All those spirits, those walks of life, all those sound journeys between worlds, between continents. Australian duo KXB is back at R.i.O., bringing a follow up to their first record “Areas of Uncertainty”, released in 2023. This time an exquisite collab. With filmmaker and vocalist Thrush, member of the feverish band Concentration. The duo from Melbourne, and the singer from Berlin bring a collection of tracks, dubs and versions - written and produced over the last two years with the tape format in mind. Inspired by fabled underground cassette labels like New Zealand-based late 1980ees/ early 1990ees sensation Xpressway and mixed continuously as a nod to 90s jungle bootleg mixtapes like the Yaman tapes by LTJ Bukem, DJ Hype, Randall, or Peshay. Distinctive vocalist Thrush travelled South, and spent two sweltering afternoons with KXB in Melbourne, doing free-spirited improvisations in the studio, that were later pieced together into the resulting album. 13 variations in sound, in which Thrush's lyrics explore chasmic spaces and energies common to both Germany and Australia. Her voice dances partly on trip hopping rhythms and indie-tronics, while technoid vibes, alternative house zones, and vivid trips into kosmische top the collaboration off. A piece of art formed by a clique of like-minded souls – gathered their walks of life between worlds into explorer music of unexplored districts.

BANDCAMP

KXB & Thrush - DRIVING THROUGH A TUNNEL THAT IS FILLING FROM BOTH ENDS (Snippets)

+ @riolabel @initinit

Benedikt Frey is many. Or just one? He is a composer. An arranger. A DJ. A ghost producer. A fan. He plays in bands like INIT, or Dolphins or KEYS +++ produced the last two albums for Chris Imler. Downbeat in experimental dub zones. The goat for Edits and remixes. When house was his nation, he used to listen to pen names like Suedmilch or Venedikt Reyf. He still likes the music formed under their umbrella, but today his tomorrow is not echoed in yesterday. His sound signature moved on. Into the open. He founded labels like R.i.O. or Serious Trouble. 

He lives in Berlin. Physically. In mind Benedikt Frey is at many places. Traveling far thru his home studio that is a flat a studio a flat an instrument a record collection a flat a studio. Everywhere gear, vinyl, tapes, instruments, rooms for spontaneous sonic notions, these moments, when a sudden strike of stimulation falls. He is inspired a lot. For music to dance. Music for films. Music for live shows. Music for dancing glows. Techno, house, downbeat, ambient, jungle, electronics outside the norms. Those transportive ones. Jamming with others. Jamming with his mind. In Berlin Wedding, North of the town, where the lights dimmed low, neighbors share the flow, and a small river runs slow.  As a DJ he plays here, there, everywhere. Big clubs, small shacks, festivals, gatherings. From fast to 90 BPM - as he feels. 

For himself. For the crowd. In the spur. He still remembers his club kid days. Going to dance with friends. Down there in Offenbach. Doing the Robert Johnson. Collective emotions for a better tomorrow. These he still seeks. In his music. His shows. His collaborations. You can book him for a party. For enlightenment. For ecstasy or introspective perspectives. Dancing slow, whilst pirouetting a high-pitched show. 

Since more than a decade. His own music is out there, too. Bringing his spirits in sound. On his own labels. On international imprints like ESP Institute, Hivern Discs, Craigie Knowes, or Emotional Response. Solo works. Driving ones. Slow drills. Teased during his DJ dates around the planet. 

The music plays day and night. Inspiration comes. From a simple kick drum. A movie sequence. A bird on the sill. A picture, totally still. Can’t kick that feeling when it hits. Benedikt Frey. In dreams. In streams. In music. Emotions. Situations. At night. In those flashy lights, when it bites.

24.5. b2b with NVST, Kauz Zürich
10.05. Säälchen, Berlin
26.04. Zentralwäscherei, Zürich
25.04. b2b Philipp Otterbach, Arkaoda, Berlin
04.04. Sameheads, Berlin
13.03. Säule, Berlin
22.02. Kegelbahn, Luzern
21.02. Fribourg, CH

---- BYE24

17.12. Kiosk Radio,  Bxl
15.12. Curly Teeth b2b w. NVST, Bxl
30.11. Panorama Bar, Berlin
16.11. La Culottee, Paris
19.10. LAF, Pforzhyme
05.10. Sameheads, Berlin
28.09. Buka, Milan
21.09. Chemiefabrik, Zürich
14.09. Ausland, Berlin
16.08. Salon Des Amateurs, Düsseldorf
21.07. Am Bach Festival, Lucerne
05.07. Kappa Futur Festival, Turin
14.06. Masters, Zagreb
18.05. Outracena, Lisbon
27.04. Arkaoda, Berlin
24.02. Macadam, Nantes
26.01. Sameheads, Berlin

Death to imperialism. 🔻🇵🇸🇱🇧🇾🇪🔻
🔻𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 for freedom. Also I urge us to globalize & escalate revolt against the plain fascist rhetoric&crimes of colonial states. Don't like the music (pun intended) of those "white mediocrity trademark" nz boots.
F R E E ' ' P A L E S T I N E  🌿🍉 
& ALL PEOPLE STILL STRANGLED BY WHITE MEDIOCRITY IMPERIALISM.
Enthusiast musical tourist = knows her shit/doesn't know shit #jetshlag
~Random is freedom~ No goal is the goal
~Music is my spine~ Shlag&snob
🔻ACAB can't still be a debate for fck sake
🔻AFA is like breathing. Not being AFA, well: u're FA.
🔻Glorious are resistances, for reclaiming space and time for us to exist (or try to), for their dedication to end occupations🔻
#punchanazi

"𝓲𝓯 𝔀𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝓲𝓽, 𝔀𝓮 𝓬𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓵𝓵 ... 𝓼𝓲𝓽 𝓫𝓪𝓬𝓴, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓵𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱.
𝓑𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵, 𝓽𝓸𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓸𝔀, ...  𝓘'𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓬𝓻𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰."
[𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓯𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓬𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓽𝔂] "𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓮𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓹𝓱"

Avec "sa vie fut un bide" sur urne à facettes svp, parce que je t'écris pas de la Cour du Crimson King mais d'un pays tout petit petit...

"𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒈𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒆, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆,
𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆"
...I now know it is a wishful high hopes thinking.
"isolation" said I. Curtis.

R.i.O. is a record label founded by @freybenedikt @menqui & @daloworks . With their shared passion for a broad range of music they established this new outlet in order to shift perceptions of reality.