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Digital Loops Can Also Be Fun And Unpredictable

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SERA014: Satellite Era presents "Distant Arrays Volume 05" - the fifth edition of our various artist series that aims to diversify our collection of experimental dance music.

Our long-awaited return to the Distant Arrays series finds us venturing back to the core idea that encapsulates our label: experimentation. This edition targets eccentric subgenres, maximalist sound design, and distinct ventures to glitched-out realms. We are thrilled to introduce an entirely new cast of producers onto our roster, each wielding an unparalleled approach to the world of leftfield electronic music.

Setting a stylistic precedent for the release, we welcome @disektor and @tenebralcortex to our label with “Selective Exposure.” Based in Morocco and France respectively, the two Geometric Corruption artists combine their efforts to deliver a challenging track that focuses on forward-thinking sound design. Panning glitched tones travel through the spatial soundscape, while a distorted kick drum consistently drives the song’s energy. Beneath all its glitchy gloriousness lies a notable foundation inspired by both braindance and breakbeat.

Following his remix on our latest compilation “Year Two: Revisited,” Los Angeles-based artist @ramonpang joins forces with Italian producer @pcnxo to deliver a track that closely ties their different styles together. Blending precise drum work with pleasant vocal cuts that feel like a motif, “Death-Singing Flower” is an ode to experimental music that is unafraid to be emotional. As of late, both artists have been delivering highly acclaimed projects individually: Psykh proudly represents the Millennium Strike crew, while RamonPang just released a full-length record on his Tabula Rasa imprint.

Having been on our radar since the start of the label, we welcome Montreal-based producer, visual artist, and event organizer @fxbip. With formative releases on Concrete Collage, he finds sonic inspiration just about everywhere, from modern electronic to microtonal and contemporary classical music. His latest track “Hydrogen Cocktail” is a clear nod to the niche world of breakcore - frantic percussion, alerting pads, and a gabber-like bassline all align to create an authentic experience for avid followers of the subgenre.

Based in Northern California over the years, @lobie has quietly grown with the experimental bass music scene historically from that region - this is a clear influence in “Grid,” with its attentive sub and melodic synths. The track was produced and performed live without the use of a digital audio workstation, utilizing his personal arsenal of synthesizers and samplers. Implementing polyrhythmic patterns that are rotated throughout the progression, this unique track has found a proper home on the off-kilter side of our label.

Distant Arrays is an immersive showcase of our audio/visual capabilities as a collective. We are honored to introduce you to our growing team, continuously expanding our newfound interpretation of sound.

"Stationed beyond the horizon lies a cluster of autonomous satellite arrays - each serving as capsules of detained time, points of transit between diverse concepts, and the sensorial relation between tangible audio and visual worlds. They fill the thin air with varied frequencies and beam optic elements into the minds of drawn newcomers and devoted adherents alike. Though each array hosts different creators from every remote edge of this decaying planet, they communicate with us through the vigorous potential of art. They link together to create a limitless field without borders – only human connection. These are the Distant Arrays..."

BUY / STREAM

Lobie - Grid

free improvisation with electric guitar + chamber ensemble (reacting/created of guitar impro)

ratio of specific heats

From the new album - 'Sound Postcards from the Centre of the Periphery' by Manja Ristić and Mark Vernon.

We made this 13-track journey around the sounds and sonic histories of the island of Korčula. In addition to our own field recordings, we were given access to the audio archives of the local radio station, including recordings of folk customs, traditional songs, dances and music...

This album unites two specific sensibilities that for many years have been embedded in the domain of sound and radio arts. Although they arose from very different environments, their work explores similar issues around preserving personal sonic histories. By stirring up nostalgia and collective memory, both artists often refer to the importance of individual experiences in the poetic "body" of micro-communities. 

The artistic practice of both creators has been deeply immersed in the sonic strata of space and the imaginary narratives that emerge from it. A dedication to the culture of memory, the sounding of lost voices and an unorthodox approach to re-composing the soundscape, conveniently unites these two experimenters in a collaboration that arises from research into one particularly inspiring locality – the island of Korčula. 

In addition to their own field recordings the artists were given access to the audio archives of the local radio station, including sounds of local folk customs, traditional songs, festivities and music. The strong anthropological emphasis in this collection of works is intended to encourage a deeper consideration of the coexistence of people and the environment in a historically dense climate. The appropriation of the hidden narratives of a small town on the fringes of the European Union opens up new fields of reflection on identity that looks back at the "center of the periphery", pointing to the importance of "small" spaces in the creation of European heritage. 

‘Sound postcards from the center of the periphery’ will be stored permanently in the audio archives of Radio Korčula. Who knows, maybe someone will dig them out in 50 years and say: "...there you go! This will make your head ring!" 

Special thanks to Radio Korčula, Gordana Šuperak and Ivan Sardelic Šore. To Pere from the Marasa printing house and to all the fellow citizens of Korčula who found themselves on this album intentionally or accidentally.

Manja Ristić and Mark Vernon - Voli more drš’ se kraja / Love the Sea but Stay on the Shore

... IDM/ambient/electronica/glitch I was working on nearly the hole last weekend without an end result ... 

when I listened to the synth-recordings (korg minilogue XD, mega FM, bassstation 2) again today, somehow everything made sense immediately and after adding a few more recording-variations I could finish the hole thing in a few hours :)

sequence03

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