following the release of 2015’s animistas album on mindtours, steevio returns with the fourth and final volume in the modular techno series after starting the project in 2012. initially conceived as he moved his studio practice towards a purely outboard, analogue, modular synthesiser set up, the modular techno series has charted the development of steevio’s exploration of this working practice both on record and on stage. the work involved in live appearances across the uk and europe over the past four years have fed into the creative process, with rehearsals for sets often yielding the material that has ended up on vinyl. volume 4 is arguably the darkest instalment in the series to date, dealing in a strict economy of minimalist rhythms and off-key melodic touches while still easily identified as the unmistakable tones and distinctive grooves of steevio. in the grand tradition of techno as visionary music, the dystopian tone that lingers throughout modular techno vol 4 points to a future of uncertainty, but this is far from nihilistic music, always within the darkness remains a glimmer of hope.

mindtours and freerotation boss steevio releases his first album for 10 years on his own imprint. the album was recorded live during practice for recent gigs on steevios modular synthesizer, and is entirely improvised. animistas follows on from his modular techno series, and the recent collaboration with move d, juju and jordash, and soulphiction (as the high-on-wye quintet) on the new freerotation label, and continues his progression into deeper, jazz tinged techno territory.

the third in the modular techno series from live analogue artist and freerotation organiser steevio. after 15 years of producing techno live on hardware, in 2009 steevio began building a dedicated machine on which he could totally improvise an entire techno performance from a blank canvas that far surpassed anything he could do with his previous setup of drum machines and synthesizers. steevio’s modular is 100 analogue, there is no computer involved, there are no memories to save sounds or sequencing patterns, and everything is improvised in real time.. volumes 1 and 2 of the series were just a taster of what was to come, and were the early experimentations on steevio’s newly built machine. steevio records everything he does, especially during the intense practice sessions for live gigs. all the music in the series are out-takes from these practice sessions, and the tracks from volume 3 and the forthcoming volume 4 all come from a three day period in practice for a recent live gig at delete, bournemouth, uk. volume 3 continues from where volume 2 left off but delivered with more confidence and a deeper more hypnotic feel. steevio continues to develop his skills and fine tunes his unique instrument in this dedicated for life project.

vinyl only. 180 gramm vinyl. shrinked. its ten years since both tom ellis and leif released their first ever vinyl record mindtours 06, which also featured label boss steevio. this marked the beginning of tom and leifs steadily growing reputation on the international underground house and techno scene, with both artists releasing countless records and tracks on many important labels, and as founders and residents of the much respected freerotation festival, all three friends now enjoy worldwide exposure.

strictly limited vinly-only release, make sure you get your hands on this! 180 gramm vinyl. shrink wrapped. amazing piece of music! all sound creation and sequencing was improvised in real time and recorded to stereo with no processing.
steevio delivers the second offering in the >modular techno< series of live improvised analogue recordings extracted from his practice sessions for the freerotation electronic music festival which he organises with partner suzybee. with vol 2 steevio takes his modular jams to the next level with more complex sequencing and refined harmonics in contrast to the deliberately raw vol 1. only basic editing to extract the individual tracks from the 1 hour live sessions was used, and there was no prior planning involved other than a choice of tempo and key. each session evolved from a totally blank canvass on steevios eurorack modular synth and moog voyager.

three techno live-cuts by steevio on this 2002 mindtours release. limited backstock.

limited backstock on the 7th mindtours release, featuring tracks by tom demac, leif, tom ellis and labelhead steevio.

limited restock on this 2002 mindtours release, including remix by echoplex.

third release on the mindtours label, originally released in 2001, now back in limited numbers.

limited backstock on this 2001 techno classic by steevio.

the 2nd release by steevio on his mintours imprint back in limited numbers.

after a break from releasing new material while he concentrated on developing the freerotation electronic music festival, mindtours label boss steevio is back with a 4 track ep of live improvised modular music. modular techno vol 1 is four tracks of raw, deep, jazz tinged, freeform, analogue minimal electronics, all sequencing and sound manipulation was jammed live on steevios modular synthesizer, without the use of a computer, or eq / compression / mastering or any other processing in a deliberate attempt to capture a live electronic music performance directly to vinyl.

limited backstock of this deep minimal 2003 mindtours release, featuring leif, tom ellis and steevio.

