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viewing 1 To 17 of 17 items
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2LP
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KOM 193LP
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2019 repress. Double vinyl version of the highly-anticipated second full-length release by Axel Willner aka The Field for the Kompakt label. A digital trip through ambient, dance and drone, it's been gently pulsating and washing over you. The Field is Axel Willner, and his release Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD/KOM 413LP) was one of the most acclaimed releases of 2007, receiving a 9.0 on Pitchfork and universal praise. The BBC called it "one of those rare albums that makes you wonder how you ever got by without it." The album is the soundtrack to the spit-shined airport of your dreams -- faceless, futuristic, and fuzzy. You could dance to it, sleep to it, or daydream to it: just a versatile little album. Willner's label, Kompakt, moved on from this successful released with his sophomore full-length, Yesterday And Today. Willner expands his palette, continuing the oblique sampling strategy of From Here We Go Sublime while building up the rhythmic architecture; the album features a group of different musicians and on the title track, Willner collaborates for the first time with Battles drummer John Stanier. Since startling the world with his debut, Willner has been highly in demand as a remixer, with tracks from Thom Yorke to Battles to Maps raising his profile, so that now legions are gathered, in that spit-shined terminal, waiting for their blissed-out departure.
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2LP
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KOM 413LP
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If Kompakt had to name one thing fans have been consistently asking for, it's a vinyl version of The Field's legendary first album From Here We Go Sublime: originally rolled out in 2007, this much-acclaimed full-length debut of what was to become one of the most celebrated projects in the label's fold saw a regular CD edition and an accompanying 12" sampler -- but never a full vinyl release. Following Kompakt's long sold out 2014 limited edition reissue for Record Store Day, the label welcome From Here We Go Sublime back as a double-LP in gatefold vinyl.
Axel Willner, aka The Field, joined the Kompakt family in 2005, bringing forward a new fusion of ambient and techno that fed on his adoration for Wolfgang Voigt's classic '90s projects Gas and M:I:5 as well as the shoegazer rock of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine. Called a "techno pop landmark" by Pitchfork, From Here We Go Sublime almost immediately became a cult favorite, starting a trend that continues to this day -- as can be seen with The Field's 2013 full-length offering, Cupid's Head, that has been lauded by critics and crowds alike. The most striking feat of From Here We Go Sublime must be its sonic cohesiveness, debuting a fully-formed artistic vision that -- seven years and three albums later -- hasn't lost any of its luster. As a fixture in The Field's discography, it remains as important as ever, with Axel Willner installing a blueprint that inspired many but sounds like no one else... except himself. Giving you a feeling of warmth and familiarity on first listen that you can't quite grasp, it's like this sound has always existed, when in fact it was the unique creation from one highly gifted producer. And it all starts here.
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2LP
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KOM 392LP
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Repressed; Double LP version. Two years on from his last outing, The Follower (KOMP 130CD/KOM 350LP, 2016), Axel Willner puts on his Field suit again to present his sixth full-length effort for Kompakt, Infinite Moment. Infinite Moment sees him striding further across the deeper, richer rims of the hue cycle. In Willner's own words, "the threshold of creating something new had to be broken", as had been done with his past albums, including his acclaimed debut From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD/KOMRSD 002LP, 2007). For Willner, "stepping outside of the studio opened up fresh perspectives on the creation of new music"; it was the opening cut, "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone", that got him into the flux of things, "making of the rest of the album easier as I went". Substituting the up-tempo vim of his previous pieces for a sense of mind-expanding horizontality, Infinite Moment is an album filled with hope and draped in a diffuse, appeasing light, easing the pain and troubles of the human soul through a lushly forested recital of shoegazing modular, complex textural interplays and solar, atmospheric fractals. "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone" gets the ball rolling on a thumping down-tempo note, which as Willner explains, "gives me a lot of hope". "Hope is something I've been missing in the nowadays climate and this album is a relief to me, a type of comfort, like a moment that feels good and you don't want to end." "Divide Now" is a sonic mitosis, engaging the metamorphosis to come; like a larvae pupating and reemerging weeks later from under rough bark in the form of a butterfly - fluttering breaks shed their skin to make way for a more intimate and hypnotic second chapter. "Hear Your Voice" propels the lavish, pad-upholstered glamour of its melodic lines in a bolder syncopated re-visitation of 1980s-indebted pop harmonics, while "Something Left, Something Right, Something Wrong" returns to a flaring post-euphoric daze. A more arrhythmic affair, "Who Goes There" spins out into orbit wildly, fusing acid bass moves with a haunting motorik, playing with the listener's mind intensely before the ten-minute-long epic "Infinite Moment" ushers its listener into a highly immersive final ballet of buzzing chords, trampling drums and all-consuming drones. This album is a direct soul-to-soul transmission, aiming no further than at finding the right balance between contained emotion and an expressive eloquence.
