ALBUM LABEL - Forced Exposure

$12.00$10.20 IN STOCK

RSD 2017 release. Israel-born, Berlin-based artist Ofrin follows her 2016 album Ore (ALB 009CD/LP) with Remixes. The EP opens with a long, deep, dubbed-out club remix of Ofrin's "Black Box" by Berlin-based Canadian Deadbeat, who augments the original's hypnotic pulse with his unique touch. Pilocka Krach opens the B-side with a wide-open ambient remix of Ofrin's "Direction Eclipse," before Ofrin and co-producer Marco Haas aka T.Raumschmiere close the release with a cover of "Träume," which was made famous by Françoise Hardy in 1970.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

Raz Ohara released Moksha (ALB 001CD/LP) in February 2014 and it was the first release on Album Label, the new label from Shitkatapult at the time. Moksha was never meant to dictate the direction of the new imprint in terms of content. But despite this, the album could be heard as a kind of label manifesto. Moksha demands attention and time. And this is precisely what the makers of Album Label are about: listening to records and having the composure and powers of concentration required to do so. One year later, Oliver Doerell, aka Cummi Flu (of Dictaphone and Swod) drops Z (ALB 004CD/LP, 2015). It is an entirely different kind of music from Moksha, less volatile and blurred, percussive and transparent instead. Yet it is an album that belongs right here on this label, one that demands time from its listener. Cummi Flu, who likes to generate percussion loops from the twangs of various rubber bands, creates loops with the help of all possible and impossible tone generators. What happens now when these complex, gyroscopic sounds are deflected and distorted, when you send them through the Raz Ohara grinder, so to speak? Gnawing tracks emerge from field recordings, acoustic instruments, synthesizers and kitchen utensils. It appears that not only do Ohara and Doerell get along well, but they complement each other splendidly. Together they create an extremely fine psychedelia, a kind of dark psychedelic classicism or urban voodoo music. Y is a jungle album for listeners to lose themselves in. The longer you listen, the less you are interested in determining the origins of individual sounds. It's as if the sum of the music and its psychedelic effect mask all rational thought, as if the music takes over control. Soul fragments, sung by Raz Ohara, in his broken yet commanding style, waft around the extraterrestrial sound loops. Again comes the dark voodoo tapping, Ohara's sharp inhale, after which the listener immediately hears his voice creaking and scratching, maniacally, as if it were part of a cultish act. Various time signatures are intertwined, generating polyrhythmic infinity. And before the extremely filtered flute loops regain the upper hand, the music suddenly grabs your heart and moves you in the same way the soundtrack of your youth perhaps once did. "New polyrhythmic and psychedelic incarnation. Sounding like the music of forgotten people from Venus." --IRM.

$17.50$14.88 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code. Raz Ohara released Moksha (ALB 001CD/LP) in February 2014 and it was the first release on Album Label, the new label from Shitkatapult at the time. Moksha was never meant to dictate the direction of the new imprint in terms of content. But despite this, the album could be heard as a kind of label manifesto. Moksha demands attention and time. And this is precisely what the makers of Album Label are about: listening to records and having the composure and powers of concentration required to do so. One year later, Oliver Doerell, aka Cummi Flu (of Dictaphone and Swod) drops Z (ALB 004CD/LP, 2015). It is an entirely different kind of music from Moksha, less volatile and blurred, percussive and transparent instead. Yet it is an album that belongs right here on this label, one that demands time from its listener. Cummi Flu, who likes to generate percussion loops from the twangs of various rubber bands, creates loops with the help of all possible and impossible tone generators. What happens now when these complex, gyroscopic sounds are deflected and distorted, when you send them through the Raz Ohara grinder, so to speak? Gnawing tracks emerge from field recordings, acoustic instruments, synthesizers and kitchen utensils. It appears that not only do Ohara and Doerell get along well, but they complement each other splendidly. Together they create an extremely fine psychedelia, a kind of dark psychedelic classicism or urban voodoo music. Y is a jungle album for listeners to lose themselves in. The longer you listen, the less you are interested in determining the origins of individual sounds. It's as if the sum of the music and its psychedelic effect mask all rational thought, as if the music takes over control. Soul fragments, sung by Raz Ohara, in his broken yet commanding style, waft around the extraterrestrial sound loops. Again comes the dark voodoo tapping, Ohara's sharp inhale, after which the listener immediately hears his voice creaking and scratching, maniacally, as if it were part of a cultish act. Various time signatures are intertwined, generating polyrhythmic infinity. And before the extremely filtered flute loops regain the upper hand, the music suddenly grabs your heart and moves you in the same way the soundtrack of your youth perhaps once did. "New polyrhythmic and psychedelic incarnation. Sounding like the music of forgotten people from Venus." --IRM.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

