Existenz, by Function

Existenz

by Function

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Markooo wonderful to see presented live at Atonal 2019 "you are all creative!"

yelworK Function releases their ambient techno masterpiece.......essential. I loved Sandwell District and have tried to follow each artist once that legendary label ceased operations, and I like Function the best. I did not think anything could top Inter, but here's the proof!

slimsmcgill Downtown 161, what a tune. What a journey. Favorite track: Downtown 161.

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12" Quadruple Vinyl
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1.	Sagittarius A (Right Ascension) 05:15	buy track
2.	Pleasure Discipline 05:56	buy track
3.	Ertrinken 05:38	buy track
4.	Growth Cycle (Feat. Robert Owens) 05:52	buy track
5.	Zahlensender 08:34	buy track
6.	The Approach 03:32	buy track
7.	Nylon Mood 06:27	buy track
8.	Alphabet City 05:41	buy track
9.	Don't Ask, Don't Tell 06:09	buy track
10.	No Entiendes 06:56	buy track
11.	Kurzstrecke 06:43 video	buy track
12.	Golden Dawn (feat. Stefanie Parnow) 07:14	buy track
13.	Interdimensional Interferenc 05:58	buy track
14.	Distant Paradise 08:04	buy track
15.	Be (feat. Robert Owens) 04:50	buy track
16.	Vampir 06:29	buy track
17.	Downtown 161 11:36	buy track

about

The American cable-television industry exploded in the 1980s, pushing broadcasts of diverse programming and emissions of low-laying cultures into homes. Community stations piggybacked on the digital developments of the time, extending their existence through telephony and broadcast affiliates. For those growing up in this time, in locations such as New York City, the localized communications beamed into their homes exposed them to an impressionable array of disparate sounds and visions. Move into the 1990s and New York was filled to the brim of emergent cultures drawing from this ebullition of communication. From Rammellzee’s shapeshifting to the late Judy Russell and Frank and Karen Mendez’s Nu Groove imprint fusing reggae, poetry and house, nascent ideas emanated from the city walls, from within stores such as Sonic Groove store and on VHS releases such as Stakker’s The Evil Acid Baron Show, a legendary technicolor psychedelic trip along the wildest frontiers of acid house. As scenes expanded and identities developed, such individuals weather the events of the visceral now, expressing themselves right into an unpredictable future.

Function’s long career has seen him uncover a vast range of sonic identities, a mainstay through house, techno and industrial with collaborations with the likes of Regis, Damon Wild alongside his highly influential Infrastructure imprint. With influences deeply tied to pop art, rave and gay scenes, and early memories of block-parties emitting Kraftwerk and Strafe, he found himself seeking out the undercover illegal nights of the 90s on a quest of sexual unearthing, mixing the ever-yearning escapology mission of disco with the influential DJ sets of Jeff Mills. For his new album Existenz, he marks a clear step away from the corporeal techno of his recent releases. Pivoting around themes of religion, sexuality, trauma and healing, it is a work expansive and celebratory, a clear liberation from a deeply internalized past. Formed from a collection of recordings made in a period from late 2016 to mid 2019, Existenz takes the form of a creative outburst in reaction to a number of traumas - recent, childhood and throughout Function’s life. Life partner Stefanie Parnow assisted the production process in its entirety, providing inspiration, spiritual healing and featuring vocal contributions.

Cosmic synths soar and swoop in ‘Pleasure Discipline’ through towering stacks of rhythm that stutter and creak to a halt before rebooting, a firm robotic response to human intervention. ‘Zahlensender’ reflects a spatial tetris of urban life, as digitalization set within an XYZ matrix confronts the sprawling city. Constant arpeggiated meditations echo synaptic transmissions, effecting a dissolution of boundaries. ’The Approach’ recalls the unification of the self, a state of delirium non-subjective and smooth, as all connections and functions give way to simple intensities of feeling, crossing the threshold into spirituality. ’Golden Dawn’, featuring Stefanie Parnow, marks a further elevation of dubbed-out euphoria, as once more positive rays emerge. His ode to the effortless short-trip urban navigation 'Kurzstrecke' finds Function in motion, upfront and bold, snapshots of conversation and flickers of light. 'Ertrinken' finds metallic bass jabs swamping snipped synthetic voices, with hidden stores of emotion set as a nod to the history of vocoders as a tool for encrypted military communication. House icon Robert Owens features on 'Growth Cycle' and 'Be', entrenching a celebratory atmosphere over Function's clubwise leanings. Closing track 'Downtown 161' reflects the unmistakeable filtered and squashed interjections of television, and sampled dance vocals - a sound for the curious, dreamers and dancers.

With Existenz, Function reveals an essential body of work, spread over 4LP/2CD - thought experiments on the role of identity and spirituality after a lifetime of upheaval and trauma. Leading up until the release date, Function will undertake an album promo tour with select dates - A/V shows at Berlin Atonal and Rural festival in Japan, and three dates as part of his Bassiani residency.

credits

released November 29, 2019

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about

Tresor Records Berlin, Germany

When Tresor opened on March 13th 1991 in a shack on Potsdamer Platz, beneath which the vault of the Wertheim department store lay, no one would have thought that from there would arise an institution that one day would celebrate 33 years of existence.

tresorberlin.com

discography

Love Letter

Jun 2024
030313

May 2024
Angles

May 2024
Transport

May 2024

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