From the album: "Music for Unknown Rituals"

Umor Rex, catalog UR149
Presented in 2xLP vinyl in 4 panel gatefold limited edition of 300 copies, digital and streaming.
Release date: November 17, 2023

After two years, Carl and Andreas present their second album, and once again, it opens up a wide associative space for us. What strikes us initially is the uncommon instrumentation: a church organ, harpsichord, glass tubes, and more. Like their first album (The Aporias of Futurism), it is mysterious and dark. But it also carries a strong touch of rebellion and adrenaline, sometimes quite pointedly. The pieces are now shorter and feature intricate yet irresistible rhythms. The impact is immediate, yet it maintains a sense of solemnity and ceremony. The Apollonian complexity of the rhythms and subtle melodic interweavings is transformed into a Dionysian, ecstatic, hypnotic, and at times tribal context. "Music for Unknown Rituals" oscillates between primitive instincts and avant-garde intrigues.

The process began in Döblitz, a small village on the Saale river in Germany, inside an old church that houses an organ built in 1886 by Johann Adolph Ibach. Carl and Andreas gained access and secluded themselves there for a few days, accompanied by the organ, an instrument made of glass tubes, and a set of modular synthesizers. After recording the basic tracks in Döblitz, the work continued in Munich and Berlin. Carl played electric guitars, harpsichord, bass, metallophone, xylophone, Indian harmonium, and various percussive instruments. Andreas added layers of electronic sounds, noises, and atmospheric drones. He also created percussive structures extracted and derived from recorded material of technical and industrial noises, which contrasted with the acoustic drums played by Carl. The antithetical approach continues with the dichotomous arrangement of the instruments, often panned hard left and right in the stereo field, creating an antiphonic communication. Some parts, especially the use of the electric guitar, evoke memories of the psychedelic sixties. However, this is anything but a nostalgic album—these musical references are merely remnants, set pieces, and fragments used from a contemporary, post-modern, post-youth-cultural, and post-romantic perspective.

Although Andreas and Carl continue on their chosen path of composing music with an almost literary narrative structure, this album is conceptually and formally completely different from their first effort. If “The Aporias of Futurism” was a revolutionary manifesto (in a pataphysical sense), "Music for Unknown Rituals" is more like the implementation in action; it is the practical application of the previous statement. To put it another way, if "The Aporias of Futurism” was the conceptual manifesto of a dark utopia of modernity, "Music for Unknown Rituals" is the staging of free will surrendering to the myths and catharsis of a Greek tragedy. And in response to this, the artwork features a leitmotif of histrionics with hands, the hands being the first and intuitive part of the body to express something: a ritual, a prayer, a defeat...

— Andreas Gerth is one half of Driftmachine, and Carl Osterhelt is part of F.S.K and collaborates with Hans-Joachim Irmler of Faust. Both became connected through their participation in the Tied & Tickled Trio.

Music for Unknown Rituals

Andreas Gerth and Carl Oesterhelt — The Alphabet Of Steps

disquesdelaspirale.bandcamp.com/album/un-…intrusivo
Releases : May 9, 2025
Vinyl, digital

A name that breathes, a voice that whispers and howls in soliloquy. Collecting the echoes that follow—field recordings from Colombia, murmured poems, the spectral songs of birds—she stitches together a sonic diary, an audible thread between past and present.

Like the shifting landscapes of Colombian magical realism, she bends nature as memory bends truth. From this alchemy arises Un Pensiero Intrusivo: seven folk incantations, captured live in Cagliari, Italy.
A new genre, steeped in something unnameable—a haunted flamenco, spectral invocations, a piano unmoored from time.

The air thickens, the horizon tilts. A slow descent into vertical tropics, where distant sensibilities collapse into a single, hypnotic pulse.

Recorded by Puta caso at Camera Anecoica, Cagliari
Mixed by Maria Mallol Moya
Mastering by Guillaume Lespinasse
Design : Marcello Collu
Illustrations by Maria Mallol Moya

Un Pensiero Intrusivo (LPSPI003)

For almost two decades, I have been tirelessly seeking honesty in music. I aim to find the sounds with which the artist speaks. Soundscapes that make you feel. Atmospheres that not only fill your room (and headphones) but truly transport you into another time and place. I will never forget the first time I heard Abul Mogard’s music. I was mesmerised. His intricate attention to sound design, rich textures, and manipulation of the created environment instantly transformed me into an avid fan. His music didn’t just augment my mood; it seemed to seep into my being, altering the code behind the perception of my mind. I didn’t just listen to his music, I invited it to be a part of my condition. In an effort to delve deeper and spend more time with such music, and more importantly, the composers themselves,  I created Headphone Community, where I feature an artist for an in-depth exploration. In the last three months, I’ve highlighted the sounds of James Murray, Ben Chatwin, and Erik K Skodvin. Today, I am honoured to announce that Abul Mogard will be the featured artist for the entire month of June! I invite you to join us on this journey, with the knowledge that your financial contribution will go directly to the artist!