Necessity is the mother of invention. Creativity theorists would now most likely identify frustration as a driving force for creative activity. Ofrin flips this notion on its head. What drives the Berlin-based Israeli is the creation of an absence. She offers her creativity to serve the art of omission. In doing so, she proves herself as a master of the art. Ore, produced by fellow Albumlabel artist T.Raumschmiere, is defined by the musical elements it lacks, causing tension and drive throughout. Artists often tend to play into listener's expectations, but Ofrin refuses to fall victim to that practice. Her fourth album opens with "Best Request," which might be called a new form of EBM -- something akin to disembodied electronic body music, as contradictory as that may sound. Orchestral hits, filter progressions, and saw-tooth bass create an unmistakable '80s sound that will warm the heart of every self-respecting old school waver. The lack of beats is what defines this piece, catching the listener off guard and causing a slight abstraction. This variant theme occurs throughout the entire album. "Direction Eclipse" is a dark ballad drenched in trip-hop nostalgia, taking the best from the genre. Ofrin achieves an orchestral grandeur without pathos. Her clear yet never predictable melody stands alone without any orchestral backing as it is forced into modesty, virtually intimate. Ofrin resists the temptation to overload the piece with strings, making it a dark, delicate lullaby. We do get a "proper" EBM track in the end with a slapping snare and metallic synth-bass. Ofrin even takes on the classic ragamuffin style, opting for a barebones approach of pure vocals, throbbing synth, and a noise brass groove. Ofrin uses simple arrangements to great effect, lulling the listener into a false sense of security before taking it all away. Ofrin is the master of her own voice, not showing off any flourishes for their own sake of it, and exercising restraint at all times. She avoids the excessive use of expressive bel canto techniques in favor of unusual melodies. Her voice is cool and composed. Her vocals are confident and incisive -- free of vanity.

$17.50$14.88 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code. Necessity is the mother of invention. Creativity theorists would now most likely identify frustration as a driving force for creative activity. Ofrin flips this notion on its head. What drives the Berlin-based Israeli is the creation of an absence. She offers her creativity to serve the art of omission. In doing so, she proves herself as a master of the art. Ore, produced by fellow Albumlabel artist T.Raumschmiere, is defined by the musical elements it lacks, causing tension and drive throughout. Artists often tend to play into listener's expectations, but Ofrin refuses to fall victim to that practice. Her fourth album opens with "Best Request," which might be called a new form of EBM -- something akin to disembodied electronic body music, as contradictory as that may sound. Orchestral hits, filter progressions, and saw-tooth bass create an unmistakable '80s sound that will warm the heart of every self-respecting old school waver. The lack of beats is what defines this piece, catching the listener off guard and causing a slight abstraction. This variant theme occurs throughout the entire album. "Direction Eclipse" is a dark ballad drenched in trip-hop nostalgia, taking the best from the genre. Ofrin achieves an orchestral grandeur without pathos. Her clear yet never predictable melody stands alone without any orchestral backing as it is forced into modesty, virtually intimate. Ofrin resists the temptation to overload the piece with strings, making it a dark, delicate lullaby. We do get a "proper" EBM track in the end with a slapping snare and metallic synth-bass. Ofrin even takes on the classic ragamuffin style, opting for a barebones approach of pure vocals, throbbing synth, and a noise brass groove. Ofrin uses simple arrangements to great effect, lulling the listener into a false sense of security before taking it all away. Ofrin is the master of her own voice, not showing off any flourishes for their own sake of it, and exercising restraint at all times. She avoids the excessive use of expressive bel canto techniques in favor of unusual melodies. Her voice is cool and composed. Her vocals are confident and incisive -- free of vanity.

