Sifting through vinyl, with Klanger: ‘Ghetto Sale’

Klanger’s heart and soul seems set on music collection. Through flea markets, record shops, blues, jazz and funk, this German artist walks the path to find the perfect sound, and clearly has no problem stopping along the way with each new discovery. The samples Klanger collects find their way into his tracks, as the curator turns producer. Influences on his work are plentiful, including Lee Perry, MF Doom, Jay Dee and far more than I can write here.

His tracks tend to follow a Lo-fi Hip-Hop feel, a genre which is everywhere right now, to the point that the market is a little saturated. Surely everyone’s managed to get all their chilling and studying done by now? Quality is obvious when you hear it though, and what Klanger brings out with ‘Ghetto Sale’ is something fresh, with a real twist of funk. It’s warm, cool, and the low quality sound really does add flavour here. The percussion is tight and sharp, but the bass and vocal samples beneath sound it like they’re underwater, something that just works magically.

Klanger’s online discography is still growing, currently consisting of individual singles rather than full albums, but hopefully we might see some larger movement in the future.

Support the release on Bandcamp or stream it on Spotify

Hear more from Klanger
Soundcloud / Facebook / Bandcamp / Insta / Spotify

Facing forward with Mindsight's 'Source'

Mindsight, AKA Joshua Neumann, hails from Munich, Germany. At 22 years old, he’s been making quite a stir in European and US music scenes. With a varied discography of EP’s, tracks, and remixes, Mindsight melds genre and sounds into his own concoctions. From cavernous synths, deep bass, and hard hitting rhythms, to vibrant and spacious downtempo, Mindsight stares fiercely forward into the future and is one to keep an ear out for in 2019 and beyond. 

Their latest track ‘Source’ opens with an arpeggiating synth, building with a harmonic underlayer before promptly dropping into a syncopated, swing heavy percussion typically associated with UK Garage. Sharp vocal cuts punch through the groove with sass. Utilizing long breaks and deep swelling bass to rally energy, the track concludes with all elements peaking in a melancholic drift. Just as apt for deep home listening as it is on a murky late night dancefloor.

Pre-order the whole EP- W___

Check out more of Mindsight here: 
Soundcloud / Spotify / Twitter / Instagram

Moshuss and Hanses take inspiration from Japanese pop culture for their beat album 'Poltergeist'

If there was ever any doubt that music styles in our current age are a global phenomenon, let Moshuss & Hanses put that to rest. The German duo’s debut release, ‘Poltergeist’, is classic American west coast beat scene, but produced entirely with Japanese samples. As is common with the style, Poltergeist is composed of 24 rapid-fire beats, none longer than 1:49. But there’s a wide variety of moods and feelings presented here, giving the release weight and texture that pull you in at the start of every new beat. There’s some Dilla-style sampling, some Q-Tip jazziness, classic Madlib texture, and a bit of Knxwledge whimsy to boot.

On the stand-out track ‘Sidmidak’, which you can stream above, Moshuss & Hanses deftly meld a heart-tugging orchestral arrangement with a classic rap beat that dances around the lush string harmonies. Label Fennek Records has pressed a small run of 10” vinyl, with 5 different woodcut-style illustration album covers, which match the timeless mood of the album well.

Slink on over to Bandcamp to hear the album in full, and pick up the vinyl release if you’re really feeling it.

— review by Autonomy

Moshuss & Hanses on the web:
Spotify
Bandcamp

Fennek Records on the web:
YouTube
Facebook

Sublime simplicity from Berlin Composer Jonas Hain

WIth the almost unlimited sonic possibilities at the fingertips of today’s producers it’s refreshing to hear a composer go back to the basics of strictly expressive instrumentation and emotive musicality. And this is exactly what 27 year old Berlin based composer and pianist does with his recent track MMXV.

Originally written for a director friend’s film project with an imminent deadline, the track was quickly composed in 2015 over a single night of spontaneous creative composition. Afterwards, Jonas still felt that something was missing, so he recorded a synth and added a bassline to serve as the counterpoint to the stark, organic piano arrangement.

Although just a brief 2 and a half minutes long, MMXV serves as an excellent introduction into the music of the young German composer. Emotive piano notes fall like a blanket of fresh snow as the electronic counterpoint provides some synthesized heat. Excellent use of panning as the piano and synth lines communicate back and forth for a memorable lesson in sublime simplicity.

Hear more emotive excellence from the German composer-
Website
Instagram
Spotify
Youtube

Ambient dream-time from Germany's BLCKCSTLS

As Brian Eno once said “Ambient Music must be able to accomodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.“

We’d definitely like to think of the ambient music of German producer Georg-Christoph Stadler, aka BLCKCSTLS, as falling in the latter category, being dynamic and intriguing sonic creations deserving the listener’s undivided attention. And while this is certainly true, there is an effortless unobtrusiveness flowing through his productions which also makes them the perfect companion for an evening of studying, relaxing or getting work done.

