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12"
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PROP 013EP
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Features: My Robot Friend, [a]pendics.shuffle, Stop Disco Mafia, Geoff White. "Although largely unnoticed, the world was slightly altered with the invention of Electrik Pants. A few years back Sutekh, Safety Scissors, Kit Clayton and Jake Mandell each assembled their unique patterns to form an eclectic wardrobe of souped-up sonic slacks. Now, since the first wave of pants might have some wear and tear, might not fit you anymore or simply be out of style in the fast paced world of electronic music fashions, Proptronix presents a new line of listenable legwear from the rest of the label's tailors. Under the hood of Electrik Pants you can often find electrik panties; [a]pendics.shuffle (Orac, Adjunct) acknowledges the two positions these could be in (on or off) in conjunction with his techno trousers. Delicately stitched with tiny digital details the track is smooth yet sturdy and perfectly fitted to the dancefloor. My Robot Friend's full spring line is showcased on his forthcoming album on Soma, Dial 0, but this particular piece has been designed specifically for Proptronix. This Frankenstein garment sews Spanish guitar with shocking electro beats and the tight crotch boosts vocals into falsetto range. Plug these hot pants into your warmed heart. The cut from Geoff White flows forth with absurd funk inspired by apparel like MC Hammer's balloon pants. Stop Disco Mafia (aka Ronald Gonko) runs down an aural narrative of the well known and often used fastener. 'Life 'n' Death of a Zipper' delivers signature stop disco silliness with bouncing basslines and vocalized vowels zipping up and down."
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12"
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PROP 011EP
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"Ronald Gonko stops in again with wheels smoking and an unidentifiable smell on him, bringing us a second installment of his titillating tunes. The star track covers a song from a little known band of yesteryear, Plus Instruments. Nora Below blows her horn about bodies, pairing the word with many descriptors to illustrate the corporal concept. A winsome groove of melodic pops and bouncing bass makes it a nice contrast to much of Mafia's tense body of work. Parisian Krikor (Tigersushi, Karat) realizes the body does not necessarily have to be human and rides a demented pony of a remix into town. Only artifacts of Nora's vocals remain interspersed with his jackin' rhythm directly designed to make bodies dance. Stop Disco Mafia returns to his Russian cartoon roots with the tracks Dayfilter and Crunchbone. Thick plots with high stress levels make these action packed pieces hard to put down. Electric mandolins and singing saws help the bright sounds color mustached characters making mellifluous follies while sound effects animate imaginary words; a process opposite of onomatopoeia."
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CD
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PROP 002CD
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"My Robot Friend : Hot Action! Proptronix proudly unveils Hot Action!, the debut album from the toast of New York City's electronic underground, My Robot Friend. The album plays out like a 21st century jukebox of perfect frenetic and synthetic pop. While it oscillates wildly in style from weird electro to punk to rockabilly to Disco crap, the real marvel here is something all too often missing from recent electronic music: an album's worth of honest-to-goodness songwriting, with clever lyrics, catchy hooks, and bonafide musical content, all riding a pulse of crackling current that earns the exclamation point in its title with sheer nonstop energy. Breaking all the rules of robotics, the Robot brings us electric emotion. Technically the world's first no-man band, My Robot Friend is Howard Robot joined by a tight knit cadre of other machines and humanoids. Whether he is joined by 80 year old rapper Bingo Gazingo (on you're out of the computer, already notorious from its inclusion on Irwin Chusid's collection of outsider music) or singing on his own from one of his several simulated souls, My Robot Friend's songs dissect the human condition with a more-human-than-human mordant wit and affection, bringing a peculiar form of android emotion into simulated life in these lyrical tunes. Checking his old punch cards reveals Devo and Kraftwerk as musical influences on his circuitry, and suggest a certain family resemblance to contemporary role-models like Le Tigre and Mouse On Mars. Developed and engineered for many years, his sound and image has already been burned into many minds using his special spark shooting Light-up suit. He has showcased his robot singing/song-writing abilities around the world on stages and also on his flashy website, which has already flabbergasted millions of shocked human visitors. In addition to the 13 songs that comprise Hot Action! the CD is fleshed out with four great music videos by the world of Adam and an informational video by Howard Robot."