Join here: https://www.patreon.com/c/HeadphoneCommunity

TRACK PREMIERE : Abul Mogard - In a studded procession

~ LAAPS 045 ~ [SEQ.06 - LP45]

artist : Akhira Sano
album : D-R
duration : 31.24 mn
date : July 28th, 2025

edition :
-  vinyl : limited to 200 copies / white LP / selective UV varnish (front+back) / hand numbered 
- cd : limited to 150 copies / pantone / hand numbered + handcrafted, sealed

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pre-order : June 30th, 2025 / official release : July 28th, 2025
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Sounds, arrangements and Mixed by Akhira Sano

Mastered by Taylor Deupree
Artwork by Jenni Toivonen
Design by Sprflxgrfzm
 
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Links :
https://laaps-records.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://linktr.ee/Akhira_Sano
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℗ & © 2 0 2 5 - L A A P S - L A A P S 0 4 5

Akhira Sano - Demande Un

~ LAAPS 046 ~ [SEQ.06 - LP46]

artist : Offthesky
album : Nocturnas
duration : 40.28 mn
date : August 28th, 2025

edition :
-  vinyl : limited to 200 copies / marble pink/purple LP / selective UV varnish (front+back) / hand numbered 
- cd : limited to 150 copies / pantone / hand numbered + handcrafted, sealed

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pre-order : August 01st, 2025 / official release : August 28th, 2025
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Sound and composition by Jason Corder
Vocals by Rin Howell
Created in Thailand and Colorado, 2022 - 2024

Mastered by Offthesky
Artwork by Gaël Bonnefon
Design by Sprflxgrfzm
 
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Links :
https://laaps-records.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://offthesky.bandcamp.com/
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℗ & © 2 0 2 5 - L A A P S - L A A P S 0 4 6

Offthesky - Dying Within Dreams

Escorial

~ IIKKI 029 ~

music : øjeRum
artwork : øjeRum
album : Ensomheden Vi Deler
duration : 40.36 mn 
date : September 29th 2025

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Music & artwork by øjeRum

Mastered by Taylor Deupree 
Design by Sprflxgrfzm

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edition : 
• vinyl: limited to 200 copies / neon green LP / hand numbered  / neon green pantone (front + back) / white inner 
• cd: limited to 150 CD / neon green pantone / 4-panel matte card package / hand numbered 
• book: limited to 500 copies / hand numbered & hand stamped / neon green pantone on the cover (front + back) / Swiss binding /  coloured edges with neon green pantone / sticker on front cover

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pre-order : September 01st, 2025 / official release : September 29th, 2025

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Links : 
https://iikki.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.iikki-books.com/
https://www.instagram.com/iikki_laaps/
https://oejerum.bandcamp.com/

øjeRum - Bag Tidens Lukkede Hænder

Experimenting with new methods.
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Photo by Josh Sorenson @ pexels.

Bonus Breaks

@oh-mr-james makes a powerful debut on Analogical Force with I'm Not Here, a six-track EP of intense dancefloor anthems forged from years of live performance. Capturing the tension of modern disconnection—always online, never present—this release cuts through the noise as a bold statement from the Cornish Braindance scene. Out on Madrid’s leading label for braindance, breakcore, acid, and experimental electronics, it marks a fearless new chapter in electronic music.

Amidst a sea of mediocrity and plagiarism, I'm Not Here stands as a testament to the uniqueness of the Cornish Braindance scene, which has given rise to some of the greatest producers in electronic dance music. Here, Benjamin James demonstrates that he is the torchbearer of that legacy, delivering anthems for a world spiraling in self-alienation—where identity flickers between screens and silence.
—
PREORDER 12" YELLOW VINYL + DIGITAL: https://tinyurl.com/3pxhs5pb
—
A1   SOMETIMES                                 02:34  
A2   I’M NOT HERE                              04:59
A3   THE BISHOP                                04:09

B1   GROUND CONTROL ACID                       03:27
B2   PARASYMPATHETIC                           03:42
B3   DESK ACID TWO                             03:54
—
C+P Analogical Force 2025. All rights reserved. 
Written and produced by Benjamin James Wood,Wales / Cornwall
Mastering by Carlos Koschitzky at Koschitzky Studio, Gijón
Design by Geometric Love, UK
Distributed by Clone, Rotterdam 
—
www.analogicalforce.com

Preorder Now

[AF063] OH MR JAMES 'I'M NOT HERE EP' [2025]

Track started Aug 13, 2016, finished Sep 14, 2025.
Photo by Learda Shkurti @ pexels.
------------------
Look at the little king
He found out all he wanted to know
It doesn’t change a thing
No-one is near to cushion the blow

I found my tribe
If I survive remains to be seen
I feel the need to hide
What does it mean, the end of a dream

I found my tribe
If I survive remains to be seen
I feel the need to hide
What does it mean, the end of a dream

We came so far
To meet the raging breakers on the bar
They leave their mark on the sand
But where is the helping hand

We came so far
To meet the raging breakers on the bar
They leave their mark on the sand
But where is the helping hand

Where is the helping hand
 
We must not separate
Over the sea, the crescent is gone
Time to accept our fate
Whether we lost, or whether we won

I found my tribe
If I survive remains to be seen
I feel the need to hide
What does it mean, the end of a dream 

I found my tribe
If I survive remains to be seen
I feel the need to hide
What does it mean

I Found My Tribe

Muslimgauze  -  Algiers And Karachi

Record label based in Mexico City, distributed worldwide by Morr Music.

Andreas Gerth and Carl Oesterhelt — The Alphabet Of Steps

Umor Rex

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