And this is the real beauty of a good ambient album, appealing to the various layers of a listeners attention without imposing any sort of will upon the observer. Leaving it upto us to decide how closely to listen or how deeply to dive. Allowing the listener to complete other tasks or close their eyes and let the sounds envelope them. This is indeed a unique freedom, rarely afforded by other genres of modern music.

This kind of passive beauty can be witnessed in Stadler’s recent EP entitled ‘Secorder’. The album description reads “A quick and unmastered EP made on a cold Autumn evening to shorten the wait for Notes from the Dust.” Although only running about 15 minutes in length, the uncluttered and spontaneous EP gives us a good taste of things to come from the rising ambient composer.

Support his music over on Bandcamp

Hear more from BLCKCSTLS
Soundcloud
Facebook
Spotify

Tape-tinged techno from audio/visual creative- Daniel Brandt

Daniel Brandt, co-founder of acclaimed German ensemble Brandt Brauer Frick, is set to release his second solo album via Erased Tapes on October 12th. Called 'Channels', the new record follows the release of the London and Berlin based producer’s solo debut Eternal Something from 2017. Pre-order 'Channels' on LP/CD/DL: https://www.erasedtapes.com/release/eratp113-daniel-brandt-channels The seven-track LP is Brandt’s biggest statement yet, with the album’s thrilling avant-garde framework interweaving chord-driven techno, orchestral flourishes, rich electronic textures and hints of dark cinematic pop. Following on from Eternal Something, which captured a contemplative kind of isolationism, with Channels Brandt set out to create an album that captures the essence of minimalism whilst lending it to a more playful context. Intricate floor-filler and lead track ‘Flamingo’ synthesises the measured pacing of Detroit techno with an orchestral background. As with all of the tracks on Channels, ‘Flamingo’ began life as a sketch with very basic instrumentation, before taking it into the studio to rehearse with his band members, giving the album a live and visceral sound that sets it apart from his debut; “It was a great experience to do it this way as I have always wanted to have the chance to try out something in a live setting before recording it in the studio and not the other way round,” explains Daniel. “The actual typical rock band recording style that I never had the chance to do before.” With Brandt also being skilled as a filmmaker, directing and producing visuals for BBF and Eternal Something, much of the new album’s creative ideas reference a rich visual palette. He directed the video for ‘Flamingo’, a sideways glance at the art world that takes the concept behind John Cage’s 4’33” and turns it on its head. “The video for Flamingo is deliberately non performance — people sitting in a room and watching basically nothing, never really sure if anything is ever going to happen. It’s also a play on John Cage’s 4’33”, except in this instance there isn’t even a performer present.” — Daniel Brandt Daniel’s passion for film even prompted him to kick start his own online television channel Strrr.tv in 2017 that since attracted a lot of attention with guest moderators including BBC Radio DJ Gilles Peterson, modular synth legend Suzanne Ciani and Berghain bouncer Sven Marquardt counting amongst the most popular episodes. Recorded between Berlin and London, Channels is a deeply enthralling listening experience, which sees Daniel Brandt build upon his distinctive percussive sound whilst exploring new and expansive horizons. Praise for Daniel’s previous album, Eternal Something: “Propulsive, tense, and entirely mesmerizing” 7.6 — Pitchfork “An evocative ray of multi-instrumentalism” 9/10 — DJ Mag “A fizz bomb of overlapping ideas” — Record Collector “Utterly abstract and wholly melodic” — Clash “A cracker” — Electronic Sound Released by: Erased Tapes Records Ltd. Release date: 12 October 2018 P-line: ℗ 2018 Erased Tapes Records Ltd.

London / Berlin based filmmaker, composer, and musician- Daniel Brandt, is set to release his second full length solo album ‘Channels’ on October 12th via London imprint- Erased Tapes. As co-founder of the infamous ‘Brandt Brauer Frick’ trio which has been dubbed by the BBC as “concert hall compositions for the clubbing generation”, Brandt is no stranger to intricate and impeccably executed studio productions and live music performances. As both a filmmaker and musician, this multi-disciplinary creative approach ensures an inventive and original artistic output where boundaries are blurred and inspiration spontaneous.

Take the most immersive, club-ready track ‘Sailboats III’ from the album for example. As Brandt explains:

“The song is named after a painting by Roy Lichtenstein which is not one of his typical ones but rather a kind of abstract cubist painting of sailboats on the sea. I wanted to make a song that feels like an electrified sailing voyage and tried to imitate the feeling of this imagined trip.”

