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LP
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TARTALB 022LP
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The trailblazing German producer Max Graef is back, this time applying his sparkling flair and infectious appeal to the widescreen spectrum of psychedelic, starry-eyed jams of his third album, comfortably nestled into a bean bag in the backroom. Natural Element coincides with the tenth anniversary of his revered debut LP Rivers of the Red Planet (TARTALB 003LP), which remains a cherished high watermark for label and artist alike. It also serves to highlight how much time has passed, and how much has changed. 2018's follow-up Lo Siento Mucho Pero No Hablo Tu Idioma (TARTALB 009LP) was a step into many other musical approaches and made clear Graef didn't want to rest on the broad appeal of his earlier funked-up, jazz-sampling house sound. Natural Element is the sound of an artist more at ease with the parts of his legacy which hold true, and those he wants to let go of. But there absolutely is funk to be found on Natural Element. It's in the low-slung chill-out of "Sports (Is Good For You)" and the nagging synth-slap-bass underpinning "Around The Globe." But the glue which holds the album together across all kinds of tempos and energies is a shimmering, organic psychedelia -- dreamy chords and artful sonic brushstrokes which gleam out of the mix. It's a quality universal across the aqueous beauty of tropical breakbeat roller "We are the World (Test Drive)" and the cascading slo-mo ecosystem of album-opening double-act "Sound Bytes" and "Zitar." Casting one ear back to that landmark debut LP feels like listening to an entirely different epoch, not just for Graef but for music as a whole. What's heartening is that the magic which made Graef stand out back then is still absolutely present and correct in his new guise.
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2x12"
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TARTALB 003LP
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2021 repress. Tartelet has a knack for uncovering virtuosic, off-kilter electronic music. Max Graef -- born, bred and still holding it down in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg -- is their latest artist in this mold. Though adventurous dance music is thick on the ground in the German capital, Graef's 2013 run of singles, cropping up on Graef's own Box Aus Holz, plus Melbourne Deepcast, The Gym, Heist, and Tartelet, continually surprised, infusing worn-in house with manic energy and acrobatic elasticity. Where many of his peers make languid, self-consciously laid-back tunes, Graef makes brilliantly restless ones. Dropping the needle on one of his EPs, you nearly expect it to pop right off again. Rivers Of The Red Planet, Graef's first full-length, takes all that wildness and refines, expands, updates, and scrambles it. It's an ambitious and deviously entertaining record, the fulfillment of Graef's desire to make anything but another contemporary house music album. At any given moment, Rivers Of The Red Planet feels like it could have been recorded through the smoke at a jazz club in the booth at a techno club 30 years from now or inside an MPC stocked with crusty dollar-bin samples -- the staff at Graef's beloved OYE Records in Berlin might have a difficult time settling on which section to file it in. If it sounds sampled, it's a testament to Graef's natural musicianship and production prowess -- the record is heavy on sounds he played himself, from drums and Rhodes to fat synth melodies wrung out of an old Crumar Performer water-damaged to perfection. For vocals, Graef enlisted Nigerian singer Wayne Snow, whose rugged soulfulness makes him a natural pairing. On cuts like "Drums Of Death" and "Speed Metal Jesus", the club-readiness of his EPs lives on. But Rivers Of The Red Planet may be most at home in your living room, with a good bottle of red and a roaring fire's crackles mixing with the pops and hiss of the vinyl -- a playful listen that sinks in, burrowing deep and getting you all warm and gooey on the inside.
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2LP
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TARTALB 009LP
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Four years after his breakthrough, Max Graef returns to Tartelet Records with his second solo album. A dungeon-dub symphony in four parts, Lo Siento Mucho Pero No Hablo Tu Idioma is an album's album. Brimming with new and old guests, interludes and bonus skits, it's a consummate sketchbook of Graef's most unique music to date. "Every bit of music or work represents the mood and skills of a certain period," he says. Where Graef's critically acclaimed debut LP Rivers of the Red Planet (TARTALB 003LP, 2014) began an adventure away from the dance floor, this record wormholes into totally lateral territory. Not interested in repeating old tricks, No Hablo... sees Graef on a playful joyride through a whole new crate of influences. Echoes of Japanese video game music bubble through the Zelda-channeling "Master Quest" and dreamy bonus level "Midi Break 1." "Midi Lisa" and "Intershop" roll out mutant digi-reggae, while "Rush" and "Level Zero" dig deeper into bass and juke. The album also premieres music with Chrissley Benz, a Kazakhstani singer. As Graef explains: "No Hablo is intuitive with, less editing, raw arrangements, and filled with experiments. I worked on it in a very unmusical way." But the record isn't a universe apart from his previous output; throwbacks to the tape-deck world of g-funk and 80's boogie are still present, as well as a few psychedelic jazz cuts. The record also sees the return of Graef's fathe, guitarist, Gerry Franke, plus long-time collaborators Funkycan and Ludwig. A record of 20 tracks, it covers many bases, and somehow it all makes perfect sense and reaffirms Graef's natural-born ear for killer hooks and unique melodies. The album's title, Lo Siento Mucho Pero No Hablo Tu Idioma, is an elegant and simultaneously ironic way of apologizing for not speaking one's language in Spanish. It's a fitting metaphor that speaks to Max's ability to skip effortlessly between musical dialects with style and grace. This album proves it more than ever. Lo Siento Mucho Pero No Hablo Tu Idioma comes with 20 short films and a radio station playing No Hablo... hits non-stop. Tune in to www.no-hablo.com and let the weirdness unfold. Max Graef follows Glenn Astro, Space Ghost and others in Tartelet's 10th year in business, celebrating the label's commitment to work across genres.
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12"
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HEIST 002EP
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Max Graef's track "Jungle" (with multi-talented pen-pal Andy Hart) is probably the most sought-after track of Heist's sets lately and has caused quite a flow of emails ("what the hell is this??"). It's got that ass-shaking groove without being a regular four-to-the-floor banger. "Ignorance is Bliss" has a rough warehouse vibe on the lows, a hint of disco and a set of Rhodes-y keys running through the track to set the mood. "Zitze" features layers and layers of vocals, textures and keys taking turns and a great shuffle that runs through the track that makes it just as much a good listen as a dancefloor jam.
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