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viewing 1 To 15 of 15 items
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CD
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ARENA 026CD
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"Outstanding new album from Sinner DC which ranks right up there with such like-minded souls as Gui Boratto/The Field/M83/Ulrich Schnauss. The opening bars of 'Go for the Stream' set the tone perfectly for the 9 tracks that are to follow on Crystallized. This is their second full length outing on Ai, and a perfect opener for Ai's 10th anniversary year. 'Anyway' is the album's second cut and as with 'Go for the Stream' it lets the listener bask in the mournful beauty of the many textures on offer and builds up the anticipation for the energetic explosion that must surely follow. Sounding not unlike a digital version of Mogwai, 'Golden Horses' builds upon its sparse beginnings and steadily introduces synthesized strings, haunting wails and a variety of background effects to end up with a track that doesn't so much evolve but rather throbs with energy as it moves along its trajectory. The midpoint of the album is now upon us and its time for a gentle breather with 'V,' an almost beatless number where the subtle percussion plays only a supporting role to the soaring synths that whisk the listener away to a place of tranquility. This leads us into 'Sunrized,' a track where the title perfectly describes the thoughts invoked as the sounds emanate from the speakers. 'Glass Alley' is a slightly more upbeat 'pop' affair that perfectly balances the warm electronics, soaring strings and soft vocal touches that are so key to their appeal. The vocals are present again on 'Digital Dust,' a track that will appeal to fans of the likes of M83 and Ulrich Schnauss where playful percussion, distant vocals and rich textures are the order of the day. 'Coast' is the album's final cut and this time things are of a techno aesthetic, albeit downbeat in nature and containing the brief presence of an ethereal vocal. As with all of the work, the atmospherics are once again the key and despite the cold reverb used to create space and depth, warm synths and distorted guitars are also in use, resulting yet again in a perfectly balanced composition that will delight your senses and leave you hungry for more as the album fades to a close."
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ARENA 024LP
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"The first thing likely to hit you with The Third Man's (aka Toby Leeming) debut LP, Clarion Call is the striking cover art. The image is one of a series of anatomical drawings that German artist Karl Wesker devoted 8 years of his life producing for the Thieme Atlas of Anatomy. The limited edition mini-album, a selection of cuts for the DJ, delivers 8 tracks of pristine techno and electro and had The Third Man been the subject used for Karl's graphic illustration, the artist would surely have depicted the deeply electronic blood running through his veins. The Third Man's love of Detroit techno has been exhibited in some of his earlier work and this can again be heard on the album's title track; a mellow atmospheric number with a deep pulse bassline and swirling pianos, definitely a track for the 'morning after.' Influences: UR, Transmat, Metroplex, Basic Channel, Robert Hood, LFO Detroit, Scotland... & Hemsby. Sounds like: A trip through techno and electro, aimed at the dancefloor, but never losing the focus on melody."
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ARENA 023CD
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"Due in part to satisfy the requests for CD-based material, Ai's next full-length offering is a sampler showcasing the breadth of talent and styles signed to the label's roster. Deep, dubby techno is represented on 'Teranidian,' the LP's opener and the final track from Najem Sworb's critically-acclaimed debut EP from late 2007. Plant43's Drexciyan-tinged electro is up next in the shape of the title track from his Grey Sky Cracks EP before we move swiftly onto the The Third Man's warm techno journey along the 'A14.' Hot on the heels of his first full-length opus, the midpoint of the LP is handed over to Datassette; firstly with 'Damage Report,' his futuristic take on machine funk and then the medieval tones of 'Pluck,' a track akin to dropping a court lyre player into a modern day recording studio and allowing him to tinker merrily. Electronica is where the label first made its mark and the latter half of the sampler shows that while recent releases have had more of structured dancefloor feel, this genre is still very much part of the label's repertoire. Michael Manning delivers a pair of previously-unreleased tracks both of which have a strong string content although vary in their approach with 'Center of the Universe' being a full scale orchestral affair with complementary electronics, whereas 'Release' gently works the strings between broken beat and game-like patterns. Strings also play a part in Sinner DC's 'Summer 57,' a distorted electro workout sounding like a slowed-down version of Underworld's 'Rez' and another brand new track exclusive to this release. The LP is then finally brought to a close with the ambient electronica of Michael Manning's 'Lost Aberrant Dragonfly,' the oldest cut on the sampler coming from his earlier EP of the same name."
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ARENA 016CD
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"Mount Age, Sinner DC's second album, is without any question a stunning collection of atmospheric electronica and Ai's strongest album release to date. Having spent four years touring Europe and recording in their home town of Geneva, Sinner DC have honed their skills to create a truly amazing, ultra-melodic, expansive second album. Mount Age inspiration: imagine a Krautrock band (like Cluster for example) obsessed by Brian Wilson's productions about the loss of innocence, finding a computer from 2006 full of electronic tracks from Kompakt, Warp, Type, or Ghostly and trying to mix all this together...for a unique timeless sound!"
