Tag: Monotonik

Anders Svensson – Keywords EP {mtk100}

Artist: Anders Svensson
Title: Keywords EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk100
Release Date: 2003/01/30

We’re pleased to welcome another debut, from Swedish artist Anders Svensson, for the 100th mp3 release on Monotonik, wow. We’ve been doing this net.label thing for a while now (almost 7 years!), and we’re delighted there’s still fresh and exciting material like “Keywords EP” coming along to make us happy, contented, and.. well, blissed out.

As for artist info – well, this is a debut under his own name, but Anders Svensson was formerly in a number of Scandinavian indie bands such as Eldarens Hus (signed to Virgin in the late ’80s) and Sulky (alongside former members of the seminal Union Carbide Productions.) His electronic experimentation in the art of, as he puts it, ‘simple melodies and sweet harmonies’ has spawned the quite lovely “Keywords EP”.

So, “Present” is a great present to start with, combining a sorta pastoral, drifting air with some genuinely quirky melodies which intentionally drift cyclically. Then, “Memories” uses tiny snippets of voice rhythmically, and then drives improvised synths straight through the top of it to mesmerising effect. Finally, “Returning” feels like the end of the line, almost summoning a ‘Blade Runner’ feel for the epic, cybernetic sprawl, where acoustic meets electric meets neon in the realm of the bandwidth gods. Drift on.

Credits:
cover by anders svensson

Tracklist:
01 – Present
02 – Memories
03 – Returning

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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DJ Ninjamachine – Velocirapture {mrv010}

Artist: DJ Ninjamachine
Title: Velocirapture
Label: monoRAVEik
Catalog #: mrv010
Release Date: 2003/01/23

He’s done it again. He’s found some vocals no-ones sampled yet (as far as he knows). He’s sped them up and pitched them to infinity. He’s laid a break over a kickdrum and he’s put a synth stab on every half beat. He’s also come up with one of the worst dinosaur-related puns ever. Yea, verily DJ Ninjamachine has entered the building, bringing with him yet more of the good mindless happy stuff.

And in time our history
Will know us as shooting stars
I ask for nothing more
Than a place to lie down next to you

Your worst nightmares involving Italian piano house and heavy machinery have come true.

Credits:
cover by subi

Tracklist:
01 – Velocirapture

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Dice, aka Prob. – Skyline Remix {mtw030}

Artist: Dice, aka Prob.
Title: Skyline Remix
Label: Mono211
Catalog #: mtw030
Release Date: 2003/01/21

We’re delighted to welcome back one of the former d+b kings of Mono back in the .MOD days, Jani ‘Dice/Prob.’ Niiranen, with this amazingly smooth remix of his 1998 .MOD release, ‘Skyline’ – a wickedly good re-tooling of a track from wayback.

Nowadays, Dice has released tracks on labels like Straight Up Breakbeat, Moving Shadow, and his own Mangofunk Records, with forthcoming releases – solo on Defunked, and alongside a long-awaited Peshay remix on Mangofunk. He also plays out regularly in Finland and Estonia – plus, watch out for his Soulfuel Sessions on net.radio station monofunk.net alongside DJ Pinball.

So, what is there to say about the “Skyline Remix” that can’t be cleaned from sailing through the warm, inviting seas of the track itself? For those who remember the original, this mix-up takes the essential melodies and layers vocals and some gorgeous new mixed-up breaks over the top of it, ending up with the sunny, intelligent melodic breaks sound that Mono211, when raised from dormancy like this, delights in providing you all. Enjoy the starshine.

Credits:
photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Skyline Remix

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Kaamos – Agony {mtk099}

Artist: Kaamos
Title: Agony
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk099
Release Date: 2003/01/14

We’re proud to feature the debut release from Kaamos, the new artist name for the Finnish musician formerly known as Phonex. Under that moniker, he released some beautiful tracks on a split 10″ with Sense for Lee Metamatics’ Neo-Ouija Records, plus appearances on classy compilations for Merck, Suojain, and Neo-Ouija.

However, he’s been away for a while, revitalising and recuperating, and “Agony” is a gorgeous return to form for his new moniker, showcasing scatterbeat drums, robotic synth drills, and all that is good about the Scandinavian abstract electronics movement.

So, it’s like imagining yourself on a boat in a river with Tom Baker punting, before you get sucked into a time vortex by a BBC strike and are caressed by Daft Punk-like robots with curiously warm metallic hands. With marmalade skies, too. Glad we sorted that one out. More of the ecstacy, less of the agony, really.

Credits:
photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Agony

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Mosaik – Sunreal {mtk098}

Artist: Mosaik
Title: Sunreal
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk098
Release Date: 2003/01/04

Nowadays, Mosaik’s Jakob Svanholm, aka Radix/Tpolm from his demo-scene days, is on a musical hiatus, as far as we know – apart from classical guitar pieces, that is. But we here at Monotonik have been so enchanted by his tracks as Mosaik that we’ve been slowly releasing them over the past year or two.

