Statler & Waldorf

On one of the busiest streets in Copenhagen, there is a shop. Through the open door, one can
see a couple of old men sitting at a table, smoking cigarettes, and listening to old records.
They mostly sell old bicycles they fix and tidy up, but they will also repair your old watch (if
it’s mechanical). On the wall, they’ve got paper clippings about frauds revealed and exposed,
pale lithographs, strange astrology diagrams, and an assortment of calendars. When there’s
not enough light from the window, the room is lit by a single lamp on the table. It is darkened
by cigarettes and dust. Through a small hole in the wall, one can see the workshop out back.

Antifilm is the alias of Thomas Bred, a 35 year old Danish musician living in Copenhagen. For
a while, he used to play a piano his neighbour allowed him to use provided he stored it in his
apartment. Nowadays, his studio is full of guitars and pedals, and his songs have a different
texture, but one can still hear that piano on some of the tracks.

Thomas has been making music for over a decade. Some of his tracks were burned onto
homemade cd-rs for sale at the local record shop or passed on to friends, wrapped in
handcrafted paper sleeves. One of these tracks found its way to Danish public radio and ended
up on their indie chart, “Det elektriske barometer”, where it stayed for eight weeks. Now,
Statler & Waldorf are proud to present Antifilm to an international audience by releasing his
debut album “IO”, which includes the summer hit “Here Comes The Son”.

Artist Biography
Released two albums “IO” and “Under” on CDr with handmade cover art in 2005 and 1999
respectively. “Here Comes the Son” was in top 10 on the Danish indie chart, for the maximum allowed 8
weeks, in 2008.

Reviews:
6/6 – Undertoner, Denmark

Track listing:
01 What’s With All The Stars
02 Drainage
03 Heavy Petting
04 Mado
05 Faster
06 Rondo
07 Ovenfra
08 Fumarie
09 I0
10 When The World Is A Better Place
11 Here Comes The Son

On one of the busiest streets in Copenhagen, there is a shop. Through the open door, one can
see a couple of old men sitting at a table, smoking cigarettes, and listening to old records.
They mostly sell old bicycles they fix and tidy up, but they will also repair your old watch (if
it’s mechanical).

On the wall, they’ve got paper clippings about frauds revealed and exposed,
pale lithographs, strange astrology diagrams, and an assortment of calendars. When there’s
not enough light from the window, the room is lit by a single lamp on the table. It is darkened
by cigarettes and dust. Through a small hole in the wall, one can see the workshop out back.
Antifilm is the alias of Thomas Bred, a 35 year old Danish musician living in Copenhagen. For
a while, he used to play a piano his neighbour allowed him to use provided he stored it in his
apartment. Nowadays, his studio is full of guitars and pedals, and his songs have a different
texture, but one can still hear that piano on some of the tracks.

Thomas has been making music for over a decade. Some of his tracks were burned onto
homemade cd-rs for sale at the local record shop or passed on to friends, wrapped in
handcrafted paper sleeves. One of these tracks found its way to Danish public radio and ended
up on their indie chart, “Det elektriske barometer”, where it stayed for eight weeks. Now,
Statler & Waldorf are proud to present Antifilm to an international audience by releasing his
debut album “IO”, which includes the summer hit “Here Comes The Son”.

Statler & Waldorf have asked selection of electronic acts to give their interpretation of hip-hop, resulting in a 15-track compilation (all tracks excluvsive to this release) as an example of what to expect from the sound of Statler & Waldorf in the future. Contributers range from international acts like Tilliander, System and Folie to local Dansih artists like Bichi (from Blue Foundation), Pellarin, Rasmus M¯bius and Melk.
The compilation ranges from the electronica-inspired sound of Aies, System and Sjˆberg, to a more dubby take from Tilliander, Brus and M¯bius and finishes with more edgy and dark tracks from Bichi, AntiChristian and +12db. Along the way Melk, Pellarin and Knaster delivers prime hip-hop tunes with a Scandinavian twist.

The CD is in hand-painted white/black/gold digipacks.

New release from Copenhagen high grade electronica label Statler & Waldorf. Nuff’ said.

The second release in the Oil on Aluminium EP trilogy, a series of techno experiments, comes from Danish producer Mikkel Meyer.

This is a new artist in the Statler & Waldorf artist family, but not a debutant. Mikkel was making radio shows for resonance.fm during a stay in London. He also spent a great deal of time in the legendary (former) recordshop Smallfish who released his first EP as an electronic artist on their affiliated label. The EP came out on 3î CD and sold out fast. This material and two new tracks are now available on vinyl with this Responge EP.

