Downliners sekt

Downliners sekt http://www.downliners-sekt.com/ Downliners sekt news en-us Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:18:00 +0200 Fri, 25 May 2012 17:17:30 +0200 info@downliners-sekt.com info@downliners-sekt.com New release: Meet the decline EP http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/29 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/animateddecline.gif" width="200px" /> Downliners sekt - We make hits, not the public EP 'Meet the Decline' is the third episode of downliners sekt's trilogy with Barcelonan bass music label disboot records in co-production with dsekt[dot]com. Lurching from a subbass drenched dream, Downliners Sekt continue to surprise, confound and delight with this, the final in their trilogy of 12'' explorations into shattered electric soul music. Having turned heads with their intense, abstracted and very personal approach to bass music in previous releases, this new record surprises us once more with the duo retracting their teeth, and baring their broken hearts in these 4 soul-filled gospel hymns for a technological apocalypse. Mutated guitars wind their way around hypnotic digital syncopations and ghostly choral textures, uplifting and menacing in equal parts. This is the third and final installment of a trilogy started exactly 12 months ago with the release of the surprising 'Hello lonely, hold the nation' EP which was followed 5 months later by a clear statement: 'We make hits, not the public'. Their new sound has seen rapturous critical reception, their audience growing leaps and bounds with the ongoing trilogy campaign, which, since the beginning, has received wide spread support. From radio bass evangelists like Mary Anne Hobbs and Rob Booth (both of them have commissioned exclusive mixes for their respective shows); to prestigious record stores like Sounds of the Universe and Boomkat (receiving category of single of the week on both places); having being positively reviewed by The Wire, Resident Advisor, Fact, Mixmag, Playground and many other magazines and webzines. The record has also received massive support from different artists around the world, among them The Bug (King Midas Sound), Joshua Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv), Mount Kimbie, King Cannibal, François K and Hollywood movie director Darren Aronofsky. 'Meet The Decline' is available worldwide from independent record stores and online retailers on 12" vinyl. You can download the mp3 version from the releases section. Enjoy and spread the word. Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:18:00 +0200 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/29 avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/28 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/animated8-large.gif" width="200px" /> They talked about 'We make hits, not the public': ....................................... "Best thing in electronic music right now" Joshua Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv) ....................................... "Finding the richest melodies and textures from the grimiest sounds from the gutter in both neon and candlelight; Downliners Sekt are definitely my pick of what's happening tomorrow." King Cannibal. ....................................................... "Downliners Sekt are generating huge excitement for their bizarro rhythms and advanced production, and frankly it's all justified. Somewhere between the haunted, misty dreamscapes of Burial and the abstracted audio science of Autechre, they've carved out a space all their own where jagged and confounding rhythm programming tangles up with lush sensuality. This EP is sharper-edged than predecessor 'Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation', and stirs cut-up R&B vocals into the mix, sounding like UK garage as transmitted from some malfunctioning interdimensional portal. Let Downliners Sekt rewire your brain" Joe Muggs @ mixmag, experimental record of the month, 5/5 ....................................................................... "We Make Hits, Not the Public is the second in a trilogy of physically-released EPs by Downliners Sekt, four tracks exploring the innermost mechanisms of electronic music. Gears grind, pistons slam, exposed circuity enervates by rerouting electricity into explosive dead ends, all that good industrial stuff. Not unlike Raster-Noton's recent output, the fastidiously mechanical music shares certain structural ideas with dubstep. However, the force with which these beats crash and skid on the warehouse floor packs a determined wallop far greater than even the deepest sub-bass caverns of London. As opposed to the unfriendly "industrial detritus" of preceding EP Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation, Hits feels more structured. Every track carries some sort of vocal melody, presumably sampled from any number of pop or R&B sources. They may be fragmented and occasionally encased in suffocating bulletproof glass, but they're melodies nonetheless. Downliners Sekt don't go about the typical route of dehumanizing androgyny or fashioning the anthemic and triumphant out of snippets, but rather use their siren songs to thicken the dread. On "White Dawn," a disconnected voice tremulously whimpers "I feel so cold"—it's too easy, too obvious and too effective. "From Under Spinning Lights" starts the EP off with subtle sputters, synths whirring in the background—until the swinging beat finally drops, brutal by anyone's standards. This is painful music. Probing tendrils of electricity snarl and spark, menacingly creeping up the sides. The softly cooing vocals exhorting that "love is real" from somewhere deep within the track's churning chambers are mocking, an ugly approximation of humanity from a hulking mech. Those electric currents combine with the beats for the startling "Incertia Gloria": Think five Reese basslines playing at once. But just like the previous EP, the final track shows the most progress: the potential energy of "Selfish G" is such that it sounds like the track is compelled to move, a violent thrust that nearly brings it down from within. Horns murmur in the distance and vocals babble meaningless phrases that ride the same unnatural horizontal trajectory; this mechanical beast isn't even pretending to be human anymore. As the track burns itself out, consumed by digital distortion flames, it becomes a question of whether or not Downliners Sekt vision is a dystopian reality or a nightmarish hallucination, but while their beats are playing, the thrilling terror—or awe—they inspire renders such matters meaningless." Andrew Ryce @ Resident Advisor ................................................ "Downliners Sekt dropped one of the most enigmatic and obtuse avant-dance records of this year with 'Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation'. It's taken them till the other end of the year to come out with this, 'We Make Hits, Not The Public' an assertive and pigeonhole-eluding four-track 12". We now know that they're based in Barcelona, but that makes no difference to their sound whose complex and contrary arrangements create a context all of their own. 'From Under Spinning Lights' sets out with restrained, airy halfstep/hiphop before billowing into Mount Kimbie-on-crack constructions with a well-heavy comedown, while 'Incerta Gloria' is much more jagged and rock-based, dynamically at least, with a surging loud/quiet aesthetic and boldly unique rhythm programming. The tumultuous, pitching, private rhythms of 'White Dawn' remind strongly of their awesome previous 12", again with the camouflaged vocal samples, before 'Selfish G' picks apart some cybernetic R&B joint and rearranges it on a 3D grid of collapsing rhythmic inversions. F*ck knows what this is, but it's brilliant". Single of the week. boomkat .................................................... "Barcelona's Downliners Sekt aren't afraid to wear their influences on their sleeves: The rattling percussion, basso grumble and distended R&B vocals come straight from the Burial playbook. But those tics have so quickly become widespread that originality is now less important than what you do with the materials. They definitely have their own spin, with a ghostly fusion of dubstep lurch, Basic Channel reverb and dark menace. Even when Portishead-like blues come into play, the emphasis is on uneasy listening . The duo craft some of the most confusing beats possible, caught between hiphop, early Kompakt and dubstep at its most imploded. Gravelly patterns collaps around the downbeat, leaving the music to crawl across the rubble like a wounded animal." Philip Sherburne @ The wire .................................................................. Not sure who Downliners Sekt is, or are [well, we now know there's two of them - Ed], but I am a fan of the Ardkore unspelling. More than that, I am a massive fan of all 20 minutes of this EP. Sold to your reviewer as ‘it sounds a bit like Autechre’, I am getting something entirely different from it. I’m not sure how best to put this subtlely and without causing offence, but at times it’s very reminiscent of a certain erstwhile Anonymous Producer, whose moniker brings to mind a submerging, whether in the ground or at sea. You be the judge, but the suspended-in-fog ambience, choked eighth-step beats and depressed rave diva vocal sample suggest opener ‘From Under Spinning Lights’ could quite fairly be dubbed ‘Phantom Hardware’. Less overtly robo-emo than Burial, the ‘Sekt twist the vox a tad more, so this does actually sound rather like a brave set of techno archaeologists went rummaging in Tutankhamen’s crate and found themselves confronted by the unsettled ghost of Nightcrawlers’ ‘Push the Feeling On’, its lost soul shambling around, its chains clanking rhythmically on the cold, hard concrete floor. What’s interesting is that sometimes the beats don’t flow as easily as they could – and it’s an intentional lack of flow that