oct'15

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www.pokerflat-recordings.com

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www.facebook.com/kindimmer

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Poker Flat Recordings has been dealing out underground house music with a unique twist since 1999; from the defining debut 'Loverboy' through the Bugnology series, acclaimed albums and worldwide club hits, Steve Bug's essential imprint has unearthed new talent, developed rising stars and welcomed veterans into the fold. Steve Bug's reputation as an exceptionally gifted DJ, producer and music connoisseur is about to carry the beloved imprint to its 15th anniversary, which will be celebrated with its finest collection of raw talent yet, starting with this first instalment of the anniversary series called Four Jacks.

Following the winning format of the series thus far, Part 4 boasts two slamming new remixes of classics from the vault, and two brand spanking new tracks from Poker Flat's stellar roster. 

Trentemøller's electro touchstone 'Always Something Better' now draws the attention of DJ Tennis and Mind Against, who keep it slow and suspenseful with an intricate and modern deep house makeover. 

Chardronnet vs. Afrilounge's 'Shake It' was a defining moment of minimal tech in 2005, and Ejeca modernises it with a full-bodied treatment of peaktime melodic techno. The finale offering of new tracks created to mark the anniversary come from John Tejada & Justin Maxwell and Kindimmer; the former reach for vintage boompty house and noodly acid on 'All We Know', while the latter opts for delicately minimalist deep house construction for the chiming, gleaming 'Tremor'.

With all four of Poker Flat's Four Jacks now been revealed, the label has played its winning hand once again, demonstrating just how they have stayed at the top of their game at 15 years deep.

Four Jacks, Pt. 4 - 15 Years of Poker Flat

Trentemøller - Always Something Better (DJ Tennis & Mind Against Remix)

Vril's progression from the early Giegling run of numbered EPs to last year’s considerably more intense 1-2 of Torus and Vortekz made perfect sense: the faceless producer came out the other side of dubby club fare into more intense, bleak terrain. 2014’s breakout year was capped by his ferocious teardown at our Dystopian showcase; replete with rushing, quasi-Resident Evil visuals, it was a masterwork - easily one of our Best of 2014.

Incredibly, Delsin actually chose to sign on Vril for a sophomore LP on the strength of his Boiler Room set, citing the "energy of some tracks and the crowd's reaction, which was really good." First debuted on our screens, “Portal 7” is everything you could want in a techno track. Pistons pump, steam valves release and tectonic plates shift underfoot - in short, it's a total ripper. Throw yourself tumbling headfirst down the Portal.

Vril "Portal 7" - Boiler Room Debuts

LAD020 Woo York - Black Soul (Snippet)

Stream an incredible new track from Agoria, taken from the upcoming 'Innverisions Secret Weapons Part 7' EP, released on March 30

Premiere: Agoria 'Alluvion'

Life and Death ® Catalogue Number: LAD021
Artist: Recondite
Title: Think Twice
Format: Digital / 12”
Release Date 20 April 2015

Tracklisting:
A: Think Twice
B: Serak

All tracks written and produced by Recondite.

Recondite - Think Twice EP
A long time friend of the label and an artist who needs no introduction, Recondite presents two unique techno narratives for his much anticipated first EP on Life and Death.

Up first and straight out the gate like the turning of the great Boethian wheel, Think Twice turns over and on top of itself again, like the march of time and the fortunes of paupers and princes alike. An ever advancing urgent reminder of the transitory nature of the eternal now, it graces us with her beauty and leaves us with a shaking sensation deep in our bones. 

On the B side, Serak begins with a bellowing bass emitted like a series of holotropic breaths from belly of Stanislav Grof himself. A sequence of sounds sent like a fishing line to the depths of the psyche, it returns with a portentous melody that winds and wanders until exploding midway thru the piece in a burst of restrained emotion. 

LAD021 Recondite - Serak

Life and Death ® Catalogue Number: LAD021
Artist: Recondite
Title: Think Twice
Format: Digital / 12”
Release Date Digital 20 April 2015

Tracklisting:
A: Think Twice
B: Serak

All tracks written and produced by Recondite.

Recondite - Think Twice EP
A long time friend of the label and an artist who needs no introduction, Recondite presents two unique techno narratives for his much anticipated first EP on Life and Death.

Up first and straight out the gate like the turning of the great Boethian wheel, Think Twice turns over and on top of itself again, like the march of time and the fortunes of paupers and princes alike. An ever advancing urgent reminder of the transitory nature of the eternal now, it graces us with her beauty and leaves us with a shaking sensation deep in our bones. 

