Thursday, August 4, 2016

J Slusher - Artificial Scarcity EP // Kraftjerkz 023


Raw, unpolished, but more importantly, powerful New York Techno.

Vinyl available at Crosstalk International

Digital available at Bandcamp

Friday, January 8, 2016

Kraftjerkz 020 VA Pannonia Noir Pt. 2



Vinyl available at Crosstalk International

Digital available at Bandcamp


also available at Clone


 catalog: Kraftjerkz 020

 artist: VA

 release: Pannonia Noir Pt. 2

5 tracks of diverse Croatian music today with Pannonia Noir pt. 2 VA with Le Chocolat Noir aka Honored Matres featured again this time with some dark sort-of New Beat tracks. Also featured is new-comer, Foil with some techno which teases with acid qualities.

A1 Foil - Distant Acid
A2 Foil - Coff
B1 Le Chocolat Noir - Vivere
B2 Honored Matres - Power and Violence
B3 Honored Matres - Cycles

Honored Mastres has been hard at work putting out some excellent stuff lately including releases for Creme Organization and Frigio. As part of the FFFC with Zarkoff he will release more tracks. for new stuff on Kraftjerkz this time. tracks like "Vivere" and "Power and Violence" conjure up thoughts of the New Beat sound, but with a contemporary vision and not to forget the minimalist slow track, "Cycles".

Foil comes with the deep techno track "Coff" as well as "Distant Acid" which throb with excitement of Zagreb.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Egyptian Lover interview 10/8/15 by Kraftjerkz

at Good Room, Brooklyn 7/31/15 photo: Robin KG. Also featured that night were Entro Senestre, Bookworms, and Alex From Queens etc. Egyptian Lover has become a household name to anyone who has peeped their head in the door to what real freaks call "electro." "Egypt, Egypt" is excellent but so is the b-side we all know and his many records since the last 30 years. Here are some questions I have asked the king of LA electro. KG: First of all…tell me about this trick I've seen you do of playing "Planet Rock" in reverse on the platter. EL: Playing Planet Rock backwards is a trick I do playing it backwards by hand while mixing another record forward on beat. It's easy for me to do it but I've never seen another DJ do it. I guess you can say I'm Bad! KG: At what age did you express an interest in music and were your parents supportive? EL: I was interested in music at a very young age but it was my younger brother who taught me how to listen to music. Once I learned to listen to a record and all it had to it (drums, background, bass, strings, guitars) not just the vocals. I then became aware of how to put songs together. I think at that time I was 14 or 15 years old. My Mother saw that I liked music but didn't mind either way if I became a DJ because her Father was a DJ. But my Father told me not to do it because the one and only DJ he knew never made any money. And they both were shocked at what I did next and saw the outcome of it. I started making records on my own record label "Egyptian Empire Records" I guess I was doing more than just being a DJ. So they were both happy. KG: Did you ever play a melodic instrument before you were introduced to the turntables? EL: I never played anything, but my younger brother played the saxophone and could read and write music. He was in the local youth band. KG: did you enjoy the 3 turntable production of "...adventures on the wheels of steel?" did this influence you to get on the decks? or were you already mixing funk? EL: I was already doing my mixing and also doing serious pause button mixes in mix tapes. But when that record came out I learned everything on it and put it into my sets. It was the only thing that inspired me. KG: I assume you were happy when "planet rock" came out. personally it's a life-changing track and I know you DJ with it every day. what is it about it that you like the most? EL: That 808 beat from Numbers. I absolutely love how they took Kraftwerk and made it funky with more of the beat and sound fx. KG: Were there tape edits on your stuff and did you do them yourself? did you use midi on something like "Egypt, Egypt" or is it all hand-played, precise with a jupitor 8? the pads on it are so good and deep. EL: It's all played live with tape edits from the master tape to the mix down tape. I actually produced my record like that high school DJ I was in 1981. I recorded this record in 1984 before MIDI KG: I understand you told me earlier that you use the same gear on your brand new record "1984." We are all waiting for it. I have heard some tracks already and it will get burnt by needles of all of your DJ fans who love to mix with EL. Can't wait. It's going to be a killer hit on the platters. EL: Yes, I used all the early analog gear again like the Jupiter 8, SH 101, TR 808, SVC 350 vocoder, Matrix 12, Profit 5 and more. It has such a warm sound and authentic feel to it. I also recorded them all in professional studios. The same ones I used back in 1984 to do my original recordings. Many DJs and Fans will love this record and it is already a collectors item. KG: Im sure you guys enjoy Hashim over there. I have actually talked to Aldo at Cutting Records before. completely cool guy, like you:) completely independent label like Egyptian Empire. Congrats on making one of the best labels of all time. My favorite track of yours is "You're So Fine" EL: The track "You're so Fine" actually has a great story about it. I programmed the beat at my house, changing it all night long with my band kinda listening in as they got ready to go to Las Vegas to do a show with Rodney O (of Rodney O and Joe Cooley). When they left I booked some studio time and took my 808 and Jupiter 8 into the studio alone and created the music and lyrics to this track. I was in the studio all alone with my engineer and came up with everything without anyone giving me the thumbs up so I had no idea how it came out. So I waited for the band to come back to my house and played it for them and they all went crazy. I then knew it was a good song. KG: And with that…these are the questions I was interested in asking you. thank you to the king of LA! EL: Thank You! (((BOOM))) Egyptian Lover

