Label » Hymen

if i had more time, i would have written a shorter letter.' in the case of ginormous’ third album on hymen records, bryan konietzko did take more time and produced his most direct and potent musical message to date. 'at night' is even more emotive and personal than ginormous’ previous work, all while resisting self-indulgence. these eleven tracks were objectively beaten and honed until they each became the most condensed and vivid versions of themselves. bryan konietzko shines his bright, 'artificial light' on the elements that hoards of electronic music composers fear the most: melody, song structure and brevity. the album is an intense and addictive experience, charging forward with the nervous energy of urban, nighttime cityscapes, speeding subways and foreboding factories. there is an organic, human element at the center of this unrelenting journey, in the form of symphonic and acoustic instruments and warm bass lines, balancing the bold compositions. the album starts with 'punches to carefully coax,' a proud peacock of a track where thick, jagged planes of ice collide with razor sharp synth strings. 'melted circadian' bristles with a chromatically-fractal melody that spins like a neon helix in vertigo. konietzko parades a passionate assortment of prepared guitars with a muscular beat in the sweeping 'coiled so tightly.' the title track confidently trudges like a phalanx of tungsten-clad shadows pursuing a cloud of glittering insects. 'from deep bore holes' hypnotizes with an unsettlingly lingual snare drum that tries and fails to speak, possibly warning of the molten, rubberized synth melody that waits in the depths, poised to scald. finally, 'awakening the magpie in all of us' sails on a slow bonham-esque dream-beat while dozens of chimes and metallophones pull the 43-minute album to its inevitable, timely conclusion.

he went out shopping to get some noise. he found out noise was out of stock. he analyzed noise trading - and nobody knows what happened since then. now that's what our secret agents could tell us: mr. d.myer, the architect, the apostle of st. vodka, the creator - he discovered how to use his lower lip interface. bits and pieces of information reached hymen records' office, packets of sound were transferred via internet within hours - a race against time, speed-frame technology and freeze-frame reality. but we made it and here's the final result.'lower lip interface' - an orgy of synth-wizardry, complex rhythms and manipulated vocals. forcing beats meet distorted sequences, overlayed with a stunning usage of effects, interrupting breaks and acoustic instrumentation. economically used sampling and distraction add up the tracks, a style architect is known for since the beginning. this is state-of-the-art electronic sound inseminated with sweat, sex and aspiration, showing myer's ability to push a few knobs and get a highly concentrated extract of sweat, pain and lust. this album proves daniel myer as a sixty-minute man who knows how to use all of his' tools. enjoy these ten climaxes plus the three phantastic remixes by torrent vacine, nebulo and synnack - beware of the lower lip interface!

language barrier is jeff mcilwain's first album for hymen records since his iron city full length, released in 2002. (not including the 3" cd contribution for the travel sickness box set or the condensed singles compilation). here, mcilwain explores his ambient side to a fuller extent than in any of his previous releases. beautiful chord structures melt with excerpts from his huge archive of field recordings. characteristic layers and treatments are mostly kept together by a metric structure accented with subtle rhythms. 'jetstream', for example, gets this structure from a sample-and-hold-like-treatment - restrained, but still very sonically detailed.

just when you thought contemporary music had nothing new and exciting to offer here come snog to save the day!!! after almost forty live dates around the usa, europe, russia and australia in 2006 snog return to the recording studio in 2007 (unlike the romans of which they sing) victorious. ‘the last days of rome’ - is it leonard cohen (with its perversely apocalyptic lyric and delivery) or is it public enemy (with its slinky hip-hop beat and grinding guitar motif)? or is it even a male version of goldfrapp, concerning moody electro-psychedelica? well, what it really is, is something completely new! sliding between genres like they slip between hot-tubs ‘the last days of rome’ is dark, powerful and totally catchy, a sleek meaningful beast. produced by the calculators (the faint, adalita and many others) and featuring the sweet voice of mr. royce doherty, the collapse of civilization has never been this groovy before! the album opens with the epic majesty of 'one grain of sand', an ode to the pyramid builders of ancient egypt and an excellent place to begin our journey. our title track follows with its grinding beats and tumultuous slave-galley motifs. the third track on the album 'lost at sea' tells the quaint tale of a group of reckless pirates who jettison their map overboard and find themselves perilously close to the rocks. will they survive ...or will that hungry maiden the ocean devour them? again any fevered imaginings of a comparison to current events would be the height of foolishness. track four 'it's all lies' bears no connection to today's responsible global citizens known as the mass media conglomerates, instead it is a parable told from the point of view of a roman centurion who witnesses the dust of an enemy infantry approach but dare not believe the end is nigh. 'city' does not carp on about contemporary urban alienation and disenfranchisement but actually tells the heroic story of those visionaries who built the great middle ages city of london out of the most picturesque pre-loved timber available and cluttered its streets with refuse in a bold attempt to kick-start what is today known as urban renewal. and so it goes. other highlights include the heartfelt metropolitan psalm 'christmas everyday' and the tender down-under nursery rhyme 'go to sleep (little australia).' all these pieces are skilfully presented in the agitated and rhythmic manner that today's youth find so attractive yet they are also carefully crafted so as to never actually say anything at all thus avoiding any needlessly dangerous or uncomfortable moments. adding to the celebratory atmosphere is an extrordinary down tempo remix by uk electro legend sir real, followed by four acoustic tunes snog are well-known for since 'travel sickness', and finished with 'a nation at war', a true conclusion to an album like this by a band like this.

