Electronica

Lowfish Reel Electronics Volume 14 - October 17, 2013

Intro is a mangled Coil sample...

1. "Xylitolic" (Grapht Fatal Flowers Remix) - Zyxt
2. "When all is said and done" - Ancient Methods
3. " Moddax" - Perc & Modern Heads
4. "Least Inkling" - Front 242
5. "Babaks House" - Cloudface
6. "Dust" - Alex Smoke
7. "Elephant Generators" - Solvent
8. "Sleep Games" - Pye Corner Audio
9. "Prisms" - Clockwork
10. "Daylight for 15 seconds" - Manasyt
11. "Blackpool Late Eighties" - Holden


Lowfish Reel Electronics Vol. 14

From Solvent's original OST: 
"New Ways: music from the documentary I Dream Of Wires"

Order DIGITAL (via Ghostly International):
http://www.theghostlystore.com/products/solvent-new-ways

Order PHYSICAL (via Suction Records):
2CD: http://www.science-with-synthesizers.com/products/solvent-new-ways-2cd-deluxe
VINYL: http://www.science-with-synthesizers.com/products/solvent-new-ways-vinyl

Official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRAaEK39IU

This is track#9, "King Vincent". Every sound on this record was created from scratch using a variety of modular synthesizer systems.

King Vincent

Before I did stuff under the name Lowfish I recorded as Pest(e). "Wrinkle" is from the 1995 cassette release "Test(e)" by Pest(e). I thought I was pretty clever with all the brackets…I did the art to this as well - I was just starting in graphic design then...

This track and a few other Pest(e) tracks were re-released on Suction Records (which we started in 1997, the year after this cassette was produced).

Wrinkle - by Pest(e) - 1995

ARTIST: Skanfrom
TITLE: Postcards
LABEL/CAT#: Suction Records / suction027
RELEASE DATE: October 7, 2014
FORMAT: Vinyl/CD/digital

Suction Records is proud to present "Postcards," a new full-length by Skanfrom - his first album since 2002… Skanfrom is Roger Semsroth from Berlin, best known for his  purist minimal techno project Sleeparchive.

Before Sleeparchive, there was Skanfrom… Skanfrom first appeared in the late-90s, releasing limited edition 7"s on his own A.D.S.R. label, part of a small movement of DIY labels influenced by the melodic, experimental electronica output of labels like Rephlex, Skam, and Warp. Skanfrom's music displayed a particular affinity for the lush, melodic electro of Bochum Welt, an early signing to Aphex Twin's Rephlex label; you could practically call Bochum Welt the blueprint for Skanfrom's sound. But there was something a little different about Skanfrom…

Unlike Bochum Welt, who claimed influence from big shiny '80s producers like Trevor Horn and Thomas Dolby, Skanfrom was also listening to a lot of raw synthwave music - the influence of early Depeche Mode (Speak and Spell), Kraftwerk (Radioactivity), and obscure bands like Vice Versa and Ceramic Hello, clearly set Skanfrom apart from his IDM contemporaries.

Skanfrom found a likeminded home in Suction Records, who were releasing records by Solvent and Lowfish with many of the same musical references. In 2002, Skanfrom released his debut album on Suction Records, "Hand Picked Fragments." A lot has changed since 2002, but in Skanfrom world, 2014 is very much the same. "Postcards" is full of the same pure and melodic electro(pop) that made Skanfrom so special to us from the start. As it was in the beginning, Skanfrom produced "Postcards" using little more than his beloved Roland SH-101; this classic vintage monosynth, with it's minimal layout and pure analogue tone, remains the ideal instrument for Skanfrom's enduring, synthetic sound.

"Perseids Over Greenwich" by Skanfrom

In appreciation for hitting 4,000 followers on Soundcloud, I'm offering an unreleased Solvent track (was for free download, but now streaming only).

This is something I recorded a few years ago, and I've always really liked this - in some ways classic Solvent, in other ways, totally un-Solvent. The only reason I haven't released it is because it has some uncleared samples that I can't be bothered clearing. Technically it was a remix that I was commissioned to do, but that was never released - I can't even remember what the source material was anymore. In addition to the orchestral and audience applause samples from the source material, it features some heavily processed Roland CR-78 drums, a little bit of Korg KR-55 toms, and Roland Jupiter-6 for the lead line. There's probably some other bits too but that's all that I remember... Enjoy!

