Figure Germany Vinilo y CD

Review: Under the Placid Angles alias, veteran Michigan-based producer John Beltran creates sublime ambient electronics which last year culminated in his third album under the alias for Len Faki's Figure imprint. Touch The Earth Remixes reins in some of the biggest names in house and techno for their take on selections from the LP. Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann brings 'Cha'kwaina' into slinky and hypnotic territory, while legendary IDM producers such as U-Ziq and Plaid take 'Beauty Begins With Us' and 'Natsukashii' respectively into new sonic realms, and Cassy's terrific rendition of 'Deep Blue' gets the Sunday night up at Panorama Bar treatment.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Torn outer sleeve, otherwise in perfect working condition***


Under the Placid Angles alias, veteran Michigan-based producer John Beltran creates sublime ambient electronics which last year culminated in his third album under the alias for Len Faki's Figure imprint. Touch The Earth Remixes reins in some of the biggest names in house and techno for their take on selections from the LP. Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann brings 'Cha'kwaina' into slinky and hypnotic territory, while legendary IDM producers such as U-Ziq and Plaid take 'Beauty Begins With Us' and 'Natsukashii' respectively into new sonic realms, and Cassy's terrific rendition of 'Deep Blue' gets the Sunday night up at Panorama Bar treatment.

Review: Stretched across three slabs of wax, Jeroen Search's "Monism" is as much a statement of intent as it is a suitably grandiose debut album. Like much of the Dutch producer's work, the majority of the material on show is the product of straight-to-tape improvisations with limited live editing. As a result, the 13-track set feels fluid, atmospheric and immediate, with the long-serving studio buff sashaying between spacey ambient soundscapes, shuffling deep techno, hypnotic peak-time workouts, crunchy and percussive club tools, Boards of Canada style IDM, Retro-futurist Low Countries slammers (see the old school R&S Records feel of "The One", creepy experimental electronica and leisurely dub techno explorations.

Review: When listening back to Ben Klock's music leading up to his One LP, it's clear Markus Suckut has drawn great influence from the Berlin producer - particularly "Pulse", "Subzero" and "Goldrush". Suckut's debut album on Len Faki's Figure label avoids the techno album cliche of "intro" and "outro", but the young German does curate his LP accordingly, beginning with a mellow "Dissociation", which leads into the sonic oomph of "Dust" - similar to "Grit" from his SCKT01 release. Spacious, dubby and stripped back drums then set the tone for the rest of the LP, with Suckut placing emphasis on groove and semantics, rather than brutish, Berghain, force. If there was a younger, 2013 reincarnation of a 2009 Ben Klock, Markus Suckut is it.

Review: Len Faki introduced a completely new compilation series to his label last year with the first edition of The Open Space series, featuring forward-thinking electronica and ambient music that is quite the departure from Figure's usually more dancefloor oriented material. The second edition once again brings together an array of respected producers, who present some of their most emotional compositions to date. Highlights come from: Detroit hi-tech soul legend John Beltran on the evocative deepness of 'Elevate It', KMRU providing a contemplative soundscape to truly lose yourself in on 'In A Distance', Faki himself flips the script and provides a rare downbeat expression on 'Flew Away' and Japanese hypnotic techno merchant Wata Igarashi provides an immersive and glassy-eyed piece titled 'Our Place'

Review: It's been a strange year, as you may have noticed. But rather than shy away from boldness, Figure takes a leap of faith and here starts a brand new compilation series that features "forward-thinking electronica and ambient from a well-curated list of seasoned producers." Across six sides of vinyl, the tracks often draw out a different side of the artists involved and results are always designed for wandering minds. Highlights are plentiful with Sebastian Mullaert offering up plenty of his mistiness, Berghian regular Len Faki finding a softer side on 'Find Your Way' and Moritz Von Oswald offering up the sort of lo-fi and grainy atmospheres you would expect.

Review: X-Ray Pop play live at Rockomotives Festival in 2020. The cult band was first formed back in 1984 by Didier Doc Pilot and Zouka Dzaza and are said to be inspirations for the likes of Beastie Boys and Stereolab. Their set at Rockomotives marked a triumphant return to the stage for the group with Charlotte Barfuss and Zouka Dzaza providing vocals, Doc Pilot on space guitar and Olivier Gicquel on drums amongst others. The setlist takes in tunes from four albums - Surrealistic Pilot, Fuzzy Soundtracks, All that Jazz and The Dream Machine - with psychedelic jazz mixed with novo beatnik overtones.