COUNTER021

@conrad-van-orton
'In Lontananza'

Is this a man-made rendering or is it the work of nature? The new-age enigma. Both are in some ways true.

Fluxing between hard-wired reality and digital construct, this storming new EP by Rome's Conrad Van Orton kicks off a new arc of releases on Counterchange this season.

Processing synths through an external acoustic chain, micing up guitar amps and sending the whole mix into his vintage analogue desk, the rich tonal warmth and renegade attitude of CVO's work is hard to ignore.

In collaboration with Berlin's Disc Archive, a maximum of 50 10-inch records will be shipped out carrying tracks, 'In Lontananza' and 'Bewilderment.' Each one is unique, hand-cut and numbered. A permanent engraving of a time, a place and a state of mind.

//

Written & Produced by Conrad Van Orton in Berlin & Rome, 2020-21
Mastering and Art by Inland
Vinyl hand-cut at Disc Archive, Berlin.

Buy Vinyl & Digital

Conrad Van Orton - In Lontananza [COUNTER021] preview

Inland - Hallen

Backbone - Lost In Key

Backbone - Take A Trip

Over three brooding, technical rollers, British Berlin transplant @asec_music ushers his distinctive synth-line skullduggery unto a volley of powerful future-tribal rhythms.

With a nod to both UK Techno rhythms and D'n'B melodics, 'Trauma Bond' layers ASEC's own vocals amongst a cinematic and mechanical churn of swirling pads and staccato stabs. Both 'Disappearing Act' and 'Cambrian Seas' maintain the pressure, with fiendishly syncopated synth work set to a detailed contemporary throb.

ASEC - Trauma Bond

Magna Pia - Venus M

High-pressure, crafty, atmospheric, CVO-encoded analog prints of the finest order.

After his first EP for the label, 'Il Lontananza' (COUNTER021), the Lambda Room mix-wizard @conrad-van-orton is back with four more storming, psychedelic, urban weapons.

Written, Produced & Mastered by Conrad Van Orton, Rome 2023

Conrad Van Orton - Long Story Short [COUNTER036] preview

@magnapia a.k.a seasoned producer, DJ, and composer Hüseyin Evirgen, announces his second full-length album, ‘QUT’, arriving on Inland’s Counterchange label in March on double vinyl.

After 2 steamrolling EPs of club tracks on the label - now entering its tenth year of action - Magna Pia presents his most complete and advanced body of work to date, weaving a dense narrative of drone, figurative synthesis, bass-heavy electronica, and abstract techno.

Over eight tracks each referencing his rich cultural and musical background, we are treated to a unique overview of a producer at the crest of his art. The word ‘Qut’ is an ancient positive affirmation, in one short word encompassing all that is sacred, pure and good. The Old Turkic term meaning not only ‘good fortune’ and ‘joy’, but in shamanic circles, the ‘wonder of the heavens’, permeates the roots of Evirgen’s multi-heritage history.

That Evirgen expresses his interpretation of this central theme through the marriage of bewitching melodies with atonal, experimental and rumbling electronics is a conscious comment on the distortions and mutations of our Modern Era. We now exist in the digital age of the Technosphere for better or worse, and must seek beauty wherever possible.

The opening ‘Prologue’ invites the listener into a futuristic yet organic sound world, where lush stereo processing goes hand in hand with rumbling bass and subtly detuned drone languages. From the echoes of traditional Uyghur folk music, translated via synthesizers into a glistening slow-diving opus (‘Qizil’), to churning dub-techno adorned with a symphony of evolving sine-waves (‘Venus M’), Evirgen then deploys ‘X’ - a haunting experimental piece composed predominantly with his voice and electronic processing.

The interweaving synth lines of ‘Gudanna’ pierce the fog with a radiant and transcendent club-techno bounce before the ode to the ancient Bronze Age goddess ‘Astarte’ unfolds its snare-driven broken-beat formations. The title track ‘Qut’ embodies by far the heaviest club track of the album, in a deadly, stripped-back moment of future-techno hypnotism. Dancing flames of purple-tongued synthesis are held (just) in line by a wonderfully tough throb of drums.

With his ‘Epilogue’, Magna Pia allows the spectral ideas and concepts laid out across the LP to connect and travel full circle, confirming our suspicions that this could be one of the most coherent and exciting works to emerge in the brave new field of introspective, and sensitive techno-electronic language.

Written & Produced by Magna Pia, Berlin, 2022
Mastered by Inland
P & C Counterchange 2023
COUNTER034

Order 2 x 12''

Magna Pia - QUT LP [COUNTER034] preview

‘Passerella I’ marks @distant_echoes return to Counterchange after his appearance on ‘Stream State’ (COUNTER014) and the ‘Reminiscenze’ EP (COUNTER017).

The first in a two-part release, ‘Passerella I’ finds the long-standing Italian producer gracefully fluctuating between spacial electronica, krautrock-leaning synthesis, bass-heavy dubs and hypnotising modernist techno.

Some of the artist’s most diverse sonic outings to date, ‘Paserella’ is a perfect addition to the label catalog - once again patching together the worlds of techno and experimental, microtonal electronics.

Distant Echoes - Passerella I [COUNTER038] preview

Long-term friend of the label @distant_echoes drops back in for the second half of his beguiling Passerella release. Over six tracks an emotional journey unfolds with the storytelling skills of a true electronic disciple.

Continuing the wide-ranging sonic foundation of part one, the understated Italian producer turns in some of his most daring work to date, boosting off with the bass heavy machine-drum and vocal extractions of 'Listen To Me'.

Manipulation of the human voice is also explored on the gorgeous broken-beat textures of 'Della Voce', while the minimalistic 4-4 techno throb the veteran producer is well known for is expertly delivered on both 'Joints' and 'Scribes'.

With resolution and tonal harmony the two 'pure ambient' tracks, 'Passerella' and 'Blessing' round off a 12-track trek through a verdant forest of sound.

//

Written & Produced by Distant Echoes
Artwork by Fred Mann
Mastered by Inland

Distant Echoes - Passerella II [COUNTER040] preview

Counterchange welcomes enigmatic British producer @koehler-1 to the catalogue with his genre-bending 'Hyperdimensional Horizon', plus remixes from label chief Inland and Dutch techno duo @ultrastation

A head-spinning,140 BPM lofi-acid meets dancehall meets early-trance rumbler, the Bristol based artist's original version is as addictive as it is freaky.

Inland turns in a trippy hi-tech mix fusing dub-techno, bass and hardgroove stylings, while Ultrastation ( @nunodossantos & @cosmicforce of the excellent @sohaso label) distil a heads-down, stomping bassline fix for the warehouses.

Mastered by Paul Mac
Artwork by Ed Davenport

Koehler - Hyperdimensional Horizon (inc. Inland & Ultrastation Mixes) [COUNTER041] preview

Globuli 001

Globuli Acid

F.O.G (Hotline Mix)

Padaconga

Long-serving British DJ and producer Ed Davenport announces a new label - GLOBULI. Intended as a freestyle platform for fresh house, acid, tribal, deep techno and beyond, the first release features three new tracks by Ed himself.

An essential pack of club tracks for DJs, Davenport crafts three distinct moments for the dancefloor. ‘Globuli Acid’ sets a wiggling 303 bassline against a punchy drum workout evoking flashbacks of classic Communique / DJ ESP releases with a heartfelt nod to the great US-UK acid house legacy.

Tribal workout ‘Padaconga’ charts a rolling course into a flurry of robotic choir signals and processed house stabs, while the heavyweight ‘F.O.G (Hotline Mix)’ cuts through the spectrum in the fullest and most warehouse-ready cut of the EP, smoke machines at the ready.

Release Date: 05.04.24
W & P by Ed Davenport in Berlin & Neuruppin, 2023-4
Mastered by Patrik Skoog

Ed Davenport - Globuli 001 (GLOB001) preview

House set in Fabric's Room 3 recorded in February 2014.

Ed Davenport @ Fabric - 08-02-14 - Room 3

Massimiliano Pagliara - All The VCOs You Can Eat (Modulator Mix)
Rennie Pilgrem & Arthur Baker - Face It (Rennie's New York Mix)
Third Side & ND_Baumecker - Retro Vogue
Ed Davenport & Tee Amara - Like Gravity (Neville Attree Remix)
Invincible Scum - Princess
STEDIT - Slow
John Creamer - Captivating (Vocal Mix)
Ed Davenport - Padaconga
Mijk Van Dijk & Thomas Schumacher - Ride In U (Mijk's Re-Pump)
Demian - Last Chance
Mark Bell & Blakkat - Revolution (Evolution Remix)
Ed Davenport & R. Kitt - Mutual Respect (beta)

Ed Davenport   HÖR - November 22 - 2023

COUNTER042
Counterchange Recordings
Backbone
'One'
Release Date: 03.05.24

'One' is the debut album from burgeoning Portuguese techno producer Afonso Esperança aka Backbone @backbone-3

After his 'Gatekeeper' EP (COUNTER033), including the iconic 'Take A Trip' which gathered support far and wide, Backbone stretches out over nine wonderfully detailed and intense tracks.

Exploring the modern techno paradigm, 'One' is full of positively charged, bassline-driven heaters. The founder of the Vinculum Festival in Portugal, Esperança's unique sound design, vocal FX and tension-heavy arrangements carve a clear course from the heart to the dancefloor. From the tingling ambient intro of 'Mundo Novo' straight into the addictive 'Press To Regenerate' its clear there's countless details to discover forged into these tracks.

Counterchange founder Inland straps in on 'Generation Gap', one of the early highlights of the album, with its surging industrial pulse and funky forward momentum.

The stunning broken beats and bleeps of 'There Is No Spoon' hit hard and dark while remaining elegant and certainly not over-driven. Every track on the LP is a microcosm of Backbone's kinetic techno manifesto - he infuses a rich stereo image, textured crunch and silky bass-end bounce on stand-out tracks like 'Strike A Dose', 'Minucioso' and 'No Casket Space'.

Bringing the album to a close with the night-time drive of 'Ride The Snake', Backbone summons the spirits of his mountainous home region in a hypnotising, shamanic ritual for the closing sets.

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Written & Produced by Afonso Esperança, 2024
'Generation Gap' co-produced by Inland
'Press To Regenerate', 'Strike A Dose', 'Mincusioso', 'No Casket Space' mixed by B. Deodato
Mastered by Inland
Photography by Ed Davenport

Backbone - 'One' LP [COUNTER042] preview

Demian
Recuerdos EP
Globuli
GLOB002
Release date: 17.05.24

Ariel Soler (aka Demian, Ariel Me Llamo, B.H.S, formerly P. Lopez) has been a beacon of creativity, collaboration and community spirit in the Paraguayan music scene for over two decades. Recording as Demian, the four-track ‘Recuerdos’ EP is the second release on Ed Davenport’s new Globuli label.

After building up a close connection with Ed’s prolific Counterchange imprint, with several stand-out techno releases over the last five years, Soler dons his House cap in earnest and delivers the first of several EPs slated for Globuli.

The Asunción-based producer and Tango club resident hands in four remarkable cuts of technoid prog-house, oozing with acid, breakbeat, early trance and dark-disco undertones.

Recuerdos

Recuerdos (GLOB002)

Demian - Recuerdos (GLOB002) preview

Inland - 2122 EP is out now on Counterchange.

buy here:

https://counterchange.bandcamp.com/album/2122-counter011

Inland - '2122' [COUNTER011 A1]

Impromptu live set at Panorama Bar back in June 2012.

Ed Davenport Live PA @ Panorama Bar 2012

Taken from: Various Artists - 'Stream State' (Selected & Mixed by Inland) COUNTER014 Forthcoming - Release date: 21.02.20

Pre Order

Inland - Overthebrainbow [COUNTER014]

I do not own the copyright for this track, it's purely an edit for DJs and music lovers. My utmost respect and love to Jimi Tenor / Lassi Lehto.

Download

Jimi Tenor - Take Me Baby (Inland Edit)

Home to the Counterchange label and other releases / mixes by Inland aka Ed Davenport. Ed is a British producer, DJ and label operator based in Berlin.

Popular tracks by Ed Davenport | Inland | Counterchange | Globuli