Orchestral Manoeuvres (unreleased)

Jason 'Solvent' Amm has been active since the late 90s, creating numerous indefinable mutations of dance, rich with the pulsing warmth and chaos of analogue circuitry. Recent years have seen Amm serving as producer, co-writer and interviewer for the independent documentary epic I Dream Of Wires exploring the history, demise and resurgence of the ultimate electronic music machine, the Modular Synthesizer. All the while Solvent has pursued the industrial, acidic sounds that have always lain dormant in his work, and this mix for R$N offers an emotional gut punch, with slow, stately machine music giving way to chunks of bristling techno and bursts of quivering, tentatively euphoric melody. We caught up with Amm to discuss just how a producer who doesn't "put a lot of stock into recording mixes" goes about making a mixtape...
Full interview here: http://www.theransomnote.co.uk/music/mixes/solvent-the-ransom-note-mixtape/

Alessandro Cortini - Stella 
Lowfish - Knives 
Alain Kepler - Radio Wave Tracker 
Clouds - Blood Skating 
Varg - Norrlandsbrigad 69R 
Cylob - Durftal 
Strider.B. - [Bradley's Robot A1] 
Gescom - Viral Rival (Rmxd By Ae) 
[UNKNOWN ARTIST] - [Papers001-B1] 
Cloudface - On None 
Blacknecks - Don't Dream It Be It 


Read Full Interview

Solvent - The Ransom Note Mixtape

Artist: Solvent
Title: RDJCS5-ep
Label/Cat: Suction Records / suction022
Format: 4-song EP digital/lim.12" vinyl
Release Date: Sept. 6, 2011

A1: Curtains
 A2: Radiator
 B1: Mould
 B2: Tassels 
B3: Sandpaper [vinyl-exclusive]

Occasionally one reads about some musical instrument with an illustrious past, Jimi Hendrix's guitar, John Lennon's piano, selling for exorbitant amounts of money at auction. And typically, that's the last of it, the instrument disappearing into some rich collector's display case, never to be heard from again. Here then, is a bit of a different story. In April 2006, a Yamaha CS5 monosynth, having been owned by Richard D James (Aphex Twin), with the actual liner notes for his landmark "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" etched into the bottom, was sold at VEMIA auction for approximately $1200 - a bargain in retrospect. The winning bidder was, in fact, a friend of Solvent's, and the synth resides not in a display case, but in Solvent's studio, on generous long-term loan.

"RDJCS5", a new 4-track 12-inch / digital EP by Solvent, is the result. This is Suction022. Each and every sound on this record came from RDJ's old CS5, painstakingly programmed and multi-tracked by Solvent over the course of several months. The limited capabilities and sound palette of this humble little synth provided quite a challenge, but ultimately the results are not merely an exercise in technical synthnerdery; "RDJCS5" speaks more of Solvent's musical kinship to thee Analord. Opening track "Curtains" bears similarity to early Rephlex signing Bochum Welt, while "Radiator", "Mould", and "Tassels" each contain hallmarks of the classic AFX sound. At the same time, each track also sounds distinctly and unmistakably 'Solvent'.

The 12" vinyl edition is limited to 300 copies, in brown chipboard sleeve with sticker, and also contains an additional noise/drone piece at the end of side B. Entitled "Sandpaper", this cut will be individually hand-etched by Solvent, for a 1-of-a-kind cut/click/loop experience.

http://www.suctionrecords.com/rdjcs5

Curtains ['R D J C S 5 A 1' - suction022]

Taken from 'New Ways: Music From The Documentary I Dream Of Wires' by Solvent, out August 14, 2015.

Purchase at The Ghostly Store: http://www.theghostlystore.com/collections/music-downloads/products/solvent-new-ways

Solvent - King Vincent (Wrangler Remix)

Digital Poodle "Work Terminal (Solvent revision)"
from "Revision! vol.1 - Work Terminal"
Suction Records / suction036
12"/digital - Nov 2015

Digital Poodle - Work Terminal (Solvent revision)

"Tunnel" -- from "EP 1"
BUY: rx-101.bandcamp.com/album/ep-1

Suction Records presents the first in a series of archival releases by RX-101 - previously unreleased material, originally recorded to cassette circa 1997-1999. Pure and authentic Aphex Twin-style techno/IDM/electronics.