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CD
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KOMP 149CD
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Two years on from his last outing, The Follower (KOMP 130CD/KOM 350LP, 2016), Axel Willner puts on his Field suit again to present his sixth full-length effort for Kompakt, Infinite Moment. Infinite Moment sees him striding further across the deeper, richer rims of the hue cycle. In Willner's own words, "the threshold of creating something new had to be broken", as had been done with his past albums, including his acclaimed debut From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD/KOMRSD 002LP, 2007). For Willner, "stepping outside of the studio opened up fresh perspectives on the creation of new music"; it was the opening cut, "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone", that got him into the flux of things, "making of the rest of the album easier as I went". Substituting the up-tempo vim of his previous pieces for a sense of mind-expanding horizontality, Infinite Moment is an album filled with hope and draped in a diffuse, appeasing light, easing the pain and troubles of the human soul through a lushly forested recital of shoegazing modular, complex textural interplays and solar, atmospheric fractals. "Made Of Steel, Made Of Stone" gets the ball rolling on a thumping down-tempo note, which as Willner explains, "gives me a lot of hope". "Hope is something I've been missing in the nowadays climate and this album is a relief to me, a type of comfort, like a moment that feels good and you don't want to end." "Divide Now" is a sonic mitosis, engaging the metamorphosis to come; like a larvae pupating and reemerging weeks later from under rough bark in the form of a butterfly - fluttering breaks shed their skin to make way for a more intimate and hypnotic second chapter. "Hear Your Voice" propels the lavish, pad-upholstered glamour of its melodic lines in a bolder syncopated re-visitation of 1980s-indebted pop harmonics, while "Something Left, Something Right, Something Wrong" returns to a flaring post-euphoric daze. A more arrhythmic affair, "Who Goes There" spins out into orbit wildly, fusing acid bass moves with a haunting motorik, playing with the listener's mind intensely before the ten-minute-long epic "Infinite Moment" ushers its listener into a highly immersive final ballet of buzzing chords, trampling drums and all-consuming drones. This album is a direct soul-to-soul transmission, aiming no further than at finding the right balance between contained emotion and an expressive eloquence.
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2LP
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KOM 350LP
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Double LP version. 180-gram vinyl. Includes download code. Celebrated Kompakt staple The Field returns to the spotlight with The Follower, his fifth full-length offering following From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD, 2007), Yesterday and Today (KOM 193LP, 2009), Looping State of Mind (KOMP 094CD/KOM 241LP, 2011), and Cupid's Head (KOMP 110CD/KOM 290LP, 2013). Swedish soundsmith Axel Willner is well known for his mastery when it comes to the allusive layering of loops, but it was with his 2013 album Cupid's Head that a newly found, somewhat pressing snappishness started to replace the soft-hued sonics of his ambient-infused techno, imbued with a darker mood and stronger footing than before. A carefully gauged balance of stoic motorik and gloomy drones was key here -- just as it is for The Follower, which goes even further in blurring the lines between concrete experimentation, body music, and precisely laid-out arrangement, leading to one of the most rhythmically and texturally engaging listening experiences in Willner's catalog. Title-track "The Follower" opening on a surprisingly muscular groove and setting the tone for what could be considered The Field's most floor-attuned work yet; a raw bounce dripping with foggy acid and marching percussion catches long-time fans off-guard while providing a perfect entry point for curious newcomers. Follow-up cut "Pink Sun" quickly finds its pace with one of these perpetually rotating hooks for which Willner is known, while "Monte Verità" specializes in tunefully glitched vocal samples with accompanying bass workout. This powerful, propelling album build-up finds its first moment of introspection with the mountainous "Soft Streams," an exciting synth journey that emits both ethereal and kinetic propensities. "Raise the Dead" presents The Field's focused sonic storytelling at its minimalist best, gyrating around a basic motive for a while before joining an earthy beat and opening up the sunshine roof. It's a winding, hypnotic track that also works particularly well as transition to the album's remarkable closing chapter; the slow-paced "Reflecting Lights" shows Willner at his most refined, evoking his often-quoted appreciation of Wolfgang Voigt's ambient project Gas as well as an obvious fondness for kraut synthesists and their trance-inducing exploits. The Follower shows a consistent evolution in The Field's trademark style of creation, but may very well be considered one of his most vibrant and visceral outings yet.
