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12"
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KOM 369EP
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Vermont's sophomore album II (KOMP 133CD/KOM 361LP) saw Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow zooming in on ambience, texture, and sonic cohesiveness. Now, II Remixes puts the beat back into the mix, thanks to Dixon, I:Cube, and Wassermann. "Dschuna" gets remixed by Dixon who proves his strong command of the dancefloor with a hypnotic ride. The instrumental version drops the chants, but retains the enchantment. I:Cube brings a distinctly Parisian touch to the spectral "Skorbut", whose sci-fi-imbued widescreen aura gets reimagined as laser-gun-wielding space funk. Wolfgang Voigt, aka Wassermann, condenses the roaming synths of "Paradigma" into pulsating trance swells.
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CD
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KOMP 133CD
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Following their much-acclaimed surprise, self-titled debut album Vermont (KOMP 114CD/KOM 293LP) from 2014, Motor City Drum Ensemble's Danilo Plessow and Innervisions's Marcus Worgull reunite for more synth daydreaming on the suitably titled II. The new outing continues where the first full-length left off, strolling further down the luminous and undulating path that the duo turned into, influenced in equal measures by kosmische, krautrock, minimal wave and synth soundtracks. This latest batch of instrumental cuts opens with the strictly Balearic vibe of "Norderney", a softly swinging, light-footed recording with a keen sense for structure. Featuring a guest performance from Robbert Van Der Bildt (aka Kaap) on guitar, it's a telling starting point for the album that - similar to Vermont's self-titled debut - successfully navigates between economic, careful studio arrangements and playful, incidental exploration further pushing into jam session territory. Van Der Bildt's guitar returns on the plucky, curious "Ufer", where Vermont showcase a renewed sense for jazz-like improvisation - same as on the cuts "Dschuna", "Chanang" and "Wenik", which also include contributions from Dermot O'Mahony and Tadhg Murphy on strings. Still, Vermont's synth contraptions remain the album's main attraction, with the extensive array of gear encompassing an entire panopticon of analog bling - from Arp Oddysey and Moog Prodigy to Fender Rhodes, Juno and Prophet - list-studying gear heads will find lots to drool upon. Consequently, tracks like "Chemtrails", "Unruh" or "Gebirge" err on the machine side of things, expertly interweaving arpeggiated sequences for maximum atmospheric effect. Foreboding, slightly menacing synth motives as on "Skorbut" or "Chemtrails" are perfectly balanced with the casual ambient of "Hallo Von Der Anderen Seite" and the nostalgic warmth of "Demut" - while the gentle push of the masterful "Ki-Bou" even carries a whiff of classic deep house, linking the Vermont project to Plessow and Worgull's main careers as dancefloor movers and shakers. Continually intriguing, immersive and texturally rich, each one of Vermont's new pieces betray the experience, precision and determination of the producers involved - while opening up Worgull and Plessow's vocabulary for patient experimentation and subtle discoveries. A musical treat for synth aficionados - and everyone else.
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LP
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KOM 361LP
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LP version. 180 gram vinyl. Includes download code. Following their much-acclaimed surprise, self-titled debut album Vermont (KOMP 114CD/KOM 293LP) from 2014, Motor City Drum Ensemble's Danilo Plessow and Innervisions's Marcus Worgull reunite for more synth daydreaming on the suitably titled II. The new outing continues where the first full-length left off, strolling further down the luminous and undulating path that the duo turned into, influenced in equal measures by kosmische, krautrock, minimal wave and synth soundtracks. This latest batch of instrumental cuts opens with the strictly Balearic vibe of "Norderney", a softly swinging, light-footed recording with a keen sense for structure. Featuring a guest performance from Robbert Van Der Bildt (aka Kaap) on guitar, it's a telling starting point for the album that - similar to Vermont's self-titled debut - successfully navigates between economic, careful studio arrangements and playful, incidental exploration further pushing into jam session territory. Van Der Bildt's guitar returns on the plucky, curious "Ufer", where Vermont showcase a renewed sense for jazz-like improvisation - same as on the cuts "Dschuna", "Chanang" and "Wenik", which also include contributions from Dermot O'Mahony and Tadhg Murphy on strings. Still, Vermont's synth contraptions remain the album's main attraction, with the extensive array of gear encompassing an entire panopticon of analog bling - from Arp Oddysey and Moog Prodigy to Fender Rhodes, Juno and Prophet - list-studying gear heads will find lots to drool upon. Consequently, tracks like "Chemtrails", "Unruh" or "Gebirge" err on the machine side of things, expertly interweaving arpeggiated sequences for maximum atmospheric effect. Foreboding, slightly menacing synth motives as on "Skorbut" or "Chemtrails" are perfectly balanced with the casual ambient of "Hallo Von Der Anderen Seite" and the nostalgic warmth of "Demut" - while the gentle push of the masterful "Ki-Bou" even carries a whiff of classic deep house, linking the Vermont project to Plessow and Worgull's main careers as dancefloor movers and shakers. Continually intriguing, immersive and texturally rich, each one of Vermont's new pieces betray the experience, precision and determination of the producers involved - while opening up Worgull and Plessow's vocabulary for patient experimentation and subtle discoveries. A musical treat for synth aficionados - and everyone else.
