This Is Kangding Ray

Premiered on Four Tet and Jamie XX's Essential Mix 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05mqgs6

Buy here: http://store.houndstoothlabel.com/lumen.html
iTunes: http://found.ee/Lumen

Lumen

This latest installment in the Stroboscopic saga once again calls upon the talents of two label veterans; both having released EPs on the label while also contributing to its five-year retrospective series. This new split release shared between Kangding Ray and Rrose is a fitting partnership: after all, both individuals are known for advancing the progress of rhythmic electronic music while drawing from creative influences and movements that weren’t typically associated with the ‘techno’ lineage until these producers made such links possible.
Kangding Ray’s side, “Ardent,” is a gripping and propulsive piece formed in the same spirit as the songs from his latest full-length, Cory Arcane. Dramatic and cinematic from beginning to end, it makes the listener and/or dancer feel like a highly alert martial artist slicing and kicking through a host of liquid-metallic adversaries, with disciplined synth bass and rich melodic swells as defensive weapons. Slick and accessible without ever being conventional, “Ardent” convincingly collages stuttering and minced sequences together with steady percolation and smooth, brassy undertones - three different sonic ‘states of matter’ that unify to make Kangding Ray’s musical
imagination into an almost tactile thing.
The entity known as Rrose, meanwhile, presents a track here that reaffirms that artist’s expert skill at crafting perfectly symmetrical and mesmerizing musical palindromes (a skill that can be seen on other standout Stroboscopic Artefacts tracks like “The Stare,” and also on Rrose’s interpretation of James Tenney’s classic palindrome “Koan [Having Never Written A Note For Percussion]).” The track in question, “Swallows,” is appropriately named, impressing upon listeners like the sonic equivalent of a massive searchlight which, once it lands upon its target, swallows or vacuums up the listener’s conscious attention. This elegantly arching set of multiplying and disintegrating waveforms rewards those with the courage to return its insistent gaze and to “play at maximum” volume to reveal the wealth of detail concealed within its deceptive minimalism.
With its scientific exactness and sheer originality, this split is an essential listen not just for fans of either artist, but also for any seeker after new perceptual revelations.

Kangding Ray / Rrose 'Ardent / Swallows' [SA027]

HYPER OPAL MANTIS . Forthcoming on Stroboscopic Artefacts
Release early 2017 

Triptych : 3x 12”
-------------------
# 12 “ HYPER 

A1 : RUBI
B1 : LONE PYRAMIDS
B2 : EPSILON

-------------------
#12” OPAL

C1 : PURPLE PHASE
C2 : DUNE
D1 : SOUL SURFING
D2 : OUTREMER

-------------------
12” MANTIS

E1 : ONDE MANTIS
E2 : SAUDADE
F1 : LANIAKEA

HYPER OPAL MANTIS (MASTER)

PURPLE PHASE

RUBI

Stabil

Interrompu Court

Sub.Res

Wellen

Predawn Qualia EP

Out on 17th May on ara
https://kangdingray.bandcamp.com
https://ara-aboutrecordingartists.bandcamp.com

ARA001 - B2 - Trade On Azul

ADVANCE PREVIEW : First track of ara001 : Kangding Ray . Predawn Qualia EP
Release : 17th May 2019

Pre-Order on Bandcamp available :
12" 180g Black Vinyl (Limited edition of 500, numbered )
http://kangdingray.bandcamp.com/album/predawn-qualia-ep

A1 : Predawn Qualia (8:04)
A2 : Stone Sober Brushstrokes (5:00)
B1 : Orcan Tears (8:17)
B2 : Trade On Azul ( 4:21 )
Written and produced by David Letellier / Kangding Ray



ara is a new record label curated by David Letellier, a.k.a Kangding Ray.
ara is a platform for recording artists with unique sonic identities that seeks to induce deep emotion
through sound ; focusing on singular artistic endeavours, created with patience and dedication.
While rooted in electronic club music, ara will not follow any prescribed sonic path :
it will explore a palette of diverse sound worlds who evolve through parallel series of curated
releases. Each series will represent either a concept or a particular musical direction, which will be
mirrored by its own design approach.
Since releasing physical records is increasingly becoming an irrational choice, each record will be
irrationally produced as an hand-made work of art, involving procedures and techniques such as
manually-applied ink, brushed acrylic paint or tape. Each edition will be individually numbered,
recognisable as a part of a whole, while being slightly different by nature.
The first release, by label curator Kangding Ray, will be the first step of this journey : organic,
emotional club music, for the body and mind.
The following releases for 2019 will come from Adiel, Refracted, Hydrangea and Voiski

Predawn Qualia

ARA001 - A1 - Predawn Qualia

R-N 123 . TRACK LIST :

1 . Athem
2 . Mojave
3 . Odd Sympathy
4 . Pruitt Igoe . ( or version )
5 . Or
6 . Mirrors
7 . Coracoid Process
8 . En Amaryllis Jour
9 . Lea vaila Scheme
10 . Monsters
11 . La Belle

CREDITS	

All tracks written and produced by Kangding Ray
Voices and lyrics on Pruitt Igoe, Coracoid Process and Odd Sympathy by Magne Mostue.
Voices on Athem and Monsters by Rose Tizane Merrill.
Words on Monsters freely pirated from « T.A.Z, the temporay autonomous zone, ontological anarchy, poetic terrorism » by Hakim Bey . ( anti-copyright, 1985, 1991 ) Available at www.autonomedia.org
Progressive keys on Or by Ben Frost
Drums on Coracoid Process and Or performed by Yacine Djeradi
Percussions on Odd Sympathy performed by Achille Farese
Salamander Modular synth for Monsters wired by Matia Simovich
Mastered by Andreas « Lupo » Lubich at Dubplates & Mastering Berlin
©2010 . raster-noton . r-n 123

