What are the differences and similarities between human and artificial sound, between oscillations generated by vocal cords and synthesizer voices, voltage amplified by speakers? On Silencio, his latest album for Tresor Records, Moritz von Oswald works with a 16-voice choir to explore this concept. Drawing from the ensemble works of long-standing inspirations Edgard Varèse, György Ligeti and Iannis Xenakis, von Oswald and Vocalconsort Berlin delve into the space between sounds, creating a deeply textured collection that shifts between light & ethereal and dark & dissonant. As masterfully demonstrated in the early work of von Oswald and Mark Ernestus’ influential Basic Channel project, repetition and reduction are key elements here, much in the tradition of techno and minimalism. The vast dynamism of the human voice adds to the profound weight of electronics while offering up a rhythmic source and sonic noise palette unexplored in von Oswald’s repertoire. In Silencio, von Oswald dredges a dank murk, pulling clouds over a distant pulse. It hangs, ready to take on new forms. The compositions were written in von Oswald’s Berlin studio on classic synthesizers, such as the EMS VCS3 & AKS, Prophet V, Oberheim 4-Voice and the Moog Model 15. These abstract recordings were transcribed to sheet music for choir by Berlin-based Finnish composer and pianist, Jarkko Riihimäki and performed by Vocalconsort Berlin in Ölberg church in the city’s Kreuzberg district, only few metres down the road from where Dubplates & Mastering and Hard Wax opened their doors for music enthusiasts for many years so long. The recordings of the choral versions were then incorporated into the synthesized parts of the album and brought into anew electronic context; in Silencio, the focus is not on using one means to imitate the other, but to sonically discuss the tensions and harmonies between the two worlds and create a dialogue between them. The relationship between von Oswald and Tresor Records goes back thirty years, all the way to Blake Baxter’s Dream Sequence in 1991 - which von Oswald engineered alongside Thomas Fehlmann. The collaboration with Fehlmann lived on, seeing the duo team up as 3MB with Eddie Fowlkes or Juan Atkins. More recently, the Detroit-Berlin connection continued as Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present Borderland. For von Oswald, Tresor Records and also the participating guest musicians of the choir, this release brings together audiences from other musical areas, cross-pollinating; Silencio is an album that stands for itself beyond the musical genre boundaries.

TRACK LISTING

1 / A1. Silencio 12:34
2 / A2. Luminoso 08:53
3 / B1. Librarsi 03:04
4 / B2. Infinito 06:17
5 / B3. Colpo 05:05
6 / C1. Volta (Version) 04:02
7 / C2. Infinito (Version) 06:25
8 / C3. Luminoso (Version) 04:49
9 / D1. Volta 05:47
10 / D2. Opaco 08:57
11 / D3. Opaco (Version) 01:54

In March 2023, Tresor Records will release "Crash Recoil", a new album by Surgeon.

It marks Anthony Child's first techno LP in five years, following a period in which he felt uncertainty in his role as a techno producer and found it tough to locate inspiration. This new album encounters him drawing on spontaneous techniques to arrive at unchartered topographies.

"Crash Recoil" originates from Surgeon's recent live sets, where he experimented with constraints in performing and embracing the twists, turns and paradoxes that arrive from this. Each fresh iteration on consistent MIDI sequences and hardware reconfigured tracks into different constellations, creating an inspiring vortex of unpredicted events where ideas could flourish. This new approach allowed him to capture the spontaneous energy of his live shows in a way he had never done before. "This is not a live album, since it has not been recorded in one go during a live performance. In the same way that bands tour songs before going into the studio to record an album, I was able to explore these songs and hone their effectiveness during my live performances before creating a studio version."

The result is eight tracks that emphasize a new techno sound for Surgeon, drawing in references from across the musical spectrum. "I can hear Coil, King Tubby, Detroit Techno and The Cure all wrapped up with 30 years of DJing," Surgeon says of the album. Melancholic hum-like ambiences smudge around unadorned, near-droning basslines, crunching rhythm and percolating arpeggiations. The tracks carry unique and potent locomotion, with a low-slung grind through toughened terrains, breathing with a free spirit, untethered by a studio-based perspective. We hear manifestations of the same raw material across the album, like a textural motif, carving new variants and creating a cohesive work full of recollection.

TRACK LISTING

1/A1 Oak Bank 06:37
2/A2 Second Magnitude Stars 06:41
3/B1 Metal Pig 06:55
4/B2 We Laugh And Clap At The Circus 05:41
5/C1 Leadership Contes 06:34
6/C2 Masks & Archetypes 06;17
7/D1 Subcultures 05:59
8/D2 Hope Not Hate 05:57

Function’s long career has seen him uncover a vast range of sonic identities, a mainstay through house, techno and industrial with collaborations with the likes of Regis, Damon Wild alongside his highly influential Infrastructure imprint. With influences deeply tied to pop art, rave and gay scenes, and early memories of block-parties emitting Kraftwerk and Strafe, he found himself seeking out the undercover illegal nights of the 90s on a quest of sexual unearthing, mixing the ever-yearning escapology mission of disco with the influential DJ sets of Jeff Mills.

