Dopplereffekt live at Sight & Sound and talk

Dopplereffekt will be playing live in Montreal, Canada at the Sight & Sound festival on Saturday 24th May. Earlier that day at 2pm I will be doing an hour long talk on Science Fiction and Early Techno (this is one of their many free events during the festival). For funding reasons I will now be doing it remotely but please drop by if you can and see me on the big screen! One of the many images from my presentation below (I couldn't not mention the great Abdul Haqq!).

Dopplereffekt are also now confirmed to play in Manchester, England on Friday 8th August, tickets are on sale and details can be found at these Facebook and Resident Advisor links.

By the way I just came across this fun DJ Deeon track from 1998 called 'Shake Dat Butt' that does unspeakable things to Dopplereffekt's 'Master Organism' aka 'Superior Race' at this YouTube link. Details of release at Discogs.

Also I've been archiving some of my other writing on music recently at a new website I am calling Abstract Analogue. I plan on putting some new writing up there as well from time to time.

Neptune's Lair & Hydro Doorways reissued Tresor

It might just be a coincidence with my last post but it has been announced that both Drexciya's landmark Neptune's Lair album and its companion 12" Hydro Doorways are to be reissued by Tresor on 26th May 2014. This is officially the second time the album has been reissued (on vinyl only) since 2010. It originally came out on double LP and CD in 1999 and this time will again be made available on both formats. To my knowledge this is the first repress of Hydro Doorways. There are 21 tracks on the CD and the ones that didn't fit on Neptune's Lair went onto this EP. Many online retailers, such as Boomkat, are doing pre-orders now.

Hopefully this is a sign Tresor will get round to doing Drexciya's Harnessed The Storm, Transllusion and Shifted Phases releases soon.

I also came across this great Drexciya tribute from 2012 on Beatport with interviews and favourite Drexciya tracks by Mike Huckaby, Mark Pritchard, Marcel Dettman, Peter Van Hoesen, Catz'n Dogz, Sam Valenti and Sandwell District's Function.

Drexciya Projects Tresor

During a random image search yesterday I came across evidence of what looked like a new forthcoming Drexciya reissue. I'm wasn't sure when the material was posted but one of Tresor's graphic designers, KYK Design Studio, have a number of images for a Transllusion/Shifted Phases double CD on their website under the title Drexciya Projects. I could find no other mention of this release anywhere, including on the Tresor website. Today I found the same images on a type of graphic design showcase website which were posted in November 2008 so perhaps this was a released they had planned but pulled?

Transllusion's The Opening Of The Cerebral Gate originally came out on Supremat (one of Tresors sub labels) in 2001 and Shifted Phases The Cosmic Memoirs of the Late Great Rupert J Rosinthorpe appeared on Tresor in 2002 (both part of Drexciya's 7 album Storm Series). There are no extra tracks on either release (a shame as there are 2 amazing exclusive tracks on the Transllusion 12" Mind Over Positive and Negative Matter). Regardless, these albums have become very rare and expensive for fans to purchase so it would be great to have them available again, even if they were to be limited.

There is no indication there would ever be more in the pipeline (if they ever were to revisit this idea) but Tresor also released Neptune's Lair, Hydro Doorways 12", Digital Tsumami 12" and Harnessed The Storm by Drexciya as well so here's hoping. You can cast an eye on this Drexciya and Related Amazon price guide I did awhile back to see how much some of their other deleted releases are now worth, any and all of which should be reissued in my opinion. Judging by this we are getting closer to the Storm Series boxset anyway :)

Dopplereffekt at Sight & Sound festival Canada

Dopplereffekt make a live appearance in Canada at the Sight & Sound festival on 24th May in Montreal. It's the sixth year of this New Media festival which this time is using 'Science Faction' as its theme. This will be their second time in Canada, since appearing at the New Forms Festival in Vancouver in 2013.

As well as music there will be installations, performance, workshops, talks and panel discussions over a six day period from a variety of international guests. I'm very excited and honoured to be one of them and will be doing a talk entitled 'Science Fiction and Early Techno' at 2pm on 24th May. More festival details at this link.

In case you are interested, my own latest art project, The Zone Does Not Exist, can be viewed at this link.

2002 Arpanet interview

I'm not sure how many Drexciya/Mueller interviews I've missed linking to or archiving on DRL but this Arpanet one with Heinrich Mueller from 2002 was just brought to my attention. The full text can still be read at this link but I've included the Q&A below for archive purposes. If you know of any others that don't appear on a search of DRL please send me details.  Interview by Koen Marien for KindaMuzik.

Why did you choose the name 'Arpanet'?
"It was the predecessor of the Internet. Most of the methods and technology that we experience on the present day Internet was derived from this research."

How would you describe the sound of Arpanet?
"Electronic."

Is Arpanet a one-album project, or is Arpanet here to stay?
"Depends on many factors. It would be inappropriate to speak on this now."

Is anonymity important to you; and if so, why?
"Anonymity is not nearly as important as conceptual integrity. If you loose this integrity, anonymous behaviour is irrelevant."

Electro, and especially so-called electropop, has become very fashionable these days. Is that a blessing or a curse?
"People do what makes them satisfied and we should leave it at that."

The album is called Wireless Internet. What is, for you, the importance of wireless communication?
"Man, by his very nature, desires mobility. This technology synchronizes with his instinctual nature to be free."

Are modern (or wireless) communication technologies, like the Internet, useful for you when making music?
"Well, in this case, it is primarily utilized for information: human-to-human interfacing and research purposes. Laboratory work is a separate issue."

I-F once said about the Internet that it's specifically important for underground electro music, because its followers are pretty scarce and geographically spread all over the world. Do you agree?
"It does not matter if it is agreed or disagreed upon. In principle, you must fully support musical work to make it fullfill its task. Record executives, in most cases, do not possess the necessary integrity to focus in on products of substance, but only profitable items such as pop stars. If twenty million euro were strategically placed in the promotional budget, you could make any music work. You must remember the boy bands and girl groups are forced down your throat by the media giants, fueled by record company donations."

What do you think of the following statement?
"It's not the technology that matters; It's the way people use it. All technology has limitations; that's why it has to be constantly upgraded and eventually replaced when more efficient and flexible options surface. This also applies to its human operators."

Dopplereffekt RA interview

Sometimes it is more effective to conceal topics under the guise of more pleasant euphemisms to mitigate the urgency, to tranquilize a subject and to allow him to relish his musical experience more comfortably.

There is a brand new interview with both members of Dopplereffekt up now at this Resident Advisor link. 

Visonia et Dopplereffekt 'Die Reisen'

I first mentioned Dopplereffekt's collaboration with Visonia in January 2013 and finally the official release on 12” clear vinyl and digital download on the Last Known Trajectory label is available. An album, which will also include the Dopplereffekt track, is still promised. All three tracks from it, including Dopplereffekt's 'Die Reisen' (Travel) were all available to listen to online however and this remains the case, latest working links below.

Visonia appears to be a talented Chilean producer called Nicolas Estany who has a knack for moody and very stylish electro with a heart. His two tracks on the EP are 'Impossible Romance' and 'Antarctic Love'. Mueller's contribution or collaboration is much more dark, even nightmarish in comparison. After a lovely scratchy and effecting opening section a really insistent, to die for and familiar beat and bassline locks in for the remainder of the track. There are some lovely distorted keyboards lines played over this as the whole track builds in a very organic way. It does tend to balance the other more uptempo tracks on the EP and whets the appetite for any more collaborations or extra curricular activities Mueller might get up to in the future.

'Die Reisen' on YouTube

Four tracks from his upcoming album on SoundCloud

EP can be bought here and many other places online