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12"
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HOLGER 013EP
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Perm is one of Leipzig's busiest electronic music producers. Holger welcomes him with a four-tracker that offers a deep insight into his vision of timeless techno: airy and yet firmly grounded, with a foggy atmosphere that permeates a vast space of sound. Jets is trippy and hypnotic but also very bodily and highly energetic. With these qualities it fits very nicely with Polo's Tent Tracks (HOLGER 011EP, 2016) and Barnt's If She Says She Is A Healer (HOLGER 012EP, 2016) -- a perfect closer for this mini triplet series, a sort of a trademark for the label.
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12"
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HOLGER 012EP
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After gracing Holger with one of his signature remixes in 2015 on The Moonland Remixes, Barnt now returns with two of his own works, the first ones since his widely acclaimed debut LP of 2014 (MAGAZINE 013LP). Side A features an ethereal composition in five parts - accurately titled "A-Seite 1-5" - while Side B displays Barnt's idiosyncratic version of techno at its best: "If She Says She Is A Healer, She Is A Healer". Unmistakably the man from Magazine, yet in surprising new garments - and another perfect match for Holger.
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12"
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HOLGER 011EP
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After a well-received debut record on fellow Leipzig imprint Kann (Route, 2015), Tent Tracks marks Polo's second artist EP and his first one for Holger. Here he further expands the hypnotic qualities of his productions, yet always remains in the blurry zone between techno and house. Based on rather loopy grooves, his sound is moving as well as meditative - it's extremely physical and remarkably spiritual at the same time. Polo has one of Leipzig's most established DJs for almost two decades, rock solid and ever reliable.
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3x12"
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BUNDLE 003EP
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Holger Bundle #3 features three EPs from the label in a tote bag with a screen-printed logo - grey on grey. From Vai's hazy ambient/electronica Son of Idaia (HOLGER 008EP, 2015) to Simon12345 & The Lazer Twins's wild combination of fuzzy techno-not-techno with quiet zero-gravity moments Cheveux Propres, Cheveux Gras (HOLGER 009EP, 2016), rounded out by Chino's remarkably club-friendly acid/electro Hiss (HOLGER 010EP, 2016). Holger slowly seems to make its way back into dance territory, without losing its lust for experimentation. This series of EPs can be seen as a transitional one, also in a visual sense, introducing a new style of artwork by Lukas Mehling. Taking cues from previous works, Mehling also develops a more futuristic and loose line of design.
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12"
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HOLGER 010EP
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Holger presents Chino's Hiss. Chino has been one of the most busy live performers in Poland for the last decade. His Hiss EP is a true acid treasure and Holger's most decisive step into proper club territory. "Worker" and "Paper Rider" are two bass-heavy dancefloor belters, with strong kick-drums and synapse-tickling 303 lines. The flipside shows two more of Chino's many facets: While "31.08." is a slow-burning dub-techno hypnosis, "Shifter" closes the EP with moody electro. Mastered by Rurd Lekx, also known as the legend that is Rude 66.
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12"
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HOLGER 009EP
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Carving out their own niche with Doumen Records and its main project Praezisa Rapid 3000 since 2013, Simon12345 & The Lazer Twins now join the Holger family with a record that fits the label philosophy quite perfectly. Cheveux Propres, Cheveux Gras is yet another record in between everything; it's loud but with sensitive moments, stomping and danceable, fuzzy and wild, and demanding at times yet always a pleasure to listen to. An up-and-down journey off the beaten path, willfully ignoring conventional rules and listening habits. Typical Holger -- a radical statement of self-expression, full of character and highly personal.
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12"
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HOLGER 008EP
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With its eighth release, the Leipzig-based Holger label introduces Vai, an artist who has previously been active with various production teams and aliases. Son of Idaia is his most intimate work to date; a highly personal record that interweaves fragile elements to create a sound somewhere between ambient, electronica, and ghostly techo. It seems removed from its club origins and yet still reverberates with these roots. A deep trip down the rabbit hole, dubby, immersive, and glowing in all its calm beauty. This release also introduces a series of Holger cover art by Lukas Mehling.
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3x12"
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BUNDLE 002EP
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Holger Bundle #2 combines the label's three artist mini-albums in a black-and-white tote bag with logo print. While Weber's lust for experimentation and roots in psychedelic krautrock and post-rock are ever-present, it is interesting to follow his development as an artist from Eins (HOLGER 004LP, 2014) to Zwei (HOLGER 007EP, 2015). Timoka's Tulgey (HOLGER 005LP, 2014) feels like a glimpse into a universe of its own; electronic with an organic feel, mysterious but somehow cozy at the same time.
