Green Lashes EP

Artist :
Title : Green Lashes EP
Release Date : 24. February 2023
Catalog ref. : 022

Never hesitating to play to their strengths and tap into the techno capital’s hidden talent pool, Sound of Berlin kickstarts 2023 with a 29-year-old upcoming producer Marie Tjong-Ayong’s debut ‘Green Lashes EP’, out on 24 February. Sonic forest bathing packed with minimal, percussive lushness, it is a release that sometimes evokes the abstract polyrhythms on Bambounou’s ‘Final Conference’, at other times the glitched-out grooves of Facta’s ‘Emeline EP’. At its centre, the EP reminds us of the power of electronic music to create headspaces no other genre can – even enable us to become one with nature amidst the modern concrete jungles. “Overall, the EP represents for me a kind of transcendence, nature and body,” she described her debut.

Putting the best foot forward, the opener ‘Kick In The Garden’ does exactly what it says on the tin. Minimal techno without the bells and whistles, reverb kicks dominate the lower end and syncopated doubles of rimshots propel the beat forward, chopped-up chords chirping and panning around as if you were playing tag in someone’s backyard. “Kick In The Garden is a very playful, groovy piece,” Tjong-Ayong described the track. “I hope it animates to dance.

A different ballgame entirely, ‘Than Sadet’ is a 7-minute scenic drive named after the National Park on the island of Koh Phangan off the east-coast of Thailand. “Than Sadet is a journey,” Tjong-Ayong summed up. “I produced this track within one day in Thailand, on a beautiful island. It represents the many colours and sounds of the island as I perceived them.” At 118 BPM, bottom heavy with juddering baselines and thick organ chords held for full eight bars at a time, Tjong-Ayong keeps the track ebbing and flowing through the subtle melodies, holding the energy, and then releasing it one gigantic wave – the Balearic vibes in Tjong-Ayong -style.

These tracks are my first finished ones as a producer. I wanted to give myself complete freedom to create something with my possibilities,’ Tjong-Ayong explained. “To enter a new musical space and leave old habits and feelings behind when making music.”

For a lot of people, pandemic was a blessing in disguise. Ayong was one of them. “During the pandemic, all possibilities to play live broke away, new ways opened up,” she recalls. “Since I had been listening to techno and house for a long time and started to collect vinyl, I also started to deal with the production of this music. Ableton was pulled onto the computer and the first drum machines and synthesizers were procured.

Force X EP

Artist :
Title : Force X EP
Release Date : 28. January 2022
Catalog ref. : 013

Born in Moscow, DJ, and producer, co-owner of Pro–tez record label Anton Kubikov is one of the key figures of the Russian electronic music scene. His wide musical range extends from dub to techno and is accompanied by a unique selection of the material, which can be heard on his many podcasts and can be seen on the shelves at his own shop Randomart in Prague.

Under his own name, Anton wrote ambient, dub techno, and house music, which can be heard on such labels as Kompakt, his own Pro–tez, MAYAK, Elusive, etc. Juras Lietus’s alter ego was created as a fully analog modular live concept project that represents Anton’s fascination with techno and cold electronics.

As a well-known SCSI-9 outfit Anton and Maxim Milyutenko have released over 50 records and 4 full-length albums and became a mainstay at Kompakt Recordings family. Pro–Tez records was created in 2005 together with Ed Vertov and Maxim Milyutenko. It’s become one of the first Russian vinyl record labels that gave a serious jump start to young electronic musicians from the ex-Soviet Union, and became part of Kompakt Label distribution family. Anton also participated in the broadcast of the first Moscow’s FM radio station called Substation from 1995 – 2001. These first broadcasts had an immense influence on the development of modern Russian music culture and helped shape the tastes of many techno enthusiasts.

Follow Anton Kubikov: FacebookSoundcloudResident AdvisorBandcampInstagram

 

Wrestle EP

Artist :
Title : Wrestle
Release Date : 26. March 2021
Catalog ref. : SOB004

The duo INIT, consisting of Nadia D’Alò and Benedikt Frey, will release their new EP “Wrestle” on March 26th via the label and multi-channel platform Sound Of Berlin.

Despite the intensive use of analogue synthesizers and drum computers, INIT‘s productions cannot be pigeon-holed into the techno drawer. The duo breaks boundaries and creates their very own soundscape. On their latest EP, rhythmic and hypnotic sounds meet distorted and mystical vocals, which moves the EP somewhere in the mysterious middle of acid house, techno, ambient and krautrock.

Nadia D’Alò and Benedikt Frey, whose house productions have already been placed on Live at Robert Johnson in the past, met at university where they were both studying sound studies. The foundation of the joint project INIT in 2012 was the logical consequence of an experimental phase, in which the two worked together with different artists from other creative fields. The willingness to experiment continues with the duo mixing influences from the most diverse genres into a unique and coherent sound aesthetic.

Follow INIT: FacebookInstagramSpotifySoundcloud

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