In the first show of her new bimonthly residency, Silent Era delves into the deepest, darkest corners to uncover the best new bass, dub and techno.

Watch the live recording here: https://youtu.be/YVUiJxgYHck

Originally commissioned by stegi.radio and produced by Onassis Stegi

Dark Corners with Silent Era // Stegi Radio // September 2024

528 - 2

Chalk Down

Kontour Visions w. Jaundice & Anticipation [19.09.24]

Flake113 0127

aktivia

Erich Fromm‘s “Escape from Freedom” was published 83 years ago. His assumption was that modern man, having freed himself from the shackles of the old days and living freely, longs to return to the totalitarian, destructive and conformist world. In 2024, the pluralistic and individualized way of life of the so-called West seems self-evident. Boundless freedom is suggested - but we continue to flee. Utopias are crumbling and conservatism is experiencing a renaissance. At the same time, the freedom to decide “to be able to stay” in contrast to “having to leave” currently seems to represent a high value.

This EP by the two producers from Germany and Ukraine, was created in this field of tension. David Heine and Konstantin Kost were already working together on the current AMAS project (Odessa EP). „Freedom From Escape“ adapts the former title of Erich Fromm‘s central work, which is given a prominent role on this record. Music and techno are freedom and escape at the same time: transcendence and escapism. In interaction and contradiction at the same time.

The cover picture was taken on 25 July 1909, when Louis Blériot became the first person to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane with the Blériot XI, which he had designed himself. The reversal of the title and the idea for the cover artwork came about during a conversation with the artist Jennifer Mattes in Vienna.

On the A-side, the two protagonists create a world of minimalist dub techno, which also has melodic, flat side strands in its narratives. The more than 60-year-old fragments from TV interviews with Erich Fromm on the subject of freedom, decisions, constructivism and destruction are presented so densely and rustlingly that you don‘t feel compelled to follow the lecture. Instead, the spoken word corresponds with the minimalist framework of the two pieces. The old audio recordings are embedded as part of the composition. Some of it may be understood and arouse the listener‘s curiosity, but again and again you get lost in the repetitive swamp of sound, so that you may understand more of the text each time you listen to it without it imposing itself on you.

The two remixes of the first track take a different approach. Save Your Atoll specifically frames and limits the spoken word in its interpretation and embarks on a hypnotic journey that is less worldly and more futuristic. Anna Kost goes one step further by literally suffocating the old man‘s spoken word, as if the destructive drum patterns were trying to shut him up.

„Freedom From Escape“ will be released on 18 October 2024 in a physical edition of 200 records and is available digitally on all common portals.

Freedom From Escape

David Heine X Konstantin Kost - Choices (Anna Kost Remix)

'Silent Observers' EP
Substak
See Blue Audio SBA 059

1. Voyage Beyond
2. Orbiting Dreams
3. Aurora
4. Nebula Drift
5. Silent Observers

Release date: 14 March 2025

https://lnk.to/SBA059

See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...

If the opening release of 2025 on See Blue Audio, 'Vestige' by Leit Motif, was an audio journey into the nature of what it is to be human in the chaos that surrounds us, its successor takes a trip into the outer reaches of space and our imagination. It also welcomes a new artist to the label in the shape of Athens-based electronic artist Substak. With the 'Silent Observers' EP, the fifty-ninth release on See Blue Audio, he invites us into his world where sound operates as a form of language.

Kostas Staikos, otherwise known as Substak, began his passion for music as a means of escape from everyday life with a commitment to creative freedom and expression. Since then, he has released on myriad labels from many countries, including Nomadism Records, Drone Works International, Secret Domain, hello strange, Adventurous Music, Pertin-nce, Secuencias Temporales, Recycled Plastics, ODrex Music, Apnea, Hypnotic Landscapes, insectorama, Kopoc, Sea of Clouds and others, creating an impressive portfolio of work. Setting himself no limits and with an artistic vision transcending conventional boundaries, his musical compass points in many directions from dub and techno to ambient and drone soundscapes. On 'Silent Observers', his sound takes another evolutionary step with sonic explorations that plunge into the depths of drone and space ambience.

Across five short but perfectly succinct tracks, Kostas brings his ideas into being with exquisite clarity. Beatless, shrouded in static and radio interference, and with subtle melodies that seem to almost crawl into life, the effect is soothing and dreamlike, but still demanding of our attention. At times it can be unsettling, but such is the nature of the great, mysterious universe that hovers above us. As the titles suggest, the cosmos is the central theme on 'Silent Observers' and the listener quickly becomes immersed in the Substak interpretation of travelling through endless space to unknown galaxies.

The closing title track hints at a possible alternative view: perhaps we are the observed and not the observers; it's they who are looking at us from afar and wondering who and what we are. This is their radio transmission and at times it's almost as if the signal is breaking up.

Substak has created something very special here and it's a glorious addition to the See Blue Audio catalogue. The 'Silent Observers' EP evokes a sense of reflection and is ideally suited for relaxation and meditation while still retaining a questioning tone. To paraphrase the line from a famous science fiction movie, "In space no one can hear anything at all."

Silent Observers EP

'Silent Observers' EP (preview) – Substak (See Blue Audio SBA #059)

Fear

GLOBAL MUSIC / random seed

Icarus 2ID2

'Silent Observers' EP (preview) – Substak (See Blue Audio SBA #059)

See Blue Audio

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