JUNE 2020

40th Anniversary Edition of Harald Grosskopf's "Synthesist" out now

"Synthesist" was the first solo album by Ashra drummer Harald Grosskopf, originally released 1980 on Sky Records. It is one of the classics of German electronic music, comprising eight instrumentals composed in the tradition of the so-called Berlin School. For the 40th anniversary "Synthesist" is released as 2-vinyl and 2-CD with new interpretations by Steve Baltes, Thorsten Quaeschning, Paul Frick, Keidler, Pyrolator, Love-Songs, Stefan Lewin, Camera and Tellavision. Out now!

More info: english / german

MAY 2020

Baal & Mortimer presents video for single "Kingdom Rest"

Here comes Kingdom Rest, the first single off Baal & Mortimer's debut album "Deixis", out on June 26.

Being one of the first pieces written in Düsseldorf, Kingdom Rest reflects the texture of Baal & Mortimer: many voices, many ghosts, chorals, cracks in the kingdom. Shimmering wounds and pearly beats, everything returns as echo, a circulating glow within smoky lines under church towers.

Love-Songs "Nicht Nicht" released.

Hamburg-based Love-Songs' debut album Nicht Nicht continues the band's striving to mesh defined grids with improvisatory snapshots to create their very own take on organic electronica. Since 2012, the electro-acoustic trio were able to explore the possibilities of their free-flowing interplay through the course of several EPs and the mini-album 'Inselbegabung'. Meandering through its seven tracks Nicht Nicht contains the Trios most aerially shimmering tracks to date flanked by tribal bouncers. Form, deform and somewhere in between.

More info: english / german

Lapre collection released on Bureau B.

Rudolf Langer (formerly of Tyndall) and Peter Preuß teamed up to create Lapre as a vehicle for their adventures in sonic experimentation. They set about capturing their nocturnal rehearsal room sessions on tape, Langer on synthesizer and Preuß on guitar. Banzai, the second collection of Lapre recordings, concentrates on their creative output from the years 1985 to 1987. It documents the duo's impressive latter phase, moving on from their earlier cosmic collages into an altogether more playful state of mind.

More info: english / german

APRIL 2020

New Die Wilde Jagd "Haut" out now!

Die Wilde Jagd is the music project of producer and songwriter Sebastian Lee Philipp. With the aid of his co-producer Ralf Beck and various guest musicians, he created a self-titled debut album in 2015 and a highly praised follow-up disc, "Uhrwald Orange", in 2018. The band's third album – "Haut" – is out now on Bureau B. Ethereal voices, deep rhythms and distant noises are calling for you! Fühlst Du die bunten Almosen?

More info: english / german

Elephant Chateau compilation released on Bureau B!

The complete other-worldly beautiful works of Elephant Chateau are now reissued on the new compilation "Pearls and Turtles" which will be out on April 17th via Bureau B. All tracks have been carefully remastered from the original tapes. Including an extentive interview by music journalist Björn Schaeffner and a new artwork by Elephant Chateau's Johannes Vetsch.

More info: english / german

MARCH 2020

BUTZMANN/KAPIELSKI. Album out now!

"WAR PUR WAR" was created in my small studio at 11-13 Erkelenzdamm, on the same floor as the Institut Unzeit, where the Freunde Guter Musik were also based. The record gathers together an incredibly diverse assortment of short pieces with different backstories.
When we had finished recording, Thomas Kapielski and I headed for Hamburg with the two 1/4–inch tapes to master the A and B sides of the LP. The engineer was a really friendly guy. He spotted a phase shift between the channels and I'm eternally grateful to him for correcting it! He wasn’t quite so meticulous when it came to calibrating volume levels for the record.
The three of us – Kapielski, the engineer and I – had a lot of laughs together, but our man didn't take the music particularly seriously and perhaps lacked a little bit of focus. Distribution difficulties meant that only a few copies of the disc made it into the shops when it was released in 1987, ultimately increasing its collectibility as a rare item. The album illuminates the spectrum of differing, even contradictory Butzmann/Kapielski productions, whilst also marking the conclusion of a short epoch which began with punk, post-punk, the Zensor record shop and Genialen Dilletanten in Berlin. It continued through a period of "high cultural relations" before ending in the late 1980s which, by no means coincidentally, is when the duo broke up.

Frieder Butzmann, November 2019

More info: english / german

Jimi Tenor retrospective "NY, Hel, Barca" out on Bureau B!

Finnish composer and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Tenor has joined forces with Bureau B to release "NY, Hel, Barca" – a retrospective compilation spanning the years 1994 – 2001. The double LP features early works and selected tracks from his first six albums, long since deleted. The 20 tracks on "NY, Hel, Barca" document key stages of Jimi Tenor's remarkable creative path, underlining the prolific and varied nature of his artistic output. Then as now, he shines like a satellite hovering over the European pop landscape.

More info: english / german

FEBRUARY 2020

Felix Kubin & Hubert Zemler are CEL. Album out now!

The "janus-faced Poltergeist of the retro-futuristic electronic dance music" Felix Kubin and the polish drummer Hubert Zemler, inspired by Jazz, contemporary music and Improv, teamed up together to create this project that convinces with its innovative electronic concept and sounddesign. With Kubin pushing his sound generators to the limits of the frequency spectrum and Zemler playing impulsive and machine-like beats, these two musicians are able to design a beautifully dark soundscape.

More info: english / german

Deux Baleines Blanches avant-pop-reissue out now!

DBB was the name of Stefan Schneider's avant-pop-project who concurrently with his studies of photography at Duesseldorf's Kunstakademie had begun his musical explorations in the early 1980s, which also led him to cofound the bands Kreidler (1994) and To Rococo Rot (1995). "Singende Draehte" showcases some of his early work in the field. The somewhat sketchy and abstract character of these 14 tracks, "Draehte" (wires) is slightly reminiscent of the esthetics of contemporary labels like Les Disques du Crépuscule or early 4AD. yet they sound surprisingly modern even 30 years after they were first released.

More info: english / german

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Three more gems from French synth
prog rock legends HELDON reissued

No 5: Un rêve sans conséquence spéciale" (1976) HELDON was always its own beast and by 1976 it was thriving and roaring like never before. More work was being completed in a proper studio, the Moog helped strengthen the sound and direction, and Pinhas' rotating cast of collaborators was solidifying into something resembling a regular line-up, with François Auger on drums and Patrick Gauthier on synthesizers. The result was a darker, heavier, and more intense sound.

More info: here

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No 6: "Interface" (1977) HELDON was continuing to evolve rapidly. Thanks to the increased presence of drummer François Auger and synth/Moog man Patrick Gauthier, Pinhas' project had solidified into a harder and heavier unit. Despite its often warm and near-funky feel, "Interface" has been cited as an influence on key industrial and noise musicians including Wolf Eyes and Merzbow.

More info: here

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No 7: "Stand by" (1979) With their seventh and final album of the 70s HELDON certainly went out on a high. "Stand By"s mood remains urgent and gripping throughout, fashioned via immense synthesizer sounds, a plethora of interweaving drum patterns, spiralling guitar chops and lurching riffs. It's been likened to krautrock, yet Pinhas never paid attention to the German scene. There are other similarities to parallel innovations that John Carpenter was making in the field of sci-fi/horror soundtracks.

More info: here

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