It’s not a stretch to call Kr!z one of the most important figures in modern techno. Founded in 2007, his Token label has been a leading outlet for heady, purist sounds, launched at a time when new records in that style were lacking. “I went through my collection of records, and there were maybe ten people that I felt like weren’t putting out new stuff at the time,” he told RA in a label of the month feature in 2012. Throughout Token’s 12 years of operation, it’s released hit records from Ben Klock, Surgeon and Rødhåd, all while cultivating a core roster of acts that includes Sigha, Inigo Kennedy and Ø [Phase]. Groovy, precise and usually hypnotic, the Token sound is broad but recognisable, recalling the golden age of ’90s techno.
But Kr!z isn’t only a background figure. A skilled DJ with sharp focus and a quick mixing style, he plays internationally most weekends, known for high-energy sets influenced by the same ’90s heroes who inspire his label. We hear those influences on this week’s RA podcast, a tunnelling trip through the sounds that fuel Token. Deeper than what you might hear Kr!z play out, there are tracks from pioneers like Jeff Mills and James Ruskin, along with selections from modern innovators such as Actress and Stanislav Tolkachev. As always, the mixing is spotless, the set flowing with the grace of someone who’s spent decades perfecting their craft. Read More here.
Köhn’s 1998 LP Köhn 1 gets first ever vinyl release
21 years on this debut is remastered and released for the first time on vinyl. The debut album from Köhn. Edition of 300 copies, 2 LP, includes new insert with great liner notes by Brecht Ameel & Jürgen De Blonde (aka Mr Köhn himself) and top notch remastered by Gert Van Hoof & Elvin Vanzeebroeck at Cochlea Mastering.
Recommended if you like early Autechre, Oval, vintage electronics, shoegazing beat, instrumental Death Grips, demented industrial, nostalgia futurica, derailed post rock or excellent music in general. It even helps to cure migraine (for some people).
There is an off-hand, almost unfinished quality to the record that fascinates me every time I press play: someone seems to have arranged a chemistry set with some very personal vials, tubes and ingredients, only to wander away and let it run its course. This person who is ‘Köhn’ seems to have no interest in seeing the tiny blizzards and blue-phosphorescent stars that pop out of his own chemicals. The whole thing is for us to dissect and admire, I feel certain that Köhn is already onto something new. Probably something so much further out it only exists in the ether. – Words by Brecht ‘Razen’ Ameel.
Listen to Köhnepijp below
Cortizona will release Köh n’s Köhne 1 on September 13th, 2019
Aki Onda shares a beautiful memorial essay on late filmmaker Paul Clipson ahead of new collaborative release
On September 20, audioMER. is releasing a new collaborative project by New York-based composer/artist/curator Aki Onda and the late San Francisco filmmaker Paul Clipson. Titled Make Visible The Ghosts, the four-track release features Onda’s soundtrack to Clipson’s large-size collage artwork, developed together over the course of two years and completed just a few months before Clipson passed away in 2018.
Ahead of Make Visible The Ghosts’s release — which arrives on limited-edition vinyl with a six-panel foldout poster — Onda has shared with us his beautiful memorial essay on Clipson that’s included with the release. Read more here.
A landmark album from Milton Nascimento – not only a set that really marked his growth as a singer, songwriter, and overall musical visionary – but also a record that really showcased the collaborative spirit that would be a part of his music for years to come!
The album features Milton with his “corner club” – an elite group of musicians and songwriters from the early days of his career – including greats like Lo Borges and Wagner Tiso – who’d already contributed to his music, but really get a chance to stand in the spotlight here. Borges is particularly fantastic, and shines on the massively beautiful cut “Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser”, which begins the album – and which is still one of the best Nascimento cuts all these many years later!
The sound of the record is impossible to describe adequately – but it’s got a fantastically soulful vibe, soaring and joyous, and really expanded through the participation of the other rich talents. The vocals are mixed perfectly, and the songwriting’s brilliant all the way through – and titles include “San Vincete”, “Lila”, “Paisagem Da Janela”, “Cravo E Canela”, “Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser”, “Os Povos”, “Nada Sera Como Antes”, “Um Gosto De Sol”, and “O Trem Azul”.
Moon – The Area Of Influence, out July 19th via Axis Records, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in 1969. The LP is said to give Mills’ “interpretations of earth’s moon and its profound effects on us and the planet,” using futuristic sci-fi beats and even vocal samples from inside a NASA control room.
Watch a special live set in Washington DC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing.
Moon – The Area of Influence released via Axis records.
Comprising vital UK techno artists Steve Bicknell and Luke Slater alongside Dave Sumner, LSD’s self-titled imprint launches June 28th with a six-track double-12-inch release called Second Process. It follows on from 2017’s Process EP, the trio’s debut release for Ostgut Ton. The artwork was designed by Heleen Blanken, a Dutch visual artist who has worked with numerous techno acts like Jeff Mills, Peter Van Hoesen and Ben Klock.
Slater has had a typically prolific year so far, announcing a double-EP under his Planetary Assault Systems moniker and a remix EP featuring reworks of his ’90s classic “Love”. Bicknell meanwhile continues to develop his label 6dimensions and recently released an EP on Spanish label Granulart Recordings. Sumner meanwhile is debuting a new live A/V show at Berlin Atonal in August.
Listen to “Process 7”.
LSD will release SecondProcess on June 28th, 2019.