$17.50$14.88 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code. This album by Tadd Mullinix and Daniel Meteo originates from a studio session that took place in Berlin in 2007. Mullinix presented the idea of working on a series of rhythms he had made in the style of the mid-'80s early digital age of Jamaican producers (starting with Prince Jammy's "Sleng Teng" in 1985). One very intense week later, Mullinix and Meteo mixed down about 15 tracks of original dub beats that included handmade recordings of guitars, organs, keys, off-beats, and melodies with plenty of echoes, delays, drop-outs, and the vintage character of the Berlin studio. With the exception of two tracks they contributed to compilations released by labels run by mutual friends (Monkeytown and Shitkatapult), Mullinix and Meteo never put these recordings out for others to hear. The two maintained a strong friendship, and eventually decided that it was the right time to release a complete album featuring six of the recordings plus two alternate mixes. Listening to Good Star Dubs in its final form, the music seems to have even more bittersweet deepness, rolling out touching basslines, deep space echoes, and a reductive, intense musical approach. Mullinix lives in Ann Arbor, MI, and has produced countless EPs, singles, albums, and remixes under several monikers including JTC, 2AMFM, and Charles Manier, to name a few. He is probably best known for his advances in hip-hop production as Dabrye (on Ghostly International). Meteo lives in Berlin and runs the record labels Shitkatapult and Albumlabel. He also works with Random Noize Musick, with which he publishes the music of artists such as Apparat, Oval, and T.Raumschmiere. Meteo has released two solo albums and several others as half of the duo Bus, a collaboration with Sun Electric's Tom Thiel.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

This album by Tadd Mullinix and Daniel Meteo originates from a studio session that took place in Berlin in 2007. Mullinix presented the idea of working on a series of rhythms he had made in the style of the mid-'80s early digital age of Jamaican producers (starting with Prince Jammy's "Sleng Teng" in 1985). One very intense week later, Mullinix and Meteo mixed down about 15 tracks of original dub beats that included handmade recordings of guitars, organs, keys, off-beats, and melodies with plenty of echoes, delays, drop-outs, and the vintage character of the Berlin studio. With the exception of two tracks they contributed to compilations released by labels run by mutual friends (Monkeytown and Shitkatapult), Mullinix and Meteo never put these recordings out for others to hear. The two maintained a strong friendship, and eventually decided that it was the right time to release a complete album featuring six of the recordings plus two alternate mixes. Listening to Good Star Dubs in its final form, the music seems to have even more bittersweet deepness, rolling out touching basslines, deep space echoes, and a reductive, intense musical approach. Mullinix lives in Ann Arbor, MI, and has produced countless EPs, singles, albums, and remixes under several monikers including JTC, 2AMFM, and Charles Manier, to name a few. He is probably best known for his advances in hip-hop production as Dabrye (on Ghostly International). Meteo lives in Berlin and runs the record labels Shitkatapult and Albumlabel. He also works with Random Noize Musick, with which he publishes the music of artists such as Apparat, Oval, and T.Raumschmiere. Meteo has released two solo albums and several others as half of the duo Bus, a collaboration with Sun Electric's Tom Thiel.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

Stephan Stephensen aka President Bongo wears many hats, but likes to refer to himself as an emotional carpenter. Throughout his illustrious career, President Bongo has built, tooled, shaped, and reconstructed reality in a manner that has touched upon the emotional spheres of thousands, greatly increasing their quality of life and inner harmony in the process. President Bongo began properly mastering his craft as a founding member of the pioneering electronic band GusGus, which formed in 1995. As GusGus evolved and progressed through the years, President Bongo remained a key element, making innumerable contributions to its ongoing success through his work, which ranged from design, film, and photography to singing, songwriting, and production. In spring 2015 President Bongo left GusGus to concentrate on his own solo career and now presents his first solo album, Serengeti. Every year, the beasts of the Serengeti region rush northwest across the endless plains in search of fields for grazing. It's a tremendous sight -- millions of mammals headed in the same direction like a river of majestic proportions, flowing across the vast land toward the ocean. Six months later the zebras, wildebeest, and gazelles return south, once again sealing an infinite loop. Animal hearts brimming with blood, thumping as they traverse Africa; this is the sensation Serengeti evokes for its listener. Ancient dust stirred by the great migration rises and settles in a new corner of the plain. The land is forever altered, yet the same. Whenever the wind blows, nature's rhythms are unaffected. They are undying, relentless, constantly shifting and we are all subject to them. No use resisting. Serengeti is a return journey. The winds change, the dust re-settles, one matures, the music morphs. Close your eyes; your mind rushes across the plains under the burning sun.

