Prods

TGJD

Stet


Release date (3LP, cd & digital format): 3rd of November

TRACKLIST
1. Ø [Phase] - Insectoid
2. Lucy - Sana Sana Sana Cura Cura Cura
3. Ctrls - x.y
4. Rødhåd - Haumea
5. Planetary Assault Systems - The 808 Track (Parts 1 and 2)
6. James Ruskin - No Trace
7. Surgeon - Fixed Action Pattern
8. Inigo Kennedy - Arcing
9. Karenn - Pace Yourself

INFO
It was early 2007 when Inigo Kennedy inaugurated Token. Since that Identify Yourself 12” the Belgian label has gone from strength to strength, integrating both Kennedy and Ashley Burchett, aka Ø [Phase], into becoming integral cogs in the Token machine. In between releases by Grovskopa, Oscar Mulero and Go Hiyama, both Ø [Phase] and Inigo Kennedy dominated Token’s output, but it wasn’t until Burchett’s watershed Binary Opposition that Token received the shower of praise it deserved. Following this, label founder Kr!z issued three remix 12”s of that release which, including Token regulars, took in a profound cast of producers to reprocess “Binary Opposition” by the way of Sigha, Peter Van Hoesen, Planetary Assault Systems and Ben Klock. It was here Token stamped their authority on contemporary techno.

Since then Token has grown exponentially, bringing into their fold artists like Xhin, Mark Broom and Rødhåd, while Ctrls, formally one half of Northern Structures, has seen his solo career flourish on Token with the release of five records to date, and he joins Inigo Kennedy and Ø [Phase] as a label stalwart. Additionally this year, Orphx and Ancient Methods debuted their relentless Eschaton collaboration on Token, and Christian Wünsch’s Spherical Coordinates dalliance with Oscar Mulero has gained even more momentum with a second release called Kinematics Equations. Now, seven years after that debut Kennedy record, Token present Aphelion, a nine-track CD and triple vinyl grandstand of new and exclusive material from label regulars and like-minded artists whom Token founder Kr!z specifically commissioned for this milestone release.

The penultimate record before Aphelion was a second Token 12” by Rødhåd, another artist adding to the cultivation of the label’s sound and roster, and for this compilation the Berliner supplies his cosmically inspired “Haumea”. Joining the Dystopian founder on Aphelion are three of the UK’s most influential techno artists: Surgeon, James Ruskin and Luke Slater under his Planetary Assault Systems alias who provide Token with solo material for the first time after previously appearing on the imprint in remix form. Entirely new names to grace the label via Aphelion include Stroboscopic Artefacts founder Lucy, and Blawan and Pariah's Karenn project, while label faithfuls Inigo Kennedy,  Ø [Phase] and Ctrls naturally commit three Token defining productions.

Casting one’s eye over Token’s back catalogue and it’s clear to see the label is a staunch advocate of absolute techno, remaining steadfast in issuing quality material that remains true to classic strands of the genre regardless of its popularity flux. In that respect, Aphelion - a word used to describe the point in orbit when a planet or comet is farthest from the sun - provides a simple analogy that the magnetic force of Token, unfazed by the shadows cast by popular opinion, will proudly shine light on their artists and given styles. 

“We started in an era where our genre was very unpopular,” Kr!z explains. “And in the end that seemed a big advantage for us, because when everyone was giving up, we started our mission.” Regularly hosting label nights in prominent clubs around the world, Token has become a label supported by a wide-ranging body of artists like Âme and Ben Klock to Efdemin, Truss and Ancient Methods. With the label now branching out into album and compilation territory, Token’s duty to techno may not yet be accomplished, but it’s been a job well done.

www.tokenrecords.com
www.facebook.com/tokenrecords

Aphelion

Inigo Kennedy - Arcing

Since around the release of Planetary Assault Systems' The Messenger LP, the No Exit and Future Modular EPs, P.A.S. overseer Luke Slater has made a solid case for being one of the few techno producers who has defined the genre's past and will continue to define its future. While he has spread his allegiances across a number of the genre's best labels, his own Mote Evolver label is, understandably, a source of the most compelling work from the man: the No Exit and Deep Heet Vol. 3 EPs being two of his more recent high-quality offerings. That trend seems set to continue with the release of Planetary Assault Systems' The Eyes Themselves EP.

The title track is indeed a kind of treat for the mind's eye - after a convetional rhythmic leadin, Slater gets down to business and unveils a few layers of crisp and captivating sound design. Irregular droplets of high-frequency sound fade in and then seem to fall around the listener like glowing rain on the surface of a distant planet, before receding and making way for more subtle phrases. All the while, fluctuations in the aggressiveness and persistence of the cymbal tracks fight to wrest the listener's attention away from this mesmerizing rain, making for an intriguing push-pull effect.

Elsewhere, it is a sign of Slater's strength that a track named for a well-known concept within dynamical systems ("Strange Attractor") doesn't come across as a completely arbitrary guess at what such a concept might 'sound' like. A number of lightly accented, quickly decaying micro-sounds come together here to become more than the sum of their parts, certainly connoting dynamism and at the very least keeping up a servicable spaced-out
groove.

Now, for those who prefer the grit and tension of urban reality to dancing numbers or speculation on other worlds, have no fear - the closing "Arc" is powered along by dirty filtered phrases, a faintly menacing shaker sample and the occasional impolite release of steam from the grating beneath your feet. It gives one the uneasy feeling of stalking in the shoes of a professional assassin, and it wouldn't be out of place in some documentary film on the same.

Few sonic artists can go from an atmosphere of oneiric wonder to one of cold intensity in just a few short steps, let alone doing this in a techno music genre that has little margin for error when it comes to conjuring atmospheres. As such, The Eyes Themselves once again demonstrates Slater's lasting contribution to techno: maintaining its reputation as a tool for stimulating both intellectual and physical energy, for aiding restless peregrinations of thought and for giving the body its freedom.

Mote041 :: Planetary Assault Systems - The Eyes Themselves

After a five-year hiatus, Luke Slater returns to the highly esteemed Ostgut Ton under his Planetary Assault Systems moniker to release his album entitled Arc Angel . 

“The Last Scene” is the clincher, driven by a skittering sci-fi melody that persists from the word go. Low frequencies are taken out of the limelight in favour of beaming high-end streams, radiating like UFOs hovering overhead. Building, eerie aesthetics pierce through to create a tension that takes no prisoners at its climax.

Be sure to grab the Arc Angel album as it touches down on 30th September - pre-order at - http://ostgut.de/label/record/180

Planetary Assault Systems "The Last Scene" - Boiler Room Debuts

Samurai Music   https://goo.gl/IazA3e
Rebirth    https://goo.gl/182b9G
Rush Hour   https://goo.gl/X32bjM
Clone.nl    https://goo.gl/UGIJMi
Juno    https://goo.gl/HUjJMK
Decks.de    https://goo.gl/y3Kmnc
Deejay.de    https://goo.gl/aBcO5g
Diskunion    https://goo.gl/wdLzbl


Artist: Robert Pain
Title: They Have Failed To Release Us
Label: SNTS
Format: 12" vinyl only
Release Date: January 27th
Design: SILICA

Redemption

Charles B