die ANGEL – Utopien I

Format: 180gr LP / download

Release date: april 24th 2020

https://karlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/utopien-i

die ANGEL, the duo project of ILPO VÄISÄNEN (ex-PAN SONIC) & DIRK DRESSELHAUS aka SCHNEIDER TM, starts its 3rd decade of sonic explorations with the release of album #10 which bears the programmatic title “Utopien I”.180g LP and DL on KARL.

die ANGEL (or just ANGEL in the early days) was born in 1999 during a joint European tour of PAN SONIC and SCHNEIDER TM with the aim to use electronics, string instruments and effect loops to develop a sonic world that goes beyond fixed structures and clearly defined genres. Coming from different musical backgrounds proved quite an advantage for the duo as it meant that ILPO VÄISÄNEN (ex-PAN SONIC) & DIRK DRESSELHAUS (SCHNEIDER TM) had to find their particular modus operandi: communication through noise and action, instant composition, spirit.
Over the course of over 2 decades now, die ANGEL crafted a catalogue of 9 albums released on labels like EDITIONS MEGO or EDITION TELEMARK that were recordings of either the core duo or featured like-minded artists like cellist HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR, OREN AMBARCHI, LUCIO CAPECE or BJ NILSEN. die ANGEL delve deep into the microcosms of tones, shaping nuanced layers of abstract sound that integrate elements of Musique Concrète, Minimal Music, Industrial, Noise, Blues and Psychedelia, and yet bear the unmistakable die ANGEL signature.
“Utopien I” is not only the duo’s latest effort (feat. OREN AMBARCHI) but also a clear political call: in a world of a general decline, we need new ideas and approaches to design the future. 

All tracks performed & recorded December 2015 – January 2016
by Ilpo Väisänen & Dirk Dresselhaus at ZONE, Berlin
Overdubs on ‚Cargo Cult’ by Oren Ambarchi (Milano, Italy) April – May 2016
Edited & mixed by Dirk Dresselhaus May 2016 at ZONE, Berlin
Mastered by Helmut Erler at D&M, Berlin, December 2019

Ilpo Väisänen : electronics & effects
Dirk Dresselhaus : electric guitar & effects
Oren Ambarchi : electric guitar & effects

GIULIO ALDINUCCI – Shards Of Distant Times

Format: 180gr LP / CD / download

Release date: march 27th 2020

https://karlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/shards-of-distant-times

Italian sound artist GIULIO ALDINUCCI returns with his 3rd album on KARL: “Shards Of Distant Times” is again a truly masterfully composed and sound-designed ambient masterpiece and a more than worthy follow-up to the critically acclaimed “Borders And Ruins” (2017) and “Disappearing In A Mirror” (2018) which both made it onto several year’s best lists.

Over the course of six solo albums on labels like DRONARIVM plus EPs and collaborative albums (a.o. with IAN HAWGOOD), GIULIO ALDINUCCI successively has been refining his skills as composer and sound designer. His elegant style which blends ambient and field recordings came to full impact on his previous KARL albums “Borders And Ruins” and “Disappearing In A Mirror” which gained the Italian sound artist a lot of critical praise and made it onto several year’s best lists, a.o. Acloserlisten.com. ALDINUCCI’s latest effort is again not only a musical masterpiece of sublime beauty and sacral majesty, it also deals with philosophical concerns.
Where “Borders …” was a reflection on the instability of borders and “Disappearing In A Mirror” raised the very personal question of identity, “Shards Of Distant Times explores the liminal areas of the contemporary soundscape that are characterized by the presence of human voice coming from old and timeworn recordings. Like in the auditory pareidolia, the psychological phenomenon in which the mind hears indistinct voices in random noise where none exist, voices and music emerge from the everyday soundscape through the omnipresent internet connected devices, creating glitches between time and space” (ALDINUCCI). 

AIDAN BAKER I GARETH DAVIS – Invisible Cities IIG

Format: 180gr LP / download

Release date: january 24th 2020

https://karlrecords.bandcamp.com/album/invisible-cities-ii

AIDAN BAKER (NADJA, B/B/S) and bass clarinetist GARETH DAVIS continue their fruitful collaboration with „Invisible Cities II“ – five new tracks of finest ambient / chamber jazz / subtle drones of a highly meditative quality. Available as 180gr LP and download.

2 years ago, the Canadian guitar player AIDAN BAKER and clarinetist GARETH DAVIS from Belgium released their duo debut „Invisible Cities“ that surprised many by its quiet, even meditative quality. DAVIS had made himself a name in a wide range of fields, from the postrock of A-SUN AMISSA or OISEAUX-TEMPÊTE, new music (PETER ABLINGER, BERNHARD LANG), or experimentation with the likes of ELLIOTT SHARP, MERZBOW or SCANNER, while BAKER is mostly known for his drone / postmetal duo NADJA, but that‘s just one out of several steady projects (e.g.B/B/S with ANDREA BELFI and ERIK SKODVIN aka SVARTE GREINER) and a multitude of solo albums.
On „Invisible Cities“ the duo explored the calmer side of things – from chamber jazz to ambient / drone and back, giving much space and air to breathe to their respective instrument. Subtle guitar drones, sonore clarinet sounds, a sonic scenery of peacefullness and meditative introspection – all this you‘ll also find on the new album „Invisible Cities II“ which is an accomplished continuation and refinement of the duo‘s first collaborative effort from 2018.

Recorded between 2018 and 2019 in Berlin and Amsterdam, mastered and cut at D&M Berlin by KASSIAN TROYER.