Artist: John Hegre
Title: Colors Don’t Clash
Price: $17.00
Catalog #: dekorder017
Released: 2007

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01 don’t
02 worry
03 they
04 never
05 do

RETURNING TO HIS ORIGINAL INSTRUMENT THE ELECTRIC GUITAR, HEGRE HAS PRODUCED AN EXTREMELY DIVERSE ALBUM MUTATING FROM HYPNOTIC COMPUTER-LOOP DRONES TO SOME GLORIOUS FREE ANALOGUE NOISE, FROM ABSTRACT BANJO-LIKE SKETCHES TO THICK WASHES OF SLUDGY DOOM METAL AND ROARING NOISE ROCK, FROM DIVINE ELECTROACOUSTIC SOUNDS TO OTHERWORLDLY COUNTRY-ESQUE AND CLASSICAL GUITAR PICKING, ALL WITHIN ONE TRACK, AND OFTEN ALL AT ONCE, WITH SMALL AND SIMPLE MELODIES LURKING WITHIN HUGE DRIFTS OF SOUND. AND NOT ONE ELEMENT SOUNDS OUT OF PLACE HERE, IT’S RATHER LIKE THE COLLAGES OF SEEMINGLY INAPPROPRIATE BITS AND PIECES CREATE A TOTALLY UNIQUE SURREAL AND CREEPY ATMOSPHERE. DOZENS OF SMALL DETAILS SUDDENLY APPEAR FROM NOWHERE, TRANSFORMING EVEN THE MOST BRUTAL NOISE ATTACKS INTO COMPLEX TEXTURAL ARRANGEMENTS, MAKING THIS THE MOST ESSENTIAL GUITAR ALBUM OF THE YEAR.
THE TITLE? IT´S A QUOTATION FROM THE LATE PHILIP CHARLES LITHMAN AKA SNAKEFINGER. AT THE END OF AN INTERVIEW FOR THE JULY NUMBER OF THE NORWEGIAN MUSIC MAGAZINE PULS IN 1987 HE WAS ASKED IF HE HAD ANY FINAL MESSAGE FOR THE NORWEGIAN PEOPLE, AND HE DID, HIS MESSAGE WAS "COLORS DON´T CLASH, DON´T WORRY THEY NEVER DO". HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK ON JULY 1ST, SAME DAY AS HIS SINGLE "THERE´S NO JUSTICE IN LIFE" WAS RELEASED.
BRAIN DAMAGING SLEEVE DESIGN BY YASUTOSHI YOSHIDA OF GOVERNMENT ALPHA!

Artist: John Hegre and Maja Ratjke
Title: Ballads
Price: $17.00
Catalog #: dekorder015
Released: 2006

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01 autumn leaves
02 binoculars and traces
03 private matter
04 blues for silent bakers
05 hesitating interruptions of spring
06 a quiet day at the office
07 art compass
08 hammock moods

"BALLADS" IST THE FIRST COLLABORATIVE ALBUM BY TWO KEY FIGURES OF THE NORWEGIAN NOISE, IMPROV, EXPERIMENTAL, WHATEVER-YOU-CALL-IT MUSIC SCENE. ANYONE EXPECTING A RACKETY WALL OF DISTORTED FEEDBACK GUITARS AND VOICES WILL BE GENTLY SURPRISED THOUGH BY THE SPARSE AND INTIMATE SKETCHES TO BE FOUND ON THIS WONDERFUL RECORD. SONGS ARE STRIPPED DOWN TO THEIR RAW BONES USING ONLY THE MOST ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS TO REVEAL THE SOUL BEHIND EVERY SINGLE SOUND. SUPERFLUOUS EFFECTS SEEM TO BE COMPLETELY ABSENT, CREATING AN OPEN SPACE FOR MINISCULE DETAILS, ALWAYS READY TO IMPLODE INTO NOISIER TRACKS SUCH AS "PRIVATE MATTER". THE ALBUM CULMINATES IN "HAMMOCK MOODS", A QUIETLY MESMERIZING EPIC FINALE WITH MAJA RATKJE HUMMING A BEAUTIFUL MELODY OVER HEGRE'S GORGEOUS NEAR-PSYCHEDELIC GUITAR PLAYING. LET'S ALL HOPE FOR A SEQUEL TO THIS ALBUM!
MAJA RATKJE IS A MEMBER OF SPUNK (RUNE GRAMMOFON) AND NOISE DUO FE-MAIL. HER SOLO ALBUM "VOICE" (PRODUCED IN COLLABORATION WITH JAZZKAMMER) GOT AN AWARD OF DISTINCTION AT PRIX ARS ELECTRONICA IN 2003. IN 2001 SHE WAS THE FIRST COMPOSER EVER TO RECEIVE THE ARNE NORDHEIM DISTINCTION AWARD. SHE HAS COLLABORATED WITH JAAP BLONK, IKUE MORI, OTOMO YOSHIHIDE, WOLF EYES, MATMOS, LASSE MARHAUG, JASON FORREST, KIM HIORTOY, ULVER AND MANY OTHERS.
JOHN HEGRE IS A MEMBER OF JAZZKAMMER / JAZKAMER (SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND), KAPTEIN KALIBER, GOLDEN SERENADES, NEW BOILING NEAR THE FJORDS (WITH MEMBERS OF ALOG) AND OTHERS. HIS FIRST SOLO 3"CD CAME OUT ON DEKORDER IN 2003.

