The Brvtalist is proud to present a new mix from Grace Dahl. Since the start of 2017, the artist has presented her thrilling sets at some of Europe’s best events and has released music on labels like Khazad, Courtoisy, Exhale and more. Her sound is ever evolving and she has put out some of our favorite tracks and sets as of late. New Brvtalism No. 256 is an amazing entry to our series and showcases Dahl’s exhilarating and dynamic energy.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track by Louisahhh. Unapologetic in her style and always authentic, Louisahhh invites a selection of artists and friends to remix tracks Chaos and A Hard No, the first work from her forthcoming debut album The Practice of Freedom set for release in 2021. The package features both the originals and powerful remixes from Imogen, Minimal Violence and fellow label affiliate Wax Wings, all of whom complement Louisahhh’s sound of dystopian electronics, where the worlds of techno and rock collide. We premiere today Minimal Violence's remix for "Chaos", a chaotic and unnerving energy remix, using trademark supercharged trance influenced synths and frenzied unconventional percussion.
Louisahhh - Chaos / A Hard No Remix Package is released 20th November on HE.SHE.THEY.
-Melanie Havens
Following up on his label debut Omen Rising, Sam KDC returns to HORO with A Mutiny in Monochrome, a devastating release of four techno subversions and genre shattering productions which have come to define the sound of the UK-born, Spain-based artist. For over a decade, KDC has been traversing the sound spectrum with crushing breakbeats, blackened atmospheres and floor destroying electronics. The tracks on Mutiny were recorded while confined to his remote studio during the pandemic and they are seething with bleak, malicious undertones which capture the moment perfectly.
To mark this excellent release, today we present a Q&A with the artist about the release, the pandemic and more, as well as a special edition mix which is a powerful accompaniment to that artist’s brvtal, layered sound. Enjoy the mix, read the interview and enjoy a full previous stream ahead of its release on November 27th. You can also Pre-Order the release now on Bandcamp.
The Brvtalist: The EP was created at your remote studio during the pandemic. Tell us about recording this release and a little bit more about the studio environment.
Sam KDC: It was originally material I was working on for a new live set. That didn't happen. Studio is a small black room in our house, located on the outskirts of a little mountain village in the south of Spain. There's a door from the studio onto the kitchen roof, which looks down some 40km through the mountain valleys to the sea. It's a sick spot for watching the sun rise / set and it's such a mad contrast from where / how I grew up. I never thought I would end up somewhere like here. Even if it all goes to shit tomorrow, it's been a blessing to have spent a chunk of life here.
TB: Talk also about any concepts or themes behind the music in “Mutiny in Monochrome”. The track titles also have a very ominous feel.
SKDC: This EP is the culmination of a theme that has been inherent throughout the majority of my work – the War In Heaven - which to me represents internal conflict. The conflict between compulsions, the inner angels & demons, chaos & order and the battles between courage & comfort, prudence & frivolity, intuition & intellect, of doing the right thing or taking the easy way out. This has been particularly poignant for me again this year. This week marks 10 months of sobriety, something I wasn't sure I would ever be able to say. In order to get to a place where I can live sober, I have had to a do a lot of peace making between angels and demons. It is, of course, an ongoing process. Musically, the drum and bass influence is more prominent again on this EP. The light/dark entanglement that the genre embodies is what initially attracted me to it.
I had been mulling over the title of the EP, the theme I had in mind was the War In Heaven, but I didn't wanna call it that as it's been done to death. I had been listening to The Birthday Party again a lot, so had the notion of Mutiny rattling around my mind too. I landed on the title 'A Mutiny In Monochrome' whilst I was looking through Gustave Doré's series of illustrations of Milton's Paradise Lost. I sent a few over to Ryan, the designer for Horo, and asked if he would be up for doing an interpretation of them for the cover art. I think he did an amazing job at catching the way the light pierces through the blackness and the chaos of war.
