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Vim! – _ EP {mtk077}

Artist: Vim!
Title: _ EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk077
Release Date: 2002/04/14

This 3-track miniaturised release from the genius of Vim! has been floating around for a few months now, along with a mass of other material he’s accumulated since the release of his “Linden: Home Of The Hits” album for Surgery Records.

In some ways, this is closer to the couple of tunes Keith has released as Vom, with perfectly ambient sketches and much influence from artists such as Windy and Carl. But where “00” lays on the Harold Budd-esque carefully placed mess of keys in truly beautiful fashion, “01” has the mellowest interference you’ve ever heard, and “02”, the most verbose of the lot, finishes things off neatly by laying on a gently cranking undersea musicbox view of life.

All this bodes well for the upcoming set of Vim! pieces waiting to be discovered, from a mooted upcoming Surgery follow-up, through his Marumari remix on Carpark Records, all the way to pseudonymous ventures into Stereolab-ish groove and 8-bit rap cut-ups. Believe us, we’ll keep you posted.

Credits:
cover by pliant

Tracklist:
01 – 00
02 – 01
03 – 02

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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mulphia – neurostatic plasma {#066}

Artist: mulphia
Title: neurostatic plasma
Label: Voodoo
Catalog #: #066
Release Date: 2002/04/04

another release is out to soothe your souls. i finally got myself arsed to put out another track that i’ve been wanting to release for close to an year. yes it’s that old but it’s never released before and it’s the debute from our newest member mulphia. let’s have a warm welcome.

the track is very moody compared to the next upcoming mulphia release that will see the daylight this summer. i like the floating atmosphere on top of the rolling drums of this track, mulphia really has his original style and has found another way to show what kind of music we can put out, he really opened my eyes after a while. listen carefully and enjoy.

.substance

Tracklist:
01 – neurostatic plasma [XM] [FLAC] [MP3]

Additional Files:
file_id [DIZ] [PNG]
vdo_neur [NFO] [PNG]
vdo_neur [README] [PNG]

Original

FLAC

MP3

_{*FLAC & MP3 zips also include the original versions.}

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Machine Drum – Floss {mtk076}

Artist: Machine Drum
Title: Floss
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk076
Release Date: 2002/04/04

We’re very pleased to present this exclusive track from US-based artist Machine Drum, whose “Now You Know” album on Miami’s Merck Records has been causing big waves (online plaudits, a vinyl repressing) with its neat blend of shredded hiphop rhymes and idm slickness.

So, “Floss” is a fascinating tangent from the style Machine Drum is best known for, precisely because it takes the driving, cut-up style associated with him, and applies it to another source, an altogether more loon(e)y proposition.

It’s all about the tight, tight loops and the drifting, almost BoC- esque synth evocation percolating over the top. It’s sharp, uptempo (a refreshing change from the ambience of many a Monotonik release), and most of all, it’s original. One of these Drums is not like the others? Too right.

Credits:
cover by pliant

Tracklist:
01 – Floss

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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Minez – Trhall {od042}

Artist: Minez
Title: Trhall
Label: Ogredung
Catalog #: od042
Release Date: 2002/04/02

This is something for all you crazy IDM/xperimental lovers, which you can’t _absolutely_ miss.
Minez from Japan makes us feel really proud of being an electro-netlabel, by releasing this little piece of art of undistinguishable beauty; sweet, smiley melodies flying in an anime scene accompanied by crazy beats+snares, and hi-freq hihats and tempo-tickers make all the landscape toss and twirl in a fairy azure sky. Childish chords against mature retrigs make this track sweeter to caresse -and we caresse it without asking. :))

Tracklist:
01 – Trhall

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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Duvet – Textures EP {od041}

Artist: Duvet
Title: Textures EP
Label: Ogredung
Catalog #: od041
Release Date: 2002/03/26