On the B side, Serak begins with a bellowing bass emitted like a series of holotropic breaths from belly of Stanislav Grof himself. A sequence of sounds sent like a fishing line to the depths of the psyche, it returns with a portentous melody that winds and wanders until exploding midway thru the piece in a burst of restrained emotion. 

LAD021 Recondite - Think Twice

Stephan Bodzin – Singularity

Rising from humble beginnings like Icarus heading towards the skies, Singularity plots its course for the stratosphere as it heads ever onwards and upwards…but unlike Icarus this is a tempered and restrained ascent not an easy task to pull off but one that makes the impact so much stronger for it's subtle, ever evolving simplicity. 

With a melody that comes on like a half-remembered memory and lingers long after the sound itself fades away, Singularity stays with you, slowly and carefully weaving its way around you while its drums beat a steady, forceful pulse and its percussion jumps in and out like Billy Pilgrim skipping thru time. The combined effect is something much more than the sum of its parts. Somehow this simple techno tune creates an entire world of its own and asks you to inhabit it for a while, losing yourself in the process..

On the flip side, Monoloc exercises an equal and proportional restraint in his take on things. Like a voice emerging from a faded dream, the melody peeks out behind a curtain of reverb and industrial drums compellingly foreshadowing its full potential. Growing from there, the atmosphere slowly engulfs the listener until finally the slow build up reaches its full force providing a fantastic re-imagining of the original with an almost romantic yet no less powerful conclusion.

Life and Death - Catalogue Number: LAD022

Artist: Stephan Bodzin
Title: Singularity EP
Format: Digital & 12”
Digital Release Date: 25.05.2015
Physical Release Date: TBC

Tracklisting Digital:

1. Singularity
2. Singularity (Monoloc Edit 02)
	             
Tracklisting 12”:

1. Singularity
2. Singularity (Monoloc Edit 01)


Get it here

LAD022 Stephan Bodzin - Singularity (Monoloc Edit 02)

Synchronicity

Stephan Bodzin – Singularity

Beatport link: http://classic.beatport.com/release/singularity/1523803

Rising from humble beginnings like Icarus heading towards the skies, Singularity plots its course for the stratosphere as it heads ever onwards and upwards…but unlike Icarus this is a tempered and restrained ascent not an easy task to pull off but one that makes the impact so much stronger for it's subtle, ever evolving simplicity. 

With a melody that comes on like a half-remembered memory and lingers long after the sound itself fades away, Singularity stays with you, slowly and carefully weaving its way around you while its drums beat a steady, forceful pulse and its percussion jumps in and out like Billy Pilgrim skipping thru time. The combined effect is something much more than the sum of its parts. Somehow this simple techno tune creates an entire world of its own and asks you to inhabit it for a while, losing yourself in the process..

On the flip side, Monoloc exercises an equal and proportional restraint in his take on things. Like a voice emerging from a faded dream, the melody peeks out behind a curtain of reverb and industrial drums compellingly foreshadowing its full potential. Growing from there, the atmosphere slowly engulfs the listener until finally the slow build up reaches its full force providing a fantastic re-imagining of the original with an almost romantic yet no less powerful conclusion.

Life and Death - Catalogue Number: LAD022

Artist: Stephan Bodzin
Title: Singularity EP
Format: Digital & 12”
Digital Release Date: 25.05.2015
Physical Release Date: TBC

Tracklisting Digital:

1. Singularity
2. Singularity (Monoloc Edit 02)
	             
Tracklisting 12”:

1. Singularity
2. Singularity (Monoloc Edit 01)

LAD022 Stephan Bodzin - Singularity (Monoloc Edit 01)

Vertere - Mind Against & Somne

Constantly turning around itself, the winding melody of Vertere turns outward and inward at the same time, bringing the listener on a journey outward while mirroring a simultaneous labyrinthine journey inward. Like the word itself, Vertere, with its roots in the Latin word Verto (which itself takes its roots in the earlier Sanskrit word, Vartayati) it signifies the very nature of change itself. It means both to turn and reflect inward and yet also move forward — a call to action for setting in motion new things. A paradox at first glance but also perhaps a surprisingly accurate description of the destructive and reconstructive nature of creation. An apt metaphor for this bright new collaboration between established Life and Death artists Mind Against and the new artist project of Federico Maccherone, aka Somne.

On remix duties, when you have an artist of the caliber of Tobias Freund, you don’t need to ask for anything more and with his outstanding remix of Vertere he very clearly shows why. This long time mainstay of the electronic music scene has managed to stay not just relevant but on the cutting edge longer than most with respected releases on some of the most seminal imprints to be putting out music in the world of underground dance music. With Vertere he takes what’s already top quality material and somehow manages to turn it inward and in his own unique way elevate it to another level entirely. With a relentless beat and a sonic force that is hard to describe with mere words the Tobias. remix of Vertere comes out of the gate like a runaway machine rapturously drunk on its own self awareness. It marches ever forward, full of fervor, and will surely be driving dance floors both large and small to the euphoric edge of the ecstatic state.

