Quattrovalvole - De School

Future Past Disco Drive project designed by Joone & Miss Zagato. Taking inspiration from Ferrari’s Vetroresina 308, sunset driving on a dark mission, the listener becomes an accomplice, so beware. You may be charged. Curb crawling, speeding, reaching for something that drives you wild and swerve off the road. The windscreen shatters, and your fingerprints are everywhere. Run. Four on the floor Italo-disco, glossy 80s new wave, Quattrovalvole is an afterdark lifestyle.

EP / Digital Album

Posted on January 27th, 2021 under Releases, ,

Balvanera - Courses of Action

Courses of Action is the latest release from Balvanera, a duo based out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Their first release on DKA after a series of Lps, Eps, splits, and remixes, Courses of Action sees the duo focusing on a stronger dance-floor ready EBM sound. The phrase “courses of action” is one that you usually hear from politicians or CEOs, comforting words to assure us that they will take the necessary measures without ever saying what they would actually do. We know that this is a phrase somehow devoid of meaning, completely empty, but we reappropriate this phrase, in times of turmoil, to think of our own actions and possibilities in these chaotic times.

“Courses of Action” has a futuristic vibe, with groovy and sensuous bass lines. “Courses of Action” fits perfectly on the DKA label blending the sounds and styles of artists like DIN, Celldöd, High-Functioning Flesh, and Boy Harsher. The cover art is inspired by a local artist, Liliana Maresca. In the 80’s she used her body in action as a central expression to question the local political climate of the late 80s and early 90s, raising the bar to the spinozian question of what a body can do. The whole record, perhaps aligning to that EBM ethos, speaks of the body; the body ill, the body in action, the mind sabotaging the body, the body dancing.

The members of Balvanera cut their teeth in diy hardcore and punk scenes before exploring the sounds of EBM. Inspired by newer artists like Linea Aspera and Sixth June, Balvanera decided to fill a void for a dark electronic music sound in Buenos Aires. Despite the difficulty of purchasing new gear, they still managed to create a powerful form of full-on body music. They soon found themselves playing illegal shows and DJing parties for a diverse underground audience hungry for new sounds. Balvanera’s live sets are a cathartic ritual for both the performer and audience. Recorded before the pandemic hit, the music on Courses of Action will make you long to get lost on a fogged-out dance floor.

Cassette / Digital Album

Posted on January 25th, 2021 under Releases, ,

Arnaud Rebotini - Shiny Black Leather

Mannequin Records is elated to welcome a brand new killer release from the legendary French producer Arnaud Rebotini.

Whether as one half of Black Strobe or in his own material or just busy receiving a César prize 2018 for best film music, Arnaud Rebotini devotes his career to mindblowing electronic productions. Passionate about analog synthesizers, and with a strong taste for electronic music of a dark and brutal hue, the new EP ‘Shiny Black Leather’ pushes to the limit his EBM-influenced electro-goth side, making the most doomy goth clubber happy.

12″ / Digital Album

Posted on January 23rd, 2021 under Releases, ,

Gamma Intel - Generatie Desinteresse

Rotterdam’s local player Gamma Intel returns to Pinkman with his signature slowbeat electro bizz. Menacing with militant kicks and filthy curling baselines that go straight to one’s stomach when ingested, ’Generatie Desinteresse’ inspects the blasé youth of the concrete jungle. Inspired by the boundless pursuit of pleasure, numbed minds & ever-changing cities, the six tracker takes you to the place where anxiety is always lurking for its prey, even if the veil of indifference sets the simmering turmoil off the heat for a moment.

12″ / Digital Album

Posted on January 21st, 2021 under Releases, ,

Konstantin Unwohl - Im Institut Für Strömungstechnik

Here’s the second album by Konstantin Unwohl, a minimal electronics artist from Hamburg, Germany.

LP / Digital Album

Posted on January 19th, 2021 under Releases, ,