Artist: Black to Comm
Title: Rückwärts Backwards
Price: $11.00
Catalog #: dekorder014
Released: 2006

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01 Bees
02 Levitation
03 Lucifer Lucca
04 Rückwärts Backwards
05 El Huis pt. 1
06 Es Gibt Kein Morgen
07 March of the Vivian Girls
08 Virtuosity as a Means to an End

BLACK TO COMM IS AN ALIAS FOR DEKORDER LABEL OWNER MARC RICHTER'S AUDIO EXCURSIONS. "RÜCKWÄRTS BACKWARDS" IS HIS DEBUT FULL-LENGTH ALBUM RECORDED BETWEEN 2003 AND 2005 IN HIS ADOPTED HOMETOWN HAMBURG AND HIS CHILDHOOD HOME IN THE BLACK FOREST LOCATED IN THE SOUTH OF GERMANY. WITH A BACKGROUND IN MANY MUSICAL STYLES (FROM PSYCHEDELIA TO PURE COMPUTER MUSIC) BTC'S MUSIC IS NEVER EASY TO PIN DOWN.
THIS ALBUM IS ESSENTIALLY CREATED FROM SCRATCHY SHELLAC AND VINYL LOOPS MERGED WITH AMBIENCE FIELD RECORDINGS (WITH SOME VOICE MANIPULATIONS AND KITCHEN GAMELAN THROWN IN FOR GOOD MEASURE). THE WARM HISS OF ANALOGUE RECORDING TECHNIQUES COMBINED WITH THE APPARENTLY ANTIQUE SOUNDS OF VINTAGE ORGANS, ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS, PIANOS, GLOCKENSPIEL AND MBIRA USED ON THESE TRACKS GENERATE A KIND OF HYPERREAL, FAKE NOSTALGIA PLAYING WITH ONE'S PERCEPTION OF A PSEUDO-RECOLLECTION. THE LAYERING AND HYPNOTIC REPETITION OF SHORT LOOPS EXTRACTED FROM OLD PSYCHEDELIA, FREE JAZZ, VAUDEVILLE AND TRADITIONAL RECORDS REVEAL A HAUNTING MELODIC QUALITY SOMETIMES NOT DISTINGUISHABLE WITHIN THE ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL, EVOKING A HOVERING FEELING OF BITTERSWEET MELANCHOLY WITH AN OMNIPRESENT, SLIGHTLY DISTURBING ATMOSPHERE HIDDEN BENEATH THE SURFACE.
THE 8 SONGS CONSTANTLY SWAY BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN SIMPLE, ALMOST NAIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND DENSE SURRREAL DRONES WITH RARE, YET INTENSE DISTORTED CLIMAXES MAKING THIS ALBUM ONE CONSTANTLY ABSORBING LISTENING EXPERIENCE.

Artist: Guido Möbius
Title: Dishoek
Price: $11.00
Catalog #: dekorder013
Released: 2006

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01 klisten
02 Twark
03 sweet raphael
04 me go place
05 sink
06 Nasi
07 Zwölf
08 Schleswig
09 Kurbel

