R&S records is one of THE MOST RESPECTED TECHNO LABELS OF ALL TIME. So I'm very proud to announce that this, ARCADIA'S 300th POST will be highlighting the relaunch of this great label.
Read below to see why... there's LOADS of goodies today, but I think it's more than worth your time to read why these tracks are so relevant and this label so cool... we'll start with Delphic, then move to a FREE 4 track R&S sampler, and then I'll give you a tip on a couple new tracks that are pure dancefloor fillers :)
I kept hearing about Delphic from various media types and industry people. On a daily basis, almost, I've been seeing their names. Now I understand why... check out this undeniable video for "Counterpoint"
If you wanna watch it outside of this site the link is here.
Here's a nice live version of "Counterpoint", the song you won't be able to get out yer head:
Delphic- "Counterpoint (Live in Amsterdam, 19_02_2009)"
Delphic- "Counterpoint (Live in Amsterdam, 19_02_2009)" YSI
And here's a little press on these guys... you know how I love Manchester (speaking of, The Whip interview should be up soon!)...
Delphic are post-dance futurist nostalgics from Manchester. In a world
of indie bands dipping a cautious toe into dance music’s occasionally
baffling computer world, Delphic are the real deal, the missing link
between the Chemical Brothers and New Order, between Underworld and
Muse. The next giant leap forward for a dance outfit to take
repetitive beats and crisp electronics out of the underground with the
swagger, confidence and tunes to take over festivals and ultimately to
fill stadiums.
Delphic are Richard Boardman, Matthew Cocksedge and James Cook and
have been together for only a year. They make their music on laptops
before figuring out how to play it live, throwing guitars, bass and
drums over the electronics to results their unique sound, then take to
the stage and stitch their songs together into one continuous euphoric
DJ set-like onslaught.
‘Counterpoint’ is their first single on Belgium’s classic electronic
label R&S. It’s an epic, a timelessly optimistic pure rave moment
produced by Berlin based producer/remixer Ewan Pearson, who is soon to
start work in Berlin with the band on their debut album, due for
release later this year.
Check out more about Delphic @ www.randsrecords.com. NOW ON TO SOME MORE AWESOME SHIT!
NEXT UP is a 4 track sampler you can get over at Amazon.com. Click here to download it. I was gonna post up individual tracks? But you want all these puppies, trust me.
The tracks included are:
"Quail"
"Shining"
"I Become Overwhelmed"
"Majestic 12"
Here's some press on this sampler...
"David Morley
Although producer David Morley ( www.davidmorley.com ) has been
involved in a range of recording projects, encompassing trance and
techno as well as the more ambient and "intelligent" offshoots
thereof, his work has been marked by a consistent experimentalism,
earning him a reputation as a compositional innovator among producers,
DJs, and home listeners the world over. Born and raised in England,
Morley's name is most often associated with the Belgian techno scene,
primarily due to early R&S releases as Spectrum, TZ4, and under his
own name which helped to solidify the label's nascent sound.
Spectrum's "Brazil," recorded with R&S owner Renaat Vandepapeliere,
was a visionary fusion of dancefloor techno/trance and
ambient/experimental strains that helped earn R&S its association as
an important force at the fore of European dance music. Morley,
together with Outlander's Marcos Salon, was also behind the fourth
release (known as TZ4) in R&S' Test Zone series (and co wrote 2 of the
TZ7 tracks with Maarten Van Der Vleuten with whom he also wrote the
classic and highly sought after black label "Mantrax - Sonic Circus"),
an important signpost in R&S' early development. In 1994, Morley
released his first two EPs under his own name -- "Evolution" (the
first release on R&S sublabel Apollo) and "Shuttle" (on R&S-proper) --
both exploratory ambient/electro classics that sit neatly next to the
works of such artists as Biosphere, Aphex Twin, and Higher
Intelligence Agency as early examples of ambient/intelligence techno.
More recently, Morley has released increasingly dark and textural
works, both solo and in combination with former Inky Blacknuss
collaborator/current Mo'Wax signee Andrea Parker. In addition to the
pair's Infonet EP Angular Art (1995), Morley and Parker recorded the
Too Good to Be Strange EP (Apollo, 1995) under the name Two Sandwiches
Short of a Lunchbox (later used in the Tom Cruise film "Vanilla Sky"),
as well as contributed tracks to R&S ambient sublabel Apollo's second
label comp The Divine Compilation. Morley's debut full-length, Tilted,
appeared on Apollo in 1998. He also co-wrote Andreas Parker's classic
debut "Kiss My ARP" on Mo Wax and has recently released a variety of
songs on Miss Parker's "Touchin' Bass" label and on Sub Rosa's sub
label "Quatermass". A new album is apparantly in the works for release
this year..... His music is published by Bug Music
Jacobs Optical Stairway
Jacob's Optical Stairway project from 4Hero's Dego and Mark Mac. The
album was something of a superstar collaborative effort at the time,
also featuring Juan Atkins and Josh Wink getting in on the Junglist
action. The album moves beyond 4hero's previous ruffneck ragga style
and incorporates a mellow jazz instructed vibe to proceedings, married
beautifully with Atkins on the Detroit meets West London experiment
'The Fusion Formula', and exploring live organic textures with
saxophone from Lascehes, Niles Hailstones trumpet on 'Solar Feelings'
or Quincey's guitar on the title track.
