[xs-65] DNP X-Citer - algorrithmic chaos

artist: DNP X-Citer
album: algorrithmic chaos

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release date: 25/08/2009
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contact: myspace


When Tiago Morgado idealized Algorrithmic Chaos for his DNP X-Citer alter ego he thought of a way to break, in a certain way, with the IDM tradition, following some of the guidelines defined by Scanner the german musician (in the sense of not confining IDM to reductionist formulas). The background for this DNP X-Citer ep is Tiago's influences and reverence to artists such as Aphex Twin, Autechre (warp records), Alva Noto, Ryochi Ikeda and Byetone (raster noton) but also Nine Inch Nails and his approach to industrial rock that Einsturzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle and etc... brought to music. All this influences can be identified in the electronic part of the DNP X-Citer ep which serves as the basis for an improvised "free/structured" with alto viola. Again in this improvisation several references can be found, such as, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sunders, Frank Zappa, John Zorn, Otomo Yoshihide, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, among others.

The electronic part of the ep was worked with the use of algorithmic composition techniques, where instruments in the DAW (digital audio workstation/sequenciador) were triggered by MIDI, according to simple theoretical and systematized assumptions from the AC Toolbox (designed by Paul Berg from the Institute of sonology - the hague - netherlands). tiago morgado as been working with these tool because he believes that it can be helpful in his work with algorithmic composition (please do not forget that the MIDI and OSC material genarated with ac toolbox can be used to play live; eg: histo+anal+MIDI/OSC source reading and generative/reactive control of parameters).

Algorrithmic Chaos is a technical work, without an a priori conceptual background, but when Tiago Morgado analyzed it a posteriori an organized chaos appeared. And based on that, using contemplation maybe you the listener can identify a theme for this ep.

[xs-63] subterminal - filled with light

artist: subterminal

album: filled with light

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release date: 03/08/2009

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contact: blog & myspace

cover art: back & front

With eyes wide open.
Like in a reawakening. A strange awake that repeats itself every night; every passing day, or so it seems. Like a virtual experience; or maybe not. Maybe it is just a normal but scary awakening. ... "Filled With Light".

"Filled With Light" awakens us in two different ways. The first, because it is only an EP which is part of an album yet to be released; the second, because in that album, poetry, a core element always present in Subterminal's work, makes an eulogy to digital life. "Filled With Light" is like a trailer of a full movie that we anticipate; a summary with a beginning middle and end. For now, the awakening is what matters most and "Filled With Light" awakes; awakes us.

In that slow awake, "With You" introduces us to the theme, to the electronic principle that conducts the EP. However, "Filled With Light" is the track that captures our attention; because of the movement; the layers of sound; the excellent alto viola played by Tiago Morgado. There is a slight techno-industrial mood coloring Leonardo Rosado's words, the man behind Subterminal. At last, "For the First Time" definitely introduces us to what's coming. A confrontation with a different reality; or, an almost-reality. "For the First Time" introduces us to a confrontation between poetry and technology, created by dense sound ambiences, images, differing in rhythm and form. They are different lines of the same life; parallel or perpendicular. The exhaustion of conflict.

"Filled With Light" was composed and played almost entirely with an iPhone, with some extra sounds from other objects. After "Alumina" and "Insight", released in 2009, the reawakening of Subterminal is of happiness. "Filled With Light" is a great step forward when comparing with prior releases, which leads to the expectation of a very interesting conceptual album. Coupled with the refinement of his personal electronic universe, the author added a better voice treatment. The production of the EP was made by Tiago Morgado.

... to keep the eyes wide open.

Press Review by Rui Dinis, A Trompa

[xs-62] hola one & elka brown - visitors

artist: hola one & elka brown

album: visitors

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release date: 18/07/2009

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contact: hola one @ myspace & elka brown @ myspace

cover art: back & front

In this new release by XS Records, Marek is back, this time together with elka brown, who has colaborated in this album with a remix of a song and some more colaborations. Personally, the main difference I see between this and the last album, is basically the production (in terms of mixing and mastering) which is signifcantly better in relation to last one.. also there has started to appear some drum machine components, which give a more rithmic character to visitors that hygh. Marek is a resident at Vombat Radio, where his tracks are featured in the electric city radio show, and which has allowed us to be partners of that radio. Hope you guys enjoy this release as much as we've done.