This track, “Sunreal”, is the culmination of that music, and hopefully we’ll be hearing brand new material from Mosaik soon, but in the meantime.. believe us, this more than suffices. Almost magically delicate, this 9-minute track slowly eases us into an almost Global Communication-like ticking clock world of sunny, haze-drenched sounds.

Whatever Mosaik ends up doing in the future, we know he’ll be making an appearance on the forthcoming Monotonik mix-CD with one of his classic compositions, and both his Radix and Mosaik material will continue to fascinate in their deftness of touch and fleetness of tone. Sounds good to us. Yay.

Credits:
cover by photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Sunreal

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Vizion – Autumnstillness Deadwinter {mtk097}

Artist: Vizion
Title: Autumnstillness Deadwinter
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk097
Release Date: 2002/12/23

As a perfect pre-Christmas release, we have this glacial but soulful debut from Canadian artist Vizion, who is primarily known for forming the net.labels Ronin Collective and Camomille, but also has upcoming material on the real-life label Wikkid Records, home of David Kristian and others.

In any case, “Autumnstillness Deadwinter” grabbed our attention with its sweet mix of guitar and gently meandering bass, with chattering percussion underscoring the whole serene scene. It’s an unique angle on the indie-tronica that’s broadening the whole idm genre into something a little more personal and intriguing right now.

So, as the stillness of autumn drifts into the ice of dead winter, we find that Vizion has created a perfect release to soundtrack the frost outside but the warmth and cosiness within. And long may he continue to warm our hearts in the most unexpected ways.

Credits:
photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Autumnstillness Deadwinter

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 – monoRAVEmix #1 {mrm001}

Artist: Subi
Title: monoRAVEmix #1
Label: monoRAVEik
Catalog #: mrm001
Release Date: 2002/12/08

The long-awaited mixes from the number one scene luddite are finally HERE!
Yes, the first of Subi’s retro DJ sets is upon us. We hope you like.

The general idea is to do a few of these, grouping by type. This time around we’re concentrating on the proto-hardcore European brutalism sound that started when Joey Beltram came up with “Mentasm” and T99 turned its famous stab into an unholy racket on “Anastasia”.

So, not quite into the classic period yet, but certainly getting there.
Wait for the next one! 😉

Shades of Rhythm – Extacy
SL2 – DJs Take Control
2 Bad Mice – Bombscare
Prodigy – What Evil Lurks
Cubik 22 – Night in Motion
Bizarre Inc – Playing With Knives (Quadrant mix)
Digital Excitation – Pure Pleasure (Rave mix)
Altern 8 – Frequency
Human Resource – Dominator
Isotonik – Different Strokes

Credits:
cover by subi

Tracklist:
01 – monoRAVEmix #1

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Grandma – Bopping Around In A Skin Car EP {mtk095}

Artist: Grandma
Title: Bopping Around In A Skin Car EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk095
Release Date: 2002/11/26

After numberous plaudits for the first EP Monotonik released from US-based Grandma, including ‘Net- Audio Release of the Month’ in cult German paper-magazine De:Bug, we were keen to press on and put out some more material from the 15-year-old prodigy, who we think is one of the most amazing artists we’ve ever released on Mono.

This time, we’ve got a 4-tracker showcasing more of his diverse and eccentric talent, put together with just an old PC and rickety microphone, as before, but radiating lo-fi soul all the same.

The EP starts with “Abortions Rock”, with the title belying a synth-wash-filled, stealthy drift through a multi-layered Garden Of Eden. Next, “Have Sex With A Tree” is a stupendously melodic magical carpet ride, like Squarepusher’s ‘Port Rhombus’ on an even more polyhedral day.

Next, “My God Is Better Than Yours” sets a sweet Grandma-plucked acoustic guitar loop and drapes strings, minimal drums, and intentionally lo-fi vocals over the top to heartfelt effect. And finally, yes, “Amazing Larry Does Not Bite Off Of Other Songs” does include an expressionless robotic voice rapping about ‘biting off lines’ from ‘Ruff Ryder’s Anthem’. What of it?

So what’s the point? Maybe that this music is touching enough to make you feel good when you’re in a bad place, and strong when you’re in a weak place – and it’s just the tip of the strangely skewed iceberg when it comes to Grandma’s material, which richly deserves a wider audience still. We hope he gets it.

Credits:
cover by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Abortions Rock
02 – Have Sex With A Tree
03 – My God Is Better Than Yours
04 – Amazing Larry Does Not Bite Off Of Other Songs

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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Sleepy Town Manufacture – Latatoo EP {mtk094}

Artist: Sleepy Town Manufacture
Title: Latatoo EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk094
Release Date: 2002/11/17

It’s a pleasure to be able to put out the second Monotonik release from the Russian duo, Sleepy Town Manufacture (who are newly expanded to three with the addition of a new German-based Russian member.)

They ended up tapping their friends, both ‘famous’ and up-and-coming, to remix their dreamily ambient ‘Latatoo’ track, which is featured on the forthcoming “Cottage Industries 3” compilation on the ever excellent Neo-Ouija.

