Tag: Monotonik

Super Science – Me EP {mtk109}

Artist: Super Science
Title: Me EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk109
Release Date: 2003/05/10

We’re delighted to present the final release in a trilogy of ‘virtual 7-inches’ from Australian Mark Mitchell, aka Super Science. These tracks were originally released on the super-duper-limited Splashdown CDR series in 1999, and we’ve picked out the best unreleased tracks for Monotonik, to put out for free.

As mentioned before, Clue To Kalo, Mark’s new project, has had its ‘Come Here When You Sleepwalk’ album picked up by Mush Records in the US and The Leaf Label in Europe, and we HIGHLY recommend checking that album out if you want to hear the evolution of his vocal-blended, lush style that has the guys at Leaf comparing him to early Badly Drawn Boy and Folk Implosion.

This time round, “Take The Time To Take A Trip” is a lush, keyboard-led ramble through indie-electronic eddies of sound, with a beautifully sung refrain and a marvellously laidback feel. The second track, “Greenwich Mean Time Machine”, starts with birdsong and recordings of a summer’s day, and then drifts through a nirvana of melody and pure sound. Good, good stuff.

Credits:
photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Two Planets In Twenty Days
02 – Greenwich Mean Time Machine

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Bliss – Life On The Rooftop {mtk108}

Artist: Bliss
Title: Life On The Rooftop
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk108
Release Date: 2003/04/26

Another new artist that turned heads immediately at Monotonik HQ, the Swedish-based Henrik ‘Bliss’ Jose, has been releasing tracks on net.label Fairlight Music for a while now, and when he came to us with this lushly produced, vocal-dotted electronic track, originally composed back in 2001, we snapped it up.

“Life On The Rooftop” starts out with some carefully placed organ, and segues into a full vocalmanipulated, densely produced track reminiscent of some of the earlier Super Science or Idmonster vocal experiments on Monotonik, and somehow cleaner and more glorious in its own right. In a search for electronica that sounds noticably different and strays from the same old norms, Bliss definitely comes up trumps.

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

Credits:
cover by tony@kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Life On The Rooftop

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Bliss – It’s Not The Sweetness We’re After, It’s The Sugar EP {mtk116}

Artist: Bliss
Title: It’s Not The Sweetness We’re After, It’s The Sugar EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk116
Release Date: 2003/08/24

The second release from Sweden’s Bliss, aka Henrik Jose, and this lovingly crafted 3-track EP cements his reputation as creator of some of the lushest, most beautiful electronics around. With his previous net.label releases on Fairlight Music and success at the Assembly demoparty last year, his vocalblended, multi-layered, live instrument-appropriating angle creates, well, just sublime results, welldeserving of a record deal any time now, we reckon.

This EP starts out with ‘Transportation Is Bliss’, all delicious melodies and tonal interplay, before seguing into the plain beautiful ‘Free At Least’, with pure-sung vocals and surprisingly hard-driving drums. Finally, ‘It’s Not The Sweetness..’ is all pitched-up voice and spiralling piano, subtle and inspiring, almost too good to give away. Thanks again for Bliss for doing so, anyhow – it’s a gesture everyone can appreciate.

Credits:
picture by bliss

Tracklist:
01 – Transportation Is Bliss
02 – Free At Least
03 – It’s Not The Sweetness We’re After, It’s The Sugar

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Speedranch^Jansky Noise – This One Didn’t Make It Like Most Of The Others {mtk106}

Artist: Speedranch^Jansky Noise
Title: This One Didn’t Make It Like Most Of The Others
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk106
Release Date: 2003/04/13

When Jansky Noise lobbed us this tiny, but perfectly distorted exclusive mp3 to help promote the forthcoming Planet Mu release of Speedranch + Jansky Noise‘s ‘Migrate’ album, we were delighted to help unleash it on the unsuspecting public. Hence.. here it is.

