Tag: Monotonik

Yuppster – Ambition EP {mtk159}

Artist: Yuppster
Title: Ambition EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk159
Release Date: 2006/01/14

After his previous bleepish releases on the wondrous 8BitPeoples, as well as remixes on real-life labels like Zod and Carpark, we’re delighted to welcome Matt Kuebrich, aka Yuppster, onto Monotonik with the 7-track ‘Ambition EP’.

Things start with the eloquent ‘Alaska’, all plink and plonk and deft melodics, before ‘Retry Me’ radiates an almost mellow Aphex vibe, with shuffling drums and a keen sense of wonder. The rest of the EP is just as good, with some of the higlights being ‘The Draft’, which is practically jogging on the spot with irrepressible squoinks, and the humming ‘Ends’, which is practically glowing with contentment.

Overall, seems like ‘Ambition EP’ is a tight, intense, neat piece of electronic music, and we thank Yuppster for allowing us here at Monotonik to release it – such dreaminess on his part has led to much dreaminess on our parts while listening.

Tracklist:
01 – Alaska
02 – Retry Me
03 – FM
04 – The Draft
05 – A Year From Tuesday
06 – Douser
07 – Ends

Artwork:
Front Cover

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New Delhi FM – Daylight Confusion {mtk158}

Artist: New Delhi FM
Title: Daylight Confusion
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk158
Release Date: 2006/01/01

You may have heard of German idm stars New Delhi FM from their excellent album release on Soulseek Records back in 2003, ‘Far From Yesterday’. Though the group originally started as a three-piece collective consisting of Sandro Boege, Paul Krege and Marc Hofling, nowadays, just Sandro is at the helm, and Monotonik is proud to present ‘Daylight Confusion’, a dense 55-minute ‘EP’ that’s the first major release from New Delhi FM in over 2 years.

‘Daylight Confusion’ is particularly interesting because of its oblique denseness, showcasing an oddly resonant brand of complex electronics that starts out with ‘Under Major Influence’, all prickly but lovable. Skewing far more minimal and alternative than other recent Monotonik fare, the title track, ‘Daylight Confusion’ itself, is a carefully building, languid pool of understated beauty.

Some other highlights include ‘Across The Floor’, which warps its way around the sonic map in an almost Tangerine Dream flavor, and ‘Faster Variation Of Straw’, a dark, drone-ish piece which is just difficult enough to please, but just accessible enough to leave you wanting more. Not, perhaps, your average Monotonik release, but rather a major, significant work from New Delhi FM which doesn’t ape, just differentiates.

Tracklist:
01 – Under Major Influence
02 – Tomorrow Doesn’t Matter
03 – Daylight Confusion
04 – Teapen
05 – They Were Looking For Peace In Neon Lights
06 – Continuing What Is Yet To Come
07 – Across The Floor
08 – A Strange Day (In The Past)
09 – Faster Variation Of Straw
10 – HSEB 0

Artwork:
Front Cover
Back Cover
Back Cover (Square)

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Transient – Work/Play EP {mtk157}

Artist: Transient
Title: Work/Play EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk157
Release Date: 2005/12/18

U.S. veteran idm artist Transient is practically an old hand at Monotonik releases now, since this is his third for the label, quite apart from some stunning EPs and albums for netlabels like One and his own Noisy Vagabond Recordings.

And ‘Work/Play EP’ is a wonderful, aptly named split album, since it was composed both on work breaks with a Palm handheld (the ‘Work’ half) and at home using Impulse Tracker (the ‘Play’ half), and both halves show inspired mastery of melody, vocoded vocals, and bleep idm.

Starting with the ‘Work’ half, ‘Direct’ is tremendously smart idmpop, happily proclaiming that ‘the things you desire will destroy you’. Other highlights of the ‘Work’ side include the loping, considered ‘I’m Going To Explode’, as well as the witty ‘Trashybin’. As for ‘Play’, it’s more clipped, and almost more retro, but just as lovable, with ‘Toasted’ sounding almost like it’s being played backward, and ‘Chip Ship’ layering on layers and layers of layers, before ‘Play’ slides and slithers around melodic wavelenghts that make us all happy to be alive. It’s more transforming transience from Transient, and we thank him profusely.

Credits:
pic by transient

Tracklist:

Work EP:
01 – Direct
02 – Oblong
03 – Minty Fresh
04 – I’m Going To Explode
05 – Trashybin

Play EP:
01 – Toasted
02 – All You Can Do
03 – Chip Ship
04 – Sporty Flute Spoof
05 – Play

Artwork:
Front Cover
Work Cover
Play Cover

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Dead Eros – When {mtk156}

Artist: Dead Eros
Title: When
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk156
Release Date: 2005/11/25

Another debut, then, and this time an American practitioner of the dark idm arts, in the form of Ann Arbor, MI-based Dead Eros. Monsieur Eros has run his own Music Is For Assholes label for some time, hangs with the Ghostly International chaps, but produces a distinctly contrasting output to anything they might put out – from light, sinewave-strewn idm to dark, foreboding ambient.