$17.50$14.88 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code. Stephan Stephensen aka President Bongo wears many hats, but likes to refer to himself as an emotional carpenter. Throughout his illustrious career, President Bongo has built, tooled, shaped, and reconstructed reality in a manner that has touched upon the emotional spheres of thousands, greatly increasing their quality of life and inner harmony in the process. President Bongo began properly mastering his craft as a founding member of the pioneering electronic band GusGus, which formed in 1995. As GusGus evolved and progressed through the years, President Bongo remained a key element, making innumerable contributions to its ongoing success through his work, which ranged from design, film, and photography to singing, songwriting, and production. In spring 2015 President Bongo left GusGus to concentrate on his own solo career and now presents his first solo album, Serengeti. Every year, the beasts of the Serengeti region rush northwest across the endless plains in search of fields for grazing. It's a tremendous sight -- millions of mammals headed in the same direction like a river of majestic proportions, flowing across the vast land toward the ocean. Six months later the zebras, wildebeest, and gazelles return south, once again sealing an infinite loop. Animal hearts brimming with blood, thumping as they traverse Africa; this is the sensation Serengeti evokes for its listener. Ancient dust stirred by the great migration rises and settles in a new corner of the plain. The land is forever altered, yet the same. Whenever the wind blows, nature's rhythms are unaffected. They are undying, relentless, constantly shifting and we are all subject to them. No use resisting. Serengeti is a return journey. The winds change, the dust re-settles, one matures, the music morphs. Close your eyes; your mind rushes across the plains under the burning sun.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

There is a purpose behind ambient music: it is utility music. Brian Eno made that clear once and for all with Music for Airports -- the utilitarian nature of this music can already be found in the title. But way before that, in 1920, Erik Satie composed "Musique d'ameublement" -- furniture music. The purpose of his furniture music was also to bridge the awkward gaps in conversation in social situations. In turn, Eno's airport music is meant to serve as background music while sounding interesting enough for listeners to become absorbed. If we go by Eno's definition, the music on T.Raumschmiere's new album is not ambient. Although -- or in fact, because -- each individual track on this album immediately and effortlessly generates atmospheres, it is impossible not to be drawn in. Clearly a new meaning of the term ambient is needed to describe the music on this album more accurately. It is music that never sounds deliberate yet at the same time is so compelling, which might have something to do with the fact that Shitkatapult label founder Marco Haas aka T.Raumschmiere is the one behind it. As T.Raumschmiere, Haas produces a sound with influences ranging from bass music and punk rock to industrial. A darkly beating pulse works like a machine through the surging pads of "Dampfer". Synths drone languidly on "Anker". T.Raumschmiere deftly manages to avoid succumbing to the kitsch that often arises from these kinds of sounds. "Grotznogg" has an inner stillness within the rustling and scattered clattering and clanging. The track "007" is a post-industrial masterpiece -- warm, heavy, and latently threatening.

$17.50$14.88 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code. There is a purpose behind ambient music: it is utility music. Brian Eno made that clear once and for all with Music for Airports -- the utilitarian nature of this music can already be found in the title. But way before that, in 1920, Erik Satie composed "Musique d'ameublement" -- furniture music. The purpose of his furniture music was also to bridge the awkward gaps in conversation in social situations. In turn, Eno's airport music is meant to serve as background music while sounding interesting enough for listeners to become absorbed. If we go by Eno's definition, the music on T.Raumschmiere's new album is not ambient. Although -- or in fact, because -- each individual track on this album immediately and effortlessly generates atmospheres, it is impossible not to be drawn in. Clearly a new meaning of the term ambient is needed to describe the music on this album more accurately. It is music that never sounds deliberate yet at the same time is so compelling, which might have something to do with the fact that Shitkatapult label founder Marco Haas aka T.Raumschmiere is the one behind it. As T.Raumschmiere, Haas produces a sound with influences ranging from bass music and punk rock to industrial. A darkly beating pulse works like a machine through the surging pads of "Dampfer". Synths drone languidly on "Anker". T.Raumschmiere deftly manages to avoid succumbing to the kitsch that often arises from these kinds of sounds. "Grotznogg" has an inner stillness within the rustling and scattered clattering and clanging. The track "007" is a post-industrial masterpiece -- warm, heavy, and latently threatening.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

