APEAK 'Serenity Before The World'

After a hiatus from his solo project Paavo Piekkari returns to Changeless as APEAK with his latest club forward offering ’Serenity Before The World’.

The four track EP explores what it’s like to exist in the world filled with distractions, love, hate, guestlists at various clubs and magick. Metros run at tight intervals in every part of the world, and people desire closeness after every afterparty. Perception of one’s reality can be altered with rituals or small bags of powders. If our goal is wakefulness, do we still fear the dreamless sleep after?

’Serenity Before The World’ opens with ‘Terminus’, a hard-hitting, noisy and colossal intro in the realm of the EP. ‘Terminus’ if followed by a collaboration with the legendary Northern Electronics and Posh Isolation affiliate Varg²™; their track ’Humid Air (上環)’ was born after two days of frenzy in Hong Kong together. The city seemed to breathe in and spit out everything that it inhaled, from the Rolex storefronts to the bright lights of the skyscrapers. While the first tracks of the EP showcase a more familiar sound from APEAK, the ecstatic ‘Dreamless Sleep’ unveils an entirely new, more euphoric side to his sonic palette. The EP’s closing track ’Stillness (TOMEANGLS)’ is an optimistic lullaby, that features guitars from fellow Hollowland band member Jonathan Engeldahl.

Recorded in Helsinki, Hong Kong & Leuven in 2022-2024

Produced by Paavo Piekkari
Production (Track 2) by Jonas Rönnberg
Guitars (Track 4) by Jonathan Engeldahl
Mixing, Mastering & Additional Production by Nori Kin

Artwork by Markus Watkins

@apeak

APEAK - Serenity Before The World

"You ascend the walls you made, oh time it takes to make amends."

‘And Now You Stand Before The Sun’ is a culmination, a closing chapter of the journey that began with 2022’s ‘Like The Reformed’ and succeeded by last year’s ‘Oath (Soon The Storm Will Pass, And We Will Fly Again)’. The record sees Paavo Piekkari and Jonathan Engeldahl fleshing out the microcosm they call Hollowland, resulting in their most mature and fully realised work to date. Beyond the rapturous sonics, there is a deep melancholy woven into the very essence of Hollowland that is present through it all.

At its core the record is about the hope that anguish and sorrow will lead to something beautiful and pure, persistance shed of the often glorified scaly skin of martyrdom. Notions of departing from oneself, to be reborn and catch a glimpse of the coveted silver lining, are explored on tracks such as ‘Ov Your Own Image’, ‘Falls’ and ‘As You Stand Beneath It, The Light Burns Brighter Than Before’. On ‘In Open Arms’ and Purest Form’ the endless cycle reaches its inevitable conclusion of incarnation, chronicling the very moments of becoming. Consider it a sign of stillness, at least for now.

The passing storm won’t be the last, yet we embrace the fleeting moment of light beyond the clouds, using it to release all within.

Written by Jonathan Engeldahl.
Produced by Paavo Piekkari & Jonathan Engeldahl.
Additional production by Allison Laine & Nori Kin.

Mixed & Mastered by Nori Kin.

Artwork by Jonathan Engeldahl & Markus Watkins.

Hollowland - And Now You Stand Before The Sun

Three years after their debut album ‘When My Darkness Came To Light’, Exploited Body has returned with their new album ‘Here, I Abandon’.

‘Here, I Abandon’ marks a new beginning, documenting the grievous first steps on the path of healing. The title references reaching a point, where all that doesn’t serve oneself must be left behind. The record is an exercise in “noise pop”, featuring prominent vocals from Exploited Body while combining their signature blistering distortion with their love of catchy melodies.

The album opens with ‘Only Your Eyes Could See My Wings’, a fragile and minimal ballad dedicated to their partner, who helped them find their way out of their pain-shrouded mind. Emerging from the fog, echoing vocals and thunderous piano drones lead into the disarmingly vulnerable vocal passage, the most personal song Exploited Body has ever shared with the world. ‘Demon Of Hatred’ is a slow-burning mantra about ending the cycle of trauma that began long ago, that manifests itself as a rage-filled beast. The screeching metal and cavernous bells collide under the somber vocals until it’s all ripped to shreds by violent pillars of noise. ‘After All (In The Ruins Of Limerence)’ deals with losing oneself in another person and awakening from the fever dream that is limerence. Along with the swinging vocal melodies, the dissonant mechanical humming break out into an onslaught of distorted kick drums before dissolving into harmonic bliss.

