Tag: Monotonik

Lackluster – Live At Freeflow, Helsinki 16/07/03 {mtk129}

Artist: Lackluster
Title: Live At Freeflow, Helsinki 16/07/03
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk129
Release Date: 2004/04/18

Courtesy of probably the most renowned artist on Monotonik, Finland’s pukka idm maestro Lackluster, late of DeFocus Records, Merck, Rikos, and a host of other labels, we have a rare treat – a full, hour-long live set recorded at Helsinki’s M-Bar in July 2003.

There, using a laptop running the great Ableton Live software, Esa ‘Lackluster’ Ruoho mashed up classic Monotonik tracks, remixes, and on-the-spot jams into a cohesive whole – highlights include a gorgeous unreleased track, the super-catchy Ceniq remix which formerly featured on seminal netlabel Milk, the splicing of some surprising breaks into the classic downtempo of ‘Bothersome (Mother Mix)’, and the final jazzy ambience of a cunning Proem remix, bizarre voice modulations and all. Much kudos to Lackluster for not only recording the moment, but allowing us to put it out for free – return the favor and pick up some of his vinyl or CDs when you have the chance?

Tracklisting for the set is as follows:

00:00 01. starcell u.k. (container foc350cd/lp deFocus)
07:07 02. in passing (wrapping foc369cd/lp deFocus)
15:05 03. (unreleased)
21:55 04. 14/07/02 (unreleased)
27:58 05. ceniq: gaylab (lacklustermx) (ceniq: gaylab ep/milk (mp3))
34:42 06. ableton mashup
36:22 07. bothersome (mothermix) (container foc350cd/lp deFocus)
42:49 08. ableton mashup
47:47 09. cull streak (container foc350cd/lp deFocus)
51:46 10. proem: standard naming convention (80bpm rmx) (remixselection one cat#TBA/cd psychonavigation)

gear used:
sony vaio grx-690 running ableton live 2
rme hammerfall dsp

[You can find out more info about Lackluster at http://www.lackluster.org.]

Credits:
pre-laptop pic courtesy Lackluster

Tracklist:
01 – Live At Freeflow, Helsinki 16/07/03

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Tweeter – Planet Boelex {mtk128}

Artist: Tweeter
Title: Planet Boelex
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk128
Release Date: 2004/03/30

We don’t tend to release many single tracks at Monotonik anymore, preferring EPs or albums. But when cult Finnish ex demo-scene composer Tweeter, perhaps best known for his late ’90s releases on Substance’s mod.label Voodoo, contacts us and offers us his first finished track since 2001, and it happens to be just gorgeous, what do we do? Well, we make an exception, of course.

But how to describe? Well, similarly to his previous Monotonik release, ‘Me And My Friend Lobstah’, Tweeter shows his ‘classic idm’ side, but ‘Planet Boelex’ isn’t simply an Artificial Intelligence clone, rather striking out with intricate percussion, many, many layers of echoing synthetic leads, and the feel of something strangely timeless. And that shift of gears about four minutes into the track… oh my. Net result? Now we wish we could commandeer the Tardis and do some time shifting of our own, so Tweeter would finish an album for us before Tweeter Jr. arrives – one tune every 3 years simply ain’t enough.

[Thanks to Eduardo Sousa for the great cover-pic.]

Credits:
cover by eduardo sousa

Tracklist:
01 – Planet Boelex

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Blisaed – Hopeless Falling From EP {mtk127}

Artist: Blisaed
Title: Hopeless Falling From EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk127
Release Date: 2004/02/29

Returning after his debut ‘As Time Passes EP’ of last year, US electronic artist Matt Centonze, aka Blisaed, who’s been continuing to release excellent material on netlabels such as Camomille and Ronin Collective, graces us with another gently beautiful 4-track EP of vocal-specked, emotion-tinged electronics.