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HOLGER 007EP
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On his second release, Weber further expands the sounds and themes introduced on his debut, Eins (HOLGER 004LP, 2014). Zwei documents Weber's development and growing confidence as an artist. Combining influences from early krautrock, minimal music, and contemporary dance sounds, Weber shows a refreshing appetite for experimentation and free-form song structures. Given these parameters anything seems possible, from the post-techno of "Sklt" via the anti-pop of "The Bug" to the spaced-out "B1/Warten" and its ghostly dub companion "No4."
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12"
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HOLGER 006EP
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Dream Weapons' "Moonland" from his 2014 Pathways EP (HOLGER 003EP) has been a favorite of many. Accordingly, remix duties have been entrusted to Barnt and Jens-Uwe Beyer -- two of the co-founders of acclaimed Cologne label Magazine. An expert in mixing and structuring, Barnt carves out the hidden capabilities of "Moonland" while Beyer takes a slightly more humorous but no less feet-moving approach to things. Weirdo techno in typical Magazine/Holger style.
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LP
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HOLGER 005LP
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Timoka's Tulgey is his second effort on the Holger label and it is quite an achievement. While his debut Waters offered just a glimpse of the Timoka universe, Tulgey expands the themes set there and further broadens the perspective, adding at least one more dimension and offering new insights into this masterfully-crafted, highly complex world of its own. It's a zone of transformations: landscapes become waveforms, images turn into sound -- and vice versa. The result is rich in atmosphere, full of bittersweet emotions and captivating from start to finish. If the Waters EP could be seen as a fragmented short story, Tulgey now offers a much more consistent narrative -- it's a journey, a proper novella. One could call it sophisticated or even wise -- though the core of its origin is a very simple one: to create personally relevant music. It just happens to be incredibly beautiful at the same time.
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LP
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HOLGER 004LP
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Philipp Weber is a musician living and working in Leipzig, Germany. His main focus when creating music is to capture the moment by using all kinds of instruments in a playful and intuitive way, experimenting with rhythms, sounds and melodies. His songs are ideas, emotions and thoughts that he tries to translate into music. "It's like speaking a language," he says, "without knowing its grammar, still trying to find the right words." Philipp is one-half of the project Webermichelson -- a two-piece band focused on merging Kraut and experimental music through drums, synths and guitars. Webermichelson have been a core ingredient of the Holger universe from the very start, one of their live shows actually being the moment where it all began. With his first mini-album, Weber now joins the Holger family also as a solo artist. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
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12"
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HOLGER 003EP
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A few words by Steffen Bennemann: "I was in loose contact with Aggelos (Dream Weapons) for a few years, watching him from a distant with great interest. In 2012, he sent me his debut LP on Inner Ear under his Fantastikoi Hxoi moniker and it quickly became my favorite album of the year. When I told him our plans for Holger, he sent me some of his more electronic-leaning music. I was instantly captured by the driving, trippy Kraut-techno songs which show homage to the psychedelic sounds of the '60s and '70s while holding their own in the here and now. Exactly our cup of tea."
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12"
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HOLGER 002EP
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A few words by Steffen Bennemann: "When the Webermichelson guys introduced us to Timoka, we didn't even dare to hope he would ever join a start-up label like Holger. His work just sounded way beyond that, so sophisticated and well produced, highly artistic and melodically complex. But as it turned out, he not only became a part of our family -- he even went on to define our graphic identity (together with Reymund Schröder) with his visual art. We couldn't dream of a better match. Plus: 'Aare' is a hit (even if Timoka hates to hear that)."
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12"
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HOLGER 001EP
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A few words by Steffen Bennemann: "When I heard Margot for the first time, I instantly fell in love with their synth-driven free-form Kraut-techno. Strong melodies, insanely well-shaped beats, sometimes driving, sometimes bravely bending the rules. After great releases on James Holden's Border Community, Ivan Smagghe's Kill The DJ, and their own label, we were more than happy to welcome them in our Holger family. Here they can show their more experimental side, far beyond common floor/listening conventions and full of synapse-tickling synth magic. Plus a secret pop hit ('Trentaseitrenta'), perfect for closing any exceptional club night."
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