SM News

HARD COMING LOVE, VINYL


Das selbstbetitelte Debutalbum ist ein monolithisches Werk - wuchtig, episch und dringlich. In den sechs Songs schaffen Feedbacks Atmosphäre, die Elektronik rollt Klangteppiche aus und die Gitarren ziehen gewaltige Soundwände hoch, klingen dann aber wieder wie aus einer fernen Welt. Ein störrischer Bass und clever eingesetzte Perkussion komplettieren den unwiderstehlichen Mix.

HARD COMING LOVE verbinden Punk-Rotzigkeit mit den Klangexperimenten des Krautrock. Harmoniesüchtiger Westcoast-Sound trifft auf den tief empfundenen Blues des amerikanischen Südens. Zusammen schaffen sie Flow und Frieden mit sich und der Welt. «ROCK’N’ROLL WITH HARD COMING LOVE», heisst das Mantra. Das Album ist wie das Donnergrollen über einer verdorbenen Stadt, das Demut und Stille verlangt.

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The selftitled debut is a monolithic piece of work – massive, epic and urgent. Feedbacks set the atmosphere, vast expanses of music are rolled out electronically and guitars build towering walls of sound. And suddenly they sound as if they were far, far away. A bulky bass and cleverly placed percussion complete the irresistible blend.

HARD COMING LOVE combine punky snottiness with the experimental edge of Krautrock. Harmony addicted Westcoast-Sound meets deeply heartfelt blues of the South. In the mix, they catch their Flow and are at peace with themselves and the world. “ROCK’N’ROLL WITH HARD COMING LOVE” is the Mantra. The album is like thunder in the skies of a rotten city: commanding humility and silence.

NONGENETIC (OF SHADOW HUNTAZ) & COOPTROL "HEMISPHERES, VINYL


You want food for thought, his mind’s a banquet. He can be found running in the shadow across the sprawl of greater Los Angeles. A hungry, gifted MC, filling his gut on the fleshy under belly of hip hop, with a international standing.

• His eclectic styles are described as «vocal science non-fiction. Whether electronic or hip hop, Nongenetic finds homes in the undiscovered, rarely hear but never forgotten, idiosyncratic sounds of new music, be it on electronic or hip hop.

• NONGENETIC works worldwide with various labels and hip hop-acts (e.g. Shadow Huntaz’/Skam, Kitt-Yo) and is a favourite MC of many established producers such as CHRIS DE LUCA, ALEX SMOKE, PLATINUM SELLING ARTIST or FUNCKARMA. He regularly tours in England, Europe and Japan.

• Spezialmaterial is excited to announce the release of remix record of HEMISPHERES . In 2009 Cooptrol (Urugayan producer and Spezialmaterial artist) and Nongenetic teamed up to generate the ultimate hip hop and dubstep mixture. Dark and powerful music, in which bashing rhythms and huge basslines reinforce the relentless flow of mindpiercing words and food-for-thought lyrics. The vinyl contains the two original tracks as well as four remixes by the Spezialmaterial Acts. PERSON, FELDERMELDER and BIT-TUNER remixed “War”, INTRICATE created a new Version of “Revolution”.


FELDERMELDER is the one-man project of Manuel Oberholzer, director of a multitude of analogue and digital equipment, with which he roams the planet as part of various collaborations. As FELDERMELDER he creates music that was once aptly described as «the lost art of keeping a secret.

BIT-TUNER is one of Switzerland’s most innovative musicians today. His electronic music could be labelled dubstep since it pushes boundaries beyond hip hop and darkcore. He released four albums together with Swiss MC Göldin, worked with Omega Takeshi, audio88 and Sensational and composed scores for the dance theatre in St. Gallen.

