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LP
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ATCK 042LP
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A Tribe Called Kotori's first foray into full-length territories, as the immensely talented Rampue takes us on a melancholy-riddled ride across his phantasmatic mindscapes. A true sound explorer, deftly steering his ship down the junction of electronica, abstract and balearic-infused prog house, the Berlin-based vibist has us transfixed and elevated throughout the twelve cuts that form the backbone to this lushly textured promenade in sound -- at times understatedly euphoric, at others rivetingly exotic. Distantly emulating the "euphonious strains" of iconic PS1 video games soundtracks from his youth days, Bubblebath Trance has us surfing a constant paradox of emotions, wistful but not abandoning itself to sorrow, dynamic yet suspended in some sort of mind-expanding stasis. A crystal-pure object that shall not reveal its secrets, even after a thousand listens and just as many wowing moments.
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12"
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ATCK 034EP
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Better known as one half of the Stavroz quartet, Pieter De Meester and Maxim Helincks turn up on A Tribe Called Kotori with their self-titled third studio effort as Shady, following up to Your Skin EP on Beat & Path. Grinding a wide set of influences through oddball, genre-bending compositions, the pair has been carving out its own wonky, cross-curricular sound grammar away from normative restrictions and creative-hindering behaviorism -- like the weird brainchild to Soulwax, Nicolas Jaar, and Connan Mockasin. "Can I Be Yours" gets the ball rolling on a spectral pop tip, blending together the vaporous spook of ultra-processed riffs with mischievous drum play and hypnotically smooth-tongued vocals dissolving in rippling delays. A further nocturnal affair, "Cruisin" goes a more sensuous, electro-friendly route, beaconed with hints of washed-out folk and cosmo-ambient spaciousness. The Cali vibes meet spoken Brit post-punk motif'd (think Baxter Dury out for a quick surf session with the Beach Boys.) "Sun" rounds off the ride on a catchy Mod-like note, merging to perfection the swinging London's debonair charm with that of the west coast's typical carefreeness of being. That's ocean-spray bottled in a tune.
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12"
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ATCK 030EP
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Up next on A Tribe Called Kotori, the label welcomes Berlin's very own Madmotormiquel -- all set and ready to storm the house after several transmissions on an array of quality outlets, including Katermukke. His maiden incursion on the label, Bombo>, comes in a hand-designed sleeves, each designed by Chrisse Kunst and Madmotormiquel himself, making these collectible one-off pieces of art to adorn your shelves with. Opening cut and lead-single "Bombo" sets the wheels in motion at a slow and steady rate, progressively fleshing out its initially stripped-back funkiness with a polychromatic webwork of tribal rhythms, spectral synth murk and frizzling machine talk. The quirky "Kohiko" serves up a mischievous buffet of further syncopated moves and chirpy chimes pouring in cascades as a sturdy bass unfalteringly dictates the momentum. Shifting the scope to no-nonsense floor-busting objectives in its first stages, "Timezone Chaser" slowly evolves from sheer DJ functionality to jazzed-up abstraction through perfectly inlaid superimpositions of processed clarinets, dubbed-out drums and an overall hazy sound design to satisfyingly lose yourself in. EP closer "Rodrigues" opts for a more jagged approach, as it fuses skittish snares and hats at the fore with deep and vaporous pad tapestries in the background, resulting in the kind of heavily FX-layered, acid-leaning sleepwalker that'll keep the dancers' legs in motion even though their eyes seem shuttered. Includes download with one additional track.
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