Thus, ‘When EP’ is three pieces of brightness and one chunk of shadow, with lead track ‘When We Are Home’ characterizing the whole kit and caboodle, meandering and majestic all at once. Even more precise is ‘When We Are Scared’, a choral call to microchips everywhere, before ‘I Don’t Need To Wake Up’ goes deep into the recesses, somewhere near Biosphere territory, and things end of the offbeat, quirky, found-itself-again stylings of ‘When We Are Lost’. But we’re not lost – we’re very much here, and happy, and now.

Credits:
pic by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – When We Are Home
02 – When We Are Scared
03 – I Don’t Need To Wake Up
04 – When We Are Lost

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Psilodump – Jag Och Psilodump {mtk155}

Artist: Psilodump
Title: Jag Och Psilodump
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk155
Release Date: 2005/11/03

Straight from the mind of Swedish hellraiser Psilodump, who’s released on super-smart labels such as 8bitpeoples and Micromusic, as well as being part of the rather smart X-Dump collective, ‘Jag Och Psilodump’ is a spectacularly eclectic 6-track EP which bounces all over the map, showcasing Psilodump’s distinctly weird, distinctly different stylings.

Things start with ‘Winds (Snabber Mix)’, which is all hyper-fast drums and oddly burlesque melodies, before ‘Omtanke7’ cuts in, again with oddly indescribable, almost demo-scene styled melodies, before the almost junglist ‘Jag Hatar Psilodump’ hangs around, all vicious. It only gets better from there on out, ending in a military deconstruction of ‘Winds’ by fellow X-Dump colleague and former Monotonik releaser Dorothy’s Magic Bag. Mommy, we’re scared…

Credits:
pic by psilodump

Tracklist:
01 – Winds (Snabber Mix)
02 – Omtanke7
03 – Jag Hatar Psilodump
04 – War Of The Winds 476
05 – Extrication
06 – Winds (Dorothy’s Magic Bag Remix)

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Links:
[Bandcamp]

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Qeshi – The Eudemonic Homunculus {mtk154}

Artist: Qeshi
Title: The Eudemonic Homunculus
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk154
Release Date: 2005/10/15

None other than the don Mortimer Twang himself alerted us to a whole album of Swedish artist Qeshi’s music floating out there in the ether, and when we asked the artist himself nicely if we could release it on Monotonik, he kindly assented. But who’s Qeshi? Currently studying in Japan, you may have heard of him from his two tracks that were featured on one of Lee ‘Metamatics’ Norris’ ‘Cottage Industries’ compilations on the excellent Neo-Ouija label, as well as his Flash videos that seems to be rather popular over at NewGrounds, and this album only extends his complex, gorgeous idm sound even further.

We start with the neatly named ‘Moshi Moshi Qeshi!’, which is just wonderfully composed melodic idm – a signature of the Monotonik sound for almost the last ten years. All nine tracks are special in some way, but some of the other highlights are probably ‘Tulip Lilt’, with its refreshingly together sound, the schoolkid-resplendent ‘Take Care Of Your Onaka’, and the almost choral ‘Nattskimmerfly’. Finally, ‘Vilda Och Delfinen’ rounds things off with some more well-deserved, special melody action. Basically, this is a gorgeous classic idm album, and we’re delighted that Qeshi let us release it. Moshi moshi!

Credits:
pic by qeshi

Tracklist:
01 – Moshi Moshi Qeshi!
02 – Island Dryad
03 – Nightly Hedped Promenade
04 – Tulip Lilt
05 – Kumo
06 – Take Care Of Your Onaka
07 – Seijin O Asobe
08 – Nattskimmerfly
09 – Vilda Och Delfinen

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Lackluster – Zero Million Barrels Of Oil Per Day {mtk153}

Artist: Lackluster
Title: Zero Million Barrels Of Oil Per Day
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk153
Release Date: 2005/09/25

When Finnish-born, currently Irish-based idm veteran Lackluster, aka Esa Ruoho, insistently pinged us over IM to release this stunning single track, ‘Zero Million Barrels Of Oil Per Day’, he was keen that it go live before the global oil market reached its peak. We’re not sure we actually managed that, but heck, we figure this almost 10-minute track will convey its mood perfectly well, separately of the amount of crude bubbling out of the ground at any particular speed.

Esa’s official site reveals what he’s been up to since last releasing on Monotonik early last year, and it includes a new album, ‘Slice’, on excellent Belgian label U-Cover, as well as recent live gigs in Holland, Spain, France, and Dublin, as well as a forthcoming spot this November at the lab30 mini-festival in Augsburg, Germany.