‘Replacing A Scar With Another’ explores themes of self-sabotage and self-harm, how we often reject help that is offered to us, creating new wounds to tend to instead of mending the old ones and trading old harmful beliefs into new even more detrimental ones (“replacing a god with another”). ’Self-Surrender’ is about shame, self-deception, requesting others to ‘hold your light’ until the sun’s out while you wallow in the dark abyss of self-pity, but now the time to has come to face yourself. The ethereal production paired with a delicate melody is reminiscent of a haunting lullaby with ghostly voices creaking in the midst of ringing synths, before everything comes to a head for a disjointed crescendo.’ Abandon’ is the purge that marks the point of no return, stripping off your weakness piece by piece, like an exorcism through the brutal wall of noise that the song builds up to. The closing track ‘Tear Me Apart Until All That’s Left Is Love’ is the bittersweet moment of letting yourself disintegrate and splinter into pieces to make room for what lies at the core of it all. A soft landing back into your body, before the colossal aftershock kicks in and sends you on your way to what comes next.

The album is written, produced, mixed and mastered by Nori Kin and features artwork by Changeless-affiliated Helsinki-based photographer Markus Watkins & Nori Kin.

Exploited Body - Here, I Abandon

Exploited Body - Helix / Unravel

Exploited Body takes it back to the club with their latest two-track offering 'Helix / Unravel' - a pairing, that meshes the intensity you've come to expect, with newfound high-speed break experimentations.

'Helix' is a spiralling fever dream, with drums of tungsten skitter through the blaring sirens and posessed screeches, showing no signs of slowing down. 'Unravel' is deliverance, release. Incorporeal voices echo through the cracks of the ferocious drums, eventually submitting to the soaring, euphoric synths signalling the escape from the cycle.

’Helix / Unravel’ is out now via Changeless!

Written, produced, mixed & mastered by Nori Kin.
Artwork by Jesse Draxler & Nori Kin.

@exploitedbody


Exploited Body - Helix / Unravel

111X ‘Urge’

111X, the elusive prince of noise, returns to Changeless with his latest offering ‘Urge’.

Picking up where ’Shame’ left off, ‘Urge’ depicts the shift from collapse to confrontation, driven by the restless push-and-pull of one’s inner fire and crushing powerlessness. Compulsive resistance in the face of our inevitable fallibility. An ouroboros corporeal battle between necessity and yielding, vigour and weakness, progress and decay.

‘Urge’ is a reinvention of 111X’s signature harsh sonics, meshing it with brooding apocalyptic guitars and ephemeral fragile tranquility, with a familiar relentless weaving pulse at it’s core that’s all the more brutal with each return. The EP opens with ‘Avenge’, where the veil of monumental thrashing of fragmented rhythms slips for a brief moment that’s just long enough to catch a glimpse of the hurt behind it all. ‘Fragments Held Together By Pressure (Forgive)’ slows everything down to a halt, while soft melodies bleed through the noise like a memory echoing as it fades away, becoming more indistinct with every moment.

The EP’s turning point ‘Serrated Edge’ presents us with a completely new side of 111X; a meditative lullaby with bursts of noise that emerge throughout the track, meticulously designed to remain uneasy even in the softest moments. ‘Hunger / Wilt’ closes the record with it’s pounding drums and piercing feedback, before melting into a stunningly beautiful coda leaving us with more hope than when we had diving into ‘Urge’.

Written, produced and mixed by 111X.
Mastered by Nori Kin.

Artwork by Helen Korpak.

@111x

111X - Urge

Exploited Body - When My Darkness Came To Light

Following releases on Posh Isolation and Northern Electronics, Exploited Body returns to his label Changeless to present his ambitious debut album 'When My Darkness Came To Light'.  
  
'When My Darkness Came To Light' is a subdued yet unrelentingly volatile record that examines the inescapable parallels of his depression and life as a black person. On his first solo release since 2019's 'Touching Without Feeling', his signature blistering distortion is contrasted with delicate melodies and heart-wrenching compositions that are at once deceivingly captivating and staggeringly harsh.  
  
