For the first time in more than a decade, Paul St. Hilaire (AKA Tikiman) presents a solo album – 100% Tiki. 

Over his 30-plus year career, St. Hilaire has become one of dance music’s quietly legendary figures. Born and raised in the Caribbean island Dominica, he moved to Berlin in 1994 and has lent both his voice and his musicianship to some of the most iconic electronic music from the German capital – and beyond. Renowned for his collaborations with Moritz von Oswald and Mark Ernestus (AKA Rhythm & Sound), he has also appeared on records with Deadbeat, Rhauder, Larry Heard aka Mr. Fingers and Stereotyp (G-Stone Recordings), amongst others. 

However, few know the extent of St. Hilaire’s compositional and technical mastery. From his home studio in Kreuzberg, which includes an extensive collection of vintage hardware, self-built instruments and notebooks scribbled with endless lyrics, he has created a vast archive of material spanning ambient dub, avant-jazz, lush techno and lovers rock. 

Tikiman Vol. 1 is a heady, downtempo tour de force of patois metaphors on education, displacement and personal vs. global histories, as is evident on slippy album opener “Bedroom in My Bag”: Mister, mister / Where are you going? / I’m heading for a faraway land / What are you having in the bag in your hand? / Help us to understand / He said, I’ve got my bedroom in my bag. 

Overall, the album’s lyrics reflect on life between Berlin and Dominica, specifically St. Hilaire’s hometown of Grand Bay, where he has worked with various musicians famous for the island’s different genres of carnival music. St. Hilaire himself always favoured the island’s more “discrete” music, developing a sonic synergy between two different geographical strains of groove and minimalism, and combining them with foundational Caribbean mixing techniques, which provide the basis for his songwriting and distinct baritone. 

Tikiman Vol.1 offers a rare insight into St. Hilaire’s complex artistry, from the eyes-down grooves of “Little Way” and the guitar-heavy digi dancehall experiment “Keep Safe,” to the subtle hypnosis of “Ten to One” and the softly crashing synth waves of closer “Three and a Half”, evoking not only beaches but also coasts and borders. It’s a fitting expression of both the breadth of St. Hilaire’s work, as well as his history as one of the few black, Berlin-based artists who, despite remaining largely overlooked, has influenced the city’s electronic music culture since its beginnings. 

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Kynant Records was founded in 2015 by Richard Akingbehin, a British-Nigerian radio programmer (Refuge Worldwide), music writer and DJ. Originally specialising in deep techno and featuring artists such as Cio D’Or, Terrence Dixon and Donato Dozzy, Kynant has since launched a sub-label Kynant EX which focuses on ambient, dub and experimental electronics. 

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Distributed by N.E.W.S 
Mastered by Stefan Betke 
Artwork by Grant Gibson 

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Supported by Initiative Musik gGmbH with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media.

B2 Paul St. Hilaire - The Weather Man

These were the stories that he told himself, tall tales from long ago which had got lost in the spaces in between. It had been a while since he’d last let himself think about such history and nostalgia for it was buried deep in the recesses of his mind. His memory palace was a place visited once in a blue moon for the magic which lived behind those thick castle walls was sometimes best to be left alone.

Lying amidst the tall grass he watched as the clouds moved slowly by overhead, he’d allowed himself this one afternoon to daydream upon what might of been in another life. He opened the heavy gates and let his memories of a wilder, better time come rushing in.

He closed his eyes and nodded off…

Priori continues to develop and grow as a producer, moving toward deep, pensive textures and atmospheres on a new EP for Midgar Records. The Pareidolia EP is comprised of four tracks of intelligent Techno which teases and intrigues – this is a record which will sound good on dark nights and in smokey rooms.

PREMIERE: Priori - Memory Palace [Midgar]

They hung thick and ominous overhead, casting strange shapes and shadows upon the empty fields and plains which lay beneath. The barley could be seen blowing in the warmth of the summer breeze but it was a muggy, humid kind of heat. The kind which stuck to you and held on tight.

Heavy clouds often meant that the end was nigh, that summer was on its way out and soon the rain would fall and leave this land green and wondrous. Everything would be afloat once again, an aquatic paradise in which the wild things grew and the people danced.

For now, they simply watched as they passed overhead, moving ever more slowly, weighed down by world within them.

Pure Space are set to release a new EP from Command D. This record is titled 'New Devices' and features a collection of dubbed out ambient tones, amidst loosely dotted sporadic percussion in the ilk of Basic Channel or Deepchord etc.

PREMIERE: Command D - Heavy Clouds [Pure Space]

Three dubs from the archives, made at Skeleten Studios.

Production and Mixing - Charles Fester
Mastering - Justin Moon at Phonolab Studios
Artwork - Sofia Musarra

released October 15, 2024

https://commandd.bandcamp.com/album/loss-ep

Loss

Take a Sip

Calibre

Juggling Dualities

Bonded for Eternity

This but More

Thick Air (Loidis Reconfiguration)

jrdn! - mirage (Prod. dead lighters)

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jrdn! - mirage (Prod. dead lighters)

cool

First upload after a year of making music -- a rather condensed version of a recent journey on the Microfreak and several synth solos upon my first chord. Hope you like hearing it. `Longer version is up for some mixing and coming here soon!

Trial Royal EPI

Trial Royal

TRIAL ROYAL (Studio Edit)

A2 Sufferation Time(Reinterpretation by Felix K)

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