In an age of universal internet-based access to music, many record labels, distribution companies, and shops have had to shut down. These music-obsessed specialists, with their taste and expertise, have all but disappeared from the public eye, signifying the loss of the filter role that they used to play. A lot of the activities that used to be core responsibilities of record companies and artist management agencies have now been taken over by publishers. Music publishers do not sell recorded music, nor do they organize concerts. Instead they handle music rights. This puts them at the center of the discussion about copyrights and intellectual property rights in an era of digitization. Ironically, this often goes unnoticed by the general public, which, along with the artists, is directly affected by the policies of so-called collection societies such as GEMA. In an era of dwindling revenues from music sales, the money earned by music publishers has become the main source of income for many music authors. The music publisher Autopilot, founded by Willy Schwenken and Guido Möbius in 1997 and run mainly by Möbius since 2000, was originally a home base for songwriters from all over the world, and has constantly evolved since its inception. Möbius does not know much about the mainstream and considers the chart-worthiness of his publishing repertoire irrelevant. What is important to him is the expressiveness of the music and the personal relationship with the artist. Working in publishing leads people to think in terms of figures, track lengths, and Excel tables. On the other hand, Autopilot was conceived from the beginning more as a record label -- a label with a broad yet unconventional repertoire and a boss who knows his program and manages it well. This compilation is not meant to represent the entire range of the Autopilot publishing program. It does not claim to be anything other than a good mixtape, an atmospheric collection of very different kinds of music -- timeless releases together with tracks that were previously unreleased or exclusively produced for this compilation. Raise the curtain for Autopilot. Compiled by Guido Möbius. Includes tracks by Guido Möbius, Air Cushion Finish, Lars Paukstat, Transformer Di Roboter, F.S. Blumm, Nils Frahm, Springintgut, Sicker Man, Mini Pops Junior, Black To Comm, The Marble Man (remixed by Guido Möbius), Miwon, and Vert.

$18.00$15.30 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download code.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

There was once a pop music genre that was not actually a genre. It emerged in the late '90s and early 2000s and it was called electronica. This genre was no more a genre than indie or even pop; it simply referred to a compartmentalized and, for the most part, easy listening music that was not good to dance to. As a result, a wide range of musical styles came to be classified under this non-genre just because there was no other suitable classification at the time. And now multi-instrumentalist and composer Oliver Doerell (Dictaphone, Swod, Raz Ohara and the Odd Orchestra) presents Z, an album that sounds like a late electronica manifesto, released under Doerell's alias Cummi Flu. As Cummi Flu, Doerell focuses on sound design. There is not a sound on Z that has been included by chance. The squeak of a computer, the hint of a door shutting, the drawn-out hum of a cello, the sound of Doerell's favorite percussion instrument, the rubber band -- everything here is of equal importance, positioned side by side. Doerell draws from field recordings of all kinds, including children's voices and street sounds, kalimba patterns, and elusive fragments of melodies. Every one of Z's pieces develops in measured, coherent steps into a dense and, at the same time, clearly delineated sound puzzle, though the pieces don't fit perfectly together. This blurring or ambiguity is what makes Doerell's music so special. Sound loops running in opposite directions rustle and squeal. A woman's voice sings a meditative mantra in an unidentifiable language, accompanied by the clang of percussion that is apparently played on an array of kitchen utensils. And in the end, a groove emerges from the tightly woven layers of sound, suggestive of Afrobeat. It bounces and springs to all conceivable heights and depths. Sometimes dreamy and faded, at other times concrete and driving, forming a special kind of loop-based music: intimate, meditative, and timeless. Additional vocals by Lady Ived. Mastered by Nils Frahm. Cover art by Fehmi Baumbach.

