Taken from SBKT055: TRANCE BAND - Entrancing
Release date: 3rd March 2023


In a global landscape that increasingly prioritizes individuality over collaborative expression, TRANCE is a distinctive project. Initiated by Chinese multidisciplinary artist Tianzhuo Chen, best known for his work with Asian Dope Boys, TRANCE is as artistically amorphous as its constantly evolving line-up, that fluctuates as it shimmers across borders and time-zones. In 2019, the project was demoed in Beijing as part of a solo exhibition from Chen, a 12-hour durational performance that examined the altered states of living and dying and pondered the sounds, sensations, bodies and spaces that notion might suggest. On hold for three years due to COVID-19 restrictions, TRANCE was eventually premiered in Hamburg at the Kampnagel Theatre last year where it was presented as a surreal three-day ceremony. This time around the Trance Band was made up of Berlin-based noisemaker and vocalist Dis Fig, Indonesia's Gabber Modus Operandi, musician and MC KIM KHAN, guitarist and engineer Felix-Florian Tödtloff, and Vancouver-based percussionist and producer CITY. Chen directed the show, channeling each artist's unique energy into an alliance that highlighted their independent skills while pushing towards ideas that simply couldn't have been realized discretely.

"Entrancing" is a live documentation of that incendiary Hamburg session, powered by the performative fireworks that came from having the project halted for two years before it was allowed to burst into life once more. Just as with previous iterations of TRANCE, the space was terraformed into an alien landscape that allowed the collective to enact a carnivalesque display that was tightly controlled but creatively boundless. Musical u-turns were accompanied by monumental stage overhauls that reshaped a muddy, fog-filled outdoor riverscape into an arena, or a sweaty nightclub. This theatrical impact can't be visualized as clearly on the record, but musical cues do just enough heavy lifting to provide a tantalizing contour. When the alluring electro-acoustic plucks and resonant sustained string tones of 'There's a Ghost in the Lantern' cascade into cinematic drone metal on 'Ylva's Theme', it's impossible not to be drawn into the TRANCE narrative. Sonic stage lights flicker with uncommon intensity as the nebulous group rewrite their collective personal stories into stirring, synergistic poetry.

"Something changes!" KIM KHAN calls out on 'Soft and Black', cutting through warbling synths and itchy beatbox percussion. The track builds quickly, reaching a sizzling crescendo of buzzsaw noise and acidic electronics. It's a stylistic sea change that channels the group's kinetic energy into a rock show, and CITY picks up the message on 'Trance Genesis', adding rapid-fire drums to a barrage of guitar skronk. 'Shaolin Affliction' glues Trance Band's jagged artistic edges to a vintage metal template, gradually dissolving into throaty post-hardcore, while 'My Fortress' brings the show to a powerful conclusion with Dis Fig assuming the role of grunge balladeer, bellowing into the void over cacophonous live instrumentation. Unbound by musical and artistic conventions, TRANCE peers out from the basement, the gallery and the playhouse to forge an expression that's all of this and something new entirely. It's refreshing, witty, exhilarating and most of all, completely unpredictable.

Entrancing

KIM KHAN - Verdoyant [digital only]

spring motion

https://www.nts.live/shows/ikura-imprint/episodes/ikura-imprint-10th-may-2023

Ikr. Imprint 100523

Tracklist:
Patricia - Hardly Able To Do Anything
Internazionale - The Pale And The Colourful
Chantal Michelle, Brian Allen Simon - Celestia 
Varnable - Hybrid
JJ + JJS - 6AM (Iris Mix)
Ana Roxanne - Suite Pour L’invisible
Martyna Basta -Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering
Toxe - Portal
Kilometre Club - Then a quick walk down the street
Tor Lundvall - The Mist
B. Lustmord, Robert Rich - Elemental Trigger
Nthng - Worldless Mass
POiSON GiRL FRiEND - Love Is...

Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering

CrunchyccRiccy

Comfort Live on The Lot Radio (03.26.24)
@ladydownfall

Neutral Cloud Mix 008 | Comfort @ The Lot Radio

SPA was founded in 2018 in Cologne and is focusing on club music with a global perspective. The label is run by Salon des Amateurs resident Phillip Jondo, France 98 aka DJ Brom and Friday Dunard who put in their different musical backgrounds and influences together, ranging from Baroque choir music to high definition experiences. For their monthly show on NTS they reflect on current moods, play the labels output and invite artists around them. 
Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/spa/episodes/spa-23rd-april-2024

SPA w/ Phillip Jondo and DJ Brom 230424

The Sleeping Cave w/ Sonia Surma - 13/06/2023

Vacarme - Peste Sauvage invite Veine - 20/06

EN: Sacred ambient soundscapes with Sanskrit mantras and ethereal choirs.
A journey of peace, light, and inner reflection. IT: Paesaggi sonori ambient con mantra sanscriti e cori eterei. Un viaggio di pace, luce e introspezione.

Satya Mantra

Dive into the twilight hush of the ancient Tigris, where stone tombs whisper and bazaars pulse with slow, breath‑like rhythms. This 8‑track journey weaves oud drone, ney sighs, djembe heartbeat, and ambient synth into a lounge‑electronica tapestry that feels like a prayer carried by the river’s mist.  

#Mesopotamia #Tigris #AncientMusic #ArabicRitual #LoungeElectronica #DeepChillout #WorldFusion #Ambient #Chill #BuddhaBar #ZenithDunes

Khan Kun

lovers

Somewhere between The Healing Place and Entertainment 🫂📀

Part of @vitruvian_scroll

Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering

aversatrix