really adds to the mix, when normal beats would have been easier to pull off. ‘Incerta Glòria’’s looping rhythm sounds like its one beat never gets a chance to complete: it shuffles and twists, trying desperately to reach the dancefloor, but a muted beep ends its efforts, damning it to replay for the duration, never quite achieving satisfaction. It’s like a techno-ancient Greek punishment; Tantalus of the underwater dancehall, always straining for that fruit, hanging just out of reach. It’s awesome, as is ‘White Dawn’, whose patchwork rhythms and ‘I feel so cold; so alone’ hook talking in cryogenic sleep, frozen in a nightmare in which it’s dreaming it’s on Venetian Snares’ Rossz csillag alatt született; a song like this could fit, quite comfortably, tagged on the slab with ‘Öngyilkos vasárnap’. The best is saved for ‘Selfish G’, almost an issue of ‘What If?’ focusing on the fantasy scenario of ‘Timbaland still being good’. On this song, Downliners move from the (justified) adoration of Todd Edwards on too much cough mixture, as the vocal ghost in the machine is here joined by some backing ghouls. Still the beats tick, tock away like an ever-present reminder of musical mortality, while the vocal arrangement sounds for all the world like it could be Aaliyah. And it very well could be, in an alternate universe where the late chanteuse doesn’t die, and Timbaland and his steroid habit don’t end up working with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado. ‘What if’, indeed. Robin Jahdi @ Fact .................................................................................. Earlier this year I heard for the first time these Spanish dudes Downliners Sekt on Disboot with the 12 inch Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation. It’s a curious mix of sounds combined with deep bass. Sounding something like Mount Kimbie over Shackleton rhythms with some Porter Ricks memories. Very beautiful but for that moment to deep (I was longing for sunshine). This new record is even thicker on the bass but as edgy as the previous. Rolling bass covering the basis of opening track From Under Spinning Lights. It’s topped deep space echo’s covered with subtle voices and a chorus (straight out of deep techno but so different). Incerta Glòria has this stuttering beat start like we know from Autechre but the color is deep, again. The use of different contrasting layers is pure listening pleasure. Selfish G is so strong balancing between styles some hip hop, some broken, dub techno, dubstep, IDM A big big nodder leaning heavy on the wave which it creates. And then the dirt, the blades hit you, penetrating your ears over the pounding bass. Some big mtfckn’ track this is: epic squared! Closing track White Dawn is enchanting. So rich in details creating instant memories, references and at the same time telling it’s own story. This is deep. We make hits, not the public is the second episode of Downliners sekt‘s trilogy with barcelonan bass music label Disboot Records in co-production with their own label. The beautiful artwork by Mar Hernández a.k.a Malota (Lowriders Collective) ............................................................. It’s only now, with the gift of hindsight, looking back through their discography and at the time they were constructed, that it becomes so evident how far ahead of their peers the group was, and are now. On We Make Hits... the poignant roughness of tracks like ‘From Under Spinning Lights’ seeps out in fits, with the jagged edge of the chorus juxtaposing the layered vocals – that are actually just layered, and multi-tracked rather than chopped into fragments and rearranged into make shift sentences in that way so many producers seem to be fond of doing. ‘Incertia Gloria’ hits heavy with electrified kick drums piercing though the current, whilst ‘White Dawn’ paces things slower, making the most out of the sparse percussion and high pitched vocals and ‘Selfish G’ flutters impatiently, almost amplifying the aching anxiety of the whole release with its roughly sampled pads. Making music from such a broad palette can be daunting at times, having too much of a wealth to draw from can sometimes produce a work thats not streamlined enough to work as a whole, but Downliners Sekt make their genius sound casual. The perfect mix of the rugged and raw and the resplendent. (Oli Marlow @ Sonic Router) ............................................................ Hits, in the literal sense of the word, they don’t make. But Downliners Sekt know perfectly well how to make music sound like they want it to at any given moment. Few producers out there are capable of changing registers with so much competence, at will, without warning and with such good results like the French-Barcelonese trio. The second chapter of an EP trilogy, started with “Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation” in June, this is their most surprising and unexpected material effort in a long time. First, because the post-rock band format that has traditionally served them as foundation, has now turned into pure liquid electronica. What remains is the ability of abstraction to sound like an alternative reality. It’s no longer a balance between the digital rock of Radian, the steep IDM of Autechre and the precisely cut beats of the Californian school, but a step ahead towards an aesthetic that fits D-Sekt perfectly; urban melancholy, crepuscular music that emphasises the dark angles of the architectonic constructions; music that is more emotional than technical to listen to while walking the cold and empty streets in Autumn while the leaves of the trees come down around you. A feeling summed up on “From Under Spinning Lights” and “White Dawn”, which find themselves in Burial and Pangaea territory, but always with an unpredictable movement, random, towards zones of noise and mathematic algorithms. “Selfish G” also uses superficial digital noise as way to camouflage influences from drum’n’bass and sweet R&B, but if there is one moment that sums up the whole EP, it’s “Incerta Glòria” (the title of a famous Catalan novel by Joan Sales), meeting point between tamed breakcore and emotional dubstep that takes “We Make Hits, Not The Public” –a title taken from a dialogue from the film “The Harder They Come”– to an amazing level of excellence. The third part of the trilogy could go down in history at this rate. Javier Blánquez @ Playground ......................................................................... Enigmatic Spanish electronic music collective Downliners Sekt were responsible for what was pretty much my favourite album of 2008 when they released ‘The Saltire Wave’, a jawdroppingly impressive and diverse collection that saw them venturing from from dark cinematic atmospheres through to ferocious walls of noise-rock distortion. This latest four track EP ‘We Make Hits, Not The Public’, released through their own dsekt[dot]com label in conjunction with Barcelona bass imprint Disboot forms the second part of trilogy that started with their release of their ‘Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation’ EP in early 2010, and sees them taking proceedings to a different stylistic place entirely, through the collective’s penchant for dark broken electronic textures remains firmly intact. Gone however are the more overt rockist influences, with the massed treated guitars of ‘The Saltire Wave’ now replaced by an aesthetic that leans more towards fractured post-dubstep structures and ghostly soul. ‘From Under Spinning Lights’ sees a relentless, clattering half-step rhythm drag itself through the mix with an almost palpable sense of weariness as eerily beautiful fragments of a female vocal flit above, only for things to suddenly lock down into rumbling tribal beats as vast dubstep bass swells lock in around the steel-trap snares, the entire track calling to mind the likes of Lorn and Eskmo more closely than anything else with its heady fusion of beauty and menace in equal parts. ‘White Dawn’ turns the brooding darkness up a few notches further, sending an eerily pitch-shifted female vocal sliding over a juddering backbone of clattering, off-centre snares and ringing metallic accents that sees things taking on a distinctly post-Burial feel as buzzing electronic noises add an unsettling yet hypnotic edge, before ‘Incerta Gloria’ sees grinding metallic beat textures and vast washes of synth bass bumping beneath digitally cut-up soul vocals and rapid-fire edits, in what’s easily this EP’s most contorted RNB-esque moment, mournful synthetic orchestration and all. Finally, ‘Selfish G’ closes proceedings off with a menacing wander out into mechanical dubstep-meets-dancehall beats and spooky sub-bass swells that would sit comfortably alongside King Cannibal or Amon Tobin’s sinister atmospherics, the spectral background vocals sounding like a faulty radio transmission that’s struggling to make its way through the noise. Suitably epic and impressive stuff – you can get ‘We Make Hits, Not The Public’ either as a vinyl 12” from Disboot, or as a free download from <a href="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/.">http://www.downliners-sekt.com/.</a> Chris Downton (cyclic defrost) ........................................................................ Hugely dark, broken and emotive music has been hard to come by in the past year, mostly due to the party aesthetics that new producers seem keen to build on (which is not a bad thing, just tiresome sometimes). However, duo Downliners Sekt. have been quietly releasing free EPs and albums on their website over the course of a few years now, and whilst most free albums often get wrongly mislabelled as not good enough to be bought, every single one here deserves to be digested. From the post rock fuzz of debut Saltire Wave the duo have always been difficult to really listen to, but one soon realises that sometimes unfriendly rhythms are the most rewarding. The distorted beats and grooves of their records almost swing at ‘dubstep’ tempo, but they owe more to the post-everything aesthetic of Warp records stalwart Chris Clark. Those who enjoy the lurching, bass heavy side of dubstep may feel at home here but for those who have ever stayed late at a club, along with heavy eyes and epiphany type moments, will understand the broken rhythms and rising chords complement their ‘late-night music’. Cinematic programming and both sung and sampled vocals play their part well, but only through subtle usage, often coming through only slightly yet totally overshadowing the dread vibes of the beats and bass. The last two releases Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation and We Make Hits, Not The Public explored the popular crucifixion of R&B vocals, but here they sound at one with their landscape. They are perfect places to start and both are available for free on their site: www.downliners-sekt.com. Their adaptation of the dark often comes coupled with rays of light, similar indeed to Burial, but whilst comparisons are always surface level, Downliners Sekt. will almost certainly stay pressurised below it. Future sound temporary ......................................................................... Downliners Sekt “We make hits, not the public” 12″, Disboot, 2010 Downliners Sekt have been quietly making some of the finest music to come out in the last couple of years. “We make hits, not the public”, available to download free from their site, or for purchase on vinyl, is a heady blend of influences thrown into a psychedelic melting pot to create a hazy bassed-out experience. After listening to so much identikit dubstep and bass music this year, a release like this sounds unbelievably fresh and dangerously competent. [10/10] Connexion bizarre ............................................................................. Autechre and Burial are solid points of reference on this new EP from Downliners Sekt, but there's something else going on here, and it's miles away from a dance floor. This is Lego music without any instructional booklet, created by two unknown gentlemen who want to keep anonymity one of their top priorities in 2011. And much like Legos, DS build upon ideas that fit in one way yet might look like an architectural mess for another. For example, "Incerta Glòria" is a clunky production line of electronics and looping; very mechanical and rigid yet wobbly. The track's inability to reveal any specific hook is its magnet. As awkward as this entire EP is at times it also forces you to think about music from it's basic building blocks and appeal. Why do you listen to certain types of music? What are the basic, primal sounds you can't live without? At what point in a song do you feel completely committed? surfing on steam ........................................................................ Os Downliners Sekt jogam com os limites do dubstep, e pretendem ficar na periferia eles próprios. Não sei quem são, donde vêm, o que calçam, e isso não interessa nada. Bem mais interessante é a forma como as paletas monocromáticas do som de We Make Hits, Not The Public (ultimo EP) nos fazem reflectir sobre as origens do género, e a sua inclinação natural para os jogos de silêncio. Se a força do dubstep é o poder da ausência e antecipação – desde Kode 9 a Skrillex, vá – então as faixas deste duo são um tratado selado, que assegura a lealdade a um ideal de fazer o mínimo, com o máximo. O aparecimento do genial (mão ->palmatória) James Blake re-introduziu a mini-saia na aldeia, mostrando que o potencial do silêncio se pode estender a toda uma frase, se isso for necessário para produzir uma sensação. Os Downliners Sekt, por seu lado, preferem o toque físico da matemática, o nirvana atingido pelo constante baralhar das nossas expectativas, por vezes com uma brutalidade quase industrial. Dão-nos assim algumas das melhores coisas que ouvi nos últimos meses, como esta Incerta Glòria (sic), segunda faixa do EP que, assim como todos os seus outros trabalhos, disponibilizam para download gratuito no site do projecto. Os Artistas ainda andam aí, portanto. Anita vai au mel ................................................................... Напоследък чуваме дъбстеп от най-различни места - реклами, филми, поп изпълнители и в мола. Радваме се, дори много, особено ако това накара хората да се разтърсят и разровят за нещо повече от най-популярното в момента. Случайно забелязахме един линк в Twitter, който Mary Anne Hobbs беше пуснала, към албума на Downliners Sekt. Колкото и голяма клюкарница да е Twitter, толкова често попадаме и на страхотна информация там. Това, което чухме от колоните, след като цъкнахме на връзката, ни изненада ужасно приятно. Далеч от шумящия край на музикалния спектъра, това EP от Барселонските музиканти ще ви изненада с доста приятно експериментално звучене - хипнотични ритми, ефирни вокали и извънземни синтове. Перкусиите в траковете балансират ловко между глич елементи и нормални ударни инструменти, а вокалите... просто ги чуйте, няма да съжалявате. <a href="http://www.stashbg.com">http://www.stashbg.com</a> ............................................................................ Das beharrliche Ausschweigen über geographische und musikalische Verwurzelungen sowie über Identität und Quantität einzelner Mitglieder ist ebenso Bestandteil der geheimnisvollen Selbstdarstellung von DOWNLINERS SEKT, wie die wiederholt und nachhaltig bewiesene musikalische Unangepasstheit und Wandlungsfähigkeit. Auf die treibenden, rohen Beats des 2005er Debütalbums “Statement Of Purpose” und die fummelige Ruhelosigkeit der Outtake-Zusammenstellung “Still Engine” folgte 2008 das gitarrenlastige, post-rockige “The Saltire Waves”. Während diese beiden Alben von den groben Grooves und immerpräsenten Distortion-Sounds leben, zeigen sich DOWNLINERS SEKT auf ihren beiden aktuellen EPs soundtechnisch entschlackt und kanalisiert. Wie als Gegenentwurf zu der aalglatten Endlos-Party-Ästhetik, auf die viele Produzenten elektronischer Tanzmusik derzeit zu bauen scheinen, liefern DOWNLINERS SEKT mit “Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation” und “We Make Hits, Not The Public” abgefahrene Groove-Dekonstruktionen. Sounds aus Dubstep-Gefilden werden in anspruchsvoller Kleinarbeit zu komplexen, manchmal polyrhythmischen Strukturen zerlegt. Die rastlose Bearbeitung der Tracks mit Gegenbeats sorgt für ständige Hörstolpereien. Das Einbinden von R&B-Gesangs-Samples liefert eine weitere wirkungsvolle Klangdimension. Als Release-übergreifendes Element ist der Musik von DOWNLINERS SEKT die düstere, gelegentlich klaustrophobische Atmosphäre geblieben. Sämtliche bisherigen Veröffentlichungen von DOWNLINERS SEKT sind auf der Bandwebsite als Gratisdownloads zu finden. Die beiden aktuellen EPs “Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation” und “We Make Hits, Not The Public” sind Anno 2010 als die ersten beiden Teile einer EP-Trilogie vom spanischen Label Disboot jeweils auf 12″-Vinyl veröffentlicht worden. <a href="http://www.klangverhaeltnisse.de">http://www.klangverhaeltnisse.de</a> ....................................................................... I first read about Downliners Sekt on Boomkat, popped their EPs in my crate, and then promptly forgot about them since my low bank balance cockblocked the purchase. I didn’t know much about Downliners two months ago, but I remember hearing the same claustrophobic rhythms and burdened vocals that initially attracted me to Autechre and Burial; add my fetish for crackle and static ambience, and I was sold. I didn’t know then that www.downliners-sekt.com has all of the elusive group’s past and present material for free download under a Creative Commons license, nor had I discovered the FAQ detailing their music’s mission statement, the boon of netlabels, the realities of a dying industry, and what good can come from a devotion to one’s art and craft. A few days ago, FACT wrote up a positive review of the newest release, called ‘We Make Hits, Not The Public,’ and I was reminded of the compelling music I’d let gather dust in my Boomkat virtu-cart. For fans of T++, Shackleton, Autechre, and most other IDM/antidancedancemusic/future bass projects, don’t sleep on Downliners Sekt. Their compositions are aural patchwork quilts, combining dark and dusty elements to please the headphone enthusiasts and driving rhythms and bass to get the open-minded club-goer dancing along. Pieces of samples litter each track, turning just another IDM beat into a suffocating experiment on the last two decades of dance music. The ambiguity of identity behind this project adds to the apocalyptic futurism of the music, so much so that it had me consider the idea of a non-existent, unavailable personal of the artist that Burial popularized, Aphex toyed with, and many other acts are embracing. Here we have another effect of the dying music industry: the “rock star” persona is not sought after, the limelight is abhorred, and the art is all that can get attention. The mass of bandcamps, soundclouds, netlabels, and free downloads have all but erased the quality filter that once controlled all musical output when the big-wigs dominated, for better and for worse, and now with that comes the crumbling of the artistic ego, in many cases willingly employed and accepting by upcoming talent. So far, I haven’t seen any negative repercussions. the kort .......................................................... Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:31:00 +0200 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/28 Interview and new track at FACT Magazine http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/27 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/factlongbanner.gif" width="200px" /> A really in-depth conversation we had with Andrew Ryce published at FACT Magazine where we freely talk about railways break-of-gauge, jamaican cult movies, gloomy fisher towns, hollywood white collar scams, dealers tricked into sell K, and other key points in our career. We also talk about music a little bit. <a href="http://www.factmag.com/2011/01/07/new-talent-downliners-sekt/">http://www.factmag.com/2011/01/07/new-talent-downliners-sekt/</a> And don't forget to download our new track called Club kids'97 also hosted at Fact Mag website: <a href="http://www.factmag.com/2011/01/05/download-an-exclusive-track-by-murky-trailblazers-downliners-sekt/">http://www.factmag.com/2011/01/05/download-an-exclusive-track-by-murky-trailblazers-downliners-sekt/</a> Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:54:00 +0100 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/27 New release: We make hits, not the public EP http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/25 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/hits-animated-news-.gif" width="200px" /> Downliners sekt - We make hits, not the public EP 'We make hits, not the public' is the second episode of Downliners sekt's trilogy with barcelonan bass music label Disboot Records in co-production with our own label dsekt[dot]com. This, our sixth official release, follows the critically acclaimed 'Hello lonely, hold the nation' EP which since its release in May 2010 has received wide spread support. From radio bass evangelists like Mary anne Hobbs and Rob Booth (both of them have commissioned exclusive mixes for their respective shows); to prestigious record stores like Sounds of the Universe and Boomkat (receiving category of single of the week on both places); having being reviewed by The Wire, Resident Advisor, Playground and many others magazines and webzines. The record has also received massive support from different artists around the world, among them The Bug (King Midas Sound), Kid Kameleon, François K and Hollywood movie director Darren Aronofsky. 'We make hits not the public' will be available worldwide from independent record stores and online retailers on 12" vinyl. ..................... "look sport, the next time you decide to cut a record just remember: everything has to pass trough me. I make the hits, not the public. I tell the dj's what to play" (from the movie 'The harder they come') Mon, 22 Nov 2010 15:38:00 +0100 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/25 Exclusive mix for Electronic Explorations http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/26 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/EE-banner.gif" width="200px" /> Music For Those in a Captured Audience. (Electronic Explorations mix) After the critically acclaimed release of 'Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation' last May and done with the production of 'We Make Hits Not The Public', this proposition from Rob Booth gave us the opportunity to rearrange some of this material and also start working on new ideas. This mix is a true reflection of what we are developing now for the final chapter of the trilogy of 12" EPs started this year with disboot records. What you're about to hear is all original downliners sekt music coming from two weeks of hardcore live jamming with our own material although here and then you may found some very obvious references from the likes of Boards of Canada, Rhythm and Sound, Kemal & Rob Data, My Bloody Valentine, Massive Attack, Murcof, Biosphere, Jamie Lidell and Preston Parker. This will give you some hints on what to expect both on new releases to come and also on live performances. You can grab it here: <a href="http://electronicexplorations.org/the-show/127-downliners-sekt/">http://electronicexplorations.org/the-show/127-downliners-sekt/</a> Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:31:00 +0100 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/26 avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/24 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/animated8-large.gif" width="200px" /> They talked about 'Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation': "grosse déception" (some guy on a message board) "best production I've heard in ages" (Rob Booth) "this is really exquisite, I absolutely love it Negative green it has been going down a STORM with my listeners." (Mary Anne Hobbs) "This release is one of the most interesting/beguiling/fascinating things I've heard in a long long time. Best elements of James Blake, Flying Lotus, DJ Spooky and Rhythm and Sound all rolled into one in a way I haven't ever heard before" (Kid Kameleon) "Respect!" (Kevin 'The Bug' Martin) "This Barcelona group's beats have a unique way of slurping forward from one pattern to the next, as if encased in a biological sac while a miasma hangs around them like the dim, grim light from a deep-sea creature. The slurp, thought, helps hold their beats together however uneven they might be, so unlike most of latterday Autechre - who they at times resemble beneath the slippery surfaces - this movement feels like actual dancing of a sort. DJs might balk at the 5/4 signature of "Negative Green", but the subterranean scrabbling of " Dirty Meinz" and the Burial-in-delirium feel of "U Gumbu" have a very real bodily appeal that's hard to stop getting under your skin." (Joe Muggs @ The Wire) "Four immense groove deconstructions from the shadowy cast of Downliners Sekt landing somewhere between Autechre, Rhythm & Sound and T++. It's fair to say we're a little intrigued with this record, not least because of the willfull lack of information attached to it, but also because the production is so shockingly precise and complex. First up 'U Gumbu' starts out sounding like Autechre's 'Pro Radii' mixed with the sort of funk and soul displacment of James Blake's 'Air & Lack Therof' before lapsing into a crackling dub groove almost worthy of Rhythm & Sound's 'Distance'. Next 'Dirty Meinz' calls for the T++ comparison with mechanically shifted post-garage techno styles swamped in psyche-tumbled static while acousmatic voices croon from the ether. Meanwhile 'Inside Maverick's' takes a different route with distant bomb-drop bass implosions and shivering organic jazz percussion sinking slowly into a tense and ominous K-hole. Applying the finishing touch, 'Negative Green' finds a graceful tension between ultra compressed bass weight and wide-open dub space threaded with ethereal jazz signatures reminding of Biosphere's 'Dropsonde' set mutated to the nth degree and spliced with vocal glossolalia worthy of Burial. We're really, really into this 12" and any fans of hi-calibre, beats-driven electronica should pay it their full attention without fail. Highest recommendation. Single of the Week" (Boomkat) "The final track on Downliners Sekt's fourth EP features a vocal sample about how bass frequencies can heal the mind, followed by the return of an ear-splitting percussive pattern. There's something to be said for the disconcerting unease of "spooky" electronic music by the likes of Demdike Stare and Focus Group, but Montreal's Downliners Sekt take this aesthetic idea to a more mechanistic place, building tracks from hunks of industrial detritus and splinters of discarded steel, beats that sound like they could be composed of both factory machinery and the flinty click of malfunctioning lighters. The industrial symphony of "Dirty Meinz" suddenly sidelining itself in favour of a vocal breakdown is like some bizarro Disney movie where the machines come to life and playfully scare the shit out of unsuspecting people. Their fourth release, Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation, is the first to be picked up by an outside label. But it's by no means a compromise. Beginning with near formlessness, "U Gumbu" sets forth a torturously deliberate beat that lurches over what sounds like a crackling fire pit. (They give us flames instead of basslines, but even those are maddeningly inconsistent.) Later, on "Inside Maverick's" it sounds like the flames overtook the hardware somewhere in between songs as blackened, hollowed-out beats sound off resignedly, carrying with them the intrinsic heat of the flames without any of that brilliant light that usually goes along with them. Indeed, this EP deals in various shades of darkness, starting with complete black and progressing until the final track wherein the elements finally come together to form something that sounds vaguely like a dubstep track. The assembly-line beats coalesce into something familiar, with streaks of light emerging in between the cracking facade like water trickling through imperceptibly fractured rock." (Andrew Ryce @ Resident Advisor) "I’d never heard of this individual (individuals?) before, but rest assured that I will be watching vigilantly for future Downliners Sekt releases. This is the sort of strange music that mostly defies categorization. The best way to describe this EP is that it has the bleak, jagged sensibility of Burial, with The Ghosts of Electronic Music Past drifting feverishly through its veins – indecipherable, androgynous vocals, film samples whose timbre and placement hearken back to hip hop and early jungle – but where Burial’s music is raw, unpolished and deeply emotive, these tunes are polished, intentional and altogether quite inhuman-sounding. In that respect I was reminded by all four of them of the second track on Sigha’s Rawww EP, “Hold Your Heart Up To The Light”- an almost arrhythmic amalgam of ghostly, angular sounds. Though most assuredly not for the dancefloor, “Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation” is an EP of absolutely fascinating music, and this is one thoroughly impressed music nerd" (ultraesthetic) "Quite possibly the strangest rhythmical construction I've heard all year, and there's been some weird shit come out recently (see Autechre above), found on a recommendation from my friend M. Over nearly seven minutes, the track unfolds - beginning in media res, with digital claps puncturing the air, giving way, with some difficulty, to an awkwardly jumping bass - and systematically deconstructs