Release Date:
03rd December 2021 (Bandcamp)
20th December 2021 (other stores)
Format:
download & streaming
Tracklist: 01. Medievalist Warhead
02. Absinthe Fairy
03. Defining The Demon
04. Steff Unno Sun Dri
05. Ataraxia 11
Press Info:
Georgian electronic music producer & Khidi Club/ DJ Resident, Boyd Schidt debuts on Sonic Groove with a killer 5 cut EP of dark electronic industrial techno , futurism.
Press Info:
Since 2014, Jae Matthews and Augustus Muller have steadily released what some might call the gold standard of darkwave and new industrial, under the monikerBoy Harsher*. Their first EP, Lesser Man, was originally released on a small run of cassettes, but then uploaded by a fan onto YouTube. The album, and most notablythe single “Pain”, rapidly gained online traction and became an underground hit. The exposure from this and their subsequent releases (Yr Body is Nothing, 2016, Country Girl EP, 2017) propelled the band into extensive tours, selling out shows in the United States and Europe.
Boy Harsher rode this momentum to their most recent album – Careful, released in 2019. Described as their most polished and produced record to date, Carefulreceived critical acclaim: “Careful is Boy Harsher at their world’s most fully fleshed-out…it’s straight-up brimming with hits, an album that doesn’t quit; a mountainousrecord with ecstatic highs and harsh lows” – Leah Mandel, NPR. Boy Harsher toured the circuit with Careful, successfully translating the songs into club readyperformances. Live, the Boy Harsher experience is reckless and enveloping, described as “totally losing yourself” (Mandel). The band continued to grow and expand their audience – selling out multiple headlining tours in 2019, with promising future festival dates for the upcoming year. With wind in their sails, they lookedtowards a bright future…
As did so many, until the pandemic changed their plans. Matthews and Muller retreated home to Massachusetts. The future was uncertain for most and music felt very non-essential, in this world with more important priorities. Halfway through the first year of the pandemic, Matthews was met with another surprise: a five dayhospital stay and diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Muller began to work on lonely compositions, while Matthews recovered from and adjusted to the disease. Thechaos of the unknown was a ubiquitous feeling for Boy Harsher during 2020.
Matthews and Muller met in Savanah, Ga while both studying film. Their initial interest in music, began in cinema. Early performances were live scores of VHS videos Matthews made, mostly of young woman staring longingly into the lens, Muller’s ominous drone evoking cryptic narratives. Matthews would write screenplays and Muller would compose score for the non- existent films. They often exchanged marked scripts for cassette tapes filled with sparse melodies. They hoped one day tocreate cinematic content of their own, apparent in their subsequent releases as Boy Harsher.
The global pandemic popularized live-streams, giving audiences the opportunity to see their favorite bands perform. However Boy Harsher was unable to imagine aproper live-stream situation, where intensity and inundation of sound (the BH tenets) were possible. Instead, they started developing a cinematic idea. Expanding the pieces that Muller started in 2020, and combining them with a fictional horror story – the duo generated The Runner, both an album and short film. Due forrelease in early 2022, The Runner, the film, cuts between a searching, subtle horror film and the ‘live-stream’ element of Boy Harsher performing and expounding‘behind the music’ style. The short film explores lust and compulsion – the horrific tendencies of seduction, a favorite Boy Harsher theme. The Runner, the soundtrack, balances dark pop and score tracks, with several surprise vocal features and Boy Harsher standards. Uncertainty enabled the band to experiment newways of publishing content, a needed outlet in an incredibly strange time.
The Runner is an evolutionary moment in the existence of Boy Harsher, a beginning tomore film-bound music in the future.
Release Date:
03rd December 2021 (Bandcamp & Beatport)
17th December 2021 (other digital stores)
Format:
vinyl, download & streaming
Tracklist: 01. Who Am I
02. Fortune Teller
03. Who Am I (Club Version)
04. Fortune Teller (Black Light Smoke Remix)
05. Who Am I (Wiener Planquadrat Remix)
06. Who Am I (Time To Sleep Remix)
Press Info:
The latest signing on Iptamenos Discos is the stunning debut EP by Dina Summer that features remixes by Black Light Smoke, Wiener Planquadrat & Time To Sleep. Fronted by Greek native Dina P., ‘Dina Summer’ is a collaborative band project by the producer Kalipo and the DJ/producer couple Local Suicide.
