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12"
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SA 034EP
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Stroboscopic Artefacts boss Luca Mortellaro, aka Lucy, returns with Dyscamupia, a multisensory techno triptych revolving around the sequence of Albert Camus's The Stranger (1942), namely the infamous "killing of the Arab". "Dyscamupia (Forward)" happens before and right until the actual killing -- hence time flowing at a metronomic, heartbeat-like tempo; the second cut "Dyscamupia (Pause)" takes place right after the nameless man's death, when the narrator enters a kind of existential "pause"; the third sequence, "Dyscamupia (Backward)", plumbs the depths of the action itself as played backwards, like an equally hazed-out and dizzying reminiscence of the sad encounter's mechanism.
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10"
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SATOTEM 001EP
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Stroboscopic Artefacts presents the Totem series -- a chain of transparent 10" vinyl -- with Lucy, aka Luca Mortellaro, kicking things off. "Tarkomania", builds dark hued mood and texture over one of the spilling monologues of Russian cult classic film director Tarkovsky's in Stalker (1979). "Tarkomania Dub" takes the listener one circle deeper into the groove-filled anxiety, flickering between a set of industrial sounds, the guttural voice of Takovsky's writer, and warm, moody synth. "Tarkomania Acapella" is a summation of these elements with an emphasis on the "Stalker" monologue.
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12"
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ZEHNIN 004EP
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Berlin based Zehnin ask Blawan to remix its inaugural EP from Lucy. First up is Blawan's version of "The Hermit" which is seven spacious and mysterious minutes of creeping pads and implicit rhythms. Dark but inviting, it's stripped-back, hollowed-out techno that manages to be hugely absorbing and menacing without any clearly defined drums. On the flip is the equally beguiling "The High Priestess". Deep, subliminal kicks set the tone as groaning riffs, train-track percussion and distant, tortured pads all slowly hypnotize. This is evocative dead-of-night music that says a lot in impressively economical ways.
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12"
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LAD 029EP
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Life And Death welcome Italian synth wizard Lucy for the label's first release of 2017. Luca Mortellaro's cavernous techno offering comes equipped with a DJ Sotofett version and a rendition by Planetary Assault Systems, further cementing the diversity of the label's scope. DJ Sotofett recalls fine nineties loop techno, while Luke Slater once again confirms his pioneer status.
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12"
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ZEHNIN 001EP
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The essential and ever-evolving !K7 collective is adding a new label to its family in the form of Zehnin. Taking charge of the first release is Lucy. "The Hermit" is eight minutes of spacious and cerebral techno. Rolling drums are buried deep as little flecks of sound design peel off the groove. Occasional bell hits bring a somber and languid feel despite the drive of the drums. "The High Priestess" is empty and eerie, with distant drones and yawning pads outlining a vast underground space. The drums here are again rubbery and rolling, but a little more prominent.
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2LP
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STROBO 004LP
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Double LP version. 180-gram vinyl. Gatefold cover with luxurious gloss print. Includes download code. The third entry in Lucy's trio of adventurous full-lengths is visually introduced by artwork of a pearl-bearing shell, designed by Stroboscopic Artefacts resident visual artist (and Lucy's brother) Ignazio Mortellaro. This drops a subtle hint as to the nature of its contents: just as a pearl slowly forms within its enclosing body in response to organic challenges, Lucy's work is also a kind of crystallization of memory and experience into an artifact of great value. Listeners will be struck immediately by how different Self Mythology sounds from past Lucy productions, while still retaining the feel of relentless questing ("precision and exploration," in Lucy's words) that defined his two previous solo albums, Wordplay for Working Bees (2011) and Churches Schools and Guns (SA 005CD/STROBO 002LP, 2014). The album is enriched by several layers of ambience and by the wordless, improvisational (yet still somehow narrative) vocals and flute of Jon Jacobs. Without a doubt, it's an album with an initiatory atmosphere best heard in one sitting, with as little interruption as possible. However, unlike many initiatory rites, this is no arduous ordeal; great care has gone into connecting each chapter of the album with the same silver thread of entrancing storytelling. On standout pieces like "She-Wolf Night Mourning," electronic arpeggiation and persistent synthetic flutters perfectly merge with the unique tone colors of resonant acoustic percussion and pensive woodwind. Elsewhere, pieces like "A Selfless Act" reconcile technoid pulses with melancholic yet intoxicating echoes of Mediterranean musical traditions. Interestingly, many of the tracks on Self Mythology refer to old legends and well-known fairytales or to more broadly defined states of consciousness ("Samsara," which features an especially strong, sustained choral interplay between glassy synth sequences and earthy flute sonorities). This is where the album is truly unique and relevant in its ambition. The interplay between the graphic design, the vocal and flute performances of Jacobs, and the sound design chosen by Lucy aims to be an intimate audio autobiography of its creators while also referring back to the stories that have shaped human destiny for millennia. This work is a meditation upon the reciprocity between personal hopes and fears and collective dreams and nightmares; an exploration of the endless interplay between the universal and the deeply individual. It is the tale of that uncanny process by which our own conscious experience draws from the pool of archetypal information, while also contributing to it.
