Dissolvè / Scillions. Antoine Hubineau. arbitrary

Posted in music, Vinyl, vinyl on March 29th, 2023
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arbitrary presents Dissolvè / Scillions by Antoine Hubineau. Derived from the same series of compositions, Dissolvè and Scillions are drawn from modular synthesizer recordings which have been reworked, treated and composed in the computer.

Dissolvè is a mosaic which is in constant motion. The inner details are guided by an outer structure which act as a kind of rhythmic subtraction. It is destabilised to the point where it fractures, from the macro to the micro level; abstracting a filigree from the original rhythm.

Scillions breaks an initial path into several directions which create new paths. Directional blur in harmonic motion makes it difficult to predict the outcomes. Contrary movements, synchronisation and desynchronisation build and break the relations between these new paths. Finally, altered versions of these new directions give some familiarity, while adding to the ambient disorder.

Based in Latillé (France), Antoine Hubineau works in the electronic music field, as a composer, musician, teacher and co-founder of the Sillages residency. His practice is focused on sound synthesis, which become alternately pseudo-acoustic instruments, abstract matter and surreal spaces. In his compositions, he makes the most of the cracks between free pulsation and collateral rhythms, between harmonic stability and sound spectrum tearings.

Written & produced by Antoine Hubineau, Saint-Etienne (France), 2020. Tombak recordings: thanks to Cinna Peyghamy. Mastered and cut by Kassian Troyer at D&M, Berlin. Cover artwork by Morgan Cuinet. Layout by Mads Emil Nielsen.

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ZOMIANSCAPE I – II (LP). Kink Gong. ESITU Records

Posted in music, Vinyl, vinyl on February 21st, 2023
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“When asked what were my early influences in music, I get reminded of my teenage years in Parisian suburbs, simultaneously discovering from public libraries two important French record labels: OCORA and GRM. Then the roots of my interest in traditional music and electroacoustic experiments grew into doing it myself, recording ethnic minorities of the Zomian plateau of south-east Asia and composing a soundscape around it. This is what is happening here.” — Laurent Jeanneau aka Kink Gong

Kink Gong works with what is unknown to him, as an artist who’s attracted by beauty and strangeness. Like a stranger, he has been deeply curious about recording ethnic minority music isolated from dominating cultures within South-east Asia, thus working with musicians taking part in specific cultural communities to make almost 200 albums. Like an artist, he has been leaning towards strange marriages, building on these raw materials. They are lived moments that combine space, people and music, as if they were blocks made out of the same material.

— I
14 TUBES MOUTHORGAN PAKSE LAOS + BULANG LAWA 3 STRINGED LUTE (NIU TUI QIN) AND VOICE OF 2 OLD LAWA MEN + VOICES OF 3 AKHA WOMEN YUNNAN CHINA, FOREST LAO CAI HMONG WOMEN VOICES + ELECTRONIC MOUTHHARP (CHUNGJA) SAPA VIETNAM + BULANG LAWA MAN & DRUNK WIFE + ELECTRONIC MALIMBA TANZANIA + LUE WOMAN VOICE PHONGSALY LAOS + DONG PIPA 4 STRINGED LUTE GUIZHOU CHINA + LUE WOMAN VOICE NORTH VIETNAM + HMONG 6 TUBES MOUTHORGAN HA GIANG VIETNAM + YI NISU WOMAN VOICE + YI NISU SIXIAN 4 STRINGED LUTE YUNNAN CHINA

— II
BRAO WOMAN VOICE ATTAPEU LAOS + ELECTRONIC + METALLIC TOUPIE + UYGHUR DAP HAND PERCUSSION + BRAO MAN VOICE RATANAKIRI CAMBODIA + OIRAT MONGOLIAN MORIN KUR 2 STRINGED CELLO XINJIANG CHINA + 14 TUBES MOUTHORGAN IN BERLIN TEUFELBERG + SHUI MIAO WOMEN VOICES GUIZHOU CHINA + SANTOOR IRANIAN DULCIMER IN BERLIN + YI NUOSU WOMAN VOICE SICHUAN CHINA + ARAK 16 TUBES MOUTHORGAN SEKONG LAOS + TRIANG 5 WOMEN VOICES + BELLS SEKONG LAOS + ELECTRONIC + MIEN WOMEN VOICES SAPA VIETNAM

