Introduction:
Cellarkalt, that’s the oldest project of Benedikt Schmidt (Snuffo / Snuff Crew). Launched in the late 90s in the basement of his parent’s house, it’s about creating experimental soundscapes and keeping a DIY and Dada approach. Cellarkalt music got releases by labels such as Konglomerat, New York Haunted, Jetztwelt. Ardetha Records, Elephant Recordings, Bella Ursa Recordings and Killekill – plus through cellarkalt.bandcamp.com
Artist About The Set:
The live set, Cellarkalt recorded for NovaFuture Blog is something different and something challenging. It’s a 60 minutes and 35 seconds long free improvisation.
The artist just switched on his machines and started performing, without knowing where the journey will take him to.
Nothing was prepared before, everything happened on the fly, in a deep frenzy of sound. The result is a sonic mayhem full of floating drones and harsh noises, it is an intense experience of experimental music. And it’s also a preview of the Cellarkalt stage performances.
Press Info:
Up next on Token Records is Kr!z for his first release on the label since his acclaimed ‘Atlantis’ EP late last year. Keeping his sound pure, Kr!z presents a cohesive collection of decisive tracks for ‘Marbles’, his third release of 2023.
Kr!z’s A1 ‘Flare Gun’ introduces a loopy synth sequence, foreshadowing a minimal but rhythmically effective release from the Belgium based artist. Shuffling hi hats, sprinkled rides, and a round-bodied kick complement the nail biting lead, mapping out the mood for the tracks to come. The sharp quality of ‘Flare Gun’ quickly smoothes out for its follow-up ‘Surge’, in which a flexible chord creates a more bubbly atmosphere, competing with anxious white-noise transitions and high paced percussion line. The deeper aspect of Kr!z’s work on this last track is quickly subdued by the other side of the record, starting with ‘Marbles Lost’ – a chaotic club record that holds well to its name. A high pitch arpeggio lines Kr!z’s arrangement, sweeping through the spectrum and bursting at the seams with its genre-defining tension. The low end drives the record along, pulsating with the lead to accentuate groove under the drum machine. The outro to ‘Marbles’ is characterized by an intriguing use of chord triggering over a contained structure. Refined yet effective, Kr!z keeps his promise to honor the true spirit of techno in ‘Delirium’ with this classically efficient closer for his third EP on the label.
Press Info (English):
An empty club. Shrill beats echo through the deserted darkroom, rich synths waft across the space. Suddenly, a sad trumpet sound fills the dancefloor like a ghost: welcome to the world of DIE SELEKTION.
With thirteen years of shared history under their belt, the bandmembers Luca Gillian, Hannes Rief, Samuel Savenberg and Max Rieger turned DIE SELEKTION into an influential band that manages to bring both goth kids and techno fans onto the dancefloor – at the same time. With ZEUGE AUS LICHT (Eng.: Witness of Light), the quartet (which however performs as a duo live) releases their third studio record into the wild and throws a rave on the ruins of the present, somewhere between the apocalypse and the rampant insanity of our times.
DIE SELEKTION always knows how to balance the fine line between seriousness and self-irony with confident swagger. We see that in the charming call-and-response of DREI GESICHTER (Eng.: Three Faces), which, delighting in its provocation, mixes manspreading rock’n’roll poses from the last century with a Mardi Gras-esque trumpet. We also hear it in the euphoria of ASCHEREGEN (Eng.: Ashfall) and DER ROTE FADEN (Eng.: The Red Thread). And we experience it in the cold precision of the title track ZEUGE AUS LICHT, of course, which beautifully weaves together all the threads from which the principle of DIE SELEKTION is spun: pop harmonies, ice cold drum elements, hopeful synths, a radiant trumpet and lyrics that could deal with contemporary horrors like the imminent climate catastrophe as well as with failed relationships or an accidental fall into a K-Hole.
On ZEUGE AUS LICHT we hear the band coming into its own as a collective eschewing traditional hierarchies. From DER GRUNDSTEIN (Eng.: The Cornerstone) to MEIN FUNDAMENT (UNS GEHÖRT DIE WELT) (Eng.: My Foundation (the World is Ours)), it’s the shared vision of Gillian, Rief, Savenberg and Rieger that creates this sonic edifice full of sonic glitter and darkness we’re only too happy to queue up for. The admission fee is nothing but our sanity.
ZEUGE AUS LICHT will be released on September 29th, 2023.
Text by Aida Baghernejad.
Press Info (German):
Ein leerer Club. Klirrende Beats aus dem Drumcomputer hallen durch den verwaisten Darkroom, satte Synthesizerflächen wabern durch den ausgestorbenen Raum. Plötzlich ertönt von irgendwoher eine traurige Trompete gespenstergleich über den Dancefloor: willkommen in der Welt von DIE SELEKTION.
Über die letzten dreizehn Jahre Bandgeschichte entwickelte sich das Projekt von Luca Gillian, Hannes Rief, Samuel Savenberg und Max Rieger zu einer stilbildenden Band, die die Gothkids und Technojünger*innen auf einen Dancefloor zu vereinen weiß. Mit ZEUGE AUS LICHT veröffentlicht das Quartett (das mittlerweile allerdings Liveauftritte als Duo absolviert) sein drittes Album – und lädt ein zum Rave auf den Ruinen unserer Gegenwart zwischen Apokalypse und Wahnsinn.
DIE SELEKTION weiß immer stilsicher den schmalen Grat zwischen Ernst und Selbstironie zu balancieren. Das zeigt sich etwa im Call-and-Response von DREI GESICHTER, das mit Lust an der Provokation breitbeinige Rock’n’Roll-Posen aus dem letzten Jahrhundert mit Mardi-Gras-esker Trompete kreuzt. Oder in der Euphorie von ASCHEREGEN und DER ROTE FADEN. Und vor allem natürlich in der kalten Präzision des Titeltracks ZEUGE AUS LICHT, das alle Fäden, aus denen das Prinzip DIE SELEKTION gesponnen ist, aufs Schönste vereint: Popharmonien, klinisch-klare Drumelemente, hoffnungsfrohe Synths, eine strahlende Trompete und Lyrics, die sich mit Gegenwartshorror wie Klimakollaps genauso auseinandersetzen könnten wie mit gescheiterten Beziehungen oder einem unfreiwilligen Fall in’s K-Hole.
ZEUGE AUS LICHT ist das Resultat eines Zu-sich-Findens der Band als hierarchiefreies Kollektiv. Von DER GRUNDSTEIN bis hin zu MEIN FUNDAMENT (UNS GEHÖRT DIE WELT), es ist die gemeinsame Vision von Gillian, Rief, Savenberg und Rieger, die dieses strahlend-düstere Klanggebäude erbaut hat, vor dem wir nur allzu gerne Schlange stehen. Eintritt kostet nur den Verstand.
Note:
Compiled and curated by Luca Venezia, aka Curses, Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX is a celebration of the darker side of electronic club music. Featuring 49 tracks the compilation connects 5 decades of music as embodied here by an exclusive track from iconic German synth pop band Boytronic.
Originally founded in Berlin in 1983 by Holger Wobker, Boytronic’s sleazy synth-pop gained them a cult following that 40 years on still sees the band a draw at festivals around the world. An unreleased track exclusive to this compilation Voloczny marries a theatrical spoken word performance to ominous synth stabs, cavernous percussion and a keening melody to create an unforgettably cinematic piece.