This time round, debut song ‘Photo’ starts things off with casually gorgeous melodies, all multi-layered and shimmering and oxidizing slowly as it’s exposed to the air, before ‘A Silent Walk In The Park’ kicks in, whisper-sung vocals, longing, and odd beauty to the fore. From there on, ‘The One You Thought You Knew’ hits up a stop-start, almost Super Science-like groove of understated splendor, before ‘Showing Her What You’re Made Of’ ends up with an even more herky-jerky, hyperreal mix of attractive keyboards and gently caressing synths.

So, ‘Hopeless Falling From EP’ makes a lot of sense, both as another document of the resurgence of melodic electronic music in the U.S., and as a Monotonik release that fits into our sekrit agenda of releasing ths most gorgeous headphone music we can possibly find, and then spraying it out to the general public in a machine-gun fashion. Catch this one in your teeth, willya?

[Thanks to Eduardo Sousa for the great cover-pic.]

Credits:
Cover by Eduardo Sousa

Tracklist:
01 – Photo
02 – A Silent Walk In The Park
03 – The One You Thought You Knew
04 – Showing Her What You’re Made Of

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Sleepy Town Manufacture – For You & For Me {mtk126}

Artist: Sleepy Town Manufacture
Title: For You & For Me
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk126
Release Date: 2004/02/14

In the form of a Valentine’s Day gift to all from Russian idm maestro Sleepy Town Manufacture, which Monotonik has sneakily re-packaged and re-gifted to the entire world, we’re proud to present ‘For You & For Me’, an entire double album picking some of the best from STM’s unreleased output from 1999 to 2002, with a number of tracks specially updated and remastered for this compilation.

Sleepy Town, formerly a duo/trio, and now down to a single member, are particularly known for their association with Lee ‘Metamatics’ Norris, having released a track both on his NeoOuija’s ‘Cottage Industries 3’ compilation and on the excellent Metamatics ‘Rewired In My Manor’ remix CD on Hydrogen Dukebox. They’ve also released several times on Monotonik, most recently the borderline gorgeous ‘Latatoo EP’ in late 2002.

So, it’s a pleasure to be putting out such a glacially dreamy double album for free – there’s so much great material on here that it’s difficult to pick out highlights, but let’s start with ‘Lea Chind’, all ethereal synths and looping melodies and soaring into the future, before picking up on the ultra-dense ‘Noil’ and its rolling waves of sound, before moving on to the almost mechanical, tragically catchy ‘Polygon’, and the closing drift of the truly serene ‘Ambient Forms N4’. All in all, a wonderful experience, and a beautiful thing to just give away just like that – for that, we thank Sleepy Town and their beguiling ways.

[Thanks to Rinnli for drawing the wonderful cover-pic, and Names for coloring it.]

Credits:
cover drawn by Rinnli, colored by Names

Tracklist:

CD 1 – For You:
01 – QR25
02 – Million Rooms Distorted
03 – Wired
04 – Are Child
05 – Comet
06 – Die Tomorrow – Day Together
07 – Lea Chind
08 – You Format Me
09 – Romantic Asteroid
10 – Noil
11 – Pitz1212
12 – Eyes Like Heaven
13 – Mais

CD 2 – For Me:
01 – Eirolizer
02 – Polygon
03 – Bio [MP3]
04 – Out Of Digital Squareheadz
05 – Hi Tech Sisters
06 – Ambient Forms N5
07 – Ice
08 – Steam
09 – Brutal
10 – New Brain For Mad Clone
11 – Sily Prirody
12 – Ambient Forms N4

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Various Artists – Sound Of Subnatura EP {mtk125}

Artist: Various Artists
Title: Sound Of Subnatura EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk125
Release Date: 2004/02/04

Since we’ve previously released sparkling retro bleeps from Sweden’s Goto80, it was a natural progression, much like 50 Cent and G-Unit, to expand our focus to encompass his whole posse, the Subnatura collective. Thus, we get ‘The Sound Of Subnatura’, a 5-artist, 5-track EP which shows off the varying style of the Subnatura artists and their ‘good vibrations’.