ALL RECORDED BY LAURENT JEANNEAU BETWEEN 2004 AND 2014 ON LOCATION IN

. SOME INSTRUMENTS (MOUTHORGANS & SANTOOR) PLAYED & PROCESSED & RECOMPOSED BY KINK GONG, 2016

LP COVER BOY ON THE ROCK TADLO LAOS, 2013

Mastered by Raschad Becker, Berlin
Cut by Frederic Alstadt, ANGSTROM STUDIO, Brussels
Artwork by João Basto

The edition of 300 copies are silkscreened and individually hand numbered

Silkscreened at Atelier Ice Screen, Brussels
Inside A4 risographed at Frau Steiner Studio, Brussels

Released June 18, 2021

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Delirious Cartographies (LP). Richard Scott. arbitrary

Posted in music, Vinyl, vinyl on February 2nd, 2023
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arbitrary presents Delirious Cartographies (arbitrary13) by composer, improviser and synthesist Richard Scott. Part of the Danish imprint’s Framework editions, this release includes three pieces on 12” vinyl and six printed drawings – as well as a text by Scott – published as a limited edition portfolio folder.

“These compositions capture aspects of my personal sonic experience of specific times and places. Extending beyond my usual work with analogue synthesizer, these pieces open the doors and windows to the outside world, incorporating field and live recordings made in various locations and situations. Rather than intending any clear sense of narrative, these are molecular dialogues between elements and geographies which do not necessarily share organic points of connection, other than my own incomplete experience and memory of them.”

The final piece 6 Graphic Etudes (included as digital prints) is intended as a set of visual / sonic sketches, each of which describes a discrete kind of movement or texture. These may have a variety of uses; as musical exercises, as scores, combined as parts of scores, or simply as stand-alone visual propositions / artworks.

The pieces were composed between 2017 and 2021 at Sound Anatomy, Berlin, Spektrum Berlin, EMS Stockholm, NOVARS, University of Manchester, the Electronic Music Studios, University of Huddersfield and in Boliqueime, Portugal.

As well as various microphones, hydrophones and recorders, the instruments used on this recording are mostly analogue and modular synthesizers: Hordijk Modular, Serge Modular, EMS Synthi A, various Eurorack modules, Buchla Thunder midi controller, Oberheim Xpander, Clavia Nord Micro Modular, CataRT and maxMSP, Rob Hordijk Blippoo box. On Thunder, actually bicycles… Axel Dörner plays a Holton Firebird trumpet with additional live-sampling via maxMSP and a controller interface developed by Sukandar Kartadinata.

Written & produced by Richard Scott. Drawings by Richard Scott. Graphic design by Mads Emil Nielsen. Mastered & cut by Kassian Troyer at D&M, Berlin. Thanks to Axel Dörner, Rob Hordijk, Beatriz Ferreyra, Ricardo Climent, David Berezan, Joseph Hyde, Richard Whalley, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, Tim Scott, Andy Adkins, Electric Spring Festival, Sines & Squares Festival, Basic Electricity and Sound Anatomy.

Released 2 September 2022

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January 2023 Music Mix

Posted in cassette, Motto Berlin store, music, vinyl on January 21st, 2023
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6 Graphic Etudes, Richard Scott, arbitrary, 2022


Dear friends and colleagues, 

We hope you had a great start to 2023!

After a very brief hiatus we are back on deck and ready to share with you our newest musical arrivals. Make sure to check Motto’s full catalogue for an immersive experience and our Motto Disco page, revived and refreshed especially for your ears.

To hear a selection of sounds from these albums, follow this link to our new mix created by Max Parnell.

The mix features sounds from:

King Gong
Accou
Richard Scott
Kristen Oppenheim
YL Hsueh
Vladislav Delay & Eivind Aarset
Sonic Boom / Papiro
DJ Fusiller x Fusiller

We hope you enjoy!