Locust
Mark Van Hoen (born September, 1966 in London, England) is an
electronic music performer and producer recognized for his
contributions to the advancement of electronic music in the last 20
years. He has created music under his own name as well as: Locust, and
Autocreation. His production work includes albums for Mojave 3, Scala,
Sing-Sing and many others. He was a founder member of the influential
group Seefeel and has toured with Massive Attack and Orbital as well
as opening for Slowdive. He is a greatly admired and influential
composer and performer that has inspired countless other musicians.
His music is known for its distinctive blend of old world electronic
music with the more modern strains of electronica, creating a rich and
colourful body of work steeped in emotion and expression. His work has
brought a deeply human and emotional depth to a genre of music that
has been criticised as being sterile and mechanical.
After offers from Warp Records, Rephlex and Virgin Records, Mark Van
Hoen chose to sign with Belgian Label R&S in 1993. Locust's early
records were distinct in their pure use of vintage analogue
synthesizers and tape recorders to create a romantic and somewhat
dark, broody sound environment in which his music could unfold along a
current of beats and rhythms while escaping the mechanisation of many
of his contemporaries. As the Locust sound moved towards and
increasingly more vocal oriented approach in the late 90's, Mark Van
Hoen began to release music under his own name and returned to the
instrumental music of his early period which he continues today.
Sun Electric
Sun Electric saw the light of day in 1990, with their first 12"
O'Locco on Wau! Mr.Modo. (Well, there was actually one track before
that: Sundance, which appeared on the first Cafe del Mar compilation.)
After splitting up with the third member in a band called Fischerman's
Friend, Max and Tom carried on as Sun Electric.
O'Locco got great attention by Alex Paterson, Jimmy Cauty & Youth in
London. They considered S.E. to be the inventors of Ambient House.
From there a great friendship and collaboration with Thomas Fehlmann
(to whom they were already closely related ever since they moved to
Berlin) and The Orb started, which lasts until today. In 1994 The Orb
released "Pomme Fritz" - a collaboration between The Orb and S.E.
After being stuck with a record deal at ZTT records, which didn't lead
to any releases, Sun Electric found a new label: R&S in Gent, Belgium.
"O'Locco" got re-released and a double 12" followed, then the first
album "Kitchen" came out in 1993. The first big tour in England,
opening for The Orb, took place in late 1993.
The artwork for all covers on R&S until the last S.E. release in 1998
was done by Designers Republic, who added an outstanding visual aspect
to the music.
Three more studio albums were released, "Aaah!" (94), "Present" (96)
and "Via Nostra" (98) and one live ambient-album "30-7-94", recorded
that day in a park in Copenhagen.
The years 1993-98 saw the band touring all over Europe, Japan, US and
Chile. After the release of "Via Nostra" the band took a turn to
freeform improvised live music, got more into programming with MAX/MSP
and changed their name to S.E.Berlin.
One vinyl release on the shortliving label Bad Orb followed, then Max
and Tom decided to end the project.
Seven years of individual projects went by. Then Tom discovered an old
CDR at a friend's house on the Canary Island Lanzarote, which Max and
Tom had left there in the year 2000. It had a bunch of unreleased
tracks on it from that time. Listening back to it came out as a
surprise: they still sounded good and fresh, even quite special in the
new musical context of 2007."
Very hot shit indeed. Scoop that up NOW. Not often that legendary labels give you so many free track, right?
Now this isn't free.... BUT, You do NOT wanna sleep on these two tracks! Click here to read more and download from Beatport
"Geo" by The Chain is, well errr, off the chain lol? I'm such a fucking dork.
"If you’re a fan of the very early days of trance when soul collided with hypnotic chords and techy beats, be sure to check ‘Geo’ by The Chain. As former mule electronic [l] artists, Foat & Boddy aka The Chain have been releasing music together for a number of years and with an album planned on R&S next year they are sure to get more fans on the back of this Balearic-sounding release.
There are tribal-influenced rhythms, deep vocal snippets and sun-drenched syths that nod towards the early 90s, but the transitions and FX are up to date.
‘Geo’ sounds like a classic already."
Yeah, it's good to see R&S back in full effect. Their logo, like Ghostly International's, is one that is like a stamp of quality... you know as soon as you see that stallion that you're on to something good. I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have... "Counterpoint" is available as of yesterday on Beatport.
As I said I've got really good stories from Chicago and an interview with The Whip (one of Manchester's other great bands) and that should be up soon. Until then!
2 comments:
right yes!
Post a Comment