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CD
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PROP 009CD
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"He has many faces and wigs to wear while sitting here: his two albums as Eight Frozen Modules on Orthlorng Musork showcase a spiky hairdo with heady rhythm programming and harsh sounds while the premature wig fluffs it up with deep house styles. Other aliases such as Dubloner and electronic music composer build up his colorful discography on labels like Planet Mu, City Slang, Tigerbeat 6, Force Tracks and Skor. Under the flag of [A]pendics Shuffle, Ken has also released two well-received 12"s on Orac and Narita. His new [A]pendics Shuffle release on Proptronix is his most balanced cut so far. Smooth hair starts with a techno base but maximizes volume with Ken's unique razor techniques. Vocal snips and sharp percussion split hairs while the shape is defined with zig zagging melodies and bouncing bass. Each piece is full of filigrees from an eclectic set of influences while maintaining a funky forward motion. Among them, Twit and a Half plays with Mouse On Mars-like melodies, profusely mine bobs about on top of a Köln techno framework, and some Prince style singing is chopped up on wasted space. The multifarious stylings of this mini album stick together to form something extraordinary. It's all dance music for the discotheque but is also perfect to listen to while in the cutting chair at the salon."
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12"
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PROP 006EP
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"'Luckily, when the gang came in and shot up the restaurant, they done it with just water pistols. Otherwise, I would've been dead meat rather than a soaked ham.' Ronald Gonko rolls out Stop Disco Mafia, his debut electronic release. Here is a record that is sometimes mistaken for a soundtrack from a demented Russian cartoon, which you cannot tell who's on whose side. Action lines are illustrated with rubbery melodies and a flurry of truncated funk. Each track is an animated scene with parts and counterparts chasing each other through obstacle courses while lobbing exchanges of practical jokes; bouncing around on an absurd dance floor with repetitive slapstick. Nora Below (BPitch Control) puts in a few words on 'A Quarrel' and a whole gang of other henchman Ronald has employed, armed with synthesizers and singing saws, are accomplices on the other numbers. You may have seen Ronald before, accompanying an orchestra of mandolins on bass. They are known as Kapaikos, a highly trained group of subversive string players. Or perhaps you have been subjected to his punk noise under the name Discounter. If not, just note that Mr. Gonko has been surfacing in different musical projects in the underground of Germany since an early age. The everlasting residents fan and survivor of the punk and new wave socialization in the early 80's presents a new invention of his history here. Stop the Disco Mafia or the Mafia will Stop Disco."
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12"
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PROP 004EP
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"Sometimes you just have to barf?and in fact it can feel so good to do so. Everyone knows this but you can hear here that PJ Pooterhoots (aka Craig Drake) is a strong purveyor of this sentiment. Back in the day, in tha d' (Detroit that is) PJ previously presented recapitulations and regurgitations of familiar things under the name Cantina on definitive, the house label connected to Plus 8, run by Jon Aquaviva. He performed dangerous musical stunts in the rave duo, Hatatomic. Now, he rudely reintroduces himself with this amazing journey from the belly outward, after years of indigestion. The first side finds two hits that will send you sliding across the dancefloor in your own puke; a robotnick styled disco gurgles lovely French food and then a house bumper makes rolling waves in the tub (causing seasickness?). On the flip, Safety Scissors of Plug Research and Proptronix fame, sprays out an acidic mixture of half-digested sounds from PJ, a remix located somewhere between the club and the lounge."
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12"
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PROP 003EP
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Geoff White sampling record. Features an amazing laptop version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough".
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12"
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PROP 002EP
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"Several years have passed since a select group of musicians first became interested in the potential benefit of electric pants to the electronic music world. On this five track EP, the results of extensive research in the sonic sweatshop are presented in their original form. Pants of all styles and sizes can be electrified leading to diverse musical applications for the dance floor or listening environments (i.e. Proptronix enhanced living simulations). Kit Clayton's (Orthlorng, Scape) contribution is more of a shocking spelling bee than a fashion show. Sutekh (Context, Force Inc) showcases a style that reinforces how electric pants can enhance ordinary dancing. Riding on the hem of their trousers, Safety Scissors (Plug Research) sports two tailored tracks this season -- one comfortable and the other featuring some fitting belted out vocals. Demonstrating the athletic versatility of electric virility, Jake Mandell (Carpark, Force Inc) flexes his high fashion leg wear. Try them on for size and see what they can do for you."
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