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CD
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STROBO 007CD
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The third entry in Lucy's trio of adventurous full-lengths is visually introduced by artwork of a pearl-bearing shell, designed by Stroboscopic Artefacts resident visual artist (and Lucy's brother) Ignazio Mortellaro. This drops a subtle hint as to the nature of its contents: just as a pearl slowly forms within its enclosing body in response to organic challenges, Lucy's work is also a kind of crystallization of memory and experience into an artifact of great value. Listeners will be struck immediately by how different Self Mythology sounds from past Lucy productions, while still retaining the feel of relentless questing ("precision and exploration," in Lucy's words) that defined his two previous solo albums, Wordplay for Working Bees (2011) and Churches Schools and Guns (SA 005CD/STROBO 002LP, 2014). The album is enriched by several layers of ambience and by the wordless, improvisational (yet still somehow narrative) vocals and flute of Jon Jacobs. Without a doubt, it's an album with an initiatory atmosphere best heard in one sitting, with as little interruption as possible. However, unlike many initiatory rites, this is no arduous ordeal; great care has gone into connecting each chapter of the album with the same silver thread of entrancing storytelling. On standout pieces like "She-Wolf Night Mourning," electronic arpeggiation and persistent synthetic flutters perfectly merge with the unique tone colors of resonant acoustic percussion and pensive woodwind. Elsewhere, pieces like "A Selfless Act" reconcile technoid pulses with melancholic yet intoxicating echoes of Mediterranean musical traditions. Interestingly, many of the tracks on Self Mythology refer to old legends and well-known fairytales or to more broadly defined states of consciousness ("Samsara," which features an especially strong, sustained choral interplay between glassy synth sequences and earthy flute sonorities). This is where the album is truly unique and relevant in its ambition. The interplay between the graphic design, the vocal and flute performances of Jacobs, and the sound design chosen by Lucy aims to be an intimate audio autobiography of its creators while also referring back to the stories that have shaped human destiny for millennia. This work is a meditation upon the reciprocity between personal hopes and fears and collective dreams and nightmares; an exploration of the endless interplay between the universal and the deeply individual. It is the tale of that uncanny process by which our own conscious experience draws from the pool of archetypal information, while also contributing to it.
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12"
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SA 021EP
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Stroboscopic Artefacts bring you a remix selection of tracks from Lucy's forthcoming LP Churches Schools and Guns (SA 005CD). First up is the unsettled edit of "Catch Twenty Two" by Shapednoise, littered with opaque utterances of sonic thrust and standing stoutly on an unpredictable and emotional structure of aural dissonance. Donato Dozzy presents his version of "The Illusion of Choice," bounding along like a train through the jungle. The remix of "Laws and Habits" by Milton Bradley zips along with delicate hi-hats and an elastic groove. Last is Eomac's rework of "The Self as Another," bringing the record to a resonant conclusion.
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3LP
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STROBO 002LP
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Triple LP version. Churches Schools and Guns -- a provocative name for a provocative techno album from one of the genre's most consistently intriguing producers, Lucy. This, his second solo album, pushes forward from his debut full-length, 2011's Wordplay for Working Bees, and firmly establishes him in a league of his own. Over the past few years, Lucy's label, Stroboscopic Artefacts, has became a watchword for techno's vanguard -- providing a platform for new artists pushing at the genre's boundaries and a harbor for some of the most experimental work from names you already recognize. Lucy's progress as a producer has followed that same trajectory, moving from relatively straightforward dancefloor-driven material to deeper, murkier places. Churches Schools and Guns continues on, a collection of 12 tracks that sound, more than anything else, like the act of searching.