GUIDO MÖBIUS IS A MAN ON THE GO. OUT OF HIS BERLIN OFFICERECORDINGSTUDIO HE OPERATES THE AUTOPILOT MUSIC PUBLISHING HOUSE AND PROMOTES RECORD LABELS SUCH AS SONIG, SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND AND KLANGBAD. ADDITIONALLY HE RUNS THE SMALL EMPHASE LABEL RELEASING AMONG OTHER THINGS A 7" SERIES OF 1-INSTRUMENT MUSIC AND THE LAST ALBUM BY ANNE LAPLANTINE. AND FIRST AND FOREMOST HE IS A MUSICIAN, NOW CONCENTRATING ON HIS SOLO WORK AND LIVE APPEARANCES WITH BASS PLAYER ALEXEJ GOTTSCHAU AFTER PLAYING IN VARIOUS BAND FORMATIONS.TWO YEARS AGO HIS SOLO DEBUT "KLISTEN" HAD THE PRESS AND MUSIC LOVERS EVERYWHERE TURN SOMERSAULTS WHEN HEARING THIS WONDERFULLY WHIMSICAL SMORGASBORD OF COUNTLESS TINY SOUNDS AND INSTRUMENTS. ALL MATERIAL ON "KLISTEN" HAD BEEN STRANGELY INTERWOVEN, LAMINATED AND SET AGAINST EACH OTHER YET ALWAYS REMAINING SONGS, ALMOST POP. AND DESPITE ALL THE COMPLEXITY AND CRAFTINESS IT NEVER SOUNDED DIFFICULT, ACADEMIC OR POMPOUS. ONE COULD DIVE INTO THIS MUSIC OR SIMPLY MOVE WITHIN IT AND DISCOVER A NEW PLANT BEHIND EACH CORNER. BUT ONE WOULD NEVER BE LED ASTRAY BY IT. AND IF YOU WALKED THE SAME PATH A FEW DAYS LATER SUDDENLY NEW BUDS HAD GROWN AND SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE CARVED A FEW WEIRD SYMBOLS INTO THE TREES.AND JUST BEFORE WE STARTED TO MISS GUIDO MÖBIUS HE SURPRISES US WITH "DISHOEK", HIS SECOND ALBUM, RECORDED FOR HAMBURG’S DEKORDER LABEL. AGAIN FEATURING A CONGLOMERATION OF ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRICAL INSTRUMENTS (GUITAR, BASS, VIOLIN, CORNET DRUMS, SYNTHESIZER, CLARINET AMONG OTHER THINGS.) AND A VARIETY OF GUESTS, SO THAT ONE HARDLY DARES TO CALL IT A SOLO ALBUM. STILL EVERYTHING IS MAGICALLY HELD TOGETHER BY ONE SINGLE PERSON. MELODIES AND NOISES, STYLES AND INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS, INTELLIGENCE AND HUMOUR COLLIDE AND BECOME FRIENDS FOR LIVE. WE HEAR KRAUTROCK MINUS ROCK, FOLK MINUS TRONICS, POP MINUS POPULAR; PSYCHEDELIA MEETS IMPROVISATION MEETS ELECTRONICA WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST KNOW-IT-ALL APPROACH. STYLES GET INTERMINGLED, COPULATE AND FINALLY DISSOLVE COMPLETELY TO BECOME ONLY MUSIC WITHOUT THE NEED TO BE LABELLED BECAUSE IT IS FUNCTIONING COMPLETELY WITHIN ITS OWN CONTEXT AND NEVER FAILS TO ASTONISH. THE COMPUTER REMAINS A TOOL, NEVER AN END IN ITSELF AND THE ALLEGED SEPARATION OF ACOUSTIC AND ELECTRONIC MUSIC BECOMES COMPLETELY OBSOLETE. WITH ITS WILY DOWN-TO-EARTH APPROACH "DISHOEK" PROVES THAT AN EAGERNESS TO EXPERIMENT AND THE WILL TO EXPLORE UNKNOWN TERRITORIES DO NOT HAVE TO SOUND ARDUOUS YET ALWAYS HAVE THE ABILITY TO GENTLY SURPRISE ANY ADVENTUROUS LISTENER.

Artist: Tu M’
Title: Just One Night
Price: $11.00
Catalog #: dekorder012
Released: 2005

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01 An Afternoon in the Country
02 Lonely as a Cloud
03 The Moon on the Sea
04 Blue Blur
05 Rain in the Streets
06 Rain Turning to Sleet
07 Strange Sleep
08 Wake Up, Wake Up
09 The First Rays of the Sun

