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viewing 1 To 11 of 11 items
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2LP
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OSTGUT 026LP
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Double LP version. Nick Höppner connects the territories of house music with the ease of alt-pop on Work, his second solo album for Ostgut Ton. After leaving his full-time job as Ostgut Ton's label manager in 2012, Nick Höppner went fully freelance, focusing on his musically diverse, deep, and dynamic DJing in and outside Berghain's Panorama Bar, but more importantly spending more time in the studio. The result was his critically acclaimed debut album Folk (OSTGUT 033CD/019LP, 2015), various 12" releases and remixes, and now his sophomore LP, Work, which, more than ever, lays out his refined production skills and his talent to work the machines until they reveal their inner ghosts: nine new songs that now dodge the dancefloor, then fully embrace it. On Work, Höppner shows his everlasting lust for musical detail, his increasing technical skills and compositional finesse. Work is a very personal, soulful, and deep record that breaks through the usual club/dancefloor narrative by documenting Nick's interest for hybrid sounds and combining elements from varying musical genres. Work's lead single "All By Themselves (My Belle)" is a very atmospheric, intimate, and steadily unfurling IDM piece with ethereal synth and vocal pads; it's contrasted by the personal "Clean Living" with Tram 78, a modern Höppner club classic: powerful, kick-heavy, muscular, cheerful, and uplifting. Connecting to this musical vibe, "In My Mind" follows with a slightly darker tone putting emphasis on bassline, percussion, and squeaky sound detailing. "Hole Head" pays tongue-in-cheek homage to Nick's love for UK club music, when a dashing melody of synths and vibraphone is matched with clattering breaks and syncopation. The dubby, mesmerizing "The Dark Segment" not only impresses with its hypnotic synth figurines, but also by morphing to a shuffling jazz rhythm towards it's middle part; "Forced Resonance" uses Oberheim synth brass stabs to dramatic effect; the percussion- and clap-laden "Fly Your Colours" comes with an irresistible piano melody atop an energetic kick; and finally the album-closing, shuffling but rhythmic, noisy yet bluesy, "Three Is A Charm", featuring the duo Randweg (Andreas Ernst and David Baurmann) on clarinet, cajón, and acoustic guitar, is a coherent departure heading towards indie pop territory. It sees Nick collaborating with acoustic instrumentalists for the first time in his ten-year-spanning Ostgut Ton release catalog. Art work by German collage artist Frank Bubenzer.
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CD
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OSTGUT 040CD
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Nick Höppner connects the territories of house music with the ease of alt-pop on Work, his second solo album for Ostgut Ton. After leaving his full-time job as Ostgut Ton's label manager in 2012, Nick Höppner went fully freelance, focusing on his musically diverse, deep, and dynamic DJing in and outside Berghain's Panorama Bar, but more importantly spending more time in the studio. The result was his critically acclaimed debut album Folk (OSTGUT 033CD/019LP, 2015), various 12" releases and remixes, and now his sophomore LP, Work, which, more than ever, lays out his refined production skills and his talent to work the machines until they reveal their inner ghosts: nine new songs that now dodge the dancefloor, then fully embrace it. On Work, Höppner shows his everlasting lust for musical detail, his increasing technical skills and compositional finesse. Work is a very personal, soulful, and deep record that breaks through the usual club/dancefloor narrative by documenting Nick's interest for hybrid sounds and combining elements from varying musical genres. Work's lead single "All By Themselves (My Belle)" is a very atmospheric, intimate, and steadily unfurling IDM piece with ethereal synth and vocal pads; it's contrasted by the personal "Clean Living" with Tram 78, a modern Höppner club classic: powerful, kick-heavy, muscular, cheerful, and uplifting. Connecting to this musical vibe, "In My Mind" follows with a slightly darker tone putting emphasis on bassline, percussion, and squeaky sound detailing. "Hole Head" pays tongue-in-cheek homage to Nick's love for UK club music, when a dashing melody of synths and vibraphone is matched with clattering breaks and syncopation. The dubby, mesmerizing "The Dark Segment" not only impresses with its hypnotic synth figurines, but also by morphing to a shuffling jazz rhythm towards it's middle part; "Forced Resonance" uses Oberheim synth brass stabs to dramatic effect; the percussion- and clap-laden "Fly Your Colours" comes with an irresistible piano melody atop an energetic kick; and finally the album-closing, shuffling but rhythmic, noisy yet bluesy, "Three Is A Charm", featuring the duo Randweg (Andreas Ernst and David Baurmann) on clarinet, cajón, and acoustic guitar, is a coherent departure heading towards indie pop territory. It sees Nick collaborating with acoustic instrumentalists for the first time in his ten-year-spanning Ostgut Ton release catalog. Art work by German collage artist Frank Bubenzer.