PERSON (Michael Eberle und Dominik Brun del Re) create cryptically interlocking rhythms with sophisticated sound backdrops and fragments of melodies. Exploring the wealth of everyday noises, Person collect and file noises to then modulate and reintegrate them into their tracks. With pop-influenced arrangements as well as chaotic sound structures PERSON aims to expand the musical focus. So far, PERSON’S studio productions can be heard on two albums as well as on Spezialmaterial Samples 1 – 4.

The abstract duo INTRICATE is Thomas Federspiel und Fabian Stübi. Their four Albums on Spezialmaterial were released to great critical acclaim. Other projects were completed with Mark Broom (London) and released on Speaker Attack. In 2004, INTRICATE was commissioned by Pro Helvetia for a composition.

TOM HUBER "WALK THROUGH ELKO", VINYL & CD

Tom Huber is hooked on searching big melodies that will transport him to his favourite place: the nowhere somewhere in the middle of his head. It is not a sunny spot, a perpetual loop of autumn and winter. He finds comfort in dark and disturbing atmospheres and elegant beauty in the inscrutable, all of which he skilfully transforms into the theme music of a movie about a melancholic Gauloise Man in tattered trainers rescuing sheep on the steep slopes and misty plains of downtown notopia.

From hundreds of sketches he has now completed his second album “Walk through Elko”, 11 songs, each with its own distinct sound. The arrangements have become more elaborate, reduced and more precise. Dramatic teleguitars, conciliatory banjos, the occasional clarinet and a wistful, deep voice, all wrapped up in the sounds of a Roland JX8P synthesizer. The album was co-produced by Bebi Jegen.

MONOBLOCK B "TEATIME IN MEDELLIN B", CD

After the nocturnal odyssey, the original Zurich electropunk invites his dancers to a cruise through the dark catacombs far below the city. The echoes of faceless voices from the past, the present and the future recoil from the cold walls, you feel their breath on your neck, while the beat forces the gondola forward. It glides by secret gardens, you visit the museum of lost art, have tea at Café Medellin while listening to Monoblock’s stories. Of how he and his music had been lost, queried, found and lost again, found again, was stolen and eventually destroyed in the past seven years. But it all
ends well, in Room 63, where after a crazy trip, you peacefully fall asleep.

MONOBLOCK B "TEATIME IN MEDELLIN A", CD

You come round, in a dark grotto, in the middle of the dancefloor and it is announced that due to construction the electronic superhighway will be closed until further notice. So no escape; the candles are lit, a neon sign saying «sick and sonic» is flickering above the bar, where Absinth is served. The dance may begin. Pleasant shivers of a déja-vu runs down your spine as Monoblock B’s first crisp beats come over the speakers, the God of the Night rises. Complete immersion into melancholic melodies, delivered over uncompromisingly broken, gripping and dirty beats right at the pain threshold.

IT IS LIKE CHEWING ON ALUMINIUM FOIL, BUT MUCH BETTER.

The project of releasing a compilation featuring South American artists developed during long-standing exchange Spezialmaterial entertains with the South American electronic scene.

The result is a musical cross section of high quality. There are percussive latino-sampler attacks of Los Sampleros (Atom Heart) and clear cut electro voices of Original Hamster to enjoy. Or Zort’s galloping stutter-grooves and the ruminant noise clouds to discover. Alltogether it is probably the most interesting collection of contemporary electronic music in South America.

Limited Silkprint Edition - Double CD (500 Prints)

The fourth label compilation SM4 documents the expansion of the spectrum: acoustic song projects crossing genres, funky, dark, eccentric, simultaneously narcissistic and self-depreciating. A double CD containing 22 projects presents do-it-yourself in the next generation.

An oeuvre of more than 30 records with more then 50 national and international acts since 2000 is evidence of incorruptible quality awareness and checkless innovative spirit. With idiosyncratic sounds and technical savvy Spezialmaterial has won numerous prizes and gained much esteem in the international press.

Spezialmaterial is a whole package: With acoustically and visually impressive live presentation of their material, distinctive graphic design and visionary booking, the label has become a seal of approval for sophisticated culture.