After performing on local radio stations as a teenager, Dina began making waves as one of the first female DJs in Thessaloniki. She later moved to Berlin where she met her husband with whom she formed the duo Local Suicide. The powerhouse has made a name for themselves releasing on labels such as Eskimo Recordings, Lumière Noire, Ombra INTL, TAU & more. Through their exploits, Beatport declared them as one of the key figures in the uprising dark disco scene. Around 2013 they met Bavarian born Kalipo while raving at Rock am Ring festival. At the time he was performing at the festival with his band, Frittenbude who are famous in German speaking countries for their unique mix of electro, punk & rap. Kalipo recently released his critically acclaimed fourth long player on KI Records which features artists such as Rampue, Ira Atari, Oberst & Buchner & more.
It wasn’t until 2019 that the trio finally starting working on music together. The result was a unique blend of late 90’s electro with elements of 80’s disco and new wave.
Their first outing ‘Who Am I’ is a new wave / disco-hymn consisting of German & English vocals. They’re accompanied by stomping drums and a beautiful synthesised melody laid over a synth-arp that maintains the tracks momentum.
The Club Version of ‘Who Am I’ is slightly faster and hits a little harder. In this track one can clearly hear the trio’s infamous ‘technodisco’ sound at work. The drums still stomp but with more depth and the synth-arp has a more rugged texture when compared to that of the original version.
The B-Side, titled ‘Fortune Teller’, is a groovy dance-floor bomb with nasty moroder-ish bass-arps, epic strings, spoken word elements and a slick breakdown followed by a banging and cascading drop that sucks in and hypnotises listeners.
Legendary US producer & composer Jordan Lieb aka Black Light Smoke’s take on ‘Fortune Teller’ turns the tune into a deep electro weapon with a wobbling bass-lines that ride perfectly with the drums and groovy synths. The glitchy vocals and the ominous sound of the strings give this track an awesomely dark atmosphere.
Austrian duo Wiener Planquadrat, who recently released their debut single ‘Stillstand’ on Iptamenos Discos, transform ‘Who Am I’ into a masterpiece reminiscent of Soulwax’s iconic sound. This is emphasised by the dirty and bouncy groove, rough tones and drums that are sure to make your body snap along with them.
Croatian producer Time To Sleep, who recently released tracks on Disco Halal, Permanent Vacation & more, delivers a glitchy 128BPM dub techno re-interpretation of ‘Who Am I’ with driving drums and a rolling bass-line that doesn’t let up. It’s filled with warm reverb filled percussion and an ethereal synth lead mid way through that makes you feel as though you’re floating while rounding off the EP in a beautiful manner.
This stunning EP’s versatile sound is sure to attract a variety of listeners and selectors while turning heads around the globe. The EP will be released on a strictly-limited clear Dubplate 12” and made available digitally on all platforms.
Full Track Streaming:
Video Teaser:
Specials:
Kalipo – “Live for Xibalba Festival Mexico @ Haus der Statistik Berlin”
Tracklist: 01. Scripture Of Love [feat. Regis & Simon Shreeve]
02. Ancient Hole [feat. Regis & Ann M. Hogan]
03. Chain Of Love [feat. Terence Fixmer]
04. Touch Me Now I’m In Heaven [feat. Nicolas Bougaïeff]
Press Info:
SYLPH returns with a new 4-track EP, Ancient Hole, released today on limited vinyl and digitally: see below
Sylph is the solo project of former S.C.U.M founder and vocalist, Thomas Cohen, and on Ancient Hole – his final release for 2021 – Cohen has worked with heavyweight techno collaborators Regis, Terence Fixmer and Nicolas Bougaïeff as well as renowned composer and singer Anni Hogan.
The limited signed vinyl edition of the EP is released in collaboration with The Vinyl Factory.
A short film by director Victor Gutierrez, accompanies the release. Featuring intimate and atmospheric performances of two tracks from the new EP, ‘Scripture of Love’ with Karl O’Connor aka Regis and ‘Ancient Hole’ alongside ‘Tears Fall From The Sun’ with Rrose, from the previous release Silver As It Was Before, the video brings together some of the tactile elements that inspired the project – which range from architecture to textiles.
“All holes are ancient, this is four songs from those spaces above and below. Chains, Scriptures and Ancient Holes That Touch Me Now I’m in Heaven.” – Thomas Cohen
Cohen’s intention with Sylph was to create something psychedelic and collaborative in nature, informed by notions of space and congregation, and built loosely around the concept of ‘mass’. A very different sonic beast to previous solo work, Sylph’s alien soundscapes have more in common with the after-dark scuzziness of S.C.U.M. He explains, “I wanted to fuse the singer-songwriter format of having a verse or a chorus, with a harder electronic repetition,” explains Cohen.