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12"
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OSTGUT 103EP
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Nick Höppner puts full focus on club music with a new, consistent three-tracker, Box Drop. "Box Drop" comes in form of a deep dub techno aesthetic at an adequate 128 bpm while not neglecting warm and melodic elements: harmonic layers, effects, synth pads, rotating sound patterns - frisky, yet muscular. "Still" begins with a mellow vibe, slowly swelling and progressing into slightly romantic, yet very groove-focused, upbeat house music. "Out Of Sight" sees Höppner working with whispering female vocal samples while a sturdy bassline, synth bleeps, and modulations, shakers and other percussion add to the warm and cosmic vibe.
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12"
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OSTGUT 092EP
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Nick Höppner follows his 2015 album Folk (OSTGUT 033CD/019LP) with an EP of album remixes. Few nights compare to Chicago's Smart Bar resident The Black Madonna taking over Panorama Bar after Höppner's set in March 2014. Her remix of "Relate" turns Höppner's dreamy original into a sturdy, 4/4-heavy house monster. Berlin-based duo Liit shine some wan and oppressive light on the album's buoyant pop gem "Come Closer." Dutch producer Aardvarck's treatment of "Grind Show" is a deep and mesmerizing piece of dancefloor voodoo. Herva turns "Rising Overheads" into a slowed-down, multi-layered dub -- offbeat and deep.
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2LP
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OSTGUT 019LP
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CD
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OSTGUT 033CD
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Berlin-based DJ and producer Nick Höppner presents his debut solo album, Folk. From his tenure as the founding label manager and A&R man for Ostgut Ton to his extensive solo output and of course his genre-sprawling late-night DJ sets at his musical home, Panorama Bar, Höppner has managed to dance in and out of the spotlight, remaining an intriguing and perhaps a defining member of the Berlin techno/house community. Folk is a deeply personal and intimate album created for everyone; an album of idiosyncratic tracks that cross the vast continent of techno and house music. Each track is adorned with many different musical styles brought together by the unifying power of the 4/4 kick. From the submerged sounds of "Paws" through the upbeat slap bass rhythm of "Out Of" to the highly infectious vocal hymn "Come Closer," Höppner's open-minded attitude toward music leaves little reason to discriminate by genre. Recorded throughout 2014 in Höppner's Berlin studio, Folk is a musical statement that goes beyond the politics of his Hamburg-bred DIY roots. Höppner elaborates: "I decided to call my album Folk because I feel that we all work with a sonic vocabulary that was developed by a relatively small set of pioneers 20 or 30 years ago, that took their cues from disco which was influenced by R&B, funk, soul, etc., down to the most primal ritualism of tribal drums. This sort of traditionalism appears to have been passed on from generation to generation with everyone adding their own perspective to it, thus making it more difficult to trace it all back to a source. One can argue that a lot of it is passed through records but I feel the most important ways of experiencing, enjoying, and learning about the music happen inside a club. I also call this Folk as the blueprint of this music was laid out on what were originally cheap instruments from a dusty thrift store -- in 1985, the TB-303 was the equivalent of a worn-out acoustic guitar. Today this is reflected by the immense and accessible power of creation found in a $500 laptop running a crack of Reason or Ableton." Nick Höppner has brought Folk to the digital age. A full-length that can be easily listened to in the club or at home, a testament to his voracious appetite for music, and a significant addition to the soundtrack of Berlin. CD includes exclusive track "Airway Management."
