Hi Robin, it's been a while... On Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 12:40 PM Robin Pinning <robin.pinn...@me.com> wrote:
> Thanks for sharing Marsel. I‘ve been sorting out my collection recently > and it’s techno like this I hold dear. > > Robin > (Yeah I’ve been here since 1994 like a few others - no intention to leave) > > > On 4 Mar 2020, at 19:56, Marsel van der Wielen <mar...@nomorewords.net> > wrote: > > > > it's my pleasure Patrick > > > > hope you don't mind me sharing the liner notes > > > > == > > > > Florence / Wladimir M. Eevo Lute Retrospective liner notes by Oliver > Warwick > > > > “Discover how to dance. Discover how to move. Explore yourself. Move > yourself. Use all of your skills. Use all of your energy. Move yourself in > the music.” > > > > The message couldn’t have been clearer to anyone dropping the needle on > the very first transmission from Eevo Lute Muzique. In 1991, it was a > useful guide to have (from an Atari ST speech synthesizer, no less). From > the Detroit flash point to the early European adopters, techno was changing > month on month, and reaching uninitiated ears with every new outpost and > iteration. A little advice from our electric friends made clear this was > experimental music that required a little cognitive interaction. > > > > Of course all those tentative steps towards a European take on Detroit > techno manifested in the shadows of the pioneers, so it was significant > that both EEVO001 (aptly named U.S. Heritage) and EEVO002 received explicit > approval from the source via a licensed US release on Planet E. Carl > Craig’s label had only put out one single prior – his own seminal 4 Jazz > Funk Classics 12”, before opting to showcase this emergent sound from > Europe. > > > > That sound was the work of Stefan Robbers and Wladimir Manshanden, who > were embarking on a new adventure into electronics with Eevo Lute Muzique. > Florence was a new alias for Robbers, who was already one of the undisputed > pioneers of Dutch techno. His releases as Terrace inaugurated Eindhoven > institution Djax-Up-Beats, Saskia Slegers (Miss Djax)’s seminal > troublemaker of a label. The feeling from Eevo Lute was different though, > less indebted to gnarly Midwestern jack and more in thrall to Detroit’s > loftiest dreamscapes. > > > > Much like the Detroit pioneers though, the inspiration behind Eevo Lute > went back further than the late ‘80s. Robbers and Manshanden were drawing > on the synth-fuelled, lyrically-charged soothsaying of Anne Clarke, > Trisomie 21 and Pet Shop Boys as much as the pure machine messages of the > Belleville Three et al. It’s a quality that became one of the defining > factors of Eevo Lute’s early run, and in particular Manshanden’s techno > poems. This embrace of verbal expression lent a very human heart to the > music, and afforded them the chance to carry more overt political messages > in the music too. It’s a quality that carried through to the records > themselves – hand-drawn illustrations and graphics channeling the > counter-culture street energy of graffiti rather than the often-faceless > mystique of conventional techno aesthetics. > > > > Eevo Lute provided early support for many of the artists who would go on > to define Dutch techno in the ‘90s – Jochem Peteri (as Ross 154), Dylan > Hermelijn (as 2000 and One), Erwin van Moll (as max 404), David Caron and > more besides. There were others lighting the way too – it would be remiss > to ignore Jochem Paap releasing on Plus 8 Records as Speedy J as early as > 1991, or some of the other Djax-Up alumnus such as Random XS and Like A > Tim. But just as important was the growing international techno scene, > which Eevo Lute was naturally patched into. Beyond the aforementioned early > link with Planet E, Robbers and Manshanden were also exchanging ideas, > remixes and releases with the likes of Baby Ford, Kirk Degiorgio, > Underground Resistance, New Electronica and General Production Recordings. > > > > There were plenty of other styles that took shape as techno culture > spread throughout the world – some harder, some softer, some dafter, some > sterner – but this particular interconnected swirl of artists and labels > holds true to the original vision the Detroit pioneers had for the music > they were making. It wasn’t just music as function, but a vessel for > expression. Listen to any one of the tracks gathered here from the early > run of Eevo Lute’s archives and you’ll hear the synths speak as lyrically > as Manshanden’s vocals. The beats often skitter around the 4/4 meter, but > rarely feel beholden to the rigidity that could be found in other > iterations of techno. It’s also worth stressing this music had its own > particular slant. It would be hard to name a particular precedent (or > indeed descendent) of a track like “Robotica”, a veritable mess of crunchy > drum break samples and erratic monophonic blips that wrestled its own > groove out of the grid. > > > > Having these works gathered in one consolidated release across 10 sides > of vinyl, it’s easier to marvel at the coherence of what Robbers and > Manshanden were pursuing. The sound is joyous at times, moody at others, > but always rooted in the human experience. It’s a well-worn trope that the > best science-fiction is about people more than technology, and so it goes > here. Even at its most intricate, the emphasis is on composition and > narrative rather than sound design and studio trickery. That’s precisely > why the message reaches across the decades and still resonates. The same > goes for Manshanden’s poetry. The monologue at the beginning of “Planet E” > is a chilling case in point – a damning indictment of the state of the > world that feels even more grimly relevant in 2020 than it was in 1991. The > human race has been grappling with its own future since the industrial > revolution, and it’s up to artists like these to try and make sense of it > all with a necessary dose of compassion. > > > > “How can I live in a world where ‘to have’ seems to be more important > than ‘to be’?” > > > >> On 04-Mar-20 20:30, Patrick Wacher wrote: > >> Hats off to Mr Delsin for getting these two releases together... music, > packaging are just spot on. > >> > >> > https://www.delsinrecords.com/release/6266/wladimir-m/leaves-fallin-recklessly > >> > https://www.delsinrecords.com/release/6268/florence/analogue-expressions > >> > >> Thanks, > >> ⌘⌥P >
