Tracks

Captagon

Scrawler

Vespula Pensylvanica

6 Vespula Pensylvanica

Shifted - Control


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

Karenn - Pace Yourself

Polar Inertia - Vertical Ice

Last

Mdr 18

Feel Rework

Donato Dozzy, well renowned for his talent with the deeper end of techno, and fellow Italian DJ Say, whose self-proclaimed style is "electronic ritual dance," team up here for the first time since 2006 and the electro-tinged darkness of Polarity on Mental Groove. This EP is a smoother Dozzy-esque affair, delivering textured, hypnotic and high-quality ambient techno. 

The premise is set out in the first few seconds of "Your Eyes." Sub bass throbs, hi-hats crackle and a pad builds, suspended in religious penitence before the kick comes in, offset by half a beat against the waves that have built up. A lone monk chants something indecipherable in quiet warning, and more and more elements build on top of each other. It's constantly evolving, ebbing and flowing with both ambience and constant, pointillistic punctuation in the form of crisp, high treble percussion and soft, submerged zap FX. 

"Transparent" is more immediate, with more above ground. Not that far above, though. Alien helicopter effects circle, echoing and whirring, as a churning beat rolls throughout. Harmonies are included more overtly as a pad gives the closest thing here to a chord sequence, gazing out emotively with far sight. The same progressive evolution and thick liquidity carries it through without being jarred by sharp changes. Two excellent tracks to soothe and escape with.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=8211

Donato Dozzy, DJ Say - Your Eyes (Original Mix)

Though their first record came out some six months earlier, Voices from the Lake, a collaboration by the Italian techno artists Donato Dozzy and Neel, really came to life last summer at Labyrinth in Japan. This was where they debuted most of their work together, playing live in the closing slot on the second night of the festival. Even if you've never been to Labyrinth (this reviewer hasn't), it's hard to imagine a better time and place for this particular duo to perform: a softly lit gathering on a wooded mountainside, with their subtle but immense sounds flowing through a supposedly peerless sound system.

By the time this happened the new album was already finished—Dozzy and Neel had recorded  it earlier in the summer in Rome and used it as the basis for their live act. If they'd wanted to, they could have played it pretty much as is: even listening at home on headphones, Voices from the Lake has the effect of a meticulously planned stage performance, with every loop forming an essential piece of a larger composition. It's not an exaggeration to say it tells a story—it follows an unmistakable narrative arc, leading us through a carefully paced sequence of scenes, almost like some kind of wordless, abstract musical.

This level of complexity wouldn't be possible in most producers' hands. As an art form, techno often strives to make something emotionally engrossing without using conventional stimuli like melody or lyrics. Dozzy and Neel have clearly nailed this part of their craft. Most of the sounds on Voices from the Lake have no reference point in the material world (no pianos, strings, hi-hats, snares, rim shots, etc.), but somehow they still manage to be incredibly expressive: one beat sounds uneasy, while others seem determined, weary, contemplative, optimistic and so on.

The album has a strong visual element as well. Dozzy and Neel have an incredible ear for sound design (Neel has also mastered many of Dozzy's past records, including his album K, along with numerous other releases on Prologue), and this allows them to give each moment of the album a vivid foreground, midddleground and background, each with countless details to pick apart. The mind's eye has a lot to work with, though it's never clear exactly what. At times the scene could be lush and organic, most notably on "Circe," which is loaded with distant wails and chirps that conjure up a teeming rain forest (call me crazy but I hear a cricket on every off-beat). Other parts of the album are colder, more metallic, with sonar beeps and vague industrial imagery. The album weaves between the two seamlessly, and often paints a landscape that's somewhere in the middle.

These details make Voices From the Lake captivating from one moment to the next, but there's  a broad compositional element that keeps the whole thing moving. More than having just a beginning, middle and end, it has an introduction, several chapters and an epilogue. Each unfolds elegantly into the next using a system of tension and release. To take a simple example, the first  20 minutes feel like an overture—in "Iyo," we get a writhing synth tone that signals the start of something, not unlike the groan of an orchestra warming up. In the next track, "Vega," the drums take on a greater sense of urgency, but the feeling of anticipation remains. Only with arrival of a steady kick drum and a soothing pad, three tracks into the album, do we feel that things have really begun.

This isn't so different from how composition works in most techno tracks, except that here the process is spread out across a much longer period. Each song on Voices from the Lake is between four and nine minutes long, and most of these work in groups of three or four to set the stage for a single peak moment. The most memorable of these moments is "S.T. (VFTL Rework)," a new version of a song Dozzy recorded for an earthquake benefit compilation called Composure: Ambient Techno for Japan. By the time this track comes in, some 30 minutes into the album, we've gotten used to the idea that rhythm, texture and atmosphere might be all we're going to get. This makes the arrival of smooth major chords, slowly cascading into the mix, truly climactic. Suddenly the album has an emotional dimension you didn't see coming.

In a way there's nothing radical about Voices from the Lake. Rather than thinking outside the box, it decidedly works within techno's basic fundamentals: sound design, linear rhythms, slow build-ups, etc. But this is an important part of what makes the album exceptional. With nothing more at their disposal than techno's characteristically sparing palette, Dozzy and Neel have built something so rich that it has the feeling of a feature presentation. It's hard to imagine something so purely techno having more impact than this.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=10529

Voices From The Lake - Iyo (Original Mix)

128kbps preview of an upcoming track on Morphine Records.

Ra.H, Dynamo Dreesen - Spacepops (Donato Dozzy Remix) - Preview

“Once upon a time long long time ago there was a mystical city called Tar.. And at that time all the cities were intact and flourishing, there were no ruins, because the final war had not yet begun. When the great catastrophe occurred, all the cities crumbled.. except Tar.. Tar still exists. If you know where to look for it you will find it. And when you get there you will be presented with wine and water and you could play with a gramophone. When you get there, you will help harvest grapes and you will pick up scorpions hidden under white rocks. When you get there, you will know eternity. You’ll see a bird that drinks one drop of water from the ocean every hundred years. When you get there, you’ll understand life. You’ll become a cat, phoenix, swan, elephant, baby and an old man. You’ll be alone and accompanied. You’ll love and be loved, you’ll be everywhere, and yours will be the seal of seals. As you approach the future, you’ll find ecstasy, and it will never abandon you.” (From Alexander Jodorowky’s “Fando y Lis", 1968).
OAR002, the second release from Oni Ayhun is a 22:44 min long story, split on two sides.

Oni Ayhun - OAR002-A (Original Mix)

DSC013
https://www.delsinrecords.com/release/5864/artefakt/the-radiant-city

The Radiant City

There was an orange haze which hung thick over the mountain region. The shadows of the hillside were dense and black as the sun went down over the 1-5 South. Cars began to activate their headlights, blinking flashes scattered up and down the freeway as they raced along the coastal route. The air was humid and the car was hot and stuffy on the inside. He turned up the radio and rolled down the window as he pushed hard on the pedal and whizzed off at a wicked pace. This was the outback region and each engine was out for itself. 

D.Dan is set to release a fast and furious EP on Lobster Theremin, the London based record label run by Jimmy Asquith. The imprint has often acted as an outlet for the rougher more rugged fringes of dance music and this is no different. A techno, rave extravaganza with punch and promise.

PREMIERE: D. Dan - Sun Over I-5 South [Lobster Theremin]

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Oni Ayhun - OAR002-A (Original Mix)

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