Machine music has firmly taken root and is thriving under the tutelage of record stores, pressing plants and knob twiddlers. This compilation is sliced from the same sheer cloth. Cold funk dipped in wave romance, coarse edges filleted with industrial precision, there’s even a bit of wackiness thrown in for good measure; a record reflecting the dynamism of its hometown.
At certain points, at certain times and in certain places, a group of likeminded individuals are drawn together. Through a common cause, and a fair amount of serendipity, this collective obtains an energy and enthusiasm that a lone player will struggle to match. This is the case in history, in art and in music. The electronic scene in Leipzig is enjoying one of these moments, where all the stars are aligned and everyone is pulling in the right direction.
Lunatic. Possblthings. Pulse Drift. YUYAY. R.A.N.D. Muzik. A glut of quality imprints has organically risen from a city of under half a million. And now, there’s a new name to join the pack. Clear Memory. The musical landscape of the above labels is the hunting ground for this newcomer, a five tack compilation inaugurating. One moniker immediately leaping from the inner label is En Direct. The EBM angles and rapid rhythms of their recent EP have been sidelined. In their place are playful notes, tinker-toy innocence cut with a rasping beat and tongue in cheek vocoder lyrics. Local artists lurk under pseudonyms. XY0815, a machinist who has graced a number of the aforementioned labels, debuts his XData moniker. The track title, “Frozon”, is a good indication of what is on offer. Chillingly removed, breathy words are whispered over lances of trembling light as a skeletal stark snare keeps time. The remainder of the 12” is given over to debutants. Zielkonflikt cuts his teeth with the brooding darkness of “Weltzentralcomputer,” a work of shifting aquatics, mechanics and some C-64 gazing, before joining forces with YUYAY’s Robyrt Hecht to form Uncanny Lovers. Their offering, “My Name Is Harmony,” is a brief encounter of frigid funk and robotic allure. The first of the quintet is the most menacing. Next Neighbors bleed distortion into lyrics and static soaked percussion in a work of threatening wave for the opener.
It really is a magical time to live in a certain German city. Machine music has firmly taken root and is thriving under the tutelage of record stores, pressing plants and knob twiddlers. This compilation is sliced from the same sheer cloth. Cold funk dipped in wave romance, coarse edges filleted with industrial precision, there’s even a bit of wackiness thrown in for good measure; a record reflecting the dynamism of its hometown.
Clear Memory 001 is available on Clear Memory.