my motivation as a musician is to process my various influences. these 17 tracks can be seen as a distillate of experiences lasting 24 months. oftenly an artist can not remember the exact reasons for writing a track, he can only remember the specific mood, the moment and / or the atmosphere as origins. therefore, track names seemed redundant for this album. for me, 0000 can be seen as a substantial collection of filtered impressions and tiny interludes - or as a digital-acoustic diary. and letting other artists lay hands on these very personal impressions shows a new perspective to the own perception - what makes the entire work more multilateral and much more exiting...' (b.boysen / hecq) hecq can be seen as a phenomenon: an artist who consistently shows his amazing skills in creating new sound, a producer that works with musical technology and presents remixes that spotlight unseen facets in the work of other musicians. boysen is more than an expert knob twidler; the listener can easily hear that there is a sensitive human being operating the controls. on 0000, atmospheric soundscapes meet sharp cadences and abrupt breaks which leads the enthralled listener into hecq's world - an audiobook without a narrator. cd2 is a collection of hecq remixes and collaborations by nine different artists (some of them yet unknown - rekt, sytrjv, phylum sinter...) and others that are familiar (mad ep, snog, nebulo, newt, ginormous...). sounds range from syncopated electronic surveys and threatening soundtrack ambience to a chilling sound carpet that is accompanied by a voice that every hymen records' listener should know... one should be careful when making bold statements but this is hecq's best album and it will be one of the electronica landmarks in 2007. don't be fooled by the influences boysen is writing about; they are subliminally audible and in the end you will realize: 'it sounds like....hecq!'

he went out shopping to get some noise. he found out noise was out of stock. he analyzed noise trading - and nobody knows what happened since then. now that's what our secret agents could tell us: mr. d.myer, the architect, the apostle of st. vodka, the creator - he discovered how to use his lower lip interface. bits and pieces of information reached hymen records' office, packets of sound were transferred via internet within hours - a race against time, speed-frame technology and freeze-frame reality. but we made it and here's the final result.'lower lip interface' - an orgy of synth-wizardry, complex rhythms and manipulated vocals. forcing beats meet distorted sequences, overlayed with a stunning usage of effects, interrupting breaks and acoustic instrumentation. economically used sampling and distraction add up the tracks, a style architect is known for since the beginning. this is state-of-the-art electronic sound inseminated with sweat, sex and aspiration, showing myer's ability to push a few knobs and get a highly concentrated extract of sweat, pain and lust. this album proves daniel myer as a sixty-minute man who knows how to use all of his' tools. enjoy these ten climaxes plus the three phantastic remixes by torrent vacine, nebulo and synnack - beware of the lower lip interface!

born in widnes and living in leeds, uk keith 'keef' baker has been writing music under various names since 1989. starting out in death metal bands and moving into indie and jazz, keef became a session bassist and also a computer game musician. over the years, he learned to play various instruments including bass, keyboard, guitar, drums, mandolin, sitar and double bass. however he rediscovered music through bands such as skinny puppy, test dept and autechre in the early to mid-90s which was when his attention turned to more electronic music. through the years this music has mutated into a cross breed of influences. in his' own words, the 'keef baker' project started as a cross between gridlock, somatic responses, venetian snares and tri repetae period autechre. 'i have expanded (these influences) to include a lot more including dub, jazz, bits of metal, funk, post-rock, straight drum & bass, indie-rock and the like. not in an attempt to break new ground but in an attempt to write the kind of music i'd like to listen to. if new ground ends up being broken on the way then all the better. redeye has took nearly 2 1/2 years to write, the earliest track on it dates back to around june/july ཀ and the latest to around nov ག. redeye refers to two things, one being an old fashioned term for whiskey and the other referring to the feeling of tiredness that i've had for quite some time.' the uniqueness of keef's musical talent can be described in mixing the above mentioned influences without breaks within one single track. melodic idm, drum & bass patterns, breakcore effect usage and sampling weirdness endorse each other, the changing of rhythms totally make sense, the different moods keep the listener in a permanent state of positive tension. a perfect symbiosis of electronic and acoustic instruments ('tombola thrill killer' with its embedded electric bass might be an example). the quality of the production is just stunning: clear, powerful and transparent. this is one of these albums you will listen to dozens of times and you always find some new details - the time it took to finish 'redeye' is obvious on every note.

