robert yang

Bézier – Parler Musique [DE200]

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Dark Entries release the debut album from Bézier titled ‘Parler Musique’. Bézier is Taiwanese-American musician Robert Yang who is also part of the Honey Soundsystem crew. A multi-instrumentalist, Robert grew up in Southern California then planted his roots in San Francisco in 2005. Over the years in SF he has built an impressive analog synth-based studio, which also serves as the creative hub for his riveting live performances. Parler Musique clocks in at over 52 minutes with 8 tracks are spread across four sides for maximum loudness. The album title is a French transliteration on the phrase “Parlor Music” and is evening music for a meeting of minds in a drawing room or a literary salon. To ‘talk about music’, the actual translation of the title, the album is a hotbed of ideas. Different genres are crisscrossed: punk, synthpop, jungle, new romantic, industrial and new wave. Airy melodies, surging arpeggios and symphonic breakdowns counterpoint cold digital drum sounds to convey beauty within inescapable and impending daily processes.

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Bézier – Parler Musique [DE200]

Bézier – Primes [DE171]

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Dark Entries presents the latest offering from Bézier, a 3-track EP titled ‘Primes’. Bézier is the moniker of San Francisco based musician Robert Yang, who is also part of the Honey Soundsystem crew. ‘Primes’ represents the theme of primordial origins and creation with three tracks that explore disparate, sonic environments in each song. The title track flows and ebbs like currents in an oil slick. Out of something messy (like primordial ooze) arises organized chaos. ‘Stranger’ is a moody dark electro/wave track for a sweaty night cruising on the west coast of Holland. Set against an underwater sound canvas the song features seductive guest vocals and lyrics by Nicole Ginelli. Doc Sleep of Jacktone Records provides additional production duties. The final track, ‘Imperial Tranz Am’, is an airy, ethereal slow burner clocking in at over 13 minutes.

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Bézier – Primes [DE171]

Bezier / Fort Romeau – Cin Cin 005 [CINCIN005]

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Its been 12 months since Cin Cin’s inaugural release and to celebrate co founder Fort Romeau give us 2 cuts of arpeggio-house ready for the dance floor while Honey Sound System’s Bezier delivers that top tier Hi NRG sound that has become his signature.

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Bezier / Fort Romeau – Cin Cin 005 [CINCIN005]

Bézier – Cosmologist [HNY012]

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Honey Soundsystem releases ‘Cosmologist’, the latest offering from Robert Yang aka Bézier. ‘Cosmologist’ explores Robert’s personal universe with three tracks that connect his varied musical lineages. ‘Cosmos’, a celebration of the late 80s/early 90s KIIS FM universe, is built around an infectious freestyle hook that morphs into a seven minute tour of intersecting styles. ‘Ether’ begins as gothic night-driving electro, but breaks into fantasy-scapes inspired by Italo and 1980s Japanese anime theme songs. The final track, ‘d. Quelle’, clocks in at over 11 minutes, incorporating bebop jazz solos drawn from his early exposure to improvisation techniques by Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderley.

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Bézier – Cosmologist [HNY012]

Bezier – Mina (Everybody) [HNY007]

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Synthesizer enthusiast Bezier drops a surprise 12″ for the affiliated Honey Soundsystem. As usual, her has his sights set on mining the past for inspiration. “Mina (Everyone)” begins in typical fashion – all spacey synthesizers and twinkling melodies – before morphing into a relentless chunk of dirty, Italo-and-EBM inspired house. The pleasingly sunny “Serengeti Drive” is more of a stripped-back Italo-disco bubbler (admittedly with dream-wave flourishes), while “Mysteries of the Deep” offers an intergalactic romp through cold-wave pastures with only cheap old synths and drum machines for company.

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Bezier – Mina (Everybody) [HNY007]

Bézier – Telomeres [DE097]

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Analogue synthesizer enthusiast Bezier first surfaced on Dark Entries in 2012, delivering the hard-wired retro-futurist fantasy Ensconced. Two years on, he’s finally ready to release the follow-up, the similarly sharp and sci-fi themed Telemores. As with his previous output, the influences are obvious – think Radiophonic Workshop, electro, minimal, new wave and Italo-disco – but he smartly steers clear of pastiche and empty revivalism. Instead, we’re treated to a range of dancefloor-friendly instrumental cuts, cyborg jams, and intoxicating robot rinse-outs. Closer “Fukushima”, in which he doffs a cap to the synthesized horror-disco of John Carpenter, is particularly potent.

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Bézier – Telomeres [DE097]

Bézier – Ensconced [DE048]

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Dark Entries release the debut vinyl EP from Bézier entitled “Ensconced.” Bézier is the moniker of all-live-analog electronic wizard Robert Yang from San Francisco. Enchanted by the Cybernetic Broadcasting System (CBS), Robert started DJing as Robot Hustle, joining the Honey Soundsystem collective in 2007. Robert writes hooks, patterns and melodies in an automatic, stream of consciousness fashion. Memory and nostalgia play a big part in constructing his music. “Ensconced” is the follow up to Bezier’s debut cassette, released in 2012 on Break-Up records. The tile relates to themes of comfort and safety as well as complacency and entrapment. Influences range from the futuristic landscape of Syd Mead to the melodic energy of Patrick Cowley and the subdued, hidden motifs of My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless.” Bézier blends elements of Hi-NRG and dark dance to drive the mysterious underwater instrumentals of “Ensconced.” Bezier’s studio set up includes a variety of vintage Roland and Korg synthesizers as well as the Italo Disco favorite LinnDrum. These six tracks were written, produced and mixed by Bézier at his home studio in San Francisco between 2009 and 2013.

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Bézier – Ensconced [DE048]