Mikkel works from an interest in translation and conversion of sound material. Specifically, by taking bits of jazz-records, clicks and hisses from inner loops of old vinyl records and homemade gizmos, and turns it into the most comfortable and friendly techno since Jelinekís ìLoop-finding-jazz-recordsî (2001). Most of the equipment used is old broken stuff Mikkel found in dumpsters and restored to new life in his basement studio in Copenhagen. Some of it he even built from scratch.

Not everything is techno on this EP. The b-side offers more groovy jazz-dubs, and the more uptempo tracks have been left on the two-track DJ friendly a-side.

Since his debut Mikkel Meyer has moved from introvert jazzy electronica, over spoken word, to hard upfront dubstep.

Straight from his plate we are served a solid meal, where freshness has beaten the jazzy flavors characterizing his previous work.

The working method has become faster, and you can feel that time has been reduced dramatically from when the ingredient leaves the chopping board to the dishes are served.

Mikkel Meyer has put together a 9-course menu with inspiration from his grandmother’s cookbooks, dating 40 years back to a time when you had to see a pharmacist to buy anything else than the three Danish standard spices: salt, pepper and bacon. With the immigration in the 70’s came exotic foods and spices and Danish cuisine was never the same.

In much the same way Mikkel Meyer’s music has been spiced up with contributions from USA and Tanzania. He has, so to speak, brought the world to his Danish melting pot, by inviting some of the greatest in the field, to flavor this album:

American “Non” from Shadowhuntaz in Chicago, who has been awarded numerous stars in the world’s guidebooks; Lufu and Chidi Benz from Tanzania, who both deliver Swahilian herbs to the table.

With the release of Bacon, you can mix up all the recipes in your own home or on the dance floor.

Pellarins second full-length sees him taking a whole different direction from his 2002 debut on Couchblip. Over the course of 6 deep, dubby, techno-ish tracks he explores the possibilities of a custom-built delay setup and one single sample. Always skimming around genres, itís never quite dub, never quite techno, but definatly deep and engaging. Nods towards Pan American and Porter Ricksí or Vladislav Delayís work for Chain Reaction are audiable, but Pellarins sound is also very much itís own. All tracks are recorded ìliveî, ie. not a predefined sequence, creating an evolving structure to the album and making it work more like a whole entity than a collection of individual tracks. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a very hot day.

The new album by Pellarin follows the same format as his first album on Statler & Waldorf “Athen” (2004). It seems a series of albums with a city theme is developing. This time itís ìGunds¯î—the area north of Roskilde where Pellarin grew up.

The only nuclear plant in Denmark “Ris¯” is located up there. Ris¯ís neighbour is the strange hill “Bolund”. It sits in the muddy fjord as a giant grass turtle, still asleep since its birth during the last ice age.

Pellarin had his first job in the cafe at “VintappergÂrden” ñ a rebuilt farm where huge busses full of elderly Germans arrived to look at dried/plastic flower decorations exhibited in the large quiet barns. Mozart was blasting out at hearing-aid volume during the few hours of visiting stampede. The rest of the time it was silent. Just Pellarin and the mice.

As a child, Pellarin and his friends used to build caves in the foggy moors of Gunds¯. Somehow many of the pieces that ended up on this album suit his memories from that time he explains. Now that the municipality reform of 2007 merged Gunds¯ with Roskilde, the name has disappeared.

The CD version of the album comes with a video created by Stefan Mylleager for one of the pieces (as Athen did). The long term audio-visual collaboration of the two has developed into an expansion of the ìbandî Pellarin with a confident visual aspect.

Contrary to previous Pellarin albums, ìGunds¯î features two tracks with vocals ñ one of them a traditional song performed by Jesper Henriksen, who previously worked with Rasmus M¯bius on material yet to be released. The other vocal element on the album is a middle eastern chant-like section in the track Iran.

The new album by Pellarin follows the same format as his first album on Statler & Waldorf “Athen” (2004). It seems a series of albums with a city theme is developing. This time it’s Gundsø—the area north of Roskilde in Denmark where Pellarin grew up.

The only nuclear plant in Denmark “Risø” is located up there. Risø‘s neighbour is the strange hill “Bolund”. It sits in the muddy fjord as a giant grass turtle, still asleep since its birth during the last ice age.

Pellarin had his first job in the cafe at “Vintappergården” in a rebuilt farm where huge busses full of elderly Germans arrived to look at dried/plastic flower decorations exhibited in the large quiet barns. Mozart was blasting out at hearing-aid volume during the few hours of visiting stampede. The rest of the time it was silent. Just Pellarin and the mice.

As a child, Pellarin and his friends used to build caves in the foggy moors of Gundsø. Somehow many of the pieces that ended up on this album suit his memories from that time he explains. Now that the municipality reform of 2007 merged Gundsø with Roskilde, the name has disappeared.