itself, always holding its elements in suspension and flux, as if afraid to pin down a single note. It feels like the very definition of artificial life, a misty atmosphere where every surface and texture is grey and glinting, synthetic and disturbing to the touch. Different sections of the track - the grey-white bursts of trebly static, the slowly ebbing digital skank underneath and, somewhere distant, the persistent dry clicks of the kick - have, as in Holger Czukay's Canaxis songs, or Lee Perry's dub productions, different textures, as if captured via a variety of media. It extracts and reintroduces not just individual rhythmic elements - making an already lopsided bop squelch, dissolve and frequently mutate - but whole atmospheres, mists of synth and shifts of production that seem to change the shape of the whole landscape" (the end times talking about Dirty Meinz) "I heard one of Downliners Sekt's tracks on Mary Anne Hobbs' show the other week; having never heard of them before and missing her introduction to the track I was left bemused. It sounded like an unlikely collaboration between Burial and Ras G complete with 2 step shuffle, ghostly voices, layered static hiss and distorted found sounds. It wasn't until I listened back through the show that I discovered who the track was by and after a short frantic google search (that led me first to an obscure 60's Blues band) I arrived at this amazing musical collective's site. Their most recent EP, Hello Lonely, hold the nation is phenomenal, there are so many comparisons but still nothing quite like it and what's more all their music is free in digital format, at 320kbps and everything. Even more surprising is their relatively extensive history as a band, bridging the gap between post rock and dark electronics (see their 2008 album The Saltire Wave), something for which they seem to have garnered a range of plaudits from in the obscure circles of experimental rock journalism. Most remarkable of all their debut album Statement of Purpose, recorded between 2001 and 2005 is superbly put together and still incredibly fresh. In an unlikely testament to their depth and versatility, contemporary dubstep artists have recently begun to utilise these tracks in their mixes despite their age and original purpose as an intermeshing of breakbeats and post rock. It goes without saying that this music deserves your support so head over to their site and show them some love. Did I mention it's free?" (Grendelcakes) "Hello Lonely, Hold the Nation is the fifth release by Downliners Sekt and is the first in a three-part series of EP’s. And just like the band’s previous efforts it is no less interesting and unique; it’s a collection of experimental, electronic soundscapes that goes more for mood and atmosphere and less for catchy tunes. There has always been an element of that in this band’s work, but ambience seems to be more the overall goal than an underlying theme in Hello Lonely. Having said that, Hello Lonely does have some interesting beats and song structures, most noticeably in “Inside Maverick’s.” The steady beat of the percussion and the repeated, distorted electronic noises create a dynamic rhythm that keeps you engaged in the darkly moody, yet calm atmosphere of the song. But there a couple things that always impress me time and time again about Downliners Sekt. One is how they are always willing to distribute high quality, innovative music for free from their website. They were doing it a couple years before Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails made it trendy… not that I really have anything against Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails. But what strikes me even more is how each release manages to be so unique from all the rest, and yet there is that familiar Downliners Sekt sound present in each album. Only really talented bands can pull that off: drastically changing their already great sound without completely messing up the vibe they’ve already settled into. This all points to a couple things. One, Downliners Sekt is just a damn good band that needs more exposure. Two, it is possible for a talented band to create great music without a major record label sticking its noses in their affairs, which I guess was the whole point of Downliners Sekt releasing their music for free in the first place. Their whole existence is to point out, “Hey, we’re happy outside the grasp of the music industry, you can be too.” (Radio Krud) Dans leurs premiers travaux et notamment l'album The Saltire Wave (à télécharger ici), les Downliners Sekt avaient exploré les conjonctions possibles entre post-rock et musique électronique. L'effort était intéressant, pointu, mais arrivé un peu trop tard, à l'heure où le post-rock avait déjà signé son épitaphe. Dommage car derrière des guitares un peu trop ostensibles du collectif, on décelait un foisonnement d'idées et de références bien plus érudites que pas mal de leurs voisins de promo. Aujourd'hui heureusement, ce sont ces influences de second plan qui donnent le cap. Effacé le sillage Constellation, Downliners Sekt est désormais un projet purement électronique. Pas de l'électronique pour néophyte, non, de l'électronique d'avant-garde, expérimentale mais très au fait de ce qui anime la modernité. Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation est en fait un quatre titres qui se réfère à la culture dubstep mais qui s'en détache constamment par un goût de la déconstruction et de la fresque évolutive. Pas de structure préétablie, donc, des rythmes fluctuants, des morceaux qui changent de direction en cours de route mais dans une proximité continue avec la poésie de Burial et surtout King Midas Sound. À placer aux côtés des excellentes dernières sorties de T++, Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation renouvelle entièrement Downliners Sekt à travers un nouvel exercice de rencontres, cette-fois entre le dubstep de la culture club UK et l'IDM sans concession d'un Autechre (Des chibres et des lettres) "We knew of the mysterious band who put out “The Saltire Wave” –but not who was directing the project or where they came from- and who had a sound that was both familiar and refreshing at once. Downliners Sekt seemed to have on their to-do list, as a priority: to dismantle post-rock, pick up the pieces and reassemble them by programming a new mechanism, and to transform the smooth, slippery drums close to jazz, blurring the ambience with pedal effects, and pairing the result with cold electronica to pollute the musical landscape. Fast forward to now – the blinding “Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation” – and we have learned more about them, and also that they have a plan. We know that D-Sekt is a trio based in Spain and France –watch out France, a nation rich in post-rock from Ulan Bator to Programme– who have studied the style’s potential evolutionary avenues with this maxi-single that sounds like the same group but ten years in the future, who are radically renewed but without denying their roots. Firstly, their sound has changed - there’s more micro-electronica and dub in the mechanism– and secondly, they are getting more attention from a potential audience that until now they had been disconnected from. To grow, you have to improve and be persistent. As happens in an eclipse, there are times when the necessary elements line up in an auspicious manner. The four cuts on “Hello Lonely, Hold The Nation” –available on vinyl or download here – reduce the rock texture and increase the abstract crunch, the clicks’n’cuts and the stealthy dub, IDM and ambient strokes. The end is particularly magical, when “Negative Green” ends with vocal sparks of modified pitch a la Burial, and in this instance, D-Sekt have assimilated their influences without imitating them, to enrich their own language. This is clear on the rest of the EP: they don’t give up their tranquillity of character, their emotional intensity or the downtempo rhythm drawn from the best of dubstep –the Hessle Audio school– and ambient –i.e. 12k– to record the type of music that right now any fan of Mogwai circa “Rock Action” would be proud to give their name to. If everything goes according to plan, they say they’d like to release two more 12” cuts this year through the Barcelona based label, Disboot. There is no getting away now: we want them" (Javier Blánquez @ playground) Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:59:00 +0200 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/24 EXCLUSIVE MIX on Mary Anne Hobbs: BBC Radio 1 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/22 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/maryannehobbs.gif" width="200px" /> Next Wednesday, 16th June 2-4am GMT... 6-8pm PST we are going to fill the UK FM Waves with a special showcase mix exclusively made for the BBC Radio 1's Experimental Show hosted by Mary Anne Hobbs. You'll be able to listen to some new tracks we're currently working on and other unreleased stuff we were hiding on our hard drives. You can download it here: <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dsekt/bbc-radio-one-mary-anne-hobbs">http://soundcloud.com/dsekt/bbc-radio-one-mary-anne-hobbs</a> Stay tuned and enjoy! Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:55:00 +0200 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/22 New release: Hello lonely, hold the nation EP http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/21 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/animhello.gif" width="200px" /> 'Hello Lonely, Hold the nation' is now available for download. This is the first chapter of a three EP series that will hopefully come out throughout 2010 thanks to the collaboration with Barcelona based label disboot. So as usual, you'll find the 320kps mp3 version ready to be downloaded on the releases page but this time a 12" vinyl will be available worldwide from independent record stores and online retailers. All copies purchased include a free reference to download the tracks in high quality digital .wav format. Buying this record or making some donation would really help us keep going. Enjoy! Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:01:00 +0200 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/21 DOWNLINERS SEKT ARE POSSIBLY SPANISH http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/19 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/critica.gif" width="200px" /> What the press had to say about 'The Saltire Wave' "They are possibly Spanish although all their information is in english..." "the music is electronic post post post post rock ambient trip hop, I don't know..." "is like if the band members and all the instruments took quaaludes and slow the way half down" "This is kind of what Sonic Youth might sound like if they got into electronics" -aural sex podcast 'The Saltire Wave' is a study in the marriage of electro-noise with breakbeat like elements but still with a post-rock core. On paper, it might sound like every other band out there but this band is really special as they bring an edge to the table that is undeniable. This album feels like it was made for me. It hit me in all the right places. The balance was there the sound was perfect. 65daysofstatic was a band who attempted to bring both words together but Downliners Sekt bring it together and then blow it up. -comfortcomes.com No hacía falta la reciente reedición del "Young Team" de Mogwai para reafirmar que algunos de los postulados instaurados por ese disco faro en 1997 siguen tan vigentes como el primer dia. Que caigan en manos de inútiles o de gente con ideas ya es cuestión de más o menos suerte. Los misteriosos downliners sekt las tienen (las ideas) y en este "The Saltire Wave", su segundo largo oficial, saben cómo lanzarse a la piscina del post-rock más típico -el de los contrastes entre capas de ambiente calmo y los crescendos de épica panorámica- sin ahogarse ni mostrarse particularmente pretenciosos. Sus largos temas instrumentales de guitarras firmes y ritmos comatosos conviven con intromisiones de samples que añaden un plus de misterio a sus paisajes de tintes casi industriales. Y saben abrir periódicamente ventanales por donde entran brisas de post-folk, en consonáncia con los añorados Flying Saucer Attack, que ayudan a perfilar un imaginario soundtrack de desolación y zozobra. -rockdelux Le label F Communications a déjà tenté l'expérience en les invitant sur la Megasoft Office spéciale nouveaux talents, en sélectionnant le morceau The Pledge. On ne sait pas grand-chose d'autre sur ce groupe, qui ne laisse transparaître aucun détail sur leur âge, nationalité, apparence, pensant que l'image donnée peut largement influencer l'oreille lors de l'écoute. Effectivement, le gamin asiatique bleu de la pochette renferme bien des mystères... Entre ambient narcotique, textures triturées et parfois bruitistes, Downliners Sekt se rapproche dangereusement de ses maîtres. Ceux qui tirent leur nom du groupe pre-punk Downliners Sect, avec un ‘C', se font les avocats d'une fusion extrêmement pure montée sur des pilotis electronica, supportant mélodies post rock (Scope Creep), nappes en crystal (Jewel Cases), guitares noise (les épiques Shulgin, School Daze), ambient métallique (Mobilia Perpetua, Solstice), ou breakbeat mal luné (l'entêtant Point Omega). Un disque d'une étonnante maturité qui mérite que les labels fassent la queue à l'entrée du website... -theclubbing.com Il fatto è che sono un pò annoiato dalle solite proposte musicali e per ripicca mi lascio andare alla deriva del mare elettronico, oggi chiamato "Downliners Sekt". Remi in barca quando date il play, faranno tutto queste correnti sonore psichedeliche. "Scope creep" è la prima traccia, si parte con un arpeggio post rock che presto viene aggredito da flussi elettronici inaciditi. Il delirio ha inizio già alle prime battute. Rasentando l'ambient, si avvertono echi sludgettosi d'un basso potente, musica subdola la loro, cruenta senza esserlo. "Jawel Cases", seconda traccia, strizza l'occhio agli "Explotion In The Sky" ma sempre con un punto di vista estremamente personale. Grande album, me ne rendo conto quando assaggio "Panic! sonic monk", e ancora dopo "Kaidan", un deserto elettronico in mutamento, ora post rock, ora ambient, ora down tempo. Muri sonori con "Shulgin", evoluzioni in "School daze". Un'eleganza unica questi "Downliners Sekt", più li ascolto e più me ne rendo conto. Passaggi alla "Ulver" fanno capolino quà e la, "65 days of static" ripresi e digeriti in "Point Omega", sviscerati e conditi con "Boards of Canada", per chi conosce i sopracitati gruppi è d'obbligo l'ascolto della proposta, per gli altri pure, se non altro perchè l'album è liberamente reperible dal sito ufficiale del gruppo che azzarda (non è il primo) proponendosi con una licenza Creative Commons. -debaser I've heard many try to somehow fuse IDM and other electronic elements with rock; few have succeeded in this difficult task. Some lads from the UK, known to some as 65daysofstatic, are perhaps the most exciting thing that happened in this decade. The Saltire Wave takes it to the next level. What they do is no longer the sum of two genres, they are sick of how it is being done and, although they come from another scene, they are not to shy to take on the task of reinventing the wheel. The Saltire Wave is a vessel ripping through trip-hop static, unveiling the unexplored universe of what the sound of Downliners Sekt has grown into in the past few years. By drowning almost every possible piece of recording in a wide variety of effects, the listener will never be completely sure of what he's listening to. Something that gives the impression of being a guitar could just as easily be an ingeniously tweaked sample of a scuba diver. Noises, glitch and ambience intertwine the many subtle nuances created by the expert use of (practically) unheard instruments like didgeridoos. All of this is strengthened by sometimes acoustic, sometimes fuzz-spitting amplified guitars, making the crushed downbeat fit right in. The untamed bass and fearless drums form the solid engine leading to the most sublime "Point Omega," a track that leaves the listener in awe, covered in sound-bites. Downliners Sekt makes us wonder what a movie like Powaqqatsi in a contemporary feel would look and sound like. Just because of its enticing cinematic feel, this album does need some extra attention now and then; the ambient structures of the album tend to slip away in the background noises of the surroundings. It’s here where the experience of Downliners Sekt as live performers keeps the album from sliding into oblivion, however. A good set of headphones and some of mind-broadening relish may enhance this 3600-second experience in a sound spectrum from another world. This album is one that will have the audience intoxicated from the start, filling the void subtly with hypnotising, psychedelic, teasing rhythms that build up the tension for the next few minutes of headnodding. -The Silent Ballet Downliners Sekt élabore un post-rock strictement instrumental sans attache, une musique écrasante et magnifique. The Saltire Wave, qui fait suite à l’acclamé Statement Of Purpose, ambitionne de réduire à néant la plus insoupçonnable velléité d’optimisme tant sa couleur est noire. Mais un noir insondable, déclinant une variété infinie de luminosités, objet d’une étude de l’absence de couleur. Ainsi Downliners Sekt crée la musique de l’absence, absence de mélodie, d’âme, de conscience, de but ou même de raison. Les guitares viennent progressivement tisser un fichu autour de la tête, avec un fil invisible et incassable. Et quand la dernière parcelle du crâne est enfin recouverte, la saturation assène son énorme coup de masse, accompagnée d’une basse hypnotique et titillée par des bruissements électroniques, ces banderilles sadiques. Abasourdi, on ne peut que céder et se laisser porter par les longues plages erratiques qui s’enchaînent, puis s’étirent pour enfin ouvrir des rideaux que nous n’avions pas aperçus jusque-là, dévoilant un univers où tout est en apesanteur, en charpie et pourtant dégageant un bien-être déroutant. Un peu comme si la résignation était la solution à la fois la plus sage et la plus agréable, on s’abandonne. La fusion post-rock/shoegaze, telle que pensée par Downliners Sekt, procure alors une expérience hors du commun et hors des sentiers battus, perdant ses références en cours de route et allant d’un pas sûr vers un pays en friche, un no man’s land qui ne demanderait surtout pas à être visité. Et le groupe va en faire son territoire, arborant ses guitares et ses boîtiers sur les blasons, démultipliant les tessons de bouteilles pour tuer définitivement la chance de s’installer pour le confort. Et l’auditeur, dont la conscience sera sublimée par le mur du son de The Saltire Wave, ne peut que se livrer intégralement à cet univers claustrophobe, finissant par oublier l’existence même d’une vie à côté, au-dessus, ou tout simplement avant. -Pinkushion Listening to this music is a rich experience which leaves you satisfied at the end as though you've just eaten a marvelous meal that someone else is paying for. If there is one band out there that is taking rock music in a drastically different direction, Downliners Sekt is it. You simply have to check this out. -mankindsucks.com Brouillant une fois encore les pistes, la formation Downliners Sekt (dont on avait apprécié le premier essai "Statement of Purpose", puis leur "Still Engine Mixtape" en 2007) revient début 2008 avec un nouvel album, plus abouti encore que les précédents et dans lequel le groupe affirme un peu plus son goût pour le mélange des genres, allant de la new wave au post-rock en passant par le breakbeat. Une certaine idée de la musique qui une fois mise en forme donne un quelque chose de très personnel pour un album vraiment ambitieux et long en bouche. On ne s’attardera pas sur un