This type of cross-disciplinary creative communication is a common thread throughout the album, with many of the tracks referencing rich visual palettes. The blossoming cosmos of ‘Cherry Dream’ is informed by Tangerine Dream’s iconic soundtrack to the film Risky Business, a compelling reinterpretation of Love On A Real Train replete with darker, electronic elements and live orchestration. ‘Daze’, co-written with guitarist Pascal Bideau, chimes with an acoustic melody and is carried by a rhythmic percussive pulse, whilst the understated ‘Ltd’ was stylistically inspired by Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint.

As we can see the album draws from a variety of sources and creative ideas, but still manages to remain original and organic, with an almost effortless spontaneity to it. Perhaps Lichtenstein said it best when he stated “Art doesn't transform. It just plain forms”.

Pre-order ‘Channels’ over on the Erased Tapes Bandcamp

Follow Daniel Brandt
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Follow Erased Tapes
Website
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

Idm-tinged ambient-techno from German duo 'qrauer'

Aracus EP (NR 05) Released 13 july 2018 on Nonostar Records http://www.smarturl.it/qrauer_aracus

Creating a variety of left leaning electronica, from micro house to ambient techno, Christian Grochau and Ludwig Bauer aka qrauer are a breath of fresh air in the often formulaic world of modern dance music. With a 4/4 framework driving their tracks, the duo’s productions are heavy on lush sound design and sonic experimentation while remaining reined in enough to sit comfortably within an eclectic DJ set.

With both Christian and Ludwig coming from strong musical backgrounds, Christian being a virtuosic percussionist and Ludwig being a skilled pianist, composer and multi-instrumentalist, the two are able to find the perfect balance between danceable musicality and genre pushing electronic aesthetics.

Their debut EP ‘Aracus’ fully harnesses the duo’s creative powers and concentrates them into 4 tracks of organic sidewinder rhythms and awe-inspiring moments of cinematic brilliance. Brokebone is the concluding track of the album, with an off-kilter chorus of impressively honed percussive elements and richly coloured brutish leads, the track wraps up the EP nicely while leaving us hungry for the next sonic ‘tour de force’ from the ingenious German duo.

Support the release over on their Bandcamp

Follow qrauer
Soundcloud
Facebook
Instagram
Spotify

Indie Electronica from Hamburg's Lukas Oppenheimer

Lukas Oppenheimer is a musician originally from Hamburg, Germany currently studying computer science and making music on the side in Berlin. Growing up with an American mother and German father gave Lukas a unique cultural perspective from a very young age. Whether it be his open-minded approach to music or travel, his family upbringing exposed him to both European and American walks of life. 

Throughout his youth, Lukas always enjoyed playing instruments and experimenting with music. Whether it was bass, guitar, drums or old synths, Oppenheimer naturally took to being creative with sound. But it wasn't until he was 11 and got a copy of FL Studio that he began down the path of an electronic music producer.

Starting out making unconventional music and sound experiments, it was more the process of creating than the result that intrigued Lukas. To this day he carries that same kind of curiosity and creative energy, often incorporating new outboard gear and workflow into his production setup.

'Never Thought' certainly contains this creative spirit and unique, inquisitive approach.  The track is a 6 minute sonic adventure, progressing through experimental atmospheres, deep rhythms and emotional keys. 

Follow
Soundcloud
Spotify
Instagram
 

Lush Lofi from Misc. Inc and Leavv

Retention, a song by Misc.Inc, Leavv on Spotify

Based in Dresden, Germany Misc. Inc creates dreamy, chilled out soundscapes perfect for studying, reflecting or relaxing. Starting out making beats in 2012, the young producer took cues from some of his favourite lofi artists such as bsd.u, Tycho, and Jinsang. Now, 6 years later, Misc displays a complexity and confidence in his music well beyond his years. 

The Misc. Inc sound combines organic, soulful elements with crisp sound design and groove-infused, infectious beats. Never one to settle within a comfortable niche, Marc is always striving to improve his sound and broaden his horizons. This pursuit often leads him to new, exciting collaborations resulting in music that is more than the sum of its parts. 

His Oblivion EP is a great example of this collaborative approach. Joined by fellow countryman, Leavv, the 2-track release features dusty chords, soothing rhythms and organic atmospheres. 

Support the release on Bandcamp

Follow
Misc Inc Soundcloud
Misc Inc Spotify
Leavv Soundcloud
Leavv Spotify
  

  

New mix from Mimoni

Our main man Mimoni recently released a fresh mix with You Plus One, just in time for the weekend! 

WE ARE - You Plus One - @mimonimusic There are far and few DJs out there that perfect The Art of Storytelling. One of the most amazing characteristics about You Plus One's newest resident is his uncanny ability to weave through genres in order to create a memorable journey. We believe that Mimoni has truly captured that sense in his "We Are" contribution. A truly gifted DJ's DJ and now a part of the YPO crew. Ladies and gentlemen sit back and get ready to be flown across the electronic clouds with Mimoni. TRACKLIST COMING SOON