, live in the present -- not even a basic key was set as a point of reference. Thanks to this creative freedom, Blick developed into a work which, on the one hand, relates to some of the greatest exponents of krautrock like Popol Vuh and, on the other, is a more relaxed, warmer, less vocals-focused cousin of Die Entstehung Der Nacht (2009) by the Goldenen Zitronen. Allusions to the legends of experimental, improvisation-friendly electro-krautrockers are quite reasonable, given the roll call of collaborators featured on this album. Step forward Andreas Dorau, Jean-Hervé Péron and Zappi Diermaier of faUSt, Andreas Spechtl (Ja, Panik), Pyrolator, Grosskopf Kranemann, Datashock, Günter Schickert and none other than Ulrich Schnauss, now a member of German electronic powerhouse Tangerine Dream. Emulating the modus operandi of the aforementioned, Blick documents the immediate, unfiltered and unalloyed interaction between the Station 17 musicians. The spectrum of this 'dialogue' is extended through the musical guests -- and captured sonically by Dirk Dresselhaus alias Schneider TM in the engineering room. . . . Once you have opened yourself up to the positive magic of the nine tracks on Blick, you are sure to discover the honest power lurking in the music of Station 17."
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LP+12"
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BB 298LTD-LP
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Limited edition color vinyl version. Includes 12" with two additional tracks and a download code. Station 17 present their tenth album Blick. From the liner notes by Julian Bätz: "If their preceding album Alles Für Alle (2014) represented the band's first pure pop creation, Blick is a triple backwards somersault in style. This will come as no surprise to anybody who has followed their progress over the past 30 years, crossing musical boundaries as they go. Experimentation is in the DNA of the band founded by musicians with and without disabilities. For the Blick recording sessions, they decided to shake off the dust of the town and the modern world, ensconcing themselves in the Watt'n Sound Studio on the North Sea. Three weeks in the summery seclusion of this coastal idyll enabled the band to cast off the pop restraints of their previous album and enter the realms of free improvisation. No predetermined structures, no preconceived lyrics, the music should exist in the moment, live in the present -- not even a basic key was set as a point of reference. Thanks to this creative freedom, Blick developed into a work which, on the one hand, relates to some of the greatest exponents of krautrock like Popol Vuh and, on the other, is a more relaxed, warmer, less vocals-focused cousin of Die Entstehung Der Nacht (2009) by the Goldenen Zitronen. Allusions to the legends of experimental, improvisation-friendly electro-krautrockers are quite reasonable, given the roll call of collaborators featured on this album. Step forward Andreas Dorau, Jean-Hervé Péron and Zappi Diermaier of faUSt, Andreas Spechtl (Ja, Panik), Pyrolator, Grosskopf Kranemann, Datashock, Günter Schickert and none other than Ulrich Schnauss, now a member of German electronic powerhouse Tangerine Dream. Emulating the modus operandi of the aforementioned, Blick documents the immediate, unfiltered and unalloyed interaction between the Station 17 musicians. The spectrum of this 'dialogue' is extended through the musical guests -- and captured sonically by Dirk Dresselhaus alias Schneider TM in the engineering room. . . . Once you have opened yourself up to the positive magic of the nine tracks on Blick, you are sure to discover the honest power lurking in the music of Station 17."
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12"
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17REC 003EP
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Remixes by Pelle Buys & Lawrence. "Second part of the Station 17 remix series comes up with a very strong 10-minute ride by Pelle Buys (aka one third of Einmusik) and a very charming Lawrence (Dial) remix."
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