titre en particulier, simplement, on appréciera la grande richesse de l’ensemble ainsi que le côté foisonnant et la densité de certains titres. Rare sont les albums en téléchargement libre offrant un travail aussi abouti. Il allait donc naturellement de soi de rendre hommage à Downliners Sekt et de saluer, une fois de plus, leur travail en marge d’une industrie musicale à laquelle ils ont tourné le dos depuis bien longtemps. -netlabels Revue Expect something different, something new and something sublime, this is literally good people making good music, THIS... indeed is strictly "dark-ambient instrumental post-rock at its best." -Sirens Sound- Mientras las multinacionales se rompen el cráneo pensando cómo hacer para controlar la música que circula por la red, músicos como los que se esconden en la enigmática banda Downliners Sekt piden que se haga todo lo posible para que su trabajo circule cuanto más mejor sin ningún tipo de comercial cortapisa. La consigna es clara, descárgatelo y difúndelo. Las razones de este proceder las argumentan para quien quiera conocerlas, en downliners-sekt.com Y ¿la música? No son partidarios DS de dar muchas explicaciones, por aquello de mantener virgen al oyente hasta la primera escucha. Digamos, sin desvelar demasiado, que los amantes de esos territorios que solemos etiquetar como postrockismo no serán en absoluto defraudados. -culturas, La Vanguardia. I imagine that if the Sonic Youth ever got into electronics it would sound something like this. -azltron 'The Saltire Wave' can be seen as an era-defining, questioning, discussing album in music history. It stands out as one of the better experimental albums of the 2000's. Downliners Sekt is a band with clear opinions and they know what they want. A lot of people share their views on the music industry but unfortunately I don't think too many share their musical views. There are too many narrow-minded fools who wouldn't understand. -the lemurblog Il se passe quelque chose a l'écoute du Saltire Wave, le successeur de Statement of Purpose dont la finition a eu lieu à Barcelone. Un Sentiment étrange, que l'espace environnant se dégrade, que ses couleurs changent et gagnent une uniformité lancinante. Un monochrome s'installe, au fil de ce son lancinant, à mi-chemin entre post-rock et labyrinthes électroniques. Downliners Sekt, à leur manière, redéfinissent un rock instrumental, caressant les aspects softs du prog rock pour, en même temps, gagner les fondations hypnotiques du trip-hop. Le jeu aboutit à un album instrumental, spatial et cinématographique et que, pour tout dire, on sent majeur dès l'inaugural "Scope Creep". Downliners Sekt sont dans la proposition des perspectives. Ils ne quittent jamais les couleurs de l'apréhension en musique mais leur font gagner une beauté singulière, l'éclat d'une musique habitée, libre (touts les albums du groupe sont en téléchargement libre sur leur site internet). Entre douceur et crissements noise, voici venir le sensible, le spirituel et le cérébral. Un petit chef-d'oeuvre. -D-Side Magazine Downliners sekt har som så många andra tröttnat på musikindustrin och firar av detta hat med att släppa all sin insektskrypande electro och skräckskadade ambient för fri nedladdning på www.downliners-sekt.com. Vänner av Warp-etiketten lär inte bli besvikna på Downliners Sekts näst senaste verk ”Still engine mixtape” från förra året. Det senaste släppet “The saltire wave” har en mer organisk ljudbild - som tar avstamp från de smutsigaste delarna av London, Paris, Montreal och Barcelona. Håll tillgod -panda Magazine MY BLOODY VALENTINE VERSION 2008 !!! Un de nos projets préferés sur toute la scène alternative française vient de frapper un ENORME coup de plus. On était tombé amoreux de “Statement of Purpose”, que nous avions chroniqué ici même, et c’est avec un immense plaisir qu’on vous renvoie sur le site de Downliners Sekt pour télécharger leur deuxième album. Ayant fait le choix de sortir complètement du circuit habituel Artiste/Label/Distributeur, le groupe propose depuis ses débuts ses créations en téléchargement libre sur son site web, sous licence Creative Commons. Mais ce choix n’est en aucun cas lié à la qualité du travail accompli. Cet album est une petite pépite de noirceur, incroyablement profonde et narrative. Du premier au dernier titre, on vit dans à un véritable roman noir noise/indus, au coeur duquel l’electro est vraiment au service de la composition. Une maturité face aux machines et une relativisation de leur importance qui s’exprime tout au long de ce disque mémorable qui risque fort de rester un de nos préférés de l’année 2008. Si le système musical génèrent ce genre de projets et aboutissent à une telle pertinence de propos, il n’y a pas de soucis à se faire pour le bien-être de nos oreilles sur les années à venir. Pro?tez-en, c’est excellent et gratuit. Diffusez cette musique et parlez-en autour de vous, elle le mérite vraiment... -NUKE Magazine The Saltire Wave is epic. It's a very large free roaming album that takes its elemental influences everywhere and combines them to build massive soundscapes for which your ears to roam around in. With songs lasting as long as nine minutes it's easy to find yourself lost in The Downliners Sekt world and difficult to get back out. Sounding something like Brian Eno and Bill Nelson mixed with a few prog-rock influences, The Saltire Wave is layered with synths, meandering guitar riffs, and mostly silent and slow drums. It's a beautiful sounding record that's haunting, moving, and very imaginative. This is the soundtrack to a silent movie that's shot in 70mm, wide screen, and features Mother Nature at her grandest. This is the sort of thing you'd expect to hear at an IMAX movie; the sort of thing that surrounds you and overwhelms you but spawns a million possibilities. Without a vocal in sight, The Downliners Sekt are able to create a stirring album that's exciting and imaginative. Whether it's brash and loud or quiet and extensive, The Saltire Wave is a fascinating record that will have you mind's eye working overtime. -first Coast News La démarche, puisqu’en plus d’un moyen d’exister en dehors des rouages de l’industrie classique et déclinante du disque, il s’agit bel et bien d’une démarche, est à cent mille lieu de celle d’un Radiohead (dont l’intérêt soudain et éphémère pour l’e-diffusion n’était en définitive qu’un gros coup de promo ponctuel), ou même d’un Nine Inch Nails (certes politiquement engagé, mais dont le pied de nez au music business reste peu risqué étant donné le capital notoriété déjà acquis)… ...Il n’en reste pas moins que je vous recommande de ne pas passer à côté de ce petit bijou. Pour un peu qu’une e-galette instrumentale post-rock-electro ne vous donne pas de boutons. Vous avez du bien bel ouvrage pour la modique somme de 0€. C’est tellement incroyable qu’on en a presque envie d’aller cliquer sur leur lien paypal, tout en lâchant un bel étron dans des toilettes dont on aura pris au préalable le soin de tapisser la cuvette de photos de Christine Albanelle (et accessoirement de Denis Olivennes)…. -erections libres The music industry definitely doesn't need greed, and it definitely doesn't need Thom Yorke. It needs more artists like Downliners Sekt. Downliners Sekt make incredibly cool dark electronic beats that teeter on electropop and other genres around that area. Their albums are instrumental sanctuaries of sound and noise. I've been spinning their newest album, The Saltire Wave and I've been digging the shit out of it. I absolutely champion everything that Downliners Sekt is doing. They're saying 'fuck you' to the music industry with style, flair, and content! ‚ -analog scene La segunda entrega de Downliners Sekt se remite a composiciones instrumentales con reminiscencias post rock al estilo de Mogwai y Ulan Bator aportando como novedad una potencia rítmica mas bien cercana a la electrónica industrial ("Point Omega", "Scope Creep"...) entre capas de sonido hinchado a base de distorsion. 'The Saltire Wave' contiene algunos momentos realmente apasionantes como "Mobilia Perpetua" y "Solstices", dos composiciones de ambient shoegazer que les harán navegar a través de nubes de azufre. A ratos grandes por su cercanía contextual al space rock de calidad (Main o FSA) y si por tan solo algunos instantes pecan de redundantes, merece la pena que se descarguen su disco y juzguen ustedes mismos. -go mag Truly genius instrumental tracks with bass that shakes the floor, swirling drums and haunting reverb. I imagine this is the kind of music Trent Reznor uses for inspiration. -perfectporridge.com Those die hard rebels who consistently chip away at the foundations of the music industry are back. This new material is a strong message from a small band to a huge industry. It's free, high quality music that is much better than most of the stuff that the major record labels keep hyping for undeservedly high prices. I remember an old episode of Loveline on which Henry Rollins was a guest. A caller asked him whether he thought punk was dead and Henry responded 'Punk is any music that comes along to show up the old fogeys who have lost their edge and forgotten what real music is all about, so punk will always be around'. I never really thought of punk in such a way, but that definition certainly makes a lot of sense. Modern independent artists, such as Downliners Sekt, who make great music without the interference of record labels can all fit in the 'punk' category if you think of it in that more generic way. They're paving a new way for the creation and distribution of music, showing up the 'old fogeys' in the major record labels who refuse to adapt. And Downliners Sekt in particular embodies that classic punk image of rebelling against authority that bands like the Sex Pistols popularized. -radio krud It is absolutely imperative to never forget that music is art. As a medium and as artistic expression, music is as close as one can get to the heart of the