Nathan Solo is a musician and graphic designer hailing from Prague’s warehouse techno scene, with musical roots stretching back as far as 2013 to the legendary Polygon events, and with a hand in the graphic design of lauded XYZ and Onyx events. Now based in Lausanne, Switzerland, Solo works as a graphic designer whilst pursuing his various musical avenues.

After a smattering of releases through the esteemed XYZ and Polygon imprints from Prague and a recent spate of self-released works through his artist Bandcamp page throughout 2020, Solo now presents ‘Ministry of Anxiety’, an album marking the culmination and final project of his Bachelor of Arts degree at Prague’s UMPRUM Arts University.

Borne from his extensive experience as a live hardware performer, ‘Ministry of Anxiety’ stands as Solo’s most complete artistic work to date. Typically characterised by striking a form of conversation with his mechanical instrument companions, over the years Solo has honed an evolving and non-linear dialogue that sees a reshaping of sound, denoting a certain creative flair somewhat scarce in the world of hardware live sets.

This much translates directly into all aspects of ‘Ministry of Anxiety’: in the shifting focus of genre from floor techno to washes of ambient, and in the detail and instrumentation of the music itself, his acceptance of trial and potential failure grants consistent results of success, thus giving his music an inherently human quality — a trait echoed in the title, which betrays an honest fragility relating to his experience living as an economic migrant in Switzerland, dealing with the throes of modern anxiety in the grips of hypercapitalism.

‘Ministry of Anxiety’ succeeds in a greater capacity than a mere transcription of Solo’s sonic explorations and thought patterns, though. Merging his twin loves of music and graphic design, the album is twinned with a visual counterpart that completes the picture: a hand-crafted typeface formed of a dot-matrix-style font that deforms and contorts into new shapes and structures in time with key sonic landmarks of the music. Presented in a continuous live stream at www.nathansolo.com, the development of these videos is as significant to the album as the music.

This innovation from Solo marks the completion of his continuous dialogue with his machines. Blunt facts about the tracks (BPM, key, running time) are presented in the typeface and twist themselves to the developing music, creating an ever-changing relay of information from Solo to his instruments, and onto the visual display, in a coherent language colliding at the juncture of binary and analogue.

Words: Freddie Hudson
Mastering: TMA Records – tma-records.bandcamp.com
Design: Matěj Moravec – matejmoravec.com

Download

Ministry of Anxiety

I See You Where You Are Not

Oil Raven

Gold

Pour Nina

19Dec17 Treti Track

Warphole Of Luck

RK LD 7 128

Ministry Of Anxiety

Label: @pulserecords-ch

Nathan Solo is a musician and graphic designer hailing from Prague’s warehouse techno scene, with musical roots stretching back as far as 2013 in techno, ambient, electro, EBM, and similar genres of electronic music. Based in Lausanne, Solo works as a graphic designer for various independent music labels and galleries while pursuing his various musical avenues.

Former:
@wearebinar

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2024
23 March – Central Station, Geneva
15 March – ARTIPHYS, EPFL, Renens
24 Feb – Pulse 4 w/ Leart Rama 

2023
31 Dec – NYE, Republic Boat, Prague
31 Dec – NYE, Komiks & NYE
15 Dec – Les Raveries, Fribourg, CH
03 Nov – Pulse3 w Voiski, Le Bourg, Lausanne, CH
28 Oct – Noubar, Lausanne
05 Oct – Machines 3, Le Bourg, Lausanne, CH
01 Sep – Electrosanne, Lausanne, CH
26 Aug – Pulse2, Le Bourg, Lausanne, CH
19 Aug – Atelier, DJset, Lausanne, CH
08 July – Pulse1, Le Bourg, Lausanne, CH
04 July – Petrohradska, Prague, CH
30 June – Folklor, Lausanne, CH
16 June – L'Ecurie, Geneva, CH
03 May – AcidCafe, Prague, CH
18 May – Le Bourg, Lausanne, CH
10 May – Canal 54, Geneva, CH
12 Mar – TRNST Radio, Fribourg, CH
30 Mar – Machines 2, Le Bourg, Lausanne
28 Jan – Elena Colombi, NS - Zoo, Geneve, CH