A little background: Speedranch is the veteran noisemaster who recently collaborated with Venetian Snares on a Planet Mu album, and with James Plotkin and others for the Phantomsmasher release on Mike ‘Faith No More’ Patton’s Ipecac label. Jansky Noise is one of the people behind the shadowy and always genius V/VM collective and their myriad of releases, and together with Speedranch they released the ‘Welcome To Execrate’ album on Leaf in 1999. Now they’re coming out with ‘Migrate’ on Planet Mu, and you can check out sound samples on the Planet Mu discography page. But if you’re looking for something that didn’t make the album, but had every right to, here’s 30 seconds of noise, maniacal cutup burbling, and general goodness, showing a brief interlude of insanity does everyone the power of good.

Credits:
front cover of Planet Mu album
back cover of Planet Mu album

Tracklist:
01 – This One Didn’t Make It Like Most Of The Others

Artwork:
Front Cover
Back Cover

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

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Izmar – Aze {mtw031}

Artist: Izmar
Title: Aze
Label: Mono211
Catalog #: mtw031
Release Date: 2003/03/31

So, we continue with the Mono211 sublabel tradition of releasing ‘good, but unclassifiable’ material that takes both breaks and chillout influences on-board. And this time, we were delighted to get “Aze”, an unexpected submission from the mysterious Izmar, and a whole album of delightfully groovy, beautifully programmed jazzy techno/chillout.

Right from the slow build of “Aze-01”, it’s clear that there’s something different going on here, with possible comparisons to the divine Fila Brazillia and a little of the new-wave UK chill-out of Lemon Jelly or Zero 7. Other highlights include the super-jazzy funk of “Aze-03”, the haunting melodies drifting around “Aze-05”, and the beautiful flute-led groove of the album-closer, “Aze-08”, alongside the wonderful improvised keyboard riffs flecked sumptuously all over the album.

And with another recent Mono211 artist in the same vein getting major-label interest, seems like hazing over with “Aze” is a great alternative to too much bleep in your diet for our ‘breath of fresh air’ sublabel. Better don your headphones and prepare to be enchanted.

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

Credits:
cover by tony@kinglux

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

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Secede – The Whistler {mtk105}

Artist: Secede
Title: The Whistler
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk105
Release Date: 2003/03/21

We like it when old friends return to Monotonik, and after his very well-received EP on our net.label last year, Holland’s excellent Secede provides a truly epic new track, “The Whistler”, ahead of his “Bye Bye Gridlock Traffic” album forthcoming on Merck, and his smart-ola remix work for N5MD and Merck.

It’s good to thrive on angles, and “The Whistler” plots a course away from your average pure-toned geektronica, edging ever-closer to the template of instrumental bands like Mogwai and the denser, more pressing grooves of Richard H Kirk’s early Warp material. Taking echoes of news footage, sampled violin, and the shimmering sounds of layer after layer of sound, the percussive groove builds and builds in altogether yummy fashions.

So, if you’re looking for a way to submerge yourself in music in these troubled times, or just to discover that there’s more to electronica than the eternal glitches vs. sinewaves ruckus, you may want to go have a word with “The Whistler”. Like, already.

Credits:
watchcam photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – The Whistler

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Grandma – For Your Broken Heart EP {mtk104}

Artist: Grandma
Title: For Your Broken Heart EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk104
Release Date: 2003/03/10

Finally, a third EP from US-based wonderboy (what _is_ the secret of his power?) Grandma, aka Khonnor, aka Bronty The Shynocerous. Another four tracks of guitar-strummed, plaintively sung, wonderfully cut-up geektronica, we’re delighted that people are really beginning to ‘get’ Grandma – he hopefully has material coming out on the forthcoming label Type, alongside cool peeps like Mokira (Mille Plateaux) and RJ Valeo (Hobby Industries), and he has a track as Khonnor adapting This Instrument on the new Soulseek Records compilation.

So, in the short wait before you can buy infinite amounts of Grandma albums in your local record store, try out these exquisite 4 tracks. “Kl”, the opener, has an intensely beautiful acoustic guitar backing, overlaid with slo-mo stories of longing and wanting and we’re not even sure what else. “Poke” is an evocative piece of alternately pumping and serene melody, and ‘Are We Dead Yet?’ twins intensely drifting chords with the most amazing spoken word piece about, well, laptop religion.