So, we start with the quirky electronic breaks of Dorothy’s Magic Bag, all contrite but strident on ‘Syltpuss’, before breaking into the odd, striking triphop uneasiness of Liquid Stranger’s ‘Onda Ogat’, and then hitting up some pure, sinewave-inflected calm with Goto80’s alter ego Extraboy, and ‘Botch Tuck’. Then we hit the difficult but rewarding obtuseness of Slem’s ‘Tansa Disko’, before the beautifully poised finale of Inkinen, and the truly awesome cosmic drift of ‘Sensual’. All in all, the EP has an odd sense of whole which shows why the Subnatura boys came together in the first place, and why Monotonik is proud to be showcasing their talents. Let’s join together and wish them a good trip sub natura ad infinitum.

Credits:
cover by Extraboy

Tracklist:
01 – Dorothy’s Magic Bag – Syltpuss
02 – Liquid Stranger – Onda Ogat
03 – Extraboy – Botch Tuck
04 – Slem – Tansa Disko
05 – Inkinen – Sensual

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Blasterhead – Killbots EP {mtk124}

Artist: Blasterhead
Title: Killbots EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk124
Release Date: 2004/01/18

Having been beguiled by the retro bleep sensibilities of Japanese videogame composer Akihiro Ito, aka Blasterhead, ever since hearing some of his Nintendo GameBoy tracks via Osaka-based ‘chiptune’ meta-site Vorc.org, we hunted him down, and the results of this predatory action come in the form of the wonderful GameBoy-based rave bleep release you see before you, ‘Killbots EP’.

When he’s not sneaking off for some GameBoy rave action, Blasterhead is sometimes sneaking GB sounds into the soundtracks of the PC hentai dating games he provides music for, and is now providing music for (non-adult!) Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 versions of the (distinctly risque!) Kero-Q PC dating title Moekko Company (Moekan), about ‘an enigmatic man served unquestioningly by five beautiful maids with equally mysterious pasts.’

But we get the fruits of his Killbot spree, non-mysteriously and immediately, and the EP, originally released as a 500-copy limited-edition CD with the addition of a (non-included) live track, and largely composed with the homebrew Nintendo GameBoy music composition tool LittleSound DJ, starts with the almost robotic, percussively smart GameBoy romp of ‘Skyblue Monday’, before seguing into the sirens and pitch bends of the rave-like ‘Killbots’. The rest of the EP is similarly sparkling, with ‘We Are Here’ a particular highlight, all intelligent repetition and danceable retro beats.

Tracklist:
01 – Skyblue Monday
02 – Killbots
03 – Harakiri Nation
04 – Route909
05 – We Are Here

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
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Aleksi Virta – ..Meets Torsti At The Space Lounge {mtk123}

Artist: Aleksi Virta
Title: ..Meets Torsti At The Space Lounge
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk123
Release Date: 2004/01/01

Welcome to Monotonik’s brand new year, courtesy of a debut release (or is it?) from Finn and selfproclaimed cosmic superspy, Aleksi Virta. He fearlessly busts out this supremely accomplished album of jazzy, dubby electronics, originally released on a scandalously limited, horrendously collectible 100-copy sold-out CDR edition, and now, thankfully available to the general public via the wonders of the Internet.

So basically, we’re looking at everything from the headnodding organ jam of ‘Nebulae Herb’, through the incredible skank of ‘Whirlwind Pistols Dub’, even up to the end-theme beauty of ‘Princess Melodiae’. Isn’t it almost unseemly that this is a valiant attempt to snatch album of the year, and it’s only January 1st? Cheeky, that’s what we call it. In the meantime, you can read the helpful information which came in the CDR packaging:

‘Our interstellar secret agent superhero rids the world of the evil curse of the misunderstood vicious madman (yet again) – starring: Aleksi Virta as the heroic secret agent extravaganza, Gavrila Nebula as the beautiful action heroine, Torsti as the misunderstood evil scientist madman, Carolina as the mysterious space gypsy princess.’

..and, indeed, you can learn more about Aleksi Virta’s spacecapades via his twisted chroniclings – and long may they continue.

[Thanks to Tony @ Kinglux for the excellent EP cover.]