Artist: Mind Against & Somne
Title: Vertere
Format: Digital & 12”
Digital Release Date: 29.06.2015
Physical Release Date: 31.08.2015

Tracklisting Digital & 12”:

1. Vertere
2. Vertere (Tobias. Remix)

Vertere written and produced by Mind Against & Somne.
Vertere (Tobias. Remix) written and produced by Tobias Freund.

LAD023 Mind Against & Somne - Vertere

LAD024 - Various Artists - Some Things Rise 

Out: August, 3rd 2015. 

Once again Life and Death presents an assemblage of some of today’s finest artists with a Various Artists release of such high quality that it could have easily stood out as distinct and separate releases. But together these producers and their contributions combine to create something even greater than the sum of their parts. A story assembled from different voices that slowly builds from Sei A’s opening Muladhara-centered “Hyper Venom” and takes off from there, following the path of these musical Mahatmas as they riff on various states of elevation. 

Following Sei-A’s opener is Locked Groove’s shift to the Undenary with “Eleven”, a triumphant score for the everyman’s ascent. From there, the ever adept Scuba comes strong with “Glacial”, a deep track that shifts focus back and forth between both what lies below the surface and what climbs above it. And then, finishing the rise upward is Alex.Do’s expertly woven “Rising” which delivers on the promise that its title offers, never backing down and moving ever onwards and upwards even in its final rising tones.

Artist: VA
Title: Some Things Rise
Format: Digital & 12”
Digital Release Date: 03.08.2015
Physical Release Date: 25.09.2015

Tracklisting: (Digital & 12”)

A1. Sei A – Hyper Venom
A2. Locked Groove - Eleven
B1. Scuba - Glacial
B2. Alex.Do - Rising


Buy here:

LAD024 Locked Groove - Eleven

Buy here: 

LAD024 Sei A - Hyper Venom

LAD026 Tale Of Us & Mind Against – Astral 
Get it here: http://btprt.dj/1j96pHe

Is the doctrine of the mind fully contained within the physical brain? Or are there places that we can traverse, places between places, that exist outside of ourselves and the consensual reality we all seem to inhabit? Close your eyes and just try it for a second. You may be surprised where you go…

Exploring this theme of journeying beyond our strict sense of self, label mates and friends Tale of Us and Mind Against have joined together once again to create a work that works, fittingly, well past the summation of it’s parts. Playing with tension and release and a restrained but expressive sonic palate that paints a picture without words, these accomplished artists from the Life and Death team bring us to a place that seems to surely exist. Even if we might not be able to pinpoint exactly where that is.

Artist: Tale Of Us & Mind Against 
Title:  Astral
Format: Digital & 12”
Digital Release Date: 05.10.2015
Physical Release Date: tbc

Tracklisting Digital & 12”:

1. Astral
	             
Astral written and produced by Tale Of Us & Mind Against 

LAD026 Tale Of Us & Mind Against - Astral

REBEKAH - CONFINED HEART EP 
Soma 444d

1. Confined Heart
2. Kill Floor

The first lad of Birmingham techno, Rebekah, arrives on Soma in a rapturous debut on the Confined Heart EP. Having made her name through the mighty CLR and her own Decoy label, Rebekah has her sights focussed firmly on the future as she develops her ferocious sound with the classy 2 track EP. 
Showing real death to her productions, Confined heart has an almost, deeper emotional content whilst still being true to her uncompromising sound. Kill Floor immediately has you running for the hills as Rebekah powers home her Soma debut with sheers brute force. 

Confined Heart Ep

Confined Heart

Rebekah - Confined Heart (Soma 444d)

Buy vinyl: http://www.triplevision.nl/release/SOMA442/

Patrick Walker – Veiled Space Ep (Soma 442)
1- Space Wrecks
2- Outpost
3- Leviathan
4- Orbits Decay

Patrick Walker, one half of the Scottish techno outfit Forward Strategy Group, makes a ferocious debut on Soma Records, harking back to early 90s UK Techno with a solid 4 tracker on the Veiled Space EP.


Veiled Space EP

Leviathan

Patrick Walker - Leviathan (Soma 442)

Space Wrecks

Patrick Walker - Space Wrecks (Soma 442)

Artist: Benjamin Damage
Label: 50Weapons

Buy: https://pro.beatport.com/track/monolith-original-mix/7002761

oct'15

andywest