’When My Darkness Came To Light’ will be released 9th April via Changeless.  
  
The album is written, produced, mixed and mastered by Noah Kin and features artwork by the visionary LA-based mixed-media artist Jesse Draxler and photography by Changeless affiliated Helsinki-based photographer Helen Korpak.

@exploitedbody

When My Darkness Came To Light

Exploited Body - Still Life

Written, produced, mixed and mastered by Noah Kin (Exploited Body).

@exploitedbody

Exploited Body - You Say My Heart's In The Right Place Even Though I'm Not In My Body

Exploited Body - Atrocity (Grievance As A Substitute For Existence)

APEAK - After The Rains

A storm has washed over the city, the wet asphalt reflecting the inauspicious red sky. The time has come; to leave the towering city landmarks behind, to shed the skin of a past life, to be reborn in a high octane amniotic fluid.

'After The Rains' is the spiritual successor to APEAK's 2020 Changeless debut 'Grey Skies', which sees him working with vocalists again while expanding his sonic palette further. Following the foreboding opener 'Where We Are From, The Birds Are Dead', we are lulled by the seraphic voice of Helsinki-based real-life angel queendyster on 'See The Light'. The anthemic rumblings of 'Graze' cascade into the cavernous echoes of 'M-Way', which features the London-based Felix Lee on vocals. Closing the record off is 'Clocktowers' with it's blaring synths and noisy elements scurrying atop the monumental bass tones.

'After The Rains' will be released October 1st via Changeless.

@apeak
@queendyster

After The Rains

APEAK - See The Light (ft. queendyster)

APEAK - After The Rains

A storm has washed over the city, the wet asphalt reflecting the inauspicious red sky. The time has come; to leave the towering city landmarks behind, to shed the skin of a past life, to be reborn in a high octane amniotic fluid.

'After The Rains' is the spiritual successor to APEAK's 2020 Changeless debut 'Grey Skies', which sees him working with vocalists again while expanding his sonic palette further. Following the foreboding opener 'Where We Are From, The Birds Are Dead', we are lulled by the seraphic voice of Helsinki-based real-life angel queendyster on 'See The Light'. The anthemic rumblings of 'Graze' cascade into the cavernous echoes of 'M-Way', which features the London-based Felix Lee on vocals. Closing the record off is 'Clocktowers' with it's blaring synths and noisy elements scurrying atop the monumental bass tones.

Produced by APEAK.
Vocals by Felix Lee.

@apeak
@5tarb01

APEAK - M-Way (ft. Felix Lee)

A sweltering entity pierces the veil of our atmosphere, a shimmering light echoes a warning of its arrival.

Exploited Body returns to Changeless with their earth-shattering two track EP. 'Collapsar' is a high-octane, howling, extraterrestrial banger caving in on itself, with its relentless drums and harrowing screeches clawing their way into the physical realm. 'Syrtis' is a deceptive slow-burner that halfway through the track reassembles itself in double-time through hyperactive breaks and disjointed rhythms.

’Collapsar / Syrtis’ will be released 11th November via Changeless.

Written, produced, mixed & mastered by Nori Kin.
Artwork by Jesse Draxler, Nori Kin & Samuli Vienola.

@exploitedbody

Collapsar / Syrtis

Exploited Body - Collapsar

Exploited Body - Syrtis

111X - 'Shame'

Three years after his previous outing, the elusive prince of noise 111X returns to Changeless with his monumental paragon ‘Shame’.

Born amidst a period of personal collapse and the cathartic realisation of inadequacy and finiteness, ‘Shame’ traverses devastatingly beautiful, dreamlike sonic realms. The record delves into the temporal and fleeting nature of our corporeality, how the smallest tremors can ultimately shake you to your very core.

’Shame’ sees 111X expand upon his distinct palette of unwavering noise, somber melodies and staggered drums with brooding guitar drones, adding a newfound depth to the sorrow found throughout his oeuvre. Let it wash over your trembling flesh, and you will come out the other side as an unstoppable force.

'Shame' will be released March 10th via Changeless.