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CD
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KOMP 130CD
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Celebrated Kompakt staple The Field returns to the spotlight with The Follower, his fifth full-length offering following From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD, 2007), Yesterday and Today (KOM 193LP, 2009), Looping State of Mind (KOMP 094CD/KOM 241LP, 2011), and Cupid's Head (KOMP 110CD/KOM 290LP, 2013). Swedish soundsmith Axel Willner is well known for his mastery when it comes to the allusive layering of loops, but it was with his 2013 album Cupid's Head that a newly found, somewhat pressing snappishness started to replace the soft-hued sonics of his ambient-infused techno, imbued with a darker mood and stronger footing than before. A carefully gauged balance of stoic motorik and gloomy drones was key here -- just as it is for The Follower, which goes even further in blurring the lines between concrete experimentation, body music, and precisely laid-out arrangement, leading to one of the most rhythmically and texturally engaging listening experiences in Willner's catalog. Title-track "The Follower" opening on a surprisingly muscular groove and setting the tone for what could be considered The Field's most floor-attuned work yet; a raw bounce dripping with foggy acid and marching percussion catches long-time fans off-guard while providing a perfect entry point for curious newcomers. Follow-up cut "Pink Sun" quickly finds its pace with one of these perpetually rotating hooks for which Willner is known, while "Monte Verità" specializes in tunefully glitched vocal samples with accompanying bass workout. This powerful, propelling album build-up finds its first moment of introspection with the mountainous "Soft Streams," an exciting synth journey that emits both ethereal and kinetic propensities. "Raise the Dead" presents The Field's focused sonic storytelling at its minimalist best, gyrating around a basic motive for a while before joining an earthy beat and opening up the sunshine roof. It's a winding, hypnotic track that also works particularly well as transition to the album's remarkable closing chapter; the slow-paced "Reflecting Lights" shows Willner at his most refined, evoking his often-quoted appreciation of Wolfgang Voigt's ambient project Gas as well as an obvious fondness for kraut synthesists and their trance-inducing exploits. The Follower shows a consistent evolution in The Field's trademark style of creation, but may very well be considered one of his most vibrant and visceral outings yet.
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12"
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KOM 297EP
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With Cupid's Head Remixe II, Kompakt caps off a series of remixes of tracks off The Field's acclaimed album Cupid's Head (KOMP 110CD/KOM 290LP), on limited 12" vinyl with contributions from John Tejada, Tim Hecker and TM404. Tejada continues his victory lap on contemporary dancefloors with a deeply affecting take on album centerpiece "No. No...," surrounding the somewhat desolate vocal samples with heartwarming synth washes and melodic momentum. Hecker's mix seems to stick the closest to the track's original ambience, but with subtle tweaks and discreet sabotaging. Andreas Tilliander as TM404 presents a slightly uncanny take on The Field's monolithic looping.
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2LP+CD
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KOM 290LP
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2014 repress. Double LP version on heavy weight vinyl in gorgeous black on black packaging. Includes a free CD of the entire album.