TU M’ IS A DUO FROM CITTÀ SANT' ANGELO, A SMALL VILLAGE IN CENTRAL ITALY. EMILIANO ROMANELLI AND ROSSANO POLIDORO HAVE STARTED TU M’ IN 1998 (NAMED AFTER MARCEL DUCHAMP’S LAST PAINTING) AND SINCE THEN RELEASED SEVERAL CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED RECORDS ON LABELS SUCH AS PHTALO, ERS/STAALPLAAT, FÄLLT, AESOVA AND BOXMEDIA. THEY HAVE RECENTLY STARTED STENO WITH FRANK METZGER OF OVAL (DEBUT LP COMING SOON ON THE EN/OF LABEL). THEY HAVE COLLABORATED WITH STEVE RODEN FOR AN ALBUM RELEASE ON ROSSBIN AND ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH SIMON FISHER TURNER ON SOME NEW TRACKS TO BE INCLUDED ON HIS FORTHCOMING ALBUM ON MUTE RECORDS.
ADDITIONALLY THEY RUN THE CD-LABEL MR. MUTT (ANOTHER DUCHAMP REFERENCE) AND CURATE THE MP3-LABEL TU M’P3 RELEASING SOUNDTRACKS TO WEBCAM PICTURES BY A DIVERSE RANGE OF ARTISTS SUCH AS DONNA SUMMER, DÄLEK, CHRIS CUTLER, NOEL AKCHOTE, FARMERS MANUAL, VOICE CRACK, ALAN LICHT, DAVID GRUBBS AND DEKORDER ARTISTS SUCH AS VOKS, UN CADDIE RENVERSÉ DANS L’HERBE AND BLACK TO COMM.
THEIR NEW ALBUM TITLED "JUST ONE NIGHT" STILL CONTAINS THEIR TRADEMARK IMPROVISATIONS ON GUITARS, ALTO SAX, FLUTES, TOY KEYBOARDS, ALTO FLUGELHORN, PERCUSSION, HARMONICA, ETC. LOOPED, PROCESSED AND EDITED INTO COMPOSITIONS, COMBINED WITH FIELD RECORDINGS AND THE ODD VINYL SAMPLE USED OCCASSIONALLY. THESE RAW MATERIALS ARE SCULPTED INTO BEAUTIFULLY MELANCHOLIC SONGS ALL DEALING WITH THE "NIGHT" THEME, MAKING THIS THEIR MOST COHERENT ALBUM YET.

Artist: Un Caddie Renverse dans l’Herbe
Title: Atlas saltA (map lies, border lies ...)
Price: $7.00
Catalog #: dekorder011
Released: 2005

3” CD

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01 when
02 time
03 overcomes
04 miss
05 liar
06 atlas

ON HIS THIRD RELEASE FOR DEKORDER DIDAC LAGARRIGA IS OPENING HIS SOUND TOWARDS A MORE OPEN, LESS FORMAL AND REPETITIVE STYLE, MIXING FIELD RECORDINGS, INSTRUMENTS FROM AFRICA AND SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SURREAL VOICES INTO A FLOATING FREEFORM SOUND. INCLUDING THE MOST BEAUTIFUL LOVE SONG YOU HAVE EVER HEARD.

Artist: Voks
Title: Darkvaks
Price: $7.00
Catalog #: dekorder010
Released: 2005

3” CD

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10

SECOND 10-TRACK (!) MINI-CD BY JOHN PEEL (RIP) FAVOURITE VOKS FROM COPENHAGEN ON THE DEKORDER LABEL AFTER THE (SOLD OUT) "VAKS VANSKAB AK". MORE INCREDIBLE ROCKING ELECTRONIC MINIATURES INSPIRED BY SYNTHROCK AND ROCK IN OPPOSITION ACTS LIKE THE RESIDENTS, ART BEARS AND DER PLAN COMBINED WITH INFLUENCES FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA, CHINA, AFRICA, ET AL. MASTERED BY OUR FRIEND THE G-MAN GAEOUDJIPARL (FORMERLY KNOWN TO THE WORLD AS GOODIEPAL).

Artist: PXP
Title: Nada
Price: $9.00
Catalog #: dekorder009
Released: 2005

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13

WHAT IS PXP?
PXP IS THE SHORT IDENTIFIER OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR PENETRATION AND PERVERSION, A FARMERSMANUAL SUBUNIT LOCATED AT [HTTP://WRZK.WEB.FM/]. NECESSARILY IN THE SPIRIT OF THE SUPERUNIT THE DEPARTMENT'S ACTIVITIES TOUCH A WIDE RANGE OF AREAS WITH INTERLEAVING METHODOLOGY AND THE SONIC MAPPING OF WHICH BEING ONE SUBSET. THE TOPICS BEING COVERED MIGHT BE DISTILLED TO EXPLORATION OF DYNAMIC AND SELFORGANIZING STRUCTURES.
WHAT IS NADA?
NADA IS THE SECOND REALWORLD MANIFESTATION IN THE SHAPE OF AN AUDIO CD PRECIPITATED BY PXP ON IMPULSE OF HAMBURG BASED EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC LABEL DEKORDER. MUCH IN THE STYLE OF AN EARLIER WORK , "WHILE(P){PRINT"."," "X$P++}", WAVETRAP, 2002, WHICH HAS RECEIVED AN HONOURABLE MENTION IN DIGITAL MUSICS AT ARS ELECTRONICA THE SAME YEAR FOR BEING PERCEIVED AS "A JUTTING MASS OF DIGITIZED DISTURBANCE THAT FUELED OUR DIRECT RECKONING WITH DESTABILIZED MATHEMATICS" BY THE JURY, NADA REPRESENTS A SNAPSHOT OF THE LANDSCAPE A COUPLE OF METAMORPHOSES FURTHER DOWN THE SAME N-DIMENSIONAL ROAD, 5 < N < \INFTY/2, BUT GIVING IN TO A SLIGHT PULL FROM SELF-SUFFICIENT, SPECIALIZED SYSTEMS LIVING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO MORE OPEN, GENERAL PURPOSE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS.

