Andrey Zots
Molecules EP

MAGICAL by Ze in the Clouds

RSD-LP001 // The Art Of Us by Blair French

MTR006 - DE - 2020Multiply Intentions by Katya YonderMultiply Intentions is the fourth full length release from Russian multi-instrumentalist Katya Yonder and her first long player since 2017. Borne from a new found sense of confidence and self-awareness, the album is inspired by both local and neighbouring musical cultures and a wide range of social influences.Whilst her previous records were purely instrumental, for fear that she would be misunderstood or even ridiculed, Multiply Intentions sees Katya introduce her vocals for the first time. Singing in four different languages (her native Russian, English, Japanese and French) across 13 tracks, the album is an ode to her diverse musical upbringing and the wide range of influences on her as an artist.Multiply Intentions was built from initial sketches she developed for her 2018 Métron Mixtape (a mix that was highlighted in Pitchfork’s monthly mix roundups). Working with these building blocks, and blending in her love of the music of Madonna, Brian Eno and Cocteau Twins with references drawn from 80s pop, old video game soundtracks and soviet films, Katya moved these initial ideas into larger, richer songs that are layered by her ethereal vocals.

ABT036 - CA - 2014Bermuda Waterfall by Sean Nicholas Savage

Tunel Hacia Tí (Tunnel Toward You) is a collection of early compositions by Germán Bringas of Portales, Mexico City. This album features songs from his lost cassette ambient jazz opus, "Caminatas" (Hikes), it’s spiritual successor, "Exposción Al Vacio" (Vacuum Exposure), and unreleased works created between '91-'00. Every instrument heard on this release was played by Bringas, and recorded in a studio in the back of his home.Germán’s pieces are informed by his synesthetic experience. As he plays, he witnesses color coordinating with each note. His earliest experience of this cross-sensory ability came from playing his parents piano when he was young. Exploring the keys, a spectrum of color presented itself, and he began searching for colors he preferred. He discovered an enticing shade of blue, which unbeknownst to him at the time, was a jazz chord. In the following years, he attended school at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música and was classically trained in piano and composition. The Conservatorio was extremely demanding and didn’t appreciate his innate talents to play by ear. He was fed up with the indoctrinating way they taught, which coincided with a lecture he attended by Carlos Casteñeda. Inspired by the teachings, he left school behind to start a group with his friends to practice meditative exercises loosely based off Casteñeda’s Tensegrity movements to expand the body and mind. His friends and he spent years going into the woods and training as quasi-disciples of the Castañedian path. In those times, Germán developed a new approach to music, letting go of the formality of his classical training, and rediscovering his childhood experience to play from feeling. Learning trumpet, saxophone, and native Mexican instruments all to his own design, he followed his synesthetic experience to guide his compositions. He was compelled to record the discoveries he was making, so he produced a string of cassettes, only enough to pass around to friends & local collectors.In his earliest works, you can hear the influence of his time spent in the tranquility of the woods colliding with the frenzy of the city he grew up in. Combining inspiration he obtained from ECM Records virtuosos, Mexican Rock-in-opposition, visionary jazz artists, and otherworldly sci-fi films like Blade Runner and Stalker, his songs ebb and flow between serene synths and chaotic bursts of emotive horns. In addition to these compositions, he started an experimental music club in his house in Portales called Jazzorca. At Jazzorca, which is still running to this day, he would share his pensive movements with a small group of dedicated music lovers. Germán truly created a world of his own through these works, and his sound is singular when held up to Mexican music from the same era.Currently, Germán makes drums out of propane tanks in his backyard, produces experimental CDs under his own label, and plays live regularly at Jazzorca. You might catch him strolling through his neighborhood in Portales at sunset, soaking in the influence of the city sounds and their associated colors he witnesses.