$18.00$15.30 IN STOCK

LP version; includes download code. There was once a pop music genre that was not actually a genre. It emerged in the late '90s and early 2000s and it was called electronica. This genre was no more a genre than indie or even pop; it simply referred to a compartmentalized and, for the most part, easy listening music that was not good to dance to. As a result, a wide range of musical styles came to be classified under this non-genre just because there was no other suitable classification at the time. And now multi-instrumentalist and composer Oliver Doerell (Dictaphone, Swod, Raz Ohara and the Odd Orchestra) presents Z, an album that sounds like a late electronica manifesto, released under Doerell's alias Cummi Flu. As Cummi Flu, Doerell focuses on sound design. There is not a sound on Z that has been included by chance. The squeak of a computer, the hint of a door shutting, the drawn-out hum of a cello, the sound of Doerell's favorite percussion instrument, the rubber band -- everything here is of equal importance, positioned side by side. Doerell draws from field recordings of all kinds, including children's voices and street sounds, kalimba patterns, and elusive fragments of melodies. Every one of Z's pieces develops in measured, coherent steps into a dense and, at the same time, clearly delineated sound puzzle, though the pieces don't fit perfectly together. This blurring or ambiguity is what makes Doerell's music so special. Sound loops running in opposite directions rustle and squeal. A woman's voice sings a meditative mantra in an unidentifiable language, accompanied by the clang of percussion that is apparently played on an array of kitchen utensils. And in the end, a groove emerges from the tightly woven layers of sound, suggestive of Afrobeat. It bounces and springs to all conceivable heights and depths. Sometimes dreamy and faded, at other times concrete and driving, forming a special kind of loop-based music: intimate, meditative, and timeless. Additional vocals by Lady Ived. Mastered by Nils Frahm. Cover art by Fehmi Baumbach.

$18.00$15.30 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes a download code.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

The album Sayweenjoy by The Nest was recorded in one weekend by musicians Christoph Clöser, Thomas Mahmoud, Gerald Mandl and Tycho Schottelius at Neukölln Studios in Cologne-Mülheim, and mixed a few weeks later at Ministerium in Berlin. Whereas the music on their previous album Music for Drivers came across as much more fragmented and fractured, the new album features skillfully-arranged songs that lie somewhere between contemporary electronics, musique concrète and jazz. The album's language is warm, cynical, upbeat, cold, dark, claustrophobic, neurotic and unpredictable, all at once -- in the spirit of our times, yet full of humor. It is a musical language that knows no fear or boundaries. The vocals and the singing support the rhythms more than the musical phrases and melodies. They often have a sample-like quality in dialogue with the saxophone, which embodies the actual lead vocals and melody of the music, giving it a soul. Sayweenjoy is more danceable than John Zorn, but clunkier than Madonna. The Nest was established in 2011. Comprised of Christoph Clöser (Bohren & der Club of Gore), Tycho Schottelius (Desmond Denker), Thomas Mahmoud and Gerald Mandl (both of Tannhäuser Sterben & das Tod), they have created their own blend of electro-acoustic, jazz and noise. Their debut album Music for Drivers was described as: "Highly minimal and with due attention to space and atmosphere, Music for Drivers is poised with a sharp tension between contrasting organic and mechanical sound sources; field recordings lend an unpredictability and sense of atmospheric breadth while their patiently attuned playing paints the space between with ethereal, otherworldly strokes of synthesizer, saxophone and electronics, constantly morphing between moods which are never quite just dark and light, maybe best described in terms of psychedelic, hallucinatory light shows." (Boomkat) While their debut album was driven by the clarification of areas and fields, this album focuses on the more melodic and rhythmic structures of The Nest's very own musical language.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

In case you haven't spotted her yet, there's a nun walking around the streets of Berlin, a nun in search of enlightenment. Running his own phone sex line, Khan was a male hustler on 1-900 Get-Khan (Matador); he was a torch singer/gothic bunny on Who Never Rests (Tomlab); he was part of the Last Standing Disco Band -- Captain Comatose (Playhouse) -- circumnavigating the planet, then taking off into outer space, and now he's back as a bearded urban nun, dropping his latest album on the Berlin-based Album Label. The songs Khan recorded for The Enlightenment Machine tell intricate stories about various topics, ranging from ethics gone astray to gender-swapping, at times even offering cheap pearls of wisdom (that ultimately ring true nonetheless). Inspired by Brion Gysin's Dream Machine, The Enlightenment Machine is an album that, much like the perpetual spinning of Gysin's turntable-based device, like a helix in constant motion, keeps on drilling and working its way into the future. Based on a series of siren grooves, Khan intersperses the new tracks with dense layers of dub reverb, live percussion, lots of (sub)bass and some spectral-sounding cello recordings (contributed by Julia Kent from NYC). Once put in motion, The Enlightenment Machine works just like Gysin's Dream Machine: all you need to do is sit down in front of it, close your eyes and get illuminated. It's a simple procedure that also works for larger groups. A restless vagabond and troubadour who's currently based in Berlin, Khan's Enlightenment Machine is the second full-length release by the Album Label, a new imprint under the roof of Random Noize Musick, a renowned independent music publisher (e.g. Apparat, Oval, Raz Ohara, Phon.o) and label network comprised of various Berlin-based heavyweights including Shitkatapult. Following hot on the heels of Raz Ohara's Moksha album, Album Label's debut release, The Enlightenment Machine was created in a similar vein and thus underlines what this new label is all about: to release open-minded-yet-coherent-sounding full-length albums that are novel-like in scope, rough around the edges, scattered with ideas and recorded with passion. Recorded in this vein, both Ohara's and Khan's albums blur the boundaries between machine and emotion, instrument and human voice, song and track.

