Minimal techno meets EBM – this is how Austrian based Electric Indigo describes the new album ‘Science’ by the newly formed minimal techno act TEGEL, based out of Sweden. And she continues “the music is rather deduced and raw, these are qualities that appeal to me”. Other who have had the chance to pre-listen to the new 7-track album has described TEGEL as “painfully talented” in their approach to minimal techno. The operators behind TEGEL have been active in the electronic music scene since the late 90’s and this album marks their first venture into the underground techno scene. One of the tracks, Radio, has gotten an exclusive remix by Electric Indigo – a track she choose based on the bassline in combination with the high pitched drones.
The album has now been released on all digital platforms, and will be available in a limited edition 4 page digipak CD on May 13th – pre-order the album via the Stereoklang Shop.
TEGEL explores the sonic experiences in everyday modern situations, both from a scientific and a human standpoint – examining how they came to be an essential pulse and rhythm in urban life. The works of industry and machines are instrumental in shaping these metropolitan worlds inhabited by faceless masses. Millions of people in endless pursuit of happiness, while performing monotone daily tasks. At night time though, things change and the sounds of the urban society morphs into the world of TEGEL.
When asked to describe their music TEGEL states:
“Noise, rhythms and voices are everywhere – they surround us and reach our ears as waves from past and present. These sounds are captured, in field recordings, or crafted by us, in memory of the sonic landscape we are all part of. Audio and music are in essence part of our modern day urban society consciously or unconsciously, and these sonic waveforms paints the feelings of individuals and mode of societies put in a universal perspective.”
On the new album, Science, TEGEL incorporates the aspect of the different forces in nature that, at the end of the day, shape our daily lives. In essence, just like the waveforms generated by industry and machines, the force fields that surround us are also integral parts of the inter-twined fabric we all share. Even the Universe has a voice, one that was captured by LIGO* and re-used by TEGEL as a tribute to the forces that, just like music, defines human life as we know it.
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool. Two large observatories were built in the United States with the aim of detecting gravitational waves by laser interferometry.
The initial LIGO observatories were funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and MIT. They collected data from 2002 to 2010 but no gravitational waves were detected. The Advanced LIGO Project to enhance the original LIGO detectors began in 2008 and continues to be supported by the NSF, with important contributions from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Max Planck Society of Germany, and the Australian Research Council. The improved detectors began operation in 2015. The detection of gravitational waves was reported in 2016 by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) and the Virgo Collaboration with the international participation of scientists from several universities and research institutions. Scientists involved in the project and the analysis of the data for gravitational-wave astronomy are organised by the LSC, which includes more than 1000 scientists worldwide, as well as 440,000 active Einstein@Home users as of December 2016.
As mentioned in the beginning the album Science includes an exclusive remix by Electric Indigo, who have been featured on Stereoklang before. She is an accomplished DJ, Techno producer, composer, experimentalist, and avant-gard artist – the labels we can put on Austria’s finest techno export, Electric Indigo, are many and they all blend well with the impressive back catalog of this forward looking artist.
With her roots working in Berlin’s finest record store Hardwax to today’s techno globetrotter Susanne Kirchmayr is a key contributor to the contemporary underground scene and her contribution on TEGEL’s album is no exception. In the interview with Stereoklang we get a good sense of her approach to music and perhaps a clue to why Radio became her track of choice:
“I love minimalist approaches to music, be it instrumentation, structure, performance setting or the concept behind a piece. Reduction or restriction can be essential. But I’ve always DJed techno, not “minimal techno”. Techno has a very wide definition for me, it can encompass soundscapes, industrial noises, melodies, jazz-infused vibes, various time signatures and rhythmic structures, vocals, etc. In my understanding, pushing genre definitions is as immanent to techno as the search for sounds. These characteristics should result in innovation, at least to a certain extent. Even though techno has become a kind of folk music, following certain traditions and practices, its most interesting manifestations bear the disintegration of these traditions. On the other hand, I must say that the effect (repetitive) beats and bass have on me has not diminished. So ideally, a good techno set or track can both stimulate intellectually and physically. Apart from that, I also love to watch how fellow artists, young artists develop, how genres evolve, how passion for music can overcome geographic location, political circumstances, social barriers. There is a strong social dimension in my interest for music. The exchange with other artists is a very important motivation for me.”
TEGEL about working with Electric Indigo: “It is a real privilege for us that she wanted to make a remix of Radio and we are very happy with the output. Instead of just reworking and do the obvious, she scraps the song to its bones and injects her sonic universe into it”.
So what happens next in the world of TEGEL?
“Our mission is to produce heavy minimal techno beats, captivating bass rhythms, and ambient soundscapes – inspired by the urban underground society, as TEGEL we want to deliver dark techno tracks with scientific precision and to continue colorize the hidden emotions and aspirations of the masses of mega-societies across the globe. If we’re lucky you will meet us in a club any time soon.”
ABOUT TEGEL
TEGEL is a Swedish minimal techno act with focus on experimental sonic experiences. The members have been active in the electronic music scene since the late 1990’s in different constellations, and this is their debut on the minimal techno scene. TEGEL has been working on their new album for over a year, both in their studio in Malmö and Stockholm, Sweden. Mix and master has been done by Stereoklang STHLM.
TEGEL – Science
Track listing:
Infinity
Mass
Radio
WArP
Logic
Gravity
Science (Live from AltFest)
Radio (Electric Indigo remix)
All tracks written and produced by TEGEL. Mix and mastering by Stereoklang STHLM
Photos by Ola Larsén, Petter Duvander and Allan Bank
All tracks recorded in Malmö, Sweden, except Science (Live recording from AltFest, 2016 by Stereoklang STHLM)
Remix of Radio: Mixed and produced by Electric Indigo (http://indigo-inc.at/)
Artwork: Ola Larsén / Johan Wejedal
Release: SP005
Label: STEREOKLANG PRODUKTION
SOME PREVIOUS RELEASES BY THE COMPOSER: