Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound Releases

@lasha-chkhaidze-648696435

As the legend says, Agartha is a lost kingdom, located in the earth’s core.
Only the bravest found courage to go to the journey to find it.
As you go deeper, the road gets darker, scarier… The journey to Agartha symbolizes the journey to the untraveled parts of human consciousness, which often frightens us, but as we observe and heal our dark parts we no longer need to compress and hide them. Facing our main fears will make our road mor adventurous, and one day the whole journey will become a tale. Tale of a man who found the lost kingdom of Agartha.

The Institute is happy to present a newcomer in its ranks: Lasha Chkhaidze, one of the 13 members of collective "If Strangers." Georgia is home to melancholia and many exciting musicians, something we have shown in many of our previous releases. Lasha’s first album is part of this theme.

These six tracks gently pull you into a subtle and immersive journey. Listen and soon you find yourself pulled into the beauty of sadness - surrounded by these carefully crafted soundscapes which offer a perfect opportunity for a moment of introspection. The young Georgian delivers ambient and piano at its finest on this first LP.

Agartha

Lasha Chkhaidze - Agartha LP

@Banusound - TransSoundScapes LP

South-east Turkey born DJ, sound artist and producer Banu uses music as a political tool. For her, the strong message carried through sound is a vehicle to express emotions as well as a means of fighting against oppression. Using participation, social design, ecology, feminist and queer theory to create multimedia installations with sound as a main element, Banu‘s practice is closer to contemporary art and activist spaces than the club realm.

Banu‘s debut album TransSoundScapes is an exercise in female solidarity between her as a migrant woman and her sisters from the trans community, where an artist from one marginalised group is showing support towards her trans sisters, using her platform to help them amplify their voices and building a bridge towards a mutual understanding of femininity.

Conceptually, TransSoundScapes comes in continuation of Banu‘s previous research-based work, using music as a positive tool for change while working with various marginalised communities. The album originated from the very real experience of being confronted with verbal harassment in Berlin on a daily basis, particularly aimed at her transfeminine friends and companions. As a queer woman of Turkish and Kurdish origin, Banu did not only observe the verbal aggression directed at her friends, but also understood most of the insults shouted in languages such as Arabic. Seeing how she got significantly more verbal violence directed at them when in company of trans people made a lasting impression on her, so she wanted to try and use her relative privilege to amplify transfeminine voices through her music.

Coming from a very conservative family, making music has been her lifelong dream. It was the moment she had the opportunity to work with the iconic Arp 2600 synthesiser (a younger sibling to Eliane Radigue‘s infamous 2500 machine) that all her disparate interests came into place to create an empowering soundscape with the aid of analogue drum machines. TransSoundScapes has a very full, porous sound, where every element that comes into play sounds soft yet clear. Across the 7 tracks, Banu conjures pounding subterraneous bassy techno („Surgery“), slithering tentacular EBM („First Time“) and pulsating cavernous soundscapes („Harem“), where oversized dance-floor elements are woven with poetic spoken word passages, resulting in sensusous yet political anthems. Banu artfully merges loosely related genres such as techno, electro, dub and sound poems into a sound that is at once deeply personal and extremely compelling.

All of the tracks are collaborative efforts, Banu seeing the process as an exchange of care and shared experiences, while integrating research into her writing process. The lyrics in „Transition (part 1+2)‘‘ are an adaptation of Sara Ahmed’s “Living a Feminist Life”, while „Surgery“ was born out of series of interviews with trans people, channeling the metallic sounds of a surgery room to refer to society‘s perception of transness as a medical condition. Tracks like „First Time feat. Patricia“, „Harem feat. Prince Emrah“ or „We feat. Aérea Negrot“ document her encounters with various trans women, centering their life experiences while also developing a deep dialogue through the process of making music together.

The darkest and perhaps the most emblematic track is ‚‘Bianka (In Memory Of)‘‘, dedicated to the late Bianka Shigurova, a 22-year old Georgian actress found dead in her apartment. It was her Tbilisi photographer friend George Nebieridze who told her Bianka‘s tragic story, whose death is suspected to be an assasination due to transphobia. Banu chose one of Nebieridze‘s analogue photos of Bianka as the album‘s cover art.

TrasSoundScapes

BANU - TransSoundScapes LP

For our birthday episode, you can expect the techno fairies to visit ://about blank on February 11th. It will last 24 hours and be the opportunity to present the latest EP in our STAUB series. As usual it is a Various Artists released by Intergalactic Research Institute For Sound. These five tunes represent what you can hear at STAUB, music that ranges from leftfield to drum and bass, from ambient soundscapes to booming techno.

Once upon a time, a little girl felt something was missing in her life. She searched and looked everywhere in the world. As she longingly stared at the clear blue sky, she noticed puffy white trails behind airplanes. For days and nights she walked - sometimes ran - behind these sinister tracks made of vapor. Extraterrestrial entities seemed to blink in the darkest nights and approved of her mission. After a year she finally arrived at its source. When she asked around what it was, the answer was a word full of mysterious energy: STAUB.

Bandcamp

STAUB 007 (10 Years Compilation)

Schloss Mirabell - Requiem for Robots
@florinaspeth
played on Cello and two V2 Cello-1-robots


The Intergalactic Research Institute for Sounds is proud to present Requiem for Robots. For this latest transmission, Florina Speth aka Schloss Mirabell joined forces with a group of robots that were built by Kay Sievers (versioduo.com). The musical question this record states is: “Who animates what?”


The physical body of these robots consists of a wooden cuboid, a single string around which a round, internally strung bow revolves, and a motorized finger which can press down the string.  They produce sounds that are very similar to the cello. They display unusual characteristics such as motor noises, infinite sounds or sometimes scratchy and gruff qualities. In addition, there is the extraordinary level of kinetic expression created by the bow circling around the string. Taken together, precisely these peculiarities form a unique instrument profile, a character which is emphasized in the presented project.
Florina Speth, born 1983 in the mountains near Salzburg, started playing the cello and piano at the age of 6 and began studying music at the “University Mozarteum Salzburg'' at Clemens Hagen when she was 11. She won several prizes and was part of orchestras such as the Bayerisches Landesjugend Orchester and Salzburger Junge Philharmonie. Always keenly interested in contemporary music, she loves bridging experimental arts with science. She composes and works with cello and cello robots. She regularly collaborates with Dasha Rush, Hüma Utuku, Nicholas Bussmann, Lucile Desamory and Larissa Lackner.

V2 Cello-1-robots
The physical body of such a robot consists of a wooden cuboid, a single string around which a round, internally strung bow revolves, and a motorized finger which can press down the string. Various parameters such as bow speed, bow pressure, finger position and finger pressure can be controlled via MIDI. The robots produce sounds that are very similar to the sound of a cello or viola. Due to their physicality, they exhibit very unique and unusual characteristics such as motor noises, infinite sounds or sometimes scratchy, sometimes gruff qualities, which in turn differ from the usual string sound of a cello. In addition, there is the extraordinary level of kinetic expression created by the bow circling around the string. Taken together, precisely these peculiarities form a unique instrument profile, a character which is emphasized in the presented project.

Composition: Schloss Mirabell
Playing Cello and two V2 Cello-1-robots
Music robots: Versio Duo (V2)
Mixing: Jelle Akkerman
Mastering: Tim Rees (at Schnittstelle)
Artwork by: Florina Speth

Schloss Mirabell - Requiem for Robots

The Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound presents DE, a compilation of various artists representing Georgian electronic and ambient music.

დე / DE is a compilation of music from artists of different backgrounds getting together in order to showcase the dynamic influences within the Georgian scene. 
Tbilisi is getting worldwide recognition at the moment for its booming club scene, but what this project aims to illustrate is what is happening outside of the club context.

Natalie Beridze who has been performing worldwide since 2004 is known as the first female electronic music artist in Georgia, Rezo Glonti has built his studio inside the hull of his boat, and Zesknel is a resident of the renowned Bassiani club, while MYI and Severiane were discovered thanks to Myspace, Soundcloud, and word-of-mouth. All these talents manage in their own ways to present დე / DE, with murky and melancholic cuts.

Melancholia is at the core of beauty in Georgia. That is not the case in Germany and many other cultures, where melancholia is often charged and bound to a negative feeling, which some might perceive as weakness. Consequently, one could be tempted to say that even if it‘s electronic music, DE has a traditional Georgian quality. But that would be putting art in boxes or cases — because what is Georgian art nowadays, when so many artists from this origin are scattered around? As Giorgi Maisuradze states in his mission statement for DE, “the world is their home”.

დე / DE[da]:

A1 Rezo Glonti – Mentors
A2 MYI – And they Lost
A3 Irakli – Forgotten Melodies
B1 Natalie Beridze TBA – Waves Future
B2 Zesknel - კი. სორა. ტორი.
B3 Severiane – Untitled 4144

Colour Vinyl, Limited 400 Copies.
Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound 001

დე / DE - Sounds from Georgia (IRIS001)

Stanislav Tolkachev - Blue Mood
A. Blue Mood
B. Absolute Limit

Intergalactic Research Institute For Sound 002
10" Clear Vinyl

After exploring Georgian soundscapes, the Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound is honored to reissue Stanislav Tolkachev’s Blue Mood.
First released on Aftertaste Recordings in 2008, this masterpiece is in the Institute’s opinion one of the most impressive work of the Ukrainian artist.
For the occasion, Stanislav created the artwork for the record in order to complement or maybe represent an idea behind the release. The Institute plans to ask artists to deliver also a visual on top of their sound communication on the label. Limited copies of Blue Mood will include a photography of Tolkachev’s artwork.
Absolute Limit, which finds itself on the B side, is a brand new track by Tolkachev. As usual he delves deeper into abstract and distorted techno, delivering a truly mental cut.

Stanislav Tolkachev - Blue Mood / Absolute Limit (IRIS002)

Artist: Irakli, Zesknel
EP: The Moment Just
A. - Irakli + Zesknel - The Moments Just
B. - Irakli + Zesknel - Not So New
D* -Irakli + Zesknel - Evening Prayers

Release Date: 20.09.2018
IRIS003
*D - Digital Only


After reissuing Stanislav Tolkachev’s masterpiece Blue Mood, the Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound comes back with two fresh pieces from Georgian artists Zesknel and Irakli.

Following a strong start with დე / DE – Sounds From Georgia, this new record explores a more abstract electronic music.
Zesknel, who is a resident of the renowned Bassiani Club, collaborates here with Irakli on two dreamy and airy soundscapes which aspire to depict and recreate the atmosphere of the Georgian capital. To do so, they asked for the help of Rezo Glonti who proceeded to make field-recordings in Tbilisi. This work served as a base in order to create something unique and true to the city.

The project is part of a sound installation which aims to blend architecture with sound. The idea of the two artists was to conceive a space where they could translate the spirit of Tbilisi. Inside that space will be found works exhibited by other Georgian artists. And this is all part of the exhibition “Lara Protects Me. Eine Georgische Erzählung” at the Museum Angewante Kunst Frankfurt (opening September 20).
“In the institute, a question has become an obsession.
Lara protects me. What does it mean?
And who is this Lara? Volatile like ethylene, the answer is a chimaera.
With our sounds that will resonate
Inside this one chamber.
We hope you’ll vibrate,
And maybe find an answer.“

Cover artwork is a picture by David Meskhi who is also taking part in the exhibition.

Museum Angewante Kunst Frankfurt, exhibition info:
https://www.museumangewandtekunst.de/en/press/lara-protects-me-a-georgian-story.html

Mastering A & B: Tim Xavier // Man Made Mastering
D*: Arkita Studio

Irakli + Zesknel - The Moment Just (IRIS003)

A1 - Air Liquide - This Is A Mind Trip
B1 - Air Liquide - Die Singende Saege
B2 - Air Liquide - Zeitgeber 3

This is not a mind trip, this is a body journey! 
This is not a mind trip, or is it? 
The Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound is proud to present fresh music from the legendary german duo Air Liquide. Active since 1991, Dr Walker and Jammin Unit have released more than 50 records with their band Air Liquide. 

This is their first official outing since 2004, but that does not mean that these two were hiding somewhere for 15 years. Jammin Unit stayed busy with his Jammin Masters – mastering studio and Dr Walker was heavily involved in the Liquid Sky artist collective and they kept making music sometimes undercover, or on remix duty/coproducing with Coldcut and Ninja Tune and other high profile artists. 

“This is a Mind Trip” nods to the 94’s Love Parade, Dr. Motte, and things that could ring nostalgic for some. However there is no nostalgia in these three tracks. Air Liquide was always looking towards the future and this hasn’t changed despite the hiatus between the releases. 

We’ll spare you more useless chatter about a new take on techno, because this is a mind trip and not a body journey! 

And this trip is damn good! 

Written & produced by Air Liquide 
*This Is A Mind Trip feat. Mary S. Applegate (Drums & Synths by OMSK Information) 
Recorded and mixed at Strunkelpotz, 2018 
Mastered at Jammin Masters, Berlin 
Photo by the great Yorck Dertinger 
Published by Freibank Musikverlag 

AIR LIQUIDE 

Formed in 1991, Air Liquide is a “mythical” electronic music act composed of Ingmar Koch and Cem Oral. After meeting in Frankfurt during a jam session, they started to collaborate and released Neue Frankfurter Elektronik Schule, soon followed by their first LP Air Liquide. Throughout the 90’s their records explored many new themes in electronic music influencing the genre for the next decades. They notoriously performed with American poet Mary Susan Applegate who contributed with vocals on some of their songs. After Let Your Ears Be the Receiver in 2004, the duo separated and did not release any new music under their Air Liquide guise until 2018. 
credits
releases October 27, 2018

Air Liquide - This Is A Mind Trip (IRIS004)

6 YEARS // ANNIVERSARY // 24 HOURS // FRIDAY - SATURDAY // TECHNO // STAUB // ♥ 

6 RECORDS // 6 UNKNOWN ARTISTS // 6 UNTITLED TRACKS no actually it's only one record and five tracks. Unknown artist might not be that much into numerology, but it is still incredible to celebrate 6 years of this project. We really want to thank everyone that has supported us, visited our parties, and played our records... Unknown artist starts this fourth installment with a murky ambient track on A1 before delving into trippy xylophonic techno on A2 and finally going full out mental on A3. 
B1 starts with a more restrained cut - but that's just a ruse, you are in the eye of the storm- because B2 with it's frantic pace picks it up for a fitting brutal final of a well rounded, versatile techno record. 
A bit like a STAUB ♥

Cover Image: Christian Vagt - Rabe 2017
Mastered by Man Made Mastering

V.A. - STAUB 004 (IRIS005)

MICHAILO + IRAKLI - RELEASE (Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound 006)
@michailotodua & @irakliiy
A1. - Michailo + Irakli - Merme
A2. - Michailo + Irakli - Shrag Sibylline
B1. - Michailo + Irakli - Kult
B2. - Michailo + Irakli - Merion

Release Date: 15. 06. 2019
Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound 2019

>
Open Letter to the Government of Georgia and Madam President Salome Zurabishvili

Dear Governing Class of Georgia and dear Madam President,

I hope you will allow me to first write my sincere greetings. I will spare you the J’accuse, but I am going to delve into a sinister and shameful situation for our otherwise beautiful country.

My name is Irakli Kiziria, I was born in Georgia and I am a musician living in Germany for almost two decades. I first heard about Michailo two years ago through friends and activists. I listened to his music and met him during an interview with Electronic Beats that happened in 2018. To be able to meet him in prison gave me the chance to exchange with him on different projects. It is not easy to collaborate with someone alienated from “regular” society, with no access to the internet and so on, but it is also very interesting. After almost a year, I am very happy and proud to announce that my label is ready to release our record on June 15th. I believe music is an expression of freedom and that Michailo expresses in his music his longing for it. Maybe if you listen to his music, you will hear the voice of our brothers and sisters in prison. Maybe you will feel and understand that he and many others do not belong there. Maybe you will find the courage to change these laws that hurt so many of our brethren. And maybe you will try to help them see their families and their friends sooner.

My name is Michail Todua, I am turning thirty-four this year and I was raised in Tbilisi. Music was always my passion since childhood, which is why I decided to work in this industry. Thirteen years ago I met a girl named Salome in a club, we fell in love and I married her before she gave birth to our daughter who is now nine years old. Sadly for the past six years, I have only talked to my little girl on the phone. She thinks I live very far away in the USA because we did not want to hurt her at such a young age with the truth. On September 12, 2013, while I was driving back to Tbilisi from holiday, I was randomly stopped and taken into the local police station. After which I was sentenced to nine years for possession of the drug MDMA (for personal use). After two years in jail, I was granted the right to work on music, and the penitentiary administration allowed me to arrange one room and transform it into a music studio. Music is one of the most important things in my life and I could not be without it. I collected various parts of music gear that people sent me. It was not easy, and I had to depend on the kindness of many people to get what I needed. During my time in prison, I have managed to release five records. This is a labor of love that I craft and work on during the 5-hour blocks of time I get five times a week in the studio. I have created music for a play based on 12 Angry Men and for the documentary Facility 16. I also offer music therapy for my fellow inmates.

Release

MICHAILO + IRAKLI - Release (IRIS006)

Various Artists / Unknown Arists - STAUB 005  (IRIS007)

STAUB is a project that came to life in Berlin around 2013. It aimed to detach itself from the hype and business from techno. The idea was simply to not announce a lineup and treat everyone the same without separating headliners from the rest. This strictly equalitarian but also very familial and friendly concept allowed to give chances to newcomers on a regular basis and to build a tight-knit community.

As time passed it also became an outlet to release music staying true to these ethos. Everyone is paid the same, doesn't matter who you are, it's all about music and respect. 

It has somewhat become customary to have a record ready to celebrate its birthday. As STAUB turns seven, STAUB's fifth installment  (STAUB 5 / IRIS007) will be available at „STAUB - 7 YEAR“ Event at :// about blank.

RA Event:
https://www.residentadvisor.net/events/1356795


TRACKLIST
A:
1. Unknown Artist - STAUB 005 Loop 1
2. Unknown Artist - A1 STAUB 005
3. Unknown Artist - STAUB 005 Loop 2
4. Unknown Artist - A2 STAUB 005

B
1. Unknown Artist - B1 STAUB 005
2. Unknown Artist - STAUB 005 Loop 3
3. Unknown Artist - STAUB 005 Loop 4
4. Unknown Artist - B2 STAUB 005

+ Digital:
1. Unknown Artist - D1 STAUB 005
2. Unknown Artist - D2 STAUB 005
3. Unknown Artist - B2 STAUB 005 Instrumental

Silver Vinyl
Cover artwork by Kurt Von Bley
Mastering by Man Made Mastering
Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound 007
2020

STAUB 005

V.A. - STAUB 005 (IRIS007)

Various Artists / Unknown Artists - STAUB 005 (IRIS007)

STAUB is a project that came to life in Berlin around 2013. It aimed to detach itself from the hype and business from techno. The idea was simply to not announce a lineup and treat everyone the same without separating headliners from the rest. This strictly equalitarian but also very familial and friendly concept allowed to give chances to newcomers on a regular basis and to build a tight-knit community.

As time passed it also became an outlet to release music staying true to these ethos. Everyone is paid the same, doesn't matter who you are, it's all about music and respect.

It has somewhat become customary to have a record ready to celebrate its birthday. As STAUB turns seven, STAUB's fifth installment (STAUB 5 / IRIS007) will be available at „STAUB - 7 YEAR“ Event at :// about blank.

RA Event:
www.residentadvisor.net/events/1356795

+ Digital:
1. Unknown Artist - D1 STAUB 005
2. Unknown Artist - D2 STAUB 005
3. Unknown Artist - B2 STAUB 005 Instrumental

Silver Vinyl
Cover artwork by Kurt Von Bley
Mastering by Man Made Mastering
Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound 007
2020

V.A. - STAUB005 - Digital (IRIS007)

Chikiss - Baby Bye (2020 Version)
+ Stanislav Tolkachev Remixes


Tracklist
A1. Chikiss - Baby Bye (2020 Version)
B2. Chikiss - Baby Bye (Stanislav Tolkachev Ambient Mix)

D. Chikiss - Baby Bye (Stanislav Tolkachev Remix)

Cat. Nr. IRIS008
Limited 7“: 150
Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound 008
2020


New technologies have affected the way we discover music. As much as I love crate digging, it was while browsing Bandcamp that I stumbled upon Baby Bye. The song caught my attention and as soon as I finished listening to it, I listened again and again, in what seemed to be an endless loop.
In my living room, images of a fireplace came to my mind, I was cozy while outside progressively turned into the landscape of Siberia. The unforgiving winter with its cold and darkness surrounded me, but I felt wrapped up in warmth and light.

I contacted Chikiss and invited her to play live at a STAUB. When I asked her if I could release her music, she offered to rerelease Baby Bye.
Being so in love with the song, I accepted instantly. When we started to work on the record, I realized I wanted to add something more, not just reissue a track. I feel sometimes we do not treat the things we love with enough respect. I feel fortunate to be given the chance to treat her music with the attention I thought she deserved in the first place.

That is why I asked Stanislav to remix the song. It may seem like an odd choice, but by doing so I brought together two of my favorite artists. This record means a lot to me and I sincerely hope you will appreciate it.


Remixes: Stanislav Tolkachev
Mastering: ManMade Mastering
Cover Image: Epiq Sty
Design / Concept: Irakli Kiziria

Baby Bye

Chikiss - Baby Bye + Stanislav Tolkachev Remixes (IRIS008)

Established in 2017, the Intergalactic Research Institute for Sound has been an outlet for artistic and experimental endeavors that go beyond electronic music.
Evocative soundscapes from Georgia were the first communication from the Institute. It has since released music from Ukrainian artist Stanislav Tolkachev, acclaimed duo Air Liquide, or Georgian producer Michailo.
Michailo notably worked on his EP in prison, sending files to the label through intermediaries. He was released early, shortly after his record came out.
These days, it is also the home of STAUB’s unknown artists and of the cello robots that keep company with Schloss Mirabell.
With its blurring aesthetics, the Institute travels from clubs to museums and always pushes its exploration further.