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CD
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KOMP 110CD
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Hailed as his "most diverse and satisfying statement to date" (Resident Advisor) and a "victory lap for the power of the loop" (XLR8R), The Field's Looping State of Mind (KOMP 094CD/(KOM 241LP) -- Axel Willner's third full-length under his most prevalent moniker -- ranked high in those 2011 charts, being featured on virtually every "best albums" list known to man and reaching well into 2012 with sold-out concerts and its universally-acclaimed remixes. Now, the Berlin-based Swede presents Cupid's Head, the first album recorded solo since his debut From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD) and a powerful touch-up of his landmark hypnotism, but also a departure for new shores both personal and musical. A first glance at the black cover already signals the profound changes entering the well-defined artistic framework of The Field, where the tools may remain the same, but the outcome significantly differs from what has gone before. The Field's multi-layered approach to sound now transcends its technicalities and reaches far beyond mere production values, entering a phase where its original message has become the medium for wildly differing emotions that also draw from Axel's many side-projects: ubiquitous traces of his alter egos -- like Loops Of Your Heart's ambient bliss or Black Fog's dark disco inspired by classic horror movie soundtracks -- can be found all over Cupid's Head. From opening epic "They Won't See Me" to the more upbeat (and very "Field-ish") title-track, the gauzy softcore of "A Guided Tour" or the intriguing ambient ornamentation of "20 Seconds of Affection," Cupid's Head invites the listener to a highly immersive experience that feels as comfortable on the dancefloor as it does in private. Continuously wandering off into the woods of its very unique sound world, the album finds not one, but many rabbit holes to bravely explore, basically rewriting the love letter to the loop that lies at the center of The Field's quasi techno to include more than that one recipient. More open than hermetic, Cupid's Head presents itself as tremendously accessible work, whose focus lies well beyond the tunnel vision of studio-bound antics or sophisticated navel-gazing.
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12"
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KOM 263EP
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After delivering one of 2011's most-lauded albums with Looping State of Mind (KOMP 094CD/KOM 241LP), Axel Willner marks the return of The Field with a high-caliber remix collection featuring Junior Boys, Blondes and Mohn. Junior Boys convert the album's title track into a finely-detailed pusher, sporting rippling synths and a Kraftwerk-like bass line. Blondes' take on "It's Up There" re-imagines the original as a bold single-take rendition with hypnotic gloss. Mohn takes the drama of "Then It's White" and shoots it into deep space.
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2LP+CD
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KOM 241LP
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2016 repress, forthcoming...; gatefold 2LP version, including free CD version of the album. This is the third full-length release by The Field for the Kompakt label. It's with the arrival of Looping State Of Mind that you finally realize that, for The Field's ambient techno explorer Axel Willner, the loop never stops.
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CD
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KOMP 094CD
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This is the third full-length release by The Field for the Kompakt label. It's with the arrival of Looping State Of Mind that you finally realize that, for The Field's ambient techno explorer Axel Willner, the loop never stops. While fans and critics alike point to 2007's phenomenal debut From Here We Go Sublime (KOMP 057CD) -- included on Pitchfork's Top 100 albums of the 2000s -- and 2009's equally-stirring follow-up Yesterday And Today (released on CD on the Anti- label in North America; vinyl version on Kompakt worldwide: KOM 193LP) as standalone points of the Swede's music; it becomes clear that they appear as mere snapshots of what, for the producer, is a continual cycle of revolutions. Reveling in the warm recognition of their recurring patterns, imbuing conflicting twin senses of present and nostalgia, familiarity doesn't breed contempt; for Willner sees each loop as another chance to adjust, to build upon and multiply so that several of even the slightest nuances can combine to form a true aural evolution. So it is on this, The Field's third album, and yet so it has been too for the artist. Rewind three years and, plaudits from his debut LP still ringing in his ears and amongst resultant tours with LCD Soundsystem and !!!, he'd swapped his native Stockholm for the nocturnal utopia of Berlin's heady streets and clubbing scene. A major internal shift occurred, meanwhile, when he invited Dan Enqvist and multi-instrumentalist Andreas Söderstrom -- since replaced with drummer Jesper Skarin -- to turn his hitherto singular vision into a three-piece group. Yesterday & Today was the immediate reaction concocted by the alchemy of those events, gaining more plaudits and leading to headlining tours of Europe. Looping State Of Mind is the strengthening of those bonds and ideas, the addition of Skarin in particular -- Axel comments, "taking The Field to another level." It's this evolution that's notable on this record, a move away from the more unblended techno foundations that encapsulated From Here We Go Sublime, in particular. Instead, previous ideas have been expanded upon and, more importantly, new ones added; vocal samples now creep around signature sound washes, whispering on the periphery; greater contrast has been added with acoustic instruments such as double bass and piano recorded amongst the samples -- the result of recording in the fully-equipped Dumbo Studios in Kompakt's home town of Cologne. Many of the initial sketches, however, still came from Willner himself at his home studio in Berlin, suggesting an embryonic growth to the creation process; "some of the ideas stretching back to the debut are still there," he says, cementing this idea of furthering the re-visited, "but we've just made a real attempt to grow the sound." The album was mixed by Jörg Burger aka The Modernist.