Written, produced & mixed by 111X.
Mastered by Nori Kin.

Artwork by Helen Korpak.

@111x

111X - Desire (Bloom)

SITOI 'Kuori II'

'Kuori' is a story about a shift in identity following the collapse of reality. The double EP examines gender and sexual identity, mental health, and existence within forced, rigid societal norms. It's a portrayal of confusion, the relentless hold of anger and loneliness, constant change, and finding softness and tolerance. SITOI transforms the mundane into abstract imagery. Their spoken word poetry is reunited with the familiar unforgivingly abrasive yet somber noise, expanding upon the sonic foundation laid by 'Kyyhky' with more pummelling and techno-infused percussive production.

’Kuori II’ is a continuation of the storyline from the first released half of the double EP. ’Kuori II’ is a raw, vulnerable yet keen attempt to shed the hardened skin, the shell created to numb and protect oneself but which serves that purpose no more. It’s about the fear of letting go, accepting and embracing the weariness and disappointment in order to find joy, comfort and pleasure and to connect to oneself and others.

As on ‘Kuori I’ and ‘Kyyhky’, Exploited Body is back on production duties for ‘Kuori II’. The record flails violently between the sparse and morose atmospheres of tracks like ‘Faux Uterus’ and ‘Exuviae’, and the unrelenting storms of noise on ‘Varsat’ and ‘Hän’.

Kuori II

SITOI - Kulo

SITOI - Hän

SITOI - Varsat

Serenity Before The World

APEAK - Stillness (TOMEANGLS)

APEAK - Dreamless Sleep

APEAK - Humid Air (上環) (ft. Varg²™)

APEAK - Terminus

Hollowland - 'And Now You Stand Before The Sun'

"You ascend the walls you made, oh time it takes to make amends."

‘And Now You Stand Before The Sun’ is a culmination, a closing chapter of the journey that began with 2022’s ‘Like The Reformed’ and succeeded by last year’s ‘Oath (Soon The Storm Will Pass, And We Will Fly Again)’. The record sees Paavo Piekkari and Jonathan Engeldahl fleshing out the microcosm they call Hollowland, resulting in their most mature and fully realised work to date. Beyond the rapturous sonics, there is a deep melancholy woven into the very essence of Hollowland that is present through it all.

At its core the record is about the hope that anguish and sorrow will lead to something beautiful and pure, persistance shed of the often glorified scaly skin of martyrdom. Notions of departing from oneself, to be reborn and catch a glimpse of the coveted silver lining, are explored on tracks such as ‘Nothing Remains Ov Your Own Image’, ‘Falls’ and ‘As You Stand Beneath It, The Light Burns Brighter Than Before’. On ‘In Open Arms’ and Purest Form’ the endless cycle reaches its inevitable conclusion of incarnation, chronicling the very moments of becoming. Consider it a sign of stillness, at least for now.

The passing storm won’t be the last, yet we embrace the fleeting moment of light beyond the clouds, using it to release all within.

@hollowland-music

Hollowland - Ov Your Own Image

"You ascend the walls you made, oh time it takes to make amends."

‘And Now You Stand Before The Sun’ is a culmination, a closing chapter of the journey that began with 2022’s ‘Like The Reformed’ and succeeded by last year’s ‘Oath (Soon The Storm Will Pass, And We Will Fly Again)’. The record sees Paavo Piekkari and Jonathan Engeldahl fleshing out the microcosm they call Hollowland, resulting in their most mature and fully realised work to date. Beyond the rapturous sonics, there is a deep melancholy woven into the very essence of Hollowland that is present through it all.

At its core the record is about the hope that anguish and sorrow will lead to something beautiful and pure, persistance shed of the often glorified scaly skin of martyrdom. Notions of departing from oneself, to be reborn and catch a glimpse of the coveted silver lining, are explored on tracks such as ‘Ov Your Own Image’, ‘Falls’ and ‘As You Stand Beneath It, The Light Burns Brighter Than Before’. On ‘In Open Arms’ and Purest Form’ the endless cycle reaches its inevitable conclusion of incarnation, chronicling the very moments of becoming. Consider it a sign of stillness, at least for now.