“EP 1” (suction032)
12” vinyl EP - October 17, 2016

RX-101 - "Tunnel"

SOLVENT WISH BASSABYSS MIX

self-titledmag.com/2017/12/13/ne235-solvent-mix-idm-braindance/

NE235: Solvent

From Solvent's 2010 full-length "Subject to Shift" - available on 2x12" vinyl, CD, or digitally. (Note: this track is not on the 2x12" vinyl version).

Elevator Up (Intro)

From Solvent's original OST: 
"New Ways: music from the documentary I Dream Of Wires"

Order DIGITAL (via Ghostly International):
http://www.theghostlystore.com/products/solvent-new-ways

Order PHYSICAL (via Suction Records):
2CD: http://www.science-with-synthesizers.com/products/solvent-new-ways-2cd-deluxe
VINYL: http://www.science-with-synthesizers.com/products/solvent-new-ways-vinyl

Official video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xWZb2QOhZk

This is track#1, "Themogene (I Dream Of Wires theme)". Every sound on this record was created from scratch using a variety of modular synthesizer systems.

Themogene (I Dream Of Wires theme)

"Themogene (I Dream Of Wires theme)", from the forthcoming "I Dream Of Wires" soundtrack album by Solvent, coming fall 2013. 

"I Dream of Wires" is an upcoming, independent documentary film about the phenomenal resurgence of the modular synthesizer — exploring the passions, obsessions and dreams of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this esoteric electronic music machine. Written and directed by Robert Fantinatto, with Jason Amm (Ghostly International recording artist Solvent) serving as producer and co-writer, I Dream Of Wires is set to premiere spring 2013.
http://idreamofwires.org

"Themogene" features in this brand new official trailer for "I Dream Of Wires: Hardcore Edition" - a limited edition, 4-hour cut available to pre-order now on BluRay / 2xDVD:
http://vimeo.com/idreamofwires/idowhardcoreedition

Solvent - Themogene (I Dream Of Wires theme)

http://solventcity.com

http://facebook.com/solvent

http://discogs.com/artist/Solvent

For over a decade, Jason Amm’s work as Solvent has neatly defied categorization. His music is too sweetly melodic for techno or acid, his compositions too fiendishly detailed for synth-pop. He was too steeped in the sounds of the ‘80s to participate in the incipient IDM scene; he was briefly lumped in with the short-lived electroclash movement, only to outlive it; he’s played “minimal wave” parties and goth clubs, indie-rock shows and techno all-nighters. But even as words fail in the face of Solvent’s music, its pleasures are anything but elusive.

Today, Zimbabwe-born Jason Amm lives in Toronto, ON, where he spends his time obsessively grappling with an outsized collection of vintage analog synthesizers, samplers, and sequencers. Solvent first materialized in 1997 with a string of singles and full-lengths (1998’s Solvent, 1999’s Solvently One Listens) on Amm’s own Suction Records, the Toronto-based label he founded with Lowfish’s Gregory DeRocher. The watershed release Solvent City (2001) on Berlin-based Morr Music introduced Amm’s sound to a wider audience, and Apples &amp; Synthesizers (2004) marked Solvent’s move to Ghostly International. Along with notable remixes of artists including Soft Cell, Alter Ego, and Adult., Solvent tracks have appeared on high-profile DJ mixes and seminal compilations.

Solvent’s most recent record on Ghostly International, 2010?s Subject to Shift, marks a turn for the darker as Amm embraces his love of the abrasive sounds of acid and industrial. And while a sinister tone or two now dances among Solvent’s sparkling hooks and bright streaks of synthesizer, and while Amm’s music drifts even further from accepted genre-specific reference points, Solvent’s sound has only deepened. After more than ten years of composing love songs for robots, Amm sounds like nothing more than himself.



Orchestral Manoeuvres (unreleased)

solvent

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