Artist: Un Caddie Renverse dans l’Herbe
Title: Like a packed cupboard but quite...
Price: $9.00
Catalog #: dekorder007
Released: 2004

 

Tracklisting and MP3s:

01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13

THE CURIOUSLY TITLED „LIKE A PACKED CUPBOARD BUT QUITE...“ IS THE 2ND RELEASE FOR THE DEKORDER LABEL BY UN CADDIE RENVERSÉ DANS L’HERBE A.K.A. DÍDAC P. LAGARRIGA FROM BARCELONA, SPAIN AFTER HIS BEAUTIFUL 3“CD „NOW THERE’S A WEIRD TASTE IN MY MOUTH“.
NOT UNLIKE HIS PREVIOUS WORKS WHICH HAVE BEEN COMPARED TO THE LIKES OF PASCAL COMELADE, ASA CHANG & JUNRAY, PENGUIN CAFÉ ORCHESTRA AND STEVE BERESFORD, THE ALBUM’S USING REPETITION AND SIMPLICITY, MELODY AND WARMTH, CHARM AND A POSITIVE NAIVITY TO CREATE AN ADDICTIVE, OFTEN HYPNOTIC MUZAK; NEVER OVERLOADED, FULL OF SPACE FOR TINY SURPRISING IDEAS/SOUNDS AND LITTLE ELEMENTS AND INFLUENCES TO UNFOLD THEIR INNER BEAUTY. THIS IS CONTEMPORARY AND TIMELESS MUSIC WITHOUT THE URGE TO BE (POST-) MODERN JUST FOR THE SAKE OF BEING SO.
STILL FEATURING THE UNUSUAL BUT FASCINATING COMBINATION OF AFRICAN INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS THE BALAPHON, MBIRA, KALIMBA, BERIMBAU WITH MODERN SOFTWARE, PIANO, CELLO, GUITAR, BASS, MELODICA, CHIMES, THE OVERALL THEME OF THE ALBUM IS A DIRECT REACTION TO THE WIDELY USED (AND MISLEADING) TERM OF „EXOTICA“ OFTEN FOUND IN THE WRITINGS ABOUT LAGARRIGA’S MUSIC AND OTHER SO-CALLED „WORLD MUSIC“. OFTEN USED BY OUR BELOVED „1ST WORLD“ TO CREATE A PSEUDO-ROMANTIC MARKETING NICHE THESE TERMS HAVE BECOME EMPTY LABELS FOR CULTURES WE DON’T KNOW TOO WELL OR ARE TOO LAZY TO LEARN ABOUT WITHOUT ACCEPTING THE FACT THAT EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE IS (OR, AT LEAST, CAN BE) INFLUENCED BY ANYTHING ELSE. WE ARE NOT LIVING IN A HERMETIC CAPITALIZED SURROUNDING BUT TOO OFTEN ACT AS IF WE ARE...
LAGARRIGA’S MUSIC IS NEITHER „WORLD MUSIC“ NOR „EXOTICA“ BUT SIMPLY A MUSIC THAT IS TRYING TO BE INCLUSIVE, EMBRACING EVERYTHING HAPPENING AROUND HIM (BE IT MUSIC, ART, WRITING AND/OR SIMPLY, AND MOST IMPORTANT, EVERYDAY LIFE) IN CONTRAST TO THE OFTEN ENCASED EXPONENTS OF „OUR“ WESTERN CULTURE, WITHOUT DENYING THE FACT THAT ALL OF US (INCLUDING LAGARRIGA AND, WELL, MYSELF) ARE PERSONALLY THINKING AND ACTING WITHIN THOSE STEREOTYPES WAY TOO OFTEN (UNFORTUNATELY).