"We're constantly striving to strike a balance between work that respects academic rules of composition, established visual codes and good readability, with something more spontaneous, adventurous, playful, even naive."
The Eski.Sub draws inspiration from the visual language of Brutalist architecture and the cultural atmosphere of UK grime music scene. The project examines the relationship between design, urban context, and emotional listening experiences, positioning the loudspeaker as both an audio device and a spatial object.
Fifteen years ago, when the Lisbon imprint was reckoning with near-empty dancefloors at the recently shuttered Musicbox venue, it would have been inconceivable for Principe to host a party at Lux widely considered to be among Europe's best nightclubs let alone pack out the roughly 1,500 capacity venue with the likes of minimal techno legend Richie Hawtin in attendance.
Detroit techno, austere and futuristic, grew out of Black/queer culture, sci-fi escapism, and the repetitive language of automobile factories. San Francisco's techno, on the other hand, fused an outdoor hippie aesthetic with ecstatic, UK-derived beats that had crowds mass-hallucinating UFOs on Ocean Beach at dawn. Both shared a deep funkiness, however—remember when people of all shapes and colors once danced wildly?
Panopticon and Catharsis are doing a short co-headlining East Coast tour together this fall! The tour kicks off in Boston on October 8 before hitting Brooklyn's Market Hotel on October 9 and then shows in Philly and Baltimore. Tickets go on sale Friday (3/6).
Metropolis -the tale of an exploited caste of workers breaking free from their oligarchic oppressors by joining together with them to build a new world, as well as an Orpheus-like love story-has famously been in a state of restoration for almost a century, thanks to studio mangling and the ravages of time.
No matter who Sam Shackleton plays with, you recognize his handiwork immediately: Since he began weaving together North African percussion and dubstep-inspired basslines more than two decades ago, he's developed one of the most distinctive styles in electronic music. He long ago shed virtually all traces of conventional UK bass music, effectively evolving into a genre of one. Dubstep was always a misnomer for his music, which never stepped, but flowed.
Escapism, the debut album by They Call Me Steve (Jordi van Achthoven of Tinlicker), explores his creative world through rediscovered tracks and everyday-life samples. Deeply personal and rooted in his past, it also features the singles "Whatever You Call It," "Body Move," and "Lara," shaping a record suited for both club nights and quiet escape. The first album Escapism by They Call Me Steve is an album to be obsessed with.
Each stage is designed with a clear purpose, allowing different parts of the electronic spectrum to exist without compromise, from peak-time headline techno to foundational house, from high-pressure intensity to emerging local voices. Together, the stages form a complete ecosystem where every sound has room to exist properly, and the whole site is steeped in the famously high spec production, light and sound that makes this one of Europe's leading events.
Green-House will release new album Hinterlands on March 20. The Los Angeles duo of Olive Ardizoni and Michael Flanagan has left their longtime home of Leaving to sign with Ghostly for the follow-up to A Host for All Kinds of Life. Listen to a new song from the record, "Farewell, Little Island," below, and scroll down for the album art.
OKO DJ's music is best measured not in decibels but in candle watts. Sunlight, one suspects, would reduce it to ashes. Her debut album, As Above, So Below, is a seance of a record, a journey into the darkest corners of the night. The Athens-based musician, aka Marine Tordjemann, is host of an NTS Radio show called Twisted Dream Diary, and As Above, So Below, is similarly steeped in dream logic and surrealistic visions. In its collision of bleak sounds and cosmic mysticism, it often feels like a gothic take on new-age spirituality. It might be the post-post-punk equivalent of a European art-house film shot in grainy black and white, framing monologues muttered in French and Greek in dramatically austere trappings. It's a mood piece par excellence.