Finally, we can taste some fresh UK xperimentalism, as if the three tracks were made by converting directly simple images to music.
The intro track, a bit uneasy indeed, bubbling and hissing in panbrello, with uncomfortable melodies and repeating beats all over the way; which grandly takes us to glassy orchestras made of crystaline streams of sinewaves, flowin and leaping in green cyber-meadows.
The artist’s uneasiness is then highlighted by a final wall of silk, all around our head, safer beats + reverse blows + metallic candles in deep hallways, unique ingredients for a unique dish of dividers.
Grand portraits of minimalism – for minds only. 8)

Tracklist:
01 – Felt
02 – Green Glass
03 – Small Bricks

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Files:
od041 [DIZ]

Download

License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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Sleepy Town Manufacture – Miss EP {mtk075}

Artist: Sleepy Town Manufacture
Title: Miss EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk075
Release Date: 2002/03/17

It seems like there’s plenty of great electronic music coming out of Russia recently, with critical acclaim for artists such as EU and Novel23. So we’re pleased to put out this EP from Russian duo Sleepy Town Manufacture, fresh from a compilation appearance on Russian label Cheburec Records, and looking to be new millenial messiahs for idm east of Berlin and west of Tokyo.

So, “Miss EP” shines up a real treat, with opener “Don’t You Miss Me?” hitting up wonderfully pure tones and ice-encrusted production, all classy, all the way. Then there’s shifting of gears through “Ena”, with slide-style percussives and angelic sines, and the rhythm-heavy “Nuut”, almost click-house bipbop action. And it all ends up with the seruphimally orchestral “Ostavshis”. Just so you know – the steppes of change start right here, right now.

Credits:
cover by stm peeps

Tracklist:
01 – Don’t You Miss Me?
02 – Ena
03 – Nuut
04 – Ostavshis

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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Subi – Tryptuaars {mrv008}

Artist: Subi
Title: Tryptuaars
Label: monoRAVEik
Catalog #: mrv008
Release Date: 2002/03/14

…bloody hell, what were we drinking last night? Agh. Er. Anyway. It was Subi’s birthday yesterday, he is now 365 days from Last Day, and we had a bit of bash over here in monoRAVEik city. Such a bacchanalian assemblage of best bitter and sexual deviancy has not been seen since the days of George IV. And in honour of this august occasion, and because we’re all to drunk to track, we’re finally releasing the tune Subi did at the Ars Electronica Electrolobby in 2000 (see here for more info). Only two years late. 😉

“Tryptuaars” is a magpie-induced D&B monster which Subi wrote over the week in Austria inbetween being interviewed by Kim Danders, the host of Electrolobby and very nice man who unwittingly supplied the vocals for this track (taken from the first interview). The “no” was originally supposed to have been a composite of all the people on #tpolm sampling themselves saying it and emailing it to Subi, but he forgot to ask them in time. The rest of the samples are culled from various free sample sites, and a few of Subi’s previous tracks. All this was to prove how the concept of open-source music (the point of Subi and Distance’s presence at Electrolobby) worked. In the interests of open-source music, we are also making the tune available in its original .XM format.

The title is not an excruciating pun on “A Trip to Mars”, but a reference to the Crystal-Silents-Anarchy party held in Aars about ten years ago, as the demoscene was also on display as an example of proto net-culture. “A Trip to Aars” was the subtitle of the post-party demo from Melon Dezign, so it’s their excruciating pun.

The cover shows one of the few bad points about Electrolobby, the chairs. Yep, you were actually supposed to sit for eight hours a day on a wheeled Spacehopper. According to h0l they were still being used in 2001 when he went. Backache all round. Mind you, they made good footballs.

