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12"
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APLTRONIC 010EP
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Apparel Tronic comes back after the heat of summer introducing the first compilation in its catalog as well as its tenth release overall, Varioustronic 1. This three track compilation is an ambitious project that unites three great artists with diverse approaches to music production, three different minds and visions, three declinations of the same verb brought together under the same roof. It's always a good thing to experiment, to try and push boundaries over again in everything and surely this is an organic evolution to the so-called "Bliss-Beat": the identifying concept behind that idea. The three producers chosen, Anton Kubikov, Artizhan, and Tommy Vicari Jr., need no introduction; it's simply a matter of being grateful to them for their availability to huddle up and create some great music for one cause and it's surprising how the three tracks, colliding, offer different but likeminded perspectives, like fragmenting planets creating new ones. This release is the result of two years of research, ending up choosing Anton's "Freak Out Little Bit", Artizhan's "Birthday" and Tommy's "Conceal" from among many others.
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2LP
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APLTRONIC 008LP
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An uncompromising return comes from Apparel Tronic: the internationally known Russian duo SCSI-9 is back with Squares And Circles an eight-track album. The eighth record in the label's electronic catalog is an abstract, geometric, but above all, analog journey through Anton Kubikov and Maxim Milutenko's souls; an identifying concrete work of research which displays the "two-dimensional and mathematical" approach of their connected minds. The whole double-LP is musically pervaded by all the sound investigations they made throughout the production period and tells of their inner perfectionism. Coming to the raw music itself, they succeed in a complex process of making simple what's extremely heterogeneous, embodying the psychological theory of the thought against the speech: it's easier to talk than to think. Well, they talk perfectly through their music which is really difficult to separate into tracks, being such a climax of organic emotions, flowing from the opening "No Rush" with its tight rhythmics and space-y atmospheres to the more low-key and harmonious approach of "You & Me"; rolling on to the firmest and energetic constancy of side-B starting with "Get Some Lfo" and slowing down again with the meekest, warm, far-out sensations of "Stairs and Stars": this track is one of SCSI-9's watermarks on the album and it's a drive through an ascendant field of harmonies, peaking at its zenith and oscillating back to a state of peace, letting the last beat taking over. Uncrating the second LP of the package, you access the substantial envelope of "Pha In The Hau" and "Systematic", a track that instantly takes you to an unknown region between the moon, Chicago, and Ivory Coast, dancing along to some sort of Zaouli tribe percussions. D-side brings the perspective to the edge of SCSI-9's universe gives you an even closer look to the landscape they've created with this treasure album. "303 Views" is the last wind storm on the Lake Michigan, touching all the musical influences that come from that specific area of planet Earth while the last blow "Onigiri" is a soft lysergic guided tour on their very own trigonometric asteroid, with no fear of falling off it. Squares And Circles is a determined, hard-lined, and intransigent statement of what Anton and Maxim want to communicate with their vibrations; no matter if you don't get the whole point, just plunge into the these waters.
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LP
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APLTRONIC 006LP
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With Inkswel's The Sound, there is big news on the Apparel Tronic side. The Sound is the seventh release in the catalog and the label's second on vinyl, by a much-admired artist: Julian Habib (aka Inkswel), on this project with his alias That Dude Inkswel. The man himself created an eight track album which truly represents Apparel Tronic's spirit of experimentation, this time steering towards more jazzy influenced hip-hop and staying true to label's sound. The Sound features dope collaborations such as the Detroit vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Brownstudy on the opening and title track, progressive artist Maia Von Lekow giving her voice for "Mother" alongside Mista Monk, the superb Han Litz's flute and Trujillo on "Kellin' It" and also Divine Species on "Galaxies" and Mr. Schem rapping on "Dedicated to Mr. Schem". This work is a bold and captivating selection of different styles belonging to the same soul orchestrated by Inkswel and his musical mastermind; listening to The Sound is like jumping on a caravan for a journey where every track is a different stop: crunching beats, deep bass lines, psychedelic melodies. The ingredients for this amazing recipe are all coming from different parts of the planet, a place that Inskwel seems to have written on his palms given his capability of bringing different music influences under the same roof, where he finally invited Apparel Tronic to hang for a bit.
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LP
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APLTRONIC 001LP
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Apparel Music return with the introduction of a brand new sub label - Apparel Tronic. The intention for this new division of sound is to shift focus towards UK-rooted beats, nu-jazz, downtempo, and jungle - a collection of styles the label like to term "Bliss-Beat". This treasured and futile basis of influence gives rise to Giuseppe D'Alessandro, aka KiSK, and Ludovico Schilling's new project Schilling, inaugurating the label with Hella from Schilling himself: a collection of UK-indebted dance tracks that meld influences from jungle, breaks, and hip hop. Originally born in Milan - Schilling relies on a process he likes to describe as "contamination" of sound which entails the layering of field recordings and the sounds of his home environment with those of synths, real instruments, and samples. This approach brands a clear stamp on his productions and enables him to create a truly singular strand of dance music and it's this that glues together the nine disparate tracks of Hella. Moving from the cascading breaks of the LP's introduction "Anarcoide", to the woozy and textural "Black Lighter", the album begins to build a spectral mood as it progresses. Tracks such as "Flesh Is Weak" and "Madting" draw influence from the golden-era of Bristol's trip-hop while tracks such as "Snooker Club" and "Viejos" delve into more caliginous, IDM territory. The result is a rich and varied collection that demonstrates Apparel Music's unwavering ability to continue to keep listeners guessing. Features Mokṣa and Anam. Comes on 180 gram vinyl.
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