creator. Downliners Sekt are the arbiters of this fact, through and through. The clearly anti-regime, anti-RIAA, anti-authority-as-a-whole group (who also claim to be okay with the demise of record labels and the rise of P2P, nice) create ethereal, all-too-chilling compositions of electro cum post rock skronks and beats, melding all that's good about a group like Tortoise with the complete and utter feeling of drowning. Just press play and shut up. -the culture of me Downliners Sekt are an experimental electronic noise group who believes in giving away their music for free (and not just temporarily, like Radiohead). Their reason: WE BORED AS FUCK WITH THE MUSIC INDUSTRY The group has a unique view on both music and life itself. Their dark distorted electronic beats are sometimes layered with dialogues that reflect society and evoke strong images. Downliners Sekt are true artist trying to break away from the shackles of the capitalist world that we live in today. -put on your ear goggles- "le collectif ne considère plus sa musique que pour ce qu’elle est par nature : un véhicule. D’idées ou d’émotions, c’est vous qui verrez. En ce qui nous concerne, ce sera les deux à la fois, pour autant qu’on puisse comprendre l’abstraction instrumentale comme une forme d’alternative aux schémas généralement étriqués de la chanson à textes et autres formatages en règle. Le reste appartient à l’auditoire. Alors, voici cette musique extraterrestre, hypnotique et planante, mélancolique et acoustique ("Kaidan"), un brin noise parfois (les parasitages psych / shoegaze du final et spatial "Solstices", plus voyants sur un pesant "Shulgin"). Elle part à la conquête de l’espace, de ses zones de lumière comme de contrées plus ténébreuses. Downliners Sekt, c’est faire fi des schémas. Qu’un titre fasse quarante-quatre secondes ou plus de neuf minutes, là n’est pas le problème. Le seul défi à relever, c’est la capture (et donc la transmission) d’un substrat émotionnel. Tous les moyens seront bons, le groupe visant à travers un son mystérieux et un travail de progression et d’harmonie à une cinématographie de l’échappée ("Panic ! Sonic Monk"). "The Saltire Wave", somptueux ensemble de treize atmosphères partagées entre l’organique et le patinage des machines et effets, s’engage dans des chemins sinueux et opaques, dans les affres d’un Trip Hop de belle allure et aux teintes nocturnes (l’émouvant titre d’ouverture, "Scope Creep"), ou dans une dynamique plus furieuse, regardant l’industriel dans le rétroviseur et lui préférant une transe exotique ("Point Omega"). Les guitares, les batteries et les machines, tout s’enclenche telle une mécanique innée, issue de la Nature ; une vie qui ne s’arrêterait plus (la rythmique bouclée de "School Daze") et qui n’obéirait qu’à une solution inconnue : celle de cette confluence qu’on devinera au terme de mille chemins empruntés. "The Saltire Wave", c’est la cachette des sens, mais il s’y trouvera une lumière pour chacun parti défricher l’univers. Extraordinaire sur la forme et, sur le plan de la démarche et vu d’ici, exemplaire". -obskure- Hut ab! Ich bin schwer beeindruckt! Warum? Die Musik, das Prinzip und die Konsequenz dieser Band. Ich spreche hier über die Downliners Sekt, nicht zu verwechseln mit der R&B Band der 60er. Die schreiben sich Sect. Wer die Band eigentlich ist, bleibt im Dunkeln, soll nicht interessieren. Im Licht erscheint nur ihre Musik. Und um die sollte es eigentlich gehen. Diese gibt es nämlich albumweise als komplette freie Downloads auf der Bandwebseite. Die Musik: Wer Scheiben von Pluramon, Mogwai, 65 Days of Static, Bridge and Tunnel, Recoil, NIN oder Mono sein eigen nennt und diese liebt, wird sich erneut verlieben. Ambient-elektrifizierter, düsterer Postrock, unzappbar und dramatisch. Mal rockig stampfend, mal zarte Clicks und Cuts-artige Soundscapes. Auf jeden Fall intensiv und von deutlicher Güte. Das Prinzip: Schon drei Jahre vor der Öffentlichkeits-beherrschenden Aktion von Radiohead handelten die Mitglieder von Downliners Sekt nach dem Prinzip, daß die Strukturen des Musikbusiness aufgrund der MP3 Technologie nicht mehr funkionieren und sogar eher kontraproduktiv für Musiker sind. Um der Musik die Öffentlichkeit zu bieten die sie verdient, darf ernstzunehemende Indiemusik nicht als Kleinauflage eines Indielabels erscheinen, sie braucht die Öffentlichkeit der permanenten und ubiquitären Erreichbarkeit. Die Konsequenz: Die Musik des Projektes/Band wird konsequent kostenlos und frei auf der Webseite angeboten. Und dies nicht nur als qualitativ schlechter Promotrack im Rahmen irgendeiner Promotionaktion, sondern als komplettes Album in Audioqualität. Das atmet die Anarchie und die Freiheit des Punks, von der der Punk allerdings in Wirklichkeit nur träumen konnte und ist nicht nur so ein Feigenblatt MP3 Getue. -the last pop song- Farkli bir grup Downliners Sekt. Isimleri 60'larin grubu Downliners Sect'ten geliyor. Albümlerini Internet üzerinden bedavaya paylasan, bunun temel sebebi olarak da plak sirketlerine olan nefretlerini sunan bir grup. Nereden olduklari, yaslari vesairenin önemsiz oldugunu, önemli olanin yaptiklari müzik oldugunu vurgulayan marjinal bir bakis açilari var. Bana gönderdikleri bir e-mail sayesinde 2. albümleri "The Saltire Wire"'dan haberim oldu. Ne zamandir da incelemek istiyordum ancak yeni firsat ele geçti. Grup Psychedelic Electro Rock ve Electro Acoustic Rock yapiyor. Ciddi anlamda deneyseller. Arada bir Trip Hop'a da kaydiklarini görüyoruz. Çogu noktada pesimist, bazi noktalarda agresif ve hatta protest bir tarzlari var. Sampling oldukça yogun ve genel anlamda ilk albümleri "Statement Of Purpose"'a göre çok daha basarili. Açikçasi geçimlerini müzik dünyasindan elde etmeyen amatör bir grup için çok basarili çalismalari var. Denemeye deger. En azindan kendi çaplarinda verdikleri tepkiye destek olaya deger bir grup. -proodos- well, disuruh mempublikasikan album ini oleh rekan nun jauh disana (daratan Inggris), beberapa tagline yang mengarahkan band ini diantaranya : POSTROCK-STRICTLY INSTRUMENTAL-NOISE, paduan yang menarik untuk di dengarkan. saya sendiri belum mendengarkan keseluruhan album , namun sepertinya rekomendasi yang bagus untuk musik postrock yang sebenarnya. akhirkata,selamat mendengarkan ! -music is silence- What makes this album special is how they switch between heavy and softer moments, switching from intense to chilled and back. Definitely experimental, but never headache inducing, The Saltire Wave is definitely a record more traditional post rockers can take some queues from. -the music lobby- Downliner Sekték is egy afféle albumról-albumra megújuló zenekar, hiszen a nemsokára postolva lévo Statement of Purpose egy teljesen más mufajban megíródott, ámbár hasonló hangulatot árasztó korong lett. Rengeteg fülnek új és fülnek ismeros hang bújik meg rajta, a gitárnak valahogy megvan a szokásos cipobámulós hangzása, de valahogy egy picit még jobban suicide hangulat. És ugyebár azt szeressük. Aztán van itt akár Eno hatásnak is beilló track, de van pusztán elektronikusan megvalósított finomság is. Nekem most a hónap zenekara, hihetetlen amit muvelnek. -I wanna rock you baby- It’s moody, glitchy, dark and brooding, but not overly intense, like godspeed! youblackemperor. Some of it has a laid back trip-hop flavour, some of it is punchier breaks. But the album as a whole? Impressive and well crafted. -degourget.com- c chiant quand vous mettez pas les titres... le chinois avec le casque c quoi? -some guy on a message board- Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:06:00 +0100 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/19 NEW RELEASE: THE SALTIRE WAVE http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/17 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/saltirenews.gif" width="200px" /> Downliners Sekt's long expected second studio album is finally out. You will find it in the release section. All we can say is that it's been hard to achieve, more than ever and that we're proud of it, more than ever. So as usual download it, share it and play it loud. We also added a new section called 'FAQ' where you will find some information about the band. Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:11:00 +0100 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/17 DUBSTEP MIXES FEATURING DSEKT TRACKS http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/13 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/dubstep.gif" width="200px" /> Until the official release of the 'Saltire Wave' we wanted to link a few dubstep mixtapes that features tracks from 'Statement Of Purpose' we came across over the lasts months. We're pleased to find out that even if those tracks were written between 2001 and 2003, they still (or finally...) fit the newest styles of dance music. The sickest one is from <a href="http://www.zshare.net/audio/38850327c1495c/">Wascal</a>, and there's also one from <a href="http://www.divshare.com/download/2960922-1b0">Phonetics</a>, <a href="http://archive.subfm.com/RokoDebutShow22Sep07SubFM.mp3">Roko</a>, and <a href="http://jaxdnbftp.teamshocker.com/music/qel-droma/Stupid%20Fly%20Promo%20by%20Qel-Droma.mp3">Qel-Droma</a> Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:34:00 +0100 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/13 new release: : 'still engine: a dsekt mixtape' http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/11 <img src="http://www.downliners-sekt.com/artwork/news/still-engine-low-res.gif" width="200px" /> We are proud to upload our new work entitled 'still engine' a mixtape featuring unreleased tracks from the statement of purpose sessions, demos and never-to-be-released material. This 45 minutes piece also includes remixes and versions from 'Statement Of Purpose' and original tracks from new artists in the collective, you will soon know about... check out JZA, El Fuzzo, Malota and Outox - our third party partners. Mon, 11 Jun 2007 05:45:00 +0200 http://www.downliners-sekt.com/news/view/11