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12"
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KOM 203EP
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The Field's Yesterday & Today (KOM 193LP) is one of 2009's most celebrated releases. Now, the cycle is complete with a collection of interpretations picked from 3 of today's leading newcomers in crossover electronic/indie music. Gold Panda has been causing a massive stir with his remixes for Bloc Party and HEALTH, and here he elegantly samples the vinyl from "I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet" into a savvy dub-stepped Dilla-esque roller. Other remixes by Rainbow Arabia and Walls.
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CD
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KOMP 057CD
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This is the debut full-length release by Stockholm's own Axel Willner aka The Field. Willner joined the Kompakt family back in 2005 with the release of his cherished 12" debut Things Keep Falling Down, and he's been garnering non-stop attention ever since. His adoration for Kompakt co-owner Wolfgang Voigt's GAS and M:I:5 projects from the '90s and the shoegazer rock of Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine brought forward a new fusion of ambient and techno that sounds wholly original and accomplished -- post-pop ambient anyone? The road was paved with his Annie remix that leapt onto the web and quickly became a cult favorite amongst the musical bloggerati, and the hype continued with last year's remix of Vice Records Scandinavian rockers, 120 Days. Found on well over 200 blogs and web zines, this exposed The Field to a whole new realm of fans. With his second Kompakt single "Sun & Ice" (which appears on this record) and a remix for James Figurine (of Postal Service fame), The Field has proven himself more than worthy of over-zealous blurbs and internet hype. The blissful, addictive, transformative sounds on From Here We Go Sublime absolutely speak for themselves. Samples abound throughout, immediately giving you a feeling of warmth and familiarity on the first listen that you can't quite grasp... like a warm glove on a cold winter's day. The Field's music literally breathes: harmonious drones mingle with the dizzying swell and reversed motion of bass drums and euphony. There is a ceaseless, cyclical signature familiar to all his music, but that's the most exciting part of The Field -- the beautiful dynamic of beats and space that exists in endlessness. Ten perfect tracks of narcotic, propellant stuff -- an important and significant debut that promises Willner quite a few more laurels to come.
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12"
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KOM 154EP
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2011 repress of the 3rd 12" from The Field, originally released 2007. 12" version; three DJ-friendly tracks from the debut album from The Field. The blissful, addictive, transformative sounds on From Here We Go Sublime absolutely speak for themselves. Samples abound throughout, immediately giving you a feeling of warmth and familiarity on the first listen that you can't quite grasp... like a warm glove on a cold winter's day. The Field's music literally breathes: harmonious drones mingle with the dizzying swell and reversed motion of bass drums and euphony. There is a ceaseless, cyclical signature familiar to all his music, but that's the most exciting part of The Field -- the beautiful dynamic of beats and space that exists in endlessness. Ten perfect tracks of narcotic, propellant stuff -- an important and significant debut that promises Willner quite a few more laurels to come.
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12"
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KOM 137EP
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2008 repress of the 2nd 12" from The Field, originally released 2006. This is Swedish guy Axel Willner and his new single for Kompakt called Sun & Ice. Absolutely liberated from all hipness and hysteria, Willner sings his own story of beautiful-poppy loop essentials, in his very own way. The Field means rustle like silk. Warmed by soundscapes. Guided by the bass drum. If this world were righteous and fair, The Field would enter the charts.
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12"
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KOM 116EP
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Classic 1st single from 2005, repressed! "Bizarre thoughts and classy patterns are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and the same with madness and method. However, one of the lessons you might learn from in-depth musicological considerations is that there may be right-minded, crazy gains which are far more than mere distortions of language, hi there, and welcome to Kompakt's head quarter. The so far unknown Swedish artist Axel Willner cracks every single security system installed at Kompakt's high security demo section by using poppy, self-loved cut-up-classy-splatter-loop-bits-and-pieces-patterns. Most convincingly, the field starts at the point where Profan had already been ten years ago: that is he transfers the basic essence of rhythm inherent in every 'Wicked Groove/Sexy Loop' into a kind of virtual space of deconstructing the self in order to liberate this loop from any discourse-infected, intellectual ballast of its author by means of a kind of mental washing machine. As long as I can dance to it." -- Roy Makaay.
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viewing 1 To 17 of 17 items
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