steevio, tom ellis, joe ellis zeigen uns hier auf mindtours wie schön minimal doch sein kann....

umwerfende soundqualität aus wales, welche die klicker clique nachhaltig beeindrucken dürfte

musikalisch zwischen villalobos & jay haze. also ordentlicher, kräftiger & minimaler afterhoursound !

ewußtseinserweiternde minmal-groover aus wales für verstrahlte after hour erlebnisse

after showcasing the debut releases from the high on wye quintet (magic mountain high, soulphiction and steevio) and monoak, the freerotation label returns with a various artists 12” featuring four more artists intrinsically linked by the annual festival. anthony child, aka surgeon, has been a regular fixture since first appearing at freerotation in 2011. his recent exploration of modular synthesis and use of the buchla music easel has found a home in the ambient yurt at the festival, and equally has manifested in album projects such as 2015’s electronic recordings from maui jungle vol 1. “unconscious fearless determination” follows on from this more experimental, less dancefloor-focused side to child’s work, while still pulsing with the techno fundamentals that quickly defined him back in the mid ‘90s. duckett hails from north wales, and has been a key part of the freerotation fabric since the beginning of the event. after some releases on mindtours, mindyourhead and sthlmaudio back in the mid-‘00s, his music has started to reach a new audience through releases on untilmyheartstops and a clutch of lauded live performances. “breaks my heart when i remember that day” captures the alien synthesis and emotional heft that singles duckett out as such a remarkable artist. steevio is the co-founder of freerotation and mindtours records, responsible for a huge swathe of techno releases reaching back to the ‘90s. as well as his releases on mindtours, he has recently appeared on untilmyheartstops and in collaboration with pev on schmorgabsord, and is set to appear on russ gabriel’s new label rivers of groove. with its expressive swells of off-kilter melody and snaking drum lines, “pendulum” continues the thread of exploration steevio has been following on his journey into experimental modular techno. tom ellis has been prolifically issuing forth material in a soul-enriched space in between house, techno and funk for more than ten years. from running the acclaimed trimsound label to releasing albums and singles on telegraph, archipel, hartchef discos and more recently ethereal sound to name but a few, tom’s recorded work and immersive live performances continue to reach out to new moods and timbres. “as a take” finds tom at his most reflective, layering on dubby effects and organic instrumentation in a truly meditative end to the ep.

amazing release! tom ellis introduced to the scene in 2003, with releases on mindtours and morris-audio citysport, he enveloped himself in the world of electronic music and embraced the technology behind it. the natural progression was to setup a label, which he did with his best friend leif, along with the support of his brother joe and other close friends who inspired him so much. his recent live project with leif, co-founder of trimsound, has taken him all over the world headlining some high profile club nights in tokyo, cologne, munich, budapest, amsterdam, rotterdam, leeds, bristol and more. florian scheibein & alexander wirth are the two heads behind this new lovely imprint. also working as production duo they deliver a timeless masterpiece with >material of silence<. b-side - just check it out!

floppy funk welcomes a new talent: joe ellis! joe has been djing on the welsh party scene for years, and is a regular at trimsound and mindtours events playing a blend of original house music and minimal techno. joes been inspired by the music and djing skills of people like daniel bell, derek carter and chris carrier, along with welsh djs and producers like his brother tom ellis and electroinique audio. his >horses for courses< release is a journey into deep, minimalistic house, keeping a funky edge. the remixes from mossa and tom ellis&leif add a more clubby feel and make this 12inch is well rounded pack

they are back - tom ellis & leif, the u.k. minimal revelation! the last months have been busy for these talented guys from wales, as they have been djing, playing live and releasing superb tracks and remixes on labels like logistic, telegraph, mindtours and their own trimsound label. now is the time for >the trimstyle vol. 2 ep< !!

trimsound unleash their third release, this time with three killer tracks from in-house artists leif and tom ellis, and a top remix from special guest apoll (tongut / substatic / sthlm audio etc…) on the a-side, apoll provides the perfect funked-up rework of leif s dancefloor-friendly >no possibility<, while on the flip tom ellis deepens things with the glitch-heavy masterpiece >driver problems<. fresh from releases on morris/audio and mindtours, and with releases lined up from logistic and archipel this year, leif and tom are set to make a big impression for 2006 – stay tuned!