For his new album "Existenz", he marks a clear step away from the corporeal techno of his recent releases. Pivoting around themes of religion, sexuality, trauma and healing, it is a work expansive and celebratory, a clear liberation from a deeply internalized past. Formed from a collection of recordings made in a period from late 2016 to mid 2019, "Existenz" takes the form of a creative outburst in reaction to a number of traumas - recent, childhood and throughout Function’s life. Life partner Stefanie Parnow assisted the production process in its entirety, providing inspiration, spiritual healing and featuring vocal contributions.

Cosmic synths soar and swoop in "Pleasure Discipline" through towering stacks of rhythm that stutter and creak to a halt before rebooting, a firm robotic response to human intervention. "Zahlensender" reflects a spatial tetris of urban life, as digitalization set within an XYZ matrix confronts the sprawling city. Constant arpeggiated meditations echo synaptic transmissions, a dissolution of boundaries. "The Approach’" recalls the unification of the self, a state of delirium non-subjective and smooth, as all connections and functions give way to simple intensities of feeling, crossing the threshold into spirituality. "Golden Dawn", featuring Stefanie Parnow, marks a further elevation of dubbed-out euphoria, as once more positive rays emerge. His ode to the effortless short-trip urban navigation "Kurzstrecke" finds Function in motion, upfront and bold, snapshots of conversation and flickers of light. "Ertrinken" finds metallic bass jabs swamping snipped synthetic voices, with hidden stores of emotion set as a nod to the history of vocoders as a tool for encrypted military communication. House icon Robert Owens features on "Growth Cycle" and "Be", entrenching a celebratory atmosphere over Function's clubwise leanings. Closing track "Downtown 161" reflects the unmistakeable filtered and squashed interjections of television, and sampled dance vocals - a sound for the curious, dreamers and dancers.

With "Existenz", Function reveals an essential body of work, spread over 4LP - thought experiments on the role of identity and spirituality after a lifetime of upheaval and trauma. Leading up until the release date, Function will undertake an album promo tour with select dates - A/V shows at Berlin Atonal and Rural festival in Japan, and three dates as part of his Bassiani residency. 

TRACK LISTING

A1 Sagittarius A (Right Ascension) 05:15
A2 Pleasure Discipline 05:57
A3 Ertrinken 05:38
B1 Growth Cycle (featuring Robert Owens) 05:52
B2 Zahlensender 08:04
B3 The Approach 03:27
C1 Nylon Mood 06:26
C2 Alphabet City 05:43
C3 Don't Ask, Don't Tell 06:10
D1 No Entiendes 06:56
D2 Kurzstrecke 06:43
D3 Golden Dawn (featuring Stefanie Parnow) 07:14
E1 Interdimensional Interferenc 05:58
E2 Distant Paradise 08:05
F1 Be (featuring Robert Owens) 04:50
F2 Vampir 06:29
G Downtown 161 11:38

For its 303rd release, Tresor Records is glad to present a commissioned work by Donato Dozzy.

Rome based production maestro and DJ extraordinaire Donato Dozzy is unanimously considered as an illustrious leading light in all techno artforms.

Along his long career and extensive discography, Dozzy has proven to use his instruments most interesting ways, always re-inventing his music, always presenting new approaches to both the deeper and the more rhythmic forms of electronic music. It was self-evident to Tresor Records to enroll Donato Dozzy’s talents for this assignment, a nod to the seminal Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer.

The result is a relentless collection of radical, propulsive and bleeding-heart acid tracks. Donato Dozzy wishes to dedicate this work to his lifelong friend Filo. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Brilliantly timed to conincide with Tresor's 303rd release, new school acid maverik Dozzy comes correct with a double disc set of his idiosyncratic Roland warblings.

Following the club and label’s 20th Anniversary back in 2011, Tresor memorialised its two decades of existence with an exclusive mix from one of its esteemed Detroit connections, Mike Huckaby.

On that mix, Mike Huckaby included an exclusive production of his, the first one to be released on Tresor Records. Today, we are proud to announce the pressing of the “The Tresor Track” on wax, making up for a massive A-side cut at 45 RPM. This title is on its way to stand along with the label’s most important classics, a genuine anthem for the Berlin techno institute.

On the flip, Mike Huckaby goes for a stroll through the Tresor building, heading downstairs, exploring the room’s darkest and most twisted corners with “Basement Trax”, going back towards “The Upstairs Lounge” and surprising his audience with some original rhythmic patterns.

“The Tresor EP” is a statement, a seal manifesting for a fruitful and long-lasting collaboration between Mike Huckaby and Tresor.