[xs-37] outlevel - estrela

artist: outlevel

album: estrela

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release date:

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contact: myspace

To discover out Level is undoubtely an experience. More enjoyable for ones, less for otherones, all this sound universe touch us in the way as it interwines all a variety of aesthetic languages, that walk from a sight more close to indie and shoegazze, to all a universe of field recordings and idm, with a close contact to the new tendries of all the electronic music of germain alternative circuits (besides that the author assumes by lots of times influences in Kubik as a major influence, which in a certain way reflects on the way as it goes into contact with the author's work without forgetting his last album). A sensorial experience which transforms itself at the course of four long tracks, with a deeply minimal character getting together all those four themes which have in common the contact with a sound reality.

[xs-16] EXurban - leerstand untergrund

artist: EXurban

album: leerstand untergrund

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release date:

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contact: myspace

about EXurban (by José Luis aka Gift of Vision):

"this both artist bring more than an empty space composition cliche, actually they discover a forgotten world, a world that is there but nobody notices it anymore... or anybody wants to notice. and it is because watching the slideshow, it inmediately takes you to a walk tru the corridors, the rooms and halls. And the questions come to surface in a second? what happened here? what kind of people was attended in this room? it was a injuried soldier? a happy pregnant mother giving birth? 
an old man waiting for the last breath of his life?

While the walk continues on every picture, a feeling of sadness, solitude, forgotten, depressive and nostalgic when the sun tries in vain to warm these rooms, and a mistery around it is overpassing the eyes, mind and hearth of the expectator, but... stop walking is not a choice. at the same time thousands of questions will remain with no answer: why this place is not used anymore? why they dont just tear it down and build a new thing? does anybody cares about this place? all that dust, rusty, broken windows and wide empty spaces just remain quiet with memories of echoes, voices and situations that happened there and no one will tell.

Even worse for my hearth: die minimalistic background sounds makes me going down, keeping my hearth cold, hopeless for an answer and fitting to my heartbeat and unexpected noises turns my skin with goosebumps not of scary, but yes: for emptyness.

I loved it, yes, this travel took me to the basement of my own personal ghosts and took me back to reality, I would recommend to everyone to have this travel and find their own basements without the classical gothic way for personal suffering: just real places, real pictures and the real noises in your head. I will be waiting for the next walk." 

In this new release of the german colective EXurban, crossover by two influent projects of the electronic german music scene, we find some sort of aproaching between languages as, for an instance, dark ambient, electronica, musique concrete, field recordings, electroacustic music, idm, downtempo, and so on. An ecletic experience, to see, taste, smell and listen. Recommended.

[xs-12] adamned.age - photosphaere

artist: adamned.age

album: photosphaere

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release date: 2008-04-10

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Adamned.age (Hanne Adam), born and grown up in Hamburg in 1977, is an artist residing in Berlin who already began very early practising music on piano, guitar and drums. She mainly played drums in punk- and crossover-bands and started her first solo-recordings on an 8-track-taperecorder.In 1996 she integrated computer-technology and virtual instruments to create her first electronic-music-works in trip-hop-/downtempo-style. She never stopped singing because vocals are considered as a particular experiment. Intense experiments on hard- and software involved transformations of sounds and samples to click and cut-elements that have become a relevant basis for the rhythmic and percussive tracks of her minimal techno-style.
Recently she re-concentrated mainly on sound-design (an integral part of her former studies) and experimental structures leading to electronica and IDM-style. Beside these styles she still works on her well-known downtempo-structures, combined with ambient sounds.In addition, many collaborations such as remixes and multimedial projects are part of Hanne's complex musical carrier.Due to her immense artistic output, Hanne Adam is often characterized as a very busy person. In fact, working on musical media, paintings, graphics, photographies and films is the most essential part in her life to create means of communication with the inner- and outside-world. Music as a constant work in progress that serves as a liberation of mind.

This ep is a good way of seing the way as she actually sees, listens and makes music, what music represents to her, and how much she needs music to live.