Monday, October 5, 2015

Kid Ginseng / Lexander James - Curious Quartz Funk (Kraftjerkz 021) out now

to air on https://intergalacticfm.com Disco Panonia program next tues.6th of october 8pm CET. IFM 1 murder capital now available for purchase here: Bandcamp Do you find the funk, or does the funk find you? This is a split release featuring Lexander James and Kid Ginseng. The man behind Lexander James lives near the tar sands in the frozen city of Edmonton, Alberta, where artists are shut-ins to avoid frozen skin. Here he contributes two emotional and driving, electrofunk tracks perfect for mixing with LA electro. Kid Ginseng delivers a stellar egypt/latino hybrid track featuring the sexy vocals of Wendy James (formerly of) UK rock group, Transvision Vamp. San Francisco's DJ 2 Fresh provides this excellent edit of "So Furious." enjoy Curious Quartz Funk where it is intended to play. on the floor or in a frozen shack. Wendy James has a killer full-length rock LP coming in October.

Friday, November 28, 2014

Ausramp Kraftjerkz 018

Niko Marks & Robin Des Iles aka Kid Ginseng team up for some old school techno. 3 tracks for cruising on the autobahn, then they take the Ausramp into a territory many have traveled as they break down some cliches.

  Vinyl available at Clone Digital available at Bandcamp

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Zarkoff / Honored Matres - Pannonia Noir/ 12" vinyl out now.



Artwork: Liz Wendelbo (Xeno and Oaklander) / 3 variant signed and numbered art prints for the first 90 copies. After that, the image will repeat.
Kraftjerkz 017
Croatia is producing some very top class artists making records for
both europian and american labels such as Creme, Clone, Frigio, and
Kraftjerkz. Aside from being solo artists, Zarkoff founded Florence
Foster Fan Club with producer, Le Chocolat Noir. This time they have
made separate solo tracks for Kraftjerkz with Zarkoff on one side and
Honored Matres (Chocolat.) on the other, featuring diva singer,
Anshie. While Zarkoff has produced some sort of dark Jack tracks,
Honored Matres has chosen a style between europian electro and minimal
electronics. Both tracks have a similar production quality born deep
in the Zagreb freak parties.



Vinyl available at Crosstalk International

Digital available at Bandcamp

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Ausramp - Third Dimension Diploma

Niko Marks and Robin des Iles/ 313 Detroit and CT/ take detour off of a well travelled highway. What will they find?