TB: You continue to explore and push the boundaries of your style which defies categorization. Pulling from many different genres, talk a little bit about the evolution of your sound to this point.
SKDC: I guess the sound has evolved, but it's still the same process as from the beginning. There's no real objective. It's still just my way of interpreting thoughts and working through the issues that life presents. It's just my way of trying to bring a little order to the chaos that ensues from inhabiting a human vessel.
Stylistically there's very little chance I would have ended up here without James ASC & Geoff Presha. The structural basis for the grey area sound was developed through what was almost like friendly competition, pushing each other to further pursue rhythmic abnormalities.
Also, more than anything, as unsophisticated as it might seem, it's still just about arranging sounds. Fucking about with machines and programs and doing it just to do it. Talking about themes and concepts it can be easy to forget that fundamentally all you're doing is arranging sounds. I still really enjoy just making noises and organizing them (however arbitrarily and with whatever meaning can or cannot be tacked on to it afterwards) just to be in that state of mind, that deep flow state where time melts and thoughts disappear. Life seems to go wrong when I stray too far from it. Every time I come back to it, shit starts to feel like it's where it's supposed to be again. I've lost count of how many times I've felt saved by it. Clichéd as that is.
Listening back now to the first record I released 10 years ago it still feels like part of the same story. Maybe now it's a more grown up and refined version. I hope so anyway, and not that it's just an old and boring version. There's a joke in there about grey hair somewhere. Grey Hairea? I'll get my coat.
TB: What was the last gig you played and what is something you miss about the live shows/parties?
SKDC: Last one was for Trauma in Madrid. It was the second time I had the pleasure of playing for them, those guys are awesome, proper family vibes. I've only played a handful of gigs here in Spain, but all of them have been special for that reason – a real sense of kinship and connection. I fucking love this country and this music for that. That is definitely something that I miss about gigs. That, and being smashed in the chest by kick drums and rattled by sub bass. I think I really took for granted the cleansing kind of reset effect that has. It's like a kind of anarchic sound healing. I'm really craving that at the moment.
TB: On the flip side, what is something you can appreciate about this pandemic period?
SKDC: It's been a good chance to practice certain principles. In Sterquiliniis Invenitur, et cetera.
TB: What are you working on now and what can we expect next?
SKDC: I'd love to end this with the trite and banal platitude that I am working on all kinds of awesome secret projects that are way too epic and exclusive to talk about, But I'm not. Not right now anyway :)
I have been doing mixing and mastering for a few friends and their labels though, which has slowly gained momentum through word of mouth over the last couple of years and has ended up becoming something I'm doing regularly now. This week, I've just started offering mixing and mastering services through Home of Sound - https://www.homeofsound.co.uk/p/sam-kdc-mixing-mastering
Other than that I am currently drowning in bureaucracy trying to sort residency here before Brexit. If anyone's got a link in the Spanish civil service that can get me hooked up, give us a shout!!
We are pleased to premiere the visual DJ set by the Italian EBM-wave artist Chris Shape. Decadence VR (the most important Italian fetish party for over 15 years) joined forces with Burning Man Project to create the online "Multiverse" event, an interactive 3D digital multiplayer world powered by holographic, augmented and virtual reality. Other great projects such as Ash Code, Blind Delon, Bestial Mouths, Pablo Bozzi, 89s† and many more performed at the event.
Chris Shape's new album "SHAPED TO DEFORM" on Unknown Pleasures Records: https://hivmusic1.bandcamp.com/album/chris-shape
-Melanie Havens
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere the track "Ultra2000" by Fractions off the upcoming V.A on the Cuban imprint Abstraction. For three years the label has been an important tool to spread around the world Cuba's finest Techno artists. For this special release, they put together a V.A with 20 tracks by artists from Cuba and many other parts of the world, combining Industrial, Acid, Trance, Rave & IDM.
The release is out digitally on December 14th. Pre-order on Bandcamp.