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12"
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KOM 311EP
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A definitive label highlight and surprise best seller in Kompakt's 2014 line-up, Vermont's eponymous full-length (KOMP 114CD/KOM 293LP) has already spawned a marvelous, slightly psychedelic remix EP from Prins Thomas (KOM 307EP). This second remix EP features Irish shooting star Mano le Tough, who brings his warm and melodic yet immensely driving style to "Übersprung"; Vermont co-head Marcus Worgull with a wonderfully varied edit of the same track, opting for a decidedly bouncy approach that leaves no delay unturned; and Life and Death founder DJ Tennis, who reinforces the inherent epicness of "Majestät" with incentive rhythms and finely textured synths.
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12"
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KOM 307EP
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Vermont's eponymous full-length debut introduced the public to an astonishingly different musical side of the project's founders Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow (of Motor City Drum Ensemble fame). With these Prins Thomas versions, another revered hero of contemporary dancefloors enters the stage, with three brilliant reworks that emphasize the rhythmic elements of original cuts "Dynamik," "Elektron," and "Macchina" without betraying their laid-back vibe. He does so by turning to airier variants of classic dance music styles -- techno, house, even a hint of dub reggae, for good measure -- and let them do the legwork.
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CD
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KOMP 114CD
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With an artist roster as prolific and well-established as Kompakt's, you won't find much downtime that could be used for new entries to the catalog. That's why the label is especially happy to not only present Vermont's inaugurating full-length, but also to introduce two distinguished producers to the fold that have built their impressive careers in Kompakt's immediate vicinity, albeit appearing on the label for the very first time: Innervisions' Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow (of Motor City Drum Ensemble fame), two floor familiars praised for their gripping club tunes that showcase a surprisingly unwound and novel side to their respective artist personas. With Vermont, Marcus Worgull and Danilo Plessow submit a noticeably mature work that seems to come from a well-attuned production duo, effectively concealing the fact that this is their first collaborative effort, and a decidedly informal one at that: these cuts were not conceived with specific aesthetic goals in mind, but emerged from a series of loose jam sessions disclosing the trespassing spirit of the sonic adventurer. It's in the sanctum of Danilo's former Cologne studio, surrounded by an armada of vintage analog synthesizers, that the two music buffs somewhat inadvertently tapped into the city's collective subconscious and minted 14 sleek soundscapes of almost Krautrock-ish proportions. Exhibiting high amounts of arpeggiated curiosity and following a factual no-sampling policy, tracks like wonderstruck opener "Yaiza," undulating bleep-fest "Dynamik," the cinematic "Elektron" or ambient ballad "Majestät" are immersed in the enticing allure of freeform sequencing, even deciding to forego the full-blown percussion kits you've come to love in the two producers' main bodies of work. The restricted rhythmic pallet pays off extraordinarily well, as can be heard in the rich, breathing textures of "Katzenjammer," "Droixhe," or "Ebbe": if inclined to do so, one could label them as introspective synth poems, albeit with a strong sense for structure and dramaturgy that speaks volumes about the musical kinship of their originators -- with or without drums. With this kind of sonic DNA running in their systems, it should come as no surprise that Marcus and Danilo enlisted the help of luminaries Dominik Von Senger (guitar on "Sharav," "Cocos" and "Montag") and Jaki Liebezeit (drums/percussion on "Cocos" and "Macchina"), two key figures of Cologne's Krautrock scene -- the former as guitarist with underground mainstays Dunkelziffer and Phantom Band, the latter as drummer for seminal pioneers Can. Further contributions come from Irish musician Dermot O'Mahony (violin on "Übersprung") and Cologne agent provocateur Lena Willikens (Theremin on "Lithium"), two welcome additions to the sound of Vermont: a sound that manages to be outstandingly soothing and inexplicably stirring at the same time, probably one of the rarest feats in electronic music today.
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LP + CD + 7"
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KOM 293LP
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LP version, pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Includes a bonus 7" and CD copy of the album.
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