|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
S55 005CD
|
This is the debut full-length release by the Brussels-based Cafeneon. This group of four friends grew from the Brussels arts underground and quickly found a punk confidence and a fresh, connected sound. They stylishly mix indie-pop, chanson française, dub and electronics and are influenced by acts as diverse as New Order, Daniel Darc and Mad Professor. The result: an alternative urban disco sweated from French pop classicism. In early 2007, their demo came to the attention of producer Cristian Vogel who, impressed by their extraordinary potential, immediately invited the group to record at his ever-evolving Station 55 electronic music studio. Songs veer from the angular industrial disco of "Orange" to the sunny, continental pop of "Snoopy," all performed with the energy of a new band who are just finding their sound and enjoying the process. The rocksteady rhythm section of Aurélien Chouzenoux (bass, electronics) and Marc Lhommel (drums) play for the dancefloor and lock down deep dub bass lines (á la Rhythm & Sound) on tracks such as "Bari Pompéi" and the Gainsbourg mash-up "Charlie." Soaring above, the vocals and ethereal guitars of Catherine Brevers and Rodolphe Coster (Poni Collective, Flexa Lyndo) provide a sexy, French intimacy, half Gainsbourg/Bardot duet, half My Bloody Valentine. Cafeneon have great international potential and a wide appeal to a broad spectrum of music fans.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
2CD
|
|
S55 003CD
|
For over a decade, UK-to-Barcelona transplant Cristian Vogel has been carving his own niche in the contemporary music scene. He has released countless experimental techno records on labels such as Tresor, Novamute, Mille Plateaux and was Jamie Lidell's partner in the legendary Super_Collider. But since 2003, Vogel's music has also been electrifying a different kind of dancefloor. It was then that Franz Treichler (Young Gods) introduced Cristian to Swiss choreographer, Gilles Jobin. Since then, Cristian has scored the music for four of Jobin's dance-piece creations including Double Deux (2006) and Delicado (2004). Vogel's provocative soundtracks were composed in parallel with the choreography, forming a direct symbiosis between composer, choreographer and dancers and a creative space for Vogel to explore seriously original ideas. The results are spectacular, abstract pieces of never-before-heard electronic sounds generated at the bleeding edge of technology and art. This release, which includes sleevenotes from Gilles Jobin and Franz Treichler, stands not only as a document of the performances, which continue to thrill audiences around the globe, but also as a deep insight into Vogel's incredible sonic universe. The dynamic range of imagery and emotions shifts from soothing insect pulses to sheer industrial panic and will appeal to all open-minded, thrill-seeking listeners.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
S55 004CD
|
The debut album from Cristian Vogel's (Super_Collider) newly formed quartet, Night of the Brain, is a strange yet familiar collection of ten songs written and recorded in Barcelona. The sound combines electric guitar, drums and bass with computer music techniques and simple song structures. The lyrics and feelings in these songs at times resemble the nothingness of dream fragments, the forewarnings within old pulp-fiction, the temporal discomposure of the modern hangover. At other times, its just a good listen, an album that shows all the promise of new sounds and new bands that are taking shape now as electronic musicians who have out-grown the banal and stagnant techno scene. The other band members include Merche Blasco (aka Burbuja), performing electronics and adding her delicate and peculiar vocal touch to Cristian's unsettling lead voice. Little Mike "Fuzz" Hermann on bass, is a veteran of the '80s Berlin hardcore scene, having played in bands such as Dbass5. He is also into making underground techno records under the name Intercooler. The excellent drum-playing on this record is performed by Cristobal Massis, a young Chilean jazz drummer studying at the School of Superior Music in Barcelona.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
S55 001CD
|
First release on Cristian Vogel's new Station 55 Records -- an independent record label affiliated with Vogel's Barcelona-based recording studio. After performing with groups such as Plexus and Las Perras del Infierno, Spain's Merche Blasco formed Burbuja as a vehicle for her own musical exploration. Since its conception two years ago, she has participated and collaborated with various artists, establishing a strong relationship between different mediums of artistic expression and her own musical direction. She has composed music to accompany the sculptures of Lucy Orta at the Venice Biennial and soundtracks for videos and installations by the artists of Fabrica. Cristian Vogel (for whom Burbuja had previously contributed vocals to the track "Monkey Inc." for the album Station 55 on Novamute) meticulously edited the field recordings that Burbuja collected during two years of living in different European cities. Further tracking and vocal takes were then recorded at the Station 55 studio, creating an intimate debut of found sound and haunting melodies. The 13 songs offer a glimpse into a fragile and introspective artistic microcosm where everyday activities such as cooking, riding a bike or eating breakfast serve as sound sources and lyrical themes. Burbuja's whispery voice, hypnotic beats and catchy acoustic-work is accompanied by an ensemble made up of ticking clocks, scissors, an egg whisk, distant thunder, and like the original musique concrete masterpieces, these sounds are left to exude their inherent, natural beauty within a song format. Burbuja invites the listener to tip-toe through her delicate and deeply personal mix of realism and fantasy.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
10"
|
|
S55 002EP
|
Night of the Brain are a four-piece band based in Barcelona. They make songs about love and wine, water and angels. Members include: Cristian Vogel, Mike Hermann, Cristobal Massis and Merche Blasco (aka Burbuja). Together, they sowed the seeds of a special band, one that was capable of applying techno-serial composition techniques and punk rock attitude in equal amounts. Night of the Brain presents songs of raw grunge energy and nervous, naked beauty.
|