tyler friedman brings a hyper-realism to the table which meshes in very interesting ways with rohrer’s conversational percussive instincts. sounds like villalobos meets burnt friedmann.

as an encore to the mesmerizing ccc: bb: bbb: jj release on kontra-musik, tyler friedman brings out his version of what he thinks -dj techno tools- are. this is music for the dancefloor alright, but it s a dancefloor from a strange and slightly uncanny dream. tyler explores the sonic field between the chillingly precise and the vivaciously warped - the disciplined and the untamed. he thrives in that space, creating an eerie microcosmos of evolving harmonies and rhythms that seem to have lives of their own - like music coming out from a haunted clockwork. a suiting apparatus for a label unconcerned with the conventions of time.

tyler friedman returns to kontra-musik with a series of immersive wax maelstroms, adorned with the mind-melting artwork of rafaela drazic. every track on ccc: bb: bbb: jj is a controlled experiment in lysergic dance music, an examination of how far you can warp the constitutive elements of techno without loosing it s essential spine. the result is four evolutionary techno suites full of movement and life that make your brain move just as vigorously as your body. as the personal work of a composer creating soundtracks for artist projects - most notably as a long-term collaborator of the otolith group, the filmmaker collective spearheaded by pioneering afrofuturist theorist kodwo eshun - ccc: bb: bbb: jj sums up everything kontra-musik is about: dancefloor celebrations challenging the boundaries of expectation and genre.

the second of two eps from talented californian newcomer, tyler friedman, has now arrived. a night in the woods ep starts of as a murky rhythmic experiment. when released of its bound, it transforms into a hailstorm of sound that builds in melodic intensity towards a final climax. this is scenic and brave electronic dancemusic that over and over again will capture the focused listener. on the b-side rivet for sure push tyler towards berghain. but now the tool is somewhat different. rivet transforms the cinematic original into a very dirty and dry party stomper.

for over eleven minutes jonsson & alter extracts bass sounds and gliding tonal textures of the originals and takes us on a deep and very trippy journey into taxi driver territory. suitable the remix is called tylerss dream. and we just love it.

big hits from 1978 on 3x pink vinyl incl donna summer, kate bush, earth wind & fire

the ongoing celebration of kontra-musik s 10 years anniversary is basically a recognition of the importance of charisma within the predominantly mechanical sphere of electronic music. to quote label boss ulf eriksson in a recent groove interview: -to release on kontra you need to have developed a unique and personal sound.