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2LP
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SAPIENS 004LP
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With his second album, Thlostones, the English producer Stefan Smith continues a journey on the back of synthesizers where techno loops meet the delicacy of ambient, where IDM meets new wave references. All to serve a quest for the original purity of the experience of sound.
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2LP
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SAPIENS 002LP
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.dev is an album from Agoria, French polymath known for his forays into visual arts and tech, as well as electronic music production and DJing. .dev was yet another collaborative piece from Agoria, aka Sebastien Devaud. As well as Blasé and STS, who returned after featuring on Drift (2019), Devaud worked with Domino's Ela Minus, flamenco innovator Niño De Elche, and the unique hip-hop delivery of Rome Fortune across the LP, with additional collaborators including Sacha Rudy and Oscar winner (The Sound of Metal), Nicolas Becker. Sonically, the LP sees Agoria presenting a kaleidoscopic haze of cinematic and evolving electronica that touched on house, techno, electro, hip-hop, and beyond but beneath the aesthetics. .dev is the work of an artist asking himself questions in order to create worlds out of his answers. Beyond looking to question the very systems of the traditional album format, his holistic approach to AI and NFT's within the thematic world of his work were laid out front and center through the visual and conceptual identity surrounding the album.
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12"
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SAPIENS 022EP
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Agoria has collaborated with enigmatic French musician Jacques on the new Visit EP. The two-track offering pairs electronic elements with organic, real-world sounds to masterful effect. Title track "Visit" is the best example of this, with a wonky beat trudging through a plethora of immersive sounds. Meanwhile "Jardin", with a grooving bassline, has a greater dancefloor focus.
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12"
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SAPIENS 020EP
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Exclusive remixes of classical Fairmont track "Gazebo" from ANNA, Patrice Bäumel, Moscoman, Jacques & Stefan Smith."I'm thrilled to say that the finished package is a set of very fresh and thoughtful reinterpretations with a wide range of styles. Each remix stands on its own and brings something completely unique to the table. I couldn't be happier." --Fairmont
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12"
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SAPIENS 024EP
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Limited edition vinyl including Manoo and Cassius remixes from Agoria's new single "Remedy" featuring NOEMIE.
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12"
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SAPIENS 017EP
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Natural-colored vinyl with transparent sleeve. Limited edition vinyl including Black Coffee + Aquatone and Solomun remixes from Agoria's new singles, "Embrace" featuring Phoebe Killdeer and "You're Not Alone".
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2LP
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SAPIENS 001LP
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Stefan Smith has channeled an elevated reverence for process, texture and synth-extrapolation with the release of Stefan Smith on the Sapiens imprint. A relative new-comer to the land of rapid-fire releases and dance floor formulae, Smith is deeply steeped in the art of music creation, performance and theory. As a graduate of Mills College's revered music department, Smith's prosaic understanding of music partially explains his migration to Sapiens, a label headquartered in Paris, France, which, under the direction of techno luminary Agoria, has been expanding the realm of possibility for what a techno label can become. Collaborating with musicians, visual artists, film directors, shamans and sound designers, the young Sapiens platform releases may include "political speeches, radio hits, dance floor tunes, sensorial or cognitive music or a gentle computer virus". Smith's contribution will definitely fall on the more delicious end of this spectrum, having woven a synth-lover's dream tapestry. The nine tracks composing Stefan Smith draw the listener in on a river of oscillators, which push just past the banks of perceptible sound with with flawless production and loving sound treatment. The idea behind the album is very raw and organic. Smith focuses on atmosphere, mood, tones, and frequencies, rather than melodies. His productions are a response to the subliminal, and about feeling. This album came together from a natural flow of working with computers and synthesizers, and also from the musical connection fostered with Sebastien Devaud (Agoria). His approach to the album's production was to edit as little as possible, keeping the original feeling of chance and temporality intact. We can sense here Smith's intuition as sound designer, a role which has enabled him to work with artist Nicolas Becker and through this association further contribute work to Philippe Parreno's Anywhen exhibition at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall. The feedback generated by studio experimentation gives birth to new ideas for aural shapes and textures. If one were only to lie back and identify the various wave forms, like butterflies and birds flittering through dappled sunlight, in each track's canopy of bountiful synth elements the mind's eye would dance with the steady intervals of Smith's real-time probe of his machinery; however, deep tracts of emotion and effortless grooves won't allow for a purely sensory listen. In the spirit of exploration, enjoy the ride.
