Taken from SBKT055: TRANCE BAND - Entrancing
Release date: 3rd March 2023

In a global landscape that increasingly prioritizes individuality over collaborative expression, TRANCE is a distinctive project. Initiated by Chinese multidisciplinary artist Tianzhuo Chen, best known for his work with Asian Dope Boys, TRANCE is as artistically amorphous as its constantly evolving line-up, that fluctuates as it shimmers across borders and time-zones. In 2019, the project was demoed in Beijing as part of a solo exhibition from Chen, a 12-hour durational performance that examined the altered states of living and dying and pondered the sounds, sensations, bodies and spaces that notion might suggest. On hold for three years due to COVID-19 restrictions, TRANCE was eventually premiered in Hamburg at the Kampnagel Theatre last year where it was presented as a surreal three-day ceremony. This time around the Trance Band was made up of Berlin-based noisemaker and vocalist Dis Fig, Indonesia's Gabber Modus Operandi, musician and MC KIM KHAN, guitarist and engineer Felix-Florian Tödtloff, and Vancouver-based percussionist and producer CITY. Chen directed the show, channeling each artist's unique energy into an alliance that highlighted their independent skills while pushing towards ideas that simply couldn't have been realized discretely.

"Entrancing" is a live documentation of that incendiary Hamburg session, powered by the performative fireworks that came from having the project halted for two years before it was allowed to burst into life once more. Just as with previous iterations of TRANCE, the space was terraformed into an alien landscape that allowed the collective to enact a carnivalesque display that was tightly controlled but creatively boundless. Musical u-turns were accompanied by monumental stage overhauls that reshaped a muddy, fog-filled outdoor riverscape into an arena, or a sweaty nightclub. This theatrical impact can't be visualized as clearly on the record, but musical cues do just enough heavy lifting to provide a tantalizing contour. When the alluring electro-acoustic plucks and resonant sustained string tones of 'There's a Ghost in the Lantern' cascade into cinematic drone metal on 'Ylva's Theme', it's impossible not to be drawn into the TRANCE narrative. Sonic stage lights flicker with uncommon intensity as the nebulous group rewrite their collective personal stories into stirring, synergistic poetry.

"Something changes!" KIM KHAN calls out on 'Soft and Black', cutting through warbling synths and itchy beatbox percussion. The track builds quickly, reaching a sizzling crescendo of buzzsaw noise and acidic electronics. It's a stylistic sea change that channels the group's kinetic energy into a rock show, and CITY picks up the message on 'Trance Genesis', adding rapid-fire drums to a barrage of guitar skronk. 'Shaolin Affliction' glues Trance Band's jagged artistic edges to a vintage metal template, gradually dissolving into throaty post-hardcore, while 'My Fortress' brings the show to a powerful conclusion with Dis Fig assuming the role of grunge balladeer, bellowing into the void over cacophonous live instrumentation. Unbound by musical and artistic conventions, TRANCE peers out from the basement, the gallery and the playhouse to forge an expression that's all of this and something new entirely. It's refreshing, witty, exhilarating and most of all, completely unpredictable.

Entrancing

v1984 & City - Parallel Phrases [digital only]

@nahshi Born in Venice and now located in Milan, Nahshi is an Italian DJ / producer who’s been incorporating diverse influences in his peculiar, hybrid take on club music, ranging from industrial 100 BPM beats to the shattering sounds of contemporary software-based, pop-infused electronic music. Nahshi’s sets closely relate to his quest for an explosive, ever-evolving dancefloor experience that brings together Slowstyle and the nastiest digital sound explorations.

The mix is basically an experiment of mine about looping, frequencies, rhythms and goofy melodies, playing with Lento Violento elements and Vocaloid samples.

Since the tracks were purposely made in a really short period of time, leaving space for randomness and imperfection, I like to think about this mix more as a recording of a live-improvised set rather than a normal DJ mix.

artwork ins @ y4n_y4n

Genome 6.66 Mbp w/ NAHSHI on Baihui Radio

@mtsaintmichel
instagram.com/mtsaintmichel

@pyylen
instagram.com/pyylen

@ne-pal-704163675

"Crack is the second single from Mt. Saint Michel’s upcoming album titled Rush, releasing next week.
Rush is focused on capturing the feeling of the struggle that comes with living your life around strangers, unable to adapt to their habits and way of living. The pressure of being around others but feeling empty at the same time. Rush is a snapshot of the issues people are experiencing in their day to day lives. Rush is about accepting yourself and focusing on what makes you feel fulfilled.
The second single Crack aims to present the feeling of someone breaking out of the barrier of social norms and expecations. Crack was built around a simple jungle instrumental, which quickly became a three-part experience filled with chopped and pitched layers of vocals and drums. The heavy use of warped and distorted samples further demonstrate the point of the album - the point of not adapting to what seems to be the normal , rather choosing a unique way of living."

The next premiere in line is a wonderful triple collab of Mt. Saint Michel, pyylen and Hogett entitled "Crack". This song is the second single off the upcoming album of Mt. Saint Michel comig out during the first half of June. Feeling more than grateful to have this massive banger as a premiere at the Agency.

Cover: instagram.com/lamtoby

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