The Swedish techno onslaught continues unabated as Kontra Musik dig up another slab of essential peak-time fodder from Rivet to blow away the fogginess of a new year. The emergence of Mika Hallbäck has been a measured one, with just a handful of appearances on Skudge, Kontra and Naked Index since 2011 suggesting an artist taking time to issue out just the right material, rather than the tidal onslaught that can befall some emergent musicians in these times. There is a sense listening to Hallbäck’s music that care has been taken to pick the most distinctive tracks, to work as much character into each element, to mould a sound that pricks the ears and delights the mind.
The chief of the Malmö-based techno outpost turns in a perfect mix of 2013 highlights for the headphones.
The Swedish producer will provide the first Kontra-Musik transmission of 2014 with the forthcoming Bear Bile EP.
Where to even start with this one? Kontra Musik has been to the forefront of championing left of centre dance music acts like Frak and TM404, but this uniquely titled EP from Italian duo Massprod & Herva is so out there that it makes everything Ulf Erikkson’s Malmo-based label has done to date seem staid and conservative. After all, even if you are twisting new sounds from vintage equipment as Frak and Andreas Tilliander have done recently for the Swedish imprint, it’s hard to compete with titles like “Mike vs Speak And Overdub As A Weapon Against Modern Laptop Wanking”.
Andreas Tilliander follows his TM404 album for Kontra Musik from earlier this year with the addendum Svans 12″. This writer has mixed emotions about such conceptual works in electronic music, especially when they are coupled with mastery of the hardware or software used to create them. It is often reminiscent of the worst excesses of prog rock and runs the risk of conjuring up disturbing images of cape-wearing musos embarking on three-hour keyboard solos.
There has been a swirl of interest around Frak since they emerged from the shadows of the Scandinavian scene with no less than 27 years experience of leftfield analogue sonics behind them. The trio of Jan Svensson, Johan Sturesson and Björn Isgren have been plying their trade since the late 1980s with varying levels of intensity, moving through blistering techno, bumping Djax-Up-Beats style shuffle, and now settling into a more tempered kind of acid that comes full circle to the sound they were first delving into at the tender age of 13.
Swedish labels join forces for new series – Frak, TM404 and Skudge feature on first release.
The four track Matador EP from the Swedish hardware enthusiasts will be released next month.
In a fascinating piece published in The Wire recently, producer Mark Fell explored the idea of open systems in the creation of electronic music versus closed systems, comparing Thomas Dolby’s “ideal synthesiser” – that is one that could theoretically create any sound his mind could conceive – against Phuture’s accidental creation of the acid house sound whilst experimenting with a Roland TB-303. For Fell, producers who use these open systems inevitably find themselves constructing sytems with “an inbuilt closedness”, something that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As Fell concludes, “let’s not assume that technical limits equate to creative limits”.
Morphosis and Andreas Tilliander electing to name their first collaborative release after a battle of analogue synthesis is certainly a bold declaration of what the relationship will entail. With that, The Morphosis Korg Response further highlights Kontra Musik’s philosophy both in terms of visual aesthetic and musical selection.
More details have emerged for Andreas Tilliander’s forthcoming album for Kontra Musik under the TM404 alias.
Swedish label Kontra Musik has compiled a selection of choice remixes from the imprint’s back catalogue that includes reworks from Ben Klock, Scuba, Move D and Silent Servant.
Rivet is yet another masked techno producer, but on record he has far more to say than his anonymous peers. Amid The Roar, his first release on Ulf Eriksson’s excellent Kontra label, sees him flirting with classic techno influences but also and more crucially, mapping out some new ideas. A dark, resonating bass that recalls Kevin Saunderson’s Resse project is the central element on “Metrist”. The key difference though is whereas the Saunderson project was oppressive and ominous, the bass on “Metrist” is jaunty, merging with insistent stabs and rasping percussion to create a lithe, DJ-friendly track.
Andreas Tilliander helped to kick start glitchy hip-hop with his “Cliphop” release a decade ago, and his latest release ensures the Swedish producer is as relevant as ever. The Mokira project’s association with Kontra Musik has already attracted its fair share of high-profile contributors, with Redshape and Silent Servant remixing his work and Marcel Dettmann using his music as a basis for the “Factory Report” single.
As any astute label owner will know, prominent remixers will only get you so far, but thankfully this is not an issue on Time Axis Manipulation. Eschewing the dancefloor almost entirely – allthough there is an urgency to the building river of chords on “Time Track” that would work effectively in conjunction with an accompanying tool track – Tilliander shows his love of abstract sounds and field recordings. This is most audible on the static hisses and hums of “Rainford”, its layers of drizzling noise building to an understated climax, or on “Kendal”, where fragile chords drip gently like beads of rain falling from a spider’s web.
The album is also in tune with the swing towards dub techno techniques, but rather than going down the obvious route inhabited by overladen echo chambers, he delivers the tantalising, half-stepping shanty of “LFU Skank” and the breathy sounds of “Axis Audio” – remixed in suitably laid back style by Cv313. Time Axis Manipulation is quite the understated masterpiece.
Richard Brophy