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CD
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SA 005CD
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Churches Schools and Guns -- a provocative name for a provocative techno album from one of the genre's most consistently intriguing producers, Lucy. This, his second solo album, pushes forward from his debut full-length, 2011's Wordplay for Working Bees, and firmly establishes him in a league of his own. Over the past few years, Lucy's label, Stroboscopic Artefacts, has became a watchword for techno's vanguard -- providing a platform for new artists pushing at the genre's boundaries and a harbor for some of the most experimental work from names you already recognize. Lucy's progress as a producer has followed that same trajectory, moving from relatively straightforward dancefloor-driven material to deeper, murkier places. Churches Schools and Guns continues on, a collection of 12 tracks that sound, more than anything else, like the act of searching.
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12"
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CLR 073EP
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Lucy is back on CLR with another one of his mind-bending, deep and hypnotic techno productions. The original version is a sonic journey that unfolds progressively over a time-span of more than 10 minutes, making the introduction of each individual element appear even more meaningful, impactful and exciting. Dadub and Chris Leibing supply remixes on the B-side, with driving and powerfully dynamic approaches. All three mixes represent a certain stylistic niche in the ever-expanding field of electronic music without limiting themselves to any pre-determined pattern.
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12"
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SA 008EP
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2015 repress; 2011 release. The beelines of Tommy Four Seven, James Ruskin, Peter Van Hoesen, and Truss return to Lucy's hive, taking the most experimental and cross-pollinated paths. This 12" acts as a case-in-point for techno, melding and fusing genre boundaries to reveal new hybrid sounds. The artists chose the tracks that they wished to remix and fused their own defined sound identities with that of Stroboscopic Artefacts.
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12"
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CURLE 041EP
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Lucy returns to Curle Recordings with a new track. On remix duties, someone who broke through on R&S in 2010, but in the meantime also started a label (Works the Long Nights) and a project (Karenn) with his good friend Blawan: Pariah. He was so kind to lend two remixes -- one is a dub mix.
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12"
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SA 013EP
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Lucy's Banality of Evil EP is inspired by Hannah Arendt's writings on conformity and totalitarianism and makes for provocative listening. "Superior Orders" is an off kilter introduction: Lucy took synth lines that Roll The Dice crafted and broke them down, revealing their malevolence. "Stanford Prison" layers wistful top lines over driving bass, creating a fluid, transitory atmosphere. "Milgram Experiment" opens with a beautifully simple sequence and splinters into deep, warm dub. The track includes voices, but these are not catchy, euphoric vocals.
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12"
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SA 001EP
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2009 release. Stroboscopic Artefacts' first vinyl release is an incendiary two-track EP. Label founder Lucy etches out the soundtrack for an apocalyptic club scenario. From the A-side's dark, pulsing beats and itchy bass lines, a granular voice rises up. Krishnamurti's rasping vocal cuts through, creating a colossal techno track. On "Dub Man Walking," Lucy's dub-roots background collides with his techno identity. The heavy drum machine structure is injected with obsessive dubby bass lines and intersected by high frequency distortion.
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12"
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WARE 080EP
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Introducing Berlin-based post-minimalist Luca Mortellaro aka Lucy. "Grainy Lines" reveals Lucy's craving for rave and rocking the floors, while "Go And See My Love" displays his playfulness and disregard of strict dancefloor rules. René Breitbarth sinks deep into the deep house sea to deliver two remixes of "Grainy Lines" -- one jazzy and rolling, one cosmic and bewitching. Support by Steve Lawler, Derrick May, Laurent Garnier, Agoria, James Holden, John Digweed.
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12"
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PSPV 008EP
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"Introduced by James Holden, Lucy (Curle rec) is a new Italian talent based in Paris. On the A-side, the amazing 'Glass Computer' (co-produced with friends) is an odyssey into electronic music and a catchy beat. Seven minutes of happiness and emotion for the crowd. After his wonderful last release on our label, Masaya (Perspectiv/Num Rec) makes the dub and he looks like a trip into a deep forest with his minimal tribal bassline, through the trees at night. Simply wonderful. On the flip side, the Amsterdam-based Mark August (Poker Flat, Connaisseur, Curle, Mezzotinto), is making one of the best remixes for the ages. With his unique touch, Mark takes us by the hand into his very personal universe. Funk, magic deepness and killer break out, this is one of the best remixes you will hear this year, no doubt! At the B2 floor, you will find the second original track from Lucy, 'Noedrocca.' Sweetness is our weakness. This is like a conversation with an angels."
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