Donato Dozzy & Neel are Voices From The Lake

Lee Burton album on Klik Records

It’s been almost six years since Liberto released his debut album “Lullaby” for Klik Records. His warm deep and tech house sound received at once the best comments of the Greek and the international music press alongside the interest of some of the most important names in the electronic music scene. As a result to this, the next years were at most productive for Liberto with releases, remixes and collaborations with labels such as Trapez, Plastic City, Material, Playmobil, Syndikaat and the co foundation of the record label “Material” with Michael Safras. 2009 was the year of his new project under the name Lee Burton and recordings for labels such as Orpheas, Material and Plastic City in addition to several features and appearances in festivals and clubs.
In January 2012 Lee Burton returns with his second album project, Busy Days For Fools. Being really ingenious Lee Burton manages to escape from the sound of Lullaby creating a unique output that combines the sound of the “German” electronica with the Greek temperament and the South American laid back feeling. “Busy Days For Fools” is the stoner side of electronica.
Lee Burton did everything himself regarding the production of his new album. He spent a whole year in his personal studio using new techniques of production and recordings such as various kinds of microphones ranging from the classic condenser microphone to the microphone of a cell phone even a VHS camera one. Electronic sounds were created with vintage analogue equipment but also with live recordings of noises using various objects as well as music instruments. That was in need of providing the warmest, natural and analogue possible result, to create his own sound. 
With his influences coming from the electronic scene but also from lo-fi productions rock, blues, folk and jazz, Lee Burton’s whole idea for this album came though his feelings created by his everyday life, the people around him, their moods and way they think. Going back to 2006 when he recorded his debut album under the alias Liberto he says: “As a human being I feel like it’s been a long period with brand new experiences leading to a new different view of life, but as an artist I keep on living, feeling and looking for the real life influences that made me create something from the very beginning”.
In other words this is the essence of “Βusy Days For Fools”. It’s the talent of an artist who transforms the images of his mind into sounds. A concept album project written for no other purpose than the will of the artist to invite us to his own music world.

Dapayk & Padberg album on Stil Vor Talent

Opposites attract: that’s perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when listening to Niklas Worgt and Eva Padberg’s new album, Sweet Nothings. The pair, better known as Dapayk & Padberg , join the Stil vor Talent family for their third full-length effort, a natural decision after the success of Dapayk’s recent The Little Things You Do and Let Go EPs. Similar to their previous LP oeuvre, as well as Dapayk’s solo work, one is simply astonished by the diversity, intertextuality, coherence and playfulness of the end result, something that must be attributed to the experienced duo’s wide-ranging set of influences. Work on the LP commenced two years ago and stretched across several continents. From the beach on Bali, via Miami, Los Angeles, Berlin and a ski chalet in the Austrian Alps, stunning and remote locations were to be the spectacular backdrop for Dapayk & Padberg’s creative process. Thus, one encounters soft and harsh sound textures, dark and light images, sonic euphoria and sadness as well as lyrics of love and loss throughout the tour de force that is Sweet Nothings.

Things kick off with the trippy ‘Too Lazy’, a brooding afterhours number, which is equal parts paranoid and mesmerising as a wonky bass vibrates under dubbed out pads, eerie synths and vocal whispers. A bold move by Dapayk & Padberg as artists of lesser confidence might have opted for a lighter opener. Next, ‘Play’ immediately delivers the antidote however, reversing the evening’s proceedings back to the peak time. A housey beat pushes through muffled crowd noises and is backed up by a vocal repeatedly urging us to ‘play it out / play it loud’. The real strike of genius is the quirky piano here, which wouldn’t be out of place on Berlin’s most notorious dancefloor. On title track ‘Sweet Nothings’, Dapayk & Padberg’s sound takes another turn, presenting us with a deep but forceful groover, whose distorted high-hats and trancey synth stabs create a vibe both euphoric and weirdly subdued. The lyrics, moreover, emphasise the duality at the core of the album as Padberg ponders ‘you’re good for me – you’re bad for me’.

Moving on, ‘Fluffy Clouds’ does quite the opposite to what its title suggests – rather than being a soft little piece, we are treated to big-room techno fodder à la Berghain. A skeletal framework of heavy kicks, dark pads, white noise and dense metallics works relentlessly underneath a cold spoken word, proclaiming ‘not human, not animal – just a body in motion’. Machine funk par excellence. Next up, ‘Endless Game’ leaves the four by four rhythm behind in favour of a broken beat structure. A shuddering bass and affectless vocal reminds of The Knife’s wonderfully weird moments, which is always a good thing. ‘The Sun Came Up’ rounds off the mechanical triplet with a pumping beat and robotic vocals, while a progressive synth lead helps along the track’s love lyrics, turning this into a truly stunning moment at the album’s heart.       

With the sharp glockenspiel and old-school hip-hop beat of ‘Razorskit’, Dapayk & Padberg crafted a short interlude to cleanse the palate, before the gear is shifted once more on ‘Berlin Summer Nights’. Anthem alert: classic rave sounds of epic proportions glide through an arrangement of bouncy beats, crisp percussive work and hopeful vocals until a powerful breakdown delivers the hands-in-the-air moment. Continuing seamlessly, the vocals on ‘Take These Scissors’ again nod to Karin Dreijer Andersson, which is further underpinned by the playful and airy arrangement of weird sounds that bare an Asian twist.

Showing another of the duo’s many facets, ‘Backyard’ enchants thanks to mystical lyrics sung beautifully over a deep quasi-dubstep structure. Marking Sweet Nothings final wind down, the atmospheric song shines through intricately crafted fragility and is the perfect contrast to the previous two tracks. ‘Continental Drift’ is similarly confident as Padberg’s sexy vocals compliment a slow, fat beat and progressive pads. Finishing off the LP, ‘Driveby Beauty’ offers a final surprise by speeding things up once more: ambient soundscapes float over organic beats, while classic vocal house motifs are left to work their magic effortlessly. All that is left once the last notes play out, is an intense longing for more, as one realises how deeply emotive and versatile a journey Dapayk & Padberg have blessed us with.

Bnr Trax 01 - 10!!

Let’s shortly recap! Just 15 months after the launch of BNR’s sublabel BNR TRAX we’re proud to see that the newborn has grown up and become a highly profiled digital platform for innovative experimental music and real techno rockets. Until today we’re counting 11 BNR TRAX releases so far… strong releases featuring Benny Rodrigues, Para One, Bobmo, Maelstrom or completely unknown youngsters such as Audionite and lately BS1. You see?! This alternate outlet was never meant to be a mayfly but a long term kick in your ass! And now you will finally have the possibility to enjoy BNR TRAX on vinyl and CD for the very first time! BNR TRAX 01 - 10 is a compilation of the best stuff that BNR TRAX has to offer over the first 10 releases and a good possibility to have bombs like “Calcium", “Nevrosis” and “Northside” as a physical copy. As always it will be available for download too. BNR is proud to be able to offer you this release, especially if you weren’t aware of the great music that has been happening here on BNR TRAX. BNR TRAX 01 - 10 features Strip Steve & Das Glow, Djedjotronic, Shadow Dancer, Para One, Maxime Dangles, Benny Rodrigues and a lot more great artists. 2012, here we are! We are looking forward to a new year with more bombs and rockets! You should definitly keep TRAXing !!