the second release from merkur aka japasese embassy is coming. we can expect an exciting and unexpected 3 tracker which does not fit in any conventional category. gonno, tokyo based producer and dj, has graped everyones attetion with his outstanding “i don’t need competition (inkl. donnacho costello mix)” on beyond records in late winter 2008. for merkur he has designed the acid-revival track “desolation 303?,,. this track is build on a tricky chicago styled rhythm and an acid sequence which first comes slowly, later on developing an beautiful drive suitable on every dancefloor. berlin based japanese artist / label owner shingo suwa painted the tune “silver blue” with a lot of love for chords and melodic spins. maybe you can call it housemusic knocked down to a minimal attitude. “two of us” plays with warm synths on a solid base, slightly referring to the detroit deep house culture and impressing with an advanced but nevertheless solid groove

good news from the merkur kunst headquarters, a.k.a the japanese diaspora embassy: our attempt to enrich berlin cultural activities with a japanese interpretation of electronic music has found its voice with a first 12inch vinyl release. merkur 01 features gonno, a tokyo based artist who already released on uks perc records and japans wc recordings. his track >es< is a pulsating dancefloor twister build on a solid bass substrat rising with warm and tripped out pads. the flipside brings two tracks by merkurboss shingo suwa. he operates the japanese machines in a classic chicago style - percussive, hypnotic and with this specific grasp only the inventors can provide. these tracks are well made uptempo technotunes with a slight touch of aristrocratic reserve