deep and driving techno by masterminds steve bicknell / damon wild / ben sims / tadeo

the quiet before the storm. the abyss before birth. the moments that came before everything else. this is episode zero, ben gibson s inaugural album on chronicle. it takes us soaring through a musical narrative, beaming down into vast acoustic valleys of sound. from the very rst notes the intent is apparent, lucidly slipping into a pool of full moon atmospherics. departing deeper he carefully calculates each and every step, building momentum and pace until the way back is completely forgotten. tracks like -foreclosure- reach peak potential with crushed, mangled percussion, while others such as -symptom- maintain a more seductive yet equally deadly pull. building upon pillars of 12-s, chronicle and ben gibson are now venturing into a new territory with episode zero marking the rst step. join us.

an object resists changing its state of motion with inertia. what pushes back must then be even more vigorous in order to create a uid movement. an example of the force that embodies this dynamic can be found clearly on the appropriately titled inertia, aiken’s much anticipated return to chronicle. the spanish artist has been spending years honing his craft, focusing on sharp, distinct sounds that create a pure sense of kinetic energy. the title track of the ep bolsters a erce disarray of carefully (de)constructed atonal synthwork and a rhythm section that is set to detonate. it is then followed by “axial”, a track that stays as true to modular miscalculations as it does to stripped down techno, combining both in a subliminal cessation of sanity. however aiken isn’t done there. he continues with “magnetism”, which throws a brick in the glass of conventionality with its earth-shaking layers of textured momentum. phased pads then wash over “soul drama”, bringing the entire experience to an emotionally laced denouement. after the potency of his last record on chronicle as well as his releases on imprints such as his own label timeline and the spanish powerhouse semantica, inertia marks a de nitive step forward for an already exceptionally de ned artist.

chronic rollers returns for the third instalment of the rollers series where youll find more upfront underground d&b mixed by l-side on this strictly limited edition cd only 500 copies being pressed ever! chronic rollers vol.3 raises the bar yet again, delivering 21 of the finest cuts of dancefloor d&b. from its beginnings as an undercover outlet for some of the scenes biggest names chronic has always kept its feet firmly on the dancefloor. as tastes and styles have evolved over the years the label has moved keeping on step ahead of the trends.

there is a way to reach into the pulse of everything. it comes when ideas are stripped down to their bare essentials, blossoming then into massive monoliths that are designed with elegant simplicity. such is the path taken on our next limited 7inch, led by chronicle veterans staffan linzatti and new comer to the stable, arnuad le texier. entitled far behind the line, it embarks with a sense of soaring weightless that only arnaud can provide. radar is a statement of futurism, thrusting the listener forward and farther into the in nite. its sonic qualities mimic radio towers, satellites, and frequencies transmitted from the far reaches of the unknown.destination acts as the perfect counter, disrupting the psyche in all the right ways with dissonant wails and unearthly chimes. together they come as a distinct package, presenting an impressionistic interpretation of what may come, or what already has.

certain sounds inspire us, certain sounds move us, and certain sounds simply propel us deeply and immediately into a place where everything else becomes irrelevant. the latter is the vein of sonic manipulation that can be found on “what one sees”, sta an linzatti’s latest workout for chronicle. a prelude to a forthcoming album, linzatti has once again shown his incredibly ability to morph time and space to his liking. from the pressure cooking low end in * brink of collapse* to the dissonant twilight zone antics of * just a thought*, sta an works his way through inner space nding the perfect balance of tension and release, discord and resolve. the resolve comes during moments like * nobody observes the ordinary* and * passing ceres*, which harmonize subtle yet intricate patterns with chimerical synthwork. its a vast feat, and a warning bell for the incoming musical architecture that we are so grateful to share with you.

recovering from the gray decay of the winter here in berlin, we are more than ready to push forward farther into the future. in order to do so the powers at chronicle have aligned a new musical offering to test the palate of those who know, and those who care. we are pleased to present six tracks from the prolific arnaud le texier, who has made waves for years with his children of tomorrow imprint and renowned taste. from cosmic interludes to heavy hitting transcendence, arnaud manages to showcase all sides of his production skills as they translate into a compelling and emotive narrative. among them stands a tribute to one who was lost along the way that we simply do not want to forget. only rarely in this life do we stand witness to gures that make a true impression, an imprint that continues to leave a mark long after the original has passed. max_m was one of these gures, and it is through his music and immensely dignified curatorial prowess that his legacy will live on. arnaud’s poignant tribute stands as a personal note amongst an ep full of forceful techno suitable for deep space exploration

vinyl only

for more than ten years dimi ange lis and jeroen search have been working together to demonstrate just how they think serious techno should be executed. their respective careers as individual artists are equally accomplished, but as a pair they have shown a fierce dedication to just the kind of aesthetic principles that define chronicle as a label, and so it gives us great pleasure to present an expansive ep of six tracks that tunnel deep into the bowels of late night, uncompromising techno.

b-stock! one corner is broken. bolstered by the unshakable body of work behind it, brooklyn-born berlin-based techno label chronicle reaches its milestone tenth release with its gaze fixed dead ahead. ten releases in, it pays to make a strong, defiant statement of intent, toasting to what the label has been about so far. more important though is to remind those tuned in to take heed, because the next step is always the most significant. from the artists crafting the music at its beating heart to the all-important design that packages the records, chronicle is a label that pulls no punches in its creative vision. given that the vision in question matches unbridled futurism with elegance and intensity, consider this a warning is a fitting title for a salvo of sounds that set the tone for where chronicle will head in its coming chapters.
the double 12 inch includes a cd, featuring all traks from the vinyl plus 6 bonus tracks.