The CD version of the album comes with a video created by Stefan Mylleager for one of the pieces (as Athen did). The long term audio-visual collaboration of the two has developed into an expansion of the ìbandî Pellarin with a confident visual aspect.

Contrary to previous Pellarin albums, Gundsø features two tracks with vocals on one of them a traditional song performed by Jesper Henriksen, who previously worked with Rasmus Møbius on material yet to be released. The other vocal element on the album is a middle eastern chant-like section in the track Iran.

Pellarins second full-length sees him taking a whole different direction from his 2002 debut on Couchblip. Over the course of 6 deep, dubby, techno-ish tracks he explores the possibilities of a custom-built delay setup and one single sample. Always skimming around genres, itís never quite dub, never quite techno, but definatly deep and engaging. Nods towards Pan American and Porter Ricksí or Vladislav Delayís work for Chain Reaction are audiable, but Pellarins sound is also very much itís own. All tracks are recorded ìliveî, ie. not a predefined sequence, creating an evolving structure to the album and making it work more like a whole entity than a collection of individual tracks. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a very hot day.

The working thesis was to make a new sort of RnB for the experimental techno label Chain Reaction. Well aware that it would never end up anywhere near that, you can still find distinct elements from both worlds in the music:
Small samples of old hiphop, soul and hiphouse records show the respect back in time. Acidic 303 synth lines and experimental dub techniques pave the way forward in the techno tradition. Vocal lines dubbed to indistinctive atmospheric echoes and steady double-layered drum tracks reveal the Basic Channel affection.

Lars Pellarin and Kim Lenler met at Norberg festival 2003 where Statler & Waldorf were looking for contributors to the electronic hiphop compilation ëTeethí. One of the things that caught our ear was the act labelled +12db (a.k.a. Kim Lenler).

Kim Lenler has a long association with the Danish techno community as a DJ in the early 90s. Later moving on to more experimental music and noise-scapes, where he is investigating new developments at the moment. Being an active member and assisting organizer with the music organisation Subotnick brings a special niche-expertise. This, and Pellarinís weakness for pop and other works of art, fed the many nights of beer-fuelled dinners and playing records for each other. Somewhere along the way they agreed to start making music together, starting out with testing the homemade delay setup from Pellarinís previous album (Athen, 2003) in a cooperative context.

Everything is made as live recording sessions, resulting in an archive with more than 80 different recordings, and at least 3 different threads of styles. The editing and selection process has been as important and difficult as the actual recording and production.

To make the link between their electronic background and contemporary pop, various vocalists have been invited to join the project. They include:

∑ Raz Ohara (Kitty Yo, Ware, Kanzleramt, Huume),
∑ Danish band Antenne (Leaf, Korm Plastics, Orthlorng Musork, Staalplaat),
∑ Pernille Pang of Tigerbaby,
∑ and finally the album feature a highly original rendition of a song by Swedish “The Plan” (Majesty/EMI).

Den danske kvartet Printer startede egentlig som et rockband, men efter to uger stod trommeslageren bag et keyboard, og den daværende guitarist forlod aldrig sin laptop. Navnet Printer er en hentydning til sammenblandingen af analoge instrumenter og de digitalt producerede beats, der sammen skaber bandets specielle lydunivers.

Efter debut’en i 2003 med EPen ’Absence’, som blev godt modtaget i både Skandinavien og Japan, trak bandet sig tilbage for at arbejde på det egentlige debutalbum. I den tid der er gået siden ’Absence’ har lyden udviklet sig fra det mere skrøbelige indietronica i en mere beskidt og dansabel retning – dog stadig med plads til ambiente pop eksperimenter.

Techno/electronica-produceren Pellarins tunge og præcise beats, sangeren Mads Heins karakteristiske stemme, kombineret med bandets stærke keyboard- og guitarriffs, gør Printer til et band der taler både til intellektet og benene. Man kan høre indflydelsen fra New Order, Basic Channel og Prince, men Printers lyd er deres egen.

Ingen af os 4 Printer medlemmer har nogen sinde været på Ibiza. Dette vil ikke overraske dem som har hørt vores to sidste albums, som er en indadvendt leg med nyere elektroniske rock traditioner og eksperimenter. Da vi tog en pause fra optagelserne af vores ny album, besluttede vi at tage en ferie med en frivillig koncert på avant garde festivalen i Norberg, dybt inde i de Svenske skove. Vores nye materiale blev så godt modtaget af det dansk/svenske publikum, at det kastede en mindre ad hoc tourné af sig hjemme i Danmark de følgende måneder, booket på rygtet om koncerten den aften i svenskernes øltelt. Vi havde lavet vores første sommerplade.