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ARENA 015CD
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"2006 sees Ai start the year with a stunning new compilation, this time in the form of a limited edition 12" vinyl picture disc (500 copies only) and sampler priced CD. The album spotlights eight new signings to the UK label, all of whom indicate 2006 should prove as spectacular a year for Ai devotees as 2005. The Ai garb fits Rootsix perfectly, judging by the gleaming electro-house of 'Just One of Those Things,' and Biologic and Pathic (John Cranmer) sound equally at home on their respective tracks 'Crystal Violet' and 'Triangulation,' where dramatic washes and mellow tones drape over bubbly beats and churning electrofunk. Sensiva (Russian born Artem Galukhin) adds a slippery hip-hop strut to his spacey '44100 th Galaxy' while Tomcats In Tokyo (French duo Fabrice Rey and Fabrice Marsaud) build 'Telophasic Céphalee' into a driving mass of rumbling beats and blistering squelches. Only Moonjean's 'Someday My Prints Will Come' departs dramatically in style (though that shouldn't surprise too much, given that she identifies Glen Campbell, Bread, and The Carpenters as influences). Michigan-based Jeanie Moon-Gatrops creates a lovely setting from marimba, synths, acoustic guitar, and her own treated voice, in a style that recalls Melodic more than Ai. No matter how similar or dissimilar their material, the new recruits are concerned less with inciting revolutions than in perpetuating Ai's rep for quality production, and in that regard they succeed admirably."
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ARENA 014CD
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"AI's finest artist album, this time by long standing DJ/producer Bernhard Pucher. Under his Confutatis alter ego, Bernhard gives us an album of electronic nuances, guitars, saxophones, melodic chords, lo-fi atmospherics, glitch-house, crunchy hip hop beats and distorted vocals for a journey along the outer edges of the night time world. After increasing his reputation with his Iron Box Music imprint, other labels including Poker Flat, Traum, Spectral, Onitor, Ware records, and Sub-Static started to pick up on his musical talent. From the opening sax-filled glitch-house of 'Faith' and the hip hop inflected beats and vocals of 'Just Ask,' to the rolling bass filled tech-house of 'My Statement' and the title track's melancholic soundtrack, Built In Anger is an album made for the head, the heart, and the dancefloor."
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ARENA 012CD
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"Public is the highly anticipated debut full length from Michael Manning, and it's a true musical rainbow. The album showcases his talents for producing a myriad of styles, switching between orchestral parts, analogue warmth, vocals (both his own and friends), hip-hop, digital programming, and remarkable songwriting. Manning's ambient roots also underpin the album, forcing reflection from the listener and displaying subtlety and discretion at every turn. Repeated listens reveal incredible depth. Taken in isolation these are fourteen brilliantly realized songs, of which repeated listens reveal incredible depth."
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ARENA 011CD
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"Virgo is Jacen Solo's debut album and follows last year's wonderful Forbidden Medicine EP that launched his name onto the esteemed shoulders of Ai Records. Jacen Solo, or Doug Adamson to be precise, has been reared on a diet of 24-carat machine music, meeting the transfixed breaks and demented edits of Aphex Twin with the elongated pastoral textures of Motor City music and it's purring British counterpart in the shape of B12 and legendary labels like A.R.T. and Likemind. There's also some hip hop thrown into his loop, worshipping the ruffage elucidated so ruthlessly by Stetsasonic and Eric B & Rakim, a myriad sounds forming a DJ style that has accompanied him since the ripe old age of 14. With Virgo, Jacen Solo embarks from the same starting point that made Claro Intelecto so unique -- marking himself precisely between the points where techno and electronica cross arms. It's a rich, oddly beguiling sound that takes in fragmented shards of electro, seductively detuned flute-cut techno, glazed-over daydream house and the windswept seafront parading of late night neon music that doesn't quite have a name yet."
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ARENA 010CD
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"To celebrate its new distribution set up and 5 year anniversary the label has put together this superb 13 track budget priced label sampler featuring 7 classic tracks and 6 unreleased tracks from future releases." Artists, "classics": Claro Intelecto, Yellotone, FZV, Normal, Confutatus, Montag, SWF. Tracks from forthcoming albums: Yunx, Normal, Subside, Jacen Solo, Sinner DC, Mike Manning.
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12"
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ARENA 011EP
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"Doug Adamson has been reared on a diet of 24 carat machine music, meeting the transfixed breaks and demented edits of Aphex Twin with the elongated pastoral textures of motor city music and it's purring British counterpart in the shape of B12 and legendary labels like A.r.t. and Likemind. Sharing a love of mid-90's artificial intelligence and the Detroit fuelled party shuffling that dominated the crawley scene back in the day, Doug and his nourishing label have much in common. And as if to clearly define the agenda and stake a claim to this new hybrid sound, 'Forbidden Medicine' marks itself precisely in between the points where techno and electronica meet. It's a rich, oddly beguiling sound that takes in fragmented shards of electro, seductively detuned flute-cut techno, glazed-over daydream house and the windswept seafront parading glamour of late night neon music that doesn't quite have a name yet." Limited stock.