$18.00$15.30 IN STOCK

LP version.

$15.50$13.18 IN STOCK

Raz Ohara's latest full-length is jam-packed with intricate cross-references and wild cross-pollinations, while he's making sure the vibe remains just right from beginning to end. A term like "dub" might be in the right ballpark, but you can also hear soul music on Moksha, at least hints of soul, subtle hints. It's actually the kind of slow-moving, static-laden soul that can only evaporate from the infinite echo chambers of Ohara's (dub) lab. Extremely dense and yet transparently arranged, the soundscapes on Moksha are vast, roomy, and yet they remain somewhat mysterious around the edges. Most beats and percussion elements seem to exist merely for themselves, usually dropping in when you least expect them -- making the resulting groove patterns (and groove it does) even more miraculous and amazing. Elsewhere, warm layers of sound or frozen melodies appear out of nowhere, linger and grow for a while, then die down again. As a listener, you have to surrender and drown in these pulsating soundscapes, which Ohara wrote and produced single-handedly. The first beat that's actually pretty straightforward (and funky) serves as the foundation of the only cover song on this album: "True Love Will Find You in the End" by Daniel Johnston. Whereas most of his own beats are assembled from acoustic elements, this is the only track that sees him relying on a drum computer. "Two Young Mates," in comparison, with its soft walls of guitar, channels post-grunge bands like Ride or Lush -- or even Pluramon. It's amazing to see this wall of sound grow over a steady beat, while Ohara actually shouts the lyrics instead of singing them. Up next he presents a rather abstract collage of clarinet, African percussion, and synthesizer sounds in shreds -- forming, once again, some kind of dub music. If you've ever found yourself lost in a limestone cave, here's your soundtrack to that kind of adventure. Moksha is the first release on Album Label, a new imprint under the Shitkatapult roof. This album is a perfect starting point, because it's a cave of forking paths that change direction every time you re-enter.

$18.00$15.30 IN STOCK

LP version. Raz Ohara's latest full-length is jam-packed with intricate cross-references and wild cross-pollinations, while he's making sure the vibe remains just right from beginning to end. A term like "dub" might be in the right ballpark, but you can also hear soul music on Moksha, at least hints of soul, subtle hints. It's actually the kind of slow-moving, static-laden soul that can only evaporate from the infinite echo chambers of Ohara's (dub) lab. Extremely dense and yet transparently arranged, the soundscapes on Moksha are vast, roomy, and yet they remain somewhat mysterious around the edges. Most beats and percussion elements seem to exist merely for themselves, usually dropping in when you least expect them -- making the resulting groove patterns (and groove it does) even more miraculous and amazing. Elsewhere, warm layers of sound or frozen melodies appear out of nowhere, linger and grow for a while, then die down again. As a listener, you have to surrender and drown in these pulsating soundscapes, which Ohara wrote and produced single-handedly. The first beat that's actually pretty straightforward (and funky) serves as the foundation of the only cover song on this album: "True Love Will Find You in the End" by Daniel Johnston. Whereas most of his own beats are assembled from acoustic elements, this is the only track that sees him relying on a drum computer. "Two Young Mates," in comparison, with its soft walls of guitar, channels post-grunge bands like Ride or Lush -- or even Pluramon. It's amazing to see this wall of sound grow over a steady beat, while Ohara actually shouts the lyrics instead of singing them. Up next he presents a rather abstract collage of clarinet, African percussion, and synthesizer sounds in shreds -- forming, once again, some kind of dub music. If you've ever found yourself lost in a limestone cave, here's your soundtrack to that kind of adventure. Moksha is the first release on Album Label, a new imprint under the Shitkatapult roof. This album is a perfect starting point, because it's a cave of forking paths that change direction every time you re-enter.