Press text :	

After the Pruitt Igoe E.P, Kangding Ray returns with his third album for raster-noton, pushing further his explorations on the edge of digital and analog sounds. With OR, Kangding Ray continues to blur the borders between experimental and bass music, and brings his signature sound to another level, somewhere at the darkest fringe of club culture.
With the massive metallic beats of « athem », the frightening distorded waves of « Mojave », the elevated groove of « Odd Sympathy », the modulated guitar walls of « Leavaila Scheme », or the low-bitrate Everest of « La Belle », KR creates deep atmospheres, loaded with echoes of collapsing economies, dysfunctional political systems, and corporate alienation.In an abstract manner, OR depicts the desillusions of modern civilizations, while initiating a positive reflection on crisis as a creative state.
OR (« gold » in french), as the only chemical element that seems to keep its value for eternity, refers to the cult of endless consumption and the absurdity of fluctuating currency valuations, while in english, as a logical operator or grammatical conjunction, OR represents the possibility of another choice, an « inclusive disjunction » which suggests that there might be another answer, a different path to follow.
Noticeable inputs have been provided by Ben Frost, who composed a keyboard line for « Or », Rose Tizane Merrill who lend her voice to the anarchist poem « Monsters », and Magne Mostue who wrote the words and sang on « Coracoid Process » as well as the vocal version of the prophetic electronic mantra « Pruitt Igoe ».

01 Athem

02 Mojave

03 Odd Sympathy

05 Or

06 Mirrors

09 Leavaila Scheme

KANGDING RAY - AZORES EP
Release date: October 14th 2019
Format: 12" & digital
Artwork by: Sebastian Haeger
Preorder: http://bit.ly/FIGX13

Kangding Ray consistently fascinates the scene with his unique style that is bridging the dance floor and abstract electronic composition, talking equally to the mind and the body. His first record for Figure spans exactly that arc, introducing to the label something both for headphones as it is built for the big clubs.

The tracks on X13 feel as intimate as the artist‘s work on other long players but are focused clearly on impacting the physical realm. Teeming with ideas, he first lets his modular synths sway and turn loosely before switching it to a more bassy and propulsive approach on the flip. Balancing cinematic strings against stepping rhythms, the EP‘s closing track is another prime example of this producer‘s skill to craft something which holds up as an abstract piece of art as much as it does yield a lot of emotional tension.

www.figure-music.com

Azores EP

KANGDING RAY - AZORES EP (FIGURE X13)

A2 from upcoming Azores EP (FIGURE X13) 
Release date: October 14th 2019
Format: 12" & digital
Artwork by: Sebastian Haeger
Preview full EP: http://bit.ly/2m2jXe6 

Kangding Ray consistently fascinates the scene with his unique style that is bridging the dance floor and abstract electronic composition, talking equally to the mind and the body. His first record for Figure spans exactly that arc, introducing to the label something both for headphones as it is built for the big clubs.

The tracks on X13 feel as intimate as the artist‘s work on other long players but are focused clearly on impacting the physical realm. Teeming with ideas, he first lets his modular synths sway and turn loosely before switching it to a more bassy and propulsive approach on the flip. Balancing cinematic strings against stepping rhythms, the EP‘s closing track is another prime example of this producer‘s skill to craft something which holds up as an abstract piece of art as much as it does yield a lot of emotional tension.

www.figure-music.com

Kangding Ray - Polygon (A2 from upcoming FIGURE X13)

Premiere #117

Artist: Kangding Ray
Title: 22 Halo
Album: 'Azores' EP
Label: Figure
Format: Vinyl, Digital
Release: October 14th, 2019
Pre order: bit.ly/30Yl25F

Acclaimed techno experimentalist Kangding Ray debuts on Len Faki’s Figure imprint with more edgy and avant-garde cuts on ‘Azores EP’ this October. 

Fusing a background in experimental music with an ear for stark, discerning techno, Kangding Ray has become a cult favourite since releasing on labels such as Raster-Noton and Stroboscopic Artefacts. Alongside his solo work, the Berlin-based artist has collaborated with Sigha as Neon Chambers, contributed on remixes duties for Ben Frost on Mute, Oscar Mulero on PoleGroup and always manages to mix functionality with cinematic sound design.

More information and promos: www.tforgotten.org
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Premiere: Kangding Ray - 22 Halo [Figure]

Kangding Ray . Pruitt Igoe
12’’ E.P.

Pruitt Igoe is a 4 track E.P on which both Alva Noto and Ben Frost have been invited by Kangding Ray to produce sonic variations on a contemporary architectural myth.

The EP’s title Pruitt Igoe is taken from a gigantic social housing project, completed in 1955 in the U.S. City of St Louis, Missouri, and often regarded as a symbol of the modernist architecture failure. Designed according to the principles of modernism, and by the same architect who would later build the World Trade Center, the project saw a disastrous and violent decline after only a few years, plagued with vandalism and massive criminality, leading to its complete destruction from 1972 onwards. Footage of its demolition are visibly featured in the 1983 movie “Koyaanisqatsi”, scored by Phillip Glass.

Pruitt Igoe is more than a post-modern icon, it represents an ancestral movement of hope and disillusion, of perfectly planned models and evaporated dreams. It serves as a judicious metaphor for our era, where the feeling of imbalance and doubt has replaced the certainity of eternal progress and endless economical growth. 

This movement is reflected by the two sides of the record: on the A side, the original track and its remodel by Alva Noto, both represent the planning and construction phase, based on a clear structure and a hypnotic loop of women chanting in the streets of a small town in North India. On the B-side, Ben Frost and Kangding Ray undertake the demolition process - slicing beats, destroying structures and emphasising the beauty of collapse.


This Is Kangding Ray

Lorenz Roemaet