2022
31 Dec – Here n There, NYE, Praha, CZ
14 Nov – NoiseKitchen Farewell, Praha,CZ
28 Oct – Machines au Bourg, Lausanne, CH
14 Sep – MCRT, NS, Grid, Prague 
12 Sep – Shotgun Festival, CZ
07 Jul – Festival de la Cité – Lausanne
16 Jun – LooseAntenna – Nein Lifes 5
09 Jun – Pavillon bar, Lausanne
29 May – Attic, Geneva
25 May – LooseAntenna – Nein Lifes 4
11 May – HÖR, Berlin
21 Apr — LooseAntenna – Nein Lifes 3
22 Apr — Tetris / FM, Prague
14 Apr — Operator Radio, Rotterdam
24 Mar — LooseAntenna – Nein Lifes 2
24 Feb – LooseAntenna / Ukraine Special

2021
04 Dec – LooseAntenna at LeGram 4 / Renens, CH
13 Nov – LooseAntenna at LeGram 3 / Renens, CH
09 Oct – LooseAntenna at LeGram 2 / Renens, CH
01 Oct – Anormal w/ Vril / Ankali, CZ
04 Sep – Noise Kitchen Festival / Prague, CZ
03 Sep – TRSY Festival / Mělnik, CZ
21 Aug – Loose Antenna at LeGram 1 / Renens, CH
28 Jun – TEPE Meetfactory / Praha, CZ
11 Jun – Festival Michalský Výpad / Olomouc, CZ
14 Feb – Palacio Palace, Livestream
23 Jan – Loose Antenna, Lausanne

2020
08 Aug – Taciturn, Livestream, Lausanne
10 Jul – яαω6тεм, CZ
21 Feb – XYZ Nights / Prague, CZ
24 Jan – Luft w/ Oliver Torr, CZ

2019
24 Jan – Varg2™, яαω6тεм Underdogs', CZ
29 Nov – CUKR Modul / Prague, CZ
15 Oct – Space Dance Lausanne, CH
21 Jun – Fete de la musique, Lausanne, CH
17 May – ONYX x Ankali: Kwartz [Pole Group], ​Ankali / CZ
18 Jan – Scéna s Mikem Cornerem / Radio Wave

2018
22 Dec – Kmitočet 0.3 w/ Ralp, Ankali, CZ
07 Dec – Lunchmeat Festival w/ Emptyset Live AV, Prague, CZ
03 Nov – Closing Altenburg, Altenburg 1964, CZ
20 Oct – ONYX RAVE w/ Altstadt Echo, Altenburg 1964 / Prague, CZ
28 Sep – Temno / Radio 1 / Prague, CZ
22 Sep – Møreti, Sinnan, NS & St. Jakob at ​Wildt / Prague, CZ
09 Sep – 909 at Wildt, Prague, CZ
24 Aug – Polygon Tag 3, Prague, CZ
29 Dec – Polygon Emergency Crew 2, Ankali, Prague, CZ
20 Aug – Polygon with Ilian Tape CZ
09 Jun – POLYGON NACHT 12, Ankali, Prague, CZ
21 Apr – Come-in, Neone, Prague, CZ

2016
31 Dec – Velvet NYE, Prague, CZ
03 Dec – Balance presents Polygon IfZ / Leipzig, DE
02 Sep – CUKR 1, Komedie, Prague, CZ
20 Aug – Polygon with Ilian Tape / CZ
30 Jun – Polygon TAG 1, Prague, CZ
19 Jul – STALIN, BFF Nathan Solo, Prague, CZ
27 Nov – Smíchovská náplavka, Prague, CZ
31 Oct – PALASTNACHT 2, Prague, CZ
02 Oct – POLYGON w/ CLAUDIO PRC, DINO SABATINI... Prague, CZ
25 Sep – Monument Lights, Prague, CZ
09 Sep – Sound of Letná, Prague, CZ
22 Aug – Polygon with Levon Vincent, Prague, CZ
01 Aug – Hangover, Prague, CZ
18 Jul – Zeitgeist at ​Vlkova 26 / Prague, CZ
26 Jun – Zeitgeist at ​Vlkova 26 / Prague, CZ
29 May – RAMEN & TAKOYAKI w/ Nathan Solo [Binar], CZ
13 May – POLYGON NACHT 8, Brno, CZ

2015
  Apr – POLYGON w/ KARENN live [UK], Prague, CZ
  Mar – POLYGON w/ TOMMY FOUR SEVEN [UK], Prague, CZ

2014
  Dec - POLYGON presents ALEX.DO, Prague, CZ
  Jul - POLYGON presents RØDHÅD, Prague, CZ
  Feb - POLYGON w/ RECONDITE live, Prague, CZ

2013
  Jul – POLYGON NACHT 4 feat STRSFR, Prague, CZ