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12"
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OSTGUT 069EP
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With the Red Hook Soil EP Nick Höppner delivers a complex, many-faceted record. The title-track quickly develops a modern, atmospheric mood. Tender stabs, soft synth washes and a metallic groove complement each other in surprising harmony. "Bait & Tackle" creates a darker vibe within its driving beat -- the inspired use of percussion, bass and synths with trance leanings succeeds in creating a gripping combination. "Decal" features industrial sounds and a rich, hissing background noise.
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CD
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OSTGUT 021CD
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This is the fourth mix CD from Ostgut Ton commemorating Berlin's legendary Panorama Bar. Nick Höppner starts as deep as he means to go with a new exclusive track by Jon McMillion. The smooth, half-whispered vocals and distorted synths, layered with experimental and classic elements are followed by the dreamy "Lament For A Dead Computer Part 1," a Charles Webster production. The tension builds with "Way Out" by Fabrizio Mammarella and is perfectly picked up by another unreleased track, this time a deep, dubby techno/house hybrid by Matthew Styles. Chateau Flight's "Welcome" with vocals by Osunlade is one of these undiscovered house gems that make Nick's sets so exceptionally enjoyable, and he moves on with the melodic house of DJ Gregory's "Attend 1." A new track by The Mole changes the focus a little; the funky bassline is the key here, and it is quickly followed by the deep groove of "Alfa" by Quince. Manoo's track "Abyss" builds the tension before the minimal funk of "Fixation" produced by Morgan Geist introduces another shade to Nick Höppner's palette of sounds. The somber mood of K.Lakizz's remix for Carsten Jost fits in perfectly and is followed by an unexpected track by Whirlpool Productions from 1996 -- a rough, shuffling timeless house groove, as simple as it is good. Back in U.S. territory, Swan's "Can You Rock To This?" delivers a funky synth, vocal and house groove built for the floor. With the next track, Höppner introduces a slightly darker shade with "Pimping People In High Places" -- Gary Martin's jacking production creates a perfect bridge towards the more leftfield "Emotional Blackmail" by Dez Williams and the tough yet uplifting "X7D" by Dexter, another unreleased track. Americhord's "Midnight" creates a little breathing space with a sweeter atmosphere, which is followed by the smooth techno house textures of Scott Grooves' underground classic "Detroit 808." Höppner then includes another rare find that instantly creates a high point in a club set; DJ Emanuel's untitled track hits all the right boxes of deep house brilliance and is followed by this year's unexpected club hit from Andrés, a perfect reminder that you need to hear something like this again -- live on the dancefloor in a club.
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12"
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OSTGUT 049EP
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Berlin's Nick Höppner continues his exploration into an ever-developing and rich production vocabulary. The rough goes with the smooth in perfect harmony on "A Peck And Pawn." The spaced-out and traveling "She Parked Herself" features bubbling percussion and pretty melodic structures fusing with an analog bassline in this high-tech and positive jam. "Swivel Flick" slows the pace in a warm, dubbed and droning thinkpiece that really shows off Nick's talent for a non-standard groove.
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12"
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OSTGUT 034EP
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Nick Höppner presents 3 excursions for Ostgut Ton, plus a remix by Lee Jones. Almost entirely constructed from field recordings taken within the walls of Berghain, "Brush Me Down" is a textural, energetic jam. Jones' remix is a fragmented jazz interpretation that brings together club, dub and 2step. "Umbrella Pitch" unfolds like a sinister drama, with a warm and exultant theme slowly emerging. "Dancing On The Head Of A Pin" is a super-concentrated symphony that bubbles and floats along in its own celestial realm.
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12"
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OSTGUT 021EP
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MyMy member Nick Höppner returns to OstGut Ton, paying tribute to his residencies both at Panorama Bar and Berghain. There's the rather house-y "Makeover" and the deep techno of "Foundling," two tracks which are warm, smooth, and universally useful. "Makeover" dives deep into peak-time and after-hour sensibilities, contemporary house, and timeless voodoo, making it one of Höppner's strongest efforts to date. "Foundling" ups the ante by deploying huge, dubby sound characteristics which will devastate any techno dancefloor.
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viewing 1 To 11 of 11 items
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