the latest chapter in the unfolding story of chronicle finds the new york techno label reaching out to japan once again, calling upon the considerable talents of hironori takahashi to deliver a nerve-shredding manifest on cinematic scope and malicious intent in the darker corners of contemporary techno.

hailing from the ever-strengthening parisian electronic music scene, sylvain peltier has been carving out a name for himself amongst his fellow city-dwellers with dark, hypnotic incantations that inject a little black magic into the restrained cyclical motions of tough minimal techno.

we who like to think of ourselves as disruptors felt that the time has come for a shift. a new path for chronicle emerges, carved out with a new series of 7 inch records limited to only 250 copies. our inaugural release, entitled words for silence, will be unleashed at our debut chronicle showcase on march 29th at berghain. as our way of giving thanks to our supporters the first 10 copies will be passed out in secrecy to attendants looming in the shaded corners of the club. words for silence features two driving tracks from aiken and the illusive ben gibson – two producers that have both crafted powerful eps for us and will be gracing the decks that evening along with nick dunton (65 d mavericks), boris, oliver deutschmann and mike dehnert among others. we could not be more honored to host this night, and look forward to unveiling more releases of this caliber for other special events/turning points. so watch out below… aikens *singularity* has a groove that beeps like a time bomb waiting to explode, washing over you with its sinful drones - while gibsons track *parallax* takes things a bit deeper with pastoral pads and fluttering hi-hats. together they create a balance of rhythm and energy that will be well suited for a number of unique moments while in the chamber.

berlin-based staffan linzatti returns for his second release on chronicle with another uncompromising selection of linear techno constructions sculpted with an unfaltering vision of how hypnotic body music can transcend simple rhythmic needs. icy atmospherics and razor-sharp production make for one of the strongest manifestations of linzattis distinctive sound in a career bristling with standout releases for labels such as stockholm ltd, balans, and his own searchlights records.

part of a constellation of little known, largely spanish techno artists who have defined semantica as a must-watch techno label since at least 2009 but really for its entire history, aikens work is also a stunning summation of the qualities that make this small group of leading-edge talents essential encapsulations of the genres musical progression up until this time. deeply rooted in the innovations of detroit, berlin and new york, his music also takes in flourishes of sound design and broken-beat experimentalism rooted in the rich past of uk dance music

more than six years into his career after several eps and a full album, there isn’t much known about ben gibson, and he is clearly keeping it that way with intent. gibson first emerged on jeff mills’ experimental, influential 6277 sublabel but then again vanished into the ether, he only reappeared three years later on perc trax, even more surprisingly with a full-length. since then, he’s gone on to steadily more notice with perc’s imprint, sect records, and most recently m_rec ltd in spite of the continuing lack of information. exposure isn’t the most important thing for us at chronicle though, and after hearing these five tracks, we saw exactly what it is that drew mills to him from the beginning. it is a sound that we find a perfect fit for the techno futurism of our chronicle series, and here we offer a platform for gibsons more sci-fi, ethereal sounding material, exclusively on vinyl for the fifth edition of our sublabel.

with a techno career stretching nearly a decade, finlands samuli kemppi is a natural choice for the fourth edition of themas continuing chronicle series. his intensely rhythmic, futuristic style has been making its mark across europe since 2004, but it was really four years later, when he was picked up by ostgut ton, prologue, and kosmisch, that the world found out the true impact of his sound. since then he has enjoyed his strongest support from the last of these imprints and, even more importantly, from luke slaters powerhouse mote-evolver, a go-to since its inception in 2006 for the freshest sounds techno has to offer. following the summer launch of his own deep space helsinki label, we are proud to announce kemppis chronicle debut with voyager, an ep of deep, science fiction sounds backed by intense beats.

for the third installment of our continuing chronicles, we have turned again to a well-pedigreed techno master who should be no stranger to any of our listeners out there. most recently spotted on his own searchlights records, staffan linzatti caught the attention of thema long ago with releases from powerhouse labels like synewave and stockholm ltd.

following up after the mental drop by detroits master of repetition, population one, we have a new signing hailing from the land of the rising sun, helping us to set the standards for this new imprint— uncompromised techno funk! japanese producer imugem orihasam has spent the past 3 years slowly evolving. his early work on ilian tape and esperanza sounds like that of an already seasoned craftsman digesting detroit bit by bit, with a focus on lush textures and swooning eerie melodies. this past year has seen a spike in activity for imugem, with releases on patrice scotts sistrum recordings, berlins nsyde, and adam marshalls new kanada—all showcasing a more focused and exuberant approach that has sharpened his reflective compositions. with gem, imugem steps away from the supple melodies and tranquil atmospheres for a trip deep into the power plant.

we here at thema are proud to be staring down five years of history — all the while with our sights locked in, waiting patiently for the right moment to launch this very special project—and we feel now is the time to unleash this beast. its main purpose is to release pure sonic explorations, straight up techno for a new era and will be a vinyl-only affair aimed at all you true djs out in the trenches, who appreciate the real thing. so for this momentous occasion, we have invited a field-tested thema solider, terrence dixon, or as he shall be known here: population one, one of his rarely used alias.