Muting The Noise

Almost exactly ten years ago, Âme, the duo of Frank Wiedemann and Kristian Beyer, was officially born. The two artists had met a year earlier and began working on music not long after, homing in on a style of house that was classically informed yet totally modern, as inspired by jazz, funk and soul as it was by Detroit techno. It was the beginning of a musical project that would define the next decade of their lives, with dozens of records, countless performances around the world, and perhaps most importantly, the creation of a signature sound that would help define an era of electronic music. Âme Live takes stock of everything that’s happened since then, connecting the dots between early records on Sonar Kollektiv, later works on Innervisions and still unreleased material. It also serves a much simpler purpose: documenting their exceptional live act. Âme started playing live in 2010, and in doing so devised one of the most idiosyncratic performances in club music today. Despite being limited to their own compositions, their live routine is at least as dynamic as their DJ sets: each performance is a vivid sequence of moods and styles, unhinged by genre and tempo and delivered with a kind of mad scientist intensity. The new album is made up of the best recordings from the road, reedited in the studio and woven into a continuous mix. Taken as a whole, it has a way of transcending space and time, with the duo’s lithe productions forming a stage for South African folk lyrics (“Ku Kanjani”), Portugese spoken word (“Insomnia”) and the music of 70’s funk icon Roy Ayers (“Tarzan”), not to mention Âme classics like “Where We At” and the all-mighty “Rej.” Though it’s heavy on familiar tracks, each one takes on a distinct new character in live form (there’s also one entirely new production: the “Beatless Mix” of Gui Boratto’s “This Is Not the End”). For fans, it’s a fresh take on Âme’s celebrated oeuvre. For everyone else, it’s a perfect introduction to one of house music’s most imaginative duos.

All three tracks on this EP were actually made for the Âme live show, but at the end it turned out that we used them in our DJ sets too. Due to the great feedback we decided to put them on a 12-inch accompanying the Âme Live CD. Karl Hyde and James Lavelle on one 12-inch should be something for a lad's paradise and even 'Enoi' sounds brighter than before. Is love silent?

*MP3 download voucher is included in the vinyl record sleeve.* Earlier in 2011, Agoria approached Dixon to remix 'Libellules', a track of his recent Impermanence album. But as this track was already perfect, it didn't need any changes to be made. Then the French DJ and producer played "Singing", a new piece that he was working on. Especially fascinated by Scalde's amazing vocals, Dixon agreed to remix it and we signed it to Innervisions. And here it is, for you to enjoy.

Live At Robert Johnson Vol. 8 is the last mix CD in the Live At Robert Johnson series and also Dixon's last mix in the CD format. Not only does it highlight Dixon’s relationship with the Robert Johnson club (a resident DJ there from day one), but also his special abilities to build a night. What you will experience here is the very start point of such an excursion. Postponing the appearance of something like a kick drum for almost thirty minutes, one is led through moments, tracks and songs that draw their inspirations from kosmische musik, ambient, kraut pop from various sources (Hauschka, P.Eladan, Domenique, Barnt) that slowly fade into Agoria and the likes of Axel Boman and the fascinating Cologne Tape before picking up speed with Mark E, Roman Fluegel and the climax that is Âme’s Osunlade remix with Todd Terje’s spellbinding Snooze 4 Love on its heels. Peppered with the notorious Dixon edits and his surgery here and there, Live at Robert Johnson Vol.8 might sadly not be the mix CDs lonely saviour, but it is definitely a testament to the fact that sometimes a little bit more effort makes all the difference – and the one you should get.

Back in stock! When Osunlade dropped "Envision" at the DEMF in 2009, Dixon asked him on stage if he could sign it for Innervisions. Now, 2 years later, Âme and Dixon put their remix hands on the original and it's finally ready to lighten up your summer even more. This record is only available here at MTN and includes the MP3 download code inside the vinyl record.

It took quite some time until Marcus delivered his third EP for Innervisions. But as they say in German "Gut Ding will Weile haben". As usual we won't blah blah about the music. You better just listen to it. But there is one decisive information that shouldn't be withhold from all, who never read the credits: "Long Way" has additional instruments, beats and even vocals (!) by Mr. Prins Thomas.