Credits:
cover by Tony@Kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Outer Edge Intro
02 – Nebulae Herb
03 – Cosmos Bossa
04 – Gavrila Nebula
05 – The Giant Catch 22
06 – Whirlwind Pistols Dub
07 – O Tema Da Viagem Espacial Da Carolina
08 – Art Of Far
09 – Dragons
10 – True Dwelling Place
11 – Princess Melodiae

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Links:
[Bandcamp]

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License:
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Gschmidt – Nibiru Coming EP {mtk122}

Artist: Gschmidt
Title: Nibiru Coming EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk122
Release Date: 2003/12/17

We like receiving new tracks from new artists out of the blue, and previously Berlin and Chicagobased Gschmidt is another of those happy surprises. Based on some wonderfully eerie conspiracy theories involving rogue planets stalking the Earth, ‘Nibiru Coming’ is a complex web of indietronic melodies worth becoming entwined in.

The lead track, ‘Head For The Hills’, starts with some serene synthplay before delving into a complex melding of live instruments, driving percussion, and carefully contained panic. Next up, ‘Roz8’ delves fully into the cleverly orchestrated paranoia, with ‘Alientanz’ finishing things up by revealing the full extent of the horror that Planet X will inevitably bring to the Earth. We like it when evil planets invade if these are the kind of tunes they bring with them.

Credits:
cover by Eduardo Sousa

Tracklist:
01 – Head For The Hills
02 – Roz8
03 – Alientanz

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

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S.T. – Emotions In A Box EP {mtk121}

Artist: S.T.
Title: Emotions In A Box EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk121
Release Date: 2003/12/01

We’re proud to welcome the debut release on Monotonik from Stefan Ternemar, the Swedish artist also known as S.T. ‘Emotions In A Box’ is Stefan’s first set of songs released anywhere outside his own webpage, and it’s a fitting introduction to his bold, melodically strident idm electronics.

First off would be ‘Downtown’, almost Huelsbeck-ian in its wish to get straight down to brass tacks and blast you with carefully considered catchiness, heaping layer upon layer of gorgeously synthetic sounds onto the mix. ‘Alone But Not Lonely’ is similarly, headnoddingly good, and the title track builds up to a wonderful multitracked cacophany of unforgettable sonics. Finally, ‘Eternal Sleep’ finishes things off with a high-score table melding of classic game soundtrack stylings, the new melodic school of idm, and an unmistakable ear for the beautiful. All in all, we claim, a hit, a palpable hit.

[Thanks to Tony @ Kinglux for the excellent EP cover.]

Credits:
cover by Tony Kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Downtown
02 – Alone But Not Lonely
03 – Emotions In A Box
04 – Eternal Sleep

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
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Izmar – Aze2 {mtw032}

Artist: Izmar
Title: Aze2
Label: Mono211
Catalog #: mtw032
Release Date: 2003/11/15

Following the release of the first “Aze” album from Dutch artist Izmar, earlier this year, we carefully guarded the follow-up, containing more excellent chilled instrumental tracks recorded around the same time, which all ready to go. So, go now it does, and for fans of Fila Brazillia, Max Brennan, or any other deliciously funky chill hybrid shenanigans, you may, indeed, have a second treat in store.

It’s difficult to pick out specific standouts in this uniformly lush album, but “Aze2-06” and its gorgeously peaking keyboard improvisation, “Aze2-03” fragmenting chords over concussions of sound, and “Aze2-08” hitting a driving groove, with carefully concealed foreboding drone and beautifully echoing keys all over the top of it.

It’s partly the album’s uncategorizability that’s landed it on ‘nu-chill/breakbeat’ sublabel Mono211, like the previous release, but it’s wholly that lack of easy pigeonholing that has us loving Izmar’s carefully arranged jams, and wishing upon a star for a few more, real soon now.

[Thanks to Tony @ Kinglux for the excellent EP cover.]

Credits:
cover by tony@kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Aze2-01
02 – Aze2-02
03 – Aze2-03
04 – Aze2-04
05 – Aze2-05
06 – Aze2-06
07 – Aze2-07
08 – Aze2-08

Artwork:
Front Cover

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License:
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