The Munich-based label ZEN DNA marks its sixtieth release with the debut of Alphanumeric Characters, a project that embodies both statement and sound in line with the label’s vision.  By choosing to place music over an image, the artist avoids the familiar patterns of social media self-promotion, instead emphasizing craft, experimentation, and a dialogue between heritage and innovation. The result is a music rooted in electronic history yet alive with contemporary possibility.  The opening track, 1980 Rediscovery, sets the tone immediately. Its title points to the year the Rubik’s Cube reached a global audience, evoking an era where play, design, and technology converged.  Musically, the piece fuses elements of dark disco and early electro, not as a retro pastiche, but as a study in how memory reshapes sound, with the Munich school of production cast as both a legacy and an ongoing influence.  Its counterpart, ZX81, shifts focus to the dawn of home computing. Named after Sinclair’s home computer, the track reflects the machine’s limitations while channeling the spirit of vintage synthesizer culture, reinterpreting its aesthetic for the present rather than simply replicating it.  With these recordings, Alphanumeric Characters positions sound as both remembrance and projection, an exploration of how cultural memory, technological change, and minimalist design can resonate anew in today’s electronic landscape. 

ZEN 060 Alphanumeric Characters - 1980 Rediscovery / ZX81 (Preview) EP.2025

1980 Rediscovery / ZX81

Alphanumeric Characters - ZX81 (Original Mix)

Alphanumeric Characters - 1980 Rediscovery (Original Mix)

https://www.facebook.com/zendnamusic
https://www.beatport.com/label/zen-dna/42155

The Munich-based record label focused on tasteful electronica. It’s the home artists such as Stanny Abram, Art Was Art, and Ludvig & Stelar. ZEN DNA brings top-quality singles, conceptual albums, compilations, and releases to satisfy the delicate needs and refined taste of our audience, as well as contemporary producers around the world.