Denne plades koncept blev aldrig diskuteret og udarbejdet som med vores tidligere albums. Sangene er lavet med dansegulv koncerter som bandets mål og det at have det sjovt i studiet som personlige mål. Da dette var et fælles ønske fra os alle 4 har det betydet at alle sangene er et konsistent og ærligt billede af hvordan vores live har været igennem det sidste halvandet år. Vi har simpelt hen aldrig drukket så mange bajere og danset så meget som under arbejdet med denne plade. Det betyder også at finansieringen har været lettere vanskelig, men heldigvis betød succes’en af vores Norberg-koncert at vi kunne tjene nok til at få indspillet færdigt og trykt den.

Printer is the sound of squeaking doors and crushing eggshells. Warmth and coldness, softness and dynamics. A unique act in the shape of a melodic indietronica band. They have been known for about a year as a curious and energetic live act, and they are now releasing their first EP.

íAbsenceí places it self between the emotional, physical and intellectual, and makes sure you are both moved, challenged and fascinated. Influential acts could be Funkstˆrung and Autechre for the electronic part, and by incorporating a more accessible and straight indiepop structure and vocal, bands like Mercury Rev and M˙m comes to mind as well.

The vocal is a key element in the sound scape, without dominating it. Sometimes beautiful sequences occur where the music might even sound like Sigur RÛs, but the evolving crunchy beats prevent stagnation. All in all Printer adapts every instrument and every sound to fit their sequences to make their sound seem like a constant redefinition of it self. Here, a blue guitar, there a cool groove and in the middle you find new electronic ideas and a charming naive vocal which keeps you from getting bored while listening.

Den danske kvartet Printer startede egentlig som et rockband, men efter to uger stod trommeslageren bag et keyboard, og den daværende guitarist forlod aldrig sin laptop. Navnet Printer er en hentydning til sammenblandingen af analoge instrumenter og de digitalt producerede beats, der sammen skaber bandets specielle lydunivers.

Efter debut’en i 2003 med EPen ’Absence’, som blev godt modtaget i både Skandinavien og Japan, trak bandet sig tilbage for at arbejde på det egentlige debutalbum. I den tid der er gået siden ’Absence’ har lyden udviklet sig fra det mere skrøbelige indietronica i en mere beskidt og dansabel retning – dog stadig med plads til ambiente pop eksperimenter.

Techno/electronica-produceren Pellarins tunge og præcise beats, sangeren Mads Heins karakteristiske stemme, kombineret med bandets stærke keyboard- og guitarriffs, gør Printer til et band der taler både til intellektet og benene. Man kan høre indflydelsen fra New Order, Basic Channel og Prince, men Printers lyd er deres egen.

Medicine Walk is the darling and solo debut of Danish producer Rasmus M¯bius. The title was coined several years ago, when working a temp job in a medical factory. Since then, the music and Rasmusí job situation has both evolved significantly. His much beloved, and influential reggae artists sing about the ìmango walkî they did when they went to work at the Babylonian plantations during the times of slavery, and so a contemporary parallel is set.

Drawing from the obvious influences of dub and hip-hop, Rasmus mixes these ingredients, adds a flavour of Brian Eno’ish black-box magic and a hint of jazz, and comes out with a very consistent, warm and steady album. The analogue feel is underpinned by inclusion of synth and trumpet players Nikolaj H¯i and Tav Klitgaard. Tracks vary from right-on steady head nodders to slowly evolving almost ambient tracks, always supported by the ever-persistent heavy bass line.

Rasmus has been producing music for several years, and has a long list of compilation contributions and remixes behind him. His sound has evolved over time, from clicky electronica to the insisting, dubby sound of his present album. His work as part of the dub-hop duo Melk has influenced his sound (and vice-versa) and helped define the solo work, although there are some very different qualities to ìMedicine Walkî.

Medicine Walk is the darling and solo debut of Danish producer Rasmus M¯bius. The title was coined several years ago, when working a temp job in a medical factory. Since then, the music and Rasmusí job situation has both evolved significantly. His much beloved, and influential reggae artists sing about the ìmango walkî they did when they went to work at the Babylonian plantations during the times of slavery, and so a contemporary parallel is set.

Drawing from the obvious influences of dub and hip-hop, Rasmus mixes these ingredients, adds a flavour of Brian Eno’ish black-box magic and a hint of jazz, and comes out with a very consistent, warm and steady album. The analogue feel is underpinned by inclusion of synth and trumpet players Nikolaj H¯i and Tav Klitgaard. Tracks vary from right-on steady head nodders to slowly evolving almost ambient tracks, always supported by the ever-persistent heavy bass line.

Rasmus has been producing music for several years, and has a long list of compilation contributions and remixes behind him. His sound has evolved over time, from clicky electronica to the insisting, dubby sound of his present album. His work as part of the dub-hop duo Melk has influenced his sound (and vice-versa) and helped define the solo work, although there are some very different qualities to Medicine Walk.