chicago based stave on pi electronics, with remix support from bristol’s pessimist.

the first release on standards & practices since the widely acclaimed remixes of talker’s “battle standards” ep (by surgeon / regis / broken english club) from late last year, “live from frankfurter strasse” represents the first recorded collaborative effort from jonathan krohn (stave, also 1/2 of talker) and jan grebenstein (downwards, horo).
limited edition on white vinyl.

the first release on standards & practices since the widely acclaimed remixes of talker’s “battle standards” ep (by surgeon / regis / broken english club) from late last year, “live from frankfurter strasse” represents the first recorded collaborative effort from jonathan krohn (stave, also 1/2 of talker) and jan grebenstein (downwards, horo).
standard edition on black vinyl.

uvb-76 music’s latest offering ushers in new blood to the camp in the form of stave. the chicago resident’s ‘atk’ ep sees the tempo submerge to lower depths and the pressure intensify amidst the harsh dynamics and sonic battery that the label is now synonymous for. a four track rhythmic cavort that plays the urge to dance and the allure of subversive nature.

based in chicago, stave is the solo project of jonathan krohn. he also collaborates with karl meier under the name talker. jonathan, karl and ken meier also run the label standards & practices.

following the blistering inaugural release from talker comes the second release on the standards & practices imprint from label co-founder jonathan -stave- krohn, who returns with 5 tracks of dark, visceral electronic music for the discerning listener. -black hills- and -tasc us- kick off the proceedings in fine style – pummeling drums underpinning harsh blasts of noise and bleak, greyscale atmospherics, while -in/human- and -b5- on the flip take a different approach – 2 tracks not aimed at the dancefloor, but both retaining that cold, claustrophobic feel that characterizes much of stave s work. the brooding and sinister -stave 17- closes the ep, moving into exciting new territory with an intensely cinematic sound.

the fifth modern cathedrals release by altstadt echo seeks to exhume genuine, complex, and often contradictory human emotion from dead samples and broken beat structures. throughout the 1905 ep, the artist crafts melodies that embody a tension between nostalgia and frustration, supported by carefully textured and relatively functional percussion. the remix of dry despair by abdulla rashim (ar) strips the original of its lofty chords, instead pursuing a focused and bone-dry experimental techno approach. in contrast, the remix by stave combines elements of the original’s drifting atmosphere with violent industrial percussion.

falling ethics label owner p.e.a.r.l. uses the 8th installment in his fex series to come up with a remix ep that includes the some of the most exciting names techno has to to offer at this very moment. a great 12” that includes remixes from man of the moment tensal, berlin based phase fatale and stave (member of talker).

repitch recordings is pleased to present three new tracks from chicagos stave (j. krohn). *after the social* follows an ep on the irish imprint rensmat and lp on chicago based fss. the new ep continues exercises in foundsound, distortion, and repetition, *after the social* introduces a new challenge to the growing stave catalogue. in the same vein as his work with downwards recording duo talker, krohn continues with the drenched dark tones and distorted drums with this repitch release. influences of punk, metal, noise, detroit techno and ambient all combine to form an uneasy mix of melody and rhythm. the legendary downwards boss karl o connor offers a brilliant mix of *hardened chord* — using the original to create a 4/4 path of destruction.

reform is the first work by stave. the album is an exercise in precision and spacialization, with isolated electronics and icy beats producing a grisaille of vaporized metals. tracks move from disembodied murk and blunted pulses to sustained forcefulness. touch points include techno, ambient and industrial predecessors, all bent gravitationally towards a dark, cold and unsettling soundworld.
the vinyl lp includes a download code for the full album.

standards & practices returns with a fulminant 6 track compilation.

1954 is the fifth vinyl release on the modern cathedrals label by recent detroit export altstadt echo. staying true to the themes of the the “year series” that began with the 1913 ep and was followed by the 1905 ep, the artist continues to explore somber, broken beat techno with an eroded, highly-textured percussive focus. in the previous two eps from this series, altstadt echo was joined by varg, abdulla rashim, stave, and evigt morker on remix duty. for the 1954 ep, he’s commissioned uk artist szare, who delivers a highly danceable revision that combines the ghostly vocals of the original with highly frenetic percussive injections. the artwork of the ep is aligned with the label’s greyscale documentation of detroit, this time featuring the stunning architecture of the new center district of the city. the photos were taken by the artist prior to his move to berlin in fall 2017.

great industrial techno v/a ep, mastered by stefano rocchi
artwork by annabelle nahib

karl meier, ken meier and jon krohn, aka stave, are launching a label called standards & practices.
the three us artists, who share chicago roots, have a pretty straightforward mission in mind for standards & practices: “to provide a platform for releases by both talker and stave, as well as for material by other like-minded artists and collaborators.” talker is the downwards-affiliated duo of karl meier—a longtime techno dj, now based in berlin, who took part in ra’s playing favourites series last year—and krohn, formerly of the experimental rock group male, who’s also been putting out his own brand of abstract, industrialized electronic music as stave for around four years. ken meier, a new york-based graphic designer, partner at common name and dj—and karl’s brother—takes care of art and design for the label.
standards & practices’ opening move is a talker 12-inch, battle standards, the duo’s third full release and first since their 2014 album for downwards. a three-track ep built with material from their new live set and “aimed squarely at the dance floor,” it includes a new version of “my favorite colour is gold,” from 2015’s the immortal eye compilation cd. it’s due out in late july. next will be black hills, a five-track ep from stave that’s expected in september.
along with the soon-to-launch label, the meier brothers recently rebooted their fear of music podcast with some new mixes, including two from karl.

whirling hall of knives is a collaboration between trensmat founders magnetize and the last sound. harsh smouldering circuits and eruptions of panicky white noise have a profoundly unsettling quality, a sense of gnawing paranoia but interspersed with moments of almost euphoric epiphany, as if in the grip of an unshakeable 4am psychosis a growing sense that the door will be kicked in at any second and the world outside will come pouring in. psyche electronics of a particularly greasy and grime-flecked hue... the remix comes courtesy of downwards duo, talker. the american duo of karl meier and jon krohn (a.k.a stave) turn in a heavyweight version of vacuulum on the flip...

the second release on eye teeth! silent servant, talker (kalon + stave), & label boss, bmg take bites out of israel vines... a strong remix set!

subtext presents the debut album from the london based american electronic musician eric holm. the release brings together a collection of recordings produced on the arctic island of andøya, an outpost 300 kilometers north of the arctic circle.

next entry in pi electronicsÕ various artist series with 13 tracks on cd.