So, what of ‘Zero Million Barrels Of Oil Per Day’? Well, it starts soft, with almost imperceptible shifts in mood, before blasting into life and color, sonic earthquakes and melodic gushers to the fore. If anyone can refine pure noise into beauty, it’s Lackluster, and this carefully crafted track does just that. More soon, please.

Credits:
pic by esa

Tracklist:
01 – Zero Million Barrels Of Oil Per Day

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Links:
[Bandcamp]

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License:
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Tatsu – August EP {mtk152}

Artist: Tatsu
Title: August EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk152
Release Date: 2005/09/10

Having discovered Japanese techno artist Tatsu from his wonderful early work on his net.label Bumpfoot, we co-opted him to do an exclusive new EP on Monotonik, and the immensely lush 6-track ‘August EP’ is the result, showcasing the immensely pure, almost Detroit-tinged pastoral electronica – no tricks, no feints, just a trip back to the classics.

We start with ‘Stillness/Introspective Me’, which briefly showcases some gorgeous ambience, before moving straight into ‘Sky and Sea/Daytime Dream’, which sets the agenda – gently building, retropercussive techno, with claps and hi-hats that sound like they’re straight from 1985, but a purity of vision that make things shine. Going on, ‘Highland/Glass and Mountains’ is just amazing driving musicmechanical, straightahead and oddly almost Robert Miles-like, but avoiding trance cliches on the way to delirium. And so we continue on – ‘Evening/Setting Sun’ is if anything, even more bliss-like, with more trademark single-key melodies and an unplaceably backwards-looking tint, and ‘Deep and Calm/Falling Asleep’ works the goodness just a notch further, before ‘Memories Of Summer/Goodbye’ ends everything out with a gentle fade. More, please.

Credits:
pic by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – Stillness / Introspective Me
02 – Sky And Sea / Daytime Dream
03 – Highland / Glass And Mountains
04 – Evening / Setting Sun
05 – Deep And Calm / Falling Asleep
06 – Memories Of Summer / Goodbye August

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Coax – Blackened EP {mtk151}

Artist: Coax
Title: Blackened EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk151
Release Date: 2005/08/17

This time, a fine debut from mysterious Norwegian idm-er Coax, also known as Reflex, and with his only previous release being the ultra-obscure, self-released ‘Showcase’ CD. He helps us out on Monotonik with a first release in the form of the electro-tinged, extremely catchy, almost retro video game-like electronics of the ‘Blackened EP’ – and we thank him.

First up is the pounding, electro-happy beat of ‘1984’, all pure sinewaves and sustain, as Coax taps into the pure melodies and simple joys that have been sustaining Monotonik for, oh, five years or more now. But things get a little more twisty with ‘Byzantum’, which is practically Orbital-esque in its harpsichord and cyclical melody structures. Moving on, ‘Shadowrun’ has more of the carefully chugging electro moves in plentiful supply, before ‘Lich’s Lullaby’ goes oddly ’80s RPG soundtrack meets Lord Of The Rings meets idmizness. Finally, ‘Something Wicked’ is, indeed, rather wicked, launching a dervish of understated, murky melodies that sound like an underwater level for an obscure Nintendo platformer. Level up!

Credits:
pic by h0l

Tracklist:
01 – 1984
02 – Byzantum
03 – Shadowrun
04 – Lich’s Lullaby
05 – Something Wicked

Artwork:
Front Cover

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Beak – El Hacedor EP {mtk150}

Artist: Beak
Title: El Hacedor EP
Label: Monotonik
Catalog #: mtk150
Release Date: 2005/07/31

We’ve made release #150 in style, thanks to Monotonik artist Beak, who previously released the muchloved ‘Amoral Mayor Earwig EP’ last year. This time, he’s returned with the guitar-idm specialness of ‘El Hacedor EP’, featuring three tracks originally composed for the Project168 collective’s efforts earlier in 2005, and his mix of contemplative acoustics and carefully nimble percussion.

We start proceedings with ‘Baileyi’, all peaking hi-hats, wolf howls, and carefully picked guitars, before moving on to the beautifully slowed-down ‘The Maker’, which gently weeps while pirouetting around the subject – much more a Spanish lament than anything that can be classed ‘intelligent dance music’, whatever the heck that means. Finally, we have ‘He Descends Into His Memory’, which is spectacularly complex, wonderfully driving, and a suitably fitting end to this touching sophomore effort. Long may Beak keep quacking.

Credits:
pic by Beak

Tracklist:
01 – Baileyi
02 – The Maker
03 – He Descended Into His Memory

Artwork:
Front Cover

Additional Links:
[Bandcamp]

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License:
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