s w e e t b e a t s
december.13.2000 - #373
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artist : Airlock
album : Drystar
year : 2000
label : One Little Indian
genre : Lo-Fi
catalogue : 724384994228
url : www.indian.co.uk
quality : CD 192k HQ True Stereo
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01.Drama 04:38
02.Slipinside 04:25
03.Face Down 03:55
04.Dj Risk Vs Airlock 02:59
05.Alpha 04:41
06.Drystar 03:55
07.In the Mouth of the Fish 04:29
08.Awakening 04:10
09.Quiet Hour 04:05
10.On the 2nd Floor 03:49
11.Escape 04:46
12.Sleepinside 05:50
12 tracks | 51:42 mins | 71,1 MB
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It's November 1997, and Scottish-born Esra Tasasiz is living in
Brussels, holding down a full-time job and hanging around a studio,
singing on house records in her spare time. One day, a mutual
friend introduces her to Pierre Mussche, Ernst Meinrath and Renaud
Charlier, collectively known as Musicom - three professional studio
types, crafting tracks of cool electronic ambience and atmospheric,
orchestral hip-hop, as soundtracks for adverts and films. Pierre,
Ernst and Renaud all met when they used to do the music for fashion
shows for the Antwerp Three, namely Dries van Noten, Ann
Demeulemeester and Walter van Bierendonck. The four strike up a
professional relationship for the purpose of recording a short,
commercial piece of music, but the chemistry is startling, and it
quickly becomes obvious that the tracks laid down in the sessions
work outside the confines of cinematography.
The four form Airlock, and around the confines of day jobs and
advert commisions, the chill beauty of 'Drystar' begins to take
shape. True, there's a precedent in the itchy DJ Krush-isms of 'DJ
Risk Vs Airlock', the edgy Underworld-on-downers atmospheric of 'In
The Mouth Of The Fish', or the Massive Attack-esque avant-garde
torchsong 'Awakening'. But Airlock's charm is the way they take
their expertise of a modern studio, their commercial nous - and
then slowly, surely twist such elegant compositions into alien
shapes.
During the making of 'Drystar', Airlock struck up a relationship
with cult film director Olvier Van Hoofstadt, and wrote some tracks
in conjunction with the making of three of his films - Keo, Snuff
Movie, and James-Bond-as-a-psycho-bitch-from-hell action thriller
Parabellum. 'Face Down', the composition that appeared on
Parabellum, crossed over onto European radio stations, and then
made its way across to British record companies as part of a demo
tape. Innundated with contracts, Airlock were spoilt for choice,
but eventually signed to One Little Indian. "We were impressed by
their laid-back style, their flexibility," explains Esra.
'Drystar' was painstakingly pieced together over two-and-a-half
years, featuring further production from Pascal Gabriel and Pete
Davis. Meanwhile, Airlock surfaced from their Brussels studio to
hone their live set, playing multi-media events in Belgian clubs.
Plans for a comprehensive European tour are still being thrashed
out, but expect Airlock to hit the road shortly after the release
of the album. --www.indian.co.uk
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s w e e t b e a t s
we're all about wigwams
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greetings to klangwerk, mgc, sour, dh, & impg
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