Name: F. Valentin - Don't Forget Me by KYO
Duration: 10 min 28 s
Description: Copenhagen, Amager 2017. Performed by Frederik Valentin, Simon Littauer, Malthe Berlin Mcbeck, Jakob Emil & Hannes Norrvide.

Such a stunning track, shame it never had a proper release 💔

Displaced

Over the last ten years, Chris Imler's perhaps not quite as rapid but equally unstoppable rise has coincided with the world's free fall. “The Internet will break my heart” marks the steepest artistic stage to date. We see a man whose entire oeuvre is a late work, at the dizzying heights of his game. “So, the Internet, that's a really hot topic”, I can already hear blasé hisses here and there in the boxes. But the truth is that the topic is annoyingly topical. Because only now is the world wide web unfolding its full disappointing potential. All pipe dreams of an emancipatory power of the digital multitude (remember Negri/Hardt, haha) are as completely extinguished as the Arab Spring was swallowed up by the pre-nuclear winter. While they are capped from above in authoritarian states, social media in the so-called free world are primarily used by lumpen capital to undermine humanistic standards and by the remnants of the left for self-destructive polarization. But the cute animal videos! They too have their dark side, which Imler brings up in the title song: “The animals in the real world are under pressure”.

But what is an aesthetically adequate way of dealing with this new digital version of the frustration of progress? Can it still be the old cold sounds of defiant adaptation to alienation? In the announcement for the exclusive session that Imler recorded for the innovative London station NTS, the presenter placed him alongside Kraftwerk, DAF and NEU! That's not entirely wrong. But it's only half the truth at best. That becomes especially clear during your live shows. To a certain extent, they are public rehearsals. Sketches that he makes on his laptop on his long and numerous travels are tried out on stage on the same evening, with ad hoc cobbled-together lyrics and drum work that he himself describes as “sloppy-emotional”. His performance is deliberately chaotic, impulsive and, for all its Kreuzberg street toughness, heartfelt. And although Imler - even with his occasional trumpet interludes - never has direct jazz references, one can just as easily think of Thelonious Monk's unruly boldness or Ornette Coleman's aggressive dynamics as of those aforementioned representatives of Teutonic robotics.

One thing is certain: the improvisational charm of his concerts cannot be captured one-to-one on record. But perhaps this album succeeds for the first time in achieving the same intensity of experience by other means. For example, with “Let's not talk about the war”, which is almost forbidden to dance to by Imler's standards. The micro-social tensions and unrest in the face of the divisive debates of recent years are fizzled out here into something completely rousing. “Agoraphobia”, on the other hand, strikes the listener with an opium-intoxicated dimness. The sonic complexity is almost reminiscent of monster productions such as Talk Talk's “Spirit of Eden”, but the atmosphere is even more dazzling, more dangerous, and it is crowned by the enchanting voice of international underground shooting star Naomi Klaus. The most fascinating soundscape, in my opinion, was created by Imler and his brilliant co-producer Benedikt Frey with “Liturgy of Litter”. Although predominantly electronic, you have the feeling of being in the same room as the sound sources, as if you were standing in front of an otherworldly gamelan orchestra, whose iridescent tinkling drives you into the most beautiful, serious serenity.
But these are just three possible entrances into the labyrinth of what is certainly one of the most interesting albums of the year.

Jens Friebe 

The Internet Will Break Mt Heart

Chris Imler - Agoraphobie ( feat. Naomie Klaus )

Chris Imler - Let´s No Talk About The War

framea arc - clay council / never there / rules of participation / tarp room

JUNGLE GYM RECORDS presents "The Pulse", official debut of LA's Preset! From the depths of Koreatown, Preset emerge with a highly focused (yet totally off the cuff) collection of night rider post-punk sketches and industrial alleyway excursions... as always, exclusively via JUNGLE GYM.

🌙 🌙 🌙

𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗧 is 𝑅𝓎𝒶𝓃 𝒲𝒾𝒸𝓀 (Synths / Drum Machine / Mastering) & 𝒞𝒶𝓁𝑒𝒷 𝒟𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓇 (Bass / Recording / Design)



© Jungle Gym Records 2025

"Night Stalker" - Preset

Now We Are Free

Configurations

Looks Frozen

Copenhagen, Amager 2017. Performed by Frederik Valentin, Simon Littauer, Malthe Berlin Mcbeck, Jakob Emil & Hannes Norrvide.

F. Valentin - Don't Forget Me

The Surgeon of the Nightsky Restores Dead Things by the Power of Sound

Ravinia/Vancouver

The Imbeciles - Decider (Benedikt Frey Remix)

‘PRSNT’ is a unique global artistic project combining the input of artists across the worlds of music, video and written word which acts as a statement on how we, as consumers, engage with music in the 21st century. Vital electronic musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lafawndah, Lyra Pramuk, Lucrecia Dalt and Visible Cloaks have each contributed untitled tracks, which are approximately 32 seconds long.	
 	
The concept was devised by Created By Us and the Barcelona-based label Modern Obscure Music. They read a study which identified that the overwhelming volume of instantly accessible information online is shortening attention spans and altering how audiences engage with music digitally. Their curiosity about the state of online consumption developed further on discovering that around a third of all listeners using digital platforms skip to the next track, within the first 30 seconds of playing.  
 
Each musician was given a fascinating challenge to create engaging compositions with real artistic merit, inside the confines of this shortened span. Akin to Brian Eno’s famous Windows 95 start-up music, the time constraints are crucial, and the compositions are deceptively complex and more substantial than expectations of their nano nature would suggest.
 
‘PRSNT’ acts as a critique of flighty feed culture, but is simultaneously constructive, providing something which is either proposed solution, or “if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em” resignation. Every artist has interpreted the brief differently, resulting in an intriguing blueprint for the potential future of digital music. Could abbreviated micro compositions satisfy, inspire and nourish like their longer counterparts? They certainly take up much less of listeners’ busy lives, which are often spent tackling ever-increasing workloads.

Mastered by Rashad Becker

PRSNT

Lifeworld

Visible Cloaks - Lifeworld [PRSNT PREMIERE]

contact: kyokyomusikmusik@gmail.com
booking: michelle.potnia@gmail.com

F. Valentin - Don't Forget Me

KYO

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