Anciente (LP). XYR

Posted in music, vinyl on January 1st, 2023
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The Russian producer Vladimir Karpov is well on his way towards a lasting legacy as a modern synthesizer wizard in the grandiose vein of Vangelis and Jarre. With a propensity for concept albums he has built a sturdy discography during this past decade that echoes the progressive ideas of the psychedelic generation as it moved into adulthood with Moog in hand.

While equally a part of the postmodern generation; Karpov’s ouvre also embraces the utopian daydreaming of the new age, the environmental concerns embodied in field recording, and the holistic approach of Jon Hassels 4th world concept.

While the esoteric fantasies of previous works linger on, the conceptual aspect of “Anciente” is rendered more abstract. And instead of dividing ideas into tracks that form an album, here Karpov is pushing the boundaries of his compositions further into longer forms. Like trails into humid forest landscapes, they run deep enough for one to get lost along the way.

Clocking in at a neat 20 minutes per side, the two tracks that make up “Anciente” weaves soft brushes of undefinable sounds and tropical field recordings that almost create ASMR-inducing vibrations in the minds of the listener. Eventually they might open a doorway to a twilight-lit wilderness and the possible secrets of the first civilised men. As Carlos Castaneda once wrote, relaying the wisdom of the Yaqui; “twilight is the crack between worlds. It is the door to the unknown.” Or, as in this case, the door to the ancient.

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exotic baryon (LP). exotic baryon

Posted in music, vinyl on November 8th, 2022
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An antidecuplet with positive strangeness.

Debut album in a limited edition of 157 copies with handmade textile sleeve and screen printed insert, labels.

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arbitrary newest releases in Motto

Posted in music, vinyl on November 3rd, 2022
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Constellation (10″)
by Mads Emil Nielsen + Chromacolor

arbitrary presents the first in a series of remix collaborations and releases by Mads Emil Nielsen and Chromacolor, a project from the German sound artist and producer Hanno Leichtmann.

Mads Emil Nielsen’s “Constellation (side A)” was created by combining several granulations and textures based on a single short recording, extracted from improvisations made with the Buchla synthesizer at EMS, Stockholm – combined with randomly looping orchestral samples, edited and produced in his studio in Copenhagen.

After having heard Nielsen’s live performance in Berlin in 2017, Hanno Leichtmann suggested remixing various of his tracks including “Constellation (Remix – side B)”. For this rework, Leichtmann provides an ambient feel by working with various sources, all of which generate sound using vibrating metal plates in different sizes – including a Premier Vibraphone, a Fender Rhodes and a Hohner Guitaret.

Constellation written & produced by Mads Emil Nielsen at EMS Elektronmusikstudion, Stockholm and in Copenhagen. Constellation Chromacolor Remix written & produced by Hanno Leichtmann at Static Music, Berlin. Mastered and cut by Kassian Troyer at D&M, Berlin. Artwork by Karel Martens.

arbitrary12, released 29 April 2022
10” vinyl (transparent, 45 rpm) + DL
Edition of 500, CYK + Pantone print, inside-out sleeve, incl. download code

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//

Delirious Cartographies (CD + 6 prints)
by Richard Scott

arbitrary presents “Delirious Cartographies” (arbitrary13) by composer, improviser and synthesist Richard Scott. Part of the Danish imprint’s Framework editions, this release includes three pieces on 12” vinyl and six printed drawings – as well as a text by Scott – published as a limited edition portfolio folder.

“These compositions capture aspects of my personal sonic experience of specific times and places. Extending beyond my usual work with analogue synthesizer, these pieces open the doors and windows to the outside world, incorporating field and live recordings made in various locations and situations. Rather than intending any clear sense of narrative, these are molecular dialogues between elements and geographies which do not necessarily share organic points of connection, other than my own incomplete experience and memory of them.”

The final piece “6 Graphic Etudes” (included as digital prints) is intended as a set of visual / sonic sketches, each of which describes a discrete kind of movement or texture. These may have a variety of uses; as musical exercises, as scores, combined as parts of scores, or simply as stand-alone visual propositions / artworks.

