Open today: 00:00 - 00:00

Demon State

Catno

MNSXLP004

Formats

1x Vinyl LP 180Gr

Country

Singapore

Release date

Sep 22, 2022

“There was something extra-political, extra-social, almost extra-human about it; it smacked of tidal waves, of natural forces . . . These emotions are my instruments.”
— Richard Wright, The Color Curtain: A Report on the Bandung Conference (1956)

The Observatory is one of those last few bands that can change and become your life. Stuck in Singapore, the wilful outlier of Southeast Asia, this ever-shifting group stubbornly evolves past its roots, most recently in an more improvisational, instrumental, and noise-adjacent territories in an EP with collaborator Haino Keiji.

In DEMON STATE, Dharma and Cheryl Ong plus Yuen Chee Wai continue The Observatory’s bold partnerships, this time with electronic musician Koichi Shimizu (IMPRINT). Together, they finally reach this long-gestating, total (yet I’m sure temporary), and rhythm-focused, electronic reinvention of The Obs—while briefly nodding to their past. The road is long; DEMON STATE is one pit stop in glorious hell.

Partly stemming from a casual, improv studio session with Koichi in early 2020, the eight tracks on DEMON STATE—their first release on the Midnight Shift label—were formed from a gradual accumulation of sonic layers; they were foraged, recycled, and pieced together remotely also from solo bedroom recordings, a historical sample, nonhuman beats and effects, as well as journals and junk.

A vinyl and digital release, DEMON STATE features the cover-art illustration of Enka Komariah (Senyawa, Raja Kirik). As they describe it, the “sense of wretchedness in this, the waste of capitalism, the evils of racial discrimination, the ever-spiralling mess, the awakenism of control” are confronted, head on in the band’s pattern, to disturb, comfort, confuse, worship, dance, rest, and resist.

Ultimately, the singular form of DEMON STATE refers to our personal, individual, and ineffable states of demonic possession. DEMON STATE embraces us in the independent space of The Obs, where we can be alone together. It offers its listener some type of solace, if not an exorcism. For when the devil has been in us for this long, who’s to say who’s possessing who, who’s whispering sibilant sounds in our ears, who’s wearing the mask, who’s not yet dead and who’s still alive? Who’s still fighting for a just world?

Available in 17 days

Sep 22, 2022

Media: Mi
Sleeve: M

17.99€*

*Taxes included, shipping price excluded

A1

Panopticism

A2

Demon State

A3

1-330

A4

Lichen

B1

Animal

B2

Imprisoned Mind

B3

Psyberia

B4

Demon State (Demonstrate Remix)

Other items you may like:

Acclaimed Trance producers Alpha Tracks and Oprofessionell team up as Kineta once again to present their first EP in a new trilogy of releases titled ‘Proto’. Written during relentless production sessions spanning a week in a secluded Mediterranean coastal town, the pair gathered an expansive constellation of music that is now ready to surface. ‘Proto’ effortlessly captures the creative symbiosis shared between the two producers while undertaking a journey through the realms of modern psychedelic dance music.
I met SUGAI KEN a few years ago in Tokyo, outside the Dommune radio studios. His personality and music, a very special brand, touched me. His music is a coded vision of a dream world. A trade that is progressive yet traditional - in the most positive sense of the word.Recently out of the blue, Sugai San sent me a collection of personal field recordings he made of folklore groups and public performances in Tokyo, Toyama, Kanagawa, Kyoto, Tottori, … The close listener already knows that Sugai San’s aesthetics speak of a great knowledge of these performing arts.An open invitation: “the traditional local performing arts in the 21st century intrinsically conceive “fragility” as they are vulnerable to extinction. The Japanese local performing arts that appear in this recording is no exception, endangered by the declining birth rate and aging population which are typical to the country. (SUGAI KEN)”I bring the original recordings into conversation with new elements (corresponding field recordings and or additional percussion and strings, performed by Antwerp musicians Jeroen Stevens and Roman Hiele) like a ‘monomane’ - tr. imitating – sound game. But when i throw these old and new figurines together on the podium, the objects immediately disappear in the cracks of the stage wood. Thus only the understament of the suggestion remains. And relentlessly the significance of every movement now becomes a question.Furthermore, what’s in focus? The manipulation? Or the content? Or are we zooming in on the aspect of archiving ~ preserving? Dubious.In KAGIROI – tr. heat haze - people coexist for a moment severely carved in time like a high contrast still of dancing flames. When you bring this composition home, it will never boil yet merely evaporate. And when you gaze at the clouds of condensed droplets inside your own darkness, on a soft volume, You complete our puzzle.SUGAI KEN - field recordings, liner notesLieven Martens - collage, additional sounds and field recordingsJeroen Stevens - additional percussionRoman Hiele - double bass, masteringKohei Oyamada - liner notes translation
Italian early Trance/House project from '93 brought back to life on Sound Metaphors Records, remastered and with full cover artwork.Originally released in 1993, this record is representative of the first steps towards what is now regarded as progressive trance yet still remaining very much faithful to the percussive fundamentals of house music with early tribal influences. This EP comes with 4 versions of the same production ranging from euphoric trancey no beat moments to full on percussive driven beats. This reissue is made in honor of the late Roby J. who participated in producing this project. Remastered for maximum output.
Kreggo on Furthur Electronix!
Original soundtrack from the Scam Planet story.
Stroom pull out two early Belgian Trance burners from '93. Tracks by FURYON & ANYMUS respectively. This is the the good shit. Mine's a Mitsubsihi.

This website uses cookies to offer you the best online experience. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of cookies.