if there was a league of imaginary soundtrack composers then volker kahl would be one of its leaders. since 2004 he has given his fanbase one kattoo release per year. 'hang on to a dream' is longingly awaited by his fanbase and as with the previous albums there will be no disappointment. 16 tracks of melancholia, intensity and beauty - a kaleidoscope of acoustic and electronic instruments, sample treatments, syncopated drum and percussion beats. all woven into one continuous work of art (without disturbing intermissions in-between). on this cd, volker departs from his world-music influences and replaces the babylonian disarray with a return to his roots - both as a musician and as an individual. if we keep the imaginary soundtrack as an example then 'megrim' might have been a concept work for mel gibson. 'hang on to a dream', especially tracks like 'you don't know me', would have attracted rainer werner fassbinder's attention for sure. electronic chamber music for the eclectic listener. jewelcase packaging

within the last few years, lynn standafer has become a well-recognized artist in the breakcore scene. his output is tremendous - not too long after 'the end', he now presents his new full length release, ‘form without function’ (featuring guest appearances by dj hidden, speaker wrath, somatic responses, submerged and silentkiller). 'form without function' follows what began with 'comparing paths': a movement from the raw sampling and breakbeat madness of his earlier works to the 21st century version of drum and bass - drum and bass with more breaks, ragga vocals and tight fitting sample work. the most basic foundation of the tracks on this album are a continuation of the sound created by artists like panacea in the 90s - straight-forward d'n'b with mighty, pounding basslines. this foundation is combined with the styles mentioned above - which is more than a 'mixture' - it's a style on it's own - 100% enduser. the rough moods conveyed by many breakcore acts cannot be found here - 'form without function' is a straight and tight release that does not cause eardrums to shatter. the speed is turned down in 'keep telling' which gives the listener time to relax but 'the choke' will get you moving again. the slightly melancholic 'by a thread' with it's bright piano is the perfect conclusion to the album. a truly fine example of a work of art by one of the innovators of the break based sound.

enduser. form without function. cd. hymen ¥750 within the last few years, lynn standafer has become a well-recognized artist in the breakcore scene. his output is tremendous - not too long after 'the end', he now presents his new full length release, 'form without function' (featuring guest appearances by dj hidden, speaker wrath, somatic responses, submerged and silentkiller). 'form without function' follows what began with 'comparing paths': a movement from the raw sampling and breakbeat madness of his earlier works to the 21st century version of drum and bass - drum and bass with more breaks, ragga vocals and tight fitting sample work. the most basic foundation of the tracks on this album are a continuation of the sound created by artists like panacea in the 90s - straight-forward d'n'b with mighty, pounding basslines. this foundation is combined with the styles mentioned above - which is more than a 'mixture' - it's a style on it's own - 100% enduser. the rough moods conveyed by many breakcore acts cannot be found here - 'form without function' is a straight and tight release that does not cause eardrums to shatter. the speed is turned down in 'keep telling' which gives the listener time to relax but 'the choke' will get you moving again. the slightly melancholic 'by a thread' with it's bright piano is the perfect conclusion to the album. a truly fine example of a work of art by one of the innovators of the break based sound.

14 track – This Full Lengh CD includes 9 Free mp3 bonus tracks. snog's last full-time-album 'beyond the valley of the proles' was a brilliantly placed shock for many of those who filed david thrussell's project under 'just-electronic' - thrussell's reference to artists such as lee hazlewood or leonard cohen polarized and proved snogs unpredictable creativity. and listeners' reactions on the seven all-acoustic 'travel sickness' tunes was even more surprised at... ...while we're talking about this one here. yes there are also eight brand new acoustic tracks, live from the verandah - well-hidden on the cd in mp3 format. the fourteen songs you will find in the 'regular' audio-cd section show thrussell and his' companions (such as c.peirce / end, sir real, ubin, the namshub of enki) as masters of amplified sound - is it electro ('crash crash'), is it the trashmen ('on the rise'), is it one of these rock numbers only snog can do ('destroyer')....? indeed it is, amongst others. slide guitars are hit by shuffle-beats, long forgotten tekkno-anthems are drowning in a sea of breakbeats, bombs will be dropped... and who's singing on that track, tom waits? for no one... 'the lyrics are very autobiographical this time... but maybe a little strangely' (d.thrussell). david's music industry experiences are displayed on 'neighbour of the beast', in 'king of hate' he sings about how he (sometimes) feels - snog is one of the few who can wrap accusals in a crust of tunes you can whistle to, garnishing all with the most weird and vitriolic sense of humour. snog meets the faecal juggernaut of mass culture - this is the result.

for his second album on hymen, the endless procession, ginormous' bryan konietzko digs deep into a passion for stringed instruments. 'i took electric guitar lessons for years, learning pink floyd solos and jane's addiction and stuff," notes bryan, whose creative endeavors extend beyond music to being co-creator of the animated tv series avatar: the last airbender. that said, the endless procession is hardly a rock album; it is epic music for the dynamism of a darker, more sinister world. like gridlock, lusine icl and hecq, ginormous commingles razor-like industrial noise with atmospheric sounds, conjuring a macabre, 3-dimensional soundscape that unfolds as each moment passes. a mechanical haunting presence starts the album off on 'begin with the end in mind,' meandering through raucous noise breaks and a hitchcockian piano theme on 'byproducts of stress and boredom,' moments of ambient bliss on 'noctilucent" and ominous strumming hallucinations on 'gleaming rows.'. 4-page digipak packaging.

Cool & cold industrial breakz. Finest.

Sonar masterpiece !