DRIFTING FALLING RECORDINGS

Awesome review of Kontakte’s “Superbug” from FREQ Music E-Zine:

London bliss-rockers Kontakte continue their journey into the outer reaches of motorik rhythms and chimingly elevated guitar work with an EP which works around the theme in differing ways. “Superbug” itself boils over with tightly-wound energy, surging from twinkly psychedelic guitar melodies which dive off into shoegaze metal territory on a bedrock of cascading, weighty beats and a buzzing undertow. It’s reminiscent of the way Bowery Electric took the sound of ecstatic soaring guitars and made them throb to drum machine rhythms, but updated for a new century of technological beat-making, pulling off switchback returns until the final crash out.

“The Light Shining From A Window Behind Us” brings a benign uncoiling piano solo to the fore to introduce the final push into the reverse-engineered electronica of “Flight Paths,” where crossover keyboard reverberations trickle Harmonia-like into a langorous cloudscraping guitar line, all mellow and fruitfully calm until the music blossoms into the sort of sound which makes freefall dives into cottonwool spring to mind. But there’s a tricksy subtext here too, with interjections of chaos spilling the gentle mood briefly until the normality of the glissando is resumed.

original review

Excellent review from Retrophobic Webmagazine:

Kontakte “Superbug”, Single, Drifting Falling 2010
A dispetto del nome teutonico, i Kontakte vengono dall’Inghilterra, e propongono una spacey psychedelia tinta di post rock, con una massiccia iniezione del Kraut più peso che piace a noi. Il “Superbug” che cova sotto la sabbia è una specie di insetto di lamiera, lucido, nero e in rapido avvicinamento. La traccia, priva di vocals, se non un paio di campionamenti, ha un bel ritmo sintetico (di matrice tedesca, appunto), elettrificato da stratificazioni di stampo shoegaze. La seconda traccia, un po’ spiazzante, è un “piano work” minimo e elegante, forse un po’ “difficile” per chi è avvezzo a sonorità “rock e derivati” come il sottoscritto. La terza traccia, “Flight Paths”, torna su tracciati sintetici, facendo confluire il lavoro del piano su un pattern ritmico minimo, e un buon tappeto di tastiere. Un qualcosa di profondamente “ambentale” e sperimentale, per chi si trova nell’arcipelago le cui isole maggiorni si chiamano Eno, NEU! e Mogwai. Un buon ascolto “altro”. Attendiamo i Kontakte su LP.

original review

Textura has selected Drifting Falling as one of its Ten Favourite Labels of 2009.

Every November, just as we’ve done since 2005, we pay tribute to ten labels that have stood out from the crowd and brought us multiple hours of listening pleasure throughout the year. This installment’s selections are a typically wide-ranging group, with the labels collectively representing an encompassing stylistic range. Many are based in the US, while others call Singapore, Berlin, London, and Nottingham home.

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Nice Q&A with the lads from Kontakte. Click through the link below for the the full article.

Attempting genuine post-rock has always been a treacherous pursuit – one just as likely to result in nonsensical folly, as paradigm challenging genius. Well, luckily for us, this time the coin has landed shiny side up. London’s very own Kontakte (Ian Griffiths, Gary McDermott, Stuart Low, and Ben Worth) appear to be the real deal.

Put on their debut album, “Soundtracks To Lost Road Movies”, and you are instantly beamed onto the autobahn – electronica ringing in your ears, whilst insurgent guitar lines roar past in a streaming blur. In fact, we were so convinced by the whole experience that we felt the need to pull over, pick up the car-phone and ask some questions.

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We just added a bunch of tour dates to the newly created Events page. Dates from Gareth Dickson, Kontakte, Televise and Cheer. Go have a look and plan your summer accordingly.

Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies was named a top 10 album of 2008 by Crumbs in the Butter. Read on to see what these enlightened folk had to say.

“Soundtracks For Lost Road Movies” is a remarkably apt title… A cinematic trip where the landscape is awe inspiring and ecstatically ethereal. Kontakte’s music swells and simmers; (it’s) Music to wonder at, to close your eyes to and slip into a hallucinogenic naturalistic world. The album shows a depth of musicianship, production and song structure. As the musical journey comes to and end, you are left sitting back in awe. As you start to feel yourself come down, you find you must take the trip again and again.” – Crumbs In The Butter (Top 10 Albums 2008)

Some very high praise for contact from the folks at iTunes. Hey…they really are geniuses.

“The opening track from epic instrumentalists Kontakte’s debut album is hypnotic, ethereal and beautiful music that a 30 second sample simply cannot do justice to ! Backed with a steady motorik pulse Kontakte expertly build the atmosphere of each track, often reaching a crescendo of massive, orchestral proportions – but with guitars ! This is ace, very cool, epic space-rock… sounds like continents colliding.” – iTunes UK

Piccadilly Records has named Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies by Kontakte as the Avant-Post Rock/Drone Release of the Week for the Week of November 10th.

On the back of a couple of wondrous 7″ platters, Kontakte now offer up their fantastic debut album. Combining six tracks and remixes of those six tracks, “Soundtracks To Lost Road Movies” takes their motorik space-rock to new levels of excellence!

http://www.piccadillyrecords.com

Kosmische Resonance FM Playlist 17/10/08

Tango-Mango’s Motorik Mashup, broadcast on 104.4FM in London and worldwide via www.resonancefm.com

1. Sunroof! – “Spiritual Forgery” (Split Series #19 12″, FatCat 2008)
2. Loop – “Black Sun (feedback Mix)” (Fade Out CD, Reactor /?? 2008)
3. Pascal Comelade, Pierre Bastien, Jac Berrogcal Et Jaki Liebezeit – “Rock’n'roll Station” (Oblique Sessions CD, Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L’Acier 1997)
4. Phil Wilson – “It’s a rainy day, Sunshine Girl” (Industrial Strength 2×7″, Slumberland 2008)
5. Friedman & Liebezeit – “Entsafter” (Secret Rhythms 3 CD, Nonplace 2008)
6. Kontakte – “Motorik” (Soundtracks To Lost Road Movies CD, Drifting Falling 2008)
7. Thomas Dinger – “Für Dich” (Für Mich LP, Telefunken 1982/Captain Trip 1997)
8. Holy Fuck -”Super Inuit (Studio)” (Lovely Allen CD, Young Turks 2008)
9. Rheingold – “Geld regiert die Welt – La Düsseldorf 1978″ (Electric City – Düsseldorfer Schule CD, 3Klang 2007)
10. NOW – “Its So” (The Hepadaboo CD, Flaü 2008)
11. Phil Wilson – “United” (Industrial Strength 2×7″, Slumberland 2008)
12. Delia Derbyshire – “Ziwzih Ziwzih 00-00-00″ (BBC Radiophonic Music CD, The Grey area of Mute 2008)
13. Kemialliset Ystavat – “Tassa maassa kun nain makailen” (Split Series #19 12″, FatCat 2008)
14. Bert Kaempfert vs sunseastar – “Mumonkan” (Blue Midnight CDR, Barbelo 2008)

Sterile World, track 5 from the new Kontakte album “Soundtracks to Lost Road Movies”, is featured on Episode 18 of The Epileptic Gibbon podcast music show.