Moya81
Kalpa

Reissue of the 1994 debut from Phil Western and Dan Handrabur's 'Off & Gone' project. A hallucinating document of the pair's initial jam sessions and what would become the genesis of a fruitful collaboration between two key members of the West Coast electronic music scene of the 90s/00s. Four tracks of deep, psychedelic techno, including the now-classic 'Namlohssa'. Re-mastered from the original DAT tapes.From Dan Handrabur [Dreamdoktor, Shukar Collective & 1/2 of Off & Gone]:I met the late Phil Western in the fall of 1992 on a visit to his record store, Oddysey Imports. There was always good music playing there, so I ended up hanging out for many hours, almost every day.It was very clear we had similar taste in music, be it the new electronic wave at the time or older music like Eighties British guitar pop, and vintage rock, not to mention ambient and world beats.A mutual friend, Robert Shea [Map Music/ Discotext], suggested we get together and jam; there was a trend going on to bring one's favorite synth to a buddy's studio and tweak knobs.We ended up making a couple of tracks which we showed Robert, a man with many connections in the new music business, by that I mean independent, forward-thinking labels from around the globe. His reaction encouraged us to release them. At the time, I was working on making a CD of my own music and tracks I had made with other tech- heads. Somehow the two cuts fitted quite well into the vibe of Outersanctum's "Frequencies From The Edge Of The Tektonic Plate" which we released in April of 1993.Sensing the possibility of a collaboration, we decided to move my equipment to Phil's place [he lived in a more permissive part of Vancouver where it was ok to work at a louder level].Armed with two Atari 1040st with midi and various synths, samplers, and drum machines, we started crafting what was to become our most important body of work of the mid-nineties, Off and Gone, Floatpoint and others. After a visit to Lopez island where Mike Kandel [1/2 of Exist Dance] had his studio, the three of us decided on the name [Off and Gone] and set a release date for our first EP. Needless to say, we were ecstatic about it since we were both very fond of the music Exist Dance was releasing.This was the incentive we needed and also a psychological push to work on more material. Our sessions were lengthy; there was not much talking and a lot of playing. Programming in Notator (now Logic Audio) was tedious but rewarding; mixes were tracked to DAT tape. Some gear without memory had to stay on for days until we were satisfied with the mixes. Occasional overheating and power outages were our biggest enemies and guests to the studio who carelessly pushed keys on synths, thus ruining arpeggios...We never used limiting or compression. We didn't own any of that gear, relying solely on the power of our sound generating devices. No audio editing was available back then, at least not to us. A few times, we snuck into Skinny Puppy's studio to play with their Pro Tools rig and track guitars and violin through the Eventide, which we resampled and used in tracks.At the time, we had the feeling of doing something important for the Vancouver electronic music scene, inspiring other musicians to build studios and strive to create new, interesting music, away from the industrial sound that defined the city for several years, for which we had the utmost respect.All the music we made together was purely for the joy of sound creation and a sincere love of dance and ambient music; without any desire for affirmation or commercial success. Throughout our relatively short but productive collaboration, there was a feeling of completing each other's ideas very easily, without arguments, in an almost telepathic way, something I personally have never experienced again with another musician.

This album was compiled in 2020 during dark, dystopian times. As we searched for answers inside ourselves, Dan Piu's artificial mind bubble manifested into a thick mass of confusion.Today in humanity's journey, a science fiction foresight has become reality. The dawn of this new era has been essential for the frame of mind of this album:"Inside Universe"The record artwork is connected to the C.C.P aka. Childhood, Calm & Punk Project - which presents a fresh multidimensional art project. The artwork shows a unique collaboration between comic abstractionists Russel Maurice (Uk/Japan) & Kenichiro Mizuno ((Japan). The show ”ALTERED STATE” will be held in OIL by 美術手帖, Parco, Tokyo - 12.03.2021 - 28.03.2021.“In this body of works, multiple themes converge into a surreal melting pot of Comic Abstraction: physicality, form and changing-form, science fiction and nature, humans, creatures and insects and all that lies in-between, and … of course an Altered State or two.”

After shining a light on the rich history of Eevo Lute with two retrospective compilations of Wladimir M. and Florence earlier in the year, Delsin dives deeper in the Dutch techno archives once more by re-masterering, re-cutting and re-releasing Ballet Mechanique's Embody EP. A keystone release containing four tracks of tough, yet emotive electro jams, sounding fresh till the date of today. Originally released in 1996 on Eevo Lute Muzique and definitely one of the highlights when it comes to pure futuristic techno soul. The Embody EP from Jeroen Borrenbergs aka Ballet Mechanique and Eevo's in-house graphic designer at that time made his first public work on one of the most influential techno labels from the Netherlands.

DE235 - US - 2019Dark Day is the brainchild of Robin Crutchfield, a New York City based musician, performance artist, and writer. Robin’s musical path began in 1977 when he formed the no wave group DNA with Arto Lindsay and Ikue Mori. In 1979 Crutchfield left DNA to pursue his more synthesizer-based solo project. He released the ‘Hands In The Dark’ 7” followed by two albums, ‘Exterminating Angel’ in 1980 and ‘Window’ in 1982. In 1984 he re-launched Dark Day as an acoustic chamber ensemble performing ethereal soundscapes and self-released two cassette albums “Obsession” and “Beyond The Pale”.‘Darkest Before Dawn' is a collection of 13 songs recorded between 1985-86, released on CD in 1989 that have never been pressed to vinyl before. The album is a lost medieval collection of pagan tunes for private ceremonies. Played on echoey pipe organ backed by saw-like rhythmic cello lines and melodic woodwind recorder, driven by the beats of rattles, bells, and drums. These simple, cyclical layered instrumental rounds owe much to the inspiration of Moondog as well as the efforts of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Dead Can Dance. The original press release stated, “Serious gothic organ works which cross Captain Nemo's Nautilus pipe organ with the standing stones of Stonehenge and reminisce Babylonian battle hymns and Egyptian burial ceremonies.” All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in jacket featuring illustrations from Thomas Bewick’s ‘Vignettes’ and includes a double sided insert with photos and notes.

DE004 - US - 2016Zwischenfall formed in Belgium with Michael Sass (synths), Martin Urban (bass/vocals) and Stephan Kraemer (guitar/drums) in 1982. They were united by musical sensibilities that combined electronic and traditional instruments developing the basis for their 1982 demo recordings. By chance Patrick Codenys of the Belgian electro pioneers Front 242< heard two songs and decided to record a 4-song EP for the electro band's newly formed label Mask. The “Heute” EP was released in 1983 after a week of recording in Front's private studio under the direction of sound-whiz Daniel B. Bearing in mind MIDI had not been invented at the time, the recording involved some extensive sound sculpting including the use of individual synths (PPG Wave, Syrinx, Roland System 100, etc.) for separate drum sounds. To create an organic feel to the combination of acoustic and electric guitar, a trumpet and a bass were incorporated into the electronic arrangements. Sonically way ahead of their time, Zwischenfall have a distinct sound with hard rhythms and melancholic melodies that blend minimal yet catchy electronics to create a very danceable production. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The EP features two bonus tracks from the “Heute” sessions never before released on vinyl: the uptempo "Tausend Jahre" and "Katastrophe" the demo version of “Flucht”. Each copy includes an 6-page press kit booklet with lyrics and photos and is housed in an exact replica of the original jacket.