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12"
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SAPIENS 008EP
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Sapiens' label boss, Agoria, invites Cannes' highly regarded Limelight resident Nicolas Masseyeff to the floor with a deep, dark and enigmatic two-track EP, Muse. The opening title track blends bold, ominous synth lines and stripped-back percussion for a driven, Bodzin-esque cut of the highest order. On the flip is the subtle, groove-filled "Moment Of Truth", neatly textured with layers of intricate percussion and brooding synth toplines.
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12"
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SAPIENS 006EP
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Sapiens launch their Beasts series with a multifaceted first edition. Dedicated to giving newcomers an honest platform to showcase their talents, this run of compilations is to be comprised of crystalline electronic music, spanning out across various forms. Villanova and Time team up to reshape La Chica's "Oasis" with brushstrokes of subtle melancholy. Teho fuses contemporary deep house with UKG on "Into the Wild" and pairs well with Yeuz's track --idiosyncratic compositions for the modern dancefloor. Label founder Agoria ventures south of 110BPM on his remix of "Embers", cloaking Stefan Smith's original in humility and innocence.
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12"
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SAPIENS 007EP
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Agoria's second outing on Sapiens presents some of his most uncompromising work to date. Boomerang manifests live percussion and analog pulse waves, rising through Shepard tone drama and succinct, minimalist form. Three additional solo performances accompany the title track; a clin d'oeil to the minimalist French synth pioneers of yesteryear. An exercise in humanity.
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12"
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SAPIENS 005EP
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LA-based producer and DJ Chris Barratt, aka Eagles & Butterflies, breaks all boundaries across the electronic music spectrum. His productions flow seamlessly through downtempo, techno, house, and beyond. "Arpeggiator" was originally titled "14 Minutes Of Arps" and it's exactly that. It's a simple track with layers that weave in-and-out the whole way through -- a subtle beast. "Oyeme" has the most familiar E&B sound: big marimba melodies, fat sub, and rolling hats with a big break. "Prophet" started as an experiment when Barratt purchased a Prophet 6, which he later placed with funky bass from the SH 101.
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12"
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SAPIENS 003EP
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Founder of Frenetica and Fine Human Records, Dino Lenny enters the Sapiens family. Dino Lenny started DJing at a young age at a small radio station in Cassino (Italy). After a while he moved to London where soon he started enjoying successful releases on labels like Ellum, Innervisions, Crosstown Rebels, Exploited, Yoshitoshi, Toolroom, Suara, and many others. The Italian wizard gets remixed by Agoria and Maceo Plex which sit alongside original mixes of "Shoot Me To The Sky" and "This Time We Take It Easy".
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12"
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SAPIENS 002A-EP
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A decade after initially seeing the light, Oxia's now classic "Domino" gets reworked to celebrate its anniversary. The first part of these remixes features a new cut by Oxia himself as well as several remixes by none other than Robag Wruhme and Matador. The EP will be released through Agoria's newly found record label Sapiens. Ten years ago the track made waves in the international dance music circuit, striking up chords with techno, trance and house DJs alike to quickly become an all-time classic. The set of tracks are the first officially commissioned remixes by Oxia ever.
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12"
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SAPIENS 002B-EP
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A decade after initially seeing the light, Oxia's now classic "Domino" gets reworked to celebrate its anniversary. The second part of these remixes features remixes by none other than Frankey & Sandrino and Robag Wruhme. The EP will be released through Agoria's newly found record label Sapiens. Ten years ago the track made waves in the international dance music circuit, striking up chords with techno, trance and house DJs alike to quickly become an all-time classic. The set of tracks are the first officially commissioned remixes by Oxia ever.
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