tobias freund

Hypnobeat – Prototech [DE179]

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Amongst those that keep track of these things, German trio Hyonobeat are considered proto-techno pioneers. While it’s not known whether Detroit’s Belleville Three were fans, you could argue that Hynobeat’s rhythm-focused approach pre-dated both techno and Chicago house. Thanks to this fine retrospective from Dark Entries, you can judge for yourself. The material included was all recorded between 1983 and 1986, with the wild, off-kilter polyrhythms and ragged TB-303 lines of “The Arumbeya Fetish”, mutant electro of “Kilian” and high-octane thrust of the decidedly out-there “Mission in Congo” standing out. Remarkably, Hypnobeat would chain together drum machines and bass synthesizers to create their tracks – a practice that would later become common during the acid house era.

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Hypnobeat – Prototech [DE179]

Tobias. – Eyes In The Center [OSTGUTLP025]

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Tobias. returns to Ostgut Ton with his third full length Eyes In The Center and expands the musical narrative laid out by his Helium Sessions EP (O-TON, 2016). The Berghain resident keeps exploring the vast modular synth-driven Techno, Experimental and Ambient territories on a journey in-between genres. Tobias Freund is long established as an influential artist and has – since the early 1990s – been working as a professional producer, sound engineer, label owner and strictly live musician. On Eyes In The Center Tobias. sticks to this mantra. The album, instead of following a stringent musical concept, channels a certain attitude and sovereignty fed by almost three decades of Tobias. expanding his skills in music production, in their entirety the 12 songs work as a raw, unpolished collage and evoke the spirit of (Post) Punk and the more experimental niches of electronic music. Think Chrome, Residents and Throbbing Gristle – but not Kraftwerk. Or think The Human League, Yellow Magic Orchestra and Der Plan, but think more in terms of musical attitudes and concepts rather than past sound aesthetics.

vinyl / CD

 

Tobias. – Eyes In The Center [OSTGUTLP025]

Tobias – A Series Of Shocks [OSTGUTLP016]

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Second solo album from accomplished Berlin based producer Tobias Freund. Continuing his exploration into ‘non-standard’ electronic music, and expanding on the rich sound palette charted in his first LP, ‘Leaning Over Backwards’, this new chapter presents 10 versatile tracks taking us ever further into the purist, evolving sonic world of Tobias. ‘A Series of Shocks is Tobias’ is an impressive return to longtime home Ostgut Ton. Beginning with the beatless melodic pulse of the Steve Reich-influenced “Entire”, Freund works his way through a range of clandestine techno compositions, touching on claustrophobic acid and intense late night thump (“Testcard”, “Ya Po”), scratchy Chicago jack (“Instant”), deeper moods (“The Scheme of Things”) and, most thrillingly, early ’90s influenced intelligent techno. It’s in these moments – “If” and tactile ambient breaks of “Cursor Item Only” – that A Series of Shocks really flies.

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Tobias – A Series Of Shocks [OSTGUTLP016]

Lassigue Bendthaus – Matter [DE060LP]

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Lassigue Bendthaus is the electro-industrial project of Uwe Schmidt aka Atom or Seor Coconut from Germany. Uwe Schmidt began making music in the early 1980s, first playing drums, then switching to programming a drum computer after he had heard a Linn Drum on the radio. In 1986 he co-founded the cassette label N.G. Medien, on which his first musical work under the name Lassigue Bendthaus, ”The Engineer’s Love”, was released. Soon after, he started to work on what would become his first official record release, the album ”Matter”. The recordings and production began in 1986 and took almost 4 years, until the album finally came out in 1991 on the German Parade Amoureuse label. Musically somewhere between late ”Industrial” and ”Electronic Body Music”, yet already anticipating ”Acid” and ”Techno”, this production managed to cause quite a stir, due to its advanced production techniques. Songs pay strong homage to Kraftwerk, approaching the early industrial dance scene with a softer sequential approach than most of his contemporaries. ”Matter” is a hermetic reflection about the relationship between perception, nature, science, technology and labor. This reissue comprises the entire 1991 ”Matter” LP, as well a bonus 7” record containing 2 tracks never before released on vinyl.

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Lassigue Bendthaus – Matter [DE060LP]

Atom TM / Tobias – Physik 1 [OTON072]

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Atom™ & Tobias. deliver their first tracks recorded for Ostgut Ton on the “Physik 1 EP”. For this collaboration they opted for two classic Acid jams. On the first side “Physik 44A” builds a steady sweep with its continually modulating Acid line and relentlessly driving percussion. Luscious beats are propelled through an intricately crafted hi-hat construction until the filter cut-off signals a break, only to allow the track to strike back in full force. On the B-side “Physik G321V” focuses on the groove. The same subject with a different approach. A surprising balancing act between the serious mood layed down by the track and the combined playful vocal stabs that are comfortably bathed in Acid as though they always belonged there. A thoroughly timeless record.

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Atom TM / Tobias – Physik 1 [OTON072]

Tobias. – Freeze [TON057]

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Hypnotic Berlin techno by Tobias. on Ostgut Ton. Freeze is a darkly shining jewel that scoops its hypnotic energy from a rolling synth- sequence. Charged by repetition, Perfect Sense has a similar tractive force, but turns the inward looking, dark mood of the A-side into a subtly euphoric, outgoing direction.

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Tobias. – Freeze [TON057]