Finally, “Comics Battle” ends on a high note, all plaintive lead and Jenkinson-esque drums, the rhomboid port after the crystalline storm. It’s been a sweet trip so far.. and who knows where the aftermath will lead?

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

Credits:
cover by tony@kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Kl
02 – Poke
03 – Are We Dead Yet?
04 – Comics Battle

Artwork:
Front Cover

Download

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

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Logreybeam – Chaki Is No Help {mtk103}

Artist: Logreybeam
Title: Chaki Is No Help
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk103
Release Date: 2003/03/02

Something a little more unique this time, from Los Angeles-based Logreybeam. His wide-ranging electronics are really starting to break out, from his appearance on a renowned Plaid XFM DJ-set to his Metamatics remix on Delikatessen. More recently, he’s been remixing Machine Drum for Merck, and teaming up with UK resident Xela as Yasume for their forthcoming album on, we heard, City Center Offices, home of the godlike Ulrich Schnauss and many others.

Anyhow, we wanted to get something _different_ for this release, and “Chaki Is No Help” is just that, sampling old blues singers over a haunting keyboard riff, flute, and vocal stabs. So sure, everyone’s sampling hiphop, but why not go further back than that? The benefits are clear to hear, and the startlingly deft production marks LGB out as another name to watch in the wild, wide field of geektronica.

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

Credits:
cover by tony@kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Chaki Is No Help

Artwork:
Front Cover

Download

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

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Blamstrain – Etkno44/Human {mtk102}

Artist: Blamstrain
Title: Etkno44/Human
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk102
Release Date: 2003/02/18

The debut Monotonik release by Finnish recording artist and former Suojain label-owner, Blamstrain, aka Juho Hietala, simply oozes classiness, as he pre-empts his forthcoming Merck CD, “Ensi”, with these two deft pieces of electronic cipher.

As befits someone with both MP3 and real-life releases on the label of choice for techno dons, Thinner, “Etkno44” is sweeping, driving grooves all the way to the memory bank, whereas “Human” showcases a more touching, almost downtempo side whilst keeping admirably clear, clean beats to the fore. So, whether you want to go straightahead with beats, or simply wander through striking melodies that almost call to mind early Luke Slater, “Etkno44/Human” allows Blamstrain to satisfy your most strenuous urges, or your non-existent money back. And that’s our guarantee of quality to you, guv’nor.

Credits:
cover by blamstrain/friends

Tracklist:
01 – Etkno44
02 – Human

Artwork:
Front Cover

Download

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

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Super Science – Ray EP {mtk101}

Artist: Super Science
Title: Ray EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk101
Release Date: 2003/02/08

The second of three ‘virtual 7-inch’ releases from Australia’s Mark Mitchell, these 2 tracks are also from the super-limited Splashdown CDRs released in 1999, and pretty much unavailable until now.

Clue To Kalo, Mark’s new project, has had its ‘Come Here When You Sleepwalk’ album picked up by Mush Records in the US and The Leaf Label in Europe, and we HIGHLY recommend checking that album out if you want to hear the evolution of his vocal-blended, lush style that has the guys at Leaf comparing him to early Badly Drawn Boy and Folk Implosion.

But this Super Science material is nirvana unto itself, and ‘Soft Like Fingertips’ is all pastoral multilayering, with hints of vocoded voice like the honking of geese in a carefully positioned V-shape. And “Two Planets In Twenty Days” is even further amidst the long grass, evoking cosmic overtones but harking back to those ’70s home movies, with the patina of age lovingly added by, well, God. And extra points if you can work out the title of the 3rd ‘virtual 7 inch’, out soon. 🙂

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

Credits:
cover by tony @ kinglux

Tracklist:
01 – Soft Like Fingertips
02 – Take The Time To Take A Trip

Artwork:
Front Cover

Download

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

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