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12"
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ENV 001R-EP
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$18.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 4/11/2025
In 1994, with only a single 12" in his discography, Morgan Geist decided to start his own record label. His debut on Dan Curtin's Metamorphic label was inspired by the sounds of Detroit techno and Chicago house. But Geist was equally fascinated by UK imports from labels like Warp, B12, and ART. He sought to combine these inspirations on the first release of his new label, Environ. Featuring a remix from The Connection Machine, whose unique "Bitflower" was released the year before on Carl Craig's Planet E, Premise EP (1995) was recorded in Ohio and mastered in Detroit by the legendary Ron Murphy. The release also marked the end of four years of Geist living the midwest and his return to the metro area of New York City, a dramatic shift that would soon be reflected in Environ's sound. This reissue of ENV001 Premise EP is remastered from the original tapes and features the original artwork by Todd Sines.
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ENV 042EP
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Duper, the new release from Morgan Geist, is a not-so-subtle callback to his 2001 EP, Super. "I was working most days with Kelley Polar on our new vocal project, Au Suisse, which isn't really dance music at all," he explains. "I started fooling around with these instrumental tracks at night for fun. Each track was in a different style, but they seemed to work nicely as a group. By the time I asked Kelley to contribute strings to the A-side, the record really started feeling like the sequel to Super." Super Duper -- get it? Indeed, the playful synth riffs and sweeping disco strings of "Twilight Express" echo the palette of Geist's cult classic "24K" and early Metro Area. "Black Test Car" is a unique collision of minimal, almost krautrock-style drums, sound library textures and spacy electro percussion. Meanwhile, "Feeling Is Mutual" is a rare acid outing that pushes beyond the usual comfort zone, the 303 acting more as feather than hammer on top of major-key modulations. "I love a lot of Aphex Twin and I love sweet, 'quiet storm'-style R&B," says Geist. "I figured, why not?"
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ENV 002R-EP
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Originally released in 1996, the 6-track REMnants EP was only the second record produced by Morgan Geist for his own Environ label. Now beautifully remastered, this heretofore hard-to-find EP is crammed with Geist's early influences, from intricately-programmed Roland orchestras that echo his early techno releases on Metamorphic to jazz and R&B-style tracks that would later inform the sound of his debut album.
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ENV 040EP
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Environ boss Morgan Geist returns to his love for Detroit techno, Chicago tracks, and generally exceptional dancefloor music with the second installment in his series of instrumental EPs: Megaprojects Two. In his own words: "Megaprojects are by definition large-scale, high-tech and cost billions of dollars, whereas this is a collection of low-tech tracks made with cheap little drum machines and rejected old synths. . . . Of course, I've been inspired and fascinated by actual megaprojects since I was a child: imposing, surreal engineering and architecture like giant hydroelectric dams, soaring bridges and exposed-concrete government buildings."
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ENV 012EP
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2024 repress. Morgan Geist's cult classic Super. Originally released in summer 2001, the record is an ode to New York City and many of the producer's most vital influences. With live strings from the Kelley Polar Quartet and plenty of disco DNA, it's no mystery that this was made by half of Metro Area (and released just months before their underground classic "Miura"). Remastered and cut by the award-winning Matt Colton of Alchemy Mastering.
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ENV 039EP
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Environ boss Morgan Geist returns to his love for Detroit techno, Chicago tracks, and generally exceptional dancefloor music with the first EP in his Megaprojects series. "I chose the name 'Megaprojects' for this series partly because I am inspired and fascinated by imposing, surreal engineering and architecture: giant hydroelectric dams, soaring bridges and strange-looking, exposed-concrete government buildings. I also found the irony of such a grandiose name for this series amusing, considering megaprojects are by definition large-scale, high-tech and costing billions of dollars, whereas this is a collection of carefully-made but low-tech tracks, created with cheap little drum machines and rejected old synths."
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