The pieces were composed between 2017 and 2021 at Sound Anatomy, Berlin, Spektrum Berlin, EMS Stockholm, NOVARS, University of Manchester, the Electronic Music Studios, University of Huddersfield and in Boliqueime, Portugal.

As well as various microphones, hydrophones and recorders, the instruments used on this recording are mostly analogue and modular synthesisers: Hordijk Modular, Serge Modular, EMS Synthi A, various Eurorack modules, Buchla Thunder midi controller, Oberheim Xpander, Clavia Nord Micro Modular, CataRT and maxMSP, Rob Hordijk Blippoo box. On “Thunder, actually bicycles…” Axel Dörner plays a Holton Firebird trumpet with additional live-sampling via maxMSP and a controller interface developed by Sukandar Kartadinata.

Written & produced by Richard Scott. Drawings by Richard Scott. Graphic design by Mads Emil Nielsen. Mastered & cut by Kassian Troyer at D&M, Berlin. Thanks to Axel Dörner, Rob Hordijk, Beatriz Ferreyra, Ricardo Climent, David Berezan, Joseph Hyde, Richard Whalley, Pierre Alexandre Tremblay, Tim Scott, Andy Adkins, Electric Spring Festival, Sines & Squares Festival, Basic Electricity and Sound Anatomy.

arbitrary13, released 2 September 2022
CD version: Digipak incl. 6 prints, 300g paper, text (fold-out, riso)

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Muhammadunize (2LP). Muslimgauze. Staalplaat

Posted in music, vinyl on October 16th, 2022
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Listeners who know much of anything about Bryn Jones’ work as Muslimgauze know that he was prolific in both his work and Muhammadunize, has what could be called a classic feel to it, with a very familiar blend of drones, string instruments, and synths, and varying percussion/break-beat patterns, in turn mixed with a number of hard-to-catch vocal samples. It’s a formula used many times in the past by Jones, yet somehow he still manages to keep things just fresh enough, investing songs like the first and second “Khalifate” and especially both slamming versions of “Imad Akel” with enough unexpected touches. He incorporates the basic power of his work in the tracks as well, with both beauty and a nervy, hard-to-define tension as the songs progress.

The sound palette of Muhammadunize is very similar to his ambient-techno albums such as Mullah Said and Gun Aramaic, down to the rhythms and the trademark tanpura drones and keys in C minor. The difference is that it’s a bit more aggressive and faster-paced than the aforementioned albums, thus utilising a similar dark atmosphere to a more immediate and in-your-face effect, especially as noted by the drum-kit urban-sounding pulse of Imad Akel, one of the high points on this album. However, my favorite track here is the closer Fatah Guerrilla (also title track of the whole triple album), featuring a rapid echoed rhythm along with a barrage of percussion popping up and echoing every so often, sounding like they’re flying through the room at a quick pace; the piece also features a beautiful flute melody which combines with the busy rhythm section in an interesting way.

Recorded and mixed at Abraham Mosque, Manchester 1996.
Dedicated to a Palestinian State. Free from Zionist abuse of human rights.

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Spatial Jitter. Mouse on Mars. Lenbachhaus

Posted in Artist's book, books, music, vinyl on October 3rd, 2022
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Mouse on Mars take over the Kunstbau of Lenbachhaus in Munich, Germany with a sound installation for which they developed a site-specific composition. Working with and responding to the exhibition space, the installation transforms the Kunstbau itself into a gigantic stereophonic acoustic instrument.

A rotatable horn loudspeaker pitchforks a sound like a pinball into the 110-yard Kunstbau, where it rebounds on the pillars, cants, splinters, is gathered back in, and dies down. One by one, additional sounds from a virtually inexhaustible repertoire are sent out into the space and modulated. Percussive devices operated by robots interject analog acoustic accents.

