Hard Wax

Etapp Kyle - Aurora

Radial - Asiel


Release date (3LP, cd & digital format): 3rd of November

TRACKLIST
1. Ø [Phase] - Insectoid
2. Lucy - Sana Sana Sana Cura Cura Cura
3. Ctrls - x.y
4. Rødhåd - Haumea
5. Planetary Assault Systems - The 808 Track (Parts 1 and 2)
6. James Ruskin - No Trace
7. Surgeon - Fixed Action Pattern
8. Inigo Kennedy - Arcing
9. Karenn - Pace Yourself

INFO
It was early 2007 when Inigo Kennedy inaugurated Token. Since that Identify Yourself 12” the Belgian label has gone from strength to strength, integrating both Kennedy and Ashley Burchett, aka Ø [Phase], into becoming integral cogs in the Token machine. In between releases by Grovskopa, Oscar Mulero and Go Hiyama, both Ø [Phase] and Inigo Kennedy dominated Token’s output, but it wasn’t until Burchett’s watershed Binary Opposition that Token received the shower of praise it deserved. Following this, label founder Kr!z issued three remix 12”s of that release which, including Token regulars, took in a profound cast of producers to reprocess “Binary Opposition” by the way of Sigha, Peter Van Hoesen, Planetary Assault Systems and Ben Klock. It was here Token stamped their authority on contemporary techno.

Since then Token has grown exponentially, bringing into their fold artists like Xhin, Mark Broom and Rødhåd, while Ctrls, formally one half of Northern Structures, has seen his solo career flourish on Token with the release of five records to date, and he joins Inigo Kennedy and Ø [Phase] as a label stalwart. Additionally this year, Orphx and Ancient Methods debuted their relentless Eschaton collaboration on Token, and Christian Wünsch’s Spherical Coordinates dalliance with Oscar Mulero has gained even more momentum with a second release called Kinematics Equations. Now, seven years after that debut Kennedy record, Token present Aphelion, a nine-track CD and triple vinyl grandstand of new and exclusive material from label regulars and like-minded artists whom Token founder Kr!z specifically commissioned for this milestone release.

The penultimate record before Aphelion was a second Token 12” by Rødhåd, another artist adding to the cultivation of the label’s sound and roster, and for this compilation the Berliner supplies his cosmically inspired “Haumea”. Joining the Dystopian founder on Aphelion are three of the UK’s most influential techno artists: Surgeon, James Ruskin and Luke Slater under his Planetary Assault Systems alias who provide Token with solo material for the first time after previously appearing on the imprint in remix form. Entirely new names to grace the label via Aphelion include Stroboscopic Artefacts founder Lucy, and Blawan and Pariah's Karenn project, while label faithfuls Inigo Kennedy,  Ø [Phase] and Ctrls naturally commit three Token defining productions.

Casting one’s eye over Token’s back catalogue and it’s clear to see the label is a staunch advocate of absolute techno, remaining steadfast in issuing quality material that remains true to classic strands of the genre regardless of its popularity flux. In that respect, Aphelion - a word used to describe the point in orbit when a planet or comet is farthest from the sun - provides a simple analogy that the magnetic force of Token, unfazed by the shadows cast by popular opinion, will proudly shine light on their artists and given styles. 

“We started in an era where our genre was very unpopular,” Kr!z explains. “And in the end that seemed a big advantage for us, because when everyone was giving up, we started our mission.” Regularly hosting label nights in prominent clubs around the world, Token has become a label supported by a wide-ranging body of artists like Âme and Ben Klock to Efdemin, Truss and Ancient Methods. With the label now branching out into album and compilation territory, Token’s duty to techno may not yet be accomplished, but it’s been a job well done.

www.tokenrecords.com
www.facebook.com/tokenrecords

Aphelion

Karenn - Pace Yourself

Artista: @timetraveleruk
Sello: @chroniclesdiary

Chronicles Diary presenta WAYF VOL1, el primer capítulo de una nueva serie que explora identidad, temporalidad y los múltiples dialectos del techno contemporáneo. Una colección directa, funcional y orientada a la pista, que encapsula el ADN sonoro del sello: tensión, textura y movimiento constante.

Para este premiere elegimos “Stud”, el corte de Time Traveler (UK), que cierra el EP con una actitud cruda y determinada. El productor británico firma un ejercicio de techno subterráneo, donde la arquitectura rítmica avanza entre glitches, percusiones fragmentadas y un groove áspero que respira entre los impactos. Un tema construido para club, sin ornamentos, donde cada elemento ocupa su espacio con precisión quirúrgica.

“Stud” funciona como cápsula temporal dentro del compilado: suena futurista pero industrial, minimalista pero corpóreo, y mantiene la energía en un punto de tensión óptimo para pista avanzada. Es un cierre perfecto para un VA que no pregunta dónde, sino cuándo existe esta música.

WAYF VOL1 se completa con aportaciones igualmente contundentes de Boyd Schidt & Uväll, Commissar Lag y MMSS, ofreciendo cuatro visiones distintas unidas por una misma intención: techno de club, efectivo y subterráneo.

PREMIERE: Time Traveler – Stud - Chronicles Diary

Improv T.a12

The Fridge

Stanislav Tolkachev - The Fridge 5 (Rösten 4)

Bjarki returns to трип with another EP brandishing five restructured doses of IDM from another galaxy. Using marching kick drums as a basis, oli gumm takes references from techno, gabber and trance and morphs them into something far less easy to categorise. 

‘oli gumm 2-2’ switches frantically between glistening synth cascades and bouncing kicks. ‘fork2-2’ is a subdued excursion through ominous, trance-inducing strings and skeletal percussion. 

Opening the B side, ‘7 filakaramellur lion bar’ spirals through warped vocals and acoustic contortions, followed by ‘hatann satann’, a high speed voyage through a demonic parallel universe. Closing off the EP, ‘sleikjó’ uses rolling drums to circle around a pit of sparse sonic oddities.

Oli Gumm

Bjarki - Fork 2-2

Track from NE61 Ulwhednar – Razor Mesh Fencing
Out on 2xLP and Digital on March 29th.

The relentless stride of Northern Electronics can be put down to the attitudes of its owners, Anthony Linell and Jonas Rönnberg. Their collaborative project, Ulwhednar, has been shapeshifting at the centre of the label since its inception, and has captured their hard line electronics in its many guises.

Following on from 2017's 'Modern Silver', their new album reprises the intensity by grappling with its themes from a refreshed perspective. Crossing Norrland, the northernmost part of Sweden, and graffiti incidents and exploits, 'Razor Mesh Fencing' tracks the fervour of operations left undercover with blistering rhythmic pieces.

With only brief moments of respite on 'Razor Mesh Fencing' its stamina perpetually keeps us on the edge. Winding around its paths, our escape is in its adrenal crescendo.

Recorded by Anthony Linell and Jonas Rönnberg in Sofia, Sweden 2018
Mastered by Neel at EnissLab, Rome

Razor Mesh Fencing

Ulwhednar - Through Gates of Ice

A2 from my upcoming album - out May 31st.

https://thirdwife.bandcamp.com/

third wife - Everybody Makes Mistakes

Sixth release in the Ternesc series from Blawan

Artwork by Sean Bell 
Mastered by Simon at The Exchange