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ARENA 009CD
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"Yellotone is a tunesmith in the tradition of all the great Anglo Saxon tunesmiths that went before, welding raw materials into a hushed toad full of gold. Playing the guitar/bass/drums/keyboard, and audibly influenced by a diverse range of artists, the 'tone has twiddled his knobs deep into the night to produce his own version of computer sequenced electronica from a minty selection of homegrown samples. After his Geen Mayo debut, one of the long sold out gems from the early Ai EP series, found itself as one of the most consistently requested releases in the cooler record shops, the wait for this full lengther has been well worth it. Equal parts aesthetic and cheerfully indietronic, Yellotone's catchy arrangements, considered instrumentation and ambitions for pushing through the envelope bear groovy fruit here."
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ARENA 009LP
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ARENA 006CD
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"Ai imprint return with the release of Richard Herbert's first full-length endeavour under the FZV moniker. Precedent is an electronic album rooted firmly within the traditions of the Artificial Intelligence school, as perfected by Warp's early recruits Autechre, Black Dog and Aphex Twin, and the affiliated work of Bola and Gescom for the influential Skam imprint. FZV re-visits a time of electronic music construction that did not rely on laptop conceits or digital presets -- largely revolving around analog synths, effects and drum machines for the development of involving sci-fi textures built-up without pretention or conceit. With extreme attention to detail, the Ai imprint has built an impeccable reputation for visual panache and product design that has garnered it the attention of countless followers and the world press."
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ARENA 007CD
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"Station stands alone -- offering a kind of closure to previous compilations conceived by Ai records, it's not so much a concept album, more of an attitude -- Station as a place leading somewhere new, motion and stasis, at once urban and yet suggesting other destinations, new locations. A truly international base of artists bless each track with unique musical criteria and direction -- from urban mind funk through electro to purest pop. Ai's typical attention to graphic detail brings the sleeve's hexagonal patterns into allusive focus -- in the detuned melodies of Welk from Steve Hyland's 'Normal' and Praveen's 'Small Clues' -- evidence of a generation reared on the shamanic pastoralism of the Boards of Canada. However, we've learnt to expect diverse terrain from Ai -- the label's EP stars of 2003 continue to develop their sound -- Yellotone's Simon Harding drops the Channel One influenced digital steppa 'Dubbly More', while Michael Manning runs it down with some Bola-esque percussive voodoo. From the new recruits there's classic pop too -- West Australian Pablo Dali offers pristine indie-tronic strums and sways, from comparative Swiss veterans Sinner Dc -- a vocal tune with strings and a stroboscopic psychedelic purity to entrance and rescue early Air fans. From Italy, Tin-Tole-Lata blur the divide between electronic and acoustic with aplomb, dreamlike melodies play over crisp beats. Icelander's Traject -- now signed to the super-cool Spezial material imprint -- traverses a glacial, isolated place. Intonamori provides an unguent, welcoming lullaby for the synapses, while Ascoltare and Sofalofa achieve great things with chiming melodic vibes and deep acoustic drums, processed in their own inimitable style. Its left to Ai's own Puerto Rican-Miami connection, Chris Roman's 214 project to bring the boom to this album -- reared on classic bass, and it really shows. From The Outside asks listeners to submit to the get on down and party with a dose of classic Detroit inflection. Plain to see why Microlux have snapped up his debut album. Station provides a sense of the diversity this critically lauded label has made its watchword, never content with mere stasis -- looking ahead for the next destination with what may be termed wanderlust. A concentrated dose of the right stuff."
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ARENA 005CD
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"In the space of the last 12 months, Ai has become one of the most talked-about, relevant and collectable of independent labels anywhere in the world today. With an audio-visual aesthetic heavily rooted in originality and an appreciation of classic electronic music and design in all its forms; followers of Warp, Skam, Toytronic and the like have been scrambling round each of its limited releases with glee. Originally conceived as a tribute to the 'sound of Crawley', New Town is a simply devastating collection of electronic tracks for the dancefloor. Following his hugely influential EP Piece of Mind, THE record at Sven Vath's infamous Cocoon nights currently, Claro Intelecto finally returns with two brand new cuts: the dense, punishing electroid mashup of 'Delete', and the Rhodes-infused Drexciyan chill of 'Breathless'. Claro has been cited by many as the finest producer of electroid/house hybrids on the scene at the moment -- a British producer who can at long last rank amongst the most decorated Detroit operators -- typifying precisely why he has been in so much demand over the last few months. FZV, another core artist, displays a relentless IDM construction that spins with the sort of dark strokes that fans of Bola and early Skam will adore -- a mangle of crunch and strings designed to evoke and terrify. Joe Franks, meanwhile, summons the spirit of Mantronix through a series of filters and flangers that digest the squashed drums and appregiated basslines into a factory monster: tough, considered, flawlessly executed electro sizzles of the loveliest kind. SWF's beat engineering comes straight outta Company Flow's rulebook -- deep structures and a blue, crisp crunch of uncompromising beats to draw in a machine-led future on the gargantuan 'True'. With uplifting motor-city house chords shimmering on Andy Freer's 'Super Galaxo', ADJ's mangled machinery evoking EP7-era Autechre brilliance and the Carl Craig/69 vibes assembled on T.R.I.P.'s 'Donald Plays Techno', New Town deploys a heavyweight assault through the ages of electronic music -- past, present and future."
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