With the "Individual Mythologies“ compilation Innervisions is expanding the musical lineage of "Muting The Noise" and Schwarz/Âme/Dixon’s "Grandfather Paradox“. Like its predecessors, “Individual Mythologies” is a chimera, refusing to be fit into one genre but not asking for a new one to fit its nature. The compilation is a significant step forward for the label. It is a quest, pointing out and probing obsessions – the so-called "Individual Mythologies" –, which evolved outside of the well-known music world. The notion of "Individual Mythologies" was originally conceived by the curator Harald Szeemann for the Documenta 5 in Kassel. It was meant to express a joining of different and differing streams of energies, practice, ideas, and forms. The compilation follows this path, joining tracks by artists, musicians, and scientists. All of them contribute an insight into unique personal cosmoi. Thereby, each cosmos is an open space, where acoustical exploration, mysticism, and desire for liberation of worldy obstacles meet. To find such open spaces we turned to the 1980s as one of the most creative periods in the 20th century. The 1980s were filled with powerful, spiritual, odd, and obsessive concepts. Therefore many of the selected artists and their tracks form a glaring contrast to contemporary accelerating, but short-lived music. For example, Ursula Bogner’s music career flourished secretly. After working hours in a pharmaceuticals lab, Bogner devoted herself to Wilhelm Reich, linocuts, and electronic music, while at the same time raising two children. Nevertheless, her tracks are so enticing and timeless, enabling very good chemistry with the other artists of the compilation. Heldon aka Richard Pinhas on the other hand once declared that it is better to be quoted by Gilles Deleuze than François Fillon. He knows what he is talking about: Pinhas is not just randomly interested in structuralism, but had a glass of red wine or two with Deleuze, Michel Foucault and Jacques Lacan as well as (still) administrating one of the best websites on Deleuze (webdeleuze) today. This proximity to philosophy and its state-of-the-art discourse made a major impact on his music. Similarly, the work of the composer Elodie Lauten can be seen as a prevailing strand of Kitchen’s and Arthur Russell’s legacy. Lauten and Russell were collaborators and shared a passion for electro-acoustic sound settings. “Individual Mythologies” is highlighting the importance of a venture into grounds outside of club music. Club music seems to be running around in circles and biting its own tail. Therefore, it is even more important to know how to come back to it, integrate, and replenish. The full circle the compilation completes, is an astonishing proposal.

This is the new EP by Âme and Amampondo, exclusive on MTN for three weeks.

The next release on Innervisions comes from icy Finland, home of Säkhö and so much other great music. Mr. Rantanen aka Lil Tony is not only a close friend, but also an artist we really like. Its great that finally this friendship lead to a full release on Innervisions. A good way to start 2011!

Since their spellbinding debut on Sonar Kollektiv some eight years ago, Kristian Beyer and Frank Wiedemann have become an indispensable part of electronic music. The pair embody more than just the memorable tracks that stay with you after a night out; their music is the result of artistic divination, of applying ideas and themes through everything they do, of using their chosen media to explore the realms of the artist. So you know that whether you have a new twelve inch from the pair in your hand or their latest DJ mix, there is going to be something deeper behind it than the elementary tropes that proliferate the majority of electronic music. Primary Structures is their latest artistic endeavour, a mix that goes beyond the overly familiar, bored to death slapdashery that saturates the market. As the name suggests they have chosen to take things back to beginning, back to a time before technology made mixes too easy. DJ's used to have to work to make a mix; when they DJ'ed it was from reel to reel tapes, they would chop and splice tracks to create new edits and versions of the originals. Paving the way forward sometimes means looking into the past, focussing on the Primary Structures that helped to build the very foundations of the art. This is what Âme have done, tearing apart the fabric of the songs that make up the track list, respectfully reassembling, rearranging and re-editing to create a cohesive, seamless flow of music that emerges not just as a simple collection of tracks mixed together, but as a singular piece of work. Primary Structures drips with the avant-garde psychedelia of krautrock, yet this is no blast from the past or hiding in the shadows of ghosts. Âme forge their way ever forward, tying together an aesthetic of parallel worlds; a timeless mix of music blended with the technology of today and infused with the techniques laid down by their predecessors Working to dispel the lines between the DJ and the producer, the mix and the listener, the art and the music, Âme take us beyond the building blocks in to a space inhabited by inspiration.

2 Days in Karlsruhe ½ Château Flight, ½ Âme 1 Roland Jupiter-6 1 Roland TB-303 1 Roland TR-808 1 Yamaha YC-45D 1 Pseudonym 2 New tracks I:Cube and Frank Wiedemann are Tête.

In 2009, Innervisions introduced Culoe De Song for the first time outside of his home country South Africa with “The Bright Forest”. The new EP features Busi Mhlongo, an award-winning South African singer who sadly passed away earlier this year. Innervisions is proud to present the next big release by this young producer. Welcome back, Culoe.