And, as the icing on the cake, Sleepy Town have complemented the original track with two original reinterpretations of it by themselves, to put the finishing touches to this perfectly chilled 7-track minialbum. Horizontality is our new mentality, thanks to STM.

To run through the tracks quickly, the original of “Latatoo” is a spectacularly ambient angel-song, with the guest vocals from Anna Yuhanova almost subliminally mixed in – sublime.

Then comes the first remix section, from some of STM’s rising-star friends, with France’s up and coming Tao (from net.labels like Ogredung and Camomille) retooling the track into his more uptempo but still chilled, xylophone and squelch-bass infused ‘Calm Mix’. Next up, it’s fellow Russian Lost_Bit (net.labels such as Enough Records), whose ‘Tatart Mix2’ is curiously orchestral, with almost subliminal pops and scratches and a celestial string section oozing serene ambience over the top.

And, with the immaculately programmed ‘K.A.B.Y.N’ courtesy of Sleepy Town themselves, with guest Alex Kozmidi on guitar and pin-sharp percussion underpinned by improvisation-heavy, gorgeous lead meanderings, we get to the second part of the remixes, from artists already known to those of you who patronise Monotonik regularly.

Firstly, the Australian wunderkind Sense (Neo-Ouija, Aural Industries) imbues his remix with a gradually rising, swelling ambient tone which peaks near the end of the track with a triumphant introduction of shuffling beats – gorgeous stuff. And secondly, Dutch idmtist Secede (Merck) gives us his ‘Another Day Wasted Mix’, which is a real grower – listen to it over and over and you’ll see what we mean.

With the final ambient lead-out of Sleepy Town’s own “Latterly” interpretation, we reach the end of the mini-album, and, if you’re sensible like us, set it immediately to repeat. We’ve already dozed off into sublime semi-consciousness once whilst listening to “Latatoo EP” – how many times can you manage it? 🙂

Oh, and finally, there may be additional remixes posted on Sleepy Town’s site in the next few weeks, but Lackluster’s great remix of “Latatoo” is one you won’t be seeing anywhere, except.. the forthcoming Monotonik mix CD? You heard it here first, more details to follow soon.

Credits:
cover by names

Tracklist:
01 – Latatoo
02 – Latatoo (Tao Calm Mix)
03 – Latatoo (Lost_Bit Tatart Mix2)
04 – K.A.B.Y.N.
05 – Latatoo (Sleepy Sense Mix)
06 – Latatoo (Secede‘s Another Wasted Day Remix)
07 – Latterly

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Links:
[Bandcamp]

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

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Super Science – Doh EP {mtk093}

Artist: Super Science
Title: Doh EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk093
Release Date: 2002/11/08

After digging delightedly around in the archives, Monotonik is delighted to present the first of three ‘virtual 7-inch’ releases from Australian artist Super Science. All these tracks are taken from sessions done in 1999 for his super-limited Splashdown CDRs, and it’s the first time they’ve been available anywhere besides those impossible to find releases.

For those of you who don’t know Mark, aka Super Science, from his previous releases on Monotonik, his Splashdown CDRs were followed by an acclaimed album on Surgery, “Love Like Life In Miniature”, and that brought him to the attention of the US-based Anticon posse. Now called Clue To Kalo, his CD/LP on Mush Records, “Come Here When You Sleepwalk”, is out soon, and he’s been playing live gigs using a band in Australia, ahead of touring with other Mush label peeps in the US and Europe in 2003. Plus, there’s still rumors of a darncool European label picking the album up over there – more news as we get it.

It only remains for us to swoon over the idyllic melodies and vocals of “You My Glimmering Satellite”, plus quiver over the multi-tracked drift of “Samuel Crystal Bloom”, and then hand you over to Super Science himself for his comments on the release – he’ll be talking about each of these EPs as they’re released. 🙂

‘When I started making music I used my computer and a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. I played a song to someone and they suggested I burn some CD-Rs and sell them for $5 at the local record store. I did, and sold fifteen discs over a period of five months, all to people I knew. I was very rich. When my CD came out on Surgery, we took a few of these old 4-track songs and put them on the album. Lots of them didn’t make the cut. h0l is putting out some of those songs out as a series of virtual seven inches because he’s a swell guy. I thought I’d give a blurb about each song because it will show that back then I mostly wrote songs to try and impress girls.

‘Samuel Crystal Bloom’: This is a song that isn’t about anyone. When I gave a tape of my music to a friend, this is the only one of the 17 songs he liked. After that, it always came first on any demo tape I made, because I assumed it was my ‘good song’. Later I wrote a song that he thought was better, so this one was relegated to second place.

‘You My Glimmering Satellite’: This song was written for a girl that I had a crush on. She didn’t like me in ‘that way’, but I knew that all it would take to win her over would be a nice melodic electronic love tune. After I wrote it I recorded it on a tape and hurried round to her house. This should do the trick, I thought. We both sat in her living room and listened to it. It was the first time I’d sung on one of my tracks. After the song failed to impress her, I swore it’d be the last.’

Credits:
photo by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – You My Glimmering Satellite
02 – Samuel Crystal Bloom

Artwork:
Front Cover

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

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