The Brvtalist is proud to present a live set from Viktor Kalima. The Finnish artist is one of our current favorite producers and this massive set was recorded on January 20th at Techno Interests Me at Ääniwalli (Helsinki). Kalima's delicious alchemy of pulse pounding club sounds makes for a wild ride. Be sure to also pick up the artist's latest release, Club Muscle, out now on the great Infidel Bodies.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from WarinD. "New Ways" comes off the EP of the same name forthcoming on the always excellent Instruments of Discipline. The emerging Italian producer showcases his vast arsenal of delightfully evil techno, electro and left field electronics for a mesmerizing release that is both unnerving and uplifting.
Limited to 300 black vinyl out May 2nd. Pre-order now at Instruments of Discipline.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Celldöd. "Dansar (Inte För Dig)" is a rumbling body-mover off the Swedish artist's forthcoming release, Fragmenterade Minnen (DKA). The solo project of Anders Karllson, he has been active in various punk and electronic outfits since the late 90's. However, the past few years have seen his Celldöd moniker flourish. Releasing maniacal, industrial technoid thrillers on labels like Suction Records, Vargdöd (imprint with Varg) and more.
Fragmenterade Minnen is the artist's second full length LP and first for DKA. The result is a complete package of machine mayhem. From body music through industrial and technoid destruction, this one will rip through the speakers and dance floor. Out April 13, 2018. Pre-order now through DKA.
-JRS
Photo: Jonas Fransson
The Brvtalist is proud to present a new mix for Spring 2018. "Punishment Without Crime" is a brutal journey through techno, acid, industrial and EBM cuts that show no mercy. Includes unreleased material, recent favorites and more.
-JRS
Intro
Size Pier - The Human Face
Oake - Anhedon (Stephanie Sykes Remix)
NX1 - 015 (Orphx Remix)
Ken Utterson - Domination (Al Ferox Remix)
Keepsakes - Maximum Mind Control
Talker - Battle Standard (Surgeon Remix)
Blush Response - You Will Cry Out in Grief
Axkan - No God (Abyssal Chaos Remix)
Phase Fatale - Operate Within
Post Scriptum - Donbelief
Inland - Acidalia
999999999-000000003
Post Scriptum - Nuestra Planeta (9T9T Remix)
Unconscious - Time to Rebel
Catharsis - Bringing Forth The Hellchild
Liziuz is a lesser known name in the current electronic music landscape, yet his debut album Geschichten des Lebens, coming out on Dominick Fernow’s Hospital Productions on March 23rd, shows a great deal of passion and craft that sets his work apart from most of the techno releases I’ve listened to recently.
Liziuz takes his time to explore the limitations of certain sounds or instruments. He dwells in endless possibilities, from which he patiently selects only that which mostly fits into the whole story that’s unconsciously building up into one long track, which then gets sublimated into 2 versions, mirroring each other, one ambient and one techno. By doing this, he’s escaping the limits that some artists impose on themselves when creating music, while assembling a psychedelic kaleidoscope where field recordings, analog drones and echoing voices all work together.
Geschichten des Lebens is a truly psychedelic endeavor, but not from a musical perspective, but rather in that original greek etymological sense, a mesmerising sonic manifestation of Liziuz’s mind, going beyond what we might expect from a techno or ambient release.
Ahead of the release of the album we are thrilled to stream the techno version (below) and we also had a chat with Liziuz to discuss the autobiographical aspect of Geschichten des Lebens, what deep listening can do to your ego and more.
The Brvtalist: First off, please walk us through the process of creating Geschichten des Lebens, and what inspired you to make this album.
Liziuz: Well, there is no big master plan behind the making of the two versions, neither there is a deep psychological explanation I can give you to satisfy this interview. I started to make music a long time ago and therefore I had a lot of stuff collected. When Dominick asked me to do a tape (initially it was supposed to be a tape) and told me I can do whatever I want, I didn’t know what to do. I had all this music, but I needed to get a sense of a story. So I took the tracks that had the biggest meaning to me and I drew them into a line, as you would write an autobiography. In the beginning you have all these memories and experiences and once you write them down, you start to see the bigger picture. You begin to realize that it made all sense the way you worked it through. I mean I never wrote an autobiography…
TB: In a RBMA lecture, Stephen O’Malley from Sunn O))) (known for their long droney tracks) talks about deep listening through the use of time and distance, a practice I see becoming less and less used in the context of online streaming platforms, where people can easily skip through tracks and not really, genuinely, listen to the music. What are your thoughts on this?
L: Through online streaming platforms I actually have cultivated a habit of listening to podcasts more frequently. All I can say about it is that it seems like everybody always blames the technology, like these streaming platforms destroy our attention span and ability to listen to tracks longer than two minutes. I don’t think so. I think the people who are not able to genuinely listen to music have never been able to do it. If there wasn't such a thing as streaming platforms, they would distract themselves in other ways. I believe there is a pretty strong correlation between a short cut attention and the need to distract somebody. If you engage yourself in a piece of music you can resonate with deeply, you will start to loosen the structures of your person and discover those “rawer” versions of yourself. But you have to be strong enough to go for it and willing to go on, fighting with your ego in order to see yourself more clearly.
Of course there is more out and faster access to it as well, but you don’t have to listen to it.
Liziuz - Geschichten des Lebens (Hospital, 2018)
TB: Why did you prefer to record 2 long tracks instead of multiple shorter ones?
L: I really like the idea of a story expressed in a musical form. I’m not an author and not good at writing, but for me a single track is like one scenario in a book or movie, capturing one emotional development. But personally the crucial part is overcoming this particular emotion and transforming it into something else. Those three seconds between the one track finishing and the other one starting is enough to lose the connection and reset your mind to the next one. It’s like reading a book, and after every scenario there is one empty page in between, it would just drag me out of the experience.
TB: I like to see these tracks as the duality of the human nature, where the ambient version represents our inner, more authentic but also raw self, and the techno version is the persona, that constructed self we want to put out there in the world, while both being necessary to balance each other. How do you see these tracks and what would be the result of these personal interactions and transformations?
L: First of all, that is really a nice interpretation. I was never really interested in crafting a narrative around the music, so it is interesting for me to see what kind of impact it has. Choosing this title and the names of the tracks, it sort of structures your perception beforehand and your interpretation, because let's face it, if I would call the album the “fairytale of a lunatic”, you might have come to a complete other interpretation. I wanted to keep it raw and let it not be rationalized and structuralized, but at the same time it is impossible not to do it. Because our mind does it naturally, it needs to create those “personas” around the raw images, so it can understand and predict it into future events. Personalization on a higher level I guess, so that’s the game between those two interpretations, keep going on in a loop until eternity.
I like to follow your interpretation. I guess what techno certainly does is to provide structure, even though it can get really chaotic. So the popularity of these genres shows a demand of certainty, something you can rely on. On the other side the persona we construct has to be under surveillance at all time and needs to be reevaluated and adapted when the environment changes. Therefore it is necessary to go back to this more raw and pure form of our self, so we can look at it and identify what’s needed to be changed. I have been always interested in the transformative aspect of this process and constantly seeking for techniques and methods to develop and evolve.
Liziuz (Photo by Becka Diamond)
TB: The title of the album roughly translates to "the story of life". Would you consider this release an expression of your life journey, of the process of creating or rather the end result which encapsulates all your past personal and creative experiences?
L: Well, I guess, the title of the album already implicates a certain narrative. Choosing these simple words, you already put some sort of interpretation. I’m more interested in this fact than telling you my interpretation of it.
TB: Is the music a reflection of the city you're living in and of your environments or rather of something more intrinsic and personal?
L: Well, I guess both in a way. I mean your environment defiantly influences your Person and vice versa.
TB: Finally, what can we expect from Liziuz in the upcoming months?
L: I don’t know what to expect from myself!
Thank you to the artist for taking the time to speak with us. This is one of our favorite releases so far this year so be sure to pick it up on March 23rd via Hospital Productions.
-Marie Bungau
Liziuz (Photo by Becka Diamond)
The Brvtalist is proud to present a new mix from Occult Code. The project of Slava Slavak, the Moscow-based artist is at the forefront of a new movement of post-punk, EBM, industrial and techno that redefines what the genres mean. He is also the founder of the "Post-Movement" group which seeks to promote military, goth, punk and fetish through his party Destroy. New Brvtalism No. 134 integrates hard, old school rhythms with Electronic Body Music that elevates the sound to a whole new level. Be sure to also check the next Destroy party on March 23rd in Moscow.
-JRS
With so many top designers showing at Paris Fashion Week, it can be overwhelming just to keep track. However, few designers have the ability to stand out with strong shows that go beyond fashion and into science fiction, music and art. Paris-based Chinese designer MASHAMA is one of these designers and the latest collection shows why. Dedicated to and inspired by Satoshi Kon’s 1997 anime film ‘Perfect Blue’, the collection is a mesmerizing take on futuristic fabrics, progressive production techniques and denim with a formal attitude.
We were instantly drawn to the collection's color palate which changes like a chameleon and inverts striking outwear and accessories. Body warming puffers collide with details which include Japanese heat absorbing patches, pressed jointing and extensive gore- tex. The films’ protagonist, Mima and her split personalities, aptly represents the MASHAMA multi-facetted woman of today. We also have the great video featured during the catwalk show which contains music by Boris Arnel + Julien Harivel. Visuals by Gildas Madelenat (Champ Libre Records).
STYLIST. ANDREJ SKOK
SHOW PRODUCTION. DANIEL HETTMANN
CASTING. NOAH SHELLEY @ AM
CASTING HAIR. CYNDIA HARVEY @ STREETERS
MAKEUP. GEMMA SMITH-EDHOUSE @ LGA MANAGEMENT
JEWELLERY. OFR @ OLGAFACESROK
BAGS. COURONNE x MASHAMA
SOCKS. FALKE
SHOW MUSIC. BORIS ARNAL + JULIEN HARIVEL @ CHAMP LIBRE RECORDS
SHOW VISUALS. GILDAS MADELENAT @ CHAMP LIBRE RECORDS
From the bleak industrial depths of Voitax, the Berlin-based label that’s been providing us with inspiring and innovative experimental electronic and IDM music for half a decade now, comes the latest release of Swarm Intelligence, Against The Dying Light, a full length exploring the duality fear/hope and all that comes in between.
Against The Dying Light is the fourth album of Swarm Intelligence (with 2 previous ones released on Ad Noiseam) and this time his inspiration comes from the narratives of horror movies, weaving unnerving soundscapes, which are bound to transport you in an alternate reality. Today we’re premiering “Dusk Falls”, the opening track which not only sets the mood for the disquieting and transformative journey that will follow, but also gives a slight ominous hint of what’s about to come.
-Maria Bungau
Against The Dying Light is out on 2x12" vinyl on March 19 on Voitax and you can preorder it here.
Tracklist:
A1. Swarm Intelligence - Dusk Falls
A2. Swarm Intelligence - It Scuttles
B1. Swarm Intelligence - It's Beneath Us
B2. Swarm Intelligence - I am Everything You Are Running From
B3. Swarm Intelligence - Catacomb
C1. Swarm Intelligence - I Prey on Your Fear
C2. Swarm Intelligence - From Shadows
D1. Swarm Intelligence - Against The Dying Light
D2. Swarm Intelligence - Light Reigns
D3. Swarm Intelligence - Gloom
Latvian designer Keta Gutmane always resonates with The Brvtalist with her distinctive take on contemporary fashion and subversive commentary on social issues. Her Spring/Summer 2018 collection is no different - a striking, gender warping vision of 1990's luxury and status. "Documentation" looks at a time when the provincial entered the city and fashion and class structure collided like never before. Once again, Gutmane makes it easy to get lost in her story.
For more visit: http://ketagutmane.com/
-JRS
SS18 credits
Photo: Eduards Rancans
Art Direction & Styling: Rudolfs A. Packevics
Hair & MakeUp: Anete Sidlovska
Model: Sija Jure ( Oui Management )
Franck Vigroux’s mix of dramatic electronic glitches, decaying drones and musique concrète always comes with an extra hint of dystopian bitter aftertaste which permeates every single one of his releases, including his latest album “Barricades” which went out last December on Erototox Decodings. Both the music he creates and the music which inspires him have the potential to soundtrack a potential grim future that awaits us, and today’s mix comes as a testament of that. With tracks from Swans, Haus Arafna,Techno Animal, Swarm Intelligence and more, Franck Vigroux’s New Brvtalism No. 133 is an invitation to his inner world, as he describes it:
The mix includes different style of music I use to listen from minimal to noise from song writing to modern composition, each of them are the cornerstone of a musical genre. It's also a wave to those who are recently gone, Alan Vega and Mika Vainio.
-Maria Bungau
Tracklist:
1_techno animal - sub species
2_vvv -selling my monkeys
3_alva noto - xerox
4_kraftwerk -metropolis
5_swans -time is money
6_haus arafna - hingabe
7_ whitehouse -why you never became a dancer
8_pharmakon - success
9_eliane radigue - arthesis
10_throbbing gristle- slug bait live
11_hasil hadkins -no more hot dog
12_swarm intelligence -motionless sky
13_the sidewinder- balistic loop
14_scott walkerhand me ups
15_ iannis xenakis - taurhiphanie
