exhumed tapes i is the first in a multi-artist series of cassette releases on the modern cathedrals label. with label art featuring small details of “important graves,” the series will dig into eery, broken beat techno with gritty textures. the first cassette begins in a natural place: with altstadt echo crafting four works presented with an image depicting the grave-side rubble of his often-referenced inspiration albert camus. it will be limited to 50 hand-numbered physical copies. copyright: modern cathedrals 2018 mastered by tim xavier @ manmade mastering, berlin

this is the fifth release on eye teeth, the techno sublabel of interdimensional transmissions, by it compatriot alstadt echo. alstadt echo effortlessly blends the avant garde with industrial techno influences into his own deeply austere sound, with grainy textures contrasting perfectly against his broken beat structures. the influences are clear, he has even been honored by one - with multiple tunes included on regis the boys are here mix tape. alstadt echo also runs his own detroit imprint known as modern cathedrals, an ode to the concept of cathedrals of sound, the place where this music belongs.

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.

in the fourth modern cathedrals release, altstadt echo crafts three original works with a focus on experimentation with broken beat structures and grainy percussive texture, against a backdrop of austere atmospheres. varg contributes a remix that emphasizes the despairing tones of the descent, contrasted with glistening treble percussion and and stumbling bass. to end the release, evigt mörker offers an extended hypnotic version of the track that slowly develops from a functional framework into an atmospheric drift. the thematic aspects of the release follow the development of modern cathedrals as a label, expressing existentialist themes centered around the search for meaning in a life that forbids it. the label art features photographs of the beautiful remains of one of detroits many unused churches

the second release on modern cathedrals includes an original mix by altstadt echo supplemented with remixes crafted by donor, luigi tozzi, and asop. the inclusion of donor’s remix represents a continued effort to link together the detroit and brooklyn scenes, while the luigi tozzi remix connects modern cathedrals to the ghastly, dark styles of techno that italian artists have become so respected for. as a core member of the modern cathedrals team and a primary force behind the label’s event series, asop’s remix is the very first public release of work by this incredible new detroit-based artist. but while the artist names change from record to record, the philosophy does not. we continue in a desperate attempt to generate meaning during the short spasm of a lifetime we are given in a world that seems to conspire to prevent this effort’s realization. this situation might be inescapable, but through the rejection of complacency and dogma, we can approach our end with the bitter comfort that we were at least willing to be honest about our situation.