Intelligent Serenity

god, grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, courage to change the things i can, and wisdom to know the difference.
(reinhold niebuhr: the prayer of serenity)

the_empath, aka mike erkau, has been part of electronic music since 1993 and he started releasing his own work on cdrs in 1999. shortly after he began to do remixes for other artists and won the 2004 congress of media award in the audio category. the award was for his remix of 'no protection' (originally by utr). four years later he turned the tables by releasing the 'second earth remix project' which included remixes of his work by ab ovo, def, fractional, heimstatt yipotash, sunao inami and others (more info: www.subroom.com/second%20earth.html) . at the same time as an media engineer and tutor, mike was able to acquire advanced technical skills in video technology. his live appearances are always combined with a video performance which is strictly balanced to the tracks (a good example is consider:noize and elektroanschlag). since 2005 he has been working as a video composer and vj for xabec (aka manuel g. richter; who also mastered the_empath's first album on hymen records: meanwhile).

this album was recorded over the last five years and demonstrates the_empath's current state. the music was not created to exist in an isolated artistic vacuum - each track was made as a result of specific thoughts, meanings and impressions. this is not art for art's sake. a sampling of items that made this album possible: technology turning from today's state-of-the-art to tomorrow's future space junk, arbitrary anxiety of imperfectness, burdens of the past which are only visible to adepts, an imaginary image of ultima thule (a place located beyond the borders of the known world), a score to fictitious thriller.
however this is just sampling of what meanwhile is about.

the_empath's music ranges between ambient and electronica with organic industrial audio components. a stimulating flow of imaginative soundscapes, complex rhythmic textures, mixtures of experimental electronics, field recordings and ground loops. crystal clear tones meet thrilling low frequencies that are mastered with an impressive amount of dynamics. the result of this electronic crucible is a powerful mind infiltrating compound - devotees of intelligent electronics will be reminded (in concept - this is not a derivative work) of early autechre, beefcake and gridlock. in short, fans of good music will take a shine to mike erkau's work. enjoy!

Y784 Meanwhile - 01 at the heart of it all

HYBRID ELECTRONICS - electronica, ambient, experimentell, industrial 

http://hariossa.com/

http://www.subroom.com/

Hari Ossa - Everywhere [Empath's Canon Rmx] 2006

HYBRID ELECTRONICS - electronica, ambient, experimentell, industrial

http://ferventdotsaudio.bandcamp.com/track/grad-the-empath-remix

http://www.subroom.com/

Signalstörung - Grad [april vibes by the_empath] 2013

HYBRID ELECTRONICS - electronica, ambient, experimentell, industrial

http://www.subroom.com/

Elektrohandel - you in me [sleepless night mix by the_empath] 2007

HYBRID ELECTRONICS - electronica, ambient, experimentell, industrial

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Sonic-Seducer-Cold-Hands-Seduction-Vol-163/release/6703605

http://www.subroom.com/

nwo hindsight (Sonic Seducer Cold Hands 163 - 2015)

HYBRID ELECTRONICS - electronica, ambient, experimentell, industrial

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Elektroanschlag-3/release/942350

http://www.discogs.com/sell/item/20771692

http://www.subroom.com/

home and dry (Elektroanschlag 3 - 2007)

Martin L Gore - Featherlight [weightless remix by the_empath]

Other channels you might like...
▶ @Hegemon
▶ @Your_Secret
▶ @Hip-Hop
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Don't Let Go

priz - Don't Let Go

Hatikvah - Synchronicity (SomaCD086)

1.	 Big Mind
2.	 Synchronicity
3.	 Unforgettable
4.	 Zen 
5.	 Modern Times
6.	 Introduce Me
7.	 Daedalus
8.	 Beneath
9.	 In The Spirit
10.	 Spend Some Time

The production team of Florian Schirmacher and Helmut Ebritsch are weathered veterans of the vast electronic field. Florian’s production history covers many bases and collaborations, having started with Guido Schneider under the Glowing Glisses alias for his 2003 debut album, Silver Surfer, on Berlin’s Poker Flat imprint. Since then he has founded Wareika, Federleicht, Here Today and of course Hatikvah working with labels like Cadenza, Vakant, Liebe Detail, Buzzin Fly and Morris Audio to name but a few. Helmut is also one half the acclaimed Klartaum outfit, along with Nadja Lind. His solid contributions to the Klartraum releases have pushed them from strength to strength over the course of their productions. Helmut, also known throughout the electronic world for his skilful mastering technique, balances this duo with complete precision. Both artists work on lyrics and production, but the signing is left solely to Florian.  Their sound is distinctly dub influenced, yet balances the soulful edge of the lyrics and chords with the dance-floor framed beats – a clever and fascinating combination, that allows them create their own spiritual dimension to a view of their idealistic future. 

Synchronicity opens with Big Mind, a murky and introverted overture to Hatikvah’s debut album. Deeply dubby and mellow throughout, washing pads mingle happily with gentile chords and wandering percussion. Set on the sea front it paints a picture of serenity, thought and evaluation – asking questions of the Big Heart and Big Mind, the conection between the two and the balance in their production of sound and soul. Both are present and validated in Big Mind. The album title track, Synchronicity, sings soul from its depths. Heavyweight sub-sonics rise from the bass and warmth emanates from the delicate and understated synth work, allowing Florian’s profound, yet wanting lyrics to glide through with ease along with the cries of the evening Lark – fly away with me. At a mammoth thirteen and a half minutes long, Unforgettable is anything but. A sombre and heartfelt tale of lost love treads a meandering path through jazz influenced keys and chords. A higher tempo than previous outings, the pace is kept with clever and intuitive sequence changes that are subtle and soft on the ear. Zen then takes the tempo down and with it the heart rate. Great delays carry the keys and percussive elements off way in to the distance, creating a rich sonic environment from which slight and dainty percussion emerges. 

Modern Times is given a complete refurbishment from the track originally released on the Suol imprint. Being one of the more dance-floor orientated tracks on the album, it carries solid rhythm, but retains a deep feeling found throughout the Synchronicity album. Following on, Introduce Me steps things up a gear and grows intensity. Daedalus brings us back down to earth with a beautifully crafted and emotive piece of music which brings playful connotations of lullabies and slumber through Florian’s solo Rhodes play. Beneath brings a combination of optimistic chords and vocals that sit amongst intelligent percussion and fx use. In The Spirit, the first single from the album, which includes Deepchord remixes, has a slightly more aggressive and rasping bass. Whispered vocals add more of a rhythmic effect than in previous tracks and allow space in the mix where everything has its place. Possibly the busiest track on the album, Spend Some Time brings close with layered vocals, guitars and several basslines. Together, it blends perfectly.

An album that is deep and intense in places, yet greenly optimistic in others, Hatikvah’s Synchronicity is undoubtedly one of the LP highlights of 2010.




Intelligent Serenity

Jason Mullings