Credits:
cover by subi

Tracklist:
01 – Tryptuaars [XM] [MP3]

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Purusha & Friends – Iro EP {od040}

Artist: Purusha & Friends
Title: Iro EP
Label: Ogredung
Catalog #: od040
Release Date: 2002/03/08

purusha had some unreleased/unfinished tracks and as they weren’t that bad at all he decided to fix’em and pack’em in a unique ep, helped by some other dudes (hexa, adapt, dhemofoonte).
the result is this 40 mins album made of colours, from a minimalistic sinewavish yellow to a truly white weirdness passing through heavy moments of xperimentalism. each colour hides of course a symbolic meaning and its own drawin technique on different frames..
overall a smooth, sweety work to live in his full hue. candid, but opaque sometimes.. well just go and taste our painting skills guys! :))

Tracklist:
01 – Purusha – Sleeping Jonquille [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
02 – Purusha – Morning Call (Kiiro Edit 2) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
03 – Ooi – Tissues Are White [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
04 – Hexa – Methyl (Light Green) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
05 – Hexa – Forest (Moss Green) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
06 – Dhemofoonte – Gray (Grey) [XM] [FLAC] [MP3]
07 – Purusha – Visuddhi (Celeste) [XM] [FLAC] [MP3]
08 – Hexa – Neutral Red (Akai Edit) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
09 – Dhemofoonte – Neve Nel Vento [XM] [FLAC] [MP3]
10 – Purusha – Ai (Aoi) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]
11 – Purusha – The Land Of Pastel Colours (Bonus Track) [IT] [FLAC] [MP3]

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Files:
od040 [DIZ]

Additional Links:
[Bandcamp]

FLAC

MP3

_{*FLAC & MP3 zips also include the original versions.}

License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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Phasmid – The Sun Pictures {mtk074}

Artist: Phasmid
Title: The Sun Pictures
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk074
Release Date: 2002/03/06

The second Monotonik release from the dreamily different Phasmid, straight outta Birmingham, Alabama, travelling circuitously via Analog-town and Kraftwerk-ville, straight into our ever eager ears.

Phasmid should be congratulated on both the birth of his third kid (yay!) and his two forthcoming releases on the Skylaboperations label, which include remixes by Bochum Welt and the similarly saintly Isan.

More analytically, “The Sun Pictures” was a particular fave of the Monotonik crew from the moment we heard it. From the starting cicada chirps to the truly serene lead line, it hooks you in to the sunny day mood, and won’t let you go til you’re enthused with burble energy. Fly high into your sky with your hifi, sunny picturesque style?

Credits:
cover by pliant

Tracklist:
01 – The Sun Pictures

Artwork:
Front Cover

Download

License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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Pliant – Maruera Gum LP {mtk073}

Artist: Pliant
Title: Maruera Gum LP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk073
Release Date: 2002/02/25

When we were approached by US idm-er Pliant, who you may know as the label-boss of the superb videogame.elektronik.otaku peeps, Systorm Technologies, and the mastermind behind the experimental idm-ish video label, Frogbomb, and he said he had an entire album available for release on Monotonik.. well, needless to say, we jumped at the chance.

And actually, we’re still jumping now. “Maruera Gum” takes the acclaimed “Zelda’s Windmill” from the Pliant/Bokatsu “1UP” 7-inch as a starting point, and cuts up 11 tracks of pure, rhythmic, video-gameinspired electronics. If you want a good starting point, then try the acoustic guitar + quiet storm percussion of the first track, “Rye Toast”, the ‘piercing clear melodies’ of the afore-mentioned “Zelda’s Windmill”, and the spot-on tribal steel drum harpsichord breaks of “Forest Cake”.

And with many of the tracks mixing into each other, you’ll want to grab the whole caboodle just to check out the hidden majesty of spook blink luck “Toothpowder” or the plain dysfunctional “Latch Esis”. You’ll find that, the more you listen to this album, the more its intricacies draw you in and swirl you around the sketched-up pliability that is Pliant’s (s)nes.hop world.

Credits:
cover by pliant

Tracklist:
01 – Rye Toast
02 – Zelda’s Windmill
03 – Atro Pose
04 – Snarkpit
05 – Yard Mouse
06 – Toothpowder
07 – Forest Cake
08 – Kloe Thoe
09 – Cyclonic Upright
10 – Pig With Caution
11 – Latch Esis

Artwork:
Front Cover

Download

License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic (CC BY-ND-NC 1.0)

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