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LP
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EMEGO 318LP
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Hüma Utku returns to Editions Mego with her new album. The title Dracones makes reference to the mediaeval Latin term "Hic sunt dracones" (Here be dragons), marking the unexplored, dangerous places on world maps, expressing the fear of chaos, the unexpected and the unknown. This new work by the Istanbul sound artist is a sonic journal of an expedition into uncharted territory, one which occupies self and domesticity. Inspired by Utku's experience of matrescence, Dracones explores the themes of familial demonology, metamorphosis and homecoming as well as human relationship to the experience of love woven layers of euphoria, alienation and consumption. Musically, Dracones traverses a wide array of sonic tools whereby industrial sounds are imbedded with certain psychological angles; this is an album where, all matter meshes into a sly snapshot of the human experience with a tension and release exposure occurring frequently with dark corners opening up to bright layers of electronic experimentation. The haunting opening track "A World Between Worlds" tackles pregnancy, of which Utku was experiencing when making this record. This track features the "Lyraei," an electromagnetic string instrument and modern interpretation of the ancient lyre, that was built and played by Mihalis Shammas. Dracones is a deeply visual journey through inner and outer worlds, a space where symbolic evocation is supreme and passive listening is not an option. All tracks composed, performed and recorded by Hüma Utku. Mixed by Enyang Urbiks. Mastered by Heba Kadry. Cover artwork by Marco Ciceri. Design by Tina Frank.
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2LP
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EMEGO 302LP
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Editions Mego presents The Psychologist, the sophomore album by the Istanbul born and raised, Berlin based electronic music composer and sound artist Hüma Utku. As the title suggests, The Psychologist, is a series of sonic essays based around themes of psychological phenomena and can be read as a musical enquiry into the human condition. With Utku's background as a graduate of Psychology and her current practice as a conceptual music composer we see the two main threads in her professional career intertwine on this unique and ambitious release. Including recordings of Buchla 200 from Utku's Elektronmusikstudion residency in October 2020, The Psychologist is a genre aversive work that embodies elements of synthesizer music, electroacoustic, experimental techno, industrial, modern composition, and spoken word. Piano, string compositions, and vocals hold weight throughout a number of pieces providing a dramatic acoustic edge to the psychological explorations contained within. The foreboding mood of much of this release is the product of investigation that lends the unsettling theme of anticipatory grief to the mood of the tracks "Light of All Lights" and "Continuing Bonds". "Islands of Consciousness" refers to Jungian metaphor for consciousness whilst the unnerving Rüya twists around dream analysis in Gestalt psychology. "Fuel For The Flames" proceeds as a buzzing and swirling representation of alchemy and psychological symbolism. "Dissolution of I" is haunted by a strange sensation of dissociation whilst defense mechanisms support the sublime Sublimation. The bright shapes of "Chironian Wound" represent archetypes and analytical psychology whilst the fried soundscapes and rhythms of "Ataxia" encapture neurological states. The results unravel with both the clockwork rhythms of the human body and the unpredictable nature of the psyche, the pieces follow arrhythmic patterns in a harmonious way. It tells the raw and intimate story of the human experience with a new work whereby the predictable operates in parallel with the unexpected and like human experience itself, is dark and complex. The Psychologist follows Utku's debut on Karlrecords in 2019. Double LP; glossy print; includes download code; edition of 500.
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CD
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EMEGO 302CD
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Editions Mego presents The Psychologist, the sophomore album by the Istanbul born and raised, Berlin based electronic music composer and sound artist Hüma Utku. As the title suggests, The Psychologist, is a series of sonic essays based around themes of psychological phenomena and can be read as a musical enquiry into the human condition. With Utku's background as a graduate of Psychology and her current practice as a conceptual music composer we see the two main threads in her professional career intertwine on this unique and ambitious release. Including recordings of Buchla 200 from Utku's Elektronmusikstudion residency in October 2020, The Psychologist is a genre aversive work that embodies elements of synthesizer music, electroacoustic, experimental techno, industrial, modern composition, and spoken word. Piano, string compositions, and vocals hold weight throughout a number of pieces providing a dramatic acoustic edge to the psychological explorations contained within. The foreboding mood of much of this release is the product of investigation that lends the unsettling theme of anticipatory grief to the mood of the tracks "Light of All Lights" and "Continuing Bonds". "Islands of Consciousness" refers to Jungian metaphor for consciousness whilst the unnerving Rüya twists around dream analysis in Gestalt psychology. "Fuel For The Flames" proceeds as a buzzing and swirling representation of alchemy and psychological symbolism. "Dissolution of I" is haunted by a strange sensation of dissociation whilst defense mechanisms support the sublime Sublimation. The bright shapes of "Chironian Wound" represent archetypes and analytical psychology whilst the fried soundscapes and rhythms of "Ataxia" encapture neurological states. The results unravel with both the clockwork rhythms of the human body and the unpredictable nature of the psyche, the pieces follow arrhythmic patterns in a harmonious way. It tells the raw and intimate story of the human experience with a new work whereby the predictable operates in parallel with the unexpected and like human experience itself, is dark and complex. The Psychologist follows Utku's debut on Karlrecords in 2019.
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LP
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KR 068LP
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Following 2018's Şeb-i Yelda EP under the R.A.N. moniker (KR 054EP), Hüma Utku delivers Gnosis, her debut full-length album under her own name. A blend of abstract electronics and ritualistic throbbing beats with field recordings and ambience. With Şeb-i Yelda, Hüma Utku introduced her musical style to a broader audience -- storytelling through elements of industrial, techno, and abstract electronics, blending in field recordings and traditional instruments from the Middle East. A sonic journey that now continues on Gnosis that owns the signature sounds of the Istanbul-born/Berlin-based electronic artist and pushes them further. The Greek word "Gnosis" meaning "knowledge reached through intuition and individual experience" has been used throughout history by various schools of esotericism and thought, to signify gaining insight on workings of the universe. Coherently the album follows the hermit-like, truth-seeking traveler on a path through various times and geographies, through different forms of human experience. Merging field recordings that Utku did in Greece, Egypt, and Turkey with ambient soundscapes, abstract electronics, and ritualistic throbbing beats, Gnosis is an intense sonic travelog where the storyline exceeds the borders any specific musical genre. Mastered by Rashad Becker at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin. 180 gram vinyl; includes download code.
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