The passing storm won’t be the last, yet we embrace the fleeting moment of light beyond the clouds, using it to release all within.

Written by Jonathan Engeldahl.
Produced by Paavo Piekkari & Jonathan Engeldahl.
Additional production by Allison Laine & Nori Kin.

Mixed & Mastered by Nori Kin.

Artwork by Jonathan Engeldahl & Markus Watkins.

@hollowland-music

And Now You Stand Before The Sun

Hollowland - Rays

Hollowland - Arc

Hollowland - Born Without

Hollowland - The Oceans Wait

Three years after their debut album ‘When My Darkness Came To Light’, Exploited Body has returned with their new album ‘Here, I Abandon’.

‘Here, I Abandon’ marks a new beginning, documenting the grievous first steps on the path of healing. The title references reaching a point, where all that doesn’t serve oneself must be left behind. The record is an exercise in “noise pop”, featuring prominent vocals from Exploited Body while combining their signature blistering distortion with their love of catchy melodies.

The album opens with ‘Only Your Eyes Could See My Wings’, a fragile and minimal ballad dedicated to their partner, who helped them find their way out of their pain-shrouded mind. Emerging from the fog, echoing vocals and thunderous piano drones lead into the disarmingly vulnerable vocal passage, the most personal song Exploited Body has ever shared with the world. ‘Demon Of Hatred’ is a slow-burning mantra about ending the cycle of trauma that began long ago, that manifests itself as a rage-filled beast. The screeching metal and cavernous bells collide under the somber vocals until it’s all ripped to shreds by violent pillars of noise. ‘After All (In The Ruins Of Limerence)’ deals with losing oneself in another person and awakening from the fever dream that is limerence. Along with the swinging vocal melodies, the dissonant mechanical humming break out into an onslaught of distorted kick drums before dissolving into harmonic bliss.

‘Replacing A Scar With Another’ explores themes of self-sabotage and self-harm, how we often reject help that is offered to us, creating new wounds to tend to instead of mending the old ones and trading old harmful beliefs into new even more detrimental ones (“replacing a god with another”). ’Self-Surrender’ is about shame, self-deception, requesting others to ‘hold your light’ until the sun’s out while you wallow in the dark abyss of self-pity, but now the time to has come to face yourself. The ethereal production paired with a delicate melody is reminiscent of a haunting lullaby with ghostly voices creaking in the midst of ringing synths, before everything comes to a head for a disjointed crescendo.’ Abandon’ is the purge that marks the point of no return, stripping off your weakness piece by piece, like an exorcism through the brutal wall of noise that the song builds up to. The closing track ‘Tear Me Apart Until All That’s Left Is Love’ is the bittersweet moment of letting yourself disintegrate and splinter into pieces to make room for what lies at the core of it all. A soft landing back into your body, before the colossal aftershock kicks in and sends you on your way to what comes next.

The album is written, produced, mixed and mastered by Nori Kin and features artwork by Changeless-affiliated Helsinki-based photographer Markus Watkins & Nori Kin.

Here, I Abandon will be released November 1st via Changeless.

@exploitedbody

Exploited Body - Only Your Eyes Could See My Wings

Three years after their debut album ‘When My Darkness Came To Light’, Exploited Body has returned with their new album ‘Here, I Abandon’.

‘Here, I Abandon’ marks a new beginning, documenting the grievous first steps on the path of healing. The title references reaching a point, where all that doesn’t serve oneself must be left behind. The record is an exercise in “noise pop”, featuring prominent vocals from Exploited Body while combining their signature blistering distortion with their love of catchy melodies.

The album opens with ‘Only Your Eyes Could See My Wings’, a fragile and minimal ballad dedicated to their partner, who helped them find their way out of their pain-shrouded mind. Emerging from the fog, echoing vocals and thunderous piano drones lead into the disarmingly vulnerable vocal passage, the most personal song Exploited Body has ever shared with the world. ‘Demon Of Hatred’ is a slow-burning mantra about ending the cycle of trauma that began long ago, that manifests itself as a rage-filled beast. The screeching metal and cavernous bells collide under the somber vocals until it’s all ripped to shreds by violent pillars of noise. ‘After All (In The Ruins Of Limerence)’ deals with losing oneself in another person and awakening from the fever dream that is limerence. Along with the swinging vocal melodies, the dissonant mechanical humming break out into an onslaught of distorted kick drums before dissolving into harmonic bliss.

‘Replacing A Scar With Another’ explores themes of self-sabotage and self-harm, how we often reject help that is offered to us, creating new wounds to tend to instead of mending the old ones and trading old harmful beliefs into new even more detrimental ones (“replacing a god with another”). ’Self-Surrender’ is about shame, self-deception, requesting others to ‘hold your light’ until the sun’s out while you wallow in the dark abyss of self-pity, but now the time to has come to face yourself. The ethereal production paired with a delicate melody is reminiscent of a haunting lullaby with ghostly voices creaking in the midst of ringing synths, before everything comes to a head for a disjointed crescendo.’ Abandon’ is the purge that marks the point of no return, stripping off your weakness piece by piece, like an exorcism through the brutal wall of noise that the song builds up to. The closing track ‘Tear Me Apart Until All That’s Left Is Love’ is the bittersweet moment of letting yourself disintegrate and splinter into pieces to make room for what lies at the core of it all. A soft landing back into your body, before the colossal aftershock kicks in and sends you on your way to what comes next.

The album is written, produced, mixed and mastered by Nori Kin and features artwork by Changeless-affiliated Helsinki-based photographer Markus Watkins & Nori Kin.

@exploitedbody

Here, I Abandon

Exploited Body - After All (In The Ruins Of Limerence)

Exploited Body - Tear Me Apart Until All That's Left Is Love

Exploited Body - Abandon

Exploited Body - Self-Surrender

Exploited Body - Replacing A Scar With Another

Exploited Body - Demon Of Hatred

Exploited Body -  Helix

Exploited Body -  Unravel

111X ‘Urge’

111X, the elusive prince of noise, returns to Changeless with his latest offering ‘Urge’.

Picking up where ’Shame’ left off, ‘Urge’ depicts the shift from collapse to confrontation, driven by the restless push-and-pull of one’s inner fire and crushing powerlessness. Compulsive resistance in the face of our inevitable fallibility. An ouroboros corporeal battle between necessity and yielding, vigour and weakness, progress and decay.

‘Urge’ is a reinvention of 111X’s signature harsh sonics, meshing it with brooding apocalyptic guitars and ephemeral fragile tranquility, with a familiar relentless weaving pulse at it’s core that’s all the more brutal with each return. The EP opens with ‘Avenge’, where the veil of monumental thrashing of fragmented rhythms slips for a brief moment that’s just long enough to catch a glimpse of the hurt behind it all. ‘Fragments Held Together By Pressure (Forgive)’ slows everything down to a halt, while soft melodies bleed through the noise like a memory echoing as it fades away, becoming more indistinct with every moment.

The EP’s turning point ‘Serrated Edge’ presents us with a completely new side of 111X; a meditative lullaby with bursts of noise that emerge throughout the track, meticulously designed to remain uneasy even in the softest moments. ‘Hunger / Wilt’ closes the record with it’s pounding drums and piercing feedback, before melting into a stunningly beautiful coda leaving us with more hope than when we had diving into ‘Urge’.

'Urge' will be released May 23rd via Changeless. 

Written, produced and mixed by 111X.
Mastered by Nori Kin.

Artwork by Helen Korpak.

@111x

111X - Avenge

111X - Hunger / Wilt

111X - Fragments Held Together By Pressure (Forgive)

111X - Serrated Edge

Exploited Body - Touching Without Feeling 

A cry for intimacy in a time where physical connection is lost. 

Embrace is the first taste of Helsinki-based artist Exploited Body's third EP "Touching Without Feeling”, which reveals a more somber and brooding aesthetic for the artist. The ominous presence of Exploited Body’s signature blistered distortion manifests as a physical entity, while his murmured vocals call to be touched like an apparition that can be felt prominently throughout the record. 

Released September 27th.

Buy 'Touching Without Feeling':
https://changeless.bandcamp.com/album/touching-without-feeling

@exploitedbody

Touching Without Feeling

Exploited Body - Embrace

Nothing Remains

Helsinki • Est. 2019

info@changeless.net

Changeless

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