-Melanie Havens
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere the track "Monster Child" from Diana Berti’s latest release on Veleno Viola. Diana Berti is the moniker used by Francesco Baudazzi (Violet Poison) for distinctly nostalgic productions that revisit the 80s of the obscure bands on cassette in a fairly modern way. The lean melodies and essential rhythms of “The Hand That Seeds Death” are the setting for a visionary and hypothetical 80s b-movie that looks like the plot of “Phenomena” by Dario Argento. Solidly anchored to certainties such as Muslimgauze, Goblin and Doxa Sinistra, turn on the VCR and enjoy this dream journey on VHS.
This is a vinyl only release and you can pick it up at Juno or Ready Made.
-Melanie Havens
The Brvtalist is proud to present a new mix from ROÜGE. The French DJ and producer has been one of our favorite artists to watch as of late with her EBM/techno infused productions and high energy, rave ready sets. She explores dark atmospheres, moving through dynamic tracks with deep and punchy basslines. New Brvtalism features a blend of techno fused with some metal influences. Enjoy the ride and stay tuned for more from ROÜGE.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere "Incubate" by OFK. Debuting on Arboretum, OFK is the brand new alias of the electronic producer Oliver Kucera, also known as the half-mind behind “Unknown Archetype”, duo signed on R&S. Stretching his techno-industrial dialectic towards more uncharted idioms, Kucera brings together a sci-fi landscape of uncanny melodies, haunted distortions and deep, low-end broken kick-drums.
Moreover the idiosyncratic collaboration track with Rell, takes over with a massive, yet tamed feedback apocalypse, shaping a timeless narrative
outstandingly de-constructed by Cocktail Party Effect.
The release is out on November 18th digitally + tape on Bandcamp.
-Melanie Havens
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere a new track from Size Pier. “Der Vers” comes off the new split and first vinyl release from French event series Myst Paris. Titled Chaines Et Dénuement, the record seeks to become a souvenir of past events while beginning something new for the future. The immersive EP takes us back to the Prologue of the history of Myst and invites two emblematic artists: ABSL & Size Pier. We’ve been fans of Size Pier for years now and “Der Vers” contains his signature mix of dark body grooves and haunting techno vibes for a great way to close out the record.
Out on 12” and digital November 20th. Pre-order yours now on Bandcamp.
-JRS
The Brvtalist is pleased to premiere the new music video for “Pop Up Morgues” by Trace Amount. Endless Render is the brand new six-song EP from Brooklyn based musician, industrial producer Brandon Gallagher (Coarse, Funeral Fires) a.k.a. Trace Amount. The release also features two tracks that include performances by drummer Billy Rymer (The Dillinger Escape Plan, thoughtcrimes).
The effort comes a year after the release of the debut EP “Fake Figures In The Sacred Scriptures”, followed by 2 singles and a Cure cover, all leading up to an inevitable full U.S. spring tour cancellation, and an uncertain look on how to navigate as an ‘artist’ moving forward, relying heavily on expression through the energy of live performances. With the unexpected time at home, Gallagher finished up the tracks that had become Endless Render. After weeks of isolation and quarantine, Gallagher had teamed up with producer Ben Greenberg, who has worked on records for Ceremony, Pharmakon, Metz, as well as his own band Uniform, to help him finish crafting the record a short distance from his apartment at Randall Dunn's recording temple - Circular Ruin, in Brooklyn, New York.
“Pop Up Morgues” video was shot by Ian Perlman and the animations & edit were made by Brandon Gallagher (Trace Amount). The artwork for Endless Render, as well as the single “Processed Violence (In 480P)” was designed by analog collage artist Paul Van Trigt, with direction from Gallagher, based on the album's varying concepts. Endless Render is about all of the uncertainties and varying levels of anxiety that were felt during the times of quarantine, the feelings about the recent upsurge in police brutality and political injustice, and first hand encounters of other people’s ignorance regarding basic human rights in general.
The release is out digitally + tape + merch on November 20th. Pre-order now on Bandcamp!
-Melanie Havens