Sequences of different lengths are continuously rearranged so that no two of them recur in the same order. The audience experiences the orchestrated unfolding of a dynamic composition in three dimensions. The space and the sounds generated from it clash and respond to each other, resulting in an acoustic dialogue. A dedicated illumination program is coordinated with the music, seconding the sonic movements and sometimes standing in for them.

The installation intends to challenge the audience to active listening, in which only the limits of attention determine the limits of what is acoustically possible. With targeted shifts of perspective, Mouse on Mars propose to demonstrate their conviction that there is no one valid composition: each listener produces his or her own “spatial compostruction”.

Mouse on Mars have continually evolved their practice for twenty-five years, always asking new questions. The “compostruction” is part of their most recent acoustic research, inquiring both into the movement of sounds through time and space and aspects of psychoacoustic perception and the experience of sound: How can we define hearing and listening? How do we process acoustic information? How do our bodies respond to the physical movements of sound in space? How attentively can we observe the process of hearing itself? And in which other ways do we relate to our acoustic environment?

Spatial Jitter April 9, 2022 – September 18, 2022
Lenbachhaus Munich curated by Eva Huttenlauch

Composition and Production: Andi Toma & Jan St. Werner
Speaker Panels: Michael Akstaller
Rotating Speaker: Andi Toma, Jan St. Werner, Matthias Singer
Percussion Robots: Moritz Simon Geist
Lights: Matthias Singer
Sound Software: Marcin Pietruszewski, Dietrich Pank
Percussion: Dirk Rothbrust
Woodblocks: Boris Müller
Art Direction: Rupert Smyth

LP & publication with contributions by Louis Chude-Sokei, Helga de la Motte-Haber, Eva Huttenlauch, Mouse on Mars, Patricia Reed, Susanne Witzgall.

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Ricshari (LP). MAI MAO. An’archives

Posted in music, vinyl on September 29th, 2022
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Silkscreened jacket & obi (textured tan or black) by Alan Sherry, inserts and a postcard. Lliner notes by Jon Dale, ltd to 285.

An’archives are thrilled to announce the release of Ricshari, the first LP from Japanese free improvising duo MAI MAO. Consisting of Shizuo Uchida of Hasegawa-Shizuo, Albedo Gravitas, archeus, Kito Muzukumi Rouber, TERROR SHIT, UH, etc. on bass, and Kyosuke Terada, of HUH (who have their own release due on An’archives soon), TERROR SHIT, Bay City Rolaz, Praymate, The Obey Unit, etc. on guitar, they’ve previously released two wild cassettes, Curvature Improvement Plan (Haang niap, 2020) and Folk Dope Rally (2021), both documenting one-take improvisations from live gigs. Ricshari was recorded by Nobuki Nishiyama in January 2021, and is proof, if any was needed, that this duo is one of the most fiercely unique, out-there units currently extant – in Japan, or anywhere, for that matter.

The music of MAI MAO seems to proceed by opposites and juxtaposition, shifting from frantic, hectic runs of splattering note spray to moments of granular stasis, where Uchida and Terada coax their instruments into and out of deep wells of silence, or rest, temporarily, in a lagoon of fermenting fuzz. Spiraling kinetics are largely the order of the day, though – the opener, “Chew a flying flash prayer”, skitters here and there, guitar and bass jumping over one another in games of leapfrog and Twister, finding new ways to perplex and puzzle the listener, and perhaps each other in the process, Uchida and Terada fully committed to the short-circuiting spirit of the moment.

The energy here is hyperactive, but it also speaks of a curious and committed attention to improvisatory responsiveness, one that’s just as likely to fork off into different directions in a split second – it’s real edge-of-the-seat stuff, as though the hands are moving too fast for the mind to follow. That’s all the better, then, to let the gush of genuinely free-thinking, devoted duo improvisation to fly at its most playful and intelligent. File next to the likes of Davey Williams & LaDonna Smith and their TransMuseq companions, or the wickedly perplexing bass-synth/trombone duets of Dave Dove Paul Duo, and you’ve some idea of what’s going on here, provisionally